Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everyone was exhausted, be it physically or emotionally, but exhausted all the same. And it was barely past noon time.

During the ride back to the mansion, Yoongi had been getting updates on the condition of the people that had been affected by the bombing on the day prior, both his people and those unfortunate whose only mistake was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those that had been taken to the hospital were slowly but surely recovering, even the most extreme ones like one waitress that had suffered a skull fracture that had needed immediate surgery. Still, there were those that never made it to the hospital and those that had died on site. His men had been disgruntled at having to turn in the responsible ones over to the police once they caught them, but they relented because they understood the reason why they had to.

The families of the innocent bystanders deserved justice, they deserved to see the culprits for taking their loved ones in court and being convicted, and he knew they wouldn’t rest until they got what they wanted.

Besides, they still had the rest of Black Gauntlet on which they could release their rage upon.

Yoongi placed the phone on the seat next to him as he rubbed his temple, the headache that had been bothering him since the day before refusing to recede. The fact that he had only managed one hour of rest during the ride towards the apartment complex (and only because Seokjin had forced him to), was not helping. He didn’t have much of a choice anyway. He had spent most of the night coordinating with numerous teams about locating and eliminating any and all remnants of Black Gauntlet. He had delegated most of it, trusting his men to do his job like they had done numerous times before, but he still insisted on being kept updated about the progress and going to some of the raids himself. There were still a few strays that had managed to slip through their fingers but they wouldn’t last long.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by Seokjin calling out his name. He looked outside the window and realized they had made it back to the mansion so he picked up his phone and stepped out of the car. Seokjin made his way towards him but his eyes were focused on a car to his left, the car Jungkook was driving, where one of his headache inducing problems was travelling. He watched the car drive by, his mind still conflicted on the reason behind his decision to let Chin Hae live. He knew the decision would be met with more than one raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes.

Later, he decided as Seokjin draped an arm over his shoulders and carried them towards the front door. He was in a desperate need for food and, at least, a week of uninterrupted sleep.

As they approached the kitchen, Min Suk spotted them and grabbed a plate from one of the counters. He walked over to them and handed the plate to Yoongi which contained a couple of sandwiches with different fillings. Seokjin had probably messaged while on their way to have something light prepared. He thanked the red-head who bowed and continued on his way, which Yoongi hoped was his bedroom because the day prior had been one of the most hectic they’ve had in a while and Min Suk had been one of the major parts in terms of communication and tracking down Black Gauntlet.

As he took a bite of one of the sandwiches (his stomach was so annoyed and happy at being neglected and finally getting actual food), he noticed that Seokjin was leading them back to the hallway and towards the stairs.

“I’ll get food once I make sure you eat at least one of those sandwiches and I see you getting inside your room,” Seokjin said after seeing the glare directed at his way. Yoongi rolled his eyes at his answer because of course Seokjin would mother hen him before taking care of himself.

His mouth was full (those sandwiches were really good, he made a mental note to thank Min Suk later) so he couldn’t really answer but he flipped him off anyway before walking inside his room. He heard Seokjin scoff and call him a brat as he closed the door. He still had one sandwich left but he decided to leave it for later.

Later… The amount of things he had to do later were rapidly increasing and it was not helping his current state of mind. So he grabbed a bottle of water, popped a pill to help alleviate his headache, and promptly dropped on bed, hoping his mind would keep quiet long enough for him to fall asleep.

Seokjin made his way back to the kitchen while checking his phone. While Yoongi had taken care of dealing with everything related to Black Gauntlet, Seokjin had dealt with the aftermath of BG’s actions. He had been jumping from phone call to phone call: to the police, his employees, the families of the employees that were sleeping (be it due to tiredness or drugs), the hospital employees taking care of the victims, the board members…

The hectic life of a businessman was something he was used to, even if they weren’t as catastrophic as the day prior. He had grown listening to his father as he made deals through calls when he was at home and paid a great deal of attention (as much as a child could) when his father tried explaining him through the inner workings of his job because, as his father reasoned with his mother, it was easier than chasing him away from his office.

The loss of his mother had been tragic and heartbreaking, even if they knew it was coming. Seokjin had been only ten years old at the time so he had taken to following his father even more often. His father indulged him, even taking him to his office and allowing him to be present at some meetings.

He sighed as he finished yet another call, taking a deep breath while staring at the ceiling, thinking about how he wished his father were still around, at least as a moral support. There were still many things on his to-do list but he wasn’t going to be able to go through with any of them unless he got some food in his system. Hoseok, ever the angel, was already at the kitchen, chopping onions and adding them to a pan to his left.

“Have I told you how much of an angel you are?” Seokjin asked as he slumped on a seat, both enjoying and suffering due to the aromas of whatever it was that Hoseok was cooking.

Hoseok turned around to face him, brows furrowed and head tilted slightly. “What makes you think this is for you? Or that I’ll share it?”

If there was one thing anyone knew about Hoseok was that he was too good for this world. Though some wrongly assumed that meant he was a pushover and were surprised to know that he could be serious when he wanted to or when the situation demanded it. Those less fortunate had had the displeasure to find that testing his patience by stepping on every single nerve of his had consequences. Seokjin had heard about it but had never witnessed it, until a couple of years ago against a douchebag, formerly known as Hoseok’s assistant. There was no violence, just Hoseok spitting words in such a calm and icy manner that had him both shivering and wanting to cheer on his friend.

Because he knew Hoseok, he recognized the questioning along with the posture as simple banter. A way to try and bring back the normalcy from before the shitshow known as Haejin. Seokjin was grateful to Hoseok for it so he decided to play along (and also because he loved dramatics), crossing his arms and sitting up straight.

“Because I’m near starving and no one wants a starving Seokjin,” he answered with a smile and a chirp tone that contradicted his words and the reminder behind it. An unfed Seokjin equaled a cranky and snappy Seokjin, and everyone was aware of it.

Hoseok chuckled at his answer while he cracked a couple of eggs on another pan. The sizzling covered the noise Seokjin’s stomach made and he, once again, mentally cursed the frenzied days they’ve had, making him burn calories faster than he could consume them.

“Okay, I’m convinced. I’ll share...” Hoseok drawled out as he glanced up from the eggs to stare at him and Seokjin had an idea –well, more like two or three– as to what he was to be asked. “I’ll share if you go talk to Jiminie and Taehyungie about, y’know, the whole from here on out thing.”

He was correct on his initial idea.

He knew that it was inevitable, the talking. From the moment he received the news that Jimin had been kidnapped, he knew that after they got him back, he would have to sit down with the two of them and just… talk. He wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of it, though, not after the brief chat he had with Hoseok the night before. Hoseok had kept the two friends somewhat informed about the events unfolding and therefore they knew just how busy mostly everyone working for Bangtan was, but they were insistent that once it was settled, they wanted answers.

It had been a short passing by commentary on their status before Seokjin was whisked away by a phone call, but he didn’t fool himself into thinking they would forget about it. Not after he later heard from Jungkook that Jimin knew his and Taehyung’s fathers had been involved.

They wanted answers. It was their right and he would do his best to provide them… but that didn’t mean he looked forward to it. Nevertheless he nodded, because it wasn’t about his comfort.

Hoseok served the food on several plates, two of which he guessed were for Jimin and Taehyung, and pushed one in his direction. “You know I don’t mean right now, right? You still have to get some sleep. At least three hours…”

Seokjin nodded as he scooped a spoonful of fried rice which tasted as delicious as it smelled. He watched his friend as he accommodated the plates on a tray, noticing the bags under his eyes. They weren’t strikingly noticeable, but they were there. A testament to the stress-inducing menace that had been Haejin and his posse. A menace that hadn’t finished because they still had to deal with his offspring…

One step at a time, he reminded himself.

“Hoseok-ah,” he called out as Hoseok was making his way out of the kitchen, tray in hand. “If I’m not in your room by 4, go wake me up. That way I can talk to them while you go pick up Namjoon.”

Hoseok smiled at him, his shoulders relaxing slightly and his steps a bit lighter as he walked away. Just to be sure, Seokjin pulled out his phone and set an alarm for fifteen minutes before four so he could have time to properly wake up, and then continued eating. He needed the energy to deal with the aftermath of the aftermath.

Jungkook still felt conflicted on what to think of his former friend. He had felt so sure the day prior, when he learnt that he was the traitor–

(Not even a traitor since he had never been one of theirs and therefore hadn’t “betrayed” anyone, right?)

Either way, his mind had been decided on what feeling to attribute when thinking of him: rage. It’d been easy. Jungkook had come to think of Chin Hae as his friend and had thought to eventually include him inside his team, so when he listened to Yoongi-hyung inform him of the discoveries they’d made… there was nothing but hot, seething rage.

But after what he witnessed at that apartment? After he saw his former friend’s face when he discovered that the foundation in which his own rage was based upon was entirely fake? After he had to hear him crying and yelling as Seokjin-hyung dragged him out of the apartment and onto the back of his car? After he got inside of his car to drive back home and glanced at him through the rearview mirror, seeing a completely different person than the one he had met years ago, or even after the mask had fallen the day before?

Because it was a different person. Before, he was another friend around his age with which he could spend time with and also a fellow gamer. After, he was the guy filled with insults and scalding remarks. But when he was sitting on the back of his car? What was there was just a shell that resembled Chin Hae. Jungkook couldn’t even hear his breathing despite it being deadly quiet inside the car. Chin Hae might as well have been a corpse, and the only reassurance Jungkook had that he wasn’t in fact dead was the blinking of the eyes.

It’d been heartbreaking. Worst of all, it still was, hence his dilemma.

He shook his head from those thoughts as he made his way up the stairs. He had left Chin Hae in his cell of sorts in the basement with guards to make sure he didn’t attempt to break free. Jungkook doubted he would try, considering how broken he–

“Not now, Jungkook,” he scolded himself under his breath. Until Yoongi-hyung decided what was to happen to Chin Hae, he should just forget about it. Besides, he had more pressing matters to ponder on. He had been evading the most important one, both metaphorically and literally by completely avoiding the floor in which Hoseok-hyung’s room was. They had arrived back at the mansion a couple of hours ago but he had remained in the basement with the excuse that he was just checking the state of his wounds.

Seokjin had told him to wait before going to talk to them, but he just couldn’t. Not anymore. He knew that he himself wasn’t in the right headspace to face them, to face Jimin, but he couldn’t wait. It had been eating him ever since that talk at the forest and then in the car and he just couldn’t wait anymore.

Waiting meant he would continue creating scenarios in his head about the different outcomes everything related to Jimin could take. Jimin, who had already been mad about their contracts in HOC being rescinded without much of an explanation. Well, there had been one but he and Taehyung hadn’t liked it. So, he had to face that Jimin along with the Jimin that had found out he had been lying and hiding information from him. Personal information.

He needed that talk to happen sooner rather than later or he would not be able to eat or sleep until then. So up and up the stairs he went. He tried psyching himself for it, practicing a speech or an apology or both. Definitely both.

As he neared the stairs that would lead to Hoseok-hyung’s room (there had been rooms available for them but they had decided to stay with him because they felt comfortable and safe around someone they knew), a voice called him from behind. He turned and saw Yugyeom running to catch up to him, phone in hand and a confused look on his face.

“Hey, is this legit?” Yugyeom asked as he showed him his phone. Jungkook took and saw a picture of a piece of paper and he knew what it was before he even read what it said. It was the note he had given to that girl from which he had borrowed the phone used to contact Yoongi-hyung. On the note was written a phone number for the girl to contact so she could get a new phone (or her actual one if she wanted to. Jungkook had kept it safe just in case) and any other compensation she might want.

He explained everything to his friend since he had forgotten to mention it to him with all that was going on. Yugyeom’s face hardened for a moment remembering why there had been a need for Jungkook to turn to a random person on the street to be able to contact them. Jungkook noticed it and tried to steer the conversation away from what had happened and bring it back to the girl.

“So, did she say what she wants?”

Yugyeom took the phone back and read the texts that had followed the picture.

“Says she wants a new phone, a better one if possible, and that she wants the chip from her old phone.”

Jungkook nodded as his friend talked. He figured she would want the chip back since all her contacts were there. “Sure. Send one of the guys –one that hasn’t been up all night– to get a phone. Her old phone is in my room, where I store stuff, you know where.”

“Okay, I’ll get on it,” he said while he texted to, most likely, whoever would get the duty to get a new phone. Yugyeom pocketed his phone and gave a once over to his friend. Jungkook cursed mentally because he knew what his friend had noticed. “You look like you had five cans of Red Bull with how skittish you are… What is it?”

Jungkook tried to stop his fingers from drumming on his legs but it was a futile attempt as he would resume it no more than three seconds later. Yugyeom’s assessing stare wasn’t helping either.

“It’s just… I have to talk to him– to both of them and… Dunno how that’ll go.”

Yugyeom and BamBam were the only ones to whom he had admitted after days of pestering that he had some sort of crush on Jimin (he knew that his hyungs suspected of it but they hadn’t asked him and he wasn’t about to outright confirm it to them) so Yugyeom had quite the insight on how the recent events had affected him. Yugyeom also knew that Seokjin-hyung had ended their contract in an effort to protect them and how it had turned out since Jungkook had gone to him and BamBam to tell them what had happened when he had driven the pair back to their apartment on their last night at HOC. Yugyeom had hinted that perhaps it was more than just “some sort of crush” but Jungkook had avoided thinking about it, believing it would make it easier to continue on with his days without mulling over what his days without their –his– presence would be like.

In a way, it had worked, but that was simply due to the fact that the threat that Haejin represented was still hovering over their heads. And on those moments he had for himself, when he deviated his thoughts from Haejin and BG, they went directly to Jimin. Those moments had not been fun for him. Too much regret and longing for him to handle on top of everything else.

“I would tell you to sleep some more before that but… We both know you won’t be able to rest.”

Jungkook nodded while staring at his black combat boots, noticing how the laces for each boot was different. He wondered what he must’ve been thinking at that moment that he hadn’t realized he was using different laces just until now.

Yugyeom’s hand on his shoulder brought him back from the detour his thoughts had taken (had he really been thinking about shoe laces to avoid thinking about Jimin? Yes, yes he had). Yugyeom’s phones pinged several times in a row and they both knew that Yugyeom really needed to go so he patted Jungkook on the back and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry so much about it, okay? I’m sure he’ll understand.” Jungkook wasn’t overly worried about Jimin not understanding why he did what he did, but about what would come after the air was cleared. “Gguk, come on. Whatever happens, we’re here for you, ‘kay?”

Jungkook gave him half a smile at him, just to let him know that he was aware of the fact that his friends were always there for him. He watched for a couple of seconds his retreating friend’s back and he continued to stare at the hallway after Yugyeom had turned a corner, just taking deep breaths before turning and going up the stairs.

Jimin and Taehyung were eating the lunch that Hoseok had prepared for them while Hoseok updated them on the return of the others. Taehyung had glanced at him because that meant that Jungkook was back as well which meant that sometime during the day they would talk. A talk that wasn’t just about the information being held from him because that was a matter that concerned both of them and something they had decided they should speak about with Seokjin or Yoongi because it had most definitely been them who decided they shouldn’t be informed of it.

The talk was more personal.

Jimin had spent most of the night discussing with Taehyung about their current status and what they should do. Their contracts, as they had learned, had been terminated on the premise they would be safer if they were not related to Bangtan. The reason for it had been their fathers who had been backing up the man carrying out a vendetta against Bangtan. Said man, Hoseok told them after receiving a text from Seokjin, had died and would no longer be a problem so, technically, their fathers had no leverage to force them back.

Technically because they could always come up with something new. God forbid their sons would be seen hanging around with known mafia members. It was way better to make deals with them under the table because that for sure would never backfire. Jimin had spent a good five minutes laughing at Taehyung making impressions of his father while saying those statements.

Their fathers aside, they could choose to stay. They wanted to stay, but they had to look at the big picture first. Hoseok had already stated that the decision was in their hands but that they should think long and hard about the long term consequences such a decision would entail.

During the time they had worked at HOC, their classmates had thrown questions after questions at them: were they being extorted by the mafia into working for them? Was Seokjin really from the mafia? Were people working there carrying guns? Did they have to carry guns? Were there drugs? Did they have to make illegal stuff? Had they spoken to the leader? Is he really as scary and deadly as the police likes to say?

Taehyung had almost gotten them in trouble when the last question had been brought up the first time. He’d snorted but had managed to mask his reaction as a sneeze. Later, when they had been along, he had started to snicker to himself as he repeated the question in a mocking voice because, sure, he had to be some level of “deadly” to have taken lead of Bangtan at such a young age and still run it but… they had seen the man playing and making silly noises to his dog in a video that Seokjin had showed them.

Point was, they needed to evaluate what having Bangtan as a part of their lives would mean.

When talking about Jung Hoseok, people’s first choice of words would be “renowned choreographer”. Digging deeper you would get the mention of his best friend, Kim Namjoon, who was a known member of Bangtan, but Hoseok’s affiliation to the mafia was scarcely mentioned since he wasn’t an active member nor he had any involvement in their affairs. Police had tried multiple times to pin him with anything to either put pressure on him to confess to Bangtan’s misdeeds or to put Bangtan itself on edge. Needless to say, it had never worked and soon the police gave up on pursuing that road.

When talking about Kim Seokjin, people would either say “successful CEO” or “Bangtan’s leader’s best friend”. Or both. Or those older enough would remember Seokjin’s father and speak of how the younger had followed in his footsteps. Either way, Seokjin was an active member and the police knew about it, but they had absolutely no evidence to back up their claims. His status as one of the most successful businessmen in Korea offered him the needed clout for it. Money was power, yes, but Seokjin had learned from both his parents that simply throwing money wasn’t enough. His natural charisma had helped tremendously when he had to take over the company after his father died. His patience had always been a work in progress but he had eventually managed to get the company back on track and had then proceeded to continuously expand it. In simple words, Seokjin was practically untouchable.

They weren’t.

Yes, their fathers were also successful CEOs but they couldn’t hide behind them. That ship had sailed when they had decided to cut ties with them and while the door to come back was still open on their families side, on their side it was shut, chained and sealed.

As they were, they were just two regular college students. Deciding to stay would also mean deciding to accept that suspicion would stick to them as long as they were seen near Bangtan’s properties or members. It would mean to accept they would be on the police’s radar.

They had thought about how much it would affect their daily lives and whether they could deal with it.

Then they thought about the prior day’s events.

Would it happen again? Would they be able to take it? Taehyung would hold Jimin’s hand from time to time as if to make sure his friend was actually back and Jimin would still feel his heart start beating faster when he remembered the events in that basement and Subaru’s mischievous eyes.

By that point it had been early in the morning and they had sought out Hoseok who had fussed over them, asking them if they had rested at all. After a bit of nagging and breakfast, Jimin threw the question for which they had looked for the dancer in the first place:

“How was it for you?”

Hoseok had mulled over it while munching on a piece of toast.

“Well… I was a teenager when we ran into them and for a moment it crossed my mind how cool it would be to be part of the mafia. You know, pure and expected recklessness of that age.” That had gotten a laugh out of them which, knowing Hoseok, was definitely what he had been aiming for. “I did think it over because by that time I had already established what I wanted to be and I had to think on how it would affect my plans. I didn’t join the ranks which is not what you’re aiming for either and that’s a good thing. I simply stayed behind while Joon went to Seoul, continued practicing and attending competitions, we visited each other from time to time until I graduated high school. Then moved to Seoul and by then some gangs had noticed my association so they tried to have a go at me.”

“Some guy tried to take me hostage once,” Hoseok continued after he took a sip of juice. “I was with Yoongi-hyung so nothing much happened but I was still kinda shaken up after that. I still decided to stay after that and the other… events that followed because Bangtan always looks up for its members and those under their protection. I’m not trying to convince you to stay nor am I trying to push you away though, that choice it’s still up to you.”

A knock on the door brought the pair back from their musings. Hoseok had left around ten minutes ago and they had spent that time looking at the garden through the window. Taehyung went to open the door and glanced at Jimin with an arched eyebrow before fully opening the door. Jungkook was on the other side.

Well damn, Jimin thought. He was not ready, at all.

Seokjin had been awake for less than twenty minutes and he had already taken three phone calls. His board members were being obnoxiously annoying. Had they woken that day with a case of amnesia and forgotten who they were talking to? They had managed to fray the last thread of patience on which he was hanging on –not to mention they had woken him up thirty minutes before his alarm– so, naturally, warnings were issued.

After taking a couple of deep breaths while glaring at the ceiling, he got up from bed and made his way to the bathroom to take a shower. The warm water made wonders to relax him and keep him calm as he went over his to-do list for the day. First things first: the boys.

Looking inside his dressroom, he glanced longingly at where his sweaters and hoodies were but tore his gaze away from them. He wanted nothing more than to put on comfy clothes and lie on his bed for a couple more hours but he couldn’t afford that. After talking with the pair, he would have to go talk with Yoongi and then get in the car for his remaining bucket-list-of-the-day because the business world wouldn’t stop for him, and for that he needed his usual three-piece suit.

Once out of his room, he glanced at his watch and noticed he had some time before going to Hoseok’s room so he decided to first stop by Yoongi’s room which was not far from his.

He closed the door to Yoongi’s room behind him and walked towards the bedroom door, trying to be as quiet as possible in case his friend was still sleeping. His hand was on the knob and was about to turn it when he heard a grumble from the other side that resembled an “I’m awake”

Seokjin opened the door to the sight of Yoongi sitting on bed and staring at his tablet.

“Did I wake you or did you never go to sleep?”

“Neither,” Yoongi answered without lifting his eyes from the screen. Seokjin inspected his friend and… he still looked like shit but he’d at least gotten a couple of hours of sleep and had eaten all the sandwiches considering the plate over his bedside table was empty. “Going out?”

“Yeah,” he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. “But first I wanted to talk to the other two. And you, if possible.” Yoongi looked up at that, one eyebrow raised in a silent question. “One of the things I wanted to talk to you about it’s Taehyung.”

The common eye wouldn’t have noticed any changes in Yoongi’s expression but Seokjin, who had known him his entire life, saw the slight clenching of the jaw along with the twitch of his left hand.

“What about him?”

Seokjin heard the question but also heard the warning behind it. He knew Yoongi didn’t want to talk about him, not even after the events of the prior day, because that would mean confronting certain realities and asking himself questions that he did not want to answer. Seokjin knew, and he perfectly understood why, but he also knew that his friend couldn’t just shut himself forever.

“Yoongi… he’s not her nor he will ever be.” Yoongi rolled his eyes and scoffed. Seokjin sighed but he wasn’t surprised. They already had this discussion a couple of times, way before Taehyung was in the picture. “Yeah, I can’t know for sure because people change and all that, but if there’s one defying trait that I can with certainty say they have, is loyalty.”

“You don’t even know if they’ll stay, why are you pestering me about this?” Yoongi snapped. He didn’t raise his voice but the annoyance was there. While Yoongi glared at him, Seokjin drummed his fingers over his right knee, mulling over his thoughts. He decided it was too early to have this conversation with all that had transpired in such a short time.

“I’ll go check on the others before I go out,” he said while standing up and buttoning his suit jacket. “But don’t think I’m forgetting about this.”

Yoongi grumbled something under his breath that Seokjin couldn’t quite catch on but he was sure it wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. Just to be sure, he threw a “Still your hyung” while making his way to the door. It wasn’t the first time he had said it and so he was expecting the reaction, a flippant “Still don’t care” from Yoongi who had turned his focus back to the tablet.

It was simple banter and normally he would answer by calling him a brat, yet he paused for a moment. “Yes, you do,” he said in a soft voice. He looked over his shoulder to where Yoongi was looking at him, confused with the sudden change in tone. “You care more than you want to admit.”

Yoongi was baffled for a few seconds, then blinked and pressed his lips into a thin line. Him avoiding Seokjin’s eyes told him he understood the real meaning behind his words. He wanted to stay but sadly he was on a schedule so he said goodbye and walked out of the room.

Going down the stairs he crossed paths with Yugyeom which made him remember about Jungkook. Last thing he knew before he went to bed was that Jungkook was in the basement with Chin Hae so he asked Yugyeom about the younger’s whereabouts.

“He said he was going to Hoseok’s room.”

A lifetime of learning how to school his expression into one of neutrality so as to not give anything away was what kept him from groaning and slamming his head against the wall. He really should have known better than to think Jungkook would simply stay put, not with that brain of his. He thanked Yugyeom and hurried his steps down the stairs.

Words were exchanged between Taehyung and Jungkook before the latter walked inside but Jimin heard none of it, too far to hear and more focused on bringing down his heart rate. He didn’t even realize that Taehyung had grabbed him by the sleeve of his blue hoodie (courtesy of Hoseok who had given them fresh new clothes) and dragged him towards the couch until he was sitting down.

“Well…” Jungkook started after he had settled on the couch opposite to them, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together and eyes struggling to focus on just one point. He was incredibly nervous and all Jimin could think was ‘welcome to the club’. “Guess it’s time to… clean up the air. Um, so, about–”

“You don’t have to talk about the hiding information part,” Jimin interrupted him.

Jungkook’s gaze snapped from the floor to him, brows furrowed. Jimin could practically see Jungkook’s brain pulling the memories from the conversation they had in the woods where Jimin had yelled at him for keeping his father’s involvement a secret so he understood the confusion on Jungkook’s face.

“Yeah,” Taehyung said with a shrug. “You were just doing as you were told.”

Jungkook gaped at them momentarily before his gaze fell back to the floor. Jimin couldn’t see his face clearly but since he wasn’t seated directly in front of Jungkook he could distinguish Jungkook biting his lower lip. He also noticed how his shoulders seemed to tense along with his clenching hands. It worried him that the conversation, the yelling, might have affected him so much. He opened his mouth to reassure him but Jungkook beat him to it.

“I brought it up. To hyung. The, uh, the contract, that is. And…” Jungkook trailed off and Jimin didn’t know if it was because he was trying to find courage to finish his thoughts or because he was waiting for them to say something. Jimin really hoped it wasn’t the second one because he was still trying to process what he had just heard. “And I’ve learned that, um, had we… parted ways with you before, you wouldn’t have been used, but they did despite your fathers’ insistence to leave you out because they saw how… uh, close we– I was to you, so–“

“Wait, wait, back up a little… I’m trying to… process.” Jimin turned to his friend and saw a mirror of what he presumed was his own expression, minus the open mouth. So he hadn’t hallucinated all that then. He didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. His eyes shifted from his friend to Jungkook, trying and failing to come up with something, anything to say in response. The awkward silence that had fallen upon them was broken by the door being opened by a concerned looking Seokjin who’s expression turned into a grimace upon seeing them and, most likely, feeling the tension in the room.

“Didn’t we agree you’d wait?” Seokjin asked as he closed the door behind him and walked towards Jungkook. The younger’s eyes, that had widened when Seokjin walked in, seemed to widen even more at the question and slight reprimand in the tone. Jungkook opened his mouth, maybe to apologize, but Seokjin took a seat next to him and placed a hand over his shoulder. “It’s alright, I knew how you felt about it and I should’ve known better than to ask you to stay still, all things considered. Now, mind telling me what was said that has everyone so tense?”

“I… Well…” Jungkook stopped to take a deep breath, not wanting to repeat what had made everyone so tense in the first place. “I said I brought it up. The contract thing.”

Seokjin blinked a couple of times before looking at the other two people in the room. His brow furrowed and his gaze shifted back to Jungkook. “Wha- Gguk, when you brought that up, you didn’t put the idea in my head. You simply reminded me what I was already planning on doing.”

The comment startled Jungkook who sat up straight and stared at his hyung as if he had said frogs are made of chocolate or something equally unbelievable. Jimin would find it funny if he weren’t having difficulty handling the onslaught of emotions being thrown at him every second. First, they think that Jungkook had simply been following orders so they had made peace with that fact and decided to move on to more pressing matters. But instead of that, they get hit with the revelation that Jungkook had been the one with the idea and the first thing he felt, and he’s sure Taehyung did as well, was anger. And then, before they were even able to process Jungkook’s statement and what it implied, Seokjin came and dropped what they had already assumed had happened in the first place!

The only thing he was sure of was that there were severe communication issues between these guys because, seriously, Jimin had not appreciated the feeling of his heart dropping to his stomach. Jimin and Taehyung’s hearts had already been through enough the day before so they would rather avoid suffering from a heart attack before they even reach 25, thank you very much.

“You’re all idiots.” It left Jimin’s mouth before he registered it but he did not regret it one bit. Because it was true. The whole situation was giving him a headache. He tried rubbing his temple but accidentally pressed on the tender skin from his bruised eye which hurt like hell because painkillers are good but not magical. He supposed his face was giving away his mood because no one said a word in response. Taehyung rubbed his back while the pain subsided.

After a quick hushed conversation between Jungkook and Seokjin, the latter addressed them and explained how he knew his fathers were involved and why he had thought it best to terminate the contract in order to both remove the target on their backs and to possibly have their fathers withdraw the financial support on Haejin. He even attempted to apologize for not doing it sooner –his days had been chaotic at best during that time, he said– but it was shot down by them. The problem had never been being pushed away but the secrecy behind the why. But, of course, there was what Jungkook had pointed out at the forest: had they known before, they would’ve tried to take matters into their hands and it would have probably ended worse for them..

They were going in circles and Taehyung, who had remained mostly silent while they were arguing, spoke up.

“Can’t we just say: for better or for worse, this was the best outcome, and drop it?”

Had Jimin ever said how grateful he was for having Taehyung as his best friend?

Seokjin agreed, said a quick general goodbye and excused himself from the room. Apparently he had a busy day and he was already running late. Immediately after the door was closed, Taehyung stood up and stretched, complaining about draining conversations and lack of sleep. Jungkook was fidgeting, running his hands over his black jeans. He made a move to stand up as well and Jimin was about to protest because the issue of their parents wasn’t the only thing they had agreed on they would speak about later, but Taehyung beat him to it.

“I’m gonna take a nap. You two need to talk.”

With that, Taehyung made his way towards the door located behind the couch Jungkook was seated on. Before opening it, Taehyung locked eyes with him, mouthed a few words and did a thumbs up. And with that, awkward silence was back.

Until Jimin couldn’t take it anymore.

“Remember what I said back in the car?” Jimin asked. Jungkook turned his head to look at him but Jimin noticed, since he had first sat down, his gaze often shifting to his bruised eye. Jimin bit the inside of his cheek as he exhaled through his nose because he knew the younger was definitely blaming himself for every injury Jimin had gotten. “Remember that I said that, if you really wanted me to leave, that I would?”

Just like he had done in the car, Jungkook turned his head towards the window, maybe recalling the event and the words said, before looking back at him and nodding.

“Well,” Jimin continued. “I was serious about that. If you really don’t want me- us, here, then we won’t stay, but I need to hear what you think.”

Jungkook didn’t answer. He didn’t even move. He just… stared at him with a look on his face that he couldn’t quite decipher. Seconds tickled by with nothing to disrupt the silence that had once again fallen over them and it had Jimin on the edge of his seat, wanting and not being able to look away. Until Jungkook finally opened his mouth, words in a tone that wasn’t quite a whisper, but that had some uncertainty in them.

“Why would you want to stay? Your day changed from celebrating your birthday to being targeted by Haejin’s stupid pawns, getting used as bait, then beaten and almost killed. And I know,” he interrupted Jimin when he was about to point out that Subaru had acted on his own so he, technically, didn’t count. “I know that Subaru just took advantage of the situation and he probably would have done it either way, even with us out of the picture –and that’s a whole new problem on its own– but… This wasn’t a one time thing, it could– it will happen again and do you understand what that actually means for you? And I know, I know you’re not the only “civilian” associated with us and some are just in it for the thrill of “being on the bad side” or whatever, but they don’t have access to anything important. You guys are connected to the higher ups, us, and that’s dangerous for you. And I know you can fight and defend yourself, but are you willing to look over your shoulder almost every time you go out because everyone else will think you’re defenseless and an easy catch?”

Jimin wanted to interrupt him, to tell him he and Taehyung had thoroughly considered all of those points and more –it was a life changing decision after all so they were obligated to do so– but he refrained himself from doing so because Jungkook was worried about him, about them, and he was desperately trying to get his point across while pouring all the guilt he must’ve been carrying ever since he got that text from Jimin’s phone.

“Don’t you want your old days back?” Jungkook kept going, never once breaking eye contact and Jimin wasn’t sure how much he could continue just listening to him without crying or hugging the younger. Or crying while hugging him. Whatever action would make him stop looking so… troubled. “I mean, you had your shitty parents constantly nagging but you can thrive on your own and soon they’ll be left in the dust with no way to force either of you to go back. You can… You will have that but you can also have it without the danger that we represent…”

Jungkook broke eye contact and took a couple of deep breaths. Jimin kept quiet because his question had yet to be answered and he knew that Jungkook knew as well and he also knew that Jungkook was probably racking his brain for an answer. It scared Jimin because they had considered the possibility of being denied to stay, but so far they had gotten green lights with the reminder that the decision was in their hands. But what if Jungkook said no?

Jungkook looked up once again, the worry so visible on his expression that he might as well have tattooed it on his forehead. “To answer your question: yes, I would like it if you stayed but just… consider what I just said.”

That single sentence did wonders for Jimin’s lungs because he hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath. With his lungs back to working, he nodded at Jungkook because it was very important for him to know that Jimin wasn’t deciding on a whim.

Both he and Taehyung had reached a decision on what they would do but it wouldn’t hurt to think things through once more.

The time they had spent (forcefully) away from Bangtan hadn’t been long but it had been sudden. One day they were discussing inviting some Bangtan members to Jimin’s birthday while avoiding to study and the next one they were being told to empty their lockers. They had a hard time adjusting to their new-old reality of being on their own, with no people completely understanding their situation and what they had been through. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have friends at college or as if they didn’t hang out with their coworkers once in a while, but Bangtan members had become an intrinsic part of their lives… and it had suddenly been ripped away.

They understood why, they really did, but they didn’t like it.

And Jimin wanted it back.

He wanted the days where they would be practising and Seokjin would burst through the doors, demanding they try a new recipe he came up with which was only an excuse to have the duo take a break. He wanted the days where they plus BamBam would team up and prank Jungkook and Yugyeom. He wanted the days where Hoseok would either join them while dancing, watch them while giving pointers, or simply spend time with them. He wanted the days where Taehyung would try his best to “subtly” coax information of Yoongi out of the others –they weren’t fooled, they definitely had catched on which made Jimin wonder if they knew about him which then made him think that they obviously did and that was a whole issue he didn’t want to think about– or how he would, quite frankly, make a fool out of himself in front of Yoongi on the scarce moments they had seen him (it was so adorable and hilarious but his poor friend was floundering on how to best approach the object of his affections).

It was true, their days would be much quieter and safer without the tie to Bangtan being common knowledge for the parties interested in Bangtan’s affairs, but… would it be worth it? In five or ten years, would they look back and regret not staying or would they regret staying?

He exhaled and looked at Jungkook, his face wearing the same unreadable expression he had sported the first few weeks of them knowing each other. He wondered why. Was it a mask, to conceal what was going through his mind? It was the most plausible explanation he came up with while he considered their current situation. Well, he had already seen all the worry, anger, guilt and everything practically pouring out of his pores. Maybe, after letting everything out, he had managed (or forced himself) to regain his composure. That could be it, and–

And it was completely irrelevant at that moment.

“Jungkook,” he started, his voice firm to let him know he was serious and that he meant every single word. “Me and Tae have been going over it almost all night, all the pros and cons of both staying and leaving. We understand the risks, we really do. Taehyung…” he trailed off as his mind replayed the words his friend had mouthed before he left. “We have friends at college, they’re all nice but most of them keep a certain distance from us. Others only want to get in our good graces, thinking we still have any pull inside the company. Here… Is it weird that we feel more understood and accepted around a group of criminals than around regular college students? Taehyung doesn’t want to let that go… and neither do I. We like it here, with all of you, so we would like to stay.”

Jimin hoped he had gotten his point across, that his sincerity had been noticed, because it was the absolute truth. Bangtan had scared the shit out of them (mostly) and had threatened them at every chance they got until they had proven they represented no danger to them. After that, it had been full acceptance. And it had felt nice, incredibly so. Why would they voluntarily walk away from such a place?

“Okay,” Jungkook said after a moment of silence while nodding. “Okay,” he repeated once more and Jimin was pretty sure his lips had quirked slightly upwards. “There will be rules you’ll have to follow, like staying away from certain places or people. I’m sure Yoongi-hyung or Seokjin-hyung will fill you in on those, but y’know, just a heads up.”

Jimin simply kept nodding, assuring him that he was listening and that he understood, but he was more focused on trying to fight back a smile. He was so damn tired from the events the day prior plus staying up all night and the whole conversation had been a roller coaster from beginning to end leaving him even more exhausted. But it was one weight off his shoulders and so, he was relieved. They could celebrate still being alive, getting rid of a personal threat (a topic he didn’t quite want to visit just yet) and keep the friends they had made in Bangtan.

“–why are you smiling?”

Jimin blinked, not realizing that he had zoned out and that he had lost the fight against that smile. He didn’t care though, he was too tired to. “I’m just really happy.”

The way Jungkook’s face was stricken with surprise was both hilarious and endearing, causing Jimin to go from a silly smile to laughing. Jungkook stared at him as if he had gone mad and, frankly, he might’ve. Lack of sleep and stress could do that to a person, right? He didn’t know. Again, he was too happy to care.

“So, we’re back to being friends?” Jimin asked once he had calmed down and he would’ve worried about Jungkook lowering his head if he hadn’t seen the smile on his face before he did so.

“You mean back to being your driver?”

Jimin grinned at Jungkook when he lifted his head back. “I mean, it was your job, wasn’t it? And,” he rushed to add when he saw Jungkook open his mouth. “friends help each other and since we don’t have a car…”

Jungkook chuckled and Jimin’s expression brightened at seeing something other than a frown or concern on the younger’s face. It made his heart beat faster but this time it was welcomed since it was from delight and optimism.

A sound interrupted the laughter and Jungkook sighed, recognizing it as a text message. His phone pinged three more times and he reluctantly pulled it out of his pocket, his forehead creasing with every text he read. Jimin knew that a lot had happened in the past 24 hours or so and that they were not over yet so he knew his time with Jungkook was limited. It still made him sad though, effectively ruining the good mood he had managed to achieve after so much despair and frustration. But at least they had settled things over–

Jungkook stood up and Jimin’s eyes narrowed as he took in the way the younger was fidgeting and he wanted to smack himself for forgetting something so important he had told himself he would let the younger know.

“Jungkook,” he said after standing up. He took a couple of steps in his direction and Jungkook’s eyes widened slightly, not in fear but in expectancy since Jimin had made sure to keep his tone calm. “Me and Taehyung are not precisely happy with what happened yesterday–” and there was the pinched expression on Jungkook’s face, there he was instantly blaming himself for things that he had absolutely no control over and Jimin would be damned if he let him go on with his day without making sure he knew it wasn’t his fault. “But we don’t blame you, nor anyone in Bangtan for that matter. The situation I ended up on was shitty, yeah, but you made sure that we got out of there alive. You calmed me down when I started freaking about Taehyung and you remained calm throughout all that happened even when I know you were furious at everything and even more when you heard that your friend was the one selling you all out. We don’t blame you, please understand that. I don’t blame you. Subaru and that Haejin guy did this, not you, okay?”

Jimin took a deep, shuddering breath after his rant. Every now and then, when he closed his eyes, all he could see was Subaru’s manic grin as he fiddled with his gun and he couldn’t help imagine what would’ve happened had Jungkook not been there with his hidden knives. A Jungkook that was currently staring at him, eyes impossibly wide as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He didn’t like that look, so he did what he had been aching to do since the day before: he closed the remaining distance between them and hugged him.

Jungkook stiffened and Jimin hoped it was because it caught him by surprise. He started to second guess his decision because, what if it had been wrong to hug him without a warning? He had done so in the past, out of excitement, and it had startled him but Jimin would sometimes get a few pats on the back. He hadn’t hugged back when they were in the forest, but he had felt Jungkook leaning his head over his own, so it was a good sign, right? He knew the younger wasn’t so affectionate, unless it was with his hyungs, but–

Jimin felt Jungkook slowly raising his arms and gently placing them around Jimin. He knew that Jungkook was being careful to avoid the bruises and the small cuts that ran along his arms from the damned trees getting in the way of his frantic escape. But what was even more important than Jungkook actually hugging back was that the younger actually relaxed in his hold. It filled him with such joy that he hummed while he hugged Jungkook just a little bit tighter, enough to remind him that he wasn’t fragile, that he was okay.

Eventually they had to let go of each other since Jungkook’s presence was needed elsewhere, as reminded by another onslaught of pings from his phone. It dampened his mood, not being able to hold him for just one more minute but such a feeling was easily overpowered by the slight reddening on Jungkook’s ears and the reluctance he was showing about leaving. He bit his lower lip as an idea came to mind. Would it be okay to go through with it, he wondered. He came to the conclusion that he had already been through a ton of emotional roller coasters, what was one more? Resolute and emboldened by his happiness, he leaned up and aimed for a kiss to Jungkook’s cheek…

… only for it to end on the corner of Jungkook’s mouth. He had turned slightly to face Jimin when he saw the latter coming close to him. It was over in an instant, just a slight press of his lips against Jungkook’s skin, but it still happened. He took a step back, just in case the younger didn’t reciprocate in the slightest bit or if he wanted to run away from the situation –and also because he needed to process what had just happened and could’ve happened.

Jimin briefly considered the possibility of the younger either losing the ability to blink or his eyes falling out of his sockets from how they had remained widened through most part of the conversation. He found it amusing but all laughter died down once he took in on the younger’s face. There was no anger or distaste or anything that indicated they were no longer friends. Instead there was something else.

Something… intense.

Was it weird to think his eyes had a special kind of sparkle at that moment or was that just wishful thinking? He definitely didn’t imagine the slow intake of breath along with the biting of his lower lip, though. His mouth opened, the words lost at the pinging of his phone once again and Jimin felt the urge to chuck that cursed device out the window.

“I, uhm…” Jungkook fumbled with his words. Jimin’s move had seemed to make him short-circuit and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly proud of it. “I have to go now, but…” Jimin was definitely cheering on the inside… until Jungkook’s gaze flickered to his lips and it was Jimin’s turn to short-circuit. “I’ll see you later, get some rest, okay?”

Before Jimin had the chance to say anything in response, Jungkook hugged him and by the time he could register he was receiving a hug, the younger had stepped back and walked out of the room.

He sucked in a deep breath, replaying in his mind Jungkook’s expression after Jimin kissed him (wow, he thought once more, that really could have an actual kiss) and before Jungkook hugged him.

“You have such a goofy smile on your face.”

Jimin startled at the sudden voice only to find his friend, the one that should have been sleeping, grinning at him from behind the ajar door.

“Shut up, you should be sleeping.” Jimin fumed at his best friend while he rubbed his forehead in exasperation. At least that’s what he was trying to make it look, he’d ducked his head in case his blush was as visible as he was feeling it.

“And miss all that?” Taehyung scoffed but then he was back to grinning, he couldn’t see it but he sure could hear it. “That was pretty bold Jiminie, going for a kiss–”

“Oh my god, Tae, I swear I’m burning to ashes all your mangas if you don’t shut up!”

Taehyung had the audacity to snicker as he walked the distance from the door to where Jimin was standing and sulking. He held Jimin’s hand and guided them both back to the bedroom.

“Come on, I wasn’t lying when I said I was exhausted and you for sure need the rest more than me. We got some wild days ahead of us.”

That, Jimin lamented, was true. They had much to digest in terms of information and more to plan on how the new developments would affect them but for now there was nothing that could wipe the giddy smile off his face.

Another document he signed, another task completed.

Seokjin removed his glasses and placed them on his desk next to his fountain pen. Turning to his right, he glanced through the window. It was a view he had seen plenty of times over the years, buildings scattered across the city and the vast expanse of the sky, and yet he had never grown tired of it. Especially at dusk, with just enough clouds to reflect the fading light in hues of orange.

Except he had missed the sunset immersed in paperwork. Well, it was still a beautiful sight with the moon shining brightly, the lights on the buildings acting like stars.

Another day gone by.

Time to go back to the mansion and check on how things were going. He hadn’t spoken to the student pair since he left the mansion and Hoseok had told him he had found them sleeping when he came back from the hospital. They needed the rest to recover strength and what he wanted from them was nothing that couldn’t wait until they were up. The other person of interest had, against his request, gone on a couple more errands until BamBam notified him. When he’d called Jungkook to scold him, he received a whiny response about not wanting to be nagged a second time about getting some sleep since Yoongi had already yelled at him.

The important bit of information he got from that phone call was that Jungkook had sounded annoyed at getting scolded, yes, but there was no underlying anger or sadness or anything that would indicate that the conversation had ended badly after he left.

That was a good sign, right? Well, he wouldn’t know until either party chose to rise from slumber. How he hated waiting sometimes. Better to focus on what he could do at the moment, like checking on his stubborn childhood best friend.

“Missed me?” Seokjin asked as he slammed open the door to Yoongi’s office, balancing two pizza boxes on his other hand.

“Oh, were you gone? Didn’t notice,” Yoongi answered in that monotone voice reserved especially to rile him up, and complimented it with not even looking up from whatever paper he was reading. “Not like we talked on the phone around two hours ago.”

With the contract reviews and the last minute meeting he had to attend to, that phone call had slipped from his mind and along with that how said call had ended.


“-and that’s that. How’re things on your end?”

“It’s pretty quiet with the majority either sleeping or away. It’s weird. Peaceful but weird.”

Seokjin chuckled as he agreed because he understood the feeling. They had grown in that place, accustomed to having so many people around on any giving day, the noise of them going about their day becoming background noise. Solitude was very much appreciated and sought out, but eventually they would go back because the chattering was familiar. It was comforting white noise.

“Heard news from the… guests?”

Even if Yoongi couldn’t see him, Seokjin arched an eyebrow at the question. Both from how he referred to them as “guests” and from wondering why he hadn't asked Jungkook when he sent him to sleep.

“Not yet, I’ll wait until morning. I think it’s too early to ask…” he mumbled the last part while checking the time on his wrist watch. As far as he knew, they hadn’t slept a wink since they woke up and began preparations for Jimin’s birthday, so he was pretty sure they would be practically dead to the world until morning.

“Too early to ask or you just don’t want to ask them?”

“Why don’t you ask them yourself since you’re so eager to know?” Seokjin snapped and his only answer was silence. They were people that hardly sugar coated anything to each other so he decided to press on because he loves his friend, his brother, very much but this avoiding game was dragging on for too long and it would only get harder the more he let it go on. “If they decide to stay, which I’m pretty sure they will, you will run into them occasionally and you know that. You can’t avoid them, you can’t avoid him. Don’t fight me on this one, Yoongi, you know I’m right.”

The line remained silent but he heard Yoongi sigh. It was a faint sound which meant that he must’ve pulled the phone away from his ear. A few seconds later, his voice was heard again. “Look,” he started and Seokjin glared at the phone on his desk because he knew that what was coming was deflection. “We have more urgent shit to deal with and that ranks higher in importance. Let’s focus on that, okay? Great.”

And with that, he had hung up. He didn’t time to fume over it since his PA had chosen that moment to knock on his door to inform him of a last-minute requested meeting that dragged on for almost an hour and a half.

But Yoongi had involuntarily brought those memories back so his aggravation had come back full force. And yet… And yet he decided to let it go. Momentarily, though, because they did have “urgent shit to deal with” which was more impactful that his friend’s out of sight, out of mind mentality applied to a certain someone. So, with a decision made, he walked towards Yoongi’s desk and dropped the pizza boxes... right over the documents he was reading. He had decided to let the anger go and not bring up that topic but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be passive aggressive (Jungkook would disagree and call him petty but what did he know).

Yoongi’s pressed lips told him he understood the message. Good.

That done, he then proceeded to remove his suit jacket and vest and throw them over the couch on the far left of the room. He then noticed his tie wasn’t on his neck which meant that he had probably left it on the car. Again. Well, it didn’t matter. He prompted Yoongi to start while he rolled up his sleeves and took a slice of pizza.

“Black Gauntlet is no more. All the members had been caught and are either under our watch or in a prison cell. We’ve been going over their bases collecting whatever intel they had. Some of their properties weren’t even theirs but the ones that were need repurposing or something.” Yoongi handed him a stack of papers and Seokjin nodded as he received them. He skimmed over some of them while he pushed the open pizza box in Yoongi’s direction, only letting him continue talking once he had eaten a slice. “Haejin’s network is giving us a headache but only mild. It’s only a matter of time. Same with those remaining from the Ilsan mafia that managed to flee the country and provided him with resources. The actual dilemma, though, is…”

Yoongi trailed off but Seokjin knew what was his friend’s biggest concern at the moment. “It’s Haejin’s kid.”

Yoongi rubbed the bridge of his nose and blew a harsh breath.

“I made a plan to catch him and Haejin that went down the drain the second Jungkook called. Then I made another one but it literally blew up in our faces. Finally, after knowing where exactly they were and having a definitive plan on trapping and getting rid of them, it changed again, except this time it was me who did it. No external forces, no pressure whatsoever, just me being caught in a mirror of sorts.”

Seokjin had been reaching for another slice when his friend’s rant made him pause. If they could find a way to turn frustration into currency, they could all just quit their day jobs and live off the money they would have made from the past couple of months. He didn’t say that, though, or he would have probably ended up with a pizza topping on his face for not taking him and his words seriously. He knew that the reason Yoongi was being so harsh on himself was because people had died, both their people and civilians that had the misfortune of being used as pawns and ended up as collateral. He understood the frustration and rage towards himself because Seokjin wasn’t precisely thrilled at how the whole shebang had ended, but he wasn’t going to let Yoongi or anyone wallow in misery and ‘what ifs’.

Therefore, what he did say was:

“Yoon, I understand how you feel but you need to stop beating yourself up over this. Look, Taehyungie said something earlier that was quite accurate and very much true. He said: for better or for worse, this was the best outcome. And it was. Haejin was always one step ahead of us because of his son and we all, collectively, did not realize his act. You don’t have to be happy about the outcome because I’m sure that no one is, but it is over. You’re the one that told me to not lose myself on the what ifs.”

Despite dropping a certain name in the conversation, Yoongi seemed to instead focus on the meaning of his words so Seokjin let him mull over his thoughts while he walked towards the mini-fridge for some cans of coke. He wanted an actual drink and was pretty sure that so did Yoongi but it was best they stayed completely sober, at least until they finished sorting things out. After Seokjin had eaten another slice, Yoongi spoke again.

“Why do you have to act all logical on me when I just wanna sleep through the week?”

Seokjin snorted and was glad he had already swallowed or he would have probably choked. “Because, since I’m the older one, I’m the wisest one.”

Yoongi huffed but Seokjin could see the hint of a smile before it was hidden by Yoongi taking a sip of coke. “You’re a couple of months older than me, that’s all.”

“And don’t you forget it.” Seokjin quipped and was rewarded with an eye roll and a shake of the head. Seokjin smiled to himself as they went back to reading, content of having diffused a bit of his friend’s mood.

At least until he opened his mouth again and murmured under his breath: “Plus, Namjoon’s the smartest.”

“I am surrounded by nothing but ungrateful brats in this house.”

Sun rays had managed to make their way through another cloudy day and filtered inside the bedroom, landing right on Taehyung’s face. His brow furrowed as he fought against waking up, but the light was hitting his eyes so, no matter how much he tried, it was a lost battle. He was awake but still refused to open his eyes so instead he rolled on the bed and felt someone else’s presence on the bed.

Experience told him it was probably Jimin but just to be sure he squinted one eye open and relaxed at seeing the familiar mop of silver hair (a mop that was in desperate need of a dye job and had been on their to-do list for Jimin’s birthday event... alas, nothing went how they wanted that day). Along with the reassurance came the memories of why they were sleeping in the same bed.

Right, Hoseok-hyung let us stay in his room.

And, unfortunately, also came the reasons as to why they were there and not at their apartment. He slung an arm across his friend’s waist and felt as his chest rose and fell with every breath intake. It was comforting knowing he had actually made it back and wasn’t still in that basement. He was already aware of it, that it hadn’t been a dream –it had been over a day after all, but it didn’t alleviate the fact that he had almost lost his friend, his brother, the one that had been there for him since the beginning, his soulmate…

He had wondered and imagined what would’ve happened had Jungkook not been there and it had never ended up nicely. His mind loved bringing up how Subaru had not cared for whatever feud was going on between Bangtan and the guy named Haejin, his target had been them since he murdered his ex-girlfriend– or even since high school, they didn’t know nor could they ever know. More importantly, it loved shoving how, in their little quest for payback, they had screwed up so bad that regardless of what decision they would’ve taken since that night, it would have led to them getting kidnapped and–

He needed to stop those thoughts, he knew, but he had been scared out of his mind and it wasn’t a feeling that would go away easily. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to focus on reality, to ground himself on the present, on what he could see and feel: his friend, next to him, safe and sound.

Woefully, with focusing on the present, came the knowledge that the last time he ate was at lunch. His stomach was hurting from hunger and as much as he wanted to lay on such a comfortable bed next to his friend, he needed to get some food in his system. And water, he definitely needed a full bottle of water stat.

Still, that would mean leaving Jimin alone and he didn’t want to. But he also didn’t want to wake him up to accompany him since he seemed so peaceful. Well, Taehyung couldn’t really see him since his back was on him, but with how close they were, he was able to feel Jimin’s heartbeat, how steady it was.

Apparently his stomach got tired of his indecisiveness because it sent another spike of pain and that was all Taehyung needed to make up his mind to slowly (as to not disturb Jimin) get out of bed and head to the bathroom on the right side of the bedroom. He was in dire need of food but he was also aware he hadn’t showered since breakfast the day before and, if the clock on the wall close to the window was to be believed, it was almost eight which meant twenty-three hours since his shower.

Fresh out of shower and with new clothes, courtesy of Hoseok (they really needed to think of a way to repay so much kindness, it was overwhelming), he stood in the middle of the bedroom as he looked around for his shoes. He finally found them near the bedside table on Jimin’s side. He slipped them on and whispered a soft “be right back, Jiminie” before walking out.

Out on the hallway, came the hard part: finding his way around the insanely huge place. Not even his old house was this big, but he agreed it was necessary since it was where many Bangtan members lived. It was almost like a campus dorm and it somehow brought a smile to his face.

His stomach complained. Right, food quest.

He knew the kitchen was on the ground floor so the first step should be to just go down the stairs. Piece of cake. Bad analogy, though. Or was it a metaphor? Whatever, it wasn’t really important.

Getting closer to the ground floor, he could hear the noise of people starting their day (or finishing it since some did night shifts, to put it in a way) and it made him reconsider walking down those final steps. He was nervous, he knew, but he wasn’t really sure why. He wasn’t someone to freak out about running into strangers and he had met several people two days ago while he wandered around the place because walking aimlessly was better than just sitting and letting his mind run free. The people he had met were either understanding of his situation, sometimes offering their own experiences, or really professional in how they addressed him before they continued their way onto… whatever was their mission.

So why was he nervous?

He really didn’t have time to ponder on it. He had to keep on moving, find the kitchen, make something edible enough for him and Jimin and trace back his steps to Hoseok-hyung’s room–

Wait, which door belonged to his hyung’s room? He knew it was on the left side of the hallway but he forgot to count which door from the stairs! He didn’t even have his phone to ask someone, anyone, about it. Maybe when he was back on that hallway he would remember? Either way, he had to get food and–

“Did you fall asleep while standing?” asked a gruff voice from behind him.

Taehyung blinked back from his inner turmoil, recognizing the owner of the voice. He turned around and found Yoongi-hyung a couple of steps above him, eyes narrowed as if he had just woken up and was still struggling to stay awake. Or maybe he was glaring at Taehyung since he was pretty much blocking the way. Still, the bags under his eyes were noticeable and understandable, all things considered, but Taehyung still wondered if he had gotten enough sleep or if he had slept at all.

“Hyung,” he started and was once again reminded how vital it was for him to get some water. “Did you get any rest?”

Yoongi-hyung tilted his head, his eyes losing their edge as he assessed him. At least that’s what he thought he was doing. Taehyung was a people person, he could understand and befriend all sorts of people, but with Yoongi-hyung it was a hard task since he barely got to see him. Not only that, the older had walls around himself taller than Attack on Titan’s walls. Sturdier and more durable, too.

He held his stomach as it protested once again, his face contorting due to the pain. As much as he wanted to continue talking with the older, he seriously needed to continue on his way to the kitchen. He was starting to think his stomach would start eating itself the longer he stalled on the stairwell.

“What’s wrong?” Yoongi-hyung asked as he walked down the few steps separating them, his voice still gruff from sleep (or lack of use, Taehyung still hadn’t gotten an answer to his question) but there was evident worry on his tone.

“Hungry…” he mumbled, embarrassed by the fact that Yoongi-hyung might have been thinking he was injured in some way when, in reality, Taehyung had simply not eaten in over half a day. Being a dancer implied hours upon hours of practice which meant burning calories faster than he was ingesting them. Therefore, he had gotten used to eating every certain amount of time and now his body was reminding him of it. After Jimin had been taken, he had forgotten all about food since his mind had been focused solely on Jimin and his safety –and, by extension, Jungkook. He had only eaten due to Hoseok-hyung’s insistence.

Yoongi-hyung sighed and Taehyung saw him rubbing his forehead before he quickly ducked his head. He was usually braver, more bold, more decisive about his actions and words… but he was really lacking the energy to do anything. He was lucky to still be standing with how starved and dehydrated he was.

“Come on,” he heard before seeing Yoongi-hyung’s feet step away from him and walk down the stairs.

Taehyung raised his head and stared at Yoongi-hyung’s retreating figure. He was a bit far off for Taehyung to ask what he meant without raising his voice and he also didn’t feel like doing it. It was too early, he was starving and tired even though he had slept for at least twelve hours –he figured it had to do with the lack of food and water in his system that were making him lethargic. So he followed because he guessed Yoongi-hyung was leading him to the kitchen.

And he was proven correct.

“Sit down and eat that while I make something, you look like you’re gonna pass out any minute,” Yoongi-hyung said, pulling Taehyung out of his reverie. He noticed a bowl with assorted fruits set on the kitchen table. He walked towards it, picked up an apple, sat opposite from Yoongi-hyung and silently watched as the older went about preparing what seemed to be pancakes.

Taehyung’s mouth watered simply at the thought of it… until a different train of thoughts hit him. One, they were alone which had happened only once before and that had been just a few words exchanged before Yoongi-hyung had to leave– but he reminded himself they were in the kitchen, a public and frequented place, so people were bound to show up eventually.

Two, he was living out a dream: his crush was cooking him breakfast and he really hoped the sizzling of the butter on the pan was drowning out the frantic beating of his heart. Dream or not, the fact remained that Yoongi was actually making breakfast for him. Yes, he probably had come with the purpose of making himself breakfast but he knew –had been told– the older didn’t make things if he didn’t want to (unless they were important meetings he refused to go for either laziness or annoyance at the other party, but Seokjin-hyung knew how to deal with that), so he wasn’t forcing himself.

Three, he was the first person he saw since the talk and he wondered if Jungkook had spread the word that they had chosen to stay. According to Seokjin-hyung, whatever they chose, they would be okay with it. But would they? Was Yoongi-hyung really okay with them being so close to them? He had been the one to distrust them most at the beginning, always keeping an eye on them when they were at HOC. He understood where it came from, there were no hard feelings about it, but was Yoongi-hyung honestly comfortable with them staying? Even after knowing one of their own had been helping their enemy? Would… Would he ever trust them or always keep them at an arm's length like he had been doing since day one? What about Jimin and Jungkook? They had ended the conversation on pretty good terms, but had that been simply a thing of the moment?

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

Taehyung blinked at the sudden voice, realizing he had zoned out while still having a half-chewed piece of apple inside his mouth. While he finished chewing he processed the question and the questioner. Hm, interesting word. Had he ever used it before? Wait, not important. Apple, question, Yoongi-hyung.

“Are you okay with us staying?”

Yoongi-hyung paused his movements as he studied Taehyung, the faintest traces of a scowl present on his face. He didn’t know whether it was because he hadn’t answered the question or if it was related to what he had been thinking. Yoongi looked away, focusing back on cutting a slice of butter and dropping it on the pan.

“So, you decided to stay?”

Okay, that answered the question of whether Jungkook had informed his hyungs about their decision but also tipped the scale towards the ‘Yoongi-hyung will never trust us’ side. He had deflected the question and hadn’t even been subtle about it. Even if he couldn’t figure him out, there were behaviours he could definitely recognize and deflection was one of them.

Yes, he understood where Yoongi-hyung was coming from, he was aware that caution on who to trust was part of their job description and with all that had happened… Still, it didn’t do much to avoid the slight disappointment.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Taehyung answered instead because he needed to know. It wouldn’t change his decision but it would certainly change dynamics and how he would approach him.

Yoongi-hyung turned to stare at him and Taehyung stared right back. If Yoongi-hyung was trying to intimidate him into letting the subject go, he would find himself very disappointed because Taehyung was Stubborn with a capital S. How did he think they managed to get to where they were? Apart from the obvious hard work and knowing he and Jimin had each other for support, what they had was also stubbornness.

Eventually, Yoongi-hyung averted his gaze towards the pan to flip the pancakes. He sighed as he placed the newly made pancakes onto a plate and only then did Taehyung realized that there were two plates to the side with five stacked pancakes each.

“You can do whatever you want,” Yoongi-hyung finally said, setting down the spatula and placing his hands on the counter, looking straight at Taehyung with that edge that meant he was completely serious. “You can stay, you can leave, but I’ll keep my eyes on you two all the same. You have been around less time than the newest members who have been here for almost a year and, considering what went down recently, I don’t know if I can trust them. Seokjin says you’re trustworthy, I trust his judgement and it’s why I’ve made no complaints. You have been showing and proving actual desire to stay, but so did others. People can change their intentions or they just manage to keep it hidden... Let’s just hope neither is the case with you.”

Yoongi-hyung left him to absorb his words while he turned to start the coffee maker. It confirmed what he guessed, that he didn’t trust them –not completely, at least, and, again, understandable. On the positive side, they simply had to not betray or sell them out, which is what they had been doing. At first it had been the desire of staying alive, but after spending time with everyone, they found themselves actually enjoying their presence and being at peace. No way they would deliberately ruin what made them feel at ease.

Still, it made Taehyung wonder just how many people had said one thing to Yoongi-hyung only to wait for him to turn around and then do exactly the opposite. Well, as stated, Taehyung was Stubborn and would do everything to show him he was not like any of those people.

“It won’t happen,” Taehyung declared once Yoongi-hyung was back to facing him. Yoongi-hyung arched an eyebrow, challenging him, but Taehyung wasn’t going to back down. They weren’t meer words, they were a promise, so he repeated them once more, hoping to convey sincerity in his tone. “It won’t happen.”

“We’ll see how that goes,” was all Yoongi-hyung said in response. Before Taehyung could say anything else, Yoongi-hyung pushed a tray towards him with two plates of deliciously looking and smelling pancakes. He also pointed towards where the honey and chocolate syrup were, in case he wanted them, and also told him that he was free to check the fridge for drinks. With that, he grabbed his mug with coffee and his own plate of pancakes before starting to make his way out of the kitchen.

“It really won’t happen,” Taehyung repeated once again because something about Yoongi-hyung’s eyes had bothered him. He wasn’t sure what it had been but he was sure he didn’t want to see it again, not directed at him at least.

“I believe you,” he said and it caught Taehyung off guard because there was no mocking or skepticism on his tone. He sounded like he meant it. “Go and eat before either of you pass out and either Seokjin or Hoseok yell at me.” Or Jungkook, he thought he heard him muttering under his breath before disappearing from sight and Taehyung wondered if Jimin had felt similar to how he was feeling when Jungkook hugged him unprompted and then left.

Huh, it would seem Jungkook took a lot from his hyungs.

Well, he could think about it later. His food quest had yet to be completed after all.

… And he still didn’t remember where Hoseok-hyung’s room was.

Liking Jimin had never been the hard part. Jungkook was convinced that not liking Jimin, not even romantically but as a person, was an impossible task. Admitting to himself he felt something for him had been the hard part. He had tried but each and every attempt had proven to bore less and less results. Every smile sent his way made his heart flutter and added another crack to his resolve.

At first he had tried convincing himself that it was mere physical attraction, because that had been something he had never denied. Jimin was handsome. No further explanation needed, it was an obvious fact.

But it had gotten harder to convince himself it was just that every time he heard him laugh, especially when Jungkook had been the one to draw that out. It got harder when he heard Jimin call out his name, his tone getting fonder with each passing time. It got harder every time he went to the Studio with Seokjin-hyung to check on them and he had to witness the seriousness in Jimin’s eyes as he stared at himself in the mirror while going over whatever he was practising that day, the passion he put in every move, every twirl, every...

It made him cautious and suspicious because if they had been sent by any of their enemies, then Jungkook had been falling right into their trap. It was what they had suspected at first, that the pair had been sent by someone else as spies but the theory started to lose strength with time, especially after that police interview. Still, the thought that they were being completely honest, that they had been two simple students carrying out a dare and that every interaction from then on hadn’t been a trick… It was slightly frightening.

Because Jungkook was running out of excuses to keep him away.

When involuntarily finding oneself in a situation involving a mafia member, people usually ran in the opposite direction because mafia equals crime and death. They didn’t want to be criminals and they didn’t want to die, and it was perfectly understandable. The opposite case were those that stayed simply for the thrill or the excitement being related to the mafia brought. Of course there were those that actively sought them out, most likely to join, but that was a different subject.

Jimin and Taehyung were of the first group at first: they wanted to escape, to be set free, and it was perfectly normal considering they had been captured, tied to chairs and their lives had been threatened. But even then, even when they had no way of defending themselves of any attack, they had fought back. Granted, their way of fighting back had been… Well, Yoongi-hyung referred to it as odd and sketchy but he and Seokjin-hyung classified it as amusing. After all, it was the first time someone had tried to use college deadlines as a bargain for their release.

Either way, with time, the smiles they once wore, the ones that didn’t reach their eyes for there was nothing but wariness in them, were replaced with actual, genuine smiles. With time, they had befriended everyone working at HOC and the few Bangtan members they had come across.

And yet, they never became part of the second group: those that stayed for the excitement. Yes, they had a contract that bound them to Bangtan so staying was an obligation rather than a choice but still, it became clear that the two of them enjoyed their time at HOC, Hope Studio, and any time they spent with any of them.

A lot of things happened between their first encounter up until their contracts were rescinded: they had showed up at their college and subtly threatened them into staying quiet, police had treated them as possible suspects and interrogated them, their fathers had showed up at their apartment demanding they cease contact with Bangtan, some of their classmates at college had taken their distance. All those events combined should have made them yearn for the day they would be set free. They should have been joyful on the day they were communicated they were no longer required to show up at HOC, but they had been angry, irritated at the unexpected and unwanted turn of events.

And then, when things should have been an uphill for them, the last days happened.

Jungkook could have lost him, almost did lose him, but how could Jungkook have known that Subaru would cross Black Gauntlet and Haejin to do his own bidding? Still, Subaru or not, it would have been his fault because he wasn’t fast enough to react against the strike that knocked him out and rendered him useless to help Jimin. Had he been faster, Subaru wouldn’t have taken them, wouldn’t have instilled so much fear in Jimin with the prospect of Taehyung suffering the same fate as him, wouldn’t have ran for his life–

It didn’t matter. It had happened, it was in the past and, just like Taehyung had said, the best outcome occurred. Jungkook knew he would continue to blame himself all the same, if not for the kidnapping then for prior events, but as his hyungs constantly reminded him, processing, accepting and healing takes time.

The actual point (not the real actual point because Jungkook was avoiding thinking of it) was that despite all that had happened, how the pair’s somewhat peaceful lives they had managed to make for themselves had been flipped and twisted beyond recognition, they still wanted to stay.

And Jungkook was slightly happy about it. But then a wave of guilt would strike him and would make him berate himself for being so selfish. He reminded himself that it was normal to be both happy and worried about the decision. Happy because he had grown fond of their friendship and didn’t want to lose it and worried of the possible unnecessary dangers they would get themselves involved in the future.

One of his other worries before the conversation took place was them deciding to stay but becoming part of the second group. Being on the opposite side of the law simply for the thrill leads to recklessness. Recklessness leads to mistakes. And mistakes get people killed.

He didn’t think it would happen but the possibility was there. Fortunately, just like always, they had managed to surprise him. Jimin, who had been the one to communicate it but he knew the feelings were shared between him and Taehyung, expressed that the reason in which they had based their decision had been understanding. They felt understood among them, accepted, and Jungkook could sympathize with that since it had been the reason for why he himself had wanted to stay.

At Bangtan, he had learned what it felt to be wanted, loved and appreciated. Jungkook, knowing a bit about their lives as heirs, knew that that is what they wanted as well. And–

“Jungkook-ah?”

The calling of his name shook Jungkook out of his pondering, making him realize he was staring at the black screen of his phone. He remembered reading a couple of articles about the bombings before his mind started wandering. He tapped his phone twice and furrowed his brow as the screen lit up, revealing he had spent almost ten minutes just sitting on the couch of his room, lost inside his mind.

He pocketed his phone as he turned to the person that had spoken and a fond smile formed on his face as he took in the form of Namjoon-hyung up and about. His hyung walked inside the room, closing the door behind him, and took a seat next to Jungkook. He had visited Namjoon-hyung’s room, after Hoseok-hyung brought him back from the hospital and before he was forced to go to sleep, so he knew he was fine but it was still nice to see him moving around.

“What’s on your mind?”

That was a difficult question because there were many things on his mind. Sometimes they would tangle themselves, becoming a mess that impeded him from forming a single coherent thought. Still, he always voiced what he could because he knew that his hyungs would somehow understand and because letting it out always left him feeling slightly relaxed.

Still, he knew the main things his thoughts could be simplified to were worry and guilt. And so did Namjoon-hyung who, with an arm across his shoulders, reminded him that it wasn’t his fault. Jungkook, somewhere inside his mind, was aware of it but it was still gratifying to hear. Like some weight was lifted of his shoulders with every reassurance–

“That isn’t it, though, right? What about the topic you’re avoiding?”

Jungkook flinched and it would have gone unnoticed had his hyung’s arm not been over his shoulder. He looked away. He knew talking would give him clarity, both on his thoughts and on what to do, but how should he go about breaching that subject–

“You like Jimin, don’t you?”

Alright, no breaching needed.

He nodded because there were a couple of people to whom he could not lie to, and Namjoon-hyung was one of them. The hand on his shoulder retreated and he couldn’t help the sudden thoughts screaming at him that he had fucked up, that it was the wrong answer. He forcefully stomped them down, reminding himself that Najoon-hyung was simply accommodating himself on the couch so he could face Jungkook, just like he had done numerous times before. He kept his eyes shut as he took in a couple of deep breaths and only opened them when he heard his name being called.

He looked up into his hyung’s eyes, nothing but kindness and patience in them. Staring at them, staring at the warmth on those eyes, they compelled him to let the words just flow out of his system. He had always appreciated Namjoon-hyung’s unique point of view, had always listened to him attentively whenever he offered advice. Or even when he was just rambling about his passions. Talking with him helped him see things in a different light.

Not that his other hyungs wouldn’t do the same, but he knew how busy they were with handling the aftermaths and Namjoon-hyung had been ordered to not do anything extenuating for the day.

“I’m… I’m scared, hyung. I’ve dated before but I never felt this… this tightness in my chest I got when he had to leave…” he huffed, clasping his hands and pressing the knuckles of his thumbs on his forehead, trying to will the frustration away. “I was bummed when Sumi broke up with me and then when I broke up with Hyuk, but… but that was all. I... Just not being friends anymore hurt like a bitch– and I don’t even know when he went from being suspicious to being a friend! He just did! And it scares the shit out of me…”

Jungkook, who had closed his eyes once again, couldn’t see the expression on Namjoon-hyung’s face but from experience he was sure the older was either rubbing his chin or tapping the index finger of his right hand over his knee while mulling over Jungkook’s words.

“Jungkook,” he started, his tone having a hint of curiosity in it. “You say it scares you how easily you trusted him… Do you fear they’ll turn up to be like Chin Hae?”

“No… Quite the opposite, actually.” Jungkook answered, his voice almost a whisper.

“The opposite?”

Jungkook sighed as he lowered his hands. He pressed his lips as he turned his head to face his hyung’s expectant, yet patient expression. “It scares me how trusting him seems so… logical. Or natural. Like, trusting him is the obvious thing to do, and in my head I completely agree. I just seem to know he’ll never be like Chin Hae and– and it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? I just... It scares me how trusting him doesn’t scare me.”

“Gguk-ah,” Namjoon-hyung said, his eyes soft like they always were while listening to him, a small smile accompanying it. “That’s your instinct talking and, tell me, when has it ever failed you?”

Jungkook bit his lip. His hyung sounded so sure, as if Jungkook’s instinct were something fail-safe. He knew it was true, that every time it kicked in, there was a nagging feeling inside him strongly suggesting him: do this, don’t do this. And each and every time it bore favorable consequences for him. It wasn’t something that happened on the daily, though, and it certainly didn’t happen around Chin Hae...

“Your instinct has kept you alive so far, hasn’t it? And you’re probably thinking about Chin Hae, but...” his hyung’s voice faltered at the end, most likely reminding himself how Chin Hae had managed to deceive every single one of them. “Maybe I’m just being too optimistic, but I think he may have enjoyed himself here at times.” He gave Jungkook a small smile that Jungkook failed to return, not yet overcoming the surges of anger he would get at hearing the name of his former friend. “Anyway, you didn’t trust Chin Hae from the beginning, unlike, say, Yugyeom. Chin Hae had to work his way into being trusted and, yeah, your instinct didn’t act up, but it’s not magical.”

Jungkook casted his gaze down as he took in his hyung’s words. From a logical point of view, he knew it was true. If the gut-feeling he got from time to time worked every time he made a choice or met someone, then what he went through before ending up at Bangtan’s doorstep wouldn’t have happened.

“We learn from our mistakes and then we turn to look forward.” Namjoon-hyung’s voice jolted him from his thoughts. He looked up to see that ever present kind expression on his face with his dimples showing. He placed his hand atop Jungkook’s head, gently ruffling his hair and Jungkook could feel his shoulders relaxing from such a simple act. “Don’t lose yourself on the what ifs and remember we’re here for you, okay?”

Jimin took what must’ve been the fifteenth deep breath in the past forty minutes as he fiddled with the sleeves of his loose, light-gray sweater. His own sweater that had been washed, ridding it of all the dirt and blood it had collected during his birthday, though it didn’t remove the memories from it…

He shook his head and raised it to stare at his reflected image on the mirror in the bathroom of Hoseok-hyung’s room. The reason he was struggling to make his hair look somewhat decent, pushing stray strands behind his ear, was because Seokjin-hyung had come up with the idea of having a dinner to properly celebrate Jimin’s birthday.

Jimin was glad the proposal had been over the phone because by the end of it some tears had managed to escape, rolling down his cheeks before Taehyung wiped them off with the sleeves of his maroon shirt. The call had been on speaker so Seokjin-hyung could talk to them both and so Taehyung knew the reason behind Jimin’s tears.

Their birthdays had always been a dreaded date. At first, it’d been because their parents rarely had time for them, either caught at work or choosing to stay at work. Then, as they got older, their birthdays resembled more business parties than the celebration of the day they were born. And that was the point. It was simply remembering when they had been born, nothing else, so why not use it to establish connections and get themselves noticed from an early stage?

At least Jimin and Taehyung had each other to lean on and complain about having to wear on a mask and act like their parents’ little perfect carbon-copies for hours on end.

The first birthday they celebrated after they cut their ties was Jimin’s in their previous apartment. They were awfully strapped for money back then. After finishing their second year of their MBA at SNU, they had set their plan in motion:

First came the one last try at getting themselves to be heard, to have their opinions taken into account but sadly, as each and every time before, they were rejected. And so, as much as it hurt them, cutting ties was their next move.

Second came the resources. Their spendings were monitored but ever since coming up with the plan they had learned to divert and/or mask the money they were provided to a separate account which allowed them to immediately move from “home” to their previous apartment the next morning. The remaining money was divided two ways: one part enough to buy food for, at least three months. They had already gone job hunting before the semester was over and so they knew they had jobs waiting for them to start on the first of March. The other part was on a different account, one on which money would be added every month and would eventually be used the following year. Their college fund.

Therefore, on Jimin’s birthday, apart from seaweed soup, their celebratory meal had consisted of ramen and some side-dishes. For the cake, Taehyung had placed a candle atop one of the cupcakes he had bought for dessert and sang happy birthday in an overly exaggerated deep voice.

It had been perfect.

For Taehyung’s birthday, they had a bit more money to spare and so Jimin had been able to get an actual cake, strawberry flavored, and had patiently waited for his friend to return home from his shift. As Taehyung walked inside, Jimin, with an already lit cake on his hands, started singing in a high-pitched voice, opposite from what his friend had done on his birthday.

Jimin hadn’t been able to finish the song. Taehyung joined him on the high-pitch singing and Jimin had to set the cake down lest it fell from his hands from how hard he was laughing.

It had been absolutely perfect.

And while they had made friends throughout their lives, they rarely were interested in them and more invested in their names and the benefit being associated with them could carry.

But it was alright, they still had each other and that had always been enough.

But Seokjin-hyung offering to have a redo of Jimin’s birthday and inviting several members to attend, while assuring him they had asked to assist, had made his heart ache but in a pleasant way. It was absurd how a bunch of... criminals had shown them more kindness than the majority of the people they’ve met. They were perfectly fine on their own, but these people… These people wanted, out of their own will, to take time out of their busy schedules, after all that had happened, to gather and celebrate his birthday. They could very well have sent them back to their apartment on that morning. They had been rescued, Jimin’s wounds had been tended to, and they were no longer at risk from neither Haejin or Subaru, so there was really no reason why they should’ve been allowed to continue staying at the mansion.

There was so much kindness given to them that they didn’t know what to do with it. It was weird.

Jimin shook his head again, willing those thoughts to the back of his mind for the moment. He gnawed his lower lip as the other thoughts he had placed back there as well tried to crawl up to the surface. He didn’t want to deal with them just yet so he did his best at pushing them away once more as he walked out of the bathroom.

Taehyung was sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring at his phone with a frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Jimin asked as he sat next to his friend, trying to read over his shoulder.

“Just… checking the mail.”

Taehyung tried going for nonchalance and while his tone and posture could have fooled any stranger, it never had and never would work on Jimin. So Jimin narrowed his eyes at him, conveying that he didn’t believe him, and Taehyung slightly lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck. What Taehyung was worried about was one of the things Jimin had shoved on his to-be-reviewed-later pile and he knew there was no use dwelling over it then, so he decided to distract him.

“Come on, let’s get you ready for the dinner party.”

Half an hour later they were following Hoseok-hyung through one of the hallways on the second floor to where the dinner was to be held. Jimin kept his grip on Taehyung’s sleeve as they walked since the latter had decided to keep his focus on the paintings hanging on the wall after Hoseok-hyung mentioned how the majority of those had actually been painted by members. He had to admit, they were pretty good.

Hoseok-hyung, explained that, since only a small group was attending the dinner, instead of having the celebration in the usual room on the ground floor (which was big enough to host a large number of people), they had decorated one of the meeting rooms. Jimin didn’t care if the room was big as a ballroom or small as a closet. As Hoseok-hyung opened the door, all Jimin could think about was how there were people behind that door that wanted to celebrate his birthday.

The sleeve he was gripping left his hold and was instead replaced by a hand. He looked up to Taehyung to find him smiling at him, eyes conveying that he was thinking the same as he was. A chuckle escaped his lips at the oddity of it all, from the people cheering as they saw him enter to how they had gotten into such a situation in the first place.

Their lives had made a turn to the point of ridiculousness and extremely dangerous and yet...
Seokjin-hyung and BamBam were chattering about how they had decorated the room as Hoseok-hyung led them to their seats at the long table brimming with food and drinks. Jungkook was keeping a laughing Yugyeom on a chokehold while a more amused than serious Namjoon-hyung tried to separate them. Yoongi seemed to be discussing something with Jaehyun and Jiwoon, glasses in hand, and a smiling Min Suk was in front of them, handing them flutes with sparkling champagne.

And yet, there was nowhere else he would rather be.

“Yoon.”

Fuck.

Yoongi knew that tone.

“Why is Taehyung staring at you like a kicked puppy?”

Yoongi continued eating his pizza slice so as to not answer Seokjin’s question which had, luckily, been asked in a low voice (and there was also background music, playing from Jimin’s phone, helping keep their conversation only between themselves). He also kept his eyes on the slice on his hand to avoid eye contact with Taehyung, as he had been doing since the first and only time. He really should have waited until the younger was seated to choose his own seat because, while they were on opposite sides of the table, they were also diagonally opposed.

He almost choked because his dear hyung chose the moment he was swallowing to elbow him between his ribs. He guesses it was to be expected for blatantly ignoring him.

“Did something happen...?” Seokjin asked but wasn’t expecting an actual answer. He was observing him, searching for the tics he had learned to detect from childhood. Yoongi simply let him be while he sipped wine from his almost empty glass –it was a really good one.

After going through the “urgent shit”, as predicted, Seokjin brought up the subject of the pair being, once again, a constant. Despite how annoying it was, he knew the reason why his hyung was being so insisting on it. Yoongi had always had trust issues, a trait he shared with his father. They both, during their lives had surrounded themselves only with people that proved themselves to be trustworthy considering their line of work, with people that had remained despite the multiple barriers they had built around themselves–

And yet he couldn’t stop to remember that fatidic day, so many years ago, when so many lives were lost. When Seokjin’s father had died without getting a chance to say goodbye to his son. When Seonghwa had lost all of his childhood friends and had to deal with survivor’s guilt for years afterwards. When Yoongi, running amongst the bloodshed, found and witnessed his father give out his final breath. When Yoongi had to shoulder the burden of taking charge of Bangtan at the age of sixteen. When Yoongi had to kill her, one of the people he had entrusted his life with…

No matter how much Yoongi wanted to believe his hyung that the pair were the loyal type, that they shouldn’t worry about them one day just walking out on them or working as spies for the police or any force, he couldn’t help to think about that day. And Seokjin was aware of it and that was why he wanted Yoongi to confront it instead of continuing avoiding the issue. Not because he wanted Yoongi to reciprocate Taehyung’s feelings (they were aware of the younger’s more-than-admiration feelings towards Yoongi but the latter had chalked it up to being simple infatuation and left it at that. Seokjin let him) but because it wasn’t the first time Yoongi was acting in such a way, closing in on himself the moment someone tries to get past the barriers and not letting anyone in, not even Seokjin.

His hyung just wanted him to start healing.

Lost on his musings, he missed most of the conversation between Seokjin and Hoseok. When he came back to the present he was only able to listen to some sentences due to them whispering. He heard something about breakfast and he remembered about the events of that morning. He really hadn’t expected to encounter Taehyung the very morning following his and Seokjin’s… talk, to put it in a way. But when he came across the younger on the stairwell and the latter told him he was hungry, instead of continuing on with his day, he made him and his friend breakfast. They even talked and Yoongi told him the truth about what he thought, so that had to count for progress, right?

Should he have said something different? Word it differently? Yoongi said he was going to keep his eyes on them, and it was true. He said he trusted Seokjin’s judgement, and it was true. He said he believed him when he stated in all seriousness that they wouldn’t cross them, and it was… partially true. He trusted his seriousness, the conviction with which he relayed his promise, but did he believe they would actually keep it? Not really.

Taehyung wanted to prove his words were more than just sound waves? He was free to do so because Yoongi had nothing to do with it. As long as it didn’t interfere with Bangtan, he could do what he wanted.

He sighed because as much as he would like to believe that he could keep them at an arm’s length, that was nothing but a fool’s dream. Jungkook was smitten by Jimin and it was clear that it was mutual which meant that, if they somehow manage to pass the hurdles corresponding to their different lifestyles and bring their relationship to the next level, then that would instantly shatter his plan of keeping distance. After all, Jimin and Taehyung were a package deal.

“Yoon-”

“I’m trying, okay?” Yoongi snapped but still in a low voice. Just because he didn’t trust them didn’t mean he was going to start a scene in the middle of the party. “I want to trust them because I trust you and because Jungkook lights up like a damn christmas tree when Jimin’s around, but it’s hard. I want to move on, I want to stop having her shadow follow me everywhere I go, but it’s fucking hard and I don’t know how he manages to find the cracks and slip in and I just–”

“No, wait, wait, wait. That’s not what I was gonna say.” Seokjin cut him off by placing his left hand over his mouth and Yoongi was going to bite it but Seokjin retreated it in time. “I was merely gonna ask if you wanted more wine.”

Yoongi leveled him with the most unimpressed look he could manage conveying how much of that bullshit excuse he believed.

“Don’t look at me like that, I was really gonna ask that,” Seokjin pouted as he reached for the bottle of wine and poured some on Yoongi’s glass.

“And?” Yoongi prompts because he knows Seokjin just as much as his hyung knows him.

“And tell you that what you said to Taehyung was the right thing to do. You know I won’t force you to be his best friend or anything, that is up to you. All I want is for you to let her go. You deserve that much.”

Yoongi hummed as he reached for his now filled glass but offered no answer. It wasn’t like Seokjin was expecting any in the first place, simply knowing that he had been heard, he went back to stuffing his mouth with food. Hopefully it was the result of a long, extenuating day and not stress-eating. As he took a sip, he risked a glance to the opposite side of the table and locked eyes with Taehyung. The younger startled, probably not expecting Yoongi to look back at him, and the latter rolled his eyes but didn’t tear his gaze away.

Alright Taehyung, you’ve been staring at me for most part of this dinner. What now?

Taehyung seemed to flounder for a bit, turning his focus to his friend who was distracted by whatever story Yugyeom was retelling, and then back to Yoongi. Those big, too innocent looking eyes seemed to study him and Yoongi didn’t know what to do with that information. It was only a couple of seconds that felt eternal under such scrutiny but eventually Taehyung shily lifted his right hand, thumb and index fingers forming a circle.

Is he asking me if I’m okay or if things in general are okay?

He didn’t know what the question really was but for some reason he didn’t care to find out, it was amusing. He snorted and returned his focus back to his glass, watching the red liquid swirl as he tried.

He also didn’t know what Taehyung concluded from his reaction, but at least he seemed to focus on enjoying himself for the rest of the dinner.

Progress, right?

Jimin was talking to Taehyung about the cake they were both eating when Jungkook approached them. Dinner itself had ended around twenty minutes ago, point at which Yoongi-hyung had said his goodbyes and left the room accompanied by Namjoon-hyung, Jaehyung and Jiwoon. Jimin side-eyed Taehyung and was surprised to find a small smile on his face. He had heard the recounting of the interaction Taehyung and Yoongi had while he had been asleep, and there had been a slight undertone of frustration in his voice.

Jimin at first thought it was because of the words themselves but he realized he was wrong when he noticed the determination etched on his face. Taehyung was aware there was almost no trust in them, especially after all that had happened, but he was decided on proving he was being sincere and also to “never see him make that expression again”. Jimin had no idea what he’d meant by that since Hoseok-hyung chose that moment to walk in.

Taehyung, feeling his friend’s stare, turned to him and grinned as he took Jimin’s hand.

“Look, Jin-hyung is cutting the cake, let’s go!”

Did I… miss something? Did something happen during the dinner without me noticing?

He was definitely going to have a talk with his friend after the party was over, but first he would focus on enjoying. Two slices of cake and an improvised karaoke session later had Jungkook walking towards them and asking to speak with Jimin alone –not before turning to glare at Yugyeom and BamBam who were suddenly admiring the beauty of the tapestry. The bastard he had for a friend wiggled his eyebrows and then happily skipped his way towards Hoseok-hyung.

When it was just the two of them, Jungkook cleared his throat and led the way towards what Jimin had thought were windows but since they had been covered by long salmon-colored drapes, he hadn’t realized that there was a balcony behind them.

The sky was littered with clouds, the moon not visible from where they stood. They weren’t in the dark, though, since they were being illuminated by the light coming from the many lamp-posts scattered across the front and entryway of the mansion. It was a nice view, calming as well. The only noise coming from inside the room but it was as if the people inside had moved farther away from the entrance to the balcony since he could barely hear any chatter.

He glanced to his right, to where Jungkook was standing and peering up the sky. Jungkook was fidgeting, he kept drumming his fingers over his legs until he got tired and with a small huff he stuffed inside his gray jacket’s pockets. He was nervous and Jimin could empathize. They needed to break this awkward tension somehow...

“So… what’s gonna happen with that guy?”

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best question to use as an ice breaker but he didn’t want to do small talk while dancing around the elephant in the room. Plus, it had been on his mind ever since seeing that devastating look on Jungkook’s face when he heard the truth and he knew that even if Jungkook acted like he didn’t care about a “rat that turned on Bangtan”, he had been his friend and whatever fate he met, it would affect Jungkook.

Jungkook seemed bewildered for a moment before blinking and clearing his throat. “He’ll… Well, first he needs to recover. With all that happened, he’s… not in a good position. Then, I don’t know. Some think we should get rid of him or we’ll risk him doing the same his father did. Others think we can, maybe, convince him to work for us to redeem himself for his actions. Guess time will tell.”

Jimin hummed in acknowledgment and silence fell on them once more but Jimin saw, from the corner of his eye, that Jungkook had turned to face him so he waited for the younger to organize his thoughts.

“So, about before, y’know, what happened after the conversation… Aren't you afraid? Of who I am and what I do?” Jungkook asked with that same vulnerability he had shown the day before and, just like then, Jimin wanted to wipe it off. He wanted instead the usual cheeky smile Jungkook would wear when teasing Jimin, it suited him better.

“Well, I don’t really know what is it you do. I know that you're from the mafia and so I can somewhat imagine your… tasks, but that’s all.” Jimin shrugged and momentarily enjoyed the dumbfounded look on the younger’s face before taking a deep breath, steadying himself for what he would say next. “As for who you are, no, I'm not afraid because I know the real you. The one that laughs like elmo one second to stare off into space the next one. The one that bickers with Seokjin-hyung as if you were actual brothers. The one that loves dressing in all black, giving an edgy or bad boy aura, but that also loves clinging onto his hyungs. So no, I'm not afraid of you. Honestly, I'm more afraid of failing my classes than I am about all of you.”

Jungkook was left speechless and Jimin turned his gaze towards the sky which had cleared a bit making the stars more visible. Honestly, he was the tiniest bit embarrassed by what had come out of his mouth and he hoped his slight flush wasn’t noticeable in the semi-darkness they were in.

Jimin was starting to think that he had said something wrong because Jungkook hadn’t even made a sound, so he chanced to look back at Jungkook but the younger had his head down and slightly turned away from him.

“What is it with you two and college anyway?”

There was no anger on the younger’s voice so Jimin dared to hope he hadn’t screwed up entirely. Still, the avoidance of the topic worried him. He decided to humor him with an answer anyway, focusing his eyes on the fountain on the entryway and hoping the hurt he was feeling wasn’t noticeable on his voice. “You ask that because you haven’t met our history professor. If only we didn’t need that class for credits...”

“Eh? Why?”

He pulled the sleeves of his sweater further down, covering the entirety of his hands. Anything to avoid looking at Jungkook because he would probably snap at him if he did. He had brought them both here to talk about “that” and then he decided to avoid the topic altogether? That wasn’t fair.

“He’s one of the worst teachers we’ve ever had. I think he’s right below that Chemistry teacher we had in middle school. Go to college for one semester. Just one and you’ll understand our suffering.”

He chuckled but it was forced, fake. He had done a better job at faking laughs at the numerous parties his father had dragged him to, he knew but he didn’t care. If Jungkook wasn’t feeling the same, even the tiniest bit, then why pull him out for a private talk? Why ask that question? Why hug him back? Why-

“Jimin…”

The calling of his name didn’t startle him as much as realizing just how close Jungkook had gotten.

In what moment…?

At such a close distance, Jimin had a better view of the younger’s face. Even if it was still angled away, he could still see how Jungkook was nearly torturing his lower lip and Jimin had to forcefully stomp down the impulse to release it and gently caress it.

Lost in fantasies, he didn’t notice how Jungkook had pulled his hands out from his pockets until he felt a tug on his right sleeve. His eyes widened when he looked down and saw Jungkook gripping his sleeve. His eyes went back up and locked eyes with the younger. Jungkook was blushing, there was no mistaking it or attributing it to the cold.

“Hey, hyung…” Jungkook’s soft voice had his heart skipping a beat. His voice, his tone, his face, they were all a mix of emotions that had Jimin’s breath stutter. Nervousness, affection, resolve. “Are you really okay with me?”

Did that mean–

Jungkook was still giving him an out. Despite all Jimin had said and done, he was still giving him a choice to back out in case Jimin decided it really was too much for him. But the thing was, Jimin had already thought it through, multiple times, because it was something that would affect his future. He had weighed the pros and cons and so he knew that the path he wanted to follow wasn’t an easy one, but… When had life ever been easy?

He wanted to follow what his heart dictated but it wasn’t out of impulse. If by saying yes he got to have an extra of happiness in his life, why shouldn’t he take it?

“Jungkook-ah,” Jimin called out, his voice almost a whisper. He raised his left hand and placed atop Jungkook’s cheek, thumb brushing under his eye. “I won’t change my mind.”

“Then…” Jungkook released his sleeve and interlaced their hands. Jimin had pictured scenarios like these before but actually feeling the younger’s hand on his own and knowing that it’s more than just friendly hand-holding… His heart and mind were going into overdrive. “If you’d let me, I’d like to try this with you. I… This isn’t gonna be easy and I know you know that, but… I don’t want to miss this opportunity you’re giving me, and I–”

Jimin giggled. He couldn’t help himself. He knew that Jungkook was really nervous and flustered but Jimin couldn’t stop thinking about how adorable he looked. He could almost hear Taehyung whispering “whipped” in the back of his mind, but he didn’t mind. Maybe he was whipped, maybe he was totally smitten for the bad boy looking who was actually a sweet bunny guy standing in front of him. So what?

“Jimin.”

He opened his eyes and met Jungkook’s eyes, closer than they were before with the addition of his free hand cradling his neck, thumb resting right under Jimin’s lower lip.

“This is kinda new to me, feeling this way. I… I don’t want to screw it up, so… Uhm…”

“We can go slow,” Jimin reassured him when he realized what the younger meant and because he too wanted to do this properly. There was no point nor need for rushing, after all.

Jungkook rested his forehead against Jimin’s and, by being so close, he heard the shaky intake of breath Jungkook took as he closed his eyes. Jimin’s own fluttered shut as he reached with his free hand to grip on Jungkook’s jacket. Closer, he wanted them closer, to hold him and forget about the world for a couple of hours.

Jimin opened his eyes and found Jungkook looking at him, a silent question in his eyes. Jimin nodded, a silent confirmation, and just as gently as he had been caressing his lower lip, Jungkook’s lips were on his own. No pictured scenario could compare to it. The moment they made contact, Jungkook pulled the hand he was holding, pulling along as well, and there was almost no space between them. If it weren’t for the hold Jungkook had on him, Jimin could have fallen to the floor right then. He just felt so… calm.

There was no spark or fireworks or anything of the sorts. Just… tranquility. It felt like coming home, like something natural, and he loved it. Jungkook’s lips were so smooth, so perfect against his, and he wanted to lose himself in the shape of them, to taste them for eternity. He sounded like a complete sap but how couldn’t he when the boy he liked so much was holding him and treating him with so much care…

He cursed the need to breathe because he was already missing those soft lips against his. Jimin dropped his head against Jungkook’s shoulder, trying to give his poor heart a break. Jungkook kissed Jimin’s head before resting his head atop it and Jimin just held him tighter. He liked him so much–

“I really like you, Gguk…” he confessed, his voice muffled by Jungkook’s jacket, but he knew the younger heard him. Jimin could feel his increasing heartbeat, the deep breath intake and his nose nuzzling along Jimin’s neck.

“I like you too, Jimin. Let’s make this work.”

Jimin wanted to kiss him and punch him all at the same time. He really liked him so damn much that he didn’t know what to do with the absurd amount of overflowing fondness inside his heart. He was going to work harder along with Taehyung to make their dreams come true, he was going to try harder to set himself free of the chains tying him to his past and his insecurities, and they...

“Together?”

“Together.”

They were going to put in all the effort into making themselves even more happy.