∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"So," Namjoon began, glancing around the table nervously.

Everyone had moved into a different room, one that had the layout of almost a conference room. It still had the same luxurious theme and fancy furniture of the rest of the bar, but the lights were a little bit brighter.

Jeongguk watched as everyone took a seat, hurriedly sitting beside Hoseok. But not moving too close. He was mad at Hoseok, and that was his half-assed punishment, Jeongguk decided.

"I guess I owe you an explanation," Namjoon mumbled, staring right at Jeongguk. Right. Hoseok knew everything about these guys, but Jeongguk was the one who had to be in the dark. He sent a weak glare to Hoseok.

Namjoon cleared his throat. "Well," he began, glancing around the table. Jimin urged him to continue talking. "We're a part of a gang... a mafia if you will."

Jeongguk sighed. "I... I got that already." Taehyung sent him a glare.

Namjoon pursed his lips together. "And, uh... What you saw today," he mumbled, glancing at a door that Jeongguk hoped the body wasn't hidden behind, "Means that you're tied to us now."

Jeongguk paused.

"What?" he asked, his voice shaking and eyes growing wide. He didn't want to be tied to the mafia. He glanced around the table, finding nobody who would return his gaze except Hoseok.

Hoseok opened his mouth to say something, his hand reaching out to Jeongguk. But Jeongguk glared at him, even going as far as to move his chair away and put some space in between the two.

Taehyung let out a loud laugh.

"The hell are you laughing at?" Hoseok snapped, turning to Taehyung with his face contorted in anger. Taehyung only smirked, leaning back into his chair with his arms crossed over his immaculate suit. Not a wrinkle in sight.

"The hell are you looking at?" Taehyung retorted, the smirk growing wider on his face at the sight of Hoseok getting riled up. Jeongguk glared at both Hoseok and Taehyung, wishing they wouldn't fight but too upset to do anything at that moment.

So Jimin stepped up. He punched Taehyung in the arm and sent a cautionary glare across the table to Hoseok. Taehyung settled down, grumbling something about how mean Jimin was being. But the smirk didn't leave his face.

"We're all in this together now," Jimin spoke up, pushing his hair that had gotten a little messy out of his eyes. Taehyung snorted and Jimin sent him another glare, threatening to hit him again.

Jin sighed, the tension in the room threatening to swallow him alive. He sat up, putting his arms on the table, and glanced at Yoongi.

"Yoongs, we need you to dig up some information about who tried to rob the speakeasy," Jin began, glaring at Namjoon since he hadn't said anything. Yoongi nodded, pulling out a notepad and scribbling a few things down. Jeongguk didn't know what he wrote.

"Nobody would do that without a motive," Namjoon added, his eyebrows furrowed in deep thought as he stared at the wooden table. The rest of the table nodded along, and Jeongguk found himself staring at a smirking Taehyung.

Jimin stared at Namjoon, reaching out to push his almost blond hair out of his eyes. He remembered when Namjoon's hair used to be darker, but it had lightened significantly because of how often Namjoon was outside and the amount of stress he was put under. So Jimin took it upon himself to lighten his hair too.

"What's wrong, Joonie?" Jimin asked softly, ignoring Jeongguk's stare from across the table. Namjoon sighed, turning to Jimin with eyes full of worry. But he smiled, putting a gentle hand against Jimin's cheek.

A hand that Jimin knew had killed many. Too many.

"I'm fine, Jiminie," Namjoon said, caressing the boy's cheek softly. Jimin smiled, a worried smile, but let him off the hook nonetheless. He just wished he could do something about the worried look that seemed to never leave Namjoon's face.

"What do you mean?"

The six sitting at the table turned to Jeongguk, who had his eyes wide with worry. His hands were clenched into fists, resting on top of the table. Jeongguk bit his bottom lip and Hoseok reached out to stop him, but hesitated.

"What do you mean?" Jin asked, kicking Namjoon under the table for worrying the boy. Namjoon winced and sent a glare to Jin, who only rolled his eyes.

"A-About someone doing that with a motive," Jeongguk added, his voice quavering, "How do you know?"

"Rival gangs know about us." Taehyung sat up in his chair, leaning forward over the table and staring at Jeongguk. Something swirled in his eyes. And Jeongguk couldn't tell if it was lust or annoyance.

Jeongguk furrowed his eyebrows at him. Of course rival gangs would know about them. He couldn't understand why it was so important.

"The bar's just a cover up for the money we make," Taehyung said in a condescending tone that made Jeongguk's heart clench. Jeongguk glared at him, relieved when Namjoon scolded Taehyung for sharing too much.

"Well now they have to join," Yoongi spoke up, for the first time that night. He smirked at Hoseok and Jeongguk frowned, too frustrated to meet Hoseok's gaze.

"I don't want to join," Jeongguk commented, flinching when he realized that he sounded a lot like a petulant child. Taehyung scoffed at him and Hoseok threatened to start something again, but Namjoon quieted everyone down.

"Fine then," Taehyung said, leaning back into the chair. His arms crossed over his chest and Jeongguk glared up at him. Namjoon sent him a confused look, opening his mouth to speak-

"You can just live with us," Taehyung teased, relishing in the pissed-off look on Hoseok's face. Jeongguk just looked as bewildered as Hoseok, if not more, and everyone turned to Taehyung.

Taehyung looked around the table, almost annoyed that everyone hadn't understood his idea. "If Jung joins and Jeongguk lives with us, then we've got everything covered, don't we?" Hoseok scoffed.

"There's got to be something else we can do," Hoseok began, irritation seeping into his voice the longer he stared at Taehyung. But Taehyung only smirked back, his lackadaisical behavior starting to grow.

"Let's all just calm down," Jimin said in a worried tone, the tension in the room only rising. Nobody said a word and Taehyung and Hoseok glared at each other.

"I'm fine with it."

Everyone turned to Namjoon. Hoseok looked at him like he was insane and Taehyung looked accomplished. Hoseok's eyes darted around the room, thinking of something to say to convince Namjoon against the idea, but his eyes landed on Jin.

"Then I'm fine with it too," Jeongguk spoke up, earning another bewildered look from Hoseok. He looked down at the table, trying to find some solace in the intricate wooden designs. Nothing would've prepared him for what Hoseok said next.

"What the fuck Jeongguk?" Hoseok said, rising out of his seat. Jeongguk looked up at him with wide eyes. Anger builded inside of him and threatened to explode, but he took a deep breath and settled for a harsh glare instead.

"It's better than both of us joining," Jeongguk began, tearing his eyes away from Hoseok. He settled for staring directly at Taehyung, a blank gaze that through Taehyung off guard.

"Even though you're still getting involved," Jeongguk mumbled, tearing his gaze away from Taehyung and looking back up at Hoseok. Hoseok bit his lip, pained by the words Jeongguk chose, but ultimately sighed and nodded.

"It's settled then," Taehyung smirked, not bothering to get up from his chair. He glared at Hoseok, something that Jeongguk thought looked teasing but menacing at the same time.

"Let's go, Jeongguk," Hoseok mumbled, patting Jeongguk's shoulder and then immediately heading out of the room. Jeongguk huffed, getting up himself and sending one last glance around the table.

Taehyung stared right back.

He hurried out of the room and the speakeasy to catch up to Hoseok. Jeongguk found the man waiting beside his car. Hoseok sent Jeongguk a sad smile and unlocked the doors, stepping into the driver's seat and waiting for Jeongguk to get in as well.

The engine roared to life and the two began their journey home. City lights shined overhead and the radio sang a soft melody. But the soft melody wasn't enough to drown out the awkwardness in the car.

"We should really talk," Hoseok spoke up finally, his eyes still trained on the road in front of him. Jeongguk glanced at him, but only briefly, before turning to look out of his window.

"There's nothing to talk about."

The rest of the ride home was silent.

When they arrived at their apartment, Jeongguk didn't bother waiting for Hoseok. He headed to their room, starting to haphazardly throw some of his clothes in his bag. Even though it was still very early on the morning.

"Jeongguk, love," Hoseok began, walking into the room with his hands crossed over his chest, "Why are you upset?" Jeongguk stopped what he was doing to look at Hoseok.

"I'm... not mad," Jeongguk huffed, tearing his gaze away from Hoseok. Hoseok sighed and walked over to him, gently pulling him away from the pile of clothes that was starting to accumulate on their bed.

"Yes. Yes you are," Hoseok said, putting his hands on Jeongguk's waist. Jeongguk huffed, but didn't bother squirming out of Hoseok's hold.

"Okay!" Jeongguk squeaked, "Okay, I am mad." He stared up at Hoseok, the light from a lamp beside their bed the only thing illuminating the room.

"Why?" Hoseok asked softly, reaching up to hold Jeongguk's face gently. Jeongguk pouted again, looking up at Hoseok with sadness filling in his eyes.

"Be-Because now you're in the mafia!" Jeongguk bristled, pulling Hoseok's hands off of him and putting some space in between the two of them. "And now I have to go live with them. With a gang."

Jeongguk bit his lip and looked at the ground. "If you hadn't joined, none of this would've happened."

Hoseok stares at him, his eyes widening in disbelief. "If you didn't want to get food at two in the morning then we wouldn't have seen that man get shot!" his voice began to rose, frustration ebbing in his tone. Jeongguk looked up at him with the same look of disbelief and frustration that Hoseok had.

"Are you being serious?" Jeongguk spat, taking another step away from Hoseok. Hoseok sighed, running a hand through his hair and glancing around the room.

"Look, Jeongguk, love," he said, taking a few gentle steps towards Jeongguk. "Take a deep breath, sweetheart," he reached out to Jeongguk but Jeongguk only took another step back.

"Just... give me some space while I pack up my things," Jeongguk muttered, turning back to his half-packed bag. Hoseok sighed again.

He walked over to Jeongguk, wrapped his arms around the boy and put his head in the crook of his neck. Jeongguk sputtered, mumbling out a bunch of complaints, but they went unheard.

"I just wanted to spend some time together before you left," Hoseok mumbled into Jeongguk's shoulder and Jeongguk let out a dry laugh. He squirmed around in Hoseok's hold until he was face to face with him, wrapping his arms around Hoseok's neck.

"Quit whining," Jeongguk teased, knocking their foreheads together, "It's not like this is the end of our relationship."

Hoseok sighed, looking deeply into Jeongguk's eyes. "Yeah. You're right."

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

By the time the sun had risen the next morning, Jeongguk had all of his things packed and had only gotten a few hours of sleep. But he wasn't bothered by the exhaustion creeping in the corners of his mind. He was too focused on moving in with... the Kims.

Hoseok had driven him to a very nice house, and Jeongguk held back his tongue. He didn't want to know how Hoseok already knew about where they lived. That seemed like something not even their little henchmen knew about.

The pout on Hoseok's face had never disappeared, and by the time Jeongguk was getting out of the car he found himself an armful of Hoseok. He sighed and hugged the boy tightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek when he made sure no one was looking.

There were a few things Jeongguk wanted to say. But he didn't. He didn't want their relationship to struggle with this new... inconvenience.

The inconvenience was Taehyung, of course.

"Let me walk you to the door," Hoseok mumbled into Jeongguk's hair, still holding onto him tightly. Jeongguk giggled and pushed him away, letting Hoseok lead him to the door.

The two didn't even have to ring the doorbell, because by the time Hoseok raises his hand to do so, the door swung open and Namjoon and Jin were standing there. They both had wide smiles on their face, and in all honesty, Jeongguk was a little weirded out by it.

"Welcome home!" Jin said, wrestling Jeongguk's bags out of his hands. Jeongguk gave Hoseok a wary glance and followed Jin into the house, the door closing behind him before Hoseok could utter another goodbye.

"Thank you for being so cooperative," Namjoon said with a smile that sent shivers down his spine. And not the good kind. He smiled back at Namjoon, although it was forced and probably looked like he was scared half to death.

Jin and Namjoon quickly turned around, starting a brisk pace. Jeongguk immediately followed after them, trying not to gawk too much at the grandeur of the entire mansion.

The mansion was decorated with red, gold, and dark brown for as far as the eye could see. The walls were adorned with a dark wood and embellished with gold and fancy chandeliers in every corner. Red velvet chairs and sofas and stairs decorated everything. Very western, Jeongguk thought.

Bang!

Jeongguk jumped, eyes darting immediately to Namjoon and Jin. Namjoon kissed his teeth and Jin sighed, shaking his head. The two turned around to Jeongguk and Jeongguk flinched.

"Your room is just down this hallway, the third one to the left," Jin said with a smile, pointing over his shoulder to his left. Jeongguk nodded, a little confused and a little scared.

"Go ahead and rest up, Gguk-ah," Namjoon mumbled, putting a warm hand on his shoulder. He smiled down at the boy. "You look tired."

Jeongguk let out a dry laugh and nodded awkwardly. Namjoon squeezed his shoulder and sent the boy another dazzling smile before gesturing to Jin to follow him. Jin nodded and the two walked off down the hallway and out of sight.

Jeongguk took in a deep breath, heading down the hallway in the direction that Jin pointed. Sure, it was the room on his right, but he didn't want to accidentally look like an idiot in front of a mafia boss.

He opened the door and glanced around the room, a little surprised when he found the lights were on. But he shrugged it off, making his way towards a closet in the room and past the bathroom.

The room was as lavishly decorated as the rest of the house. The room was spacious and had gold and red everywhere. Heavy, blood red curtains were drawn over a window, casting an ominous shadow around the room. But Jeongguk smiled. It was a room he would learn to love.

He turned to the closet and opened it, his eyebrows furrowing when he found it full of clothes. Suits. And then he paused.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?"

Jeongguk turned around, his face paling, and found Taehyung lying on the bed.

Kim Taehyung of all people.

He was spread out on the bed like he owned the place--well, he did--clad in a silky red robe. His hair was tousled around his forehead and his eyes held something in them.

Something that Jeongguk recognized as lust.

"J-Jin told me this was my room," Jeongguk mumbled, his face flushing at the thought. Taehyung only quirked an eyebrow in his direction.

He rose from the bed, the silk sheets rustling from below him. He waltzed over to Jeongguk, the robe plunging low and exposing more than just his collarbones.

Jeongguk stared, a little too entranced by the tan, unblemished skin that was peeking out from under the robe. The red silk settled on his skin, a stark contrast to the dark hair that hung low over his eyes.

"Well it's not," Taehyung mumbled, his breath tickling Jeongguk's skin. The boy blushed when he realized how close the two of them had gotten. Taehyung only stared down at him. Bored.

"Yeah... I figured that much out," Jeongguk mumbled out, embarrassingly breathless.

Taehyung stared down at him, taking another step forward and closing the distance between the two. Jeongguk found his heart beat faster and cursed himself silently.

Jeongguk blinked. And Taehyung leaned in. He leaned in so close that Jeongguk could feel his breath ghosting over his lips.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jeongguk squeaked, pushing Taehyung away from him. Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows but put his hands up in mock defense, taking a few steps backward and sitting down gracefully on the edge of the bed.

"H-How can you be so casual about doing something like that!" Jeongguk squeaked again, his face flushing red with both embarrassment and frustration. But then Taehyung only shrugged, a sly smirk taking over his lips.

"What do you mean?" he asked with fake innocence, "Love is love, isn't it?" He smirked and raised a hand, drawing a heart under his eye. Jeongguk grimaced.

"Gonna dress up for us?" Taehyung began, leaning back on the bed, "Huh? Queen of hearts?" Jeongguk's jaw clenched and his fists balled at his sides, trying desperately not to feed into whatever Taehyung was planning.

Jeongguk scoffed and turned his gaze away from Taehyung. Taehyung must've been bothered by that, because he rose from the bed and took a few steps in Jeongguk's direction. Jeongguk stepped back, his gaze traveling back to Taehyung, and he found himself being pressed up against the wall.

Taehyung's hand found a spot beside Jeongguk's head, caging him in and blocking his view of the door. Jeongguk glared up at Taehyung, pressing up against the wall as much as he could to get further away from Taehyung. Taehyung smirked and only leaned in closer.

"I'm dating Hoseok," Jeongguk said blankly, his throat grew dry and his heart dropped to his stomach. Taehyung rolled his eyes, the smirk still present, and laughed. He laughed.

Taehyung looked at Jeongguk, dark eyes heavy with lust. His lips were pulled into a wicked smirk and his collarbones shined under the robe that was slipping more and more open.

"He doesn't have to know," Taehyung rasped, leaning in closer to Jeongguk. His eyes slipped closed and Jeongguk's heart skipped a beat, but he pushed Taehyung away.

"Asshole," Jeongguk mumbled, a little shaken after everything that had happened. Taehyung laughed and made his way back to his bed and Jeongguk to the door.

"How faithful are you, really?" Taehyung asked as Jeongguk opened the door with his bag in tow. Jeongguk shook his head, already halfway out of the room.

Taehyung smirked. "Is it really love?"

Jeongguk slammed the door behind him.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

yay another chapter!

also i wanted to let the few people who read this to know that if you're a little stressed or worried about everything that's been happening recently, feel free to reach out to me! i'm also willing to provide anyone with resources to donate or any information that you might want.

stay safe!