When Rick had agreed to let him and Michonne help, sitting on the side of the road for hours wasn't what crossed Taehyung's mind. But here he was- lounging in the middle of the road, head tilted back and the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned to allow the morning sun to colour his skin.

Taehyung had always wanted to sit in the middle of the road without fearing that a car is gonna come speeding at him. Yet as he was sitting on the road right now, he didn't feel the exhilaration of doing something forbidden. Maybe it was the possibly of dying that made the action so thrilling.

Releasing a small groan, Taehyung allowed his head to fall forward and his eyes to flicker open. His eyes danced between Glenn, who was sitting on the ground closer to the car, and Michonne, who was leaning against the car with her arms crossed over her chest.

Quickly growing bored of just sitting and waiting for Rick to return with Daryl, Taehyung pushed off of the ground and stood up. He stretched his arms over his head- bones cracking and a satisfied sigh falling past his lips as he did so. He allowed his hands to fall down to his sides as he marched up to Glenn and plopped down next to him.

"Hey." Taehyung purred, one hand pressing against the ground to hold himself up and the other laying loosely over his knee. Tae's lips tugged up, causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle, "I'm Taehyung."

"Yeah, I know that." Glen muttered, eyeing him strangely before pushing himself further away from Taehyung.

Raising a brow, Taehyung pursued his lips in order to stop himself from laughing, "So you and Maggie are together, right?"

Glenn pulled his knees up to his chest and looked at him in confusion, "Yes?" He murmured, voice dripping with hesitation.

Taehyung's smirk widened before he ran his tongue over his teeth and pushed himself closer to Glenn, wincing as a pebble dug into his palm "Have you ever thought about...you know, a threesome?"

Glenn choked on his spit, hand flying up to his chest and face turning red as his airways were restricted. Taehyung's smirk crumbled and he quickly leaned forward to slam his hand on Glenn's back, "Shit!" he exclaimed, eyes wide as he looked back at Michonne for help.

Michonne was pressing her hand against her forehead and shaking her head. She opened her eyes and looked at Taehyung with a judging look before turning her back to them and looking into the woods.

Taehyung's mouth parted and his face scrunched up before he scoffed and turned his attention back to Glenn. Glenn was no longer choking, but his face was still red and his eyes were watery as he tried to suck in a breath.

"Well...choking is a first." Taehyung breathed out, pulling his hand away from Glenn's back to run it through his hair. He placed the bottom of his feet on the ground and bent his knees so that he'd be able to rest his hands on his knees. He continued to listen to Glenn breathing slowly stabilising as he looked out into the forest. The wind brushed through the leaves, causing a few of them to release their hold on the branches and float through the air until they reached the ground.

"Why...why would you ask...that?" Glenn croaked, his throat scratchy from coughing so much. He looked at a smirking Taehyung with wide eyes and pink cheeks.

Taehyung shrugged, fingers finding their way to the handle of his knife before pulling it out, "I was bored." He stated as he looked down at the blade. The morning sun landed on the blade before bouncing off of it and shimmering onto Taehyung's face. His face scrunched up as the light shone into his eyes, making him turn the blade sideways.

Releasing a soft sigh, Tae's lips twitched before he looked up at Glenn with a teasing smile, "And maybe you would have agreed."

"I...I wouldn-"

Glenn's stuttering reply was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming their way. Taehyung's smile washed off of his face and he immediately pressed his hands against the ground to stand up. His eyes connected with Michonne's and he pressed his fingers against his lips, indicating for her to stay quiet.

Taehyung snuck around the car and towards the forest, where the sounds were coming from. His fingers shifted around the handle of the knife as he stepped into the forest. His dark eyes jumped around the trees, trying to spot the source of the noise. Fallen branches crunched under his feet as he stepped forward, with Michonne and Glenn hovering behind him- their weapons pulled out and ready to be used.

"Taehyung!"

Tae's brows jumped up and his shoulders slouched in relief. Releasing a breath of relief, Taehyung squinted his eyes and marched into the forest confidently, "Rick!" He cupped his mouth and called out, "Rick!"

Walking around a few trees, Taehyung was finally able to spot the group. He slowed his steps as Rick, Daryl and Maggie came closer to them, allowing Glenn and Michonne to pass by him to get to the rest faster. But as the distance between the groups reduced, the last person with Rick was revealed.

"Now we got a problem here, I need you to back up." Rick spoke calmly and soothingly, hand raising to try and defuse the situation.

"What the fuck." Taehyung breathed out, pressing the back of his hand against his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing shît. But as he opened his eyes, Merle was still following after Rick with a smug grin.

"What the hell is he doing here!" Glenn shouted, cocking his gun and shoving it in Merle's direction. It was as if Merle was the only thing he saw as he marched towards the asshole- looking absolutely livid.

Michonne wasn't any better, she immediately pulled out her katana and ran towards Merle to attack him.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Rick stepped in front of Michonne, raising his hands and not letting her get past him, while Maggie jumped in front of Glenn to block his path.

Taehyung, on the other hand, lingered behind everyone. His lips remained sealed and his eyes were focused on Merle, who was smirking and looking at the group as if he was enjoying the chaos he had caused.

Taehyung drowned out the sound of the group screaming and yelling at each other, while trying to get to Merle and kill him. Instead, Taehyung's hold on his throwing knife tightened and his gaze zeroed in on Merle's temple. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip before twirling his knife around in his hand. Taehyung raised his arm and with a flick of his wrist, the knife was flying through the air right towards Merle's head.

Taehyung's smirk crumbled when a hand wrapped around Merle's arm and yanked him out of the way, causing the knife to fly past him and slam into the tree behind him.

"You try kill my brother?" Daryl shouted as he advanced on Taehyung. He raised his crossbow and shoved it in Taehyung's direction before pressing the trigger and causing an arrow to fly towards him.

Taehyung quickly ducked, causing the arrow to swoosh past his head and disappear somewhere in the bushes. His hands flew up to his chest and he pulled out two knives before standing up and reeling his hand back, this time aiming at Daryl.

"Stop! Stop! Everyone calm down!" Rick pushed himself in between Daryl and Taehyung, stopping both of them from attacking each other. He raised his hands towards them, shoulders slouching to make himself look smaller and less threatening.

Heavy pants fell from Taehyung's lips as he looked past Rick's shoulder and glared back at Daryl. He stepped closer to Rick and Daryl, looming over them like a predator. The grip on his knives hadn't loosened and the snarl on his face didn't waver, not even when Rick was trying to calm him down.

"Hey, Taehyung." Rick stepped closer to Taehyung, who was still sharing a glare with Daryl. Rick raised his hand and stood up straighter to block Tae's view of Daryl, "You need to breathe and calm do-"

"Calm down?" Taehyung scoffed, walking closer to Rick in order to look around him and point his knife towards a grinning Merle, "That asshole came after me and Michonne after we left Woodbury. He wanted to kill us, so I'm so sorry that I can't just forget about it and act all buddy buddy with him!" Taehyung growled, glare leaving Daryl and travelling over to Merle instead.

"No ones gonna forget anything. We're gonna deal with is, but not when you're so wound up." Rick lowered his voice, laying a hand on Tae's tense shoulder.

Taehyung tensed and looked down at Rick's hand. His eyes traveled up his arm until he met Rick's eyes, the two looked at each other for a second- Rick trying to tell him to trust him and just stay calm.

A taunting laugh filled the air, making everyone tense and look towards Merle, who's gaze fell on Daryl, "Looks like you're going all native, brother." He released another mocking chuckle, angering Daryl even more.

Daryl whirled around to face him and marched up to him, getting into his face, "No more than you hanging out with that psycho back there!" He shouted, gesturing toward the direction they came from.

"Oh, yeah, man. He is a charmer, I got to tell you that." Merle nodded, pulling Taehyung's knife out of the tree behind him in order to lean against it. His smirk widened and his eyes flickered between Michonne and Taehyung, "Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea big time, baby." Taehyung's face scrunched up in disgust when Merle licked his lips and rutted his hips forward.

"Gross." Taehyung grumbled, turning away from Rick and walking over to stand next to Michonne. He avoided looking at Merle as he pushed his knives back into their place before crossing his arms over his chest.

"What?" Glenn breathed out, hand lowering and expression softening, "Andrea's in Woodbury?"

Daryl shifted on his feet and shared a look with Rick before nodding, "Right next to the governor."

Rick's eyes fell on Michonne, who was still gripping her katana as if she was about to slash Merle's head clean off, and Taehyung, who had his back turned towards them as he looked out into the forest instead. "You know Andrea?" He asked them, stepping closer.

Taehyung chewed on the inside of his cheek, hands curling into fists and gaze darkening as he stared into the forest. Despite his back being to the group, Taehyung was still fully focusing on what was happening behind him.

Since neither Michonne or Taehyung were responding, Merle snickered and pointed Tae's knife in their direction, "Yep, they do. They spent all winter cuddling up in the forest. Mhhhmm, mhhhmmm, Mhmm, yeah." Merle hummed mockingly, eyes not straying from Michonne and Taehyung.

"My Nubian Queen had two pet walk-"

Taehyung, who finally had enough, spun around, while pulling out a knife, and marched closer to Merle. Rick pressed a hand against his chest to stop him from taking a step closer to Merle, but Taehyung still leaned closer and allowed his lips to stretch out into a wide grin, "If you don't shut up..." Taehyung tapped the knife against his lips- the sharp blade nipping his lip, causing a droplet of blood to ran down his lips and chin. Taehyung licked the blood away, staining his teeth red before he released a husky laugh, "I'm gonna cut out your tongue and feed it to you."

Merle's smile faltered before he leaned into the tree behind him and huffed out a laugh right into Tae's face, "I'm just saying...Andrea was close to dying when we snagged them out the woods."

"Is that why she's with him?" Maggie asked softly, eyes dancing between an emotionless Michonne and a seething Taehyung.

"So what you gonna do now, sheriff, huh?" Merle taunted, pushing off of the tree to take a step closer to Rick, "Surrounded by bunch of liars, thugs and cowards."

"Shut up!" Rick momentarily turned around to yell at him before turning to face Taehyung and Michonne.

"Oh, man, look at this." Another laugh bubbled up in Merle's throat as he gestured towards Rick, "Pathetic." He spat before releasing another chuckle, "All these guns and no bullets in them."

"I don't need a gun to kill you." Taehyung snarled, trying to side step Rick to get closer to Merle, only for Rick to place a hand on his chest and gently push him back.

"Merle, shut up!" Daryl marched past them and yelled at his brother, getting sick and tired of him always yapping and provoking people.

"Shut up yourself!" Merle shouted back at Daryl, pushing away from the tree to glare at the group, "Bunch of pussies you roll-"

Taehyung pushed past Rick and twirled his knife around so that the blade was pointed at him. When Merle's back was turned towards him, he raised his hand and slammed the handle of the knife down on the back of Merle's neck. Merle tumbled to the ground with a thud- his eyes shut and mouth parted to release soft breaths.

The group fell silent as Taehyung crouched down next to Merle and pulled his knife out of his open palm. He shoved his knives back into their places before leaning down to whisper to Merle, "Asshole."

Taehyung straightened out, pushing his hair out of his face as he turned around and marched past the group, back towards the car.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

The scent of cooked ramen drifted through the prison until it wafted into Jungkook's face. He looked up from his blank sketch book and eyed the doorway leading to the main room.

He could hear Hershel talking to the unfamiliar group as he patched one of them up. Jungkook didn't agree with communicating with them, nor with using their supplies on them, but after a simple glare from Hershel, Jungkook rolled his eyes and kept quiet.

Jungkook shook his head and tried to ignore the sound of talking or the scent of food, instead, looking down at the blank page in his lap. Drawing has always been something that distracted Jungkook's mind from reality- helping him escape the world and focus his attention on something that wasn't his intrusive thoughts.

The silence around him was filled with the sound of a low rumble. Jungkook's eyes jumped down to his stomach and he sighed, pressing the palm of his hand against his belly. Another rumble came from his stomach and vibrated against his hand, making him realise how long it's been since he actually ate something.

Releasing soft sigh, Jungkook placed his sketchbook down on the stairs next to him before grabbing his crutch and standing up. The sound of voices became louder as Jungkook limped closer to the main room until he finally entered it.

The conversations dimmed as Jungkook limped through the room and grabbed a bowl of ramen for himself before plopping down at a table. He ignored the stares he was receiving or the conversation as it resumed, and dug into his ramen.

As soon as the ramen touched his tongue, an explosion of flavour happened in Kook's mouth. His eyes widened and a small gasp tumbled out of his mouth before he began to scarf down the food- barely chewing and only swallowing. His cheeks were stuffed full of ramen as he chewed, and before he could even swallow, he was shoving another spoon of ramen into his mouth.

"You'll choke if you keep going like this." Hershel smiled as he plopped down on the metal chair next to Jungkook.

Kook's eyes momentarily flickered up to Hershel before returning back to his bowl of food. Just as he was about to shove another spoon of Noodles into his mouth, he stopped and realised that his mouth was already full. Frowning, Jungkook shut his mouth and began to chew, making sure to swallow everything before eating another spoonful.

"How's your leg?" Hershel's brow rose as he gestured towards Jungkook's injured leg.

Jungkook shrugged and shoved the last piece of noodle into his mouth, making his cheeks chub up since he hadn't swallowed again. He turned around in his seat to face Hershel before grabbing the corner of his shorts and pulling them over his wound.

Hershel leaned closer to analyse the wound, "It looks better than it did last time. The skin is still red around the stitches but after a few days, the swelling will go down. I think I'll take the stitches out then and we'll see how it goes."

Jungkook nodded, a ghost of a smile tugging on his lips after hearing that the stitches would be soon removed. He pulled his shorts down and turned back around to face the table.

Jungkook's eyes flickered up to the doorway that lead to the cells after he heard someone enter the room. His face crumbled at the sight of a smiling Beth sauntering into the room with a small bundle in her arms. His eyes followed after her as she walked through the room towards the food.

"Hershel." Jungkook breathed out, eyes growing wide and mouth hanging open, "What...what is that?" He pointed a shaky finger towards the small bundle in Beth's arms.

"How old is the baby?" Sasha asked, standing up from her spot at the metal table to get a better look of the baby.

A gentle hand settled onto Jungkook's shoulder, making him realise how tense he had become. He reluctantly tore his eyes away from the baby to look at Hershel's glum face, "Did...did Lori...?" Kook trailed off quietly.

Hershel nodded with a forced smile, the sadness mixing with a hint of happiness, creating a look of bittersweetness, "She did." He nodded at Jungkook before looking at Sasha, "She's barely a week old."

Jungkook's eyes remained on Hershel, not being able to turn away from him or look at the child. The sad look on Hershel's face made Jungkook feel on edge, telling him that something wasn't right.

Sasha walked around the room and stood behind Beth, peering down at the baby with a soft smile, "To be honest, we never thought we'd see another baby."

"Hershel, where's Lori?" Jungkook murmured softly, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. His hands shook and his lower lip began to wobble as he stared at the side of Hershel's face.

Inhaling sharply, Hershel turned to look at Jungkook. The feeling of heaviness grew in Jungkook's chest at the look of raw sadness and pain on Hershel's features. His breathing began to deepen and he could feel everything around him become dizzy.

"No." Jungkook choked quietly, a tear escaping the corner of his eye and rolling down his cheek. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut so hard that he lost balance and fell out of his own body. Everything was spinning and nothing could reach his ears, even as he looked up at Sasha and saw that her mouth was moving as she spoke to Beth.

The feeling of grief and pain grew until something in Jungkook snapped and he felt these emotions flood out of him. Jungkook blinked a few times, his vision clearing and Beth's voice filling his ears. The numb feeling in his chest had pushed away the feeling of pain, yet Jungkook still felt like something was weighting him down, not allowing him to breathe.

Jungkook slowly stood from the table and grabbed his crutch. Positioning it under his armpit, Jungkook limped out of the room, ignoring Hershel's gaze burning into his back.

Jungkook wasn't aware of it, but the feeling of numbness and emptiness was just as heavy as the feeling of grief.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

A droplet of blood escaped the cut on Taehyung's lips and ran down his chin until it was captured by his tongue. Taehyung leaned against the hood of the car, pulling the sleeve of his shirt over his hand before pressing it onto his lip.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Michonne murmured softly, walking up to Taehyung and leaning on the car next to him.

Taehyung crossed his arms over his chest, while still pressing his sleeve against his bleeding lip. He looked up at the rest of the group, noticing how they occasionally gestured towards them and Merle.

"Merle, probably." Tae shrugged, head turning to look out into the forest. His free hand ran over the seams of his shirt, working as a reminder to go out and get himself more clothes.

Michonne sighed and hoisted her katana higher onto her shoulder, "You know it's not only that." She whispered, biting her lip and hooking her hand around her katana strap, "I...I didn't kill him."

"What?" Taehyung's head swerved around, causing his hair to fall into his eyes. He eyed the side of Michonne's face as he blew his hair out of his eyes, "Then what happened? I'm sure he wouldn't have let you go after you went to assassinate him."

"I went to his apartment and I waited for him there but he wasn't coming. I heard weird noises coming from one of the rooms so I went into it." Michonne whispered, turning around to face Taehyung, making her hip press against the front of the car, "There were these aquariums filled with water and walker heads. But that wasn't the wort part." Michonne inhaled sharply, eyes falling down on her dirt covered boots, "The noise was coming from a little door in the room, so I opened it and a little girl came out."

"He kidnapped a little girl?" Taehyung exclaimed, pushing off of the car in compete outrage. His mind flashed with worst kind of scenarios, causing him to wince as they mixed together with his own memories.

"No, no." Michonne quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her. She was gently as she pushed him towards the car so that he could almost sit on top of it, "The girl had turned into a walker, but he didn't kill her."

Taehyung exhaled and nodded, staring down at his black boots as he kicked away a little pebble. His eyes followed after the pebble as it rolled down the side of the road and disappeared into the grass, "And...what happened then?" Taehyung rose a brow, crossing his arms over his chest.

Michonne sighed and stood in front of him, placing her hands on her hips, "He came into the apartment after I found her. I...killed the girl and we were fighting. I took a glass and stabbed his eye out, I was about to kill him...but..." Michonne trailed off, voice starting to waver and lower lip wobble, making her bite her lip to hide the wobbling.

"But..." Taehyung leaned forward, eyes shining with concern after seeing the look of sadness hidden in her eyes, "Shit, what happened?" Taehyung stood up straighter, he raised a hand to place it on her shoulder, but he hesitated, allowing it to hover.

"Andrea came." Michonne breathed out, blinking rapidly to get rid of the tears that gathered in her eyes.

Taehyung's face softened and he allowed his hand to wrap around her. They both were tense, not used to the human contact, as Taehyung pulled Michonne into his chest and wrapped his arms completely around her, giving her a well needed hug. Taehyung could feel her trembling against his chest and grab fistfuls of his shirt as she pressed her face into his shoulder.

Taehyung released a soft sight, placing his chin on top of her head and rubbing her back soothingly. His eyes flickered over to the rest of the group, immediately noticing the tension between them as he watched them argue before Daryl pushed past them and began to walk to the car.

"Daryl!" Glenn called out after him, his voice heavy with guilt and remorse.

Michonne pushed herself out of Tae's chest so that they both could watch the group. Rick ran after Daryl, moving his legs faster to keep up with his fast pace. Taehyung's face remained blank as he watched them murmur something between them all while marching towards the car.

When they were passing by him and Michonne, Tae could catch a glimpse of their conversation, "We started something yesterday. You realise that, huh?" Rick whispered to Daryl as the latter stepped behind the car.

Daryl grabbed the trunk of the jeep and pulled it open, "No him, no me. That's all I can say." He shrugged, finally meeting Rick's eyes.

Taehyung was confused for a second, not understanding what was happening, but then his head turned around to look at Merle. He was still in the place where Taehyung knocked him out, but this time, Merle was using a tree to hold himself up as he massaged the back of his head.

Taehyung stood up straighter and took a few steps closer to the pair, his gaze the one of confusion as he watched Daryl grab a bag and fill it up with his stuff.

"Take care of yourself." Daryl told Rick, his voice and eyes soft as he zipped his bag shut and pulled out it of the trunk, "Take care of Lil' ass-kicker." He mumbled, throwing the bag over his shoulders before picking up his crossbow and pushing it up his shoulder, "Carl." Daryl smiled, slamming the trunk shut before fully facing Rick, "Take care of the brat." Daryl told him with a nod and a sad smile before turning around to enter the forest.

"Wait." Rick quickly grabbed his arm to stop him, "What do I tell Jungkook? You know he needs you right now." Rick lowered his voice, glancing up at Tae and Michonne, who immediately looked away and acted like they weren't listening.

Daryl pulled his arm out of Rick's and looked down the road as he shuffled on his feet, "He'll understand." Daryl nodded, trying to convince himself before looking up at Rick, "He'll understand."

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Okay so I kinda feel bad for Jungkook, he literally lost Marley a few days back, then he found out that Lori's dead and now he's gonna find out that Daryl left him too. OOF, poor Kookie, maybe I should give him a small break.

Anyway, TAEKOOK CONTENT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!

~Benikru