It took all of Lisa's self-control not to take a peek at the neighboring lounge to catch a glimpse of Bangtan's youngest. Since the mobsters' arrival half an hour ago, Jungkook just went to the girls' VIP booth to say a quick hello before hanging out with his friends.

She and Chaeyoung were still pestering the eldest about the identity of her new man when Kim Jennie finally made her return.

"Look who my milkshake dragged in..." her older sibling announced to the world as she pulled her husband into the small room. "Err'body, meet my husband."

Lisa heaved a sigh of relief to see her sister unscathed and untroubled.

"You idiot!" The purple-haired beauty snickered, "we were all there at your wedding, remember?"

"Whatever," Jennie rolled her eyes, unfazed with Jisoo's remark, then shot cutesy heart eyes at her spouse. "Isn't he dreamy?"

"Yoongi hyung? Dreamy?" Jimin roared in laughter. "You crack me up, Jennie."

"Hey, don't talk about me as if I'm not here," Yoongi grumbled.

The blonde mobster sheepishly smiled. "Sorry, hyung."

In that instant, Lisa remembered something she was meaning to ask Hoseok all night. "Hobi oppa, why weren't you answering my calls earlier by the way?" She pouted.

He flashed her a winning smile. "Sorry, Lisa. I was in a race."

The brunette perked up after hearing that, so was her drunken sister apparently. "I have... I have a confession to make!" Jennie yelled. "We're your biggest fans in the world, Hobi oppa."

The mobster looked questioningly at the youngest.

Lisa shrugged. "She speaks nothing but the truth." Then, a great idea popped into her mind, "bring me to your next race please."

"Me too, me too!" The black-haired girl yelled, earning her a few dirty looks from the occupants of the lounge, including her husband.

"Why don't you bring the four of us along next time..." the eldest grinned.

Hoseok laughed, his bright smile on full display. "Sure. Anything for my babygirls."

"Hey, my wife isn't your babygirl," Yoongi grumbled again.

The cheerful mobster directed a teasing grin to his leader. "Right. Sorry, hyung."

•••

The brunette was minding her business, just scrolling through Twitter on her smartphone by the stairs, when a guy dressed like a total yuppie tried to get her attention. The girl wasn't interested in the slightest.

"Hi, is it your first time in Piper? I haven't seen you around here before."

"Ah, yeah," Lisa replied, carefully coating the two syllables with as much indifference as she could manage.

"Hm, I've figured just as much," said the unknown guy with a small smirk, "I'm Daniel."

Not wanting to seem rude, she mechanically answered, "Lalisa."

"Nice to meet you." The brunette nodded at the guy before diverting her attention back to her phone. "Can I buy you a drink, Lalisa-ssi?"

Daniel was hot... but clearly, the guy can't get a hint. Hence, she decided to lie her way out of the situation. "I think that's a bad idea. I'm here with someone."

"Really? Who?" Daniel challenged, his playful grin infuriating the girl by the second.

She was ready to say the name of her favorite street racer and dance partner. "J—"

"Me." Jeon Jungkook appeared out of thin air beside the brunette. His beautiful face was devoid of any emotion, but it didn't escape Lisa how the single word held a threatening tone.

The girl was elated by his presence though; she was waiting for this moment all night, after all. Daniel, on the other hand, suddenly looked anxious.

"S-sorry, man. I don't want any t-trouble." The guy, who was full of confidence seconds ago, stuttered. "Sorry too, Lalisa-ssi," he said as an afterthought. Daniel couldn't even look her in the eyes before he disappeared as quickly as he came.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed between them before Jungkook finally spoke, "I'm gonna get a drink."

"I'm coming with you!" Lisa exclaimed, startling both of them. "If you don't mind, that is."

"I don't," the mobster answered without looking back at her.

When they reached their destination, managed to get seats by the bar and had ordered their drinks, a less awkward atmosphere engulfed them.

Lisa subtly eyed Jungkook while he was busy scanning the crowd. He was wearing a simple attire: a black leather jacket with a plain white shirt underneath, denim jeans and brown Timberlands. Still, he looked a whole lot better than half of the men in the posh club.

After a few minutes of waiting, their alcoholic drinks were served; a gin and tonic for Jungkook, and a pink grapefruit mojito again for Lisa. The latter definitely needed liquid courage.

"I took your advice, by the way," she finally said.

"What advice?"

The brunette laughed, finding the guy's confused expression endearing. "To pursue my dreams. My audition for a dance school is scheduled next week."

"Good. What school?"

"Korea National University of Arts."

"Great choice." Jungkook nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Tae hyung goes there, too. He studies music."

"Really? That's awesome!" She could never have guessed that someone from the mob was going to a music school. They had spent years trying to dig up information on Taehyung Kim to no avail. And now, she found out just like that that he was some kind of a musician. They were really a unique bunch.

The mobster only grinned in response before having a sip of his drink.

"Before I forget, I wanted to say thank you, Jungkook-ssi."

He playfully narrowed his eyes at her. "What's with the honorifics, Baby? And what the hell are you thanking me for?"

Lisa's heart did an unexpected somersault at the pet name, but she pretended that the word didn't mean anything to her. "For helping me out with that uber-friendly guy earlier," the brunette frowned, "that's you helping me twice in a row now."

"That was nothing, although I do find it strange that you get involved in those kinds of situations in the first place."

"It's a curse," she sighed, "do you know the Twilight saga?"

Jungkook snickered, "Twilight what?"

"That popular vampire book and movie franchise! You know, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan?"

"Doesn't ring a bell."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Were you living under a rock ten years ago?"

"I didn't exactly have a regular childhood. Sue me for not knowing what the hell this Twilight shit is."

Oh, right.

"Well, the main character in the book, Bella, has this thing where she attracts danger; accidents, vampires, etcetera." Lisa chuckled at the utter absurdity of what she was going to say next. "See, I have the same thing, but I attract creeps instead. If a creep is in a one-kilometer radius of me, the person is bound to hit on me one way or another."

"You're kidding, right?"

"I wish," she sighed, "it was sort of a proven theory by my unnie-deul."

"Hmmm... I guess, I will just need to keep saving you, then," he said.

She liked the sound of that, she was afraid she liked it too much though.

"Lisa bear!" Park Chaeyoung's high voice uttered, the beautiful amber-haired girl making an appearance with Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung trailing her behind. "Our unnie-deul ditched us."

"Already?"

"Yes, unfortunately," she rolled her eyes, "Jen unnie passed out upstairs and is on her way home with Yoongi-ssi now. And Jisoo unnie left just a few minutes ago to meet her loverboy..." the two shared a mischievous smile at that. "Want to get out of here?"

Lisa didn't want to leave the club yet, or more specifically, she didn't want to leave Jungkook's side just yet. "Uh, unnie... actually—"

"You girls are heading home, too?" Jimin interrupted.

Chaeyoung clicked her tongue. "What is it to you?"

"We can take you home."

The amber-haired beauty frowned, "I don't think you're in the position to drive right now, Park Jimin."

"Not me, Tae will."

"Thanks, but no thanks. We aren't going home yet." Chaeyoung turned to look at Lisa. "I'm actually craving for some chicken skewers right now."

The brunette sighed; it was a known fact that no one can get in the way of Park Chaeyoung — the foodie in their little group — and her cravings. As her best friend's designated food trip buddy, the youngest had no choice but to accompany the older girl in her quest to find her current food craving.

"Alright. We'll hunt down skewers for you, unnie."

The blonde mobster interrupted again, "Taehyung here knows where to find the best chicken skewers in town! Don't you, bro?"

Kim Taehyung looked at the blonde, a bored expression on his handsome face, "what are you talking about?"

"That resto in Hongdae! You told me about it before."

"Ah, I'm not sure if it's the best in town, but their skewers are good enough." He peered at his watch, "it's open until three in the morning."

Lisa noticed that that was the longest sentence she heard from Kim Taehyung thus far. His deep honey-like voice surprised her.

"Perfect! We can take you there!"

"For real though, Park Jimin, can you tone down your enthusiasm a bit?" The girl grimaced, "but okay. I'm too hungry and desperate to pass this up."

"Great." Jimin only smirked at her before turning to look at their youngest. "What about you, Kook? Care to join us?"

"Yeah, sure."

Kim Lalisa internally squealed in utter delight.

•••

The girls shared a ride with Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung aboard the latter's car, a gray Mitsubishi Lancer, en route to a hole-in-the-wall eatery in Hongdae. Jeon Jungkook, on the other hand, followed them on his intimidating motorcycle, a black and red Ducati Streetfighter.

Throughout the ride, all Chaeyoung thought about was how it still made her uncomfortable to be in the presence of the Bangtan Sons.

It was astonishing how Jisoo, Jennie and Lisa seemed to be quite amiable to this bunch of criminals already when she felt anything but.

Maybe, she mused, it's because I have more first-hand experience of dealing with mobsters when I dated one for a year.

The thought made her cringe, especially when it unexpectedly brought Park Chanyeol to mind.

His name alone brought her misery.

As much as she tried to hide it from the world, she was still having a difficult time moving on from the mobster after their messy breakup just five months ago.

No one could really blame her though, the guy had all of her firsts. Chanyeol was her first love and her first heartbreak.

What a fucking cliché.

The girl had secretly liked him since they were kids. The EXO mobster was just the type of person she always got along with. They shared the same interests, same likes and dislikes; he was even the one who taught her how to play the piano when she was only nine years old, ultimately igniting her love for music.

When he and Kim Minseok came to New York City to study international business two years ago, their friendship grew to something more. She had not known then that the real reason the two mobsters were in the U.S. was for EXO to build a partnership with the New York Cosa Nostra.

Even with her friends' disapproval of their relationship, the girl still refused to acknowledge the apparent red flags in her then-boyfriend: the web of lies, the illegal underground activities, the questionable morals...

The list went on and on, and yet, Chaeyoung was too caught up with her feelings for the guy.

Just eight months into their relationship, everything blew up in her face when she caught him cheating with some girl from a powerful family belonging to the Italian-American mafia.

Like the dimwitted person that she was, Chaeyoung forgave him and even gave the mobster a chance to redeem himself.

It all — unsurprisingly — ended badly when four months later, he cheated on her again but this time with some random stranger he met in a club.

In conclusion, Park Chanyeol completely and utterly fucked her over.

Men are trash.

That was when Chaeyoung started to build a wall around her. She promised to never get involved with problematic men again and Park fucking Jimin, without a doubt, belonged in that category.

Deep in thought, the girl just noticed then how the said mobster occasionally gazed at her through the car's rear-view mirror.

He gave her a flirtatious wink when their gazes finally connected. Chaeyoung internally recoiled and glared back. Park Jimin was fully aware that he was fucking sexy and she just wanted to throttle him.

•••

Upon entering the warm eatery, the five unlikely acquaintances ordered their food, had taken their seats in a circular table by the door and waited for their chicken skewers to be served.

The place actually had a cool vibe to it. Even at this ungodly hour, there were still a lot of people of their age in the eatery, sharing plates after plates of food.

"Chaeng unnie," Lisa muttered, making small talk, "Taehyung-ssi here studies music production in Korea National, too. What a coincidence, eh?"

The remark successfully caught Chaeyoung's attention. "What's your major?"

Taehyung looked up from his phone to gaze at her. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but in the eatery with them. "Composition."

Chaeyoung raised an eyebrow at that. She wasn't the type to run around and judge people. To each their own, she believed. However, it just seemed very unorthodox for a member of a mob syndicate to be studying to become a music composer. "I didn't peg you to be the type, Taehyung-ssi."

"You don't know me, Chaeyoung-ssi," said Taehyung with a straight face, his dark eyes showing a hint of irritation.

"Obviously," she stared back.

Kim Taehyung, she deduced, had the face and the body of a supermodel. She must admit that all this time, she didn't pay him any attention at all. He was always quiet, always so introverted, that he tended to fade into the background especially when Jimin was on a roll with his playboy antics.

Carefully looking at him now, she took notice of his beautiful sun-kissed skin and almost perfectly symmetrical face.

Being the fashion enthusiast that she was, Chaeyoung also looked at his attire for the night and was a bit surprised to see that the mobster wasn't wearing any designer clothes at all.

Nevertheless, she would bet a hundred bucks that he would still look good even when he was wearing a burlap sack.

"Rosé... so you'll be studying in Korea National, too?" Jimin asked, completely oblivious to the growing tension between her and Kim Taehyung.

"Ah, yes."

"What are you majoring in?"

She finally turned her attention to him, much to her displeasure, "instruments. Piano."

Jimin smirked, raking a hand through his hair, "that's hot."

The girl rolled her eyes at him, absolutely fed up with the mobster already. "Anything with a vagina is hot to you, Park Jimin."

Lisa laughed out loud at that.

"True," Jungkook uttered before sipping from his glass of water. Chaeyoung also noticed the small smile that slowly etched on Taehyung's pierced lips.

"Not true," the blonde emphasized, acting offended.

"Y'know, I roll my eyes way too much when I'm with you. One of these days, my eyes will get stuck in the back of my head, and it will be all your fault, Park Jimin," she glared.

The blonde snorted with genuine laughter. "I love it when you talk dirty to me, Rosé."

"Please know that I loathe you so much."

"I like you more..." he said with an unnecessary wink.

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes at him for the umpteenth time.

Men are trash, indeed.

•••

When Chaeyoung's cravings were finally satisfied, their little group decided to call it a night.

"Where will you be staying, unnie? Are you coming with me to Jen unnie's?"

"No, I'm staying at my aunt's for now. My luggage is in there and she wants us to spend some time together before the semester starts."

"We'll give you a ride home," the blonde mobster muttered with a cheeky grin.

"Er, no. I'll just hail a cab."

"I insist," said Jimin.

"No."

"Get in the car, Chaeyoung-ssi," Taehyung uttered before disappearing into the driver's side of his car. It was safe to say that both Lisa and Chaeyoung were caught off guard by his words.

"What about Lisa?"

"Jungkook will give her a ride back to Yoongi hyung and Jennie's penthouse, won't you Kook? It's near your apartment, anyway." Jimin replied.

The two mobsters stared at each other a second longer. A taunting smirk was plastered on Jimin's face as if daring their youngest to say no. After a while, the youngest handed a small black helmet to Lisa with an exasperated sigh. The blonde mobster looked so damn proud of himself.

Lisa, on the other hand, was feeling a bit sullen. The brunette wasn't insensitive enough not to miss that Jungkook was being forced by his older friend to give her a ride home.

With a warm hug to Lisa and a roll of her eyes to show her immense annoyance with Jimin, Chaeyoung went inside the backseat of Taehyung's car without another word. After a few seconds, they drove away, leaving the two youngest alone.

The brunette wrapped her arms around herself. She was suddenly too aware of the coldness of the air around her and the one emanating from Jeon Jungkook.

She, also, was incredibly disappointed in her choice of clothing for the night. The girl knew it wasn't her brightest idea to wear the strappy-backed burgundy-colored Dior mini dress she borrowed from Jennie's closet. The fit was just too tight for her body frame and she wished she brought the white fur coat to fight off the chill. Good thing, she wore her favorite patterned Gucci tights, the only fashion choice she seemed to get right.

"Jungkook," she offered his helmet back, "I'm just gonna take a cab to my sister's place."

The mobster frowned, "what? No, I'm taking you there." He handed her his leather jacket. "Here. Wear this."

The brunette wore the heavy piece of clothing albeit reluctantly. Nonetheless, she was thankful for the warmth it provided. Lisa took a deep breath; it smelled like soap with a hint of cigar smoke, which just might be her new favorite scent.

She also wore the small helmet that surprisingly fitted her, careful not to mess her brown locks.

All of a sudden, the engine of the Ducati Streetfighter roared to life, startling the girl a bit. It sounded so dangerous that Lisa debated with herself if it was really a good idea to be riding behind Jeon Jungkook on his sexy as hell bike.

"Hop on," he said, disrupting the brunette's train of the thought. With an anxious sigh, she mounted the bike with ease — thanks to his support — and held both sides of his muscled torso. She was relieved that the coldness radiating from him minutes ago had dissipated.

"Are you okay back there?" Jungkook asked.

Lisa felt the adrenaline pump through her veins as the powerful engine roared beneath her. "Yes."

"Hold on tight, Baby," Jungkook mumbled before they drove away under the starry black sky.

End of Chapter 10

Author's Note:

Hello, everyone. I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I have no excuse, really. But, my boyfriend had promised (bribed me) to buy me my favorite milk tea whenever I publish a chapter so expect more updates from me these coming months.

Happy 6K reads and thank you all so much for reading my story.

Love,
Alaska