Hoseok understands that, believing in the others, being willing to give up his own happiness or comfort to make any of their lives better. He'd sooner seen them thriving and finding joy than holding onto it for himself.

But he also feels like he's not worth that sentiment turned back around. It wasn't his choice to be where he is in life, but maybe it was his fault. If he'd been a better son, if he'd been healthy and normal, maybe his mother wouldn't have given him up.

And now he's becoming that same kind of burden to his friends. He trusts them and he loves them and he needs them, probably more than they realize. He can't lose them, not now that he has hands to hold him up, to keep him safe. Which means he has to be careful how much he leans on them, how much he lets them see. He's so much uglier on the inside, ugly enough to make them all turn their backs on him.

He wants to say he isn't worth Jungkook's worry because it's true, but he doesn't want to shun Jungkook's kindness either. "You're my family too," he says, also true, more important. "All of you are, but you're as close to a real brother as I'll ever have, Jungkook. And I'm so thankful for you. I don't want to make you worry."