Taehyung, sitting on the edge of the couch, chewed on his bottom lip as he stared vacantly at the floor. His leg bobbed unconsciously while his mind roamed far afield in tempting, maddening thoughts.

Jungkook went to work early, since they had to come up with a plan to find Joo Eon, and Taehyung had been stewing over and battling with himself for more than an hour so he wouldn’t call his friends over to do something stupid — something he would probably regret.

And that was to search about the Umbra.

Jungkook was so adamant yesterday; he didn’t want Taehyung to have any relation with these things. But how could he just do nothing? Taehyung was never that type and he would never become that type.

So with a quick, jerky motion, he snatched his phone from the coffee table and called Jimin. 

“Hey, Tae! What’s up?”

Taehyung’s pulse brisked unexpectedly. He was about to go against what Jungkook pleaded him not to do. But on the other hand, he wouldn’t do anything bad. He would just ask Jimin to search about the Umbra. Nothing could go wrong with a simple online search. 

“Tae? Can you hear me?” 

An unconscious sigh cartwheeled from Taehyung’s mouth. “Can you come to my apartment? With Yoongi. And your laptop.” 

Jimin’s brows creased in mystification. “Did something happen?”

“No. I’ll explain when you come here.” 

Even more confused, Jimin rose to his feet. “Okay. We’ll be there in fifteen.”

“Thanks.”

Jimin ended the call as he trod to Yoongi’s room to inform him of their friend’s request. 

Sa Rang had helped them find a place, and they chose to live together with the excuse that they were used to it. But both knew they simply couldn’t live without each other around. 

They got ready fast and took Yoongi’s car to head to Taehyung. The ride was filled with speculations about why Taehyung sounded so weird on the phone and what was wrong. 

They soon reached their destination and got out of the car, walking to the entrance. Once Taehyung buzzed them in, they stepped inside and took the elevator to go to the third floor. 

The door was slightly open when they arrived, and Yoongi pushed it, letting Jimin enter first. He closed it behind him, and both joined Taehyung on the couch. “Hey,” Jimin greeted as he side-hugged his friend. 

“Hey, guys.” Taehyung embraced Yoongi as well and reclined in his seat. 

“Why do you look so weird?” Yoongi questioned, eyes scrutinizing the worried look that was glued on his face. 

Taehyung cleared his throat. “I want to help Jungkook find the Umbra. But he told me not to.”

“He wants you to be safe, Tae,” Jimin said, a melancholic smile blooming on his face. “It’s reasonable.”

“Yeah, but... I can’t just do nothing. It’s okay to search about them, right? Nothing will happen, right?”

“Yes, a search won’t hurt,” Jimin reassured. He took his laptop out of his bag, as Taehyung pulled the wooden coffee table closer. 

“Remember Joo Eon?” Taehyung asked and saw both nod. “He was caught on camera killing a bunch of people with an automatic weapon.”

“What?” Yoongi scoffed at the absurdity of the statement. “How? Why? Joo Eon would never do that.”

“Exactly. But he did. We believe the Umbra approached him and asked him to show an act of loyalty. That’s how Jin Mo started working for the Umbra. And Joo Eon took his place.”

A short silence reigned over them as Yoongi and Jimin processed the new information. The latter resumed typing on his laptop, enabling extra protection from any possible threat, since he would soon enter the dark web. 

“Should I go look for him?” Yoongi proposed. 

“I wanted that too, but Jungkook said it’ll be dangerous. Joo Eon won’t be at his hideout, anyway, if he’s really working for the Umbra now. Maybe his men know something, though.”

“I’ll call my guy from Gangnam. He’ll definitely know something.”

Taehyung gave him a hesitant nod and redirected his gaze to the laptop. “Is everything ready?”

“Yes,” Jimin said, finally getting access into the dark wed. He typed the word Umbra and began scrolling through the results. All of them were random posts about the Latin word and its meaning at first glance. 

“Hey, Hyu Jon,” Yoongi spoke to the phone once his friend picked up. “How’s it going?”

“Good, man. What’s up? Do you need a job now that Jin Mo is in jail? I can help you out.”

“No, thanks. I want to enjoy my break for now.” Yoongi faked a laugh to seem nonchalant. “I heard something crazy, that’s why I called. I heard Joo Eon killed a bunch of people. Can you believe that?” Another gruff chuckle fell from his lips, but the silence he received had his features growing taut with anticipation. 

“Unfortunately, it’s true. I don’t know what the hell happened to him. All of his men have disappeared along with him. His hideout is empty.”

“That’s strange. Why would he do that?”

“Beats me.”

“Anyway, thanks, man. Take care.”

“You too, Yoon.” 

Yoongi hung up and locked his phone. “He said all of his men have disappeared along with Joo Eon and that his hideout is empty.”

“So he’s really hiding somewhere in the mountains,” Taehyung reflected quietly. 

Jimin squeezed his eyes shut to rest them for a second and repositioned the laptop on his lap. He kept scrolling and scrolling through senseless posts, but his brows flinched downwards when he perceived the screen glitch momentarily. 

“Chim, maybe you should get out,” Taehyung said. “Glitch is a sign—”

“I know, but my laptop hasn’t detected any threat. We’re safe.” It was a few seconds later when Jimin paused and stared at a certain post. “Why does this post come up? It doesn’t contain the word Umbra.”

“‘The fallen angel will kill you all,’” Yoongi read out loud. “What the hell is this?”

Taehyung discerned Jimin dragged the pointer towards the post and snatched his hand, wrenching it away. “Wait, don’t click on it. It can detect our interaction with the post,” Taehyung said, releasing his hold. “Remember the phrase the Umbra has to say when they reveal themselves?”

“Oh, you’re right,” Jimin murmured. “Let’s just click on the name. Whoever posted this definitely knows something.”

Taehyung nipped at his lower lip as a shroud of vacillation fell upon his traits. “Are you sure we’re safe?”

“I think so. Let’s just risk it.”

Taehyung’s heart gave a leap of anxiety as he expelled a pent-up sigh. “Okay. Click on it.”

And Jimin did. Instantly, the ancient symbol of darkness filled the screen and had the three of them gaping at it with bulging eyes. “Why—” Whatever Jimin wanted to say got drowned in a terrified gasp when a warning about being hacked sprang up onto the screen. “Fuck, fuck,” he cursed under his breath as he opened a new window and typed a code with trembling fingers. 

“Shut it off!” Taehyung exclaimed. His breathing quickened in vast consternation, his frantic eyes locked on the screen. 

“Press the button! If I stop typing, they’ll get access.”

Taehyung pressed the power button steadily until the screen finally blacked. All three slumped back onto the couch, slightly shaking from the immense amounts of adrenaline. 

“What the fuck was that?” Yoongi let out breathlessly. 

Jimin gulped as he shut the screen and set the laptop on the table. “I didn’t have time to destroy the threat because they probably had been trying to trace our location since the moment I typed the word Umbra.”

“Then why didn’t you get a notice earlier?” Taehyung spat out. 

“Because whoever tried to hack us was an expert. They started slowly and steadily. They realized we found something we shouldn’t and sped up the process to take over my laptop. Or it was just a trap to trace out anyone who searched about the Umbra on the dark web.”

“We’re safe now, right?” Yoongi asked. 

“Yes.” 

All three jolted at the ringing of Taehyung’s phone and remained unmoving for a few seconds. Taehyung extended his hand and grabbed the phone from the table. “It’s Jungkook.” He answered the call. “Hey.”

“Hey, baby. How are you?”

“We were together like three hours ago, Kook,” he said, smiling warmly. “I’m fine. Where are you?”

“I’m sitting in a meeting room. Just missed your voice.”

Despite the heart-melting remark, Taehyung picked up on the strange element of his voice. “You sound... sad? Did something happen?”

“I’m just frustrated. Joo Eon is nowhere to be found. My team asked the chief to assemble a search team yesterday, but they found nothing. How is this possible?”

“It won’t be easy to find him if he’s working for the Umbra, Kook.”

Jungkook puffed out a sigh, rocking his chair lightly. “You’re right. Anyway. What are you doing?” 

“Um, nothing, just hanging out with Jimin and Yoongi.”

Any movement ceased at the sound of his words. “I hope you’re not doing anything stupid.”

“We... We did nothing stupid, per se,” Taehyung mumbled, his features darkening with a veil of instant guilt. 

“Taehyung.”

“It’s nothing, really,” he hurried to reassure, since Jungkook’s grave voice foreboded only admonition. “We’re completely safe.”

A heavy silence poured between them until Jungkook broke it with an exhalation. “Meet me at eight o’clock at our hangout spot.”

“At eight?”

“Yes. We’ll leave earlier since we came to work earlier.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you too, Tae. And please... don’t do anything else.”

“Yes, Kookie. I promise.”

Jimin observed with a hesitant gaze as Taehyung hung up the phone. “Was he mad?”

“I think he expected it. He knew I couldn’t just do nothing. He understands me, even if he doesn’t agree with my actions.” 

“He loves you, that’s why,” Yoongi put in. “And he’s right, Tae. You should stay away from all this now. We tried and almost got hacked. Joo Eon and his men are nowhere to be found. There’s nothing more we can do.”

Taehyung thrust a hand through his hair, reluctant to accept the detestable fact that there was really nothing else they could do. 

Jimin traced out the dejection that hovered around Taehyung’s expression, making his chest feel heavy, as if a stone got lodged in it. “It’s okay, Tae.” He rubbed palliative caresses over his back. “Let’s forget about it for now and order something to eat.”

“Yes, let’s not stress out for something we can’t do anything about,” Yoongi added in the same soothing voice Jimin spoke with. 

Taehyung gave a gloomy smile as he nodded. They ordered pizza and spent a couple of hours together watching TV and chatting. Although Taehyung’s wandering thoughts about what else he could do kept burdening him, he strove not to show it. 

  
Taehyung’s gaze darted to his friends when they broke out laughing at a scene of the show they were watching. The corner of his mouth shot up in a smirk as he saw Jimin lean on Yoongi while a string of cackles burst out of him. 

When their laughter quieted, Taehyung wore a nonchalant expression. “So how is living together going?”

Their heads snapped to the right, both mystified by the unexpected question. “We’ve been living together for the past seven years,” Yoongi responded, the muscles in his face still contracted with puzzlement. 

“It’s not the same. Now it’s just you two.” Taehyung’s brows lifted in two subtle curves of mischief as he aimed a saucy look at them in turn. 

“It’s completely the same. Shut up,” Jimin gritted out, shooting him a glare before he drove his chin into his chest. 

Any sign of amusement fell from Taehyung’s face as he examined the waves of awkwardness that crushed over them. Instead, a more somber, on the cusp of condemnation mask sprawled over his traits. “You know, guys... I know Jungkook for just two months. The things we’ve been through, though, make me feel like I know him for years. I confessed my feelings to him after two months, but still, I wish I had the guts to confess earlier. Now we have to make up for lost time. It’s just two months, but we still want to do it. Don’t you think you’ve already wasted so much time denying the obvious?”

Jimin and Yoongi maintained their heads lowered and their eyes riveted on the floor. Their stance slowly drooped until they curled into themselves, as if they were two kids who got the scolding of their lives. The sound of the TV damped in their ears as Taehyung’s words spiraled in raging circles through their minds. 

“It’s not a big deal, guys,” Taehyung uttered, regarding them through saddened eyes. “I know you’re afraid of losing each other if things don’t work out, but how can you even think that things won’t work out? You’re made for each other. I’ve thrown countless hints over the past few years, but every time I tried to bring this up, both of you changed the subject, pretended that you didn’t hear anything, or fired me with endless excuses. Jimin, using work as an excuse doesn’t stand anymore, and Yoongi, using your inexperience in relationships as an excuse is something you need to get over or else you’ll stay single forever.”

The silence from their side carried on strong and the atmosphere seemed to get even heavier and colder the more Taehyung talked. 

“Go home,” Taehyung sighed as he pushed himself to his feet. “And don’t call me or visit me if you don’t talk this out.” He took hold of his phone and receded to his room, leaving the two boys fiddling with their hands in utter silence. 

It was suffocating, at the least. They had spent so many years together, but they still felt like complete strangers at that moment. As if all the feelings they had been suppressing for so long started flooding them so much they didn’t know who they were anymore. 

Jimin, overwhelmed by everything, cleared his throat. “Let’s just leave for now.”

Yoongi looked up at him when Jimin stood up. “And then what?” he let out in a low, hoarse voice. “We’ll go to our house and continue to pretend? Because honestly, I’m sick of it. And I know you’re sick of it too.”

Jimin’s hands clenched in his exertion to confine the burning wetness that filled his eyes. But only seconds later, Yoongi’s heat engulfed his form as he stood so close he could feel his breath on his nape, and his tears cartwheeled down his cheeks in an instant. “I was so—so scared, Yoon,” he released brokenly. “Since the moment I met you, I was so scared that something will happen to you because of our work. If I had given myself to you like I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to handle losing you. I know you think it’s just a stupid fear, but I really couldn’t—”

Yoongi swiveled him and pulled him into his embrace, silencing his words. He clutched him with one hand as he tapped his back with the other. “And I was afraid of letting you down,” he whispered. “You know I’ve never been in a relationship before. And I was afraid I wouldn’t be enough for you. That I wouldn’t be what you deserve.”

Jimin wiped his wet cheeks with his sleeves and hugged him again, burying his face in the crook of his neck. Simultaneously, their phones dinged with a new notification, but they paid absolutely no attention. “You’re everything I could ever ask for.” He drew back a notch to merge their gazes and cradled his cheek. “You’re always there for me. You make me so happy. And I love you so much, Yoon. I can’t live without you.”

A fond smile unfolded over Yoongi’s features as he stared deep into his eyes. “I love you too, Chim. I always had.” 

There was a magical pause between them where they simply gazed at one another, seeing all the intense feelings they had through that specific look. They had shared a myriad of times this kind of look, but it was always tinged with sadness, as they didn’t have the strength to open their hearts and confess. Now, it contained only pure content and adoration for one another. 

The sudden sound of a door opening burst their bubble, and they tossed their heads towards the hallway where rushed steps were heard. Taehyung leaped into view with a horrified expression on his face that caused them to break apart and scan his trembling frame with narrowed eyes. 

“Guys,” Taehyung said through rapid breaths as he stood close to them. “Something w-weird happened to my phone. Is it only mine? Did you—did you check y-your phones?”

“What’s wrong, Tae? You’re scaring me.” Jimin set a hand on his shoulder in his attempt to calm his shaking. 

Yoongi remembered the ding he vaguely heard before and his gaze tumbled to his phone that was on the table. The screen was on with an image that made his stomach twist with dread. “What... What the hell is this?” 

With confusion surging higher and higher within him, Jimin followed Yoongi’s gaze with his eyes until they landed on his phone. He gaped at the screen as if he had seen a ghost, then slowly reached for his phone. “‘The fallen angel will kill you... if you don’t install this app,’” he read in a quivery voice. The phrase was written over the symbol of darkness, and there was a timer beneath the yes or no options that added to his agony. “Why is there a fucking timer?”

“I guess we have twelve minutes to decide if we’ll press yes or no,” Yoongi said, still scrutinizing the screen of his phone. 

“Don’t tell me... this is happening because we searched about the fucking Umbra,” Taehyung murmured in a shocked trance. 

“Yeah, I think we screwed up,” Yoongi breathed out, rubbing his forehead in frustration. 

“We have to press yes, guys,” Jimin said. “I’m not risking losing you because of this psycho.” 

“What if it’s a trick to trace our location?” Taehyung asked. 

“They already know our location, Tae. They know where our phones are, so they know where we are.”

“But you said they didn’t manage to hack your laptop!”

“They didn’t,” Jimin said pointedly. “There’s absolutely no way they traced our location. We shut off the laptop before they could get access.”

Yoongi analyzed his words in the moment of stillness that followed. “So that means they already knew where we were.”

“Exactly.”

“But how?” Taehyung wondered in a daze. 

“I have no fucking idea and we have no time to think about it now.” Yoongi expelled a sigh. “We have to press yes. I really don’t want to know what will happen if our time is up.”

“You’re right,” Jimin said, clutching his phone with both hands, and set his gaze on his friends. “On three?” he asked, and both nodded right away. “One. Two. Three.” 

A tinkle sounded from the three phones as a filling bar sprang up onto the screens. “It needs three minutes to install the app,” Taehyung said, but then his eyes bulged with the sudden realization that struck him. “Guys, it’s that app! The app the Umbra used to talk to Jin Mo. The messages disappear once you get a response. Jungkook told me about it.”

“So the Umbra wants to tell us something without anyone knowing,” Jimin reflected. 

“Let’s sit for now.” Yoongi flopped down onto the couch, and the other two followed soon enough. 

Surrounded by a fraught quietness, the three kept their eyes anchored on their phones until the download was completed and a dark chat appeared. 

“The option of typing something is locked,” Jimin observed, frowning. 

Taehyung flinched as a new message popped up. “Guys. They say... ‘Come to this address alone before midnight or your friends will die. You know, Jimin and Yoongi who are sitting right next to you...’” His voice trailed off as a spate of consternation rushed down his limbs. “What the hell is happening? How do they know that?”

“They guessed it,” Yoongi reassured. “They just know we’re together because they know our phones’ locations.”

“Write down the location.” Jimin ushered Taehyung out of his stupefaction with a gentle push on his shoulder. 

Taehyung leaped out of his seat seconds later and grabbed a Post-it note from the entryway table and a pen. He jotted down the address and returned to his friends. His attention jumped back to his phone when it beeped with another message. 

If you tell anyone about this place, and especially your beloved Kookie, he’ll die before you know it. Along with your hyung. 

“That motherfucker knows everything,” Taehyung said through clenched teeth, his grip on the phone tightening, as a vicious scowl veiled his features. 

“How do they know you call Jungkook Kookie? That’s so damn creepy,” Jimin said, appalled and throughout confused. 

“It is,” Yoongi sighed, then focused on his phone the moment it beeped. “I got one too. It says, ‘Come to this address alone before midnight and don’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to kill your beloved friends.’” 

“What the hell do they want from us?” Taehyung whispered as despair crept over every inch of his face. The same vile emotion squeezed his heart ruthlessly the more he thought about Jungkook and the possibility of parting from him again. 

“I got the same message as Yoongi,” Jimin said. “Do you think they want to kill us?”

“Probably not,” Yoongi replied as he locked his phone and left it on the table. “They know where we are. They can kill us at any time if they want to.”

“Then what?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe to work for them?”

“But why us?”

“Because we’re good at what we do,” Taehyung spoke up in a low voice. He rotated his head to his friends and glanced at them in turn. The light had drained out of his eyes and only unease about what was awaiting them remained. “If they want us to work for them and even threaten us to achieve it... it means they won’t let us leave once we go to this address. It means we’ll become their slaves. Until either we die or they.”

Jimin hid his face in his hands as a heavy sigh spewed from his lungs. “I can’t believe this. I thought everything was over...”

“Apparently, it’s not.” Yoongi rubbed tender lines on his back to soothe him. “We can just... run away. We have money. Let’s go live in another country.”

“I can’t leave,” Taehyung dissented right away. “I won’t go anywhere without Jungkook.”

“He’s right. And we can’t just run away, Yoon,” Jimin uttered as he leaned back into his seat. 

“Then what do we do?” 

“We’ll go there,” Taehyung stated. “We’ll go there and end this.” 

The resolute timbre of his voice amazed Jimin and Yoongi, but also filled them with bewilderment. “What do you mean? How will we do that?” Jimin asked. 

“If at this address is indeed Joo Eon’s hideout, we’ll lead Jungkook and his team there. They’ll help us.”

“You know he can... die, right?” Yoongi voiced out hesitantly. 

“No. All I know is that he’s the only one who can pull this off. I believe in him.” Sadness seeped into his eyes as he lowered them. “And I also know he wants to do this too. It’s his chance to catch the one who killed his hyung. To catch the Umbra.”

“What if the Umbra doesn’t appear?” Jimin asked. 

“We have to make them appear. We’ll think about that when we get there and see what they want from us. For now, I’ll go meet my hyung and then Jungkook.”

“Your hyung, why?” Jimin directed a puzzled glance at him. 

“Because if there’s a chance I’ll die... I want to see him one last time.”

“Yah,” Yoongi snarled. “We won’t die, okay? Cut this bullshit. Go see him. We’ll go home to prepare and meet again when you’re done with Jungkook.”

Taehyung forced a smile to his lips as he nodded. They took hold of their coats and headed to the door. Taehyung also grabbed his keys and helmet, and they soon exited the apartment. 

Upon reaching the parking lot, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. Random memories that Taehyung had with his hyung kept surfing through his head as he drove towards his apartment. Maybe they had grown apart, but the thought of not seeing his hyung ever again was rather agonizing. Jae Wook was all he had when their parents died. He was there for him, even when Taehyung pushed him away. He had to at least thank him for once. 

  
He parked and removed his helmet, then dismounted the motorcycle. A dark wistfulness had settled over his chest like a mantle that made his steps cumbersome as he walked to the entrance. 

Once he was buzzed in, he resumed his way to the elevator. He soon got off but halted upon spotting Jae Wook by the door of his apartment. The corners of his mouth stretched with a little warm smile as he neared him. “Hey, hyung.”

“Hey.” Jae Wook returned the smile with a hint of hesitation. He let him enter and closed the door, then both trudged to the living room. “How are you doing? I haven’t heard from you since... you found out the truth.” 

Taehyung seated himself on the couch and tapped the spot next to him as he gazed at Jae Wook. “Yeah, I needed some time to think.”

Jae Wook sat beside him as Taehyung silently requested. He inspected the mannered serenity in his countenance and his slight smile, but his eyes seemed to have lost all their light. “Is something wrong?”

Taehyung tore his gaze off him, struggling to maintain his smiling facade. “No, I just... I want to apologize. I know you wanted to protect me and that’s why you didn’t tell me the truth earlier. I understand it now. And I also want to thank you. You were all I had when our parents died and you cared for me in your own way. I know we grew apart, and it’s not only your fault. It’s mine too. We used to be inseparable. I miss those times.”

Jae Wook released a blithesome puff as he set his hand on his back. “I miss those times too. And I’m sorry too. For lying and for being hard on you sometimes. Do you want to eat dinner together? I can cook.”

“Um, I would love that, but I can’t stay. I have to leave.” 

“Now? It hasn’t even been five minutes.” 

Taehyung glanced at the time and sighed under his breath since it was already after eight. He focused his gaze on Jae Wook again and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, hyung. I really have to go.” He opened his arms in a mute request for a hug, and Jae Wook leaned closer, then caged him in his embrace. 

“Okay. We’ll see each other again soon.”

Will we? Taehyung wondered in his head as his eyes gloomed. “Bye, hyung.”

“Take care, Tae.”

“You too.” Taehyung rose to his feet without letting Jae Wook take a glimpse of his tearful eyes and hurried out of the apartment. 

  
By the time he arrived at the park, Jungkook was already there. He observed him from afar, pacing and anxiously glancing towards the entrance and notched up his gait. 

Jungkook froze upon seeing him, then rushed to him just like relief surged through every inch of his body. He crushed him into his embrace and deflated his chest with a long sigh. “Why are you late? I was worried.”

Taehyung squeezed him and drew back. “Let’s go sit, hmm?” He intertwined their fingers and led him to their usual bench. As they sat, Taehyung allotted a few moments to absorb the tranquil scenery of the river and all the greenery. 

“Tae,” he whispered as he slid an arm over his shoulders and tugged him close. “What’s wrong?”

Taehyung pecked his lips and nestled his head against his. “What happened with your team? Did they confess their feelings finally?” 

“Yes, they did, but why are you changing the subject?” 

“Please, Kook,” he let out shakily. “Stop being a detective with me. Just... be my boyfriend.”

Jungkook’s lips flattened in bitterness. He cupped his right cheek and turned his face so they could lock eyes. “I need to know if you’re in danger, Tae.”

“I’m not.”

“And if I find you dead tomorrow”—a gruesome trail of goosebumps sliced Jungkook’s spine only at the mention of this horrific thought—“what am I supposed to do?”

“Pour my ashes in this river here. I love this place because it’s connected with you.”

“Yah,” Jungkook hissed as he jerked back in a sudden blaze of anger. “How can you joke about that?” 

“I’m fucking nervous, okay? I make shitty jokes when I’m nervous.” Taehyung’s head dropped with a throaty sigh. 

“Tell me what the hell did you do.”

“We searched about them on the dark web.” He stole a glimpse of Jungkook, biting his lower lip. “But what happened next had nothing to do with this!” Taehyung added, stopping the evident tirade he was about to receive. 

Jungkook’s angrily contorted brows mellowed a degree. “What do you mean?”

“The Umbra sent us the link to download that app, Kook. The app he used to talk with Jin Mo. It had a message and a timer. The message read, ‘The fallen angel will kill you if you don’t install this app.’” 

Jungkook’s heart pounded in apprehension, his owlish eyes staring at him in terror. “Wh—What, why? Why would they send you this? What did they want?”

“They sent us an address and told us to go there before midnight.” Taehyung’s glance explored with unnerving poignancy Jungkook’s taut features and the consternation that was embedded in them. Taehyung reached for his hands — embraced them in both palms securely. “It’s our chance to finish this, Kookie. I know it’s scary. I know anything can happen. If I don’t go, I’ll die for sure. If I go, I can at least fight and have a chance to find out who’s behind all this.”

“But what if they want to kill you?”

“If they wanted to kill me, they would have done it already. They want something from me, from us. They sent a message to Jimin and Yoongi as well.” A haze of gloom veiled Taehyung’s eyes as he held his cheek in a gentle grip, instantly feeling waves of warmth tingle his cold palm. “I know you don’t want me to go. I don’t want to go either. But I can’t live like this anymore. I want everything to end so I can live happily with you. The past couple of days were like a dream. I want this dream to become our reality and live every day like this. Together, deeply in love.”

Jungkook connected their foreheads as a muted exhalation slid past his throat, closing his eyes for a moment. “I can’t lose you, Tae.” Desperation dripped from his quiet tone and poured from his despondent gaze. “I’ll be done for if that happens. Completely ruined. Empty. How can I let you go?”

“I know. I feel the same. But don’t you want to know who killed your hyung? Maybe this will be your chance, Kook.”

“You’re more important,” Jungkook whispered. He squeezed his hand, then carded his fingers through his hair until he reached his nape. “Your life is more important than any truth. I can live the rest of my life searching for the one who killed my hyung. But I can’t live without you. I mean it, Tae. I can’t. I won’t.”

A hot wetness prickled Taehyung’s eyes at the ever-increasing dejection that coated his heavy voice. He shut them in his effort to obscure his tears from Jungkook and joined their lips in a slow-paced, chaste kiss. The numbing feeling from the cold subsided the more their lips rolled together and left them shiny and warm when they drew apart. 

“I love you,” Taehyung rasped against his mouth. “And I’m just as terrified at the thought of losing you. But if I don’t go, I’ll have to live in hiding. I’m not even sure that will work out because it feels like they have eyes everywhere. I don’t want to live in hiding. I want a normal life with you. Can you help me, please? Hmm? It’s the last thing I’ll ask from you. Trust me and help me catch them. Please, Kookie.”

Jungkook’s chest trembled with a sigh as he observed the redness in his dismal, teary eyes. “Can you promise me you’ll fight... to live? That you’ll fight to stay alive until we get out of there together?”

Taehyung nodded right away and pecked his lips. “I promise. It’s what I want the most right now. To be alive so I can spend as much time as possible with you. To make countless memories with you. So trust me, Kook. I want to live. More than anything.” 

“I want that too,” Jungkook uttered, caressing his nape with loving little swipes. “Let’s stay alive, baby. For each other.”

Dread now muted and anxiety forgotten somewhere in the blanket of safety that Jungkook’s words gifted him, Taehyung smiled tenderly. “For each other.” He tilted his head into another kiss, deep and passionate, which reinforced the verbal promise with a fire that would either destroy everything and everyone in their passage or that would burn them alive. 

───⭒───༺🌑༻───⭒───

The new chapter is finally out! I would have updated it two weeks ago if that whole mess with the reports didn't happen...

Still, thank you so much for waiting patiently. Also, thank you for your immense support in everything💜

Four chapters left! ⏳ Next update on Wednesday.