{the countdown}

Making his way down the steps of the hotel, Jungkook was quick to reach the entrance, heaving a sigh as he pushed open the glass doors. A shiver ran down the back of his spine as the crisp air tormented him in his already soaked clothing, "God dammit, why didn't I just buy another umbrella?" He groaned, standing under the cover as the rain poured down onto the city streets. 

Puddles pooled against the sidewalks, disturbed by each passerby as they carelessly walked through them, some almost slipping against the path. All Jungkook could do was throw his hood over his head as he stepped out onto the busy city streets, dodging each umbrella as he started making his way back in the direction of his apartment. 

The world was a haze of grey and Jungkook could already feel the dampness in his bones and a coldness that crept over his skin. He let out a sneeze, sniffling as he shoved his hands in his pockets. It must've been a coincidence because Jungkook found himself pausing as the buzz of his phone caught him off guard, the male quickly stepping to the side as he slipped out the device. 

He shielded it with his hand, squinting his eyes to read the message blurred by the tiny water droplets landing against his screen. 
He rose a brow, "From Daisy?"

Messages

Daisy: Yo... Hoseok wants to call you in for a final rundown on the plan. 

Daisy: still some things we need to gloss over before the Banquet

Jungkook: Such as?

Daisy: You Jungkook. We need to make sure you're gonna be okay taking down the boss man.

Rolling his eyes, Jungkook quickly typed back a message, shoving his phone back into his pocket with a huff. They had already gone over this a week ago, so it was obvious now that Hoseok was somewhat doubting Jungkook's willpower to get this job done. 

Pausing for a moment, Jungkook found his shoulders dropping, eyes cast to the rain-washed street as he let out a breath. To be honest... Jungkook also wasn't too sure whether he could trust himself with this task. 

He stood there, feeling the rain form paths down his skin and roll off his fingertips as he sunk into a moment of thought. The Banquet was fast approaching, and Jungkook still didn't feel confident in this plan... but something had to be done. So lifting his gaze, Jungkook stepped back out onto the busy street, gesturing down the road, "Taxi!"

-----

Raising a closed fist, Jungkook gave a knock at the door. 

He took a step back as the sounds of shuffling came from inside, a short "Just a moment!" echoing throughout the house before the door handle began to jitter and it swung open. A bright smile was plastered over Hoseok's face all until it faltered at Jungkook's unruly appearance. 

"Dude..." Hoseok eyed Jungkook up and down, scrunching up his nose, "You cant be serious right?"

Running a hand through his soaking wet hair, Jungkook let out a groan, "Just let me in."

Letting out a chuckle, Hoseok moved aside, gesturing grandly towards the living room as Jungkook finally took shelter from the rain. It didn't take long for Hoseok to notice the water dripping periodically from Jungkook's clothing onto the floor, the male quickly dashing upstairs before returning with a towel flung over his arm and a pile of clothes in his hands, "Here's some of Seokjin's clothes."

Jungkook rose a brow, "Will he mind?"

"Not at all, just hurry and get changed." 

Taking the clothing from Hoseok's hands, Jungkook made his way down the hall and round into the bathroom. Shutting the door he quickly peeled off each item of soaked clothing, tossing it to dry on the towel racks before throwing on Seokjin's hoodie and sweats. 
Jungkook couldn't help but relax as he was finally eloped with a feeling of comfort, digging his hands into the pockets of the hoodie as he made his way back out of the bathroom, down the hall and into the living room where Hoseok was waiting. 

It wasn't just Hoseok. Beside him sat Daisy, twirling a pen in her hand as she scribbled down notes in concentration. From the other lounge sat Sofia, the girl sinking back into the comfort of her seat before she spotted Jungkook. 

Her lips rose into a small smile, "Good of you to finally join us."

"Yeah, yeah I'm here now so lets just discuss this and call it a day." He muttered, earning a puzzled expression from Hoseok. The hacker did a double take on Jungkook as he watched the male take a seat, it was then when he managed to notice Jungkook's tired eyes and sluggish posture. 

"Long day?" Hoseok asked, earning a sigh from Jungkook. 

"Just stress." 

Daisy finally lifted her gaze from her notepad, placing it down on the table in front of her with a frown, "I don't blame you... it's less then two weeks now."

"Don't remind me." Hoseok muttered.

Sweeping a hand through her golden locks, Sofia proceeded to speak up, "In all seriousness, we need to confirm right here, right now exactly what's going to be happening."

Jungkook's lips twisted into a frown, "Exactly." he said, "Am I gonna make a grand entrance or-"

"Here's the plan." Daisy spoke up, cutting him off as she drew everyones upmost attention to herself. Her hazelnut hair fell in perfect curls as she brushed it over her shoulders, clasping her hands in her lap before straightening herself up. In the silence all eyes were on her for answers, so after a short breather, she continued to speak, "The people attending will be; Taehyung and Sofia as our lures, Jimin as our backup defence, Hoseok and I because we're the ones who owe the debt, and Jungkook will be the ace up our sleeve."

Jungkook rose a brow, "That still doesn't answer my question."

Pursing her lips, Daisy slowly rose to her feet. With her hair bouncing softly over her shoulders she made her way to the colourful whiteboard still in the middle of the living room, beginning to point a few things out, "We're gonna have you visible from the start, Jungkook." Daisy explained, earning an amused expression from the male. "When the time comes, make your disappearance and head to the stage to carry out the plan."

"How will I know when that time's right?"

It wasn't Daisy who replied, but Hoseok instead, "Taehyung will give you the go ahead." he spoke, but before he opened his mouth to continue, he paused, sinking back into the lounge as he folded his arms over his chest, "We just need to figure out how this can all go unnoticed by the boss man..." 

Daisy arched a slender brow and put her hands on her hips, "What do you suggest then?"

There was a pause from the hacker before he spoke up, "We need to do everything last minute." he said, "As soon as Jungkook's father goes to head on stage, he won't be watching us anymore." Hoseok snapped his fingers with a cheery grin, "That'll be Jungkook's chance to do the same without being watched."

"Then how about the weapons?" Jungkook piped up, kicking one leg over the other, "We can't get them through security so-"

"Not a problem." Hoseok reassured, "We can take care of that soon."

Jungkook's brows knitted into a frown, "So let me get this straight." He paused, licking his lips before he continued, "I'm entering the banquet with you guys, making my disappearance and then publicly executing my father on stage?"

"Bingo." Hoseok smirked, but instead of excitement or eagerness he was met with Jungkook's troubled expression. 
The brunette was obviously still having doubts about the entire plan, and to be honest, Hoseok was too. There were still so many loose ends, but those were things they could only work out on the day of the banquet. They were like a car traveling full speed on an unknown road not knowing if there was going to be a sharp turn ahead. They could keep moving forwards after this, or they would crash and burn in the process. 

Hoseok knew one thing for certain though. If it came to a point where the plan was ready to fail, he wouldn't hesitate to ensure that the rest of the crime syndicate fell alongside them. 

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

{Author Note}

No updates this weekend... I'm going on a road trip again. It's the same road trip I took back in November... but this time I won't be leaving early and escaping through bush fires ahaha x

About Ten more chapters to go!