A sickeningly familiar scent invaded Jungkook's senses even before his mind fully surfaced from the abyss of unconsciousness.

Metallic. The thick, suffocating tang of blood and iron.

Acrid. The lingering traces of freshly diffused gunpowder.

Sweet. A cloying, almost nauseating hint of candy in the air—sickly and out of place, coating his tongue like something unnatural.

That was what made his stomach churn the most.

His breath hitched as awareness slowly bled into his senses, dragging him—kicking and screaming—from the fog of darkness.

A dull throb pulsed at the side of his head, a reminder of the brutal impact that had sent him spiraling into this void. His lashes fluttered, and his eyes, heavy and unfocused, cracked open sluggishly.

The first thing he saw— metal.

The cold, unyielding arms of the chair he was restrained against gleamed under the dim, flickering light. His wrists ached, the cruel bite of steel cuffs holding him in place. His body felt leaden, weak—but his instincts screamed.

Where am I?

The thought slithered through the haze of his mind like a whisper, barely clinging to coherence. He sluggishly turned his head, and the moment he did— pain. A sharp, searing bolt of agony shot through the side of his skull, forcing a sharp hiss past his lips. The sudden jolt rattled him, snapping his awareness into place like a shattered bone resetting.

He tried to lift his arm to his head, desperate to touch, to check, to ground himself— but he couldn't.

His wrists— bound. His ankles— restrained. The realization was ice-cold, spreading through his veins like poison. And then it hit him.

The last thing he remembered.

Venom.

His sister's voice. Her empty, hollow gaze. Her words were laced with finality. And then the brutal impact. Even if he was family, the Devil's Eye forces bowed to her and seized him by the neck. It was chilling and terrifying to see the impact of her power.

A fresh wave of nausea rolled over him. His pulse pounded in his ears as he clenched his jaw. He needed to think. Needed to understand what the hell was happening.

Because right now...

Right now, the sinking feeling in his gut told him something worse was coming.

"Did they hurt you that bad, Guk?" That voice— soft, mellow, almost tender—spilled through the room like a phantom whisper. It slid down Jungkook's spine, pulling him further from the haze of unconsciousness, forcing him to grasp onto the stark, chilling reality before him.

His breath came shallow, ragged, his body stiff and aching against the cold metal chair restraining him. A sickening feeling twisted in his gut—an instinctive, primal kind of fear. His pulse hammered as he lifted his head, his gaze dragging toward the wall in front of him.

One... Two... Three.

Three bodies.

Nailed to the wall like grotesque trophies, their eyes wide open— yet lifeless.

Their expressions frozen in the agonizing final moments of their deaths, twisted beyond recognition, lips parted as if caught mid-scream. Swollen. Mangled. Distorted.

The sheer number of bullet holes puncturing their flesh made it impossible to tell where one wound ended and the next began. Their bodies were not just executed—they were desecrated.

Blood, so much blood, slick and endless, crawled down the wall in lazy, sinister rivers, creeping toward the floor in a slow, unrelenting descent.

It was thick, dark, fresh.

It slithered like something alive— spilling across the ground, sneaking up the legs of the chair, kissing the soles of Jungkook's black combat boots. A cold shiver raked down his spine. His fingers twitched against the restraints, nails digging into his palms.

"Ah, I see you're awake. Took you long enough" Jungkook's heartbeat stuttered, his throat clenching around the words he couldn't find.

Because for the first time in his life... he was sat in these chairs he never thought he would.

He wasn't sure if it was his sister. Or if the monster standing before him was something else entirely.

"They deserved it, didn't they?" The voice, silken and cruel, slid into his ears like a serpent whispering secrets in the dark. It was sweet yet venomous, soothing yet terrifying—a melody of death wrapped in sickening tenderness.

His breath hitched as he blinked, trying to steady himself, trying to understand.

"How dare they put their filthy hands on my brother with such force" she murmured, her voice softer now, almost delicate, as if speaking of something fragile, something precious. Her footsteps were unhurried, each one carrying the weight of something inevitable.

"I could've done worse" she continued, "ripped them apart limb by limb, let them feel what happens if they attacked what's close to my heart" She sighed again, feigned disappointment curling at the edges of her words. "And yet, look at me... I was generous. I left their bodies intact."

Jungkook swallowed hard, the lump in his throat refusing to go down.

He knew.

He knew those three men were following her orders. It was her voice that commanded them to strike him down. Her word that sealed his fate at that moment.

So then why? Why would she kill them now?

His mind twisted itself in knots, trying to decipher the labyrinth that was his dark angel. She was unpredictable, a storm of contradictions wrapped in flesh and blood, a chaos that moved with elegance and precision. She was both an executioner and a savior.

And he, her brother, was caught in the middle of that madness. Jungkook's thoughts spiraled, drowning in confusion, until—

A whisper. Right behind him. So close, so unbearably close, her breath ghosted over the shell of his ear, chilling the blood in his veins.

"You're thinking too much, Guk," Venom purred her voice a caress laced with warning. His entire body tensed. Because at this moment, he wasn't sure if he was safe— Or if he was next.

"V-Venom—" His voice was hoarse, caught between a plea and a desperate grasp for control.

But she wasn't having it. "Hush~ Agent Jeon" She cooed, her voice silken but sharp, a lullaby laced with poison. "You know how much I hate being interrupted."

Her footsteps were slow, deliberate, the sound of her boots against the cold floor echoing like the ticking of a clock counting down his fate. While he sat frozen, his body rigid against the unyielding metal of his restraints, his breathing shallow, his pulse thrumming like a war drum.

Then, she came to a stop. Right in front of him. And when she tilted her head down, her hazel orbs bore into him—piercing, dissecting, unraveling.

Jungkook swallowed hard. Still, despite the warning in her gaze, despite the thinly veiled threat woven into her words, he tried again.

"I can explain, Please let me–"

A sharp gasp left him, words dying in his throat as she moved. Effortlessly, she sat on his lap. He tensed, his pulse skyrocketing, the cold touch of her hands enclosing his cheeks. His hands twitched against the bindings that held him down, instinct screaming for him to move, to do something.

But she knew. She knew he wouldn't. And so she leaned in, her lips hovering just beside his ear, her voice nothing more than a velvet whisper laced with malice.

"Can you, Guk?" She let the words linger, let them settle deep. "You think you can explain your betrayal?"

Jungkook flinched. Her hand moved then, slow and deliberate, fingers ghosting over the expanse of his chest before she reached sideways, gripping something unseen.

There, beside them, a small steel trolley sat in eerie silence—stocked with medicines instead of guns.

"Jungkook," she murmured, tilting her head as if she were studying a puzzle with missing pieces. "You've always been reckless, but this?" She clicked her tongue, disappointment laced with something darker. "This is a whole new level of stupidity. You ran from me," she mused, almost as if the thought alone amused her. "You thought you could keep secrets from me?" She let out a low, breathy chuckle, her nails trailing across his jaw before gripping it, forcing his gaze to meet hers.

"Tell me, Jungkook, what kind of delusion made you think you could have something so... pure? Do you have any idea" she whispered, dragging her nails down his chest, the fabric of his shirt doing little to dull the sensation, "just how badly you've fucked up. Hiding from me, not just a secret, it's a whole fairytale... with a beautiful angel trapped between the filth, what made you think you could have such a love life?" Jungkook clenched his jaw, muscles locking tight as dread curled deep in his stomach.

He was in trouble. He so was!

"Honey~ people like you, people like me, we have a nameless birth and faceless death. And, this world worships fame. There is no place for you and me there~"

Jungkook's breath hitched as her fingers ghosted over his skin, unnervingly gentle as she wiped away the dried blood staining his face. The stark contrast between her actions and the venomous gleam in her eyes sent a slow, creeping dread slithering down his spine.

What is happening? What is she doing? What is she up to now?

A million thoughts clawed at his mind, each one more suffocating than the last. But one thought roared louder than the rest.

Jimin. Did she do something to him?

His muscles remained tense, his pulse a frantic drumbeat beneath his skin. She was toying with him—distracting him. She had to be. The realization made his stomach churn violently. Before he could demand answers, she hummed, tilting her head as if she could hear the very chaos in his mind.

"No" she murmured, voice as soft as silk and just as deceptive. "I didn't do anything to your precious Jimin, Jeon. Don't worry... he's perfectly fine." His breath left him in a sharp exhale, but he didn't let his guard drop. He knew her too well. Venom never gave reassurances without a price.

She continued dabbing at his wound with a tenderness that felt entirely out of place. A cruel parody of care. Jungkook swallowed hard, his voice a low rasp.

"Then what the hell is this?"

She merely smirked, eyes gleaming with something unreadable. "This?" She pressed a little harder against his wound, making him wince before she whispered, "This is me... reminding you that mercy and cruelty can wear the same face." And just like that, the air turned suffocating again.

"Did you really think" she murmured, voice like silk wrapped around steel, "that you could keep him hidden from me?" His clenched fists tightened more, the bite of the restraints digging into his wrists. His mind was a storm, his heartbeat erratic as he forced the words out.

"I... I shouldn't have kept it from you" he admitted, his voice unsteady. "B-but Jimin is innocent, Venom. He doesn't know anything. He never has, and he never will."

She let out a hum, tearing open the bandage sachet with her teeth. The sound made his stomach coil in unease. She wasn't angry. That was the terrifying part—her amusement was worse than her fury. "Hm~" she mused, pressing the bandage against his wound, the sting barely registering over the tension thickening the air.

Jungkook inhaled sharply. "I—I only kept it from you because... because Jimin is connected to Taehyung."

Venom stilled for half a second. A flicker of something passed through her gaze before she let out a breathy chuckle, shaking her head. "Ah," she whispered. "So, that's what this is about."

He swallowed hard, his voice quieter now. "I couldn't lie to you, you know that. But I—I couldn't tell you the truth either."

Silence.

Then, slowly, she leaned in, her breath a whisper against his cheek. "Sweetheart," she cooed, "lying and withholding the truth? They taste the same to me."

He stiffened. Her cold fingers traveled down the extent of his neck.

"You think you were protecting him?" Venom tilted her head, feigning curiosity. "Or were you protecting yourself?"

His jaw tightened. "Jimin has nothing to do with this world."

"You think this world lets people go just because you wish it?" Her fingers wrapped around his throat, not squeezing, just resting there. A silent reminder.

"You can tell yourself all the fairytales you want, Agent Jeon" she murmured. "But at the end of the day, we don't get to love. We don't get to dream. And most of all," she whispered, her voice dripping with something dark, "we don't get to keep secrets from each other no matter how brutal they could be"

His breath trembled as he spoke, the words spilling from his lips like a confession he had no choice but to make. "I know I messed up, I know I should've told you," he whispered, his voice raw with desperation. "But, Venom... I love him. I love him so much that it feels like I can't breathe without him. Even a single day apart—" he let out a shaky exhale, his head dropping forward—"it drives me insane. Maybe I sound foolish to you, maybe you think this is weakness, but—"

"You don't" Venom cut in, her voice softer than he expected. His head snapped up, brows furrowing at her response. His lips parted slightly in surprise.

"You... you understand?" he asked hesitantly, the disbelief evident in his tone. She nodded, her expression unreadable.

"Yes," she admitted, tilting her head as she regarded him with something almost resembling empathy. "I might not have understood before, but now... I see it." Jungkook swallowed thickly, trying to gauge the shift in her demeanor. "You didn't want to hurt either of us," she continued, her voice quieter now, as if tasting the words before fully accepting them. "You were torn between two different worlds... but you should've known, Jungkook."

Her fingers caressed her own hands as if signing a devil's contract.

"I should've known" she murmured, more to herself than to him. Her words were laced with something that wasn't quite regretful but wasn't quite angry either. A truth she had spent too long denying.

Jungkook's brows furrowed as the realization settled in. This wasn't just about him.

She had tasted the same poison.

She had let love slip into her veins, uninvited, unwanted. And now, she was suffering just as he was. Suddenly she looked too fragile to him. Alone, pale and dead! like the first time.

FlashBack~

Nine-year-old Jungkook stood frozen, his wide eyes fixed on the tiny figure before him. A six-year-old girl, her small hand clutched tightly in their father's grasp, peered around the grand but lifeless room with a kind of fear that needed no words.

Her eyes—too large for her delicate face—were swollen, rimmed red from relentless tears. Her round, button nose, tinted pink from crying, twitched as she sniffled softly. She looked like she had been through hell, yet she didn't scream, didn't struggle. But the way her fingers trembled over the fabric of her torn dress told Jungkook everything.

He knew that fear.

He knew that quiet suffering.

Two years ago, he had been dragged through these very doors in the same wretched state, his own cries falling on deaf ears. No one had looked at him with concern. No one had cared. But now, standing here, watching this girl, he felt something tighten inside him.

Slowly, hesitantly, he took a step closer watching his father step away from the child briefly. She sat stiffly on the couch, her bruised, dirt-streaked legs dangling above the floor. The purple ring around her throat made his stomach churn. She had been choked. Hurt. And yet, she sat in absolute silence. He swallowed hard before speaking.

"Hi"

The girl flinched, snapping her head toward him so fast that Jungkook took a small step back. Her hazel eyes, still glossy from unshed tears, locked onto him—unblinking, unmoving as if he were something strange, something foreign.

"I... um... I'm Jungkook" he tried again, his voice softer now. "Jeon Jungkook. Who are you?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she only clutched her bruised knees tighter, her knuckles turning white. He shifted on his feet, glancing around as if searching for someone to help him understand. In the corner of the hallway he watched Yoongi and Namjoon peering yet they remained behind, endless silence stretching between them.

"Are you new here?" Jungkook asked.

Still, nothing.

A nervous chuckle left his lips as he scratched the back of his neck. "Are you gonna live here with us?"

Not a single word. Just that deep, unwavering stare that was beginning to make his skin prickle. He parted his lips to speak again, desperate to fill the suffocating quiet, but before he could, a voice cut through the air.

"Venom, my child... come here to Father."

Jungkook's eyes darted to HongJyun, who stood a few feet away, beckoning with a calm, calculated smile. He watched as the girl immediately tore her gaze from him, sliding off the couch without hesitation. She obeyed. Without a word. Without resistance.

He exhaled, his heart pounding against his ribs.

"Venom?" he whispered, the name foreign and heavy on his tongue. He didn't know why, but something about it made his chest ache. It was not her real name just like how they all were named after being brought here. But why was hers the most bitter one out of all? He never understood!

But he had a feeling—deep in his bones—that this wouldn't be the last time their paths crossed.

----------------------

He wandered the dimly lit hallways, his bare feet making no sound against the cold floor. Sleep had evaded him tonight, leaving his mind restless, his thoughts scattered. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, when a faint, muffled sound made him freeze mid-step.

Sobs.

He turned his head toward the source, heart hammering as he hesitated.

Peeking around the corner, he saw a small figure curled up against the wall, her thin arms wrapped around her knees, her body trembling. Long brown hair cascaded over her face, shielding her like a veil, but it did little to hide the quiet agony in her muffled cries. Jungkook felt a strange chill run down his spine at the sight.

For a moment, he simply watched the child And then, with cautious steps, he approached her.

Slowly, he lowered himself to sit beside her. The girl must have sensed his presence because her sobs cut off abruptly, her breath hitching in her throat. She didn't move. He hesitated before speaking, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey..."

Nothing.

"You alright?"

She lifted her head, and Jungkook found himself staring into large, luminous hazel eyes that shimmered under the moonlight. There was something eerie about the way she looked at him—not scared, not surprised, just... watching.

He swallowed. He forced a small smile, though it faltered almost instantly. "If you feel lonely here then don't, it's not that bad here!"

She said nothing. She only stared.

He raised a hand instinctively as if to wipe her tears, but the way her gaze flickered toward his hand made him pause. The sharp intensity in her eyes made him feel as though she expected his touch to burn. So he withdrew. She kept staring. Jungkook let out a slow exhale, trying to ignore the way the silence pressed against his chest.

"It's okay to cry, you know" he muttered, scratching his head. "But if you cry too much, your head will hurt. Trust me, I know."

Still, she only stared.

"I cried a lot too when I first came here" he admitted, his voice softer now. "But... eventually I stopped. I have Yoongi hyung and Namjoon hyung. They take care of me. Before them, I didn't have any friends. But you have us all, we will take good care of you"

Silence.

The boy bit his lip before trying again.

"The food here is pretty good too. I have a whole fridge of banana milk just for me." He chuckled, hoping to ease the thick tension. "Cool, right?"

Still. Nothing.

Jungkook sighed, leaning back against the wall, resigning himself to the quiet. But then—

"Was your mom a bunny? Or your dad?"

He blinked. His head snapped toward her, and for the first time, her voice—small yet clear—reached him properly. Her lips barely moved, her words muffled against her knees, but he heard her.

"Huh?"

She tightened her arms around her legs and mumbled, almost to herself, "What's there to be so shocked about? He seriously looks like a bunny."

It took Jungkook a second to process what she said. And when he did— He laughed. A genuine, unrestrained innocent laugh bubbled up from his chest, echoing through the quiet hallway.

"Do I look like a bunny to you?" He pointed at himself, still chuckling.

She lifted her head slightly, meeting his gaze. "Yeah" she said simply, tilting her head. "But without the bunny ears."

Jungkook laughed harder, scrunching his nose. And just like that—at that moment—he truly did resemble a baby bunny.

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment" he said, wiping at the tears forming in his eyes from laughter. Jungkook smiled.

And together, in the silence of the night, beneath the soft glow of the moon, they sat side by side, two small figures in the vast darkness—both unknowingly stepping into each other's fate.

Flashback End~

"Can I trust you, Jungkook?" The voice shattered the silence, pulling him out of his memories and back into reality. He looked up, locking eyes with the person who had always been a storm in his life—wild, untamed, yet terrifyingly fragile underneath it all.

And only then did Jungkook realize—he was free. The restraints that once bound him had vanished. She had undone them without a word. "Will you always have my back, Jungkook? Will you stay by my side, no matter what happens, no matter who I become?"

Jungkook inhaled sharply, his throat tightening. For a fleeting moment, he didn't see the ruthless assassin, the infamous Dark Angel who walked through blood and fire without flinching.

He saw her.

The girl from that moonlit night, curled up on cold cement, trembling in the dark. The same girl who had buried her fears beneath steel and silence, who had long forgotten what it meant to ask for something just for herself.

Slowly, he lifted his arms, and before she could retreat, he pulled her into his embrace. She didn't resist. He felt her muscles tense at first, but then, slowly, she relaxed against him.

"I swear to you, Venom" he murmured, his voice thick with conviction. "I will never betray you. I will never leave you behind. Not for anything, not for anyone. You're my sister in every way that matters, and nothing—not time, not blood, not war—will ever change that."

She didn't reply, but she didn't have to. Jungkook could feel it—the way she clung to his jacket, the way her body barely trembled, though she would never let herself cry.

He knew now.

This had everything to do with Taehyung.

The man who had made her feel something when she wasn't supposed to.

The man who had reached through her walls, melted her cold, unfeeling existence, and made her heart beat in ways she never thought possible.

And the man who, in the end, had shattered it all.

Jungkook's grip on her tightened. He wasn't sure whether he was trying to comfort her or hold her together before she fell apart completely.

"I promise you." A long silence stretched between them, filled only by the weight of unspoken grief.

Then— "Do you really love Jimin?" The question was soft, almost hesitant as if she already knew the answer. Jungkook exhaled, his lips twitching into a small, genuine smile.

"More than anything." His voice was firm, unwavering. "I love him in a way that scares me sometimes. I love him the way people write about in books, the way I never thought I could. It's terrifying and overwhelming and..." He let out a short chuckle, shaking his head. "It's real."

Venom hummed, her fingers curling into the fabric of his jacket. "Then you better take care of him."

Jungkook raised a brow, glancing down at her. "I intend to."

She smiled slightly. "Good. Because if you ever hurt my best friend, I'll break your face."

Jungkook blinked. "Wait—Jimin's your best friend?"

She let out a soft chuckle, the sound devoid of its usual sharpness. "Did he never tell you?"

Jungkook frowned, thinking back. "He talks about Taehyung and Ji Ahn all the time, but... he never mentioned you two."

She scoffed lightly. "Figures. He's sentimental like that. Keeps his most important bonds quiet, as if saying them out loud makes them fragile."

Jungkook smiled. "Sounds like you two are more alike than you think."

She clicked her tongue. "Tch. Don't insult me."

Jungkook chuckled, shaking his head. "Fine, fine. But seriously—me first, right? I'm your brother, I get priority."

"You'd think that, huh?"

Jungkook gasped dramatically. "Hey! You can't just rank me below your best friend! That's betrayal!"

She laughed. A real, full laugh that filled the space around them. Jungkook smiled, watching the way it softened her features. It was rare—so rare—that he got to see her like this. But then, just as quickly as it came, the moment passed.

"But since when did you think from this perspective of bonds and love"

Her gaze drifted slightly, her smirk faltering, as if an old memory had suddenly clawed its way to the surface. And when she spoke next, her voice was quiet.

"Since the day I met him."

Jungkook didn't need to ask who she meant. He already knew. So he said nothing—just tightened his embrace, holding onto the broken demon in his arms, as if that alone could keep her from shattering.

-----------------------------------------------------------

ℑ𝔶𝔞𝔫𝔨𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔳𝔬𝔱𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔡𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔰.
𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯
𝕍𝕍

-------------------------------------------------------------