Chapter Text
A tense week passes.
Even if Jeongguk and Taehyung are the only ones aware of the offer that Kang had presented, everyone else is on edge too, waiting for the next attack. Everyone can sense it; the war brimming.
Searching for distraction, Taehyung finds himself spending more time with Yugyeom, Jaehyun, and Yongkyu. After they realised their ages only had a few years between, they became fast friends.
Jeongguk has made his protestations very clear.
“Taehyungie, I hired Yongkyu to be your bodyguard, not your friend.”
“I thought you were only spending time with Yug and Jaehyun?“
“You’re distracting him from his work, my prince.”
“Taehyungie~ What have I told you about spending time with Yongkyu?”
Turns out Taehyung was meant to take Jeongguk’s warnings seriously—should have listened when Jeongguk instructed Yongkyu countless times to keep his distance.
Taehyung settles on his favourite corner couch in the library, exhausted. He’d spent hours playing with Bam in the garden, throwing balls and discs for the dog, teaching the smart boy tricks, and chasing him in his lithe wolf-form as they weave between the trees. Jeongguk left on assignment hours ago and he’d needed to find a way to keep himself entertained.
His eyebrows raise when Yongkyu carefully eases himself onto the furniture beside him. After Jeongguk’s fourth threat that he’d fire the man if he didn’t maintain a professional distance from Taehyung, he seemed to listen. It surprises Taehyung to see him break Jeongguk’s rules.
Clearing his throat, Yongkyu wipes his palms over his trousers.
“Tae,” he broaches hesitantly, “I know you’re with Jeongguk-ssi...”
Taehyung is more than curious to see where this is going.
“But... it feels wrong of me to keep my feelings a secret. Is there any chance that maybe—” Yongkyu’s cautiously hopeful expression fades when Taehyung cuts him off.
“Yongkyu,” the omega sighs, grimacing slightly. He’s always hated having to reject people. “I’m mated to—”
The man lets out a shrill scream as a short metal blade slices precisely into his shoulder. Taehyung watches with horror and surprise as blood seeps through Yongkyu’s thin fabric shirt. He watches Yongkyu reach up but a tattooed hand rips it out violently from where it was buried in his flesh before he can carefully remove it.
Taehyung could recognize that rose-inked skin anywhere.
“Jeongguk, what are you—?”
But the omega can’t even finish his sentence before Jeongguk is yanking one of Yongkyu’s hands into his own, using the very same blade to slice down the length of his palm. The bodyguard is paralyzed by shock and fear, but the pain that shoots from his palm and up his arm is enough to flood his veins with adrenaline, causing him to flinch away.
Jeongguk’s fury is far too rampant, his grip vice-like on Yongkyu’s hand. He treats his other hand in an identical way, leaving both of the alpha’s palms split open and streaming carmine.
“Keep your hands off him,” the enraged alpha spits, jerking away from the bodyguard as if disgusted by his mere presence and curls a protective arm around Taehyung’s torso—the omega still frozen with fear. All he can see is red, red, red; Yongkyu’s hands leaking blood, Jeongguk’s eyes beaming crimson. “You’re lucky I didn’t slice your eyes too. Just know that’s next if you don’t make sure to never look at him again.”
Tightening his arm around Taehyung’s waist, Jeongguk yanks his omega from the couch and guides him down the hall to their bedroom, mind swimming in a haze of outrage.
Taehyung protests, shoving away from the fierce alpha as soon as the door slams behind them, “You can’t just do that to people, Jeongguk!”
“You’re mine,” is all Jeongguk grits out, striding the length of their room, throwing the small knife at the wall. It hangs, stuck, ominously dripping Yongkyu’s blood. Taehyung grimaces, looking away as he makes a note to get someone to clean it up later.
For now, he has an incandescent alpha to deal with.
“Yongkyu’s my friend,” Taehyung states, perching on the edge of their bed with a deep sigh. “We get along. I like spending time with him. I was going to kindly let him down and then we were going to be friends again.”
Apparently this only serves to anger Jeongguk further.
“You’re my mate. He doesn’t get to touch what’s mine.”
“He didn’t even touch me!” Taehyung explodes, throwing his hands up defeatistly. “All he did was tell me that he had feelings for me.”
“He shouldn’t have told you!” Jeongguk reasserts, stopping his strides to stand opposite the stubborn omega. Grumbling, “He shouldn’t even be looking at you that way.”
Crossing his arms, Taehyung glares up at the man. “People can’t control who they feel romantic attraction for. And how would he be my bodyguard if he didn’t look at me?”
“You know what I mean. He’s not allowed to look at you that way.”
“Trust me!” Taehyung practically begs. Jeongguk makes him angry frequently—what with the way he throws himself into danger without a second thought and his tendencies to be an overbearing, arrogant alpha—but the thought that Jeongguk doesn’t trust him makes tears prick his eyes. “Just, please, trust me. I wouldn’t have done anything with him.”
Sitting down slowly beside the omega, Jeongguk rubs his face with his palm, sighing.
“I don’t trust him,” he states frustratedly.
Exasperated, Taehyung leans his head onto Jeongguk’s shoulder. “I’m asking you to trust me.”
“I do,” Jeongguk insists, pressing a light kiss to his mate’s temple.
“Prove it to me. We can’t be mates if you don’t trust me.”
Laughing throatily, Jeongguk remarks dryly, “We’re mated now. It’s too late to change that.”
Truly, Taehyung wouldn’t have it any other way—he loves Jeongguk unconditionally and can’t imagine being without him now—but, Jeongguk does get on his nerves sometimes. He’s certainly trying his best to get used to the alpha’s bouts of possessiveness and, frankly, stupidity.
Standing from the bed, Taehyung stretches his arms above him with a groan. It reveals a sliver of honey skin that Jeongguk’s eyes drink in unashamedly. Arguments always make him tired.
“Now you stay here whilst I go and make sure that Yongkyu’s okay,” Taehyung instructs in a stern tone accompanied by a harsh glare.
Jeongguk opens his mouth to protest but Taehyung silences him with a short peck, stating a simple, “No,” before slipping from the room.
He pads back into the library and walks in on Seokjin sat beside Yongkyu, carefully wrapping a bandage around the man’s palm. The other hand is already taken care of and a damp towel is draped on the couch beside them, scarlet blotches painted across it—no doubt belonging to Yongkyu.
“I’m so sorry,” Taehyung expresses, rushing over to sit beside the pair. Tentatively he holds one of the bodyguard’s hands in his own, cringing at the way blood seeps through the gauze.
“It’s fine, Tae. It’s not your fault,” he assures, rescinding his hand from Taehyung’s grip.
“It’s Jeongguk,” Seokjin grumbles as he finishes wrapping Yongkyu’s hand, gathering the towel and spare bandages. “That little shit.”
Biting his lip, Taehyung forces his gaze away from Yongkyu’s hands that are sure to scar.
“Please don’t lecture him,” Taehyung requests of the other omega. “I’ve already spoken to him about it.”
Seokjin mumbles about how ‘He’s still going to get told,’ before stalking from the room, no doubt heading for Jeongguk.
Still feeling responsible, Taehyung apologizes once again, “I’m sorry, Yongkyu. It’s probably best that we don’t hang out as much.”
“You’re going to let Jeongguk dictate who your friends are?” Yongkyu refutes, eyebrows raising sceptically.
“No,” Taehyung insists. “It’s just... You’ve told me that you have feelings for me and I don’t feel the same so it’s probably best that we keep a professional distance.”
He tries his best to phrase it clearly and politely, not wanting to hurt Yongkyu’s feelings nor lead him on.
At the man’s disappointed expression, Taehyung concludes, “It’s for your sake. You’ve seen what Jeongguk can do. You don’t want him to hurt you again, do you?”
─── ༻· ࿇ ·༺ ───
The rest of the day is relatively quiet.
Jeongguk stalks off to do his routine perimeter surveillance after receiving a stern talking-to from Seokjin, joined by a grumpy Yoongi who’d been reluctantly pulled away from Hoseok.
Taehyung and Jimin lounge in the library, cuddled close on the couch as a random show unfolds on the cinema-screen-like television. They barely pay any attention, caught up in reminiscing about fond memories of the past. Jaehyun is curled up in an armchair in the corner, tuning out their giggling in favour of losing himself in a book.
Yugyeom isn’t too far away, crashing around in the kitchen to make himself a snack even though they ate dinner just over an hour ago. His large appetite confounds them all—apart from Jeongguk, who is always ready to indulge in a four course meal with the boy that he considers a younger brother.
Meanwhile, Yongkyu is holed up in his own room, on the complete opposite side of the mansion—where the majority of the other gang members stay—as far away from Jeongguk as possible.
Taehyung suspects that Yongkyu’s grown a healthy fear for Jeongguk, even though Yongkyu justified his absence with “All of your hyungs are hanging around, you’re safe. I’m only here to ensure your safety.”
He seizes the rare opportunity for privacy to ask Jimin some questions about what the outside world thinks of his sudden disappearance. His best friend’s regretful answer makes his heart ache.
“No one knows where you’ve gone, obviously. A few teachers and other people in your classes have asked me where you are. I just told them that you were staying at home in Daegu for a while because of a family emergency; I didn’t want people to panic. Still, rumours had spread. Most people think you... were kidnapped.”
Nibbling anxiously on his lower lip, Taehyung approaches the subject he’s been most worried about. “My parents—”
“Know nothing,” Jimin states and Taehyung doesn’t know whether to feel relieved or upset.
Of course he’s glad that they don’t know that he’s staying with some of the most dangerous people in the country, but have they really noticed nothing? What if he actually did go missing?
“They’re all the way in Daegu,” the beta continues, “so they haven’t heard any rumours or anything and since no one’s filed an official missing person’s report, police haven’t been in contact with them.”
The idea that the world would just keep turning if he disappeared is certainly disheartening.
He makes the mental note to take a trip down to Daegu soon. Now that he has a bodyguard—although he’s not sure how long Yongkyu will stick around for, whether Jeongguk fires him or Yongkyu quits out of fear, Taehyung’s not sure which may come first—Jeongguk should allow him to make the journey to visit his family.
Jimin notices how crestfallen Taehyung’s become and takes the initiative as The Best Best Friend Ever™ to suggest that they have a movie night.
Hoseok and Seokjin choose that inopportune moment to stumble into the library, immediately getting roped into their plans. Soon, the pair are laying blankets and pillows on the floor with Taehyung’s assistance as Jimin disappears off to find Namjoon.
Yoongi appears in the doorway as they’re flicking through potential movies, squabbling over which to choose. He observes the antics and instantly turns to leave, though, not fast enough as Hoseok catches him by the wrist and drags him back in, shoving him down on the couch.
At Yoongi’s protestations, Taehyung uses his best weapon.
“Yoongi hyung, please,” the omega begs, snuggling into the grumbling man’s side, eyes shining and lower lip jutting out. His cuteness works a treat on all of his hyungs. “Gukkie keeps me cooped up in this house all the time. I have no one else to spend time with. I’m so lonely.”
“How can you be bored?” Yoongi huffs, disbelief soaking his voice, eyes rolling. “Jeongguk will literally get you anything you want: any game, stationary, sports equipment, anything. And didn’t you start online classes? Maybe you should—”
“Hyung. I’m bored,” Taehyung whines, flopping onto his back. Staring at the exquisitely patterned roof, he sighs, “All I’m asking is that you sit with me for a few hours.”
“Fine,” the alpha concedes begrudgingly, veiny arms crossing.
Grinning, Taehyung rewards Yoongi with a fleeting yet tight hug, before shifting aside to rejoin the discussion—argument—about which movie to watch. Hoseok skips over, having heard their entire interaction, and leans down to reward his mate with a languid kiss.
Taehyung observes with a pout, sitting back on his heals as he asks Yoongi, “Where’s Gukkie?”
Humming lowly as he reluctantly pulls away from Hoseok’s lips, Yoongi thinks for a moment before informing, “He said he was gonna go for a quick shower before looking for you.”
Taehyung leans back into the couch as he lets out a dramatic sigh. Part of him is still irritated by the alpha’s earlier behavior but the majority of him longs to be at his side again. It’s only been a few hours but he misses him, bothered by the unresolved tension between them.
He snuggles between Hoseok and the cushions pressed up against the end of the couch, suppressing a pout, as Seokjin starts the movie. Jimin enters the room, Namjoon trailing behind, and turns the light off. Submerged in darkness, everyone settles onto the couches, eyes trained on the screen.
Taehyung is restless during the beginning of the movie. He accidentally kicks Yugyeom who is sat on the floor in front of him, twice, and his anxiousness is so rampant that Hoseok decides to run his fingers through the omega’s hair, a veiled attempt to soothe him.
It’s twenty long minutes before Jeongguk shuffles into the room, baggy T-shirt and shorts hanging loosely from the alpha’s muscular frame. His dark hair is slick with water, dripping wet over his shoulders.
Taehyung senses his entrance immediately, shooting up off the sofa and jumping over the back of the furniture. He collides with Jeongguk’s firm chest with force, arms snaking around the alpha’s waist and securing him pressed close to Taehyung.
Without even having to think, Jeongguk’s strong arms wrap around Taehyung’s shoulders, nose buried in his omega’s silky hair.
“Missed you, Gukkie,” the younger sighs, placing his face against Jeongguk’s neck. His lips incidentally skate against the subtle mark that Taehyung had bitten into his neck barely a week ago.
As soon as he’d noticed their twin mating marks, Seokjin had sat them both down and given them a long winded lecture about what to expect.
Jeongguk had huffed the entire time, muttering about how Seokjin needs to ‘give up the whole older-brother act,’ whilst Taehyung had done his best to contain his blush—especially when the beta started on how their feelings will be more intense and that being apart will be more difficult.
The alpha had finally dragged Taehyung away from the older man, grumbling about how “He’s not even mated, what does he know?” though Taehyung knows he enjoys how caring Seokjin is. He loves the beta as his closest family member yet still refuses to admit his appreciation for his attention.
They figured out very quickly that Seokjin was correct; being apart for even an hour makes Jeongguk particularly aggressive and turns Taehyung into an anxious puddle.
Taehyung constantly clings to Jeongguk like a koala. Even now, the alpha has to peel Taehyung from him so they could both stumble their way to the couch. They step over a disgruntled Yugyeom to resume the place in which Taehyung was sat before.
Hoseok groans as Jeongguk sits down, nudging him aside. Quickly, Taehyung settles himself in the older man’s lap, curling into his firm chest as Jeongguk’s arms automatically wrap around him to secure him in place.
The movie drones on, uninterrupted, as if Jeongguk hadn’t just entered the room—as if Taehyung’s not complete all of a sudden.
─── ༻· ࿇ ·༺ ───
Considering he has spent every single day for months in the grand mansion, one would think Taehyung’d be able to navigate the place with his eyes closed. However, with the way his activities have been restricted by Jeongguk’s rigid rules—for his own safety, the alpha would insist—a large majority of the property remains unknown.
Only after fifteen minutes of wandering aimlessly through wide corridors does Taehyung admit to himself that he’s lost.
He’s now regretting the decision to leave Yongkyu in the library after insisting, “I’m able to go to the bathroom by myself.”
Sighing defeatedly, the omega turns back in hopes of finding someone to help guide him but it’s unusual that there seems to be no one walking around, going about their business.
He’s almost relieved when he turns a corner and slams into another person’s chest—can’t even be embarrassed by the collision when he’s too overcome with relief that there’s finally another person.
Those few hints of relief quickly fade when the sour scent of alpha—powerful, arrogant alpha—floods his nostrils. Taehyung immediately flinches away, instinctively stumbling back down the corridor.
“I’m so sorry, excuse me, I’ll just—,” the omega apologises profusely, eyes trained on the floor as he backs away.
He’s stopped by a calloused hand roughly enclosing around his dainty wrist paired with the sound of a deep inhale.
Hesitantly, Taehyung looks upward and immediately freezes. It’s a face that he’s seen countless times before; blurry images of the elusive alpha beneath menacing news headlines, plastered over the front page of newspapers which detail reports of his evil crimes.
Jeon Jungsik.
The older man’s expression turns sour as he breathes in Taehyung’s scent. There’s not a doubt in the omega’s mind that he detects the undertones of his son’s own scent mixed with Taehyung’s, a result of their mating last week.
Anxiety unfurls in Taehyung’s gut as he prays that the alpha’s eyes don’t catch a glimpse of the mating bite nestled safely beneath the soft fabric of his T-shirt, which is also drenched in Jeongguk’s scent.
“So,” Jungsik practically growls, “you are Jeongguk’s little pet.”
Dumbfounded at being addressed as Jeongguk’s ‘pet’, Taehyung stammers as he wrenches his wrist from Jungsik’s grip, retreating from the threatening alpha.
“N-no, I— Jeongguk—,” he attempts, unable to form a full thought as he tries to escape from Jungsik’s prying gaze.
Panic, panic, panic, streams through Taehyung’s mind as he does his best to retreat through the hallways.
His alarm acquiesces slightly when he realises that he has managed to stumble his way onto the balcony that overlooks the main entrance lobby; extravagant chandeliers suspended over the marble floors where there are people milling about below, going about their business, oblivious to the scene unfolding above.
But, once again, panic panic panic as Jungsik’s grip tightens around the collar of Taehyung’s shirt, yanking him back by the fabric.
“Where do you think you’re going, omega?” he hisses, demanding, “Answer me.”
But Taehyung can’t form an answer, he can’t even think straight: Jeongguk must be close; maybe Jeongguk is in their bedroom; maybe if he calls for him; but what if— he needs Jeongguk.
“Get your hands off him.”
Jeongguk.
Taehyung practically melts against the firm body that stands proudly behind him. His alpha’s arm winds around his waist, holding him tight against his chest.
Jeongguk’s breath is warm over the shell of Taehyung’s ear as he speaks to his father, stood opposite the pair, looking down on them with disapproval blatant in his eyes.
“I told you. I fucking warned you. I said I’d fucking kill you if you came anywhere near him,” the younger alpha threatens his father, holding Taehyung even closer.
“Gukkie,” Taehyung whispers, lacing their fingers together as he looks up into Jeongguk’s eyes. “Let’s just go.”
The alpha senses Taehyung’s unrest and concedes, wrapping his arms impossibly tight around his omega as they retreat back to their area of the mansion—Taehyung wants nothing more than to cuddle up in bed and forget about the entire ordeal.
He’s practically crying from joy inside; Jeongguk had listened to him for once, had given up a fight in favour of Taehyung’s comfort.
But then, Jungsik speaks as he follows after them languidly.
“Jeongguk-ah,” the man groans, “I don’t know why you’re cowering away from me. You can keep your whore here if you’d like, it’s not a big deal. Just tell it to stay out of my quarters.”
Jeongguk freezes. Taehyung feels dread wash over him.
“Gukkie—,” the omega tries, but Jeongguk’s not even listening.
“What did you just say?” he growls at his father, voice unrecognisable to Taehyung who is used to only hearing Jeongguk speak in an endeared, fond tone.
“I said you can keep him,” Jungsik states simply, eyes rolling like a petulant teenager.
Inhaling deeply, Jeongguk’s jaw clenches. The alpha’s anger is overflowing, practically palpable as Taehyung pulls at his arm.
“Jeongguk, no—,” he mumbles, weakly tugging him away from his father’s confident stance.
A sympathetic expression overtakes Jeongguk’s features as he looks down at Taehyung, large palms resting on the omega’s plush cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Taehyungie,” he mutters apologetically. “But not this time.”
“Guk-ah,” Taehyung pleads, “just calm d—”
But Jeongguk has already made up his mind.
In a split second, Jeongguk is turning away from him and stepping purposefully towards his father. Jungsik wears a bored stare as Jeongguk closes the small space between them.
“Look, Jeongguk,” he starts, voice level and trying to reason with him. The fury radiating from Jeongguk is palpable. “If we could just—”
His words are cut off by a thundering growl. Taehyung thinks he notices fear flit over Jungsik’s features as a large black wolf now stands where Jeongguk was, mere seconds ago.
Towering over Jungsik, the wolf lets out a stream of violent growls, claws scraping menacingly against the expensive polished hardwood. Knowing he stands no chance against the powerful wolf, Jungsik has no choice but to also transform into his animal counterpart.
The older man is clawing at Jeongguk’s chest mercilessly, tearing at the wolf’s soft fur, causing a sob to get caught in Taehyung’s throat.
“Gukkie,” Taehyung cries, feeling utterly useless.
They tousle around on the ground, relatively evenly matched, inching closer and closer to the edge of the balcony as Taehyung watches, mortified. Jungsik is slightly larger than Jeongguk and his black fur has thin streaks of grey reflecting his age and thus many more years of fighting experience.
However, Jeongguk is younger, stronger and more powerful. He manages to sink his teeth into Jungsik’s neck, catching him off guard.
It’s the slight slip of Jungsik’s back paw that has them both tumbling off the balcony, sending both wolves spiralling to the floor in a cluster of clashing teeth and crimson wounds. They both crash against the awaiting marble floor, reeling from the impact a
Taehyung watches them continue to fight from above, crying, distressed, and panicked because he isn’t entirely certain that Jeongguk will come out of the altercation alive.