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Disappointed, Jungkook wandered back to Tae’s room.  But he couldn’t fool his friend for long.  Tae glanced up from his game as Jungkook settled in next to him on the floor.  Tae frowned.

“What’s wrong, Jungkookie?”

“My present is missing.”

“Your present?”

Jungkook nodded.

“What present?” Tae queried.

“I don’t know.  Someone left me a present outside my door this morning.  But I was too hungry to open it, so I took it to the kitchen with me.  I put it on the island.  Then I made breakfast.  And I forgot about the red box.  I just remembered it.  But when I searched the kitchen, I couldn’t find it.”

“Well, it has to be here somewhere.  Let’s go look for it.”

“Where?  I checked the kitchen and the living room.  I didn’t find it.”

“Let’s get everyone to help us search for it.”

Jungkook blinked. 

Tae set down his controlled and jumped up.  “Come on.  Let’s go find it.”

Tae had soon raised the alarm.  Everyone began to search the house.  Turning it upside in their search for Jungkook’s crimson present.  The only one who didn’t help them look for it was Yoongi.  He seemed to have disappeared.

At the end of a half hour, all of Jungkook’s friends had searched their own bedrooms along with the remainder of the house.  No burgundy box had materialized.  Everyone was quite distressed.  Except for Jungkook.  Truly, he was very disappointed, but he didn’t want to upset anyone else, so he didn’t allow his regret to show.  If only he had opened it immediately!

Quietly, he disappeared down the hallway towards his room.  He headed for his bed and lay down in it.  He closed his eyes.  He was feeling a little tired.  Perhaps it was the disappointment weighing him down.

Usually, the guys made a big deal of his birthday.  But they didn’t seem to have made any plans concerning his big day this year.  All he’d received from them had been a few kind words.  He’d even had to make his own breakfast. 

It wasn’t a big deal.  He kept telling himself that.  But he didn’t seem to be feeling any better.

He squeezed his eyes shut and went perfectly still.  A few minutes later, he had fallen asleep.

––

“Yoongi!  Where have you been?”

He frowned at Jin.  “You know perfectly well where I was.”

Jin’s brow furrowed.

Yoongi spoke two words.  “Birthday preparations?”

“Ah,” Jin’s brow cleared with enlightenment.  “Duh.  How could I forget that?”

“What’s wrong?” Yoongi asked as his gaze took in the downcast expressions of his friends.

“Jungkook lost his present,” Tae murmured.

“What?” Yoongi asked sharply. 

Jimin responded, “He found it this morning, but he didn’t open it.  He brought it out to the kitchen, and it disappeared.”

“We turned the house upside down looking for it, but…nothing,” Hobi shrugged.

Yoongi shook his head.  “It’s in his bedroom.”

“What?” Namjoon queried with a blank look on his face.

“I put it on his dresser when I wiped down the island.”

“WHAT?” shouted five irritated young men. 

“Are you kidding?  We all searched our bedrooms.”

“Apparently, Jungkook didn’t,” Yoongi rumbled dryly.

Tae slapped his forehead.  “Why didn’t we think to look in his room?”

“Because we all knew we hadn’t moved it.  And so did Jungkook,” Jimin reasoned.

“But no one thought about Yoongi,” Hobi muttered.

Yoongi shrugged.  Then he glanced around.  “Where is Jungkook?”

The other guys all looked at each other.

“I don’t know.”

“I haven’t seen him for a while.”

“Did he go to his room?”

Yoongi wandered down the hallway and peered through Jungkook’s doorway.  He smiled faintly as he caught sight of the slumbering boy. 

“The little one is sleeping,” he mumbled affectionately a few moments later as he joined the guys in the living room.

“What?” Jimin gasped.  “He went back to bed?”

“I think he was a little down,” Namjoon ventured.

Tae nodded.  “He was upset that he lost his gift.”

“But he didn’t,” Yoongi pointed out.  “He was sitting five feet from it when he decided to take a nap.”

“He must not have seen it.”

“He didn’t.  He hasn’t even touched it.  It’s still wrapped in the red paper,” Yoongi muttered.

“Should we wake him up?” Hobi asked.

“No.  Let him sleep.  We can surprise him later,” Yoongi assured him.

Jin glanced at Yoongi.  “Is everything ready?”

Yoongi nodded his head.

“Excellent!” Tae exclaimed.