🎴𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐🎴

🎴𝚅𝚘𝚝𝚎&𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝🎴

🎴𝙴𝙽𝙹𝙾𝚈🎴

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"Sometimes a deal with the Devil is better than no deal at all."

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[Y/N's POV]

Sliding the glass door away I step into the chilly air of the night. I make my way to the small lawn in the backyard, away from everyone else, cold grass feeling soft under my bare soles.

The grass has been mown so short the ground shows through. The moss is scuffed, rolling away from the soil like a carpet, its strong greens glittering under the bright moonlight.

Sitting down I pull my legs up to my chest, as I look up to see the stars shine in the night sky like sugar spilled over black marble. The dark sky is such a welcome sight, appearing like magic at each sunset, twinkles of countless stars like a promise of life in this violent world, a sense of warmth in the coldness of the night.

As I hear the back door open and close behind me I don't bother to look back to know who it is. By the way he walks I recognize him immediately. He sits down right next to me, our arms barely touching. I turn my head to look at him as a frown crawls up to my face immediately. "You're dying your hair?" I point to the still wet hair dye on his head.

"Yep," Hoseok replies with a cheerful grin on his face. At the sight of it, I want to smile myself.

"You're smiling," I state as if I am a kid making an obvious observation. "Why do you always smile?" One of the things I noticed during the two days I was in this house is that Hoseok is always smiling, and I mean it, always. Whether he talks to his friends or accidentally sees me in the corridor he always smiles, and I sincerely do not understand it.

"You smile even when you see me, yet I can't figure out why. I nearly destroyed whatever you have with these guys" I wave my hand to make an air quotation "family? Yet you genuinely smile every time you see me"

He looks at me, his dark eyes shining under the moonlight, and all of a sudden I feel like a sample of blood under a microscope, and a sudden urge to hide my eyes crawls up to my chest. "How do you know it's genuine?" He asks, tilting his head a little.

I chuckle at his question turning my gaze back to the gleaming night sky. "Because I do the same. You can't con a con" a small smirk appears on my lips "I smile too, Hoseok. And even though my smile seems genuine it never is. My smile is cunning, I smile to deceive, control, and trick people around me, and I nearly always succeed. But yours is different, yours is kind and heartwarming. Why?"

He is silent for a moment, then I feel him shrug,  his arm touching mine in the process. "It's just the kind of person I am. Yes, I know that you've done a lot of damage to us, but I also realize that you could've done a lot more if you wanted, but I just know that hurting us was never in your plans, although I can't figure out why exactly. So why?" he questions in a manner I did seconds ago, but there's no demand in his voice, he doesn't really want an answer,  not yet at least.

"It's just me." He continues "I don't hold grudges. As you pointed out earlier I call the woman who raised me, mother, even though she never was." He pauses pondering over something as I avert my gaze from the stars to look at him, and notice his scrutinizing stare on me. "I was kidnapped when I was just a kid," he says slowly and now I understand what the look in his eyes means. He's waiting for a reaction, and I don't have one.

"Though you already know that, don't you?"I don't make a sound, silently turning my gaze back to the sky, my silence tells him enough and he doesn't seem bothered. "I was kidnapped and raised in a gang, witnessing awful things as I grew up, but I prefer to be happy about the positive side of the situation, rather than grief about the bad one" he announces as I feel him averting his stare to the sky as well, finally letting go of the question asked earlier, and I exhale in relief.

"Yes, I was taken away from my family, and the gang was literally making a killing machine out of me, but I had a shelter and food every day, I and Jungkook grew up together, practically like brothers," I notice a glimpse of enjoyment in his tone as he starts talking about Jungkook and I don't need to look at him to know that he's smiling.

"The events that took place in my life weren't the best nor were they the happiest, but they led me here, because of them I am who I am and I have what I have now. I have people around me who love me and sincerely care about me and who I care about a lot, and that's just enough for me to be happy and thankful."

"As for you " his eyes zero on me again "you're like a little trouble on our way and as I said before I don't hold grudges Y/N, I prefer to thank you for agreeing to help us, rather than despise you for messing with our lives. And as you pointed out two days ago, we walked into this mess ourselves and I agree with that. I don't blame you, and I can reassure you nor do they, even Jimin understands fully well that we had our part of guilt."

I turn my attention to him, the corners of my lips twitching up, the glimpse of a sincere smile appears on my face for the first time in months. "Thanks" is all I can come up with right now. I didn't know how much I needed these words until I heard him say them.

"Have you ever wanted to find your family?" I speak with caution, as if afraid that my words will hurt him. "I mean your real family"

He looks at me, giving me a small smile but I catch the glimpse of pain in his eyes. "I tried to find them" his voice is low and shaky "but didn't succeed, and then" he lowers his head gazing at the green grass "I'm not the boy they lost, they don't know what I've become, I doubt they'll want me back."

"You know what," I lay back, placing my hands under my head as a pillow, while he remains in a sitting position. "We're all the same disgusting human beings. No one is innocent in this world. Every and each person out there has committed sinful things. You can put anyone in jail for ten years without explaining anything to him and deep down inside he'll know why exactly he was imprisoned."

Now he's looking at me with curiosity waiting for me to continue. "My point is," I breathe out, "no one is a saint and if parental love exists, it doesn't recognize any boundaries. They still will want you back. Despite whatever you've become you'll still be their two year old son they've lost."

A deep chuckle comes from his mouth as he turns to me. Giving me a small smile he nods. "You're pleasant to talk to when you're not threatening to kill us."

A laugh comes out of me before I can register it, as I realize that for a long time smiling and laughing were complete strangers to me. "I figured you're kind of a parental figure in this little group of weirdos," I say as he turns to me, frowning.

"What do you mean?" He asks, pouting a little as I smile at his cuteness. He just can not be a killer I'm telling you, it doesn't seem right with him, though knowing that being underestimated is exactly what makes me the most dangerous one in this house, forces me to rethink that.

"I noticed things," I shrug playfully "you're like a single father in this house of chaos, who barely manages to keep an eye on his uncontrollable infants. Jungkook's like a little troublemaker, who destroys everything on his path, though never gets scolded because he's everyone's favorite. Jimis is the teenager of the group, with anger issues and full of testosterone. Taehyung is the bipolar adult of the family. Cocky and annoying or calm and understanding. Sometimes he's annoying to the point you want to throw a haymaker on his head. He seems full of himself but in reality, he's full of insecurities "

He smirks shaking his head "you were here for two days, and never interacted with us at that time, so how do you notice things?"

I shrug nonchalantly "With all the information I have about you, putting everything together ain't something difficult"

He watches me as curiosity and a desire to know more enters his eyes. "What do you know about us?" He asks his voice deep and husky. "I'm not asking how you found out, I figured you're not the type who answers that kind of questions but tell me how much you know?"

I ponder for a moment over the question, deciding whether or not answering is safe. I'll tell him just enough to feed his curiosity,  but not enough to lit up any suspicions. "I know that Jungkook's father was an influential member of a gang in Daegu, and you were kidnapped by the same gang. I also know that Jimin's mom raised him alone, and had some financial problems so our little know-it-all decided to do some jobs for the gang in turn for some cash, but eventually, little jobs for money became big deeds for fun, and he got dragged deeper into this world of blood, sweat, and tears."

"As for Taehyung" I stop deciding that I better put a filter on my mouth from now on if I don't want to give away anything. "I know he joined the same gang when he was a teenager, and one beautiful day the four of you decided to get away from there, and ended up in a bigger city full of more lies, more danger, and more blood."

"Well. . ." He trails off his expression turning into a mixture of confusion and doubt. "That was" he struggles to find the right word "detailed "

Am I going to say that my narration can get a lot more detailed? Of course not. Does he know that I'm not telling something? If the look on his face can be an indication then, Yes.

"That was very detailed to be found out just in one night," he states, eyes scanning me.

Who said it was one night? I had years!

He frowns again, parting his lips. "One thing that Jimin says and I agree with, is that our identities were meticulously erased from everywhere. And I know I said I won't ask, but how the hell do you know so much?"

I shrug nonchalantly "What can I say, I'm very productive when I'm curious"

He shakes his head as if to get rid of useless thoughts. "Actually" he starts "I came here to inform you that Jimin found something about your friend."

"And you didn't tell me all this time!?" I shriek jumping up to my feet immediately, and without any second thought running to the house. But as I enter the bright living room I'm greeted with the weirdest scene I've ever witnessed.

Taehyung lays down on the floor in front of the TV while Jungkook's standing right above his form pointing his joystick at Taehyung. "I'm the future Mario Kart champion." Jungkook  sneers triumphantly, "bow down to me mortal!"

What the hell is going on inside his head?

I ignore them making my way to the kitchen, where Jimin usually finds his working spot behind the wooden table and where he supposedly should be. I enter the light washed kitchen and immediately spot Jimin sitting on the chair, while his laptop is in front of him, a cigarette balanced between his plump lips while his focus is on the screen.

I take a seat before him, gaining his attention. Jimin's face hardens at the sight of me as he straightens his back.

"Heard you found something."

He takes his cigarette with two fingers, placing it in the ashtray beside him. As a heavy sigh escapes his lips I know I'm not going to like what he found. I hear footsteps behind me, indicating that all three of them followed me here and now are standing right behind me.

"Yeah," he exhales, massaging his temple with one hand while the other one slides smoothly on the keyboard. "I found a location," he announces spinning his laptop for me to see what's on the screen.

As my eyes scan the screen my breath catches in my throat, as my lips part in shock and I have to grind my teeth to calm my nerves. "No way!" is the only thing that comes out of my mouth.

I feel someone grab the back of my chair and lean over to look at the screen too. I don't need to turn around to know who that is, the scent of vanilla that fills my nostrils is telling me enough.

I close my eyes, inhaling deeply as I open them again, my gaze meeting the words that are the source of my migraine.

'Seoul private correctional institution for highly dangerous individuals'

Fucking Prison!

How the hell he ended up there!?

"We had a deal," Jimin's low voice breaks me out of my thoughts as I bring my attention back to the present. The growing migraine takes over my head, preventing me from thinking clearly.

Yes. The deal.

"We did" I nod burying my face in my hands, biting my tongue not to let the scream of frustration out. I push my hands back into my light brown hair, strands of tousled hair fall on my face as I run a hand under my wet nose. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Our deal was" Jimin starts placing his hands on the table "I find your friend, you give us a name. . ." the rest of his speech dozes off as the bright light of the laptop drags my attention to the screen, and I read the name of the facility again, and again.

I need to get Yoongi out of there, and I need help. And right now my only help is them.

"Are you even listening to me ?" Jimin asks, snapping his fingers in front of me as I blink, bringing myself back to earth. I look in his direction, where now Taehyung and Jungkook found a spot behind Jimin as Hoseok occupies the seat next to me.

"Actually," I start, my tone taking a hint of authority. "Our deal was, you" I point at him " find my friend, and if I like the outcome, I give you a name" I shrug leaning back "guess what?" I lean forward to whisper as if we're sharing a secret. "I didn't like the outcome."

Jimin glares at me, sparkles of fire appearing in his eyes, as his jaw flexes I can practically hear his teeth grinding against each other. I tilt my head keeping the intense eye contact, while my signature smile finds its place on my face again.

The first rule of manipulation: never break eye contact.

After seconds of fierce staring, his shoulders relax as he drops his gaze to his hands unable to look me in the eyes anymore. A natural reaction, I don't blame him. He seems to buy it though.

"Then" Hoseok speaks from beside me "what are you suggesting?"

"To change the deal" I announce firmly "you help me break Yoongi out, I give you a name."

They share thoughtful looks while eerie silence falls upon us. I don't make any move giving them their time to think.

The second rule of manipulation: make your 'victim' think they have a choice.

I notice Jimin silently shake his head while closing his eyes. "You have every right to agree or disagree with my suggestion," I croon gently "agree and we'll part our ways in peace. Disagree and I'll walk out of the front door leaving you to deal with the black clouds gathering above your head yourself"

The third rule of manipulation: Make them depend on you.

To manipulate someone you don't really need a lot: fear, obligation, guilt, that's all you need. They'll do as I wish because they fear being left uncertain,  they're afraid of having an invisible enemy. The word 'deal' itself carries an obligation, they'll do as I said because they feel obligated to do so.

And guilt. It's the factor I won't need here. The only one in this house that should feel guilt for anything is me. And I do so. I'm guilty for everything that happened, I'm guilty for their situation, I'm guilty for playing them like this.

But am I going to stop just because of some stupid morals? No! When you're in a war zone the goals justify the means.

"Let's say we agree to your deal." Taehyung's raspy voice raises upon us, "how are you planning to do it? Do you know what place that is?"

Jungkook leans forward gaping at the screen. "Is that a problem?" He questions confused, scratching the back of his head "I've never heard about this prison"

I exhale standing up and moving towards the sink. "Seoul Private Correctional Institution for highly dangerous individuals," I speak accurately for him to comprehend every word, as I take a glass filling it with water.

"It's a facility to deal with people whom the government or the people who're financing this institution doesn't want in freedom. Half of the prisoners there are not there because they committed any crimes, but because someone has paid for them to be there. In other words, to end up there you have to have enemies. Enemies with authority and power in this country"

"So this Yoongi guy has some enemies?" Jungkook questions sitting down on my chair.

I shake my head slowly. "No, he doesn't." I say, contradicting my statement. "But I do," they nod in comprehending.

"The problem is," I continue, "that these people don't pay for nothing. This prison is one of the most heavily guarded facilities in this country and breaking someone out of there needs very accurate preparation. Each one of the prisoners has a personal guard, there are more guards in that building than prisoners." I take a sip from my water swallowing harshly.  "We need to think everything through very well because if we fail, there won't be any second chance"

"So..." I trail off stepping closer to them "what do you say? Deal?"

Taehyung is the one who steps closer taking my extended hand, his elegant and slender fingers wrapping around my hand in a firm handshake, indicating his assuredness. "Deal," he shakes my hand, his pupils dilating,  eyes extraordinarily captivating, a skittish smirk on his lips. Well, he looks. . .good. "I feel like I'm sealing a deal with Devil" his voice is deep but meanwhile graciously smooth.

Now it's my turn to smirk. "You should trust your gut feeling then."

Devil. Why is it bad though?

In all those stories about people selling their souls to the devil for some money, love, fame, success. I never understood why the devil was the bad guy. They got what they wanted, even though usually it turned out not to be what they really wanted or expected. But was that the devil's fault though? I never thought so.

People just make a deal and they like the deal until they have to pay the price. Like Yoongi would say: Life is tough, and It's even tougher when you're stupid.

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I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.👻

Guys, what you think about the banners, do you like them? Do I need to keep making them? Personally, I prefer books with banners or some color in the chapters, so that's why I decided to design a banner for each chapter, tho they're changing only every 2-3 chapters.

Till next time. Purple yaa. . .💜💜