double update!
and death :)

"We have a problem."

Jungkook looked up at Taehyung burst into his room, a look of alarm on his face. He set his book down and sat up, arching an eyebrow at him.

"You know that private investigator that was looking into Yoongi?" Taehyung asked. "Turns out, he wasn't just doing that. He was trying to figure out who murdered the Lees, and according to Yoongi, he figured it out. He knows Yoongi's true identity. No doubt he knows yours too."

Jungkook's eyes widened in surprise, but not because he was concerned about the pending future. "But Yoongi has it figured out, right? I mean, he's the prodigy for a reason."

"HQ knows already," Taehyung answered, shaking his head. "I don't know what that kid is thinking. Is everything a game to him?"

Knowing Yoongi, Jungkook knew the answer was a resounding yes, but he didn't comment on it.

"We have to finish everything by tomorrow night," Taehyung sighed. "Damn, and I wanted to have my fun with Seokjin. Yoongi bought us time with Mingi."

"Why didn't Jooyoung just have him killed?" Jungkook asked, rolling his eyes. "Why do we have to play by Yoongi and Mingi's rules?"

"Because it'll look suspicious if Mingi dies," Taehyung answered sullenly. "He's the best private investigator this country has to offer. That doesn't come with intelligence. People will want to know what he came up with and why he was killed for it. Someone in his team is going to know. He has helpers all around his place. People will know he didn't die because of an accident. Unfortunately, Song Mingi is an enemy. Whatever Yoongi told him was to bluff him. We're in more danger than let on."

Jungkook frowned. Yoongi had always had a way with words, so it made sense that he would be able to make Mingi doubt his abilities. Either way, the government was on their side. Even if they weren't to kill Mingi, the government could always bribe him to stay silent. Yoongi's target was Hoseok, someone who had been previously involved with the President's daughter, which meant that if Mingi were to expose their organization and come clean, the President would also take fault— at least implicitly. There was too much at stake.

So much for Project Heartbreak's prodigy.

"Whatever you were planning on doing with those two, better figure it out quickly," Taehyung snapped, running his fingers through his hair. "Jooyoung is trying her best to keep things under control, but there's no going back when someone everyone respects uncovers a hidden organization. Project Heartbreak was at stake right now, everything and everyone involved in it.

Still, Jungkook wasn't too worried.

While it sucked to have to kill Jimin and Namjoon already, anything was better than nothing. Namjoon wasn't in love with Jungkook— far from it Jungkook supposed, but he knew that Jimin was. Namjoon loved Jimin above all else, so it would make sense that he would accept Jungkook for Jimin's sake.

At least he had succeeded in that front. He didn't want to have to kill them so early on, but knowing that it was either them or him. While it would hurt Jungkook to kill someone he'd genuinely started having a liking towards (friendship, never romantic, Jungkook would never fall for his targets), Jimin, he valued himself too much for that.

At least this way, Jungkook knew for certain he would have Yoongi.

It's not like he hadn't noticed Yoongi's subtle personality changes either. Usually, it wasn't hard to differentiate between their two personas, but Jungkook had difficulty telling Yoongi and Jihoon apart. Somewhere along the way, the two had blended, and Jungkook couldn't help but be suspicious. He wasn't aware if Taehyung had noticed as well.

"I'm getting rid of Seokjin in the morning," Taehyung spoke. "I'll let HQ know that I'm getting rid of him so they can be ready at his place. I'm the one with less risk here because my files weren't leaked and, or found. It's no fun, and I did want more time, but well, I got to be the example for the current prodigy, right?"

It was true. Before the title of prodigy had been given to Yoongi, Taehyung had been the first one. It's also why Yoongi and Taehyung would be closer than most, even if they didn't carry out missions together. Two people with similar skills able to obtain the same results. Taehyung had never once lost his touch, and he wouldn't lose it anytime soon.

"Taehyung, did you ever feel something for Kim Seokjin?" Jungkook spoke, mostly out of curiosity. Taehyung froze his expression, washing into confusion at the question. "Like, if you go kill him right now, would you be able to do it without hesitation?"

Jungkook didn't know why he was asking the question to begin with. Maybe it was out of curiosity, maybe out of irrational fear. Maybe he was projecting himself onto the question. Whatever it was, Jungkook wasn't going to reflect on what he had asked. Instead, he would look for the answer to his question.

"I think," Taehyung finally began. "That a job is a job, no matter how we feel about someone else. I have no problem killing Kim Seokjin. In the end, this line of profession doesn't allow for happy endings. It's either them or us and if we fail our mission, we'll be the ones to die in their stead."

Kill or be killed.

"Do you think they'd ever be a way out of that?" Jungkook asked, earning another confused look from Taehyung. Taehyung pressed his lips together, not knowing how to answer the question. "Project Heartbreak isn't a lifelong commitment."

"But accepting an assignment, especially once given by high profile clients, warrants death if failed." Taehyung breezed. "You know this, Jungkook. Do you think there haven't been people I've killed that I've started having feelings for? It's possible to fall for someone while on the job. But again, we are heartbreakers working for an organization meant to break and kill. We will never get happy endings."

Never get happy endings.

Jungkook did not like the sound of that.

At least he would still have a shot, considering that a person he could see himself with was Ji—Yoongi. Jungkook blinked in surprise at the correction he made in his mind, forcing himself back into reality. Taehyung only continued to stare at him before finally sighing.

"Maybe one day you'll get Yoongi to like you," Taehyung said. "I know he likes you enough to want to keep you around. That has to count for something."

Jungkook laughed dryly. "Do you think so?"

A hint of a smile flashed across Taehyung's face. "I know so."

With that, Taehyung spun on his heel and walked out, leaving Jungkook to deal with his own madness for the time being.

🥀

In truth, it hurt Taehyung that his time had been cut short with Seokjin.

As the older lay fast asleep, bare-chested and vulnerable in every sort of way, Taehyung sat silently, staring at the wall as his fingers played with the gun in his hand. Dawn was just beginning to break, the sun seeping into the silent, serene dark blue night with its wisps of orange and red, signaling that the time Taehyung had committed to was upon them.

He'd thought about everything he could probably do, but, looking at Seokjin's face, Taehyung couldn't bear to wake him up to face the truth. It's not like they had to know that Seokjin had been heartbroken. As long as Seokjin had been killed, Taehyung could lie.

They would believe him regardless.

Come on, he chided himself. Stop being a coward. In the end, he's just another target. Another way for you to make bank. It's either him or you. You don't want to die.

He stood up, walking to Seokjin's side of the room. A quick, painless death is what Taehyung was going for. Though he didn't want to admit it to himself, he knew that if Seokjin would so much as try to beg for his life, Taehyung would hesitate.

Every trained assassin knew that with just one second of hesitation, it could mean the target walks away.

He made sure the gun was loaded, wincing as it made a sound, before aiming at Seokjin's head. He forced himself to close the distance between them, taking a deep breath as he continued to catch sight of the still sleeping Seokjin, face free without any worry in the world, but as he was about to pull the trigger, Seokjin's eyes fluttered open, causing Taehyung to take a couple of steps back.

"Seoyun?" Seokjin yawned, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing?"

Taehyung cursed underneath his breath, though he kept the gun leveled at Seokjin's head. Seokjin's eyes widened as he took note of the gun, jumping backward.

"Seoyun, what the fuck is going on?" Seokjin asked, looking at him alarmed. "Why the fuck are you holding a gun."

"Taehyung."

"What?"

"My name's Kim Taehyung," Taehyung swallowed the lump in his throat. "I was assigned by a client to kill you. You've broken a lot of hearts, Kim Seokjin, so I took yours."

He looked away, not able to meet Seokjin in the eyes.

"Seo—Taehyung, w-we can talk about this," Seokjin sputtered, looking at him pleadingly; still half rode with sleep. "You don't have to kill me. Whatever they're paying you, I can double it. I love you, don't do this to me."

It's either him or me.

"It's not just my client that wants you dead," Taehyung answered stoically. "It's the government themselves. Your time is up. Goodbye, Seokjin. It was nice knowing you."

"Wait—"

The shot rang clear as day, louder so in Taehyung's ears than he had ever experienced before.

Seokjin's body slumped back into the bed, the look of pain and heartbreak forever mummified into his body. The last thing Seokjin would ever see would be the eyes of his lover, feel nothing but betrayal and confusion as the bullet infiltrated his skull, ridding him of life.

Taehyung dropped the gun on the floor, pulling out his cellphone with shaking hands. Without taking his eyes off Seokjin, he called Jooyoung, voice shaking even more so than his hands.

"Is it done?"

Taehyung took another look at Seokjin, feeling moisture in his cheeks. His lips parted in awe as he became aware of the tears falling steadily down his face, something he hadn't noticed amidst all the chaos.

"Hello? Taehyung?"

"Kim Seokjin has been successfully terminated."

With that, he hung up, forcing himself to walk where Seokjin lay. There was blood around the wound he'd created, but Taehyung couldn't leave him, just like that. He smiled sadly, kissing his fingers before placing them on Seokjin's lips.

"I'm sorry," Taehyung whispered. "If things were different, maybe we would have turned out different. I could have loved you."

I could have loved you.

That was the price to pay when it came to Project Heartbreak. Running the risk of falling in love on the job, only to get your heart torn to pieces. Project Heartbreak offered no happy endings, just temporary whirlwind romances that ultimately ended in suffering. Just like that, Taehyung had fallen into the darkness of his job, one that he forced himself to carry out. One thing was for certain.

Had Seokjin been completely awake, Taehyung wouldn't have been able to kill him.

It had been hard enough as it was already, but Seokjin had been half asleep. Seokjin had always been a heavy sleeper, so Taehyung knew that if Seokjin would wake up, all that would happen was him trying to make sense of the situation. Taehyung had taken advantage of the situation, just to survive.

Taehyung picked up the gun, tucking it safely into his belt, before walking out of the room, letting the tears run rampantly down his face. This was the price he would pay for what he did to Seokjin. This heartbreak was what he would carry with him, the way he would atone for choosing to save himself.

Alas, it was the burden a prodigy had to carry with the name.

Taehyung could only hope that Yoongi wouldn't suffer the same fate.

a/n: now that time is running out, our babies gotta go real speed huh 😚😚

taehyung was the original prodigy. yoongi took his place bc he younger than tae. fun times. only four chapters left plus epilogue hehe

and, it's only getting more intense from here so les get it :)