Planting a handful of popcorn in my mouth, I lay along the couch watching an episode of Spongebob playing on TV. Jungkook sits on the one in between while Jimin sits on the couch opposite me and taps on his phone.

As for Taehyung and Hoseok...

I poke my head over the head of the couch to see Taehyung and Hoseok still talking in the kitchen with a piece of paper between them.

We learned over the barbecue last night that Hoseok, ironically, used to intern at a police station, so he and Taehyung are probably discussing some sort of plan.

"Move over." Winter swats Jungkook's thigh before sitting beside him, holding a bag of popcorn of her own. She then leans over the arm of the sofa to peak at Jimin's phone. "What are you doing?"

Jimin looks up with raised brows. "Playing riddles."

"Riddles?"

"Pah, good one. What's her name? Is she hot?" Jungkook leans forward.

"What? Dude no shut up." Jimin scoffs. "If I'm gonna be cooped up in this house, might as well find a hobby."

"Hey, I'm just saying. It's about time you got a girlfriend Chim."

Jimin's lips tighten and eyes return to the phone, making me frown. He's somewhat been the quietest since we all moved into this house, and I think it has to do with Teddy. Mina said that Teddy found a new job in performing but it doesn't seem like she told anyone where. Jimin must miss her, and just when the two were just hitting things off.

"Leave him alone Kook." I defend him.

"Yeah," Winter adds, "Maybe if you had an IQ of over 20 you could relate to finding such hobbies."

"Really now?" Jungkook laughs defensively. "Okay, Jimin lay one on me."

"Oh please." She scoffs.

"What? Think I'm not smart?"

"Jungkook, solving puzzles isn't really your forte."

"Alright fine!" His voice gets slightly higher, "Let's see who can do better."

"Fine, let's see."

A/N: I swear this has relevance later xD

"Are you two serious?" I laugh.

"No no, little miss smartass over here thinks she knows everything."

"That's because I do." Winter grins smugly. At this point, I can tell she's just trolling him. It's not like their bickering was anything new. "Go ahead Jimin."

"Okay here's one. You can see me, but you cannot touch me. With the flick of a switch, I enter your home. With another, I leave you alo—"

"Electricity." Winter answers casually.

"Wow, she's good." Jimin nods.

"Ghee wow, one question." Jungkook claps sarcastically. "Okay, this time we both answer. I bet I'll get this."

"Second question. The more you cut me, the bigger I grow. What am I?"

"A fart—"

"—A hole."

Jungkook and Winter look at each other simultaneously.

"A fart?"

"Am I wrong?"

"Idiot, you don't cut a f— you know what I'm not explaining this."

"Here's an easy one for Jungkook. I cannot be bought, but I can be stolen with one glance. I'm worthless to one but priceless to two."

"Hmm....." Jungkook hums for a long period of time while stroking his chin and looking at the ceiling. Winter just watches his mouth narrow-eyed with crossed arms. I can't help but giggle behind my popcorn bag.

"Hmm... Is it..... A watch?"

"Wha— No you asshat, the answer's love! Thought you'd at least know that." Winter pushes him away in annoyance.

"Oh pshk— love! Of course!" He smacks his head dramatically. "Babe I obviously knew that."

"Don't talk to me."

"Oh come on." Jungkook pulls back Winters arm and cuddles her from behind. She just scrunches her nose and waits until he's done showering her cheek with kisses.

"Okay." Taehyung and Hoseok walk into the center of the room, Hoseok sitting beside Jimin on his phone. "Hoseok and I figured out a way we're going to do this."

"Wait really?" I jump up. "How?"

"We'll pin the deaths on Jaebum. The warehouse was filled with Carmine's drugs that were plastered with his logo, but since that's blown up we'll have to find our evidence at the root."

"But Jaebum's dead." I respond.

"Which means he can't testify. With all the crimes he committed, they'll hold him accountable for something."

"But would authorities buy it? I mean Sergio yeah, but Jaebum killing his own dad?" Jimin asks.

"They're a crooked family. I'm sure it won't be hard to believe."

"And does this include your dad?" I ask lowly. "I told them all the details in court proving I did it. It's going to take a lot to change their minds now..."

"We'll... Change that. Somehow."

I can't help but feel bad about what I did now. I thought taking the blame would rid us of worries but instead I've just created one big who-did-it mess. It's like my actions only made things more complicated.

And I can tell by that look in his eyes that Taehyung doesn't want to do this. The whole reason why any of this even resurfaced was because he wanted to confess his crimes, just like he did as a child, so pinning his sins on another man is frustrating.

Yet here he is, doing it for me.

"So about this root?" Jungkook asks. "What do you mean by that?"

"We break into Carmine's company and find fingerprints belonging to Jaebum. He's bound to have records of dealerships and assassinations practically painting the walls, which won't exactly help his case."

"You know how to get in there?" Winter asks.

"That's what Hoseok's working now. Bogum left behind a list—" he reaches for a paper on the coffee table, "—back in KimTech before he... died. It's a list of all the Lim crew members in our database. Hoseok gets notified of the hottest parties and clubs in the city and since these men no longer have a leader, we're bound to find someone that'll help us get in."

"Got one!" Hoseok exclaims.

Taehyung's eyebrows raise as Hoseok shows him the screen and paper. "His name is Roberto Thorne. 36, southern-Italian, 300lbs... Says he's on the guest list, and that he worked for Carmine for 12 years."

"Ah this is perfect. Good job Hobi." Taehyung's lands a high five.

"Hey I wanna see this party." Jungkook swipes the phone and beans. "Ooo... Says the theme is fancy dress up. I'm in. Winter babe? Wanna be my sexy snow bunny?"

"Jungkook, this isn't about dress up. It's about finding this guy so we can help Lilo." She snatches the phone away from him.

"Who's to say we can't have fun too? How about we all go to this party, kidnap the guard, then have a couple drinks after."

Taehyung and Hoseok look at each other.

"You know what, after we find roberto you can drink all you'd like. Just pay for your own cab."

"Deal."

"Then it's settled. We're going." Taehyung nods. "But we'll need someone to stay here and watch the house tomorrow night, Lilo also."

"Wait what do you mean me? I'm not coming?" I frown.

"No. You have to stay here or else someone will see you."

"But—"

"Li this shouldn't even be a discussion. You're staying here where it's safe. Now..." Taehyung looks the other way, "Jungkook. Hoseok. Let's figure out how we're gonna do this."

"Do I get to use a gun?" Jungkook gets up.

"We'll see."

"Yes!" He hisses under his breath. I can't help but frown into my lap as the three men head into the kitchen.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 🌙
—LATE AT NIGHT—

It's late, 2:30am to be exact and of course, everyone is in their rooms sleeping.

I come down to the kitchen to find Taehyung sitting at the island with one hand clawed in his hair and the other on the table, a coffee mug resting beside his arm. His eyelids get noticeably heavy but before they can shut he jerks his head to stay awake.

He looks exhausted.

I quietly stroll over and lay a gentle hand on his shoulder, the little action making him startled.

"Li? What are you doing up?"

"I could ask the same." A yawn leaves my mouth. "What are you doing down here?"

"Just..." He looks at the scatter of papers, "Making sure the plan is full-proof for tomorrow. Don't wanna lose you again..."

His words make my head tilt and lips press into a faint smile. I take the sheet of paper from his hand and place it back on the table before softly pulling his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"Come to bed..." I whine cutely. "You're tired."

"I'm not." He pulls back his hand.

"You are. Your eyes are red."

"Lilo I'm fine please just— go back to bed."

"I...I can't." My smile is now replaced with a frown.

"Why?"

"Because I can't sleep unless you're next to me Tae. I spent the last two months in a disgusting jail cell... Sleeping to the clangs of gates and waking up to morning foghorns... I really need you there next to me tonight."

A breath leaves Taehyung's lips as he looks back at the papers. His jaw clenches subtly.

I take a step forward and straddle his lap, my hands cupping his face as I roam the deep, misty pits of his eyes.

"You look like you haven't slept in years Tae. Plus you're always waking up before me. You deserve some rest, hm?" I tilt my head. "Let's go to bed. I don't want to see you this exhausted because of me."

After staring into my eyes for what feels like eternity, Taehyung looks at the cabinet by the sink and then back to me. His hands sculpt around my hips to my lower back before he graces my lips with a soft kiss.

"...Alright."

I smile and excitedly jump off his lap, pulling him away from the papers until we're upstairs in our room.

He turns off the lights and we both snuggle up in bed. Our noses rest side by side and lips continue to fall into the temptation of quick pecks. It doesn't take long for Taehyung's eyelids to curtain down, despite his attempts of keeping them open. The sight of him finally falling asleep makes my lips curl.

"Sweat dreams Tae."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ☀️
—THE NEXT DAY—

Forced to wake up by the overwhelming scenery of sunrise, a faint moan escapes my lips as I stretch my limbs.

My vision un-blurs at the rub of my finger and that's when I see Taehyung sound asleep. His hair is ruffled and lips parted like a dork.

For once, I woke up first.

After about a minute or two, Taehyung shifts his body around and awakens to find me gazing at him.

"Morning." I chuckle.

He smiles as well, it's tight-lipped, yet so soft and gentle it out shines the plump pillow that rests beneath my head.

"Did you sleep well?"

Taehyung stares into my eyes silently for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. I slept good."

"See? I told you all you needed was a little rest. Beats sitting in the kitchen all night."

Taehyung scoffs a light chuckle also and places a kiss on my cheek.

He then removes the sheets from my his body and sits up. "Alright, I'm gonna wash up."

"Okay. Just let me know when you're done so I can have..... my....."

My smile twists into a frown and words drift into thin air when I watch Taehyung walk way, my gaze lowering to his fist before he enters the bathroom and shuts the door.

His hand is coated with wet, scarlet blood, shards of broken glass stabbing his skin all-over like a cactus.