A/n: Just a heads-up - The first part takes place on the day Taehyung is supposed to be executed. Namjoon hasn't been informed of it yet.

Loud obnoxious laughter filled the conference room in Jeon's new residence followed by a few hearty chatters and delicate glass rims clinking against each other.

"Oh Jeon Jeon Jeon-!! That's why i like doing business with you." A short middle-aged man, dressed in a neat three pieced suit with a yellow complexion and small bright eyes laughed gently, shaking his head from side to side.

"You definitely have a unique way with your words," he complimented, throwing a glance at the pretty woman, sitting beside him," what do you say darhina?"

"Absolutely!" His wife gushed, nodding her head along with her husband ,"You're a very interesting man Mr. Jeon, it's almost a shame we were introduced so late."

The said boss pressed a smile at her kind words, leaning against the back of his chair and looking over at Namjoon who smiled back approvingly.

"Well the credit goes to you for taking your time out for this short noticed friendly visit my dad arranged." Jungkook said, regarding them with nothing but respect. "And as for the introduction, honor is all ours actually seeing as you're the ones ruling over the most of pacific trade these days."

And it was true. This particular Japanese mafia couple sitting in front of him were no less than a pioneer in the field of illegal weapon trading, along with being surprisingly generous finance donors as well. One could even call them philanthropists, that is if philanthropists went around smuggling drugs and lethal weapons around the world.

Together the two had constructed a global empire all by themselves, based on the foundation of trust that they had upon each other and eventually learned to share with the rest of their kingdom as well. Jungkook and his men had always looked upto them.

Aiko Sato laughed again, his voice sounding lighter than one would expect from such a powerful man.

"Would you look at that! The boy's all grown up now." Jungkook blushed at the tease in the elder's tone, mainly out of embarrassment than anything else. With these two in the scene, he appeared like a kid and not some mafia leader himself.

"That's true, i mean just look at his face? So handsome! Must have gotten used to so much attention from young girls and boys, don't he?" The older woman went on. Mr. Sato grabbed her shoulder, shaking his head at her before smiling up at the boy.

"Don't mind my wife young man, she can be pushy sometimes." Mrs. Sato gasped at her husband, shrugging his hand off her before a pout replaced her lips.

"Oh no, its okay Sir, Madam," Jungkook smiled at the lively couple, Namjoon doing the same as they bent to place their empty cups on the teapoy.

"So you don't mind us asking about your love interests then?" The older man smirked, a humorous intent to tease the boy but missed the way his words hit the younger leader, the smile abruptly falling from his lips.

"Mmm~ even i want to know! I've gotten all bored and wrinkly hearing your age old stories of gun deals and all," the older woman frowned, feigning annoyance," Yah! Jungkook-ah tell us if you have a girlfriend or not!!"

The few other associates accompanying the couple broke out into small smiles and chuckles, pinning their attention onto the young boss, their own interests peaked about the Jeon's mystery queen.

But Jungkook sat frozen on his ottoman, muscles stiffening a little underneath his expensive clothing. Namjoon threw a glance at the younger, wondering what got him so quiet all of a sudden.

"Ah no Mrs. Sato, Jungkookie... doesn't really date." Namjoon replied instead, watching from the corner of his eyes as Jungkook relaxed a little.

"Aww why not? It's such a waste!" The woman huffed before folding her hands and glaring at him playfully. The other's laughed again, the atmosphere shifting to such a jolly mood that no newcomer could've guessed it was a conversation going on between two of the most powerful mafia leaders in the world.

"Are you for real Jungkookie? I hope you don't mind me calling you that?" She smiled when the younger shook his head," i mean these are the days of your youth. This is the time you should go out more and meet new people, maybe venture for the love of your life too?"

The woman paused, turning her head to look at her husband who was already staring back with an adoring smile.
"I was exactly your age when i met Aiko. I worked as an assistant in an archery training club back in Tokyo and he used to come there to train in his spare time. I had absolutely no idea he worked as an assassin for the mafia lords back then and once misheard someone calling him 'assistant' instead of 'assassin'. And this damned man never told me! For three whole months he made me think he was a fellow assistant at the club and kept following me everywhere!"

The small group broke out into another round of chuckles, even the stout bodyguards not being able to hide their little smiles at the cute love story.

"When did you come to find out?" Namjoon questioned her, his own eyes dissappearing into crescents of happiness.

"When he proposed to me ofcourse," Mrs. Sato rolled her eyes, but the wide smile on her lips only widened as she lifted her hand to peer down at the diamond ring caging her finger,"With this beautiful ring balanced on top of a 25mm pistol! Can you imagine that? He brought a gun to propose to me for marriage!"

"In my defense," Mr. Sato stood up, placing his glass on the teapoy as well, "it was the first gun my company had made. You can guess how darn special it was for me. Not more than dear darhina though."

Namjoon grinned up at the man who simply winked back in response, receiving a shove from his lovely life partner. He shifted his gaze to the youngest, expecting to find him laughing and playing along with their little game but instead saw the boy sitting in the same position as before, eyes out of focus as he stared at the couple in a daze.

"Kook?" The older nudged him, making him Jump up as if he himself didn't know he had drifted for a while," okay there?"

"Uh yeah, yeah I am..." Jungkook cleared his throat, fixing the lapels of his suit. He glanced around and found everyone smiling and talking busily amongst themselves but he, on the other side felt lost.

An odd feeling consumed him, like bile bubbling deep in the pits of his stomach. He didn't know why but his brain wasn't working properly, which wasn't a new thing for him but still he felt a bit restless.

He flicked his wrist to check the time on his watch, the black rolex flashing a neon quarter past nine. The dinner was supposed to be over in a while...

"Hey Jungkook, Mind joining us for some more wine?" Mr. Sato beckoned him smilingly raising a bottle of 17 year old rhenish red wine, Jungkook's personal favorite. But the boy declined his offer as politely as possible.

"If you don't mind um, can you guys enjoy the drinks while i go and make a quick call... will that be okay?" The boss said instead, making Namjoon look at him in confusion for the third time that evening. Using cellphones in between such important events was deemed unprofessional and Jungkook never did that, until it was something urgent.

"Oh sure sure young man, I'm sorry I've been taking up all your time this evening. Please go and make your call." Mr. Sato said and turned to Namjoon, who was already on his heels to cover up for his boss.

Jungkook thanked him and left the office, his extra polished dress shoes clicking finely against the expensive marble flooring. He turned when he reached a corner and quickly pulled his cellphone to call the person he's been waiting to hear from the whole day.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up... where the fuck are you Yoongi?" He cursed, when his call went unanswered for the third time already. The boss grit his teeth, a part of him getting furious at the lack of response from his sub, another part purely impatient for unknown reasons.

Jungkook was on his way to make a fourth attempt when he felt a sudden rap on his shoulder, the ravenette whipping his head around to find a pretty woman smiling up at him.

"Surprise, Jungkookie!" She yelped happily, causing the boy to lower his phone from his ear.

"Kara... wh-what are you doing here?" Jungkook questioned her, clearly taken aback by her presence. Kara's smile turned into a frown, then into a pout as if she was expecting a better reaction to her so called 'surprise'.

"Why? Do you not like me coming over to see you?" Kara asked sadly, making the ravenette sigh in response.

"That's not what i meant. Anyway, can we like talk later because i have a really important meeting to get back to--" he started but it looked like Kara wasn't in the mood to listen. She flung herself over him, tackling him into a hug and buried her face in his shirt.

"No. It's been days since i last saw you Jungkook and i miss you. Even last night you didn't receive any of my calls nor called back, where were you the whole time hm?" She asked him, a little sniffle leaving her nose.

Jungkook stilled at the mention of his previous night, the odd feeling returning from earlier. He remembered where he'd spent his previous night, or rather with whom-- the memory of soft blue hair and smell of fresh roses still ingrained in his mind.

"Jungkook-ah!" He blinked rapidly, looking down at the woman in his arms who appeared on the verge of crying.

"Oh no, please don't cry. Uh- im s-sorry. Let's-- let's meet up after the meeting gets over. You can wait up in my room till then." The boss offered her.

Kara stopped crying immediately, her doe eyes widening in glee. She reached for another quick hug and walked away, guiding herself upstairs to Jungkook's room where she'd been only a couple of times before.

Jungkook watched her go all the way and then peered down at the screen of his phone which lay blank, no callbacks or anything from his bodyguard. He contemplated trying once more but held himself in, pushing the gadget back into his pocket before walking back to his office.

_________________________________________

Taehyung tripped over a rock and a little squeak left his lips followed by a relieved sigh when he managed to not fall flat on his face.

Jimin looked behind him, at the boy currently following him like a puppy lost in the woods. Not that it looked very different but the ravenette still sighed and kept walking, leading them somewhere into the darkness of the night.

"Wait so t-this is where we're spending the night?" Taehyung gulped, hugging his bag close to his chest as he meekly stared up at the rundown creepy looking motel that they'd luckily found not so far away from the last gas station they stopped at.

"It's better than the car so shut up and follow me," Jimin rolled his eyes and walked ahead, the boy quickly tailing behind him.

They approached a grilled sliding door afixed at the entrance which was seemingly closed but not locked, the shabby insides visible through the gaps in the metal bars.

Taehyung bit his lip nervously when he saw the receptionist - a burly man with long unkempt beard and multiple tattoos littering his neck and arms. The man lifted his head and threw them a sharp gaze causing the boy to cower and hide behind an unbothered Jimin.

"Yo man! How much for a room?" Jimin asked loudly, his english coming out pretty accented since he didn't use it very much.

The man raised five fingers and mouthed a fifty, dragging the last syllable as his eyes lingered over to the smaller boy at the back.

Jimin nodded and signalled him to open up, the tatted receptionist doing so while smirking down at Taehyung all the way.

"Pretty thing you got there huh," he commented smugly, raising his brows suggestively at the older boy. Taehyung lowered his eyes, fingers idly pulling at the lint on his sleeve as he felt his nerves beginning to rise again.

Jimin scoffed and looked away, before turning his head back to face the taller man. A sneer formed on his lips and he took one step closer to the taller.

"Don't even think about it. He's already taken." The ravenette spat coldly, the intimidation in his voice as clear as the day. He casually reached for the gun tucked at the back of his belt and pointed it at the man's chest."And i think five dollars is more than enough for your crusty ass shack."

The man immediately convulsed in fear, backing away with his hands raised in the air as he eyed the weapon in absolute terror. Jimin smirked and lowered his gun, throwing a look at Taehyung to signal him to walk ahead.

The boy quickly followed the orders given, stumbling a little on his feet as he made his way up the broken stairs and into the first empty room he found, shortly followed by Jimin.

The older came in and made sure to lock the door and check its resistance a couple of times before turning to face the boy standing cluelessly in the middle of the room.

The room was pretty small with no furniture save for the dusty double bed right at its centre and a dim flickering light bulb hanging on from one of the bare walls. A greater source of light was the smashed window on the other side, which brought in ample amounts of moonlight along with some flying insects vouching for the little light they could get.

The ravenette sighed at his luck but didn't complain much knowing its the only better option they had for the night. He mentally decided to move Taehyung somewhere closer to their hideout the next day--

--Without Jungkook's knowledge ofcourse.

"So you take the bed and i... take the floor?" Jimin broke the momentary silence, running his eyes around the cramped up space,"it's just for tonight so it doesn't really matter."

"Oh ani! i can't let you do that!" Taehyung protested almost immediately, a gasp leaving his lips, "You take the bed and I'll take the f-floor."

"Why not? I don't mind," the ravenette simply shrugged, scraping the dirt on the floor with his shoe. In all honesty, even thinking about sleeping there made him grimace but it's not like he could let the younger do that either.

"Neither do i-- hyung!" The younger shook his head vigorously, "You've already done a lot for me and i-- i d-don't think i can ever repay you for all of them. This is the least i could do!"

"Repay me by sleeping on the floor? Yeah that makes a lot of sense right now," Jimin rolled his eyes but couldn't help the small smile on his lips. "My decision stands. Off to the bed you go."

"I will not!" Taehyung huffed, crossing his arms as he stood his ground," you take the bed."

"Taehyung i said no--"

"But i can't let you sleep there, it stinks!!"

After a fruitless back and forth that lasted a good ten minutes, both boys found themselves lying next to each other on the small bed, the light switched off.

Jimin adjusted himself, crossing his arms behind his head and using them as a pillow support while Taehyung propped his head on his little backpack, both of them staring blankly at the dull paint chipped ceiling.

They lay there quietly for a few moments, numerous thoughts enough to replace sleep for the whole night. That was until Taehyung got tired and turned his head to peer at the older, eyeing him curiously with his big almond eyes.

"What is it." Jimin grunted, sensing the gaze on him but didn't remove his eyes from the roof yet.

Taehyung licked his lips, unsure of whether he should continue or not. The older threw him a side glance and scoffed lightly, bringing a finger up to scratch his nose. "Ask what you want, you won't be able to hold it in anyway."

Taehyung sighed knowing he was right.
He couldn't really stop himself if he wanted to know certain things.

Blame his curiosity!

"E-earlier you said s-something to Yoongi hyung," the boy started slowly, gauging for the other's reaction, "i-in the fields uh when you rescued me? You said something about him l-loving you...? What was that about?"

Jimin quirked a brow, twisting his neck to come face to face with Taehyung's own timid one.

"Okay now i regret allowing you to open your mouth."

The younger pouted making the older sigh at his attempts of doing an aeigo. "Please hyung, tell me. I'm bored."

"You're 'bored'?" Jimin asked dryly, shaking his head in annoyance," Looks like Jungkook really had a bad influence at your head."

The ravenette immediately bit his tongue when he noticed the boy deflate at the mention of boss's name. It was obvious Taehyung was only trying to divert his mind from what happened and Jimin just had to bring him up again.

Stupid Jimin.

"Yoongi and i... met three years back," He began, deciding to answer his question instead. This was going to be the first time he would be relating his love story to someone, but for once Jimin didn't feel as ashamed of it as he would have in front of someone else.

Taehyung perked up at that, the pout on lips replaced by a small grin urging him to continue.

"He was new in the mafia, Jungkook's personal bodyguard and all. From the beginning he had an attitude to die for, always tough and rude to everyone except for his boss... and me." The ravenette blushed at the memory, causing Taehyung to grin wider in excitement.

"He was pretty nice to me, soft even. So it wasn't very difficult to fall for him. And i did. We used to hook up alot and he even took me to a few dates... it was just perfect, until..."

"Until?" Taehyung asked.

"Until i caught him fucking one of Jungkook's clients in the bathroom." Jimin deadpanned. Taehyung froze at the claim, eyes widening in their sockets.

"When i asked him, he justified himself by calling it a 'work requirement', but the point isn't that... the point is how easily he was able to put aside everything we had. H-he wouldn't even think twice before doing it--" the ravenette paused, clearing his throat.

"We broke up but even over the years i couldn't control my feelings for him. He was always... around and it bothered me seeing how unbothered he was about all of it. Last month... last month i made a stupid mistake. We drank too much and i ended up sleeping with him again... only for him to wake up and tell me it was a mistake.I thought he loved me Tae... am i just a... mistake?" Jimin's lips quivered as a tiny tear finally escaped his eye and slid down the side of his forehead.

Taehyung sat up and looked down at Jimin with his own glimmering orbs, feeling his chest hurt for his friend.

"You're not a mistake hyung," he told him softly but with so much conviction it had Jimin looking up with slightly hopeful eyes," Y-you're the second best thing that happened in my life."

Jimin smiled through his tears and sat up as well, using his characteristically small hands to wipe them away.

"Yeah?" He croaked, chuckling a little,
"then what's the first?"

Taehyung looked away with a small shrug, fingers playing with one another.

"My own pathetic l-love story, i suppose?"

________________________________________

A/n: i hope this chapter leaves you with a lot of UwUs 💜💜

Also did you feel the guilt beginning to settle in our Jungkook's little heart? It's always logical to go step by step instead of diving in straight away. Please have patience with me :(

Also, i take back what i said earlier. This story will probably take longer to finish than i first thought because of the number of oncoming twists.

So... buckle up, shall we?? ;))