It wasn't even a week later before the man saw the other two who had helped the man who owned the garden. He saw them just as they were about to pull the tomato plants from the soil.

"Wait!" he shouted as he rushed toward them. They turned and looked at him strangely.

"Can we help you?" the older one asked.

"Those plants aren't dead!" he insisted. "They can be grown back healthy. I can help!"

The other two men looked at each other. The younger shrugged. "Worth a shot, maybe?"

The older looked doubtful. "I don't think it's a good idea for him to come back here anymore either way."

"Please," the other man said. "I-I saw you three here the other day. Your friend looked so sad at the thought of these plants being dead. I... I want to help him save them. If you'll let me."

The older of the others raised a brow. "And who are you?"

"My name is Hoseok. I own a plot over there." He pointed toward his garden. The other two looked over his shoulder at the tall, healthy plants proudly displaying their red fruit.

"Well, if the tomatoes are any indication, he knows what he's doing," the younger said.

"I do!" Hoseok said quickly, then seemed to realize that he might sound arrogant. "I mean, I've just been doing this a long time. My grandmother taught me how to garden. I can recognize when a plant is hopeless. These aren't hopeless," he said, gesturing to the wilted stalks.

The older still looked doubtful, but the younger seemed eager. "Maybe we should hear him out, Jin."

The man named Jin sighed. "I don't know, Kook. He's been having such a hard time, and being here the other day didn't help at all..."

"But maybe if he could see the plants flourishing, it would raise his spirits," the man Jin had called Kook said excitedly.

Jin thought about it for a few moments, then turned to Hoseok with a sigh. "I guess if you want to work on them and see what you can do, you can. But I can't promise we won't be back to dismantle the garden regardless. Our brother-in-law, Yoongi - the man with us the other day - isn't in the best place to be giving this another shot. If he decides it's not a good idea, then we'll have no choice but to – "

"Please let him know that they're worth saving," Hoseok interrupted. "I'm sorry, I just really love plants, and it's a very rewarding thing to nurture something so fragile and watch it come back to life."

Kook looked at Jin with pleading eyes. "He needs something rewarding to happen."

Jin nodded. "I know. But I don't know if this – "

"If it should be anywhere, it should be here!"

Hoseok was beginning to feel a bit awkward. "Look, I don't want intrude on anything," he said. "I just want to help."

Jin sighed. "I appreciate it, Hoseok. You seem very kind. My name is Seokjin, or Jin, by the way. This is my little brother, Jungkook."

Jungkook immediately bowed with a broad smile. "If you can help save these tomatoes, you'd be performing a miracle for Yoongi."

Hoseok again observed the plants closely and shook his head. "It won't take a miracle," he said with assurance. "These plants aren't that far gone yet."

"He means a miracle for his spirit. Not to get too far into it, but Yoongi is in a difficult place in life right now."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Hoseok said honestly.

Seokjin nodded. "But Jungkook is right. Seeing this garden flourish would likely bring about a positive reaction from him."

"Some hope," Jungkook added.

"Okay," Seokjin seemed to decide. "Yes, you have our permission to do what you can, Hoseok. Thank you. We'll talk to Yoongi and do our best to convince him to keep the garden. If he ever decides he wants to help – "

"Oh, please tell him I'd love that!" Hoseok said with a bright smile. "I love helping people learn more about plants and gardening."

Seokjin smiled. "Okay, we'll be sure to let him know."

"Thank you!" Jungkook said, taking Hoseok's hand and bowing again. He seemed to be bursting at the seams with excitement, and Hoseok chuckled a bit at his enthusiasm.

"You're very welcome."

After Seokjin and Jungkook had left, Hoseok set about examining the rest of Yoongi's garden. He concluded that he'd need new soil, new stakes and likely some cages, twine, and a lot of care. After finishing up pruning his own plants, he headed out to purchase what he'd need.

It didn't take long to procure the supplies and return back to the garden. He'd been back for a couple hours when he heard, "Hobi?"

Hoseok sat up straight, looking around at the sound of his nickname.

"Hobi? Are you here?"

"I'm over here," he called, standing up and dusting off his knees.

"There you are! Where the hell have you been? Jimin and I have been looking all over for you!"

"Sorry," Hoseok offered. "I've been doing some extra gardening today, and – "

"Wow."

Hoseok followed his friend's gaze to the garden of thin, wilted stalks he'd been meticulously and gently tying to stakes.

"Yeah," Hoseok said. "It needs some TLC, but I'm working on it."

"This isn't yours. What're you – "

"I'm helping out the guy who owns it. Or rather, I'm helping out his brothers. It's kind of a long story."

"So, tell me tonight. You, me and Jimin are going out."

Hoseok sighed as he pulled his gardening gloves off. "Tae, I don't want – "

"Nope." His friend held his hand up in Hoseok's face. "It's been too long since we've seen you, and we're going to have a good time tonight."

"Fine, but let's just do dinner. I'm not really up for – "

"Dinner and two drinks."

"Taehyung..."

They stared each other down until Hoseok finally sighed again. "Fine."

A boyish boxy smile spread across his friend's face. "Why do you even try to object anymore?"

"I honestly don't know," Hoseok admitted.

"We'll go to the club. You can dance!"

A smile suddenly appeared on Hoseok's face. "Okay."

Taehyung grinned. "There's the enthusiasm!"

"I've just got a couple more to tie up, and then I'll head home to get ready," Hoseok said. "Text me when you're on your way to pick me up?"

"Of course!" Taehyung said cheerily as he headed out of the garden.

-

"I can't believe we finally got you out of the house!"

"Hey!" Hoseok said, offended. "I leave the house!"

"Okay, let me rephrase. I can't believe we finally got you to go somewhere other than your house or your garden!"

"Shut up, Jimin. I'm not some weird recluse."

Jimin laughed. "Sure, sure."

Hoseok looked at Taehyung for backup, but Taehyung simply shrugged. "Don't pretend you don't know you've been hiding out."

"I haven't!" Hoseok insisted. "I just – "

"It's been four months, Hobi. It's time to let it go. You deserve to be able to go where and do what you want. Rejoin society!"

"I do go where and do what I want. That just happens to be my garden. I just don't have a lot of time to do much els – "

"Yeah, and now you'll have even less since you took up that second garden."

Jimin's mouth fell open. "You got another one?" he groaned. "Now we'll never see you!"

"I'm here, aren't I?!" Hoseok argued. "And it's not my garden. I'm just helping with it."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Taehyung asked as he took a sip of his drink. "Who is this person you're helping?"

"Well, I haven't actually met him – "

"Him?" Jimin's eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah, him. And again, I haven't met him, so I don't know anything about him so you can get those thoughts out of your head."

Jimin simply smiled.

"So, how did you get roped into helping him if you've never even met him?" Taehyung asked.

Hoseok sighed. "I didn't get roped in. I saw him at his garden the other day. He was with two other guys and he...well, he kinda just fell apart when he saw how wilted and lifeless his garden looked. I don't know why, but it broke my heart. He looked so sad. After they left, I took a look at it, and the plants aren't dead. They just need some care and they can bounce back."

"And then?" Jimin asked.

"And then I saw the other guys that were with him today. They were going to pull up the plants and throw them out. I was able to convince them not to and let me help revive them. They said the guy who owns the garden is their brother-in-law, and he's been going through a hard time. So, they're trusting me to take care of the garden for the time being."

Taehyung shook his head. "You're too nice, Hobi. Helping someone you've never met just because he looked sad."

Hoseok's brow furrowed. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all," Taehyung confirmed. "It's incredibly selfless and admirable. Just – "

"Don't lose yourself while helping others. You do that often, Hobi," Jimin concluded.

Hoseok shook his head, but didn't argue. "I'm going to get another drink. Then, can we finally dance?"

"Yeah!" Jimin cheered.

As he approached the bar, Hoseok suddenly saw a man who looked vaguely familiar to him. He was sitting at the bar near the area where Hoseok was waiting. He was chatting with a man next to him and though his friend appeared amiable as he spoke with an easy, dimpled smile, the man appeared to be absolutely miserable. His handsome face was contorted into a scowling pout and his intriguing cat-like eyes looked tired. Hoseok wondered how the two ended up here together, with such differing moods.

But then he remembered how he himself had felt annoyed when he first arrived, versus his friends who were excited and cheerful. So he shrugged to himself. Who was he to judge?

He had ordered his drink and was waiting when a man he definitely recognized appeared between him and the men he had been watching.

"Jungkook?"

He turned around and his eyes widened. "Hoseok?! Hi!"

"Hi," Hoseok replied as Jungkook grinned at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Just trying to have a good time. Jin is...somewhere," he said, looking around. "I'm waiting for him with a friend and my brother-in-law. You remember us telling you about him, right?"

"Who are you telling about me?" a drawling voice spoke up behind him. Hoseok peeked around Jungkook to see the slightly familiar man watching him with narrowed eyes.

"Yoongi, this is Hoseok," Jungkook said, stepping out of their line of sight of each other. "We met at the garden this morning when Jin and I – "

"Dismantled it," another voice hurriedly interrupted. Hoseok looked up to see Seokjin standing over all of them. "Good to see you again, Hoseok," Seokjin continued as he looked at him pointedly. It didn't take long for Hoseok to get the hint that he shouldn't talk about the garden.

"You, too," Hoseok said. "And nice to meet you, Yoongi."

Yoongi nodded once then turned back to his drink. The man beside him then turned toward Hoseok.

"And I'm Namjoon!" he said in a way that indicated he was teasing the others for not having introduced him. Hoseok chuckled.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Likewise!"

"Do you guys dance?" Hoseok asked, trying to break up the awkward silence that followed. "My friends and I were just about to – "

"I like to dance!" Jungkook interrupted excitedly.

"I'm up for dancing if everyone else is," Seokjin said.

Jungkook looked at Namjoon eagerly, who shrugged but glanced at Yoongi with a knowing look on his face. "Yoongs?" he asked.

"Fuck no," Yoongi spat before taking a long sip of his drink.

Jungkook's smile dropped and Namjoon shook his head with a sigh. "Sorry, Kook," Namjoon offered.

"If you really want to dance," Hoseok said to Jungkook after he'd received his drink. "You're welcome to join my friends and I. We're just over there." He pointed toward the table where his friends sat, watching him. "We're gonna finish our drinks, then hit the dance floor."

Jungkook's smile returned. "Really?"

"Yeah, of course."

Jungkook turned to Seokjin with wide, hopeful eyes. "Do whatever you want, Kook," Seokjin said. "We'll be here for a while anyway."

"What?" Yoongi suddenly interrupted. "You said an hour max. It's already been 45 minutes!"

"Well, I'm changing my mind," Seokjin said sharply. "And I'm doing it for your own good."

"I'll just leave without you," Yoongi countered.

"I drove."

Yoongi scowled, then turned to Namjoon, who simply shrugged his shoulders. Yoongi sighed deeply, then looked to the bartender and lifted a finger, silently ordering another drink.

"Okay, so...see you around," Hoseok said, hoping the awkwardness he was feeling wasn't apparent in his voice. He quickly took off toward the table he was sharing with Jimin and Taehyung.

"Well, well, well," Jimin said slyly. "And who is that?"

Hoseok followed his gaze to Jungkook. "He's one of the brothers I met at the garden. The other is the other man standing over there."

Taehyung's brows rose. "You two seemed chatty – "

"Don't," Hoseok warned.

"He just looked really happy to see you," Taehyung said innocently.

"He's young and excitable. He was that way at the garden earlier, too. He just wants to dance tonight. He's disappointed because his brother-in-law is keeping all of them from doing so."

"Brother-in-law? The one who owns the garden?" Jimin asked.

"Yeah, he's the grumpy looking one sitting between them. The other guy is their friend."

"Well, grumpy or disappointed or not, they're all quite good-looking, Hobi. Take your pick." Taehyung wiggled his eyebrows and Hoseok picked up a napkin, balled it up and tossed it at his friend's face. Both Taehyung and Jimin burst into laughter.

"C'mon, Hobi!" Jimin said, clapping his friend on the back. "Ya gotta get back in the game sometime!"

Hoseok just scowled. His friends' laughter eventually quieted down.

"In all seriousness, Hobi, just like Tae said earlier, it's been four months since – "

"Don't say his name," Hoseok warned dangerously.

"Junho," Jimin said pointedly. "It's been four months since you and Junho broke up, and you need to put yourself back out there."

"I don't wanna."

Taehyung shook his head. "Just for that, we're not leaving here until you either get a phone number or give yours to someone."

Hoseok choked on his drink. "What?!"

Taehyung crossed his arms over his chest. "You heard me."

Hoseok scoffed indignantly. "I'll just leave without you!"

"I drove."