The airport was crowded.
Namjoon moved carefully through the throngs of travelers, suitcase rolling silently beside him. His carry-on sat snugly under his arm, and his passport and boarding pass were clutched tightly in his hand.
It should have felt exciting—this was an important project, a career-defining opportunity—but instead, it felt heavy.
Hoseok clung to his arm. Literally.
"Namjoon, wait," Hoseok whispered, his face pressed against Namjoon's shoulder. "Don't leave yet."
Namjoon glanced down. Hoseok's eyes were wide, filled with that unique mixture of worry and neediness that always pulled at Namjoon's heart.
"Hobi…" Namjoon tried to pull away gently. "I have to go. I told you, we'll stay in touch—video calls, texts, visits…"
Hoseok's grip only tightened. "I don't care about calls. I don't care about visits. I want you here. With me. With us."
Namjoon sighed softly, resting his forehead against Hoseok's. "You're going to be fine."
"Am I?" Hoseok whispered. "Because I don't feel fine without you. I… I feel like I might fall apart."
Namjoon's heart clenched. "Hobi…"
Behind them, the others were quietly watching, a mix of amusement, guilt, and concern on their faces.
Taehyung leaned forward slightly, arms crossed. "You're lucky Hobi's so clingy. I don't think anyone else would handle this drama as well as he does."
Jimin stepped beside Taehyung, hugging his own arms around himself. "It's not fair. Hobi's acting like Namjoon's leaving forever, and he's barely acknowledging how upset we feel."
Yoongi, leaning against the airport wall, smirked dryly. "You two are both jealous. Admit it."
Jungkook groaned, hands on his face. "Can we not turn this into a battlefield? He's leaving for three months, not a lifetime."
Jin, ever dramatic, pointed a finger at Hoseok. "Hobi, you're ridiculously theatrical. This is your moment to shine—like a tragic heroine in a melodrama. Embrace it!"
Hoseok shot a glare at him, but it was softened by tears threatening to spill. "I don't want to shine. I want him here. All of him."
Namjoon gently cupped Hoseok's face, forcing him to look up. "Hobi, listen to me. I'm not leaving us. I'm leaving for work, but I'm coming back. Every single day I can, I'll be calling you. You are my center. My heart. I'm not going anywhere in the sense that matters most."
Hoseok blinked rapidly, swallowing the lump in his throat. "But… what if I can't do this? What if I get too… lonely?"
"Then you'll lean on the rest of us," Taehyung said firmly, stepping closer. "We're all here for you. Don't think for a second you're alone in this."
Jimin nodded, tugging Hoseok into a brief, protective hug. "Yeah. You have all of us. Every step of the way. And we'll fight over you if we have to. Don't think we're letting Namjoon just swoop in and leave you hanging."
Hoseok exhaled shakily, finally letting his arms loosen slightly. "You really mean that?"
"Of course," Jungkook said, crouching in front of Hoseok. "You're literally the gravity holding all seven of us together. You get first dibs on attention, Hobi. Always."
"Even if Namjoon's gone?" Hoseok asked quietly.
"Yes," Yoongi replied with his usual calm certainty. "Even then. You're the constant. The one who keeps everything from collapsing. And we love you for it."
Hoseok's chest tightened. He had always known his role in the relationship was unique, but hearing it articulated by the others—the alphas and omegas alike—made him feel something fierce, protective, and vulnerable all at once.
Namjoon leaned down, pressing a kiss to Hoseok's forehead. "Hobi… I'll be back before you know it. You've got all six of them, and you've got me in every call. You'll survive."
Hoseok shook his head, sniffling. "I don't want to survive. I want… I want to thrive with you here."
Namjoon chuckled softly. "Then thrive with us, even while I'm away. I promise, we'll make it work."
The announcement of his gate came over the speakers. It was time.
Hoseok clung to him once more before letting go reluctantly. "Come back to me," he murmured.
"I always do," Namjoon whispered, kissing his cheek, his lips lingering slightly longer than necessary.
The plane ride was a blur for Namjoon. He kept his phone in hand, texting and calling intermittently to check in, but the longing in his chest was persistent. Every ping from the apartment group chat made him smile, then tighten his grip on the armrest.
Meanwhile, back in the apartment, Hoseok felt… restless.
He paced the living room, phone in hand, eyes scanning the screen for any sign of Namjoon.
Jimin sat on the couch, arms wrapped around himself, glancing at Hoseok nervously. "Hobi… maybe you should rest a little?"
"I can't," Hoseok admitted, flopping onto the couch beside him. "Every minute without him feels like hours."
Taehyung, not to be outdone, leaned over Hoseok's shoulder. "You're ridiculously dramatic. Even Yoongi agrees."
Yoongi, in his usual chair, smirked. "Not wrong. But he's cute when he's clingy."
Hoseok glared. "Cute? I'm suffering here!"
Jungkook crouched on the floor beside him, gently nudging Hoseok's side. "You're allowed to cling, Hobi. You're allowed to be scared. And we'll let you. But also… calm down a little. You're giving everyone else anxiety too."
"I am giving everyone else anxiety," Hoseok muttered, resting his head on his knees.
Jimin stroked his hair softly. "Then we'll calm it together. We'll all calm it together."
Hoseok lifted his head, eyes shining with unshed tears. "I'm scared, you know? What if he doesn't come back the same?"
Taehyung frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean… he might get so caught up in his work that… that he forgets us. That he forgets me."
Yoongi leaned forward, eyes sharp. "You really think Namjoon could forget you? After everything?"
"I… I don't know," Hoseok admitted, voice trembling. "I just… feel small."
Jimin immediately pressed closer. "Hobi, you are not small. You are massive in all of our lives. You're the heart we orbit. You're ours, even if he's gone for a while."
Jungkook nodded vigorously. "Exactly. You're literally the gravity keeping the seven of us together. Don't you forget it."
Jin, ever dramatic, leaned down and grabbed Hoseok by the shoulders. "If anyone tries to challenge your role as the most important person in this apartment, I will personally—"
"You'll what?" Hoseok interrupted, a small laugh breaking through his tension.
"I'll throw them over my shoulder and hurl them into the street," Jin said seriously.
Hoseok rolled his eyes but couldn't stop smiling.
Over the next week, Hoseok became increasingly clingy over video calls.
Namjoon would text, and Hoseok would respond with ten messages in a row, sometimes double-texting out of panic or longing.
"I miss you," Hoseok would write.
"I love you," he'd follow up.
"You better not forget to call me tonight," came another.
Namjoon would chuckle quietly, phone pressed to his chest. "Hobi… I could never forget you. I'm counting the hours until I'm back."
Even the omegas grew a little jealous of Hoseok's clinginess. Jimin would pout when Hoseok laughed at something Namjoon said over a call, and Taehyung would nudge him. "Hobi, share some of that attention!"
Jungkook, Yoongi, and Jin watched amusedly as Hoseok juggled all the emotional pull—half longing for Namjoon, half staying grounded with the omegas, half keeping an eye on the playful alphas.
It was chaotic.
It was intense.
It was love.
By the second week, Hoseok could no longer contain himself.
He flopped onto the couch, phone pressed against his chest. "I need him back now," he groaned.
Jimin gently took his hand. "We're all missing him too, Hobi. But you don't have to handle it alone. Let us cling to you too."
Taehyung leaned over and hugged Hoseok from behind. "We can share you, you know. We're all orbiting your gravity, remember?"
Hoseok laughed softly, finally relaxing. "I guess I do feel better… when I'm surrounded by all of you."
Namjoon's next video call came in.
Hoseok scrambled to answer, pressing the phone to his cheek.
"Hey," Namjoon said, smiling through the screen.
"Finally! I was about to start a full-blown search party for you," Hoseok joked, though his voice trembled slightly.
"I can hear the clinginess from here," Namjoon laughed softly.
"You better be ready for when I'm back," Hoseok warned, his eyes sparkling.
"I am," Namjoon replied. "I'll be holding you first chance I get. And then the rest of the seven will get all the time they need too. We're all coming back together."
Hoseok's chest tightened, but this time it was not with fear. It was anticipation. Relief. Love.
"Promise me you'll call every night?" Hoseok whispered.
"Every night. And every morning if you want," Namjoon said, grinning.
Hoseok finally allowed himself to breathe. Leaning back, he pressed the phone against his heart, feeling surrounded—by Namjoon's love, by the six others' affection, by the unbreakable gravity that held the seven of them together.
Even with distance, even with fear, even with jealousy and clinginess and emotional chaos…
They were seven.
They were one.
And Hoseok, at the center of it all, finally understood that being the heart didn't mean being weak—it meant being loved, deeply, entirely, and endlessly.
And that was enough.