Chapter Text
The guy leaning against the taxi looks as normal as any taxi driver does; A middle-aged guy, cigarette smoked down to the butt caught between his lips. His lidded, small eyes perk up when Jungkook approaches him.
However Gung managed to silence the guy, it must have worked wonders. Despite the countless questions burning in his stare, not a single one leaves his mouth.
The cigarette drops to the ground, squashed beneath his foot like an insect he has no regards for.
“JK?”, he rasps.
Jungkook nods, pulling the door to the backseats open when the driver steps around the car to the driver’s side.
For the whole drive, the dropout doesn't mutter a single word; Inward captive of the agony spreading through his limbs and face, a victim to the situation.
He has to make a call, but there is a good chance that the taxi driver is not just any guy that got caught up in this, but someone directly working for Choi Kwon.
The fact that Jungkook doesn't even have to give him the address to his apartment before the taxi rolls off the airport grounds and onto the bridge back towards the center of Seoul, doesn't help soothe his racing mind.
Too many possibilities, too much pain, too many variables.
And no matter how much he tries to chew them all through and spit them back out, hopefully as an at least somewhat coherent mess, the lack of distraction and growth of suffering – body and mind – prevents him from forming a singular thought.
All he can think about is that call. So Jungkook stays sitting, unmoving, staring out the window into the night until streetlamps turn into blinking advertisement screens, growing in size the closer they get to the center.
It won't be long until they will reach his apartment. He is counting the seconds.
With bad luck, V will already be waiting for him before he has had a chance to collect himself and lick his wounds. With even worse luck, V will already be waiting for him to add another wound – one not visible to the eye.
And if Jungkook is really unlucky, it's not V waiting for him, but Jae.
But all his worries get cleared when Jungkook shoves the door to his apartment open. Whoever left it unlocked deserves a smack to the back of the head and a kiss on their cheek.
Without keys, wallet or anything other on him, Jungkook would have been left to spend the night in the hallway. No keysmith would ever unlock the door without identification.
Yet he doesn't step inside, turning on his heels to make his wobbly way down one flight of stairs and knock on a door.
The neighbor is a loner, someone who barely parts their teeth to mutter the occasional greeting. He wants to stay to himself, and Jungkook can respect that.
But he needs to make a call tonight.
However Jungkook must look right now, it might also be an advantage, because he can see the hesitation in the old dude's twitching fingers, before a phone is held out to him. With shaky, blood-smeared fingers – pink flesh peaking from below the cuff of his sweater – he types in the number, holding his breath at the ringing sound that continues for too long.
And then, the call connects.
“Hey.”, Jungkook breathes, voice breaking. “I need you.”
“Was it him?” Jimin's voice is barely above a whisper, the blond one still in his pyjama bottoms, swiping a cotton ball over a cut on Jungkook's forehead under a wince from the younger one.
“No.”, Jungkook retorts, immediate and severe.
Jimin's hooded eyes land on the dropout's, a worry churning in them that threatens to burn the latter. Maybe this wasn't the right decision…
He knew his best friend would have questions he couldn't possibly answer, and yet, Jungkook can't make it through this night all by himself.
He needs someone.
Someone safe.
And with how things have been going, that can't be Taehyung anymore.
It's not that Jimin has become a second choice of any sorts, but it's not like Jungkook can tell him: ‘Oh yeah, I got kidnapped by an employee of my assassin friend that I am crushing on, and who kills people, by the way! So then I got interrogated, beaten, and then delivered to one of South Korea's Top Ten to be executed, but turns out he's just a cowardice little bitch, and now I need to find my assassin friend to deliver a message. Who will hate me because, guess what, he wants to kind of kill my father, too! And I am kinda like my father's off-spring, lol. So, yeah… That will kinda break my heart, but whatever, haha. Anywayyyy, how was your weekend?’
Seems like an awful lot to put on someone as soft and gentle as Jimin.
It's already too much for someone as tough and durable as Jungkook.
Instead he says: “I promise he would never do this to me, it wasn't him. But I don't want to talk about it. Please…”
It's as much of an answer as air is purple, but it must be enough, because Jimin relents with a sigh – fretting when Jungkook flinches away at a tentative press on the skin around his left eye.
“We should go to a hospital…”, his friend murmurs.
On a normal day, Jungkook would refuse – simply because he doesn't like pulling that kind of attention on himself. But tonight, after Jimin arrived at his apartment, panicked and losing it at the sight of him, he realizes that he is putting a lot on his best friend already.
So he gives in and nods.
“Maybe we should.” His gaze travels up, adding some truth at last. “But I don't want to.”
A different emotion flits through Jimin's eyes at that; A memory he had not experienced himself, yet that persists in his mind from Jungkook's countless recollections of the days spent in an empty room after the car crash. The guilt of learning he survived, but someone else hadn't. That he, even though he was a kid, was granted a life that someone else wasn't lucky enough to experience.
All in that clinical, white hospital room with the broken wall ticking just a tad bit too quickly, the monitors beeping insistently, and his father not going through the trouble to visit and ease his mind.
And his mother gone soon after.
“Okay.”, Jimin whispers, instead leaning in and – as gently as humanly possible – wrapping his arms around Jungkook's shoulders. “I'll call Yoongi Hyung to help me, yeah?”
It's as though Jimin can see the fear in Jungkook's eyes before he quickly adds: “No questions, I promise.”
Immediately, Jungkook's body relaxes. He can't keep defending Taehyung. Well, he can, and he will where need be. But he wants to take his mind off of these things for tonight. That was the whole point of calling anyone at all – escape.
Yoongi gets there in record speeds, trudging through the door slightly flustered, which is an unusual sign. His eyes find Jungkook’s.
“Oh, Kook…”
“Don’t.”
Nodding, Yoongi crosses the room and puts a full paper bag onto the couch table between them. “I got some snacks, painkillers and soju. Whatever you need first.”
“And this is why you’re my favourite.”, Jungkook singsongs and lunges for the paper bag, fishing past bags of chips and cookies, hissing when the packing material pinches into his raw wrist. His fingers find the cold glass of a bottle and pulls it out ceremonously, holding it in the air like a trophy. “So, who wants to drink?”
Jimin puts up a small fight, arguing that Jungkook is in no condition to consume alcohol. But knowing that’s an argument he’s going to lose anyway, he relents rather quickly – following Yoongi into the kitchen to fetch glasses whilst the Hyung of the little gathering begins filling the snacks into bowls.
Jungkook looks after them momentarily, blinking away tears. Gratitude threatens to overflow him at the realization of the family he has found in his friends.
And how close he got to never seeing them again, without even being able to offer them any closure. If Jungkook had not survived this godforsaken day, his killers would have made sure to make his body vanish as if it never existed in the first place.
Seokjin, Jimin and Yoongi would be left wondering for the rest of their lives just how Jungkook could abandon them so easily.
The thought alone hurts.
But the dropout doesn’t have the time to think about that right now. The moment Jimin had arrived on his doorstep, accusing Taehyung of being the cause of Jungkook’s condition – an absolutely absurd idea –, all Jungkook could think about was the possibility of his place being bugged again.
What if Taehyung, wondering if the dropout would ever return to his apartment after the reveal of the betrayal, placed some hidden microphones back in around him. V is prepared for everything. The thought of the three of them being listened in on right now isn’t too far off.
He stands, scanning his living room.
If he were an assassin, where would he put hidden microphones?
Somewhere, he knew the person wouldn’t venture too often.
Immediately, Jungkook turns and crosses over to his bookshelf. Not that there are many books in there. It’s mostly CDs and little knick-knacks that he didn’t have the space to put elsewhere.
There’s no time to pull it all out and check for any mics, so Jungkook leans in.
“Don’t come tonight.”, he says into the empty spaces between. “Tomorrow.”
“What did you say?”
He whirls around, watching as Jimin makes his slow way towards the new sofa with three bowls of snacks piled onto one arm, and his other hand full with three little shot glasses. Jungkook hurries to relief him of some of the weight – obviously not without being scolded for it when he flinches at the slightest movement.
“I said I’ll go to my doc tomorrow.”, he lies, placing the bowls down and turning the TV on. “Sorry, I must have said that out loud.”
Blessed be Yoongi and Jimin. They had arrived at Jungkook’s place in the middle of the night and stayed, drinking, eating and talking about anything and nothing at all until the sun rose again, despite it being in the middle of the work week.
Jimin half-promises, half-threatens to call in sick for the day to stay with Jungkook, but the dropout assures him that that’s not necessary, since he’ll be out of the house anyway. Which could be true. He still doesn’t know if there are any hidden mics anywhere, or if V even heard him. But if he did, there’s a good chance he’ll be abducted sooner than later to answer a lot of spiteful questions. He can’t have Jimin here for that to happen.
Not with the reminder of Choi Kwon’s two day restriction.
But first: Sleep.
Much needed, direly wanted, hopefully dreamless sleep.
Honestly, let nightmares haunt him for all he cares, Jungkook just wants to sleep.
He leaves the mess on the couch table behind, grabbing one of the blankets Jimin had wrapped around himself and trotts towards his bedroom, ready to forget everything for a few hours.
A yawn has him groan enough to overhear the noise at first when he pushes the bedroom door open. Jungkook stops dead, wood infront of him preventing him from seeing where the voice is coming from.
But he doesn’t need to see it, to know what is making those sounds.
“- I would still find you in the backrooms at the fundraiser. Even if I would end up here again.”
“Turn it off.” Jungkook’s hoarse voice sounds foreign even to himself, as if he is hearing everything through a wall of water.
The recording stops, silence settling in the murky morning light. No one moves.
“Don’t you want to come in?”, a familiar, dark voice rasps.
“I told you not to come tonight.”
“And I had to see you.”
Jungkook closes his eyes, hand frozen around the doorknob as he rests his forehead against the wood – heart hammering against his ribs. He isn’t ready for this.
He never will be ready for this.
“Leave, V.”
“I can’t, Jungkook.”
Of course, he can’t. He needs to ram the metaphorical knife into the dropout’s heart first.. Tell him to get lost, tell him he will never accept the betrayal.
But Jungkook has a message for him, too. He can’t forget about that.
One that is way more important than his breaking heart.
“Have you watched the whole tape?”, he asks quietly.
Silence greets him in return.
“V?”
The man on the other side of the door clears his throat. “Yes, I have.”
And he’s watching it again. Jungkook doesn’t want to believe that V is reveling in the younger’s abuse. That’s not who Taehyung is.
Why would he watch it again, then? He’s already got all the information Daehyun wanted him to get.
“Come on.”, Jungkook breathes and stands upright, letting the blanket drop to the floor around him. “Let’s get our dramatic farewell over with. I am tired.”
And he is. Not just physically, but mentally as well.
How often can one person play with their life without tiring of the constant game of survival?
This will be the last straw that will break his back, and he just wants it to be over now.
One day, in the far future, he will live a normal life and forget all of this.
Not Tae, though. Never Taehyung.
The dark voice comes closer. “What do you mean ‘Farewell’?”
“What do you mean what do I mean? Isn’t it obvious?”
Drawing a last breath, Jungkook pushes the door open and stares right into Taehyung’s eyes just a few feet away from him.
“You’ve watched the whole video Daehyun produced for you.” He lifts his arms. “I’m Jeon Jungkook. Jeon Jae’s son. You are V. Like-” Despite the pain, Jungkook gesticulates between them. “Do you want me to spell it out so it hurts a little more, or?”
Tae looks as dumbfounded, as he looks tired – something Jungkook can deeply relate to. Instead of his classy, old-fashioned dressings, he stands in front of the dropout in simple jeans and a black hoodie – hood drawn over his head, black curls springing out of it wildly and hanging into his eyes under which dark circles have embedded themselves into his honey skin. He’s paler than usual, his cheeks every so slightly sunken.
Jungkook is well aware that this is not the right moment to be worried, but heart and mind always play by their own set of rules.
“What the fuck happened to you?”
“You happened to me, Jeon Jungkook.”, Taehyung grinds out.
Ouch.
So, the show begins. All Jungkook can do is brace himself. He will free-fall the moment he's alone again. For now, he just needs to hold on long enough not to brittle right in front of the assassin.
“Yeah, I seem to have that effect on people.”, he murmurs, discarding the jab with a humorless joke.
Taehyung steps closer. “Why did you leave? Why did you run?”
Not the reign of questions Jungkook would have expected, but valid nonetheless, and so he answers truthfully.
“I found out my brother is involved in this shitshow in some way.”, he says, his jaw setting. He could tell Tae about his plans to go to Jae, potentially beat him into a promise to keep Seokjin out of everything, if that’s what it took. Whatever he had to do to protect his brother.
But he knows Taehyung well enough at this point to also know that that is explanation enough. That Tae would have done the very same thing if it was his brother.
And he’s right, judging from the recognition flitting through V’s eyes.
“Seokjin?”
Jungkook’s heart stills in his chest. He needs to heave a deep breathe to be able to say the next few words as calmly as possible.
“You know his name?”
V nods, the dark circles under his eyes seemingly darkneing tenfold's right in front of Jungkook. “I do. I know yours, too.”
What a way to snap the band of reality back into place, right into Jungkook’s face.
His hand is still glued to the doorknob, as if he’s hoping he could slam the door back shut and make this all less real, less hurting.
In the blink of an eye, Taehyung stands before Jungkook, grabbing his wrist with the gentlest grasp, navigating him through the bedroom and the next doorway. It's mindboggling how someone can move so urgently and still keep their touches carefully featherlight.
Taehyung slams the bathroom door shut.
“What are you-”
He whirls around with such fervor burning in his eyes, Jungkook instinctively backs away, holding his breath.
But the assassin knows no mercy as he follows right after, backing Jungkook against the wall and crowding his space.
“Kim Taehyung.”, he says lowly.
“What?”
“I'm Kim Taehyung, son of Kim Dan-O and Kim Sanghoon, younger brother to Kim Kibum. My parents died when I was still a kid, so Kibum took me in and raised me, indulging in dirty work for Choi Kwon to be able to raise me appropriately, until Choi Kwon executed him right in front of my eyes when I was not yet an adult. That's how I came to do this. I will take revenge on him, if it's the last thing I do.”
Taehyung's eyes bore themselves into Jungkook, the latter burning up under his gaze and the flood of information.
“What– Taehyung, stop.” He shakes his head, shaking off the overload of new input. His synapsis are screaming loudly, begging for just a minute to get his feet back on the floor. “Why are you telling me this?”
Jungkook has never seen the assassin this crazed before. It's more unsettling of a sight than looking down the barrel of a gun.
“Because I trust you, Jeon Jungkook.”, Taehyung whispers. The slightest pressure appears on Jungkook's cheeks, Taehyung's hands cupping his face tentatively. He leans in, gaze searching the younger's face for something – taking in his injuries.
“Use it to destroy me, but I trust you.”, he repeats, low and urgent. His voice goes quiet, desperate. “Break me apart by your hands, and I will accept it. But don't turn your back on me.”
Jungkook stares back at the assassin before him. This is not how he expected this conversation to go. “Taehyung…”
But the assassin shakes his head.
“Please. Jungkook.”, he pleads. “I thought you ran, finally grasping all the ruin that comes with being around me. I thought- I though I lost you.”
His voice breaks, and the ground below Jungkook breaks open, taunting the dropout with an abyss underneath his feet that he will fall into the moment Taehyung lets go of him.
But the assassin’s warm thumb brushes over Jungkook's cheek. “I was so worried. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. Jungkook, I don't care about who granted you life, I care about you and your safety. And again, you slip through my fingers and reappear like this, and it's my fault. I shouldn't have looked for you. I shouldn't be here. This is what happens to you because of me.”
Jungkook would have never thought to ever hear the collected assassin ramble and stumble over his own words, would have never expected to see him this obviously distraught.
All because of him.
Alll because of him.
He's worried. No, that doesn't even cut it. Taehyung looks terrified.
“Tae.”, Jungkook's voice is a whisper of its former self. His hand raises automatically, wrist a raw pink, knuckles bruised and cut. His fingers find Taehyung's on his neck.
“I'm here. I'm here, Tae.”, he tries to reassure the man in front of him. His fingertips find the dark circles below the assassin's eyes, brushing over them tentatively.
His hand hesitates, afraid Taehyung will flinch away at the contact, afraid he will turn and disappear. Afraid of the rejection.
He swallows, pad of his thumb hovering over the assassin's skin under Taehyung's attentive gaze. The moment Jungkook feels his warmth on the tip of his finger, Tae closes his eyes – a shaky breath pearling from his lips like the rain from a leave.
Serene, somber.
“I'm here.”, Jungkook breathes, not sure what else he could say. All he knows is that he's never seen Taehyung like this.
Time is an illusion. How long was he gone for? A day? Two? Three?
How long has Taehyung not slept? He looks the part.
Cupping the assassin's cheek for a second, Jungkook hand falls away, circling around Tae's wrist instead and pulling it away from his neck. “Come.”
He keeps his voice quiet, gentle, afraid any loud noise could shatter the man.
Taehyung's eyes flutter open reluctantly. “Where to?”
The dropout can feel the heat crawl up his neck and settle on his cheeks. “You need to sleep.”
Taehyung doesn't put up a fight. He simply lets Jungkook pull him out of the bathroom and towards the bed.
Jungkook expects him to move, but Taehyung looks utterly lost. It has the younger one wonder who of them went through real hell whilst he was gone.
Because of me?
It's a foreign thought.
Jimin and Yoongi seemed equally worried about Jungkook, but they kept their wits about and jumped into action to aid him, whereas Tae doesn't seem to be able to help even himself right now.
Jungkook presses the assassin down onto the edge of his mattress. “Lay down, you idiot.”, he whispers, but Taehyung shakes his head again. The assassin looks up, finding Jungkook's eyes through his lashes.
“You will disappear again.”, he says brokenly.
Jungkook's heart skips a beat.
“I won't.”, he promises. Where would he even go to?
Still, he can see how that is not enough for Taehyung. And can he blame him?
He has broken his promise before.
Pulling the blanket away, he limps around the bed to the other side of the mattress and lowers himself down on it – biting his lip until he almost draws blood to hold back a groan he knows will set Taehyung off.
Turning his head, he finds the assassin staring at him, searching his face as though Taehyung needs to make sure that Jungkook is really here. As if he is reassuring himself that he isn't dreaming.
It breaks Jungkook's heart.
“Let's sleep.”, Jungkook offers, watching as Taehyung settles against the pillows without once lifting his gaze from Jungkook.
Quietly. “Don't leave.”
“Not tonight.”, Jungkook returns, and then hesistates. Can he make that pledge?
Life is not kind with him lately. He wouldn't know what else could pull him from the assassin's side, but with Seokjin still in the picture, there could very well be reason for Jungkook to sneak out later on.
It's as though Taehyung can see the train of thought on the dropout's face, eyes narrowing dagerously.
There's the V I know., Jungkook thinks with relief.
He doesn't mind caring for the assassin, just like Taehyung always cares for him. But seeing him this panicked pulls at strings of Jungkook's being, of whose existence he wasn't aware of before.
Taehyung moves, pulling the blanket over himself before lifting it towards Jungkook's direction.
“Lay down.”
The heat on Jungkook's cheeks grows, burning through his face.
“Get yourself another cuddle buddy. I'm injured.”, he tries defensively, but the warning glinting in Taehyung's eyes grows sharper.
“Jungkook, get your ass under this blanket right now.”
With a galloping heart, Jungkook forces his eyes to roll dramatically, desperate to hide the nervousness flushing through his veins as he kicks off his shoes with a wince and carefully props his legs onto the bed– half laying, half sitting down on it.”
“Jungkook.” Taehyung's voice cuts through the air.
I'm about to get my ass whooped one more time.
“God, you piss me off.”, Jungkook mutters as he settles fully on the mattress, letting the assassin drape the blanket over both of them. He hisses when a hot pain shoots up his arm at the brush of Taehyung's fingers over his wrist.
“You need medical attention.”, the assassin says quietly, voice mingling with the diffused morning fitering in through the sheer curtains over Jungkook's window.
He shakes his head. “It's okay. I am full of painkillers and a little booze.”, he retorts, afraid Taehyung will propose going to a hospital as well.
Kim Taehyung.
It feels as though Jungkook shouldn't know that name in full.
‘Ruin me.’
‘Destroy me.’
As if he ever could.
Jungkook turns his head, his breath stopping when he finds Taehyung's face tilted towards him already; half-lidded, tired eyes taking him in.
“You don't hate me…?”, the dropout asks, so quiet he can barely hear the shaky words himself.
Taehyung shakes his head. “Nowadays, I don't think I could ever hate you.”
Again, Jungkook's heart flutters against his ribcage. The assassin really needs to stop saying things like that.
“But I didn't… I never told you who I am.”
Taehyung lifts his head, propping it on top of his palm.
“You had good reason not to.”, he rejoins quietly, seeming calmer now that Jungkook is close to him – in reach should he even think about vanishing again. “Had I known of your father in the beginning, I wouldn't have ever given you a chance to prove yourself to me.” His hand reaches out, carefully tugging the blanket higher up Jungkook's chest. “However… By now I have gotten to know a Jeon Jungkook that is nothing like his father. A Jeon Jungkook I would trust with my life.”
His faze flits over Jungkook's face. “A Jeon Jungkook whose bruises carry my name, and who never holds it against me like he should.”
This eyeroll is real. “You're lucky I can't hit you right now. This wasn't your fault. Stop trying to take on responsibility for the actions of other assholes.”
Taehyung opens his mouth, but Jungkook's hand is faster, planting itself square over the other one's lips.
“Sleep.”, he admonishes the older one. Softer, he adds. “Let's talk about all that later. We both need some sleep.”
Taehyung nods below Jungkook's hand – the latter desperately ignoring the way his heart jumps into his throat at the feeling of the assassin's lips pressing against his palm. He hurries to lift his hand, regretting it again when another plead disrupts the quietness of the bedroom.
“Stay?”
Jungkook nods, looks at Taehyung. “You, too?”
“As long as you allow me to.”
“So, the dead poet society called, they're missing you in the 18th century.”
Taehyung doesn’t return anything, and so silence settles between them.
Not like Jungkook could use any of it to sleep.
Revelation-wise there isn’t much new knowledge.
He now knows Taehyung’s surname, but Kim isn’t that rare anyway. Plus, Jungkook has done a relatively good job yet of keeping the assassin’s name to himself. Why would the knowledge of his surname change anything?
It’s rather the whiplash he experiences from expecting Taehyung to shun him from his life, to then have him expose his real identity in full to Jungkook because the latter’s was used against him like a sword.
And the things he had said…
‘I thought I lost you.’
‘I was so worried.’
‘Break me apart.’
‘But don’t turn your back on me.’
Like a madman losing his dearest person.
Taehyung takes this whole protection thing way too seriously. Because how can he say these things that make Jungkook’s chest feel all weird and tingly? That idiot… He really has no idea of the effect his words have.
And that’s what I get for falling for a time traveler.
‘Choi Kwon executed him right in front of me.’
So Choi Kwon lied to Jungkook. What the fuck was his idea?
If he did that with Taehyung around – which is insanely and utterly messed up and cruel –, then he must know that the message he gave Jungkook to deliver will have absolutely no effect. What is the dropout supposed to say?
‘So, yeah, I know you kinda saw him do it, but he told me it wasn’t him, so believe me, I guess?’
Just why does even the easiest task turn out to be so much more complicated.
“Gguk.”
Jungkook startles with the sudden disturbance, turning his head back to the softest-looking version of Taehyung he has ever seen; Blanket pulled up to his nose, only his closed eyes and wild mop of hair peaking out of it.
“Hm?”
“You still here?”, Taehyung mumbles into the blanket.
Oh, that’s-
Jungkook’s heart grows twice in size at the sight. He doesn’t even notice the smile, or the way his hand lifts from underneath the blanket to hook his finger under a few strands of Tae’s hair and gentle shove them out of his eyes.
“Still here.”, he whispers back. “Sleep now.”
It’s nice, he realizes.
To be the one to care for Taehyung for once. In his state, he would have expected the assassin to throw an absolute fit, but it seems that the last – however long he was gone for – really took all from the other man.
And from Jungkook as well.
What a mess.
He pulls his hand away and stares at the ceiling. Taehyung’s breathing evens out, and even then Jungkook can’t fall asleep.
His eyes are burning a hole into the camcorder on the nightstand, evoking phantom pains in his body from the hell he was put through at the hands of Daehyun.
His head hurts. There are too many things to take care of.
But tonight, with Taehyung laying next to him – in his bed – maybe Jungkook is allowed some rest, too
.
Tomorrow, he can start working through that list.
“I saw him with my own two eyes.”, Taehyung retorts, forehead wrinkled.
This conversation is going exactly like Jungkook had expected it to.
After the first shock of Jungkook having been in Choi Kwon's grasp wore off, Taehyung has met him with nothing but disagreement.
“I understand that.”, Jungkook stresses for the n-th time. “Don't shoot the messenger. I can only tell you what he told me.”
He flinches when Taehyung's fingers press against his naked ribs, evaluating his injuries.
The whole situation is weird as fuck. The moment Jungkook had undressed before the assassin, he has found himself in the eye of a storm of pure and unfiltered anger. Revealing that Daehyun has handed Jungkook over to the public enemy number one didnt necessarily help.
Taehyung had already drawn his phone to send out a command – one Jungkook could fathom what exactly it entailed – when the dropout had stopped him, insisting that this is his open bill with the bull.
He is going to settle it, no one else. Morals, who?
Thankfully, Choi Kwon's lie distracted Taehyung enough not to really argue anything else.
“It's nonsense.", Taehyung murmurs with a shake of his head, fingers tilting Jungkook's head to the side, his own face leaning in. The dropout can feel the assassin's breath ghost over his cheek, down his neck over his chest. He shudders, goosebump traveling up his spine and arms. “He is trying to save himself.”
Jungkook shrugs, pain shooting through his shoulders to his ribs. “Kwon said you'd know who it really was.”
At that, Taehyung's fingers pause for long enough that it catches Jungkook's attention. He tilts his head despite the assassin's fingers still on his chin, searching Taehyungs face. The other man carries an expression that is unreadable; Something akin to recognition and doubt.
“What is it?”
Taehyung's eyes flit up to Jungkook's. “There is…”
He leans away, busying his hands with grabbing another cotton ball and some desinfectant – drenching the white fluff in his hands with it. “I need to check something later on.”
Jungkook understands that this is the end of that, and he isn't mad about it, which is surprising even to him.
By now he knows that Taehyung does not withhold information to shut him out, but rather to make sure that what he says is the truth.
Or, the second option: That the knowledge of something does not endanger the dropout.
And he can live with that.
He's had enough endagermant for two lifetimes.
So he simply nods and lets Taehyung clean his cuts and split lip.
“What do you intend to do about Daehyun?”, the assassin inquires curiously, his eyes darkening at the sole mention of that name.
The same curiosity lives inside of Jungkook, pulsing in beat with his heart. He isn't sure of his answer yet, so he returns the question. “What would you do?”
“Kill him.”
Theres no hesitation, no waver, no second-guessing. Taehyung's answer comes quick and cold, delivered with a certainty that should be unsettling.
“Yeah, I don't think I can do that.”, Jungkook mutters, shivering when his lips move and brush over Taehyung's fingertips. “I don't know what I'll do yet, but first of all I need to go to my father anyway.”
“No.”
Again, no hesitation.
“What do you mean ‘No’?”
Taehyung discards the brown-ish cotton ball in a plastic bag on the couch table. “I will not let you out of my sight again, especially not with that man. You can either take me with you, or you're not going.”
Honestly, on second thought, I am the idiot here for expecting Taehyung to ever make it easy for me.
“Jae knows you.”, Jungkook points out, cringing at saying his father's name aloud in his current company. “I can't- How is that supposed to work?”
With a sharp smile, the assasin turns to meet Jungkook's eyes. “I will behave until the moment he even thinks about laying a finger on you.”
Well, that's not very reassuring, given that Jungkook bringing an assassin who plans to, at some point, drive a knife through his father's heart, will be reason enough for Jae too flip his shit. There's no way that's going to work out.
Knowing Taehyung by now, though, Jungkook is well aware that he won't be able to convince the assassin – and that he has no right to, after breaking his last promise.
“Good. I'm just gonna call him, then.”
And Seokjin. He needs to somehow clue Seokjin into the shitshow that's going on. If his brother is aware of V anyway, Jungkook has to warn him of the danger he is in.
Taehyung hasn't mentioned having a target on Jungkook's brother at any point, but that's not safety per se.
Whatever Seokjin Hyung is doing in the name of their father, it has to stop for his own protection.
Jungkook can ask for a lot of things from Tae, but he doesn't know for sure where the boundary with that lies.
Depending on his brother's actions, it all could still be salvagable.
Or not, and he doesn’t know what to do then.
Taehyung's eyebrows furrow as he steps around Jungkook, taking in the younger's back. “Can I at least torture Daehyun?”
Jungkook snorts. “Don't barter with me about torturing someone, I am trying to get into heaven at some point.”
“Is that a No?”
What even is my life?
“Is it bad?” The question is particularly stupid. Jungkook can feel how bad it is. There's no need to ask. And yet, he doesn't dare look down on himself. As long as he doesn't see the bruises and cuts with his own eyes, he can tell himself that he's just being a little whiny bitch, grit his teeth and walk on.
“Every blemish on you that is because of me is one too many.”
Judging from the tone of Taehyung's voice, Jungkook should really change the topic, but he never claimed to be the responsible one.
Nope, he's known to be thick-headed, and he's got a reputation to defend.
Turning, he stares at the assassin. “Will you stop already?”
Taehyung returns his gaze with the same stoicism in his eyes. “Stop what? Reminding you of the fact that you could live a relatively safe life if it wasn't for me?”
We're really made for each other.
This mule.
“I ran.”, Jungkook reminds the other man. He shrugs his hoodie back on, hiding his abused body underneath it. “I left and broke my promise. I got myself kidnapped.”
Taehyung doesn't accept any of it, swiftly discarding all of the younger's arguments with a decisive: “And it was one of my men. It is my story that you got involved in. Without me, you wouldn't have to worry about any of it.”
He had said something like that yesterday as well.
‘I thought you ran, finally grasping the ruin that comes with being around me.’
And Taehyung isn't wrong. Without him, Jungkook would have continued his boring life, working his night shifts at the supermarket, drinking his worries away at wild nights out at the clubs, avoiding his father at any possible cost. It would be boring, it would be unfulfilling, but he would be safe.
He, his friends and… maybe Seokjin.
But Jungkook had said it before as well. If he could turn back time, he would find Taehyung and risk it all again; Himself, his friends, his family.
Not because of the thrill, not because of the action.
But because, in Taehyung, he has unexpectedly found a companion, someone who has seen who he is, the mess that he comes with, and accepted it wholeheartedly. This is a different companionship than with Jimin or Yoongi.
This is messy, it's ugly, it's bloody, and it's real.
Not once did either of them give up on the other one, no matter how ugly it got. No matter how brutal and cruel.
By now, Jungkook thinks Taehyung would walk him through hell, if he asked. And he would, too, if Taehyung asked.
They have learned to lower their walls for the other one, have learned to be vulnerable and not expect backlash or worse. They have learned how to trust each other, even if they were forced to at several points down the road.
Jungkook would do all of it again for Taehyung; To stand by his side when it rains, to stich his adbdomen back together on some kitchen floor, to butt heads and reconcile, to tease and taunt, to kill or be killed.
Yes, he has to worry for his life at every corner now. Yes, he has been beaten and almost killed far more often than the regular person does in one lifetime.
And he would still do it again, if that meant he could be by Taehyung's side.
“I don't want that.”, he says decisively. “I want…”
Taehyung stops pacing, turning. “What do you want, Jungkook?”
It's not the question that feels steeped in hardship, its the answer that doesn't want to cross Jungkook's lips.
You.
“Well, all of this.”, he stutters. “Murder and all– well not murder. Necessary killing? That sounds wrong, too.”
Jungkook can feel the blood rush through his face, tinging it pinkish. He's not one to blush that easily, yet, somehow, he finds himself flustered so often lately.
The assassin doesn't make it any easier – asshole – when he steps back around Jungkook and forces the younger to meet his gaze. “Why?”
Because it means I can be with you.
The evasive reply comes easier this time. “Because weve got each other's back, always. Dont we?”
It seems to have been the right reply, as Taehyung's eyes soften right before him. “We do.”
Phew. That was close.
“But I don't want my trouble to be yours.”
Great.
“Taehyung.” Jungkook has never heard himself scold someone before. Usually, it's him who's getting scolded, not the other way around. “You couldn't have expected Daehyun to betray you like that. Why are you accepting responsibility for the actions of a scumbag? Nothing you have done has led to me being in this state. I ran from home and allowed Scarface to attack me. You couldn't know my father would assault me. Daehyun kidnapped and interrogated me because I ran away from you as well.” He lifts off the couch and steps closer to Taehyung. “You had your abdomen sliced open and still came home to me to make sure I am okay. You allowed me in your house to protect me and shelter me from the harshness of your world. You have sacrificed your own ambitions for my safety. So stop acting like you’re the worst thing that could have happened to me, when you're one of the best things that has happened to me in years!”
Okay, admittedly, the last sentence wasn't supposed to slip out. But it is what it is now. Could have been worse, and if it gets Taehyung to stop trying to shut Jungkook out again, then even better.
The assassin blinks, mouth opening and closing again, opening and closing, until he settles on a singular sentence.
“I'm what?”
I take it back. It couldn't be worse.
Why, in all Gods’ names, did he have to focus on that from all the things Jungkook said?
“Annoying.”, Jungkook deflects swiftly. “Can we go now?”
Taehyung chuckles and grabs the car keys from the sofa, gesturing for Jungkook to lead the way.
Their first stop was the weird concrete bunker in the middle of a forest, where Jay fully examined Jungkook and announced that, thankfully, he somehow suffered no broken bones. His ribs are discoloured by several contusions, but nothing is broken. It's a small consolation. However, the painkillers he’s perscribed are definetely reason to celebrate.
Jay had insisted on Jungkook taking the first one under his watchful eye. Apparently, these aren't as easy to get your hands on in the country, and enough to knock a horse out – something Taehyung agreed would be necessary to have Jungkook actually get his recommended amount of prescribed bedrest.
All his tension melted away. A haze filled his mind and body, making Jungkook feel as though he is a cloud. A small, tiny cloud floating through the base after Taehyung with a lazy smile on his lips.
He thinks some people are voicing their concerns about Jungkook being part of conversations he shouldn't have any business with, but Taehyung reassures everyone that the dropout won't be any problem. And he's right.
Not a single word sticks with him.
Jay pops in every now and then, finding the younger one either absolutely mesmerized by the mechanisms of a ballpoint pen, or distracted by the gesturing of hands around him.
There's not a singular coherent thought in Jungkook's mind, and maaaaan, is that nice.
This is exactly what he needed. Not even the thought of Daehyun being held somewhere below them matters to him. No, the dust particles dancing through beams of sun filtering through the small windows are way more important.
Hours draw by, maybe even days, or just minutes. Who knows? When Taehyung says to someone. “I'll take him somewhere safe. One a day?”
“Two if necesarry, though,” Someone waves a hand in front of Jungkook's face, having him chuckle to himself. Dark, light, dark, light. “Yeah, one should be enough.”
The car ride is a different story.
With the world already a little hazy and distorted, pairing movement to it is a really bad idea.
It's been ages since Jungkook had been car sick, the battle swirling in his stomach foreign to him at his age.
But he manages to keep the meals that were given to him at the base inside of him, merely chewing Taehyung's ear off with whines and countless questions of when they'll finally get wherever they're supposed to be.
It might be the meds, but Jungkook is fairly positive that he doesn’t know the new hideout Tae guides him into. It’s… something.
Extravagant is one way to describe it, but he isn’t a master of words right now.
“Damn, you got a sugar daddy, or something?”, Jungkook slurs, leaning his weight on Taehyung as the latter guides him through a big, open foyer towards a door further back.
“I don’t need one.”
“Smash. I kinda do. Imagine.” He lifts his arm, uselessly waving his hand in front of the assassin’s face. “All the Ramyeon I could buy. Just in exchange for some ass pics.”
He narrows his eyes, trying to focus his vision into taking in more details of their new accommodation. It’s no use. All he sees is white, stairs, gold accents, black accents, a few vases. Big windows, too big, too bright. “I got a fabulous ass, I could get rich off of it.”
There’s a snort to his side. “Let’s get this fabulous ass to bed first.”
The next morning, the first thing Jungkook should notice is the resurfacing of his pain. But something else distracts him sufficiently enough to fade it out for a moment.
He feels a pressure against his face, opens his eyes and sees a good chunk of nothing other than a dark blue bedsheet pooling around his neck and some black fabric shoving itself half into his vision.
Only that the fabric is warm. And moves. In rhythm with the even breathing of the man it belongs to.
Jungkook is pressing his face against the arm of Taehyung.
He almost topples out of bed, pulling the blanket up his dressed chest like a maiden in distress and stares at the man who blinks his eyes open at the startled rustle to his side.
“What are you doing here?!”, Jungkook asks accusingly, his pulse racing through his body like a horse on steroids.
Taehyung tilts his head, face puffy still from sleep, eyes half-open. “It was you who asked me to stay.”, he mumbles and lifts his arms, making the cutest little noises as he stretches without a worry in the world.
Jungkook did what now?
What the fuck did Jay give him, for him to demand something like that?
Honestly, doesn’t matter. He needs more of it right now to drown out the embarrassment (and pain, though that is far less bad compared to the heating searing through his face).
Without any access to it, though – Taehyung must have stashed it somewhere out of reach given the strong effects of it –, he settles on distraction instead.
Tilting his head to every side, Jungkook gapes at the lavish bedroom they’re situated in.
Is the bed… Yip. The bed is on a podest. Who the fuck wants to climb stairs to get into bed? Fuck on a stage? Where’s the cuckold chair?
With his luck, he will stumble and knock his head open on the set of three stairs leading up to the bed. Not that it would make any difference to his current state.
“Where are we?”
“Close to your father’s villa.”, Taehyung replies and finally sits up, the blanket pooling around his lap. The hair on his head stretches into every direction, tangled curls inviting Jungkook’s twitching fingers to brush through them and sort them back out. He shoves his hands underneath his aching thighs.
“Why are we–”
Hesitating, he drops the question. There are two possibilities. Either Taehyung wants to make good on his promise to not let the dropout visit his father by himself, or he’s got a job to do here.
Neither option is great, to be honest.
Taehyung leans over the side of the bed and retrieves Jungkook’s phone and wristband from the nightstand there. He holds them out, but when the dropout reaches for them, pulls his hands back and stares at the younger one.
“If you ever again take off your only way to contact me in emergencies and return to me like that, I will torture the person who’s hurt you to a very, very slow death. Do you understand that?”
“What the-” Uneasy and a little squeamish at the thought of that, Jungkook scowls. Taehyung would never threaten him, knowing exactly what to say to make the dropout oblige to him. “You’re so messed up.”
“I’m worried.”, Tae retorts, unblinking when Jungkook yanks the items out of his grasp. He watches on as the young one puts the watch back on and then goes to power on his phone.
Immediately, several messages pour in. Jungkook ignores them all but one.
The letters spelling UNKNOWN already have his stomach drop.
>Is it done?
How the hell did they even get his number?
His father, of course.
>It’s done.
He did what he was told to: Deliver the message.
The fact that Taehyung – justifiably – doesn’t buy any of it is neither Jungkook’s fault, nor does he care.
If Choi Kwon really went as far as to execute a young man in front of the eyes of his little brother, than he deserves what’s coming for him.
With Taehyung around, Kwon won’t have a chance to lay a finger on Jungkook anyway. That is, as long as Jungkook stays around Tae. Which he isn’t really known for.
At some point, he might break out again – necessarily so.
It's not even his fault. He has people to protect. By now, this includes Taehyung as well.
If Choi Kwon summons the dropout and threatens with retaliations on the assassin, then yes, Jungkook will sneak out again and find the mogul.
For now, though, he stills wonders why exactly Taehyung would choose a location so close to his father. Is this the compromise? Jungkook can go by himself, as long as Taehyung is close enough to intervene at the slightest sight of trouble?
Jungkook fingers the rim of his watch, tracing his fingertip along the knob of it that will put him in a lockdown at Taehyung's home.
He presses it, once, twice, thrice, four times, and then a fifth.
Immediately, there's a shrill alarm ringing out between them. Taehyung obviously startles, fishing his phone from his sweats to turn it off. “What was that for?”
“I'm gonna see my father today.”
“Today?”
“Today.”
They hold each other gazes for a small eternity.
“Not on an empty stomach.”
Taehyung swings his legs over the side of the mattress, his shirt sliding up a bit at the movement and exposing a whole different V on his body – one enough to send the dropout spiraling into a churning heat of molten lava that burns him up from deep inside his stomach up to the ends of his hair and down to his toes.
He bats his eyes back down to the watch.
The villa is too sterile for Jungkook's taste. From all the hideouts they've hunkered down in, this one is his least favourite. The architecture is too familiar, too close to his childhood home. He's on constant alert, unable to relax, expecting his father to wait for him around every corner.
Even the kitchen is too grande. There's a whole ass chandelier hanging over the stove – a stark constrast to the modern, round lights sunken into the ceiling around it.
The typical ‘I'm rich and want to show it’ design.
Jungkook eyes Taehyung, who opens the gigantic fridge (stocked, of course).
The assassin's kind of work must pay an actual shitton. It was an open secret from his several luxurious hideouts, change of cars, bases and headquarters, not to mention his own home. But a whole villa?
Not only are they rare enough around here, they're also so expensive that only the fewest people can afford them.
It's a statement piece, a ‘Look how well off I am’, a brand in itself.
And Jungkook hates everything about it.
“How long are we going to stay here?”, he asks, stepping closer to the kitchen island on which Taehyung staples sausages, breads and different spreads for breakfast.
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On when-”
The doorbell chimes.
Jungkook's eyes widen, before he rolls them. There are only two people that could show up here, and whilst Namu is accaptable, Jungkook has no interest in getting dissed by Jay today. Not with the pain pulsating behind his forehead.
“Can you open it?”, Taehyung asks, arms piled full of vegetables he carries to the sink after softly kicking the fridge door shut again.
With a sigh, Jungkook turns and trotts out of the kitchen through the foyer. He opens the door, ready to tell V's men to get lost again if no one is acutely dying, but his words die on his tongue.
“What-”
He shoves the other man back, following urgently and slamming the door shut behind him. “What the fuck are you doing here? You need to leave! Right now.”
Ache explodes in his ribs when his hands find his brother's chest to push him further back.
“Kook-ah, would you-”
“Leave. Now.”
“Kook, I am-”
“Hyung, leave!”, Jungkook whisper-yells, throwing a glance over his shoulder.
Seokjin uses the moment of distraction to slap his younger brother's hands away and shove right back.
“Stop it already!”
Uncaring of the push-back, Jungkook grasps his Hyung's arm and drags him away from the entrace and the windows, away from where they could be seen through the enourmous kitchen windows.
In the shadows of a neatly-cut, round, tall hedge, he whirls around. “What are you doing here?!”
Worry flickers through Seokjin's eyes, rivaling the irritation in them. “You look-”
“Save it.”, Jungkook cuts in, tired of hearing the same comments time and time again. He knows exactly what he looks like, he doesn't need everyone to rub it in.
Seokjin sighs. “Can you let me finish one sentence?”
“One. And you better make it worthwile. Why are you here? How did you even know that I'm here?!”
Jungkook looks around, half expecting to find a blinking, big sign on the roof that says ‘JEON JUNGKOOK FOUND HERE’ with a red arrow pointing at the building beneath.
“I'm not here for you.”, Seokjin shoots back, eyebrows furrowing in the way that Jungkook knows all too well. He's in for a serious scolding. “Which reminds me, why are you here? Did I not tell you to stay away from that man!”
The dropout's mouth opens, but nothing comes out. Say what now?
Too many things at once. He needs to sort them out.
One: Jin isn't here because of Jungkook, he is here for Taehyung.
After one is supposed to come two, but that information is already enough to have Jungkook's brain short-circuit. What the hell would he–
Well, Jin already revealed to know V, but he had warned Jungkook that V is not someone he'd want to be around, so why is his brother actively seeking him out right now?
Okay, two…
Nope, One still doesn't make sense.
“Why are you not staying away from him?”, Jungkook retorts, mouth still agape.
Jin brushes his short, black hair back. His face has become gaunter, the same exhaustion Jungkook saw on Taehyung's face reflected on his brother's now. He doesn't like the sight of it even one bit. “Because I have work to do. Can we go in now? It's freezing. And Jae can't see me here.”
Without waiting for Jungkook's approval, Seokjin sets into motion, striding through the yard back to the grande entrance of the villa. He raps on the wide metallic door and steps back, looking over his shoulder to find Jungkook still standing in the shadow of the hedges as if he was forgotten there.
The door opens, and Jungkook can only stare as Taehyung and Seokjin greet each other before his brother slips into the villa. Taehyung leans out, finding Jungkook. “What are you doing over there?”, he asks, befuddled.
It's enough to snap Jungkook out of it and haste back into the village, shouldering past Taehyung and after Seokjin.
“Preparing myself to beat my Hyung's ass.”, he grits out and peeks into the kitchen first, failing to find his brother.
He rips open every door, slamming them back shut, until he finally finds Jin sitting on a black leather sofa in what is probably supposed to be the living room, if it wasn't this empty and soulless It’s obvious no one is living here long-term.
Jungkook might not be in the best condition to start a physical fight, but that won't stop him.
He barrels towards his Hyung, coming to a short stop right in his face.
“Hyung.”, he hisses. “Why. Are. You. Here.”
“I would have told you earlier, but I didn't know of your relation for certain, so there was no reason for me to.”, Taehyung's voice cuts in, appearing behind the brothers. Seokjin lifts his finger towards the assassin and shakes his head.
Surprisingly, it actually shuts Taehyung up – who raises both hands and simply steps around the sofa to sit down.
“It's actually none of your business,”, Seokjin begins, and Jungkook is one second away from actually starting a fistfight. “It shouldn't be if you would have been smart enough to listen to me. But if you have to know, let's just say V and I are old acquaintances.”
Nothing makes sense anymore. Jungkook whirls around, staring daggers at Taehyung. “Why?”
But Tae only lifts his hands once more, obviously not interested in getting in the middle of the brotherly dispute.
“Don't ask him, ask me.”, Seokjin chides.
Gritting his teeth, Jungkook turns back around.
“Humor me, Hyung.”
Seokjin's gaze grows sharp, his eyes narrowing.
He hates when Jungkook regards him with the same sarcasm he throws at everyone.
If it wasn't Jin, Jungkook would have doubled down. But this is his brother, his Hyung that has sacrificed too much to keep Jungkook safe and sound.
So Jungkook swallows all his little remarks, shoulders and head drooping.
“Good.” Seokjin exhales and shrugs his long coat off, dropping it carelessly onto the leather sofa before sitting down on it. “Where to start?”
Jungkook looks between Taehyung and Seokjin, his brain failing to compute that this is really happening. This is a sight he had feared for a good two months now, but the two man seem utterly at ease in each other's company. It doesn't make any sense.
“Don't start anywhere, he can do that later.”, Jungkook disrupts his brother's attempts of explaining and gestures towards Taehyung. Oh yes, the assassin has lots of explaining to do later. “Please just tell me why you're here. With him.”
Seokjin begins explaining, leaving Jungkook even more confused than before, even if he finally gets the answers he's been seeking for.
“We’ve been working together for years now.”, he says nonchalantly, as if that’s the most normal thing to admit to. “Whenever our father lets something slip, I inform V of it. A measure to keep you out of this trouble. Which” He clicks his tongue. “Worked out great.”
Something finally clicks inside Jungkook’s head. “You’re a whistleblower?”
“V’s whistleblower. Now tell me, why are you here with him?”
Tae takes another bite out of the slice of bread in his hands, eyebrows shooting up when the brothers turn their head to look at him.
“It’s his fault.”, Jungkook says.
Tae snorts. “Is it now?”
“Oh, come on now. Don’t act like it wasn’t you who moved into my space.”
“A measure needed to protect you after you practically forced yourself into my life.”
“Forced myself?! You held a knife to my–” Jungkook cuts off, throwing a side glance at a stumped Seokjin. “Anyway. It’s a long story. Let’s just say we’ve been living together for a little while.”
Jin’s eyes narrow noticeably. “How long?”
“Uh.”
Taehyung chimes in. “Approximately two months now.”, he begins, placing the bread down. “In an unfortunate turn of events, Jungkook got involved with Choi Kwon’s security guards at the fundraiser, which then got him involved with me. I took all steps necessary to ensure his safety–”
“He doesn’t look the part.”, Jungkook’s older brother cuts the assassin off, very obviously irritated as he points at his dongsaeng’s face. “Does that look safe or protected to you?”
Taehyung looks like instead of accusations, he was faced with a backhand. Genuine shame discolours his face. It’s a sight Jungkook hasn’t seen yet; One that cuts him, too. Because this is not V’s fault.
“Now, Jinnie Hyung, listen–”
“Not right now, Jungkook.”
“Yeah, kinda right now.”, he tries again, now being subject of his Hyung’s seething gaze. Although Jungkook shrinks in on himself – rarely fixed with a glare from Seokjin – he sidesteps, hiding the assassin behind his body. “This isn’t V’s fault. I kind of ran away and got myself… um, in a situation.”
Kidnapped, interrogated, beaten and blackmailed. But it’s not like those keywords would do anything to calm the eldest in the room. Jungkook continues.
“V actually sacrifices a lot of his own plans to keep me safe, but you know me. Ever the brat.”, he offers a humorous remark in hopes to ease up the tension in the room. Not that it has really helped. Seokjin looks as enraged as before. He leans around Jungkook.
“You swore he would never even know of your existence as long as I work with you. So how is that going?”
“Seokjin-ssi, I swear that I did not seek him out. But what would you have preferred me to do?”, Taehyung asks, switching from defense into offense. “Leave him to fend for himself after landing on Choi Kwon’s radar? They weren’t aware of who he was, just like I have just recently gotten to know of his relation to you. Had I known for certain that Jungkook is your little brother, I would have informed you much earlier. And him. This is not my fault.”
Yes, tell him.
No, wait. I should be on my brother’s side. Blood’s thicker than water and all that, right?
Man, this is confusing.
Jin turns back to Jungkook. “Is this true? Don’t lie to me.”
“Now, why would I lie?”
His brother fixes Jungkook with a deadpan stare.
“Touché.”, he relents, but nods. “It’s true, though. I kept my identity hidden, because of the whole Jae thing, you know?”
“And I’m supposed to believe that you didn’t do research on my little brother?”, Jin addresses Taehyung, who simply shrugs.
“I tried, but thanks to Jungkook being chaos personified, I didn’t even have a name to work with. And once I have gotten to know his first name, I have learned to trust him enough to not dig around in a past he obviously didn’t want to share with me.”
Jungkook’s gaze softens, his bottom lip shoving out as he coos at the assassin.
That’s cute.
No, wait. We’re kinda having a moment here.
“Hyungie.”, Jungkook half-whines. “This is all a big coincidence, I swear.”
Seokjin sighs and sinks into the leather of the sofa, brushing his hands over his face. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“I know what that feels like.”, Taehyung agrees from the side, earning himself a pointed glare from the dropout.
Bitch.
Jungkook claps his hands. “Cool! Very nice reunion! Can we all part ways now and act like this never happened so you can get away and out of harm’s way, or…?”
But Seokjin doesn’t make a move, simply waving one hand through the air. “I’m not done, yet.” He turns his head. “How much does he know?”
Taehyung shakes his head.
“Kook-ah, let V and me talk alone for a second.”
Usually, Jungkook listens to Seokjin without a second of hesitation. But his head turns automatically, searching Taehyung’s gaze.
The assassin smiles and nods, tilting his head into the direction of the kitchen.
For now, Jungkook will not be part of the conversation.
But they’ll talk later. They always do.