Taehyung dragged his cumbersome body through the gates of the mansion early in the afternoon. 

He had called Sa Rang to narrate what happened with Jungkook yesterday, allotted some time to drown in his wretchedness, and when the walls of his apartment seemed to draw closer as if they would crush him at any moment, he bolted out of there in pursuit of his friends’ company. 

He went straight to his room and found his two beloved friends waiting for him, as he had requested. 

“What happened?” Jimin asked as he rose to his feet to enclose him in his arms. 

Taehyung melted against the comfort of his embrace. “I told Jungkook everything.” He pulled back to hug his other waiting friend. 

“You said you would wait a few days,” Yoongi uttered as he ringed his waist with an arm and patted his back with the other. 

“That's what I wanted. But he came to my apartment. I couldn’t let him leave without the answers he needed.”

They shifted to the bed to sit side by side, leaning their backs to the wall. 

“Was he mad?” Jimin asked, although he was sure about the reply he would receive. 

Taehyung’s head lolled back, colliding with the wall with a light thud. “Jungkook already knew the truth.”

Yoongi and Jimin whipped their heads to the side, fixing Taehyung with a mystified stare that had agitation underlying it. “How?” Yoongi asked. 

Taehyung kept the turmoil of devastation hidden behind a facade of dispassion. “I don’t know. I was too busy crying my heart out. I didn’t even think to ask about it.”

A brief silence washed over them as sullenness sifted through the room like falling flakes of snow. 

“He asked me to fight for him.” Taehyung’s voice came across as fragile as his heart. “Until he can see the Taehyung he met that night in my eyes again, he asked me to not give up on him. Right now, he said, he can only see Kim Taehyung and the lies I told him.”

“That’s good, Tae,” Jimin let out softly. “It means he wants to forgive you. He just needs time.”

“What if he never sees that Taehyung in my eyes again?” he whispered, as if talking to himself. “What if he takes too long to come find me and eventually forgets about me instead? What if he can never trust me again?”

“Stop,” Yoongi stated with a firm caution. “Why are you torturing yourself with the what-ifs? He asked you to not give up on him. It means he doesn’t want to give up on you either.”

Taehyung refused to give in to the surging flood of agony that foreboded tears. “I’m just a wreck. That’s why I think the worst. I can’t help it.”

“It’s okay,” Jimin uttered. “But think that if Jungkook didn’t want to forgive you, he wouldn’t have asked you to fight for him. He needs you to gain his trust again. Maybe it’ll be a long way, but you have to be patient, Tae.”

Taehyung’s phone beeping in his pocket stole his attention, and he pulled it out to check the new message. A sigh broke out of him at Jin Mo’s instruction to meet him in his office. “Jin Mo wants to see me. I’ll come back in a bit.” 

“We’ll wait here,” Jimin said smilingly.

Taehyung attempted to return the smile, but his lips barely lifted. He exited the room and made his way to Jin Mo’s office. His ponderous steps hindered his arrival, though he soon stood outside of the door. 

The said door split in half, revealing Jin Mo, who was already sitting on the couch, with no drink in his hands. The observation befuddled Taehyung as he edged closer, and his eyes squinted at him in wordless scrutiny. A dark veil of something incomprehensible hung around his face, that sparked off an odious sense of disquiet within him. 

“Jin Mo-ssi?” he called carefully as he sank down on the couch across from him. 

“Do you still talk to Jeon Jungkook?”

The unforeseen question gripped at Taehyung’s muscles brutally, and the premonition that pricked his chest dug deeper into him at Jin Mo’s refusal to meet his eyes. “No. You said... I should cut contact with him.”

“I need you to talk to him again. Ask him to meet you at your hang-out place.”

The previous premonition escalated to gut-wrenching horror in just a few seconds, coursing and tumbling and leaping in every direction in Taehyung’s body. His eyes flickered with its intensity, and each one of his muscles grew impossibly stiff. “Why?”

“It’s a mission. Do what I ask you.”

“You want to kill him,” Taehyung let out shakily. It wasn’t a question. He knew for a fact Jin Mo wanted to get him killed. But why? Why the hell so suddenly?

Jin Mo’s eyes ascended to him. They reflected an eerie absence of emotion in his effort to conceal whatever turbulence was burning inside of him. The message he received earlier was lodged in his equanimity, toying with it. 

Jeon Jungkook found out Taehyung’s real identity. Kill him. Use Taehyung to lure him. 

A cesspool of rage welled up in Jin Mo’s chest, but he fenced it off for the concealment of the sender’s existence. How the fuck did Jungkook find out? This question circled in his head, fanning the flames of his wrath. 

“Yah.” Taehyung slid forward, sitting at the edge of the couch as Jin Mo’s silence flared his terror. “Why do you want to kill him so suddenly?”

Jin Mo’s gaze grew harsher. “It doesn’t concern you. Your job with him is done.”

“Apparently it’s not because you’re asking me to trap him!”

Jin Mo identified the terror in his eyes and the mild wetness that pooled in them. He knew Taehyung loathed getting involved in missions that included the killing of detectives, but he couldn’t reason out his emotional reaction in the slightest. “Why are you being so emotional? Just do what I ask you!”

“No!” Taehyung growled in a voice raw with aggression. His dread mixed with his vast need to protect Jungkook demolished any fragment of his sanity, rendering him a restless mess that soon spewed careless words in a trembling outpouring. “I won’t. And you better not touch him. I’ll kill you if you do.”

Jin Mo’s eyes bulged, then his brows clumped together in a rowdy scowl of absolute disbelief. “What did you just say?”

“I’ll kill you,” he said, words bitten through his teeth, as his jaw ticked with a frenzied resolve, “if you hurt Jeon Jungkook.” 

Jin Mo surged to his feet and got hold of the glass coffee table, flinging the heavy furniture aside. The raucous crushing noise echoed in the background of his enraged senses as he grasped Taehyung’s sweater and yanked him to his feet. “Did you forget who you’re talking to?” he thundered, a crazed glint shimmering in his eyes. “Did you forget who I am?” 

Taehyung was drunk on an adrenaline that made him immune to Jin Mo’s expression of wrath, even though the said wrath seemed to be at a level he had never seen before. He wrestled with his grip as the ferocious look on his face only deepened. “I don’t give a fuck about who you are.”

Jin Mo’s hand came up instinctively, his open palm ready to slam against his cheek. The cruelty in his eyes melted into mildly pained confusion as he lowered his hand at a glacial rhythm. “What the hell happened to you?” Nothing vicious survived in his voice — instead, there was an involuntary drawl in his words. “Don’t tell me... Do you like him or something?”

Taehyung seized upon his loosened grasp to free himself. “Yes. I like him. I’m in love with him,” he admitted easily. The consequences of his confession were lost in his consternation about Jungkook’s safety, evading his rationality throughout. 

“Do you hear yourself?” Jin Mo asked, as if it were the most ridiculous and disgusting thing he had ever heard. “In love? You’re in love? With a fucking detective?” The more he contemplated his confession, the more his voice rose in volume and savagery. 

“Yes! I’m in love. I’m in love with Jeon Jungkook. So please don’t hurt him, hmm?” Taehyung’s desperation brimmed every ounce of his being, eradicating anything aggressive in his countenance. “Please, Jin Mo-ssi.” 

“I can’t fucking believe this.” Jin Mo burst into deranged chuckles as he retreated towards his desk, walking over the scattered glass pieces of the coffee table. The salvo of laughter died down as fast as it began, and he stood still with his back turned to him as he considered his options. It wasn’t long before he slipped his phone out of his pocket and opened a dark chat. 

Taehyung says he won’t do it. He threatened to kill me if I hurt Jeon Jungkook. He says he’s in love

Unlike usual, he didn’t receive an answer within a minute. He locked his phone and swiveled to face Taehyung again. “Taehyung. This won’t end well. You’re in love with a detective? Do you really want to destroy everything we’ve built together the past seven years?”

Taehyung realized the moment he detected Jin Mo slithering his phone out. He had received orders. From who? And why? “If it’s to protect him, yes. I’ll even die to protect him.”

Jin Mo was at a loss for words at this point. His phone buzzed seconds later. He unlocked it as he twisted around, facing away from him. 

Pathetic. Beat him. Lock him up until you kill Jeon Jungkook. 

And then? 

I’ll see when it’s time.

Jin Mo dropped his phone onto his desk. He leaned over it, gripping the edge tightly. “Taehyung.” His voice was low, burdened with something Taehyung couldn’t grasp. “Please reconsider. You’ll forget about him at some point. Please do what I ask you.”

“No. I won’t do it. I quit. I fucking quit,” Taehyung stated with an unshakable determination. “I don’t want to work for you anymore.”

Jin Mo’s grip grew so intense that different muscles in his body began twitching. With the tide of melancholy that suddenly toppled over him, he hung his head. He pressed the secret button on the side of the desk and stayed unmoving. “I’m sorry, Tae. I’m sorry.” 

A new alarm overruled Taehyung as he watched Jin Mo reach for the control to open the door. His frantic eyes flew to the said door, and they drowned in an overwhelming daze as they took in the sight of Ah In storming inside with two other men. 

Taehyung backed away at once as his breathing came faster and faster. “What—What are you doing?”

Jin Mo still didn’t turn to him. He didn’t have the courage to face him anymore. He was about to say goodbye to the man he cherished the most. He was about to order his men to beat his most favorite person. His only favorite person.

His shoulders sank with an unexpected sense of sadness, similar to the one he had experienced when Lee Jeon — his previous best man — quit, but this time, it was by far greater. He spent seven years with him. How could he say goodbye to all those years? 

Jin Mo swallowed and straightened his posture. The words felt atrocious before he even vocalized them. They barely managed to slip past his lips. “Beat him. And lock him up.”

Taehyung’s eyes swelled unnaturally. Before he even knew it, a dart was thrown his way, hitting him on his thigh. He immediately wrenched it out, though he knew it was useless. He scarcely had a minute before his body would surrender under the numbing substance. 

“Jin Mo please,” Taehyung spluttered. “I don’t care what you’ll do with me, but please don’t hurt Jungkook. Please.”

Jin Mo’s hands clenched at his sides. “Take him downstairs. Ah In, a word.”

Ah In nodded his chin at Taehyung, and the two men instantly closed in on him. 

“Please!” Taehyung cried as he smacked their hands away, stepping back until his body crushed against the wall. “Don’t hurt him.” The numbness began sprawling slowly, causing his senses to weaken. 

When he swatted another hand that came to capture him, the other man seized his wrist and locked his arm behind his back. He choked out a gasping groan at the pain, but it soon drifted into a slight discomfort as the numbness possessed more of him. “Please, please,” he chanted beneath his breath. His eyelids felt heavier and heavier until they lost the battle of staying open, his consciousness barely there anymore. 

Pleas still seeped through his mouth as the two men dragged him outside, leaving Jin Mo and Ah In alone. 

“What happened, boss? Why are you doing this to Taehyung?” 

Only then Jin Mo turned away from his desk, facing Ah In. “You don’t have to know. As I said, beat him, but not too severely. If you endanger his life, I’ll kill you.”

Ah In looked away from the hair-raising brutality of his eyes. “Yes, sir,” he hastened to say. He received a gesture of dismissal and scurried out of the office. He used the stairs to go to the basement that was three floors down and soon caught up with Han Sung and Hyeon Woo.

“Listen. We’re allowed to beat him, but not too severely. If we endanger his life, we’re dead.” 

The two nodded and hauled Taehyung’s unconscious body into the room. Multiple cells were lined up, some occupied by prostitutes, people who would soon be used in human trafficking, and women Jin Mo used in the violent videos he made.

The three men who kept guard of the prisoners bowed in the presence of Jin Mo’s right hand. 

“Give me the keys,” Ah In ordered. 

San Joon passed him the requested item immediately. 

Ah In led the way to an empty cell he spotted to the left and opened it. The two carried Taehyung inside and tossed him on the ground, as Ah In locked the cell. Ah In felt Taehyung’s pockets and pulled his phone out upon locating it, then shut it off. He took his ring and bracelet and put all the items in his pockets. 

“He’ll start to wake up in a minute,” Ah In muttered. “Hold him up.”

The two heaved him by his sides and held him against the wall. Ah In stared at Taehyung. He never really liked him, maybe because deep down he was jealous of him since he wanted to be Jin Mo’s best instead, but Taehyung was indeed the best they had. And no matter how hard Ah In strove to rid himself of the detestable, annoying feeling of unwillingness to beat him in his gut, it didn’t diminish. 

But he was given orders he could never disobey. 

Taehyung’s consciousness came to him slowly. He stiffened as the realization that he was being held cracked through his haziness, and he barely managed to strain against their grip before Ah In’s fist pounded against his stomach. 

. . .

Jimin checked his watch for the third time, and a long sigh slipped from his throat. “It’s been a while since Taehyung went to talk to Jin Mo.”

Yoongi barely thought over his observation. “Maybe they’re not done yet.”

“What do they have to talk about for a whole hour?”

“It’s been an hour?” Yoongi asked, his eyes growing a tad bigger in surprise, as he knew the two never conversed for so long. “Maybe he left?”

“He said he’ll be back,” Jimin mumbled. He curled his lower lip inwards, tucking it between his teeth, as worry lines painted over his forehead. “Let’s go check.”

The two hopped off the bed and wandered towards Jin Mo’s office, which was one floor down from where they were. Moving closer to the office, they heard heavy steps at the stairs and halted in their tracks. Both glanced back curiously and waited for the presence to appear. 

Ah In emerged, ascending the stairs. When his eyes locked on the two, he stuttered to a pause. “What are you doing here?”

The two neared him, and Jimin’s mouth opened to question him about Taehyung, but it shut again at the recognition of splatters of blood on his clothes. He strove to disguise the foreboding that rose in his stomach. “Have you seen Taehyung?”

“He left.” 

His immediate response was given rather indifferently, earning him mistrustful looks from the two. “He said he would be back,” Yoongi stated. “Why did he leave so suddenly?”

“Jin Mo gave him an important mission. Stop fucking asking.” With aggravation pouring from his tone and expression, Ah In walked past them, heading to Jin Mo’s office. 

They watched him as he left, and Jimin leaned closer to him when Ah In was far enough. “Something is wrong. Taehyung wouldn’t go on a mission without telling me about it.”

“I’ll call him.” Yoongi fished his phone out of his pocket and called Taehyung. A hard crease etched between his brows as he lowered his hand. “His phone is off.”

Jimin’s heart gave a leap of anxiety. “Let’s go to my room. I’ll try to find his last location.”

With a nod from Yoongi, they scurried to Jimin’s room, which was on the same floor as Taehyung’s. Jimin flew the door open and instantly headed to his computer. He clicked on a folder and then on the shortcut named, “Th Location.” A map displayed on the screen, and after processing the automatic request for Taehyung’s location, a black dot showed up. 

“Taehyung didn’t deactivate the tracking program on his phone?” Yoongi asked as he viewed the map zoom in on the black dot automatically. 

“No, thankfully,” Jimin let out in a quivery breath. His stomach twisted with disquiet when the map stilled and the exact location popped up on the screen. “The last location his phone was on is in this mansion. He hasn’t left. Ah In lied. Why?” 

“Fuck, I don’t know.” Yoongi pushed a frustrated hand through his hair. “We can’t search for him. If Jin Mo did something to him, he’ll do the same to us. But what if he really is on a mission and left his phone here?” 

“But what if he isn’t?” Jimin argued, his whole body feeling as if it were wound in flames of restlessness. “What if his life is in danger? We have to do something.”

“Like what? Go to the fucking police?” Yoongi snarled with obvious, exasperated irony, but his eyes pierced Jimin with a fierce stare as they narrowed. “No fucking way. You’re not actually thinking about it, right?” 

“I don’t know what else to think!” Jimin whisper-yelled in consuming frustration. 

“If you go to the police, everything we have will be gone. We will go to jail.” 

“No, we won’t. We didn’t do anything wrong, we just—” 

“Yeah, we just help a fucking criminal,” Yoongi scoffed. “We’ll go to jail as his accomplices.”

Jimin’s head hung in despair. “Then what do we do?”

“We calm down. That’s what we do. And we wait. We’ll wait until tomorrow. If he doesn’t show up...” Yoongi’s voice faded as he fell into contemplation. 

“Yeah?” Jimin prompted a few seconds later. 

“I’ll look for him in the mansion. And if I disappear too, then go to the police.” 

“No, no, I’ll go,” Jimin hurried to say. “I’ll look for him.” 

“Jimin-ah. I’m trained to fight. And trained to withstand pain. I won’t put you in danger.” Yoongi cupped the side of his neck, gazing deep into his harried eyes. “Even if something happened to Taehyung, you know he’ll be fine. You know how strong he is.”

Jimin’s palm came to cocoon the back of Yoongi’s hand on his neck. “I know. You better stay safe if you go look for him. And you better return to me. Both of you. I love you both so much. I won’t be able to take it if something happens to you.”

Yoongi’s thumb grazed over his jawline in a gentle caress as he smiled softly. “We love you too. And nothing will happen, so stop worrying—”

Both jolted in their place at the intermittent vibration that sounded from a drawer of the desk. Jimin slid his chair to the side and opened the second drawer. He rummaged through the whirl of phones and soon located the one that was ringing. 

“Who’s calling on this phone?” Yoongi asked. “Could it be Taehyung? Because only the two of us know this number.”

The familiarity of the number on the screen pushed Jimin into overdrive to figure out its owner, and it soon struck him. “That’s Jungkook’s number. Remember? Taehyung had called me from his phone.”

Yoongi’s eyes shut in displeasure as he heaved a sigh. “He thinks something happened to Taehyung because his phone is off.”

“Should I answer?” Jimin asked tensely. 

“No. We’ll only worry him for something we’re not sure about.”

Jimin stared at the small screen of the big button type phone until it blackened. “He’s already worried since he called this number, Yoon.”

The only response he received was another sigh from Yoongi. Their gaze flitted to the phone as it began ringing again. Yoongi espied Jimin’s thumb hover over the accept button. “Chim, no.”

“He’s worried either way!” Jimin snapped. “And I know he won’t stop calling.” He accepted the call, and for a moment, silence prevailed. “Jungkook?”

Jungkook grew alert with anticipation. “Are you Jimin?”

“Yes. Why... did you call?” 

“I can’t find Taehyung. Do you know where he is?”

Jimin’s eyes swung to Yoongi and gloom engulfed them as he noticed him shaking his head. “Um, no, I don’t know.”

Seething unease waltzed all over Jungkook’s countenance. “You’re his best friend. You have to know. Where is he?”

“I really don’t know, Jungkook.”

“Please,” Jungkook released shakily. “Is he there with you? Just tell me if he’s okay, at least.” 

Jimin reflected on what to do in silence, but Yoongi tugged his shoulder, forcing him to look at him. Yoongi shook his head more firmly, an unspoken warning burning in his eyes. 

“Jimin? Are you still there?” 

“Yes.”

“Can you at least tell me if he’s okay?”

Jimin maintained their gazes locked as a few dragging seconds of quietness passed. “I can’t because I don’t know.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes in sheer disapproval as his head dropped back. 

“What—What do you mean you don’t know?” Jungkook asked with a terrible edge of consternation. 

“He disappeared. They told us he was given an important mission, but Taehyung wouldn’t go on a mission without telling me first. I always have to be on standby to help him. His last location was here, in Jin Mo’s hideout. We were hanging out when he called him to his office. He said he’d come back. But he didn’t.”

“Wait, wait.” Jungkook rubbed his face, trying to digest the situation. “Are you sure? How did you track his phone? I couldn’t track it when I had tried.”

“When you guys had gone to Daegu, I told him to activate the tracking program on his phone. He hasn’t deactivated it yet.”

Jungkook reanalyzed the information Jimin gave him as he braced his hand on the table. “So Jin Mo did something to him?”

“Don’t rush yourself, Jungkook,” Yoongi spoke up this time. “I’m Yoongi, Taehyung’s friend. We decided to wait until tomorrow. If he doesn’t appear, I’ll go search for him.”

“What if he dies until then?” Jungkook’s chest felt like it were being stabbed by a myriad of spikes just at the thought. 

“Taehyung won’t die that easily,” Yoongi said. “And we have to plan our moves carefully. If they did something to Taehyung and catch me looking around, they’ll do the same to me.”

Sigh after sigh thrust out of Jungkook’s mouth as he paced around, his body so tense it began trembling. “Just tell me where you are. I’ll come look for him.”

“Are you fucking insane?” Yoongi snarled. “You think you can take down Jin Mo’s fortress all by yourself? You think you can take down the four hundred men who live here?”

“Four hundred?” Jungkook echoed in absolute hopelessness. Even the whole station wouldn’t be enough to take them down. “I will... I’ll plan something. I’ll figure this out. I need... I need Taehyung—I need to know he’s okay.”

“Jungkook. Calm down first,” Yoongi said, as he could pick up on his extreme worry. “We can’t just betray Jin Mo because of a speculation. We’ll start a war, and it could be all for nothing. We’ll wait until tomorrow. And we’ll see then.”

Jungkook loathed Yoongi’s plan with all his heart, but deep down he knew it was the right choice. He always acted on impulse when he was experiencing this high level of anxiety. If he wanted to go against Jin Mo’s fortress, he had to plan everything carefully first. “Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow again.”

“Wait, Jungkook,” Jimin blurted out, hesitant. 

“What is it?” 

“Um, I know you hate Taehyung right now, but... he didn’t have a choice or a say in this, really. There are always consequences if someone gives up on their mission, and since your mission was the most important to Jin Mo, the consequences for Taehyung would be severe.”

“Yah,” Yoongi let out as he gripped Jimin’s shoulder. His eyes were wide open and glimmering with the realization that thundered down on him. “Exactly, consequences. What if Jin Mo called him in his office to give him a mission and Taehyung refused to do it?” 

Jimin’s brain worked through the speculation Yoongi just threw at him as his gaze darted around anxiously. 

“What the fuck does this mean?” Jungkook spat out. “What happens if he refuses to do a mission?” 

“It’s different for everyone,” Yoongi replied. “Taehyung has only refused one mission in these seven years. And Jin Mo... locked him in a cell for three days. He only gave him a glass of water and two pieces of bread to eat each day.” 

Jungkook felt a pool of revulsion smolder in his gut at the pitiless behavior. “What mission had he refused?” 

“It involved the killing of a corrupted officer. Corrupted or not, Taehyung didn’t want to be a part of an officer’s death or anyone’s, to be honest,” Yoongi explained. His eyes didn’t draw away from the cloak of dread that still covered Jimin’s face. “What if Jin Mo gave him a similar mission? That means...”

“He’s locked in a cell again?” Jungkook wondered, his voice strained with a frantic element. 

“But Yoon, if he’s locked in a cell and Ah In came—”

Yoongi shushed Jimin right away, a scowl cutting across his face. “Did you forget who’s on the fucking phone?”

“I don’t give a shit right now,” Jimin gritted out as his eyes burned with unshed tears. “If Ah In put him in a cell and had blood on him, it means he beat him, Yoon.”

“Who the fuck is this Ah In?” Jungkook’s voice broke out from him in a raging growl. 

“Jungkook...” Yoongi sighed. “You don’t have to know. And both of you stop freaking out. We don’t know anything for sure yet.”

Jungkook repeated Yoongi’s last remark in his head in his effort to soothe himself. We don’t know anything for sure yet. Then, the realization that he had Taehyung’s two best friends on the phone ruled over him, and he used it to distract himself. “You guys are Taehyung’s best friends, right?”

“Yes,” Jimin said. 

“Did Taehyung... talk to you about me at all?” A sharp snort sounded from the phone that had Jungkook’s eyes glooming. “He didn’t, huh?”

“He always talks about you,” Yoongi said and released another scornful snort. “I bet he even caught feelings since the night you guys fucked. He was just refusing to admit it, even to himself.”

The revelation brought tingles of something warm to Jungkook’s chest, alleviating fractions of his distress. “Why do you think that?”

“He stayed the night with you. Taehyung always left after the other fell asleep.”

Silence followed Yoongi’s statement until Jimin broke it gently. “Jungkook... Taehyung first mentioned his guilt about lying to you when you had broken off your deal, and it only got worse after that night. Everything that happened between you two seemed to affect him too much. It’s the first time Taehyung feels this way about someone. I know you can’t trust him after all the lies he said, but please give him a chance to get to know the real Taehyung. He’s truly amazing, and you’ll fall in love with him too in a heartbeat.”

Sadness constricted Jungkook’s throat, making it hard to swallow. The unfairness of the matter throttled him. Why did they have to meet under these circumstances? Why couldn’t they be just two normal people in love? 

“Taehyung played me in the worst possible way,” Jungkook uttered. “He lied to me, deceived me. He got close to me and threw me away so easily.”

Deep creases of sorrow formed on Jimin’s forehead as he listened to his muted, frail voice. “But Taehyung really—” 

“But I still...” Jungkook cut him off in the same ponderous tone. “I still miss him. I want him—I need him to be okay so I can give him this chance. I’m mad at him, but I’m fucking infuriated at the thought of never seeing him again. So Yoongi, you better find him tomorrow. Because I’ll come there and kill everyone who hurt him.”

A bloodcurdling, steely timbre coated his words that rendered the two mute with surprise. They stared at each other, sharing the same trance. Jungkook sounded more than determined to avenge anyone who might have hurt Taehyung, and he was willing to fight against Jin Mo and his four hundred men to ensure his safety. 

Yoongi was the first to break eye contact and reply. “I’ll do everything I can. For now, rest well. Because it’s going to be a long day tomorrow if Taehyung doesn’t come back on his own.” 

Jungkook felt more ready than ever. His vast worry about Taehyung had petered into an unflinching resolve. If Taehyung didn’t come back to him, he would go to him. Always. 

“Be careful, both of you. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

“Bye,” Jimin said, and Yoongi echoed him. 

“Bye, guys.” Jungkook ended their call and returned to his team. He told them he would explain what happened later as they still had work to do, and although he endeavored to focus on the said work, his mind continuously ended up drifting to Taehyung. 

───⭒───༺🌑༻───⭒───

We're close to the end, my lovely readers! There are only ten chapters left 💜