#bts chapter 3

[beautifulpersonpeach]

What do you think is gonna happen with BTS after military? Group longevity, I mean. Will they last? Because I get the feeling that after the mandatory comeback and tour things will get… tricky.

***

The members say they want to last until they're all well past retirement age, so who am I to say otherwise?

It's not like it's not possible, after all. Bands like U2, Coldplay, and Radiohead are still together and touring 20+ years later with most/all of the original line-up. Within k-pop, Shinhwa is technically still active 26 years later even if their performances have long downtime intervals these days.

Think I've said this before, but again, Chapter 3 will be everything we've seen in Chapter 2, supercharged. I assume the first thing on the agenda when BTS returns is an OT7 tour plus one or two OT7 albums. Concurrently or subsequently, solo projects (features, singles, EPs) for the members will continue within two years of BTS returning so they build on the momentum set up in Chap 2. I think its fair to assume a few years dedicated to group work, interspersed with solo projects in music, acting, design, producing etc, every seven years or so. I see things being intense for ~4 years immediately after their military service, before a more sustainable rhythm is set by the company/group.

Reading between the lines in HYBE's quarterly investor calls, the company (1) is desperate for cash and BTS is their primary cash cow; (2) intends to ruthlessly destroy their competition while they still have BTS locked up in exclusive contracts for the next 7 years.

It's anybody's guess on if BTS renews their contracts with HYBE in 2030. I'd imagine HYBE will offer any concession to keep the members so we'll see. There's also been some chatter about one or two members starting sub-labels in HYBE, and while that's an interesting possibility, it's still just chatter for now.

In the meantime, the fandom will only become more crazy so buckle up if you intend to be active in fandom spaces.

[namchyoon]

day 325/547 until joon returns cr. jung-koook

[jmdbjk]

Jimin's choices

After reading Beyond the Story and learning more about the culture of Kpop, I think Jimin's promotions were exactly what he wanted. I'm talking specifically about the few weeks he spent making music show appearances. He walked the exact path debut-Bangtan walked in the beginning which were the music show performances, Music Bank, Inkagayo...achieving a first 1st place win on those music shows...and appearances on variety shows. Jimin actually won two 1st place wins.

To us OUTSIDE the Kpop world, it all seemed charming and yet expected that he'd want to perform on Korean music shows for K-Army. That was one of the primary reasons for going that route but at the same time he dutifully paid important homage to the expectations/standards embedded in Kpop culture in order to lay down that first stepping stone in his solo career.

At the time BTS debuted, companies were reluctant to keep spending money on producing a group if they did not show these progressive and specific steps.

Perhaps recalling the strong reactions from the kpop world to debut-BTS, Jimin was sensitive to those still waiting for a chance to criticize anything he did. Sometimes wounds leave lasting scars that still twinge now and then.

So Jimin paid his dues as a debut solo artist and gave a respectful and decisive nod to his Kpop idol roots. He earned a rightful place in the eyes of anyone in that industry.

The Billboard #1 was perhaps an unexpected win on top of all that. The #1's on all of the other charts: also extra on top. STILL dominating in his own country.

And now he's moving on. His next step will be bigger. He's coming for you AMAs, BBMAs, Grammys. I can feel it. Let's get it.

There are things that happened (or didn't happen as people wanted them to) surrounding Jimin's album. I am on board with that. But until Jimin says what went down himself, I won't be flying the "company mistreated him" flag. Mistakes? Yes. Incompetence? Perhaps. Shortsightedness? I definitely think so. Online streaming platform manipulation? Sure looks like it. Western music industry sabotage? Absolutely without a doubt. But his own label maliciously cutting him off? No.

Jimin is my bias and I want him to have everything he deserves and I am going to trust that he knows how to handle his own professional career and he does not need my intervention. If he's not happy with something, guess what? He can call Bang PD and tell him what's what. None of us can do that. Let Jimin handle it.

[lemongogo]

every morning i tell myself i wont be late 2 work this time and then every morning i sit here like rhis w my breakfast reading trimax like the morning paper

[athensandspartaadventures]

i'm told you guys like it when i draw this guy's expressions for some reason

[shyminmin]

༄𝐁𝐓𝐒 𝐗 𝐟.𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | Fantasy, Mermaid AU | ༄𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 2.8k + ༄𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : Minor angst

"One iced Americano please" the mysterious man let out in a raspy voice as deep as the Mariana Trench.

All I could do was sit there and stare. It was like I was hypnotized or in some sort of trance.

His mis-matched attire did nothing to dampen his looks, in fact, in some crazy odd way, they seemed to complement and even enhance them. But that's coming from someone like me who hasn't the faintest clue on the in's and outs of fashion trends to begin with.

Sporting a lean, masculine frame under all those loose fitting clothes of faded greys and browns, areas of pale skin peeked out, holding an almost pearlescent sheen when hit by the light in a certain way.

A wide brimmed hat sat atop his head where strands of inky black hair poked out from beneath.

He stood there leaning against the bar counter, drumming his long, slender fingers onto its surface out of boredom, while he waited for his order. He exuded a level of power and authority which I couldn't quite place, making him all the more intriguing.

Who was this man and why was I getting so affected by him? Do random people who walk into cafes possess some hidden ability to render a person speechless.

Huffing I tried to maintain my composure.

Get it together Y/n! All he did was come in and order a damn coffee!

I was so absorbed in the scene in front of me that I couldn't help but jump in my seat when I felt someone's hand tap my arm.

"You with us lass?" Dongha's voice made me divert my gaze to him.

"S-sorry?" I let out, calming down from the surprise.

"Ah look at her, she was totally out of it."

"What were ye so immersed in?" The other two men chimed in.

"Uh...." Words were caught in my throat as I tried to come up with an excuse, not exactly wanting to say that I was ogling an innocent man, like some stalker.

I tried to speak again but was cut off from a distant voice.

"Your drink sir," I heard the cafe's barista say, making me once again look towards the newcomer.

Straightening his posture, he took the offered beverage, humming an inaudible 'thank you.' From his side profile I could see the slight upturn of his lips, emphasizing his knife sharp jawline. My heart did a flip at the imagery.

Oh boy, what is wrong with me!?

"Y/n dear, is everythin' alright?"

Still watching, the dark haired man dove deep into his pant pocket, pulling out an unusual small thatched pouch. Riffling through it, he took out a bunch of coins and handed them over to the server. My eyes must've been deceiving me at one stage as I could've sworn that amidst his change was an object, spherical in shape, that shone brightly against the rest. Dumbfounded about what I had spotted, I tried to make sense of it.

Who just casually keeps a pearl in amongst their money like it was nothing? It had to be a fake, right? Somehow I had a feeling my assumptions were false, it in fact being quite authentic. Once all the exchanges were finalized, the man suddenly turned so his face was now on full display, causing me to gulp at the sight.

Clear, smooth skin that has never been touched by the light of day and thin, moist lips that were sheltered by an adorable miniature nose. Soft looking cheeks that contrasted heavily with his sharp, angular brows that his dark waves covered most of like a curtain. But the most mesmerizing and jaw dropping thing of all was his-

Eyes...

Two slanted eyes, much like a cat's and the darkest shades of cerulean blue I have ever seen. Two that I was starting to get hopelessly lost within, like a whirlpool sucking me into it's swirling depths with no means of letting me go.

Suddenly they met my own, his pupils ever so slightly dilating resembling the darkest depths of the ocean itself. My heart proceeded to skip a beat at the intensity of his gaze, the air fleeing my lungs like a balloon deflating.

Oh my...

"Cheong Y/n!" All the fishermen shouted, trying to get my attention.

"I-I have to go to the restroom," standing up I made my way in the opposite direction of the male that had me so captivated.

"Lass, I advise that ya walk the other way if you don't want ta end up smack dab in a sack full o' flour."

Realising where I was heading from Myungsoo's warning, I swiftly turned, doing a 180 and locating the door to the women's bathroom, avoiding becoming a cheap knock off of the abominable snowman.

Why am I so flustered? My brain has turned to mush. I cursed myself for my mindless stupidity.

Reaching the wooden door reading 'Ladies' I pushed it open, letting out a sigh of relief when it closed behind me, evidently forming a barrier between me and the intense atmosphere of the cafe.

All the while though, before retreating to the safety of the bathroom stalls, I had the strangest inkling that two dark, brooding eyes were boring into my back, watching my every move. Whether that was a good or bad thing, I couldn't say.

Coming to this town sure is making several buried emotions and feelings I have never experienced before come to the surface.

Patting my cheeks, I tried to will away the redness, judging from the extreme heat I was feeling at the moment.

It had been close to ten minutes by the time I had regained my bearings and exited the bathroom. I discreetly scoped out the area, wondering whether the intense man was still there. I was almost prepared to set up camp in the bathroom if he was in fact still standing there making the air unbreathable with his presence.

Thankfully he appeared to have left, the only occupants being my unusual entourage and another random couple in the back, keeping to themselves. Noticing I had returned, the three elderly fishermen, who had been waiting expectantly, stood up rushing over to me. Their faces, one of worry and confusion.

"Ye ok? Ya sure took your time in there lil' lady,"

"Yeah I'm alright, n-never better" I tried to say as convincingly as possible.

"You sure? Ye lookin' a bit like tha clams we dig up n' stew. If you're not feelin' tha best, then we can take ya up there tomorrow," Dongha spoke not swayed by my fluctuating state.

Bringing my hand up, I used the back of it to skim against my forehead, a thin layer of sweat getting picked up from the action. This I could tell was not the kind you'd get from a general hot day.

Did he somehow cause me to get sick?

Coming to a decision, I sighed in resignation. "I might take you up on that offer... S-sorry to cut this journey short..."

Giving me a gentle smile, Dongha pat my head, "Don't ye worry yourself my dear, just focus on gettin' back your spunk. Now we'll be here bright n' early ta drive ye to Chin Chin's. The 'Seascape Inn' right?" He went to confirm where I was currently staying, in which I replied with a nod.

Gratefully smiling up at them all, I gave them a sincere 'thank you' as I waved and watched them walk casually out of the cafe's door, no doubt planning to get back to their planned fishing trip.

Sifting my bare feet through the powdery grains of white, I gazed absentmindedly at the steady rhythm that the waves moved in; coming in to kiss the shoreline only to be pulled back to reconvene with their greater family, the ocean as a whole.

It was always so calming to watch the natural flow of the ocean tides, dictated by the pull of the moon. Whether it be high or low, there was always that constant push and pull, ensuring one that life will keep moving even if you are at your best or worst.

And as long as the moon is there, then the waters have a reason to want to meet their lover, the shore, or are encouraged to reunite with their greater whole. The moon is their sole drive to put their intentions into motion and see that they see them to completion. It doesn't matter how much you may get pulled back, as long as you have that incentive to keep pushing forward, then one day you will surely be rewarded by your efforts and get your happy ending.

I will find my truth.. the whole truth..and hopefully my place in this challenging world..

I looked at the jagged lines of red that took up the entirety of my feet, fading as they wound up my ankles slightly. More questions arose.

Were these inflicted upon me however long ago or were they some strange deformity that I was born with? Medical reports state conflicting assumptions, not making my curiosity any easier to handle. My recurring dreams were the initial thing that spurred me on in this search for answers, however I couldn't ignore this other factor, that was the extensive scarring on my feet. I just knew it was linked to this somehow.

I usually kept them covered up, to avoid unwanted stares, but seeing as I was alone and on a damp, sandy shoreline I allowed myself the luxury of exposing them to the air.

Would Mr Yang know? Coming here is really the last option I have left at finding any hint about myself and origins. The true end of the road for potential revelations.

I dipped them gently into the shallow waters, the salty streams caressing the uneven skin of them like a mother embracing their child, soft, soothing and loving. I mentally praised myself for deciding to come down to the beach that the town was right on the edge of, the water and air certainly doing me some good at making me feel revitalized after how my body reacted to the events in the cafe.

The mysterious man weaved his way into my thoughts.

Maybe he was just passing through.. He seemed about my age, maybe a little older? I got the impression that most of the locals were elderly so he couldn't be from around here.

My heart proceeded to beat just thinking about him. I admit his appearance way surpassed the average norms of physical attraction, however I wasn't one to fall for someone purely based on their looks. That would make me kinda shallow.

No, instead it was some other accompanying reason...

Some other unknown reason that caused me to be drawn to him like the very waves lapping at my feet were beckoned towards Lady Selene herself.

I was in some strange predicament and I hadn't the slightest clue why.

I sighed, well even if this may be the case it's not like I'd find out, since I'd probably never see him again.

Amidst my deep contemplating thoughts the gentle breeze of the sea brought with it a faint but beautiful musical tune, a whistling flow of notes that sent tingles up and down my spine. I looked around trying to follow the melody to its source. My eyes and ears eventually led me to the highest peak of a cliff, which hung over the depths of the sea. Against the sunset, there stood a silhouette of a man, in his hands was a flute as he brought it up to his lips to continue on with his song.

My eyes raked over his outline as the enchanting sounds of his instrument washed over me, putting me into a deep serenity.

Flute glinting in the diminishing light, loose billowing clothes that got rumpled by the passing breeze, a nice lean figure...

Hold on..

Silent, intense aura...

Could it be?

That wide brimmed hat...

It's him!

As if the universe was confirming it for me, the last remnants of light from the setting sun cast upon him, lighting the man's body up and making his unique features visible. The man from the cafe stood there illuminated in all his ethereal glory, the last note of his unknown melody being blown out as he lowered his flute.

Wow... Was all that came to mind.

A sudden gust of wind swept along the beach, causing my hair to blow in all directions, and sea spray to jump up and dot my skin. I gasped at the disruption, wiping away the droplets that landed on my face and flattening down my brown locks. Because of all this, my view of the man had been obstructed. I was about to look back up towards him when a dash of colour zipped past my vision. There riding the strong breeze was a large, black hat.

I felt my eyes widen in realisation. That's not just any ordinary hat, that's His hat!

The strength of the wind must've blown it off his head. Pushing my feet down into the ground, I lunged forward, chasing after the item of clothing. Running in powdery, dry sand proved to be difficult as I almost lost my balance a couple of times, making grabby hands at the headwear only to stumble and grasp at empty air instead. All the while the hat seemed to mock me as it danced around in front of me. It would slowly float down towards the ground until I got close enough only to catch the next gust of wind, propelling it upwards again, casting a faint circular shadow onto me. If it was alive it would definitely be laughing at this pathetic game of cat and mouse we both found ourselves in. I grumbled out in irritation.

Get back here you dumb hat!

A few dozen attempts later, I found myself gasping for breath from the miniature workout I was getting from this stupid chase. I never knew I could loathe something as simple as a hat so much. Swiftly snatching up the object when it least expected it, I jumped up and down in victory, the item of clothing now safe and sound in my clutches.

Hah! Who's laughing now! I glared down at it.

"Now to get you back to your owner," I huffed out, lifting my head back up towards the cliff. Slightly nervous about interacting and coming so close to him, I gripped onto his hat like it was my lifeline.

Huh?

Scanning the now empty spot of land I realized he was gone.

There's something different about her, but he didn't know what. It caused him to become wary and guarded as he made his way to a secluded part of shoreline that was unreachable to the average human. Shrugging off his clothing and placing it amongst a couple of rocks where they couldn't be seen, the male waded in the shallow waters of the sea. When he was far out enough he sank his upper body into the salty depths, so that he was now completely submerged.

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for what was to come next.

Seconds later, he gritted his teeth from the abrupt influx of pain that crashed upon him, holding back a shout as he felt his bottom half begin to mold together to form one elongated limb. Patches of skin hardened to form clumps of scales and his scarred feet dissolved and widened to form a brilliant powerful fin.

He always questioned himself why he bothered to step foot on land for limited amounts of time if every time he wanted to go, he had to experience this excruciating transformation.

He continued to clench and thrash his changing body around, trying to ease away the pain.

Maybe I should hold off on visits for a while... He voiced in his head. My energy is depleting...

However his thoughts were drawn back to the human female that he had encountered. He'd never seen her before around these parts and she exuded a different kind of energy than most other land dwellers that he had come across while blending in on land.

She radiated a sense of familiarity but also something that was uniquely her.

Dammit! I shouldn't be getting caught up in the lives of humans.

Those oblivious beings were usually the ones who'd find themselves enchanted by his kind's very presence, not the other way around.

As the minutes passed by, the crippling pain slowly subsided, eventually stopping completely. The merman let out a sigh of relief, praising the gods that it was over.

Oof... I almost blacked out this time...

Steadily regaining his strength and movement, he kicked his fluke up and down creating momentum and smoothly shot forward into the great expanse of deep blue, towards his cave where he could relax and settle down for the night.

I shouldn't resurface, but for the love of Amphitrite, she has my hat!

| 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 | 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 | ༄⋆

[daegudrama]

Title: Route 613

Pairing: Reader/Namjoon, Reader/Yoongi, Reader/Vmin

Summary: Reader wants to be the very best Pokémon trainer there ever was. Her first stop in that journey is Paldea University home to a myriad of higher education. Still working to get over her ex boyfriend, Yoongi, reader forms new connections while making a few questionable decisions along the way. Each battle bringing her closer to the glory she's always dreamed of. Will she succeed in becoming champion or will outside forces stop her from achieving her goal?

Word Count: 11.3K

Disclaimer: Real life ages mean nothing in this fic. Refer here for ages and my shitty graphics

cross posted to ao3 here

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Chapter 3

You knock on Yunjin’s door while Hiyyih holds the spoils of your snack run. Almost as soon as you pull your hand away, the door opens revealing Chaewon and Yunjin wearing matching silk pajamas. It makes you wish you had a matching set instead of the long sleeve shirt and sweatpants combo you���ve put on. 

“Welcome!! Everyone else is already here. Come in!” Chaewon says stepping out of your way so you can enter. 

Yunjin has plush cushions scattered across her floor around a coffee table. There is a dark sofa behind the coffee table that no one is using, opting for the cozy looking nest of pillows on the floor instead. As she said the boys are already here looking comfy in loose shirts and sweatpants except Namjoon who is wearing a brown hoodie with his sweatpants. Each of them has a drink in their hand and the coffee table is covered in a spread of snacks. The cushion to the right of Namjoon is empty so you take a seat. Yoongi is on the other side of the table with Jimin on his right side and the hosts on his left. Taehyung is seated between Namjoon and Jimin, already snacking on some chips. 

Yunjin turns on a movie and you crack open one of the drinks you picked up before you went back to your dorm to wash up. It’s a movie you’ve seen a few times before so you spend more time watching the reactions of the people around you then actually watching the movie. Everyone seems to be enjoying it, sipping their drinks and reaching for snacks occasionally. When the credits roll Jimin suggests a game of never have I ever. 

“Why do you always suggest this game?” Taehyung asks, squeezing Jimin’s bicep with his long fingers. “You always end up drinking more than anyone else.”

“Isn’t that the whole point?” Jimin asks, tilting his chin down as his face spreads into a cheeky smile. 

“I’ll start!” Yunjin says looking around the room like it might give her an idea. She giggles before she speaks again. “Never have I ever had a boyfriend.”

Hiyyih, Namjoon, and Jimin take a drink with you. Your eyes fall to Jimin after you swallow. More new information about Jimin. This doesn’t really surprise you Jimin hasn’t used pronouns often when talking about his various conquests. 

Without discussion you move to the next question. For several rounds the questions stay tame, leading the majority of you to drink nearly every time, until Namjoon says, “Never have I ever kissed someone in this room.”

Everyone except for Hiyyih and Namjoon takes a drink. It’s obvious by the shock on his face he was only expecting Chaewon and Yunjin to drink. What you are shocked by is Taehyung and Jimin giggling as all eyes fall on them. You simply need to hear this story. 

“What, don't you kiss your homies?” Taehyung asks with a look of pure seriousness crossing his drunk face. 

Jimin pulls Taehyung closer by the back of the neck and kisses him like it’s something he does every day. Their lips move together with needy passion stirring something deep in your stomach. Jimin is about to crawl in Taehyung’s lap when Yoongi whines and grabs a fist full of Jimin’s shirt pulling him backwards. 

“Show some restraint. This doesn’t need to turn into an orgy.”

That is not an image you want in your mind. Even if it was just the guys it’s not an idea you should entertain. It’s been far too long since you’ve been fucked though and images of Yoongi’s hands on your body spring up without warning. You take a long pull of your drink thinking maybe it will wash away the thought. 

“Never have I ever sent a nude.” Taehyung moves the game along without anyone stopping to interrogate you about kissing Yoongi. 

Namjoon and Hiyyih are the lone two who don’t drink once again. Once again your mind is flooded with images your sober brain would certainly not be haunting you with. In particular one stands out. The ass picture Yoongi once sent you with the same framing as the one you sent him. Maybe he was teasing you but the picture was so hot you didn’t respond for several minutes. You wonder if Yoongi’s mind is also flooded with images of your naked body.

Hiyyih, swaying in her intoxicated state, pipes up next with something you don’t expect. There is a sly smile on her face like she knows she’s going to get all of you easily. 

“I’m a virgin. Drink whores.”

The room fills with laughter as everyone except Hiyyih finishes their drinks. Whether or not she is a virgin wasn’t a question that had come up in your many conversations thus far. This new information doesn’t make you feel a particular way. Everyone moves at their own pace and she’s had hawk eyes on her ever since her brother became champion. This leads into sharing the story of the first time each of you had sex. Most of their stories are quite similar. Bringing someone over when their parents were away. Most of their first times were not what they thought it would be at all. 

“I had been dating my first boyfriend for a few months when we decided we wanted to try to have sex. We didn’t really know what we were doing as two virgins. Honestly it wasn’t ever really great with him.” Namjoon says, circling one finger around the rim of his drink. “My most recent ex taught me basically everything I know.”

Two boyfriends. The inappropriate part of your brain wonders if he’s ever been with a woman, but that is definitely not something you should ask. Not now or not ever. That is information he needs to volunteer to you. Just looking at his handsome face is enough.  

“Y/N, what about you?” Chaewon asks, leaning into her girlfriend’s shoulder. “Who took your virginity?”

Hiyyih’s eyes dart back and forth between you and Yoongi. You haven't explicitly told her but it’s an easy connection to make. When you look towards Yoongi he has a stupid smirk on his face like he thinks that still means anything. You make eye contact tilting your head to the side in question. 

“I did.” Yoongi says before you can speak up. “We were each other’s firsts.”

Eventually, you are sure they’ll ask why the two of you broke up, but today is not that day.​​ There is only a moment of brief shock before Taehyung launches into the story of how he lost his virginity in a flower field. Which in his words is not as romantic and scenic as you would think. Apparently a pokemon snuck up on him and the girl and they had to run while desperately trying to put their clothes on. 

Yoongi shifts to put a pillow in his lap and you can only imagine what thoughts are running through his mind. Your first time together isn’t a story worth telling either but things got so much better. Has Yoongi been alone this whole time too? Is he also thinking about the leg shaking orgasms? 

Namjoon’s arm brushes yours and you wonder when he got so close to you. You are acutely aware of how close he is as the conversation morphs away from your sex lives back to the people you met tonight. Namjoon and Jimin take the lead in this conversation gushing about the amazing scientists they met. After being around people of that caliber for so much of your life it doesn’t really phase you anymore. You can understand their excitement though. It’s like if you were to meet the elite four.   

In your drunken state you suggest watching Rugrats in Paris and Chaewon all but jumps at the chance to watch the beloved childhood movie. Yunjin turns off the lights so the room is only lit by the brightness of the TV screen. You pop a chip into your mouth chewing as the open credits begin. 

Jimin and Taehyung are snuggled together and you wonder how they keep their relationship so seemingly casual when they act how they do. 

Namjoon shifts into a more comfortable position bringing him even closer to you. His heart pounds as his thick thigh is pressed against yours feeling the heat radiating off of your body. Namjoon hesitantly moves to rest his large hand on your knee. Is this okay, he wonders. He throws a few side glances your way that you catch with your peripheral vision. Subtly is not in his favor right now, but he doesn’t really care. Your pajama pants are so soft and instead of tensing under his touch you find yourself relaxing. Namjoon takes that as a good sign. 

Both you and Namjoon pretend to pay attention to the movie playing out on the screen but your minds are overloaded with feelings. Most of which could, in your cause, be associated with the fact that no one has touched you in seven months. 

You lean against his arm playing into whatever he’s trying to do for the moment. Namjoon holds in a gasp, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention. Your ex is in the room after all and Namjoon isn’t exactly sure why you and Yoongi broke up. It’s obvious that you aren’t completely comfortable around your ex and Namjoon is happy to be a distraction from that. Nothing you have said makes him think you want to be in a relationship with Yoongi again. It does seem like you are still working on getting over your ex, though. 

You can feel Yoongi’s eyes on you and this prompts you to stick your tongue out at him. Namjoon thinks about backing off when he sees this playful behavior, but the alcohol clouding his judgment wins and he stays put.

Yoongi’s gummy smile which you haven’t seen in months appears and you can hear him chuckling. Your heart aches and you reach for the cup of soju you poured not too long ago that is resting on the table before sinking deeper into Namjoon’s shoulder. Namjoon is sure he made the right decision by not pulling away. 

You share the drink with Namjoon passing the plastic cup back and forth. It’s so casual like you’ve been friends for ages. There’s comfort in having someone next to you. Namjoon is such a gentle person you trust he wouldn’t have bad intentions. Namjoon feels Yoongi’s eyes watching them but ignores it. He is focused on you. What really matters.

Half way through the film you feel the man next to you shift until his breath is tickling your neck. Namjoon is starting to feel sleepy but he wants to spend more time with you. 

“Do you want to go for a walk?” His low voice sends a shiver down your spine.

You nod your head in response and Namjoon gets up only wobbling for a second before offering you his hand. You take his warm hand and pull yourself off the floor trying not to think of all the things your horny brain might like him to do with those hands. Namjoon releases your hand and the two of you walk towards the door. Neither of you turn to see the reactions of your friends but you are sure there are more than a few raised eyebrows. Namjoon knows Jimin is going to have a plethora of questions in the morning. 

“We’re going for a walk.” You call over your shoulder, not paying attention to the looks being thrown at you, shoving your feet into your shoes. 

Namjoon leads the way, pushing his arms into his jacket as you step into the cool night air. He looks so peaceful staring up at the stars as you walk away from the dorms. He releases a Bellsprout letting the pokemon walk in front of you. His pokemon has an aura of love surrounding it that you can feel even from yards away.  

“This is Bangwool. I caught her a few days before I left Kanto. She warmed up to me really quickly.”

He wears the same kind of smile you do when you watch your pokemon. Pride and overwhelming love. Watching other people love their pokemon on the same level as you fills you with joy. Though the two of you raise these companions for different reasons you both only want the best for them. 

You ask him questions about his pokemon rubbing your arms against the cold air. How you didn’t think to put on a jacket is beyond you. Even the alcohol can only keep you so warm. He is leading you towards the field where the stargazing event happened. He looks over at you, studying the way you are shivering for a moment before hastily removing his jacket.

“No, it’s okay, I'm fine.” You say as he tries to press the jacket into your arms. 

“Y/N, come on.” He says softly before pulling you to a stop.

His fingers gently hold your wrist and your heart reacts wildly. There isn’t much space between you and Namjoon when he reaches behind you, settling his jacket on your shoulders. It’s like he’s trying to drive you insane. Namjoon is testing the limits a bit. He could have let you put it on yourself, but where is the fun in that?

He is looking down at you with a soft smile. It’s been a long time since he felt the joy of having a crush. A simple joy he’s deprived himself of. He pinches your cheek, a short chuckle sounding from his mouth, before backing away continuing his walk. You stand frozen processing what just happened. 

It takes a moment for your shorter legs to catch up with his longer ones. His jacket has a light floral scent that is far more noticeable once you push your arms through the sleeves. The oversized fabric is cozy like a hug. Namjoon picks Bangwool up off the ground carrying her until you reach the field. 

Sitting on the grass you let Spark out and he plays with Bangwool. Namjoon stands in front of you for a moment seemingly contemplating something before he joins you on the ground. What you don’t expect is his head falling on your lap. A true smile that shows off his deep dimples takes over his face. Tonight Namjoon decides he deserves happiness.

“Hi, there.” You breath out head spinning and you truly wonder if maybe your drunk brain is imagining this happening.

“Is this okay?” He doesn’t make any effort to move as he waits for your answer. 

He doesn’t fully relax until you nod. Perhaps if you were even a little more sober you would say no, but this is harmless. It’s a good distraction from all the Yoongi related questions plaguing your brain. He starts talking about water pokemon, specifically the ones you can find in Cabo Poco, and you animatedly tell him about the things you’ve seen. 

“When I was 12 there was a Gastrodon on the beach that was so wounded they couldn’t move. It's rare to see the blue and green variant in that area and they are tricky to treat. After my father helped nurse them back to health, they stole our sandwiches and went back into the ocean.”

As you speak you watch your pokemon running together across the field. Your fingers absentmindedly card through Namjoon’s soft hair. His chest flutters but he remains calm on the outside. 

The world around you feels calm and you don’t worry about what could happen tomorrow. All that matters is right here and right now.

“Isn’t it funny that you grew to love fire types when you lived so close to the ocean?” 

“My mom loves fire types so I’ve always found them interesting.” You say looking down at the perfect slope of his nose and curve of his lips. “I want to have a diverse team that can help me overcome any challenge that is thrown my way.”

“You’ve already gotten a good team started.” He murmurs, pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of the sky. He turns the camera towards you and snaps a photo. A captured memory of a wonderful moment. 

 ════════════ ∘◦❀◦∘ ════════════

The morning brings a brain splitting headache and several worried text messages. Assessing the damage you are happy to find yourself alone in bed fully clothed. You let your friends know you are in fact alive before taking a shower. Your memory gets kind of hazy after sitting in the field with Namjoon, but it seems like you made it home without making any questionable decisions. Only time will tell, you suppose. 

Showering does wonders to make you feel better, or well enough to do some homework. It’s noon by the time you venture out of your room needing more than the snacks you have in your room to sustain you. 

“Y/N!” Jimin calls to you as you are walking in the courtyard. 

You stop looking toward him as he walks your way. He’s wearing an oversized purple hoodie with jeans and somehow he makes it look like he should be on a runway. 

“Hi, do you want to grab lunch? I’m starving.”

He nods letting you lead the way towards the dining hall. “You know it’s Halloween next week and we haven’t made any plans.”

“Do you know any parties we could hit up?” You ask already knowing he must have a plan or he wouldn’t have brought it up. 

“There’s an upperclassman who throws a warehouse party every year. Last year it was the party to be at and he told me to bring all my friends this year.” He says this so matter of factly you wonder if there is really a choice here. Not that you want to say no. It’s not like anyone else has invited you. “It’ll be fun I promise.”

“Okay,” He grabs your arm in excitement as you continue speaking, “but I don’t have a costume.”

“Good thing Mesagoza has everything we could ever need.” When you look at him skeptically he continues. “During October Bagin’s gets transformed into a costume shop.”

After eating a quick lunch you head over to Bagin’s to look for a costume having not even an inkling about what you want to be. This weekend you want to let loose and stop your perpetual worrying. You’ve never worn a sexy costume for Halloween before and what a better time than now to break that tradition. 

Racks and racks of costumes are neatly lined up where expensive backpacks usually reside. Nothing is catching your eye as you look through the costumes. Jimin keeps offering ideas that are not quite what you are looking for.

“What about this?” He asks, holding up a blue cheerleader costume with a minuscule shirt and skirt.

“Maybe,” you say, walking towards him until you are within arms length, “you should wear it.”

“You think I won’t?” He challenges and you tap his nose with your index finger before finally finding something that looks promising. 

A witch costume. Not very creative but the cut of it catches your eye. If you are going to a party you would rather not wear something over the top that could get ruined. Though, you’ve never been to this kind of party you can imagine the vibes. Something that’s cute but not restricting is probably the best bet. Jimin gives an approving look when you show him what you’ve found. 

Jimin is still clutching the cheerleader costume when you check out. Will that skirt even cover his ass? Is he really willing to go this far? Shouldn’t he have had a costume ready? He buys the costume after you pay for yours and holds the door for you on the way out. 

“Where’d you go with Joon last night?” Jimin asks, fiddling with the strings on his hoodie. 

“We just went to the field and let our pokemon play.”

It looks like he wants to ask more, but there is truly nothing else to tell him. Nothing special, just a walk for some fresh air. Namjoon is his friend, why wouldn’t he ask him? Or is he being nosey wanting to know what you think? Are you thinking too heavily about this?

“I had to stop Yoongi from following you.” Jimin says softly, taking a seat on a bench between two tall buildings. You sit beside him digesting what he’s just said. “He was worried about you.”

“That’s not his place anymore.” A swell of frustration fills your chest. “It’s his own fault we broke up. Where does he get off—” 

You let out a defeated groan. This is something you are going to be dealing with for much longer than you want to. In an ideal world you wouldn’t be dealing with this at all, but unfortunately that is not your reality. Yoongi is here and his life is still intertwined with yours far too tightly. 

“What happened between you two? If you’re comfortable telling me.”

It takes a moment for you to decide to be vulnerable. If they have the same information as you do about what happened they’ll be able to help you. So, you tell him the same thing you told Hiyyih. He places a comforting hand on your shoulder rubbing small circles.

“Now we can’t really escape each other and that would be fine if he would just tell me. His mom just left me with more questions. I feel like I’m going insane.”

“For Halloween let's forget all about him.” Jimin says pulling his hand away from your shoulder. “Let’s just enjoy the party. We can make new memories.”

There’s a warmness in your heart knowing Jimin wants to help you however he can. For so long you didn’t have many friends. Experiencing new things is the best way to distract your mind until Yoongi no longer affects you like this. You are looking forward to Halloween and the chaos that will ensue. 

For a while you sit on the bench with Jimin talking about what last year's party was like. It morphs into talking about the parties he wants you to come to. Apparently, there is one going on somewhere almost every Friday. You aren’t sure if you’ll like that kind of vibe. Small parties with your friends have always been more your taste.

“Are you sure you won’t abandon me for a hookup?” You ask as the two of you walk outside the gates of Mesagoza strolling through the grass. 

“I think you’re more interesting than any hookup I could find.” He says casually not looking you in the eyes.

“Even more interesting than Taehyung?” You question jokingly. 

What you’re more interested in is if he will imply that he has in fact hooked up with Taehyung.

“I know him too well already.” Now he looks at you before continuing. “There’s still a lot to learn about you.”

You are about to answer when your phone buzzes in your pocket. It’s a text from Chaewon reminding you of the study date you agreed to earlier in the week. Spending time with Jimin makes you lose track of what time it is. 

“I have to go study with Chaewon. I totally forgot until she just messaged me.” You type out a message to Chaewon telling her you’ll be over soon. “I’ll see you later!”

He says bye as you rush off not wanting to make her wait any longer than she already has. You need this study session if you’re going to keep up with Hiyyih. Even if she’s your best friend here you won’t let that stand in the way of challenging the elite four this spring. 

════════════ ∘◦❀◦∘ ════════════

The whole week you focus on classes barely hanging out with your friends aside from meals and your planned study sessions with them. If you want a truly stress free night all your homework needs to be taken care of. It doesn’t help that it feels like you have to work twice as hard as your peers for the same results. But the hours you are putting in every evening battling trainers off campus is paying off. Your team is growing stronger and listening better with each new challenge. 

“Y/N…” Hiyyih whines from the other side of the table settled in the back corner of the library. The light shining through the window warms you. “We have next week's reading done. Can we please go get crepes before we meet up with the girls to get ready?”

“Battle me first.” You quip knowing she’s going to turn you down. 

“We are not battling right now.” She rolls her eyes while she puts away her notebooks. 

“You’re going to have to battle me eventually.” You say also putting your things away because crepes sound good right now. 

“Do you know if Namjoon is coming tonight?” She asks instead, completely avoiding talking about battling you. 

“He’s going to a party in town.” You say letting go of her not wanting to battle you for the moment. It’s not like you’ll be able to change her mind today. “He invited us, but I already told Jimin I’d go to the warehouse party.” 

Ever since you told her about Namjoon resting his head in your lap she’s been mentioning him more. Hiyyih has been trying to convince you it means something all week whenever you’d let her get a non school related word in. But his coat is still hanging off the back of your couch. For some reason you haven’t yet returned it. He never said anything about your walk, and that’s how you want to keep it. This week he was around less, but we are all getting busy. Putting meaning where there doesn’t need to be meaning will only hurt you. So you are choosing not to think about it.

“Let’s see how the night goes and maybe we can head over there if things get boring.” Hiyyih replies, her shirt lifting up to show a bit of her stomach as she stretches. 

“Okay.” You zip your things into your bag and sling it over your shoulder. “But text the group chat and ask what they want. Jimin will be pissed if we get crepes without him.”

“Already on it.” She says following you out of the library as she taps away on her phone screen. “Speaking of Jimin, do you know what he’s going as? He refuses to tell me.”

This makes you wonder if he had a plan before the two of you went shopping together. Jimin seems like someone who would want to do a matching costume with his friend. Did he not plan something with Taehyung? Imagining him in that cheerleading outfit is not where you should be. 

“It’ll be better if you see it in person.” You say with a smirk. 

“Not you too!” She whines again, pouting her lips.

Your phone buzzes alerting you that someone in the group chat has responded. 

Hiyyih orders for the group, after side eyeing you for calling the group idiots, making sure to get an extra because this is one of her favorite places. You watch the employee make the crepes right in front of you and thank them before you pay. This is your Halloween treat to them. Carrying all of the boxes isn’t easy but somehow you make it to Yunjin’s dorm with all the crepes intact. 

“Hi!!” Chaewon says jumping up to help you lay out the boxes. “Oh, you even had them write out names on them. That’s so smart.”

As promised, Jimin and Taehyung are lounging on Yunjin’s couch waiting for their crepes. No one is in costume yet. In fact everyone looks quite cozy waiting for their sugary treat. Jimin seems almost feral as he grabs his crepe off the coffee table and starts cutting it up with the plastic fork he found inside the box. 

“Thank you, Y/N.” Jimin says, making a kissy face that Taehyung quickly copies.

“You’re the best.” Taehyung affirms biting into his own crepe getting whip cream on his lips. 

The way he licks it off his lips stirs something inside of you that you don’t want to think about. Let’s save those thoughts for when you are a lot more drunk and a lot more alone. The sweet taste of chocolate strawberry sweeps the thoughts of his tongue to the back of your brain. 

“I ordered pizza.” Yunjin informs the room pointing her thumbs at herself. “No alcohol poisoning for these idiots tonight, just good vibes.” 

“Thank you, Yunjin.” You say making half a heart with your hand that she completes. 

“What were you guys doing all day?” Chaewon asks between bites. 

“Y/N all but locked me in the library until we got through next week's homework.” 

The eyes of your friends turn to you in question. You are sure in their mind homework is the last thing to be thinking about with a massive Halloween party just hours away. Not be that annoying person but your parents always taught you to work twice as hard as you play. Letting your hard work take a back seat for a party is simply not an option.

“Why do you make it sound like a hostage situation?” You roll your eyes at her dramatics knowing if she really wanted to leave she would’ve. 

“I’ve studied with you,” Chaewon remarks, not looking up from where she’s staring at her crepe. She is staring at the food with a look of admiration. “I think you picked up study habits from your parents. Not bad but very intense sometimes.”

“Hiyyih won’t you be more relaxed tonight knowing there’s no homework to worry about?”

She contemplates your words for half a second before responding. It’s probably good you have friends that want you to have fun. It would be easy to force yourself to spend every waking moment training because you genuinely love doing it. 

“As soon as I get a drink in me I’m sure I wouldn’t have thought about it.” She takes a bite of her treat, chewing and swallowing before continuing. “I wouldn’t be thinking about it now even if it wasn’t done.”

Light conversation fills the room while crepes are devoured. Taehyung is talking about how he is valuing comfort over a good costume this year. He shows us pictures of last year when he and Jimin dressed in vintage dresses with curly wigs and you wonder where they got the idea for that. 

By the time the pizza arrives Yunjin deems it late enough to start pregaming. She pours a round of shots with a cute smile. As she holds up the shot glass she records a video. Each of your friends copies the movement lifting their shot glass in the air. 

“To friends and lovers fuck the others.” Yunjin calls clinking her shot glass against the hoard of them in the middle. 

She taps her glass on the edge of the table before pouring it down her throat like it’s nothing. You follow suit but reach for juice in front of you to chase away the burn in your throat. Jimin takes a seat next to you on the couch reaching for a slice of pizza. Chaewon has taken the duty of mixing drinks and Taehyung is turning on a speaker.

“How many people do you think you’ll kiss tonight?” You ask nudging his side with your elbow.

“Do you want to be the first?” He leans close to your ear before he speaks. His warm breath washes over your ear pulling heat to your cheeks. He pulls away to speak loud enough for the whole room to hear. ��Probably no more than last year.”

“So two?” Taehyung asks from his position on the floor in front of the couch. He puckers his lips up in jest. “I’ll be on that list if you want.”

Oh, so they aren’t only like that when they are drunk? You have so many questions you can’t respectfully ask for the answers to. No one in the room reacts as if this is abnormal. You guess for these two this is normal. Harmless flirting that sometimes leads to them making out and who knows what else.

The pizza sweeps the thought to the back of your mind this time. Chaewon brings a pitcher full of something she mixed together and you put full faith in her ability to make it taste good. The music is setting a good mood and when you finish eating you already want to dance. You refrain, watching the way Jimin ties Yunjin’s hair bow into Taehyung’s dark locks. Tae takes out his phone and snaps a selfie. He tilts his head side to side and pretends to flip hair over his shoulder. He’s really feeling himself and it sends the room into a fit of giggles. The time spent pregaming is peaceful and it wastes away the time until it’s acceptable to show up to the party. 

“We will not be crossdressing this year.” Taehyung says confidently fiddling with the bow in his hair then backtracks when both you and Jimin give him a questioning look. “Well I won’t be at least.”

“Tae and I are going to get dressed.” Jimin says pulling his friend off the floor. He downs the rest of the drink in his cup before speaking again. “Let’s meet up at the party in like an hour.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Hiyyih mumbles, scrolling on her phone with one hand and sipping out of a cup with her other. 

The boys leave and you look over Hiyyih’s shoulder to see her looking at her brother’s instagram. He and four of his friends have dressed up as power rangers. She scrolls through the photos and you see his friends are the members of the elite four. 

“The elite four?” You question despite knowing the answer. You’ve watched every video of them battling that’s available online at least once. “They are close with your brother?”

“Oh yeah, they are Kai’s b—” she cuts herself off hesitating, eyes widening like she almost said something she shouldn’t. You are about to tell her to forget it when she says, “really good friends. They are a lot closer than what they show in public.”

“You’re going to look way cooler than them, Hiyyih.” Chaewon says from across the coffee table where she has pulled out face paint for her costume.  

“Soobin insisted they buy custom costumes. How nerdy can you get?” Hiyyih laughs into her drink before taking a sip and putting it down.  She looks towards you. “Anyways, let's go get our costumes then we can get ready together.”

You nod, turning to the other girls to tell them you’ll be back in a minute. It's going to take them a lot longer for them to get ready anyways. When you step into the hall, noise surrounds you. Many students have propped their doors open and are walking in between rooms with cups of mystery liquid in their hands. Everyone is pregaming for whatever party they are headed to soon. 

In Hiyyih’s room she collects the many pieces of her cowgirl Barbie costume. She decided to go for the nearly fully pink option despite her recent style change. You haven’t seen the costume on her yet but you know that it’s going to look perfect. 

Hiyyih follows you into your room to retrieve your costume and makeup. When you see Namjoon’s jacket still sitting in your room you make a decision. 

“I’m going to return this to Namjoon.” You say scooping the jacket up. “Message me if you leave.”

“Okay, Y/N. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” 

“Hiyyih!” You scold throwing a balled up shirt at her as she makes her way to the door. 

Once Hiyyih is out of your room you quickly put on your costume. It takes you a little while to fix your hair and makeup, but soon you are leaving your building with Namjoon’s jacket in hand. Though you’ve never been to Namjoon’s dorm you do know which one is his. The Indigo building is just as lively as the Violet building if not a little more loud. 

Just as you are about to knock, the door opens revealing Namjoon. He is dressed as a boxer with a hooded robe and shorts. His chest is bare and there are gloves hanging off his neck. Heat flushes your cheeks as if you just got caught doing something you weren’t supposed to. Namjoon is so much more muscular than you ever imagined. His pecs are huge and his abs are well defined in a way that makes it hard for you to tear your eyes away. 

“Oh, hi.” He says, running a hand through his hair. Namjoon’s eyes travel up and down your body appreciating your choice. He wants to tell you how stunning you look, but decides on something softer. “I like your costume. It looks really good on you.”

In his other hand he is holding the same basket you gave him cookies in. Instead of cookies it's now filled with Halloween themed treats. A pastry with the Cafe Huening logo on it stands out to you among the rest of the orange and black. 

“Thank you.” You say holding out his jacket. “I just came to give this back to you. I’ve been forgetting all week.”

“I forgot about it too.” Namjoon says, taking the jacket from your hand. He wonders if it will smell like you now. “I was actually about to go to your dorm.”

You tilt your head to the side in confusion. Why would he be going to your dorm? He knows everyone was at Yunjin’s dorm from the group message. 

“Why? Aren’t you meeting up with your friends in town soon?”

“Well you mentioned you wanted Srircha to try this pastry from Cafe Huening last week so I just gathered some treats to go with it for Halloween.” He has a shy smile on his face as he holds out the basket to you.

“You’re so sweet. Thank you.” You say and the alcohol flowing through your veins makes you want to do other things. Things you’ve only done with one other person. Instead you take the basket from him with a genuine smile gracing your face. “Come have a drink with us before you head out!”

“Just let me put my jacket away then I’ll join you.” 

You wait outside his dorm as he quickly puts his jacket away. His dimples are showing as he walks alongside you back to Yunjin’s dorm. Seeing you makes his night better. He wasn’t sure he’d see you today. You recap what you’ve been doing for the last few hours and he laughs.

“Oh, so you’re already a little tipsy?” He asks when you are standing right outside Yunjin’s dorm.

Standing directly in front of him with little room between the two of you he cups your cheek with one of his hands. Perhaps Namjoon has lost his rational thoughts. He wants to kiss you so badly but he won’t. Not like this. Internally you are screaming, because why is he doing this? What does this mean? Your hazy mind can’t string together a reason.

“Me too.” His breath fans over your face and you can smell the alcohol.

He giggles before pulling away and knocking on the door. You stand paralyzed by shock. Because what the fuck was that? Before you are able to form a coherent thought Hiyyih opens the door and Namjoon moves inside. Your best friend gives you a questioning look but you bat her away. The other two girls hardly notice your entrance until Hiyyih says something about Namjoon’s costume. 

Half of Chaewon’s face is painted white. Yunjin is holding a brush using precise careful strokes to cover her girlfriend's face. They decided to dress as the Joker and Harley Quinn despite Jimin suggesting Chaewon could be Poison Ivy instead. Either way you are sure they are going to look so cool. The two of them spent far more time thinking about their costumes than you did.

“Wow, Namjoon you look…” 

She can’t even finish her sentence and it sends the rest of the room into a fit of giggles. Namjoon is standing tall and confident in his costume choice. This is the reaction he wanted after all. He doesn’t work this hard on his body for nothing. 

All three girls eye the basket Namjoon gave you when you set it down on the coffee table. Hiyyih picks out pastry from her sister’s shop. 

“Barbie really suits you, Hiyyih.” Namjoon replies, and takes a seat on the couch while you find another cup to pour Chaewon’s delicious mixed drink into. 

“Thank you! Did you buy Y/N these?” She asks, looking over the packaging she helped her sister design. Hiyyih is a woman of many talents and her siblings value her opinion. 

“She said she wanted Sriracha to try them and I was already getting some for Drago.” He shrugs watching as you pour a drink for him then hand him the cup. 

Drago is Namjoon’s Dragonite who you have yet to see in person. You are very excited for the day you will get to meet them. It really touches your heart that he was thinking about your pokemon as well while shopping for his own. Getting sidetracked and not seeking out the more speciality treats is something you do too often. 

“Pearl loves those!” Chaewon says looking at the food Hiyyih has placed back in the basket. 

“Your pokemon have good taste.” Hiyyih replies before snapping a picture. “Lea will be happy to know people over here are buying her goods.”

Namjoon takes a sip of his drink and a pleased expression blooms across his face. You take a seat beside him and adjust your dress when it gets pulled down a little. He listens to the rest of you chatter without much participation. He’s happy to passively learn more about you. 

Chaewon is worrying about how hard it’s going to be to get her facepaint off. Yunjin assures her that even if they are both shitfaced at the end of the night she will help her remove it.

“Ahh, true love.” Namjoon remarks downing the rest of his drink before setting the cup on the table. 

“Damn right.” Yunjin replies looking over her shoulder. She has clipped blue and pink extensions onto either side of her head feeding into her pigtails. The blue and pink makeup is smeared just right and you wonder how she perfected the look so quickly. 

Namjoon’s phone chirps with a notification and he pulls it out. His eyes scan the screen for a moment before he looks up. 

“My friends are wondering where I am. If the warehouse gets boring, come find me.”

He shoots you a gentle smile before standing up. His thighs are massive and so impressive. Namjoon snags the last piece of pizza off the table as he walks towards the door. For a few moments there is silence which is quickly shattered.

“He definitely likes you.” Hiyyih says, looking to the other girls for confirmation.

Chaewon nods her head but Yunjin looks wary. Entertaining the idea of Namjoon liking you is not something you want to deal with right now. He could just end up being a distraction from the other feelings you are working through. He doesn’t deserve that mess. 

“No. This is not the time for that.” You reply looking in the mirror to fix your hair. 

“Fun, no thoughts.” Yunjin says adjusting her tiny shorts. “Are you ready? Let’s go!”

After a few more minutes of making sure you have everything you need, the girls file out the door together. You stop off at your dorm to put the basket from Namjoon inside, then you are on your way to the warehouse. Off to your first real party of the year.

════════════ ∘◦❀◦∘ ════════════

A sea of people in an array of costumes greets you when you step inside the warehouse. In one corner you see an intense beer pong match and in another you spot a makeshift bar. There are a few different doors on the sides of the room. Decorative cobwebs, spiders, and bats line the walls and hang from the ceiling. There is a fog machine giving the room a slight hazy feel.

“Y/N!!” Taehyung calls, turning your attention to where he’s standing in an Eevee onesie. “You have to try this pinap cocktail Jungkook made.”

He hands you a cup and you take a drink. While drinking your eyes fall to Jimin and you choke. Taehyung takes the cup from you and Yunjin pats your back as you cough it out. You quickly shut your jaw wishing you didn’t just embarrass yourself. 

“Do I look that good?” Jimin asks, putting his hands on his hips and turning to the side so you can see his ass. 

Jimin’s abs and arms are exposed showing the work he’s put in. As you expected the skirt barely covers his ass and you see no boxers or safety shorts. He chose a pair of white sneakers so his strong legs are nearly on full display for everyone to see. 

“9 out of 10.” You muse eyes looking up and down his frame. 

He scoffs like there is no way someone could possibly rate him below a 10. Your feet guide you away from him to the bar. Jungkook, dressed as Jack Skellington is making drinks with a skeleton as his copilot. He compliments your costume as he hands you a cocktail. Before you can say another word to him you are whisked away by Taehyung.

He pulls you to the middle of the floor where people are dancing to the loud music. Chaewon, Yunjin and Hiyyih are nearby dancing in a little circle. Taehyung and Jimin are on either side of you showing off their moves. You push closer to the girls dodging Taehyung’s hand and take a sip of your drink. 

For quite some time you enjoy the company of your friends dancing, laughing and drinking together. The girls break away eventually to mingle with other people and you stay behind with Jimin and Taehyung. Who are suspiciously close to you. 

“I think I deserve a 10 out of 10.” Jimin says in your ear, pulling your back against his front. 

Taehyung fills the space in front of you, settling his hands just below where Jimin’s are on your waist. You look up at Taehyung with a pounding heart. He brushes one hand across your cheek keeping the other one firmly gripping your hip.

“Maybe you can earn 10 out of 10, Jimin.” Taehyung says just loud enough for you to hear.

Dancing in beat with the rhythm you grind your ass against Jimin’s crotch. You tilt your head up and pull Taehyung by the back of his neck into a kiss. If this becomes a problem that's something future you can deal with. Present you needs a fun distraction and these too are oh so willing. 

Taehyung’s lips are soft like silk and taste like the drinks he’s been consuming all night. Jimin presses his lips against your shoulder rocking his hips against your ass in time with the song. The boys are thrilled to have the girl they’ve been thinking about for weeks between them. After several minutes of sensual dancing Jimin suggests you move to somewhere more quiet. You make your way through the crowd with little difficulty. 

With Jimin and Taehyung following closely behind you, enter one of the side rooms of the warehouse that Jimin pointed out to you. Surprisingly, there is no one else in the sparsely decorated room. There is one couch and a table that is littered with beer cans and plastic cups. There is one fake skeleton and two colorful pumpkins on different sides of the room. Taehyung closes the door behind you muffling the loud trap beats filling the main area. Your heart races, adrenaline coursing through your veins. You are really about to do this. 

The dingy couch you sit on has surely seen things you don’t want to imagine. Jimin sits on your right and Taehyung sits on the left. Each man has a hand resting on one of your bare thighs. Jimin’s teeth sink into his plush lip as his fingers squeeze your soft skin. Taehyung leans closer to you lips brushing your ear.

“Should I move my hand?” His low voice sends a flutter from your chest to your stomach.

Instead of answering him you grip his hand placing it on your breast. This sexy witch costume provides a nice view of your chest which you have noticed many people looking at all night. Taehyung swipes your hair away from your neck and lightly kisses the skin. Your skin tingles with excitement after not being touched like this for seven months. Jimin’s hand is creeping further and further up your leg teasing the sensitive skin of your inner thigh. 

You draw in a sharp breath when Jimin finally reaches the edge of your skirt and slips his hand under. He wastes no time dragging his finger against your clothed cunt. With his other hand Jimin is palming himself over his short skirt. Taehyung traps your jaw in his long fingers and turns your attention towards him. His fingers are lightly kneading your breast while he leans in for a kiss, one that quickly turns messy in your drunken state.

Taehyung’s mouth moves against yours with equal vigor as you begin desperately grinding against Jimin’s hand. You pull away from Taehyung using his shoulder to steady yourself while moving into a kneeling position. The zipper of his Eevee onesie is pulled down as you eye the outline of his cock. You can’t say you’ve spent much time thinking about what this would be like. 

Jimin pushes your panties to the side, collecting your lust on his finger before spreading it through your folds. Taehyung assists in your goal pulling his large cock out of his boxers. You look over your shoulder to see Jimin’s eyes trained on Taehyung, not on what he’s doing. The younger man strokes his cock while he waits for you to make the next move. There’s something incredibly hot about watching his long fingers run up and down his length.

Your name followed by a curse leaves Taehyung’s lips as yours make contact with his waiting cock. It's only a few seconds that you suckle his cock before you let your tongue kitten lick his fat head. You wrap your hand around his cock applying the slightest pressure to draw a throaty groan from his sweet lips. Taking more of him in your mouth and caving your cheeks in has Taehyung arching off the couch. 

Taehyung’s long cock hits the back of your throat at the same moment Jimin pushes a finger inside of you. The moan Jimin earns from you vibrates around Taehyung’s cock heighting his sensation of pleasure. The younger man lies a hand on the back of your neck encouraging you to deep throat his cock. You happily oblige by pushing the tip of his thick cock into your throat before sliding your lips back up the length. Taehyung makes an approving sound as your lips form a tight ring around the head of his cock.

Jimin slowly pushes his two middle fingers in and out of your wet pussy. Your mouth pops off of Taehyung when the older one's fingers hit deep inside of you. A loud whine filling the air before you go back to sucking Taehyung’s cock. Jimin shifts behind you onto his knees and he uses his unoccupied hand to clutch your ass, digging his fingers into the squishy flesh. 

Experiencing this with someone who isn’t Yoongi for the first time is thrilling. You of a few months ago would not believe what you are doing right now with these men you’ve barely known for two months. These men who you have no romantic feelings for. 

Taehyung pulls your mouth away from him cock looking over your shoulder at Jimin before he stands. He settles behind the arm of the couch. If you weren’t so drunk you might find it comical that he’s standing there with his onesie still on with his dick and balls resting above the zipper. Jimin guides your hips to flip you on your back then quickly stands to adjust his skirt. As he scrunches up the fabric you see that he is wearing a lacy white thong. A warm flurry of pleasure runs through your stomach at the sight of Jimin wearing those pretty panties. Taehyung pulls a condom from god knows where and hands it to the older man. 

“Are you ready, YN?” Jimin purrs, pulling his cock out before sliding the condom onto his length.

“Please.” You beg watching as he wastes no time sliding his cock into your cunt.

Your head lulls backwards in pleasure giving Taehyung the perfect opportunity to fuck into your throat. You take his cock back into your mouth with ease trying to manage the intense pleasure this situation is bringing you. Jimin’s hands grip your hips showing you the perfect rhythm. He pulls you closer until his thighs are under yours giving him a delicious angle to hear your whiny moans. 

Above you Taehyung leans over to kiss Jimin. Of all the things that are happening these two kissing each other is not surprising. You can hear rather than see what is going on as you continue to deep throat Taehyung with your head hanging off the arm of the couch. His hips are slowly grinding into your mouth as he focuses on kissing Jimin’s plump lips. One of Jimin’s hands reaches between your legs and he uses his finger to circle your clit while he rolls his hips into you. Jimin breaks away from the kiss first pulling the top of your dress down to fully expose your breasts. 

Taehyung steps away stroking his cock as he watches Jimin fuck you. The older of the two men leans in to kiss you, tasting his friend on your lips. Taehyung takes a seat behind Jimin lightly slapping his ass. Jimin looks into your eyes for a moment after breaking the kiss, seemingly debating something. 

“Both of you get on your knees on the floor.” Jimin demands straightening up. 

Taehyung and you follow his instructions. While kneeling on the dirty floor of the warehouse Jimin steps between the two of you. Taehyung has Jimin’s plump ass in his face and you have his pretty pink cock waiting to be taken into your mouth. You open your mouth letting your tongue fall out. You pull the condom off his length tossing it across the room without care. Jimin slaps his cock across your tongue as Taehyung spreads Jimin’s cheeks licking a bold strip. The older man gasps, balancing himself on your shoulders. You lick from his pink tip to the smooth skin of his balls before sliding your mouth onto his hot cock.

The younger man is enthusiastically eating Jimin’s ass like he’s been waiting all year to do it. For all you know maybe he has been. You and Taehyung watch Jimin fall further apart with every passing second at the will of your mouths. When one of Taehyung’s long fingers enters Jimin hole the man moans in a way that lets you know he’s been holding back his pretty sounds. You suck lightly letting Taehyung take most of the effort.

After several minutes you kneel on the couch leaning over the back to give them a good view of your soaking pussy. Taehyung takes the lead this time maneuvering Jimin behind you. This time you see him pull two condoms from the pocket of his onesie. You watch as they put the condoms on each other and share a kiss before turning back to you. 

Jimin pushes inside of you easily and Taehyung gently slides his thick cock into Jimin earning a breathy moan. The younger man pushes further inside Jimin making him thrust into you. The back of this dirty couch, that smells like stale beer, is the only thing keeping you grounded. There is a moment of awkward fumbling while they find the right flow. Jimin grabs your hips, rocking his cock inside you deeper than before. Your drunken pleasure is growing and spreading through you. The crazy reality of this situation surely won’t hit you until the morning. For now you give your fullest focus to making yourself feel good. 

You reach behind you to grab Jimin’s hand and guide it to your needy clit. He does what you want resting his forehead against your shoulder. He can’t suppress the whines Taehyung is pulling out of him. You look over your shoulder briefly and see a smirk on the younger man’s face. He’s very pleased with the reaction his friend is having.  

The sound of skin slapping together gets louder as the three of you near your highs. Just as your orgasm is starting to wash over you in waves the door opens. Your head turns to see Yunjin as a scream leaves her mouth. 

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry.” She covers her eyes and slams the door. 

Taehyung slips out of Jimin bending over as he laughs. Jimin pulls out too and walks towards the other man pulling the condom off his own dick then his friends. He then pulls him into a kiss while he takes both of their cocks into his hand. When Taehyung realizes Jimin’s hands are a little too small he helps. Jimin and Taehyung make out in front of you while they jerk themselves off to completion. Once they are finished they each lie their head on the other’s shoulder and you almost feel like you are intruding. 

Jimin adjusts his thong and Taehyung zips himself back up before they pull you off the couch. Together they fix your dress making you presentable enough to leave the room. Each of them holds out a hand for you to take. You accept and let them lead you out of the room back to where the main party is happening. Jimin leads you to the drink table where you drop Taehyung’s hand to get one last drink.

“Let’s go back to my dorm.” Jimin says, shoving a bottle of liquor that Jungkook just handed him, under his arm before guiding you through the crowd again. 

When you look over your shoulder to make sure you haven’t lost Taehyung you make eye contact with Yunjin. Your face flames as she gives you a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. You take a gulp of the drink in your hand knowing she is going to ask you all the questions tomorrow. 

You wrap your arm around Taehyung’s waist when you make it outside. The cool air feels nice on your skin after the vigorous activities you just did. You drain your cup almost choking on the liquid when Jimin cheekily squeezes your ass. Somehow you manage to swallow as you giggle. 

You try to slap Jimin’s ass but he runs off too quickly for your drunken limbs to follow without tragedy. The walk back fills your head of what could happen when you return to the dorm.

The Indigo building is quieter than earlier. Most of the students have opted for off campus parties to celebrate Halloween. Jimin unlocks the door and holds it open for you and Taehyung. 

As soon as Jimin locks the door behind him, Taehyung unzips his onesie. He pulls the soft fabric off his shoulders and hooks his fingers under the waistband of his boxers to shimmy out of his low effort costume. Now completely naked he sits on Jimin’s neatly made bed. You follow suit, removing your dress just leaving you in just your soaked panties. 

“Ready for round two?” Taehyung asks cock already half hard as he folds his hands behind his head. 

You straddle Taehyung’s lap giggling as you pull him in for a heated kiss. He nibbles your bottom lip sucking it into his mouth before he buries his face in your collarbone. As your ass grinds against his growing cock he sucks a mark into your collarbone. 

“Starting without me in my own room?” Jimin asks, walking to the foot of his bed with two shot glasses in his hands. 

You pull away from Taehyung’s tempting lips to reach for the shot glass. Jimin lets you take the shot glasses and removes his cheerleader costume. He looks so soft and elegant lying in just a white lacy thong on his bed. You hand one shot to Taehyung before turning to pour the other into the waiting concave of Jimin’s stomach. 

“Is this what you wanted Jimin?” You ask ducking your head to lap up the stolen liquor from his toned stomach. “You want our tongues all over you?”

Jimin whines while Taehyung gets off the bed and rounds to the other side and joins in the slurping. Your tongues meet messily in the middle pushing into each other's mouths for only a moment. Your lips kiss up Jimin’s ribs until you meet his dark nipple stiff with anticipation. Without a further thought your lips latch around it, swirling your tongue. Jimin gasps, grabbing the back of your hair. He strokes the back of your head encouraging you to keep going. 

For a moment you pull away seeing Taehyung teasing the skin around Jimin’s cock. The younger man is licking and kissing Jimin’s strong thighs while using one hand to lightly rub the older man’s balls through the fabric of the thong. He quickly gets tired of that then removes Jimin’s panties flinging them over his shoulder. 

You give attention to Jimin's other nipple pressing your breasts against his side. Jimin slides a hand down your figure to spank your ass. A yelp escapes your lips but it’s silenced when Jimin tilts your head towards his face. His soft lips connect with yours sending a tingle up your spine. He quickly pushes his tongue inside your mouth tasting the liquor you just licked off his body. 

“Taehyung, please suck my cock.” Jimin whines against your lips. 

You look over to Taehyung and watch as he carefully sucks Jimin into his mouth, earning a loud desperate moan from the other man. Jimin pulls you further up the bed until your breasts are at his eye level. He takes one of your hard nipples into his mouth earning a whimper. You run your fingers through his dark hair wanting more of him. 

One of Jimin’s hands ventures to the waistband of your panties pushing them down. You help him remove them and throw the fabric to the floor. Jimin quickly brushes his thumb over your clit while collecting more of your essence on his other fingers. 

A choked moan leaves your lips as one of his fingers pushes inside your asshole. Jimin’s name passes your lips as you cling to his shoulder. He catches your lips trying to distract you from the slight discomfort. 

You take a deep breath listening to the sound of Taehyung sloppily sucking Jimin’s cock. It takes a moment but you adjust and the older man adds another finger slowly scissoring his fingers until a steady stream of moans is filling the air.

“More!” You beg while you look into Jimin’s lustful eyes. “Please fuck me.”

“Okay, Y/N.” Taehyung says from between Jimin’s legs. 

Jimin sits up slightly reaching for yet another set condom from his top drawer before lying down. You help Jimin roll his on while Taehyung does it himself. You settle yourself on Jimin’s lap facing Taehyung but leaning against Jimin’s chest. Jimin pushes his cock into your ass slowly letting you get used to the feeling. It stings but you take a deep breath pushing through the discomfort. 

Taehyung leans forward and licks your pussy with his wet tongue. He sucks your clit into his mouth effectively distracting you. He zigzags his tongue through your folds collecting your sweet release on his tongue. The feeling of the euphoric stroke of his tongue helps you adjust to Jimin’s cock. Taehyung grips your thighs continuing to lick and suck your cunt until he can see you clenching around the air just begging to be filled. 

The younger man makes eye contact with Jimin before settling himself in the best position to reach your cunt with his thick cock. He slaps his dick across your pussy and grinds against your wetness. Taehyung groans loving the feeling of your essence coating him. He slips inside you with a sigh. 

You are so filled to the brim with cock, all you can do is gasp for air. Taehyung moves first, dragging his cock in and out so slowly you whine. Jimin lifts his hips below you, wrapping his arms around your middle to keep you balanced. You let the two men take over knowing it’s unlikely you’ll be helpful.

They find a steady rhythm that draws purely erotic sounds from your mouth. Your head falls back as your eyes close letting yourself feel this pleasure to its greatest capacity. Electricity flows from your head to the very tips of your toes. You’ve never felt this way before. 

Jimin slides his hands up your waist until he is cupping one of your breasts in each of his hands. His finger traces your areola every so lightly in great contrast to how they are fucking themselves into you. Taehyung presses the pad of his thumb against your clit rubbing in a circular motion. You take your lip between your teeth, almost not able to bear the sensations.

Taehyung bows his head, eyebrows drawn together in concentration obviously approaching his high too. Vaguely, you wonder if they are always this loud in bed or if they are just exceedingly comfortable because of the amount of alcohol they consumed. You love when a man is vocal. It adds to the feeling. 

Warmth is rushing throughout your body. One flick of Taehyung’s thumb perfectly timed with the thrust of the men’s hips sends you over the edge screaming obscenities. 

Jimin’s hand covers your mouth as they accelerate the snap of their hips. You don’t push his hand away liking the way the subtle oxygen deprivation heightens the orgasm you are riding out. Taehyung gets sloppy first, nearly slipping out in his haste to push deeper inside of you. 

Taehyung’s name falls from Jimin’s lips as he spills into the condom inside of you. If you weren’t intoxicated you are sure you would think about that for more than a second. Your hand finds Taehyung’s nipple rolling it between your fingers as you coax him cum. He pulls out removing the condom quickly before stroking himself swiftly. Hot ribbons of cum paint your chest and Taehyung looks down proudly. 

Only for a second before he’s helping you off of Jimin. You close your eyes lying back on the bed exhausted. For a moment you think you could peacefully drift off to sleep, until a tongue drags across your breasts. You open your eyes to see Jimin lapping at the cum on your chest. 

Taehyung stands at the end of the bed with paper towels watching curiously. He snaps out of his trance and slaps Jimin’s ass effectively shooing him away so you can clean yourself. When you settle back onto the bed Jimin covers you with a blanket and the two men snuggle in beside you.

[untaemedqueen]

At Your Service

Escort!Jeongguk x CEO!Reader

Genre: Strangers to Lovers!AU, Angst, Fluff, Smut

Series Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Cold Heartedness, Emotional Trauma, Healing, Smut, Dark Humor, Unexpected Pregnancy, Almost Instalove, Instalust

Warnings For This Chapter: Fake Date

Chapter 3.

Over the course of the evening Jeongguk realized just how misunderstood and hurt you must be inside. Even though you do an incredible job at shielding this away from the outside world.

He can already tell your fake smile apart from your genuine ones, the way your eyes crinkle when you're actually smiling is the tell.

It's his job to pick up on these things, he's great with social cues and it helps him understand his clients a hell of a lot more -- but with you there's something so intriguing that he can't help but want to understand you more.

The salmon dinner you had delivered was brought by a man in a tuxedo with white gloves that waited on the both of you hand and foot. And while Guk thought he would find this incredibly troublesome and uncomfortable, he didn't.

The waiter, Pierre, felt like a regular in this large mansion, he knew where all of the plates and glassware were and he was silent as a mouse while he did it all but you didn't treat him like the help.

You asked Pierre if he needed anything, even going so far as to stop your conversations mid-sentence to ask him. You genuinely care even if you hide that away from the world as well.

So now as dessert rolls around it just feels like the escort is hanging around with a friend of his and the picturesque gardens and the gigantic mansion fade into the background until it feels like it almost never existed.

He can only see you.

"We should go on a follow up research date," Jeongguk announces, grabbing a small millionaire shortbread cookie off the silver tray in the middle of the table.

You notch an eyebrow, giving your full attention as you swirl your dessert wine in your glass.

This man feels nothing like an escort in your eyes. When you first saw him, his image practically screamed at you to fall to your knees and listen to every little instruction he gives you but in actuality Jeongguk is the opposite.

He listens, he pays undivided attention to you and his body moves naturally like all he wants to do is soak up time in your presence.

As someone who has now spent years just observing people instead of getting involved and interacting with them, you've learned a lot about this man in such a short amount of time.

He doesn't care about money, not really anyway. When he first stepped foot into the sterile mansion, he was dumbfounded but then as time went on it didn't seem to faze him at all.

Guk cares about the person in front of him, he listens avidly to everything that they say like they're the only person in the universe that exists.

You haven't felt this comfortable in a long time, not that you've laughed and carried on long-winded conversations so far but you still feel relaxed in his presence.

"Research date?" you muse, lifting your glass to your lips.

He nods then, the subtle glow of the moon highlighting his silver eyebrow piercing. "Yeah. I know some things about you now but it's good to see clients in a social setting as well."

The thought of being around a lot of people makes your skin itch and you involuntarily scratch at the back of your neck awkwardly.

Guk sets down his wine, observing you in a matter of seconds.

He should suggest something that wouldn't make you anxious so he offers the only thing he knows you like. "We can go to the zoo."

You haven't been to the zoo in years. The memory of your father flits around your mind immediately and that's enough for you to nod. "Can I buy it out for the day?"

Guk gives you an incredulous smirk, folding his arms. The way his biceps ripple beneath his work shirt makes you distracted for a moment before he's pulling your attention back to his face. "You buying out a zoo is not going to make it a social setting."

"Can I buy the exclusive VIP tour then?" you inquire.

"Will that make you feel more comfortable?" he replies, picking up his glass of wine.

"Yes," you answer honestly.

"Then yes, let's be VIPs for the day."

Your smile then is genuine, crinkling the corners of your eyes sweetly. You smile at how considerate he is, you smile at the fact that you have someone to go somewhere with, and you smile because you're comfortable.

And Jeongguk's promise to his best friends that he wouldn't look at a client the same way as he looked at Chloe slowly feels like it's breaking already.

What you do know to be true about Jeongguk so far is that he is gentlemanly, polite and understanding.

But you still have this underlying sense of distrust that your therapist has told you equates to just how vile Jasper was to you when he cheated. It created this huge turmoil deep inside of you almost like mildew on walls -- it grows and grows until it's taken care of.

You've never truly taken care of it. You just push it to the back of your brain and lock it away hoping that it'll somehow disappear for good.

The opera has always done a great job with drowning out the hopeless thoughts you have but when Jeongguk left that night after dessert, you didn't play any music.

You let the night sink in and you experienced something in its entirety for the first time in years.

As you laid in bed, you let thoughts of the escort consume you. You told him things that night, simple things but it's more than Namjoon probably even knows.

Jeongguk knows your favorite color, your happiest memory, your need for revenge against the two happy life ruiners, he knows how your booming business is just a distraction so that your brain can't process anything from years ago.

And yet, you know very little about Guk.

You could see how it turned out to be that way as the night ticked on in your gigantic, expensive bed.

But it made you curious about the escort. It made you want the same exact answers from him.

So now as you sit outside At Your Service with your Gucci sunglasses on and your long black leather gloves that reach your elbows, you vow to yourself to get those answers.

You're excited for the zoo, if you're being honest with yourself. While it is incredibly early to even be outside, you like knowing you'll have hours to see every animal within the large conservation park.

As for Jeongguk, he can't even step out of his office to meet you at your car because he's being bombarded with questions by his two best friends.

"Can you both move?" he scoffs, sliding on his leather jacket.

Jimin and Taehyung slide closer to one another, folding their arms in tandem with wicked smiles.

"Answer the questions, Guk," Jimin orders, shutting the office door with the heel of his foot.

The sound of the glass door rattling the glass walls around them practically makes the younger escorts teeth rattle.

He doesn't want to even deal with this right now but if he doesn't then he's never going to be able to leave. And he would rather not disappoint you, you've had enough disappointment in your life so far, or so he thinks.

"Holy shit," he breathes, rolling his eyes, "I'm going to the fucking zoo-"

"Going on a date to the zoo," Taehyung interrupts.

"I'm going on a research date to the zoo with my client Y/N so I can see how she interacts in a social setting. I want to make sure that when I take her to the wedding she'll be able to be comfortable-"

"May I just fucking interject that the last time Jeongguk had a client, he didn't give a shit if she was on her hands and knees vomitting into a toilet from food poisoning but now his new client gets two meetings before this wedding that's three whole months away," Taehyung heaves.

"Good point," Jimin chirps, high-fiving the man beside him.

"Oh my God," Guk mumbles, combing his hands through his hair. "You're both so immature."

"Listen, if you're gonna fuck then fuck. But as your life partners and best friends, we just wanna know what's going on," the oldest breathes.

"I'm not fucking her! I'm going to the zoo! Jesus Christ!" your date scoffs, pushing his friends out of the way.

"You're gonna break your promise," Tae sings, steadying himself against the leather couch.

Guk stops in his tracks, thinking back to the dinner date you had not even four days ago before clearing his throat.

He did feel himself losing all semblance of that promise that evening.

"She is my client," he exasperates.

"So was Chloe," Jimin states.

With the roll of his eyes once more, he steps out into the carpeted hallway. "They're different."

It didn't take him long to get to the front door of the agency. The escort thinks to himself how he's going to apologize and make sure you understand that he was held up against his will but the thought flies right out of his head when he sees you.

Your McLaren sits perfectly shiny under the early morning sun and it's so striking that it makes the escort blink. You're not in the driver's seat, nor on top of the hood daintily waiting like Chloe used to.

Instead you're handing a man in tattered looking clothes some money and trying to be as secretive as possible about it, not for yourself of course but to make the man not feel like a burden upon society.

Jeongguk looks on with fascination, simply floored with how thoughtful you are.

You give the homeless man a smile -- a genuine one.

"My God," the escort chirps.

When you turn around to head back to your car, he catches your ensemble. You're decked out in black from head to toe looking as if you're going to someone's funeral. But it would be a fashionable funeral no doubt.

You wear the Gucci and the Balenciaga almost as if you're astonished you even have it and Jeongguk loves that about you.

It's one of the many things he can remember about your meeting vividly.

Your head bow to him is what makes him break out of his short lived reverie.

"Good morning," he announces, walking down the steps of the business.

"It is a good morning," you decide, opening up your door.

Guk decides not to comment on your car, he doesn't think you'd like being complimented on how much money you have. It seems obvious after dinner the other day.

You reach to turn off the opera music but Guk's hand wraps around yours before you can get there.

"I like The Magic Flute," he breathes, giving you a smile.

You want to assume he did his research to seem more knowledgeable on the subject and that he doesn't actually like it but you'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

The car ride is silent for a while but you're alright with it, the air isn't taut with uncomfortableness nor anxiousness and you like that.

You wonder when it's the right time to ask him things. You haven't spoken to anyone but Namjoon in ages and he initiates conversation first.

So you bite the bullet.

And apparently so does he.

"Whats yo-"

"How have-"

Guk chuckles deeply, the sound like harpsichords and the chilly morning breeze.

"I'm sorry, you go first," he offers politely, tilting his head to look at you.

"Oh, no, you first," you breathe.

He notices how you grip the steering wheel tighter and he concedes quickly to spare you the pain of awkwardness.

"How was the past few days? Miss me?" he jeers, lowering his window.

He doesn't miss the gentile smirk you give through the side mirror and his heart wants to melt to fucking goo inside of himself.

Not a good sign.

"I'm a businesswoman, I remain professional at all times," you reply.

Was that banter? Are you joking around with him?

He wants more.

"Nah. I think you missed me," he quips, putting on his sunglasses.

You pick up your coffee and take a sip, getting ready for the long drive to the zoo.

"What's your favorite color?" you inquire softly.

Guk puts his hands behind his head and you do the both of you the favor of opening up the roof to a convertible.

"My favorite color is sage green."

"That's specific," you reply.

Guk chuckles, shrugging his shoulders and running his fingers through his hair. "I've always been a specific type of person."

"I got you coffee earlier… What's your favorite memory?"

The escort looks down at the cup holder and there's a warmth that spreads through him knowing you were thoughtful.

"Favorite memory? Holy shit… I haven't thought about that in a while. Lemme think," Jeongguk breathes, picking up his coffee.

The car is silent for a few moments and you can practically see the cogs turning in his head out of the corner of your eye.

Finally he clears his throat awkwardly and you slow the car down to hear him above the engine.

"My happiest moment is probably when I got accepted into Stanford."

"You went to Stanford University?! What did you study?!" you inquire.

You didn't expect this, not because he's an escort but because you went as well.

"Theoretical physics."

Your eyes widen and you turn your head to him for merely a moment to show him your shock.

To be accepted into Stanford for such a deep thinking major is phenomenal, he must be one of the brightest minds of the century.

It intrigues you. It pulls you in.

"I went to Stanford too," you add with a small smile.

"You graduated," he breathes, lifting his coffee cup to his lips.

You can hear the pain in his voice, you can hear the disappointment and it reels you back in.

"Wh-What happened?"

Guk shrugs his shoulders stiffly, staring ahead at the asphalt road that disappears beneath the car. "It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you one day."

You might like that.

<---- Last Chapter                                                   Next Chapter ---->

[star-my]

Vixen ~ Three (Final)

➼ Pairing: Jimin x OC (Shin Ara)

➼ Length: 6k

➼ Rating: pg-15

➼ Content: Arranged Marriage AU, CEO AU, Mafia AU | TW: Vague Threats of Violence; Kidnapping; Non-Graphic Violence (Fight Scene); Minor Discussion of Human Trafficking (not by BTS/SKZ members)| Ara and JK are so sibling-coded; Jimin ships Vixen and JK

➼ Thanks to @moonleeai for betaing! I had this posted at noon and closed tumblr but when I came back now somehow it disappeared into the cloud?? I'm so annoyed ;-;

➼ Taglist: @bangtan-famiglia-net@kookthief@otome-wandering@sarcasticbambi

➼ Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and in no way represents any member of BTS, SKZ, or any other K-pop group mentioned in any way beyond the face and name claims the author made for this work.

➼ Chapter 1 (13/10/23) ➼ Chapter 2 (14/10/23) ➼ Ao3 ➼ Masterlist

ARA, AGE 25, (PRESENT DAY)

A hand flopped around on the wooden table, finally locating the device making that infernal racket far too early in the morning.

“It’s too early for this,” Ara groaned, sliding the call button on her phone. “Yeoboseyo?”

“Princess? It’s Jimin. Sorry if I woke you…” Ara heard a sharp inhale as her husband realised the time. Still, he pressed on. “Um…you know how Park Wonshik adopted me after I was kidnapped?”

“Ye-ah,” she replied slowly, trying to figure out what was going on. Why was he sounding so awake after helping her break up the trafficking ring early this morning? He probably hadn’t slept yet, she realized. Hence, his too-early call.

“So, the police broke up this ring last night and saved a bunch of kids. They called me and asked if I’d mind talking to them, tell them that things are gonna be okay, y’know?”

Ara made some sort of agreeing noise, heading to the bathroom to gargle some mouthwash and maybe comb her hair and hope that putting her hair in order would simultaneously put her brain cells in order.

“So…one of my dad’s old friends was there and suggested maybe…we could foster one or two of the kids who are in need of a home until they get all the paperwork sorted out. A couple of the kids agreed to testify, so they’ll also need to stay close until the trials are over. What do you think? We have really good security, so they won’t need to worry about a repeat kidnapping, and I know we’ve got space and love. You mentioned wanting to help trafficking victims when I was telling you about my childhood…but…”

The longer her silence stretched out, the more Jimin rambled. He was so cute.

“Yeah, that sounds like a great, practical way to help,” Ara agreed after spitting her mouthwash out. “Just let me know how many you kids you drag back so I know how many rooms to get ready.”

“Thank you, jagiya.” Muffled conversation crackled through the line as Jimin paused to speak with an officer. “Sorry, I have to go. I’ll call later, alright?”

“Okay. Love you!”

“Love you!”

Ara put her phone down on the counter and stared at her reflection in the mirror. 

~~~

At 2:33 PM, Jimin arrived home with an eleven-year-old girl in tow. The police officer and Child & Family Services officer quickly checked the premises and living situation, then left, leaving Jimin, Ara, and the girl.

Ara smiled, crouching down to her height. “Hi, I’m Shin Ara. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello, Mrs. Shin. My name is Kim Nabi,” Nabi bowed politely. “It is nice to meet you as well. Thank you for letting me live with you.”

Her shiny hair teased the tops of her shoulders as she moved. 

“I’ll show you to your room, then,” said Ara, motioning at the stairs. “I know you saw it already during the tour, but you can get settled now. My room is right across the hall, so my bodyguard will be close by if you feel unsafe. Have you met Jungkook yet?”

Nabi shook her head, then gave a small smile full of delight as she really took in her room.

Ara and Jimin’s gazes met as they exchanged smiles at her satisfaction.

The walls were a pale periwinkle reflected in the pale blue duvet, the trim white to contrast the wood furniture.

“I hope you like it,” joked Ara. “There are a couple of outfits in the closet, but I thought maybe you’d like to go shopping for some things your own style while you’re here. Jungkook and I will take you whenever you’re ready.”

Ara pulled the stuffed rabbit from the top shelf of the closet and held it out to Nabi. “I thought you might like a friend to talk to while you decide if you want to talk to me or someone else about what happened. I’ve told quite a few secrets to Cookie here, and he’s kept them all remarkably well. He also gives a pretty nice hug,” she smiled conspiratorially.

“Thank you very much, Mrs Shin, Mr Park,” Nabi bowed again.

“You’re welcome, Nabi. I know things have been tough, but you’re a very brave girl,” said Jimin. “We want you to feel safe and at home here. I remember how I felt after I was brought here by my adoptive father. If you want to scream, cry, maybe hit a couple of things, go for a run– whatever you’re feeling, we’re here for you.”

“Thank you,” Nabi said again.

Jimin kissed Ara’s cheek goodbye and left to finish his assistance at the police station.

Ara looked at Nabi, laid a soft hand on her shoulder, and said, “I think you’d like to be alone right now to settle in, but if you want company, my room is across the hall, and the door’s open. If you need anything, just walk in or give me a shout, ‘kay?”

Nabi nodded, and Ara crossed the hall to call Jungkook and explain the situation.

~~~

Ara softly knocked on Nabi’s door for the third time. When there was still no response, she twisted the knob and peered in.

Nabi was sound asleep in her bed, hugging Cookie tightly to her chest.

“Nabi, it’s ten to seven. Jimin-ssi will be home any minute, and supper will be ready. I’m sure you’re pretty hungry by now. Jungkook wants to meet you, too, so can you wake up and get up by seven?” As Ara talked soothingly, Nabi stirred and gradually opened her eyes. Ara opened the door a little wider to let the hallway light shine in, as Nabi had drawn her blackout drapes.

“Hello, Ara-unnie. I’m up now.” Nabi yawned and stretched, then slid off the bed.

“Did you have a good nap? I hope you’ll sleep tonight!” Ara stepped just outside the doorway so she wouldn’t stifle Nabi, who yawned again.

“Yes, I slept well, thank you.”

The two headed to the top of the stairs, where Jungkook awaited. 

“Nabi, this is my bodyguard and best friend, Jeon Jungkook. Jungkook, this young lady is Kim Nabi.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Nabi,” Jungkook’s bunny smile shone through as he grinned at the girl.

“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you as well, Jungkook-oppa.”

Jungkook grinned even wider at Ara. “I’m her oppa already!”

Ara punched his shoulder gently. “Don’t let it go to your head; I told her she could call us that.”

The foyer door opened, signalling Jimin’s return home. He headed to the powder room to wash up, then joined the little group in the living room, brushing a kiss to Ara’s cheek on his way in.

Jungkook pretended to gag, wincing as Ara pinched his arm.

Nabi was quiet during dinner, her gaze bouncing between the three adults talking and laughing around her but not volunteering much. They drew her in when they could, but weren’t surprised that she didn’t immediately become a chatterbox. She’d been through a lot and was probably still deciding how much she could trust them. 

Ara did manage to get her to commit to going clothes shopping the next day, but that was it.

A large yawn cracked Nabi’s face as Jimin asked Jungkook to see him in his office after supper, so Ara said goodnight to the men and followed Nabi upstairs, just in case she forgot where something was or needed help.

Two nights later, Jimin was back at Vixen’s HQ, meeting with the woman herself. He’d showed up unexpectedly, interrupting her spar with Hyunjin, so she wasn’t in full Vixen gear like all the previous times he’d met her.

She’d donned the mask, but her hair was free, a neat brown-black braid falling down her back, a few wisps curled to her sweaty face and neck. 

“If you tell anyone you’ve seen more of me than my lieutenants, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to break our agreement,” she waved a finger at him.

“I won’t,” promised Jimin. More of her meant arms and feet, since she was only in a black tank top and workout leggings, her jacket having been tossed aside as she heated up.

Jimin noted interestedly that the gold eyes and red mouth was an indispensable part of Vixen’s persona, as they were still visible.

(As two of her most notable character marks, Ara made sure the lipstick and contacts were first in and last out when she switched between Ara and Vixen. He’d just proved her point—though he didn’t know it—that you should always be prepared for the unexpected; you never know when someone would drop in, either ally or foe.)

“So, you took care of the three men?” she asked.

Jimin nodded. “JK and I made sure they won’t be trafficking in the future…or committing any other crimes.”

She nodded approvingly. “Good.”

The tones of Vixen’s cell phone rang and she bent over, fishing the phone out of her pocket. Answering it, she turned around but didn’t move away; Jimin eavesdropped as best he could. “Vixen.”

There was a pause as her contact spoke.

“What? Stall him! Flag him down and tell him I have a visitor! Engage blade if necessary.” With an aggravated sigh, Vixen ended the call and pinched her nose, muttering something about stupid training, then turned with a smile that was clearly false.

“I’m going to need a minute, would you mind waiting in another room?”

Jimin complied, following her to a small room that reminded him of a cabin. She pointed to the twin bed and shut the door behind her. Jimin didn’t feel like a captive since there was a window large enough for him to crawl through, and there didn’t appear to be any bars or lasers to stop him from doing so if he wished. But he didn’t wish to; he was here for a reason, afterall.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway as someone came jogging up to Vixen. The tread was heavy, likely male, and the visitor greeted her in a male’s voice.

“Hey Vix, I found out where he keeps the goods- why are you frown- ouch! VIX-mmph!”

That male voice sounded awfully familiar. Jimin frowned.

“Shh! I’m gagging you because he’s. next. door!” hissed Vixen harshly. “If you’d checked outside before you snuck in, you'd have seen his car!”

Jimin strained his ears as the whispers softened and moved down the hallway. However, he’d managed to drop a bug on Vixen’s back as he followed her, so he pulled out his receiver and shamelessly eavesdropped.

“I came over the roofs tonight so I didn’t see. I’m sorry, VIx, that was careless; I should’ve known better. I’ll check 360 degrees next time, yakseokhae.”

That was definitely JK.

“Good. Yeesh, oppa, you almost gave everything away! I had Han ready to rush you with his knife to slow you down!”

Oppa?! Why was Vixen so close to JK?

“Sorry, Vixen. But I found out where he keeps the goods, and I’m getting mine tomorrow, so I need to make sure the others won’t be visible when it’s done.”

…the blacklight tattoos each member got when they were inducted into Bangtan? He’d thought JK was a reliable asset to Bangtan, so he’d invited him to get it. JK was obviously Vixen’s spy in Bangtan, but why?…most of JK’s time was spent on his bodyguarding duties with Ara.

Unless…Vixen was going to take out Ara to hit Bangtan and Grey? But both of them were allied with her, that didn’t make sense. And he knew JK would never hurt or let anyone or anything hurt Ara.

Clearly, more investigation was required.

“When are you going to tell him, anyways, Vix? Hasn’t it been long enough for you to trust him?”

Vixen sighed. “It’s a big secret–half my life. It takes time to open up.”

“I understand. I’ll be there when you’re ready. I’ll leave now…”

Jimin heard JK discover the bug when he hugged Vixen goodbye. 

There was a pause, crackling as the bug was moved, then a dramatic inhale.

“Vix, what’s this?”

“That’s not one of ours…that’s Jimin’s. I thought I felt his fingers on my back, but I didn’t have time to check.” Vixen cursed, and then all that Jimin heard was static as JK crushed the bug under his boot.

The door swung open, JK standing protectively beside Vixen, who crossed her arms and stared at Jimin.

“Fine. You discovered it. Jungkook is my spy in Bangtan. He helped me start Stray Kids, and he’s an honorary member, since he’s technically affiliated with Gray. I’m not plotting anything against you. Happy?” “Why do you care about Bangtan’s tattoos?” Jimin stared back at her.

“Because Stray Kids have blacklight tattoos too, and I didn’t want to out JK’s and my relationship because you picked a spot close to his previous tattoo to add yours. It’s moot now, I guess.”

“Relationship?” He glanced between the two.

“We’re just friends,” they said in unison, then looked at each other. “What he/she said.”

Jimin sighed. Sure. Just friends. Whatever you say.

“Okay, prove it. Do you have a blacklight around?”

Hyunjin entered with the light and JK unbuttoned his shirt, slipping it off one shoulder. The Stray Kids symbol glowed blue at the joining of his neck and shoulder. Along his left arm were eight small bands of moon phases, as well.

Vixen held the blacklight to her shoulder, and the vivid blue symbol appeared on the front of her left shoulder, slightly larger and thicker than JK’s. “Happy?”

“Alright, I believe you.” Jimin took the light from her and waved it over his left collarbone, showing Bangtan’s symbol in glowing purple-blue. “You can choose where you put it, but somewhere that allows for easy access is a good choice for easy ID,” he told JK before turning to Vixen. “Bangtan’s tattoos are secret for a reason.”

She nodded companionably. “Same with Stray Kids, hence, blacklight. JK and I won’t say anything.”

JK nodded as Jimin looked at him. “ I won’t say a word, boss.”

“You’re affiliated with three families, JK. Which one are you most loyal to?”

JK swallowed, his big eyes a bit rounder than normal at Jimin’s subtly threatening tone. 

“Yeah, JK, tell me who you’re loyal to,” Vixen buffed her nails against her shirt as she leaned against the doorway, the very picture of nonchalance.

“...I am equally loyal to them. My primary loyalty is to your wife.”

After several tense seconds, Jimin smiled approvingly and patted his shoulder. “Good.”

Vixen nodded at him for his diplomatic answer, then left to continue her spar with Hyunjin.

Jimin and Jungkook rejoined, watching the spar just as VIxen put Hyunjin in an armlock. He tapped out and Jungkook danced into the ring. “Still mad at me for my slip up, Vix?”

“No, we’re good. Foxtrot spar?” She added one of her many code words with him, requesting the use of martial arts plus blades.

Jungkook nodded, and the spar began.

Jimin leaned forward, closely following the pair’s movements. Their sheer grace and long practice of martial arts gave them the facade of a deadly dance, clearly used to practicing together.

Silver flashes gleamed as their knives slashed and parried, tucked away the next second for strikes and kicks.

Finally, JK saw an opening as Vixen slowed from fatigue, her previous spar with Hyunjin lowering her endurance. Caught in a chokehold, Vixen tapped out.

Bowing, the pair ended the spar. Jimin clapped, impressed. “You both fight very well.”

“Thank you,” they said in unison, leaning down to grab a water bottle, opening it, and chugging at the same time.

Jimin rolled his eyes. Totally “just friends”.

Two weeks later, two days before the beginning of the trials, Ara took Nabi to the mall to take her mind off the upcoming event. Nabi now had a varied wardrobe, but Ara was looking for formal dresses for them for a future party..

Nabi had settled in surprisingly quickly, becoming more talkative and outgoing as the days passed, though she was still a quiet child.

She had only been on the street a week since her mom died when she was kidnapped. No one knew who or where her dad was.

Ara had contacted a counsellor for Nabi to see when she was ready to talk about it, and she and Jimin had agreed they’d love to foster with intent to adopt. When Nabi was ready, they’d talk about it. So far, she seemed to love the house, and she often followed Jungkook around like a duckling when he wasn’t with Ara.

Jungkook casually browsed through the men’s section of the formalwear store while he kept an eye on other customers. Ara took Nabi to the womens’ changerooms to try on a couple dresses each. Stepping into the room beside Nabi’s, she froze at the reflection of the man in the mirror with the gun painted at her.

“Follow me quietly and you and the kid won’t get hurt,” he growled.

Tentatively, Ara turned around, hoping Nabi would stay in her changeroom.

Alas, that was not to be, as Nabi stepped out. “Unnie, my zipp-” she stared at the man and Ara calmly, though her eyes were wide with shock. Slowly, she crept behind Ara, keeping an eye on the man.

“Come quietly and you’ll both be fine,” threatened the man. They headed out the back way to the van idling by the door. 

Getting in, Ara felt the dull throb of a needle prick as everything faded to black.

~~~

Jungkook headed to the fitting rooms anxiously. Twelve minutes had passed with no sign of either Nabi or Ara. Normally, Ara asked for his opinion on formal fits; while he supposed she may have decided to ask Jimin’s opinion instead, he was still a little worried.

As soon as he saw the silver and jade hairpin Ara had worn that day on the ground, the needle pointing to the back exit, he knew something was up. Pulling out his phone, he began making calls.

~~~

Slowly blinking her heavy lids, Ara tried to focus her thoughts and make sense of everything. As she gradually became more clear-headed, her memories returned.

Pretending to still be unconscious, she strained her senses to check her surroundings.

So far, she could tell that she was likely in a warehouse (how original) in the industrial area by the Han River, with the smell of water and the faint industrial noises surrounding her.

Nabi was in the chair behind her, back-to-back, either still out or merely pretending, like herself.

Ara couldn’t sense any hostile presence around–evidently, they were still supposed to be under the drug’s influence for a while longer.

Carefully, she pressed her watch button in and twisted it, sending an emergency GPS ping to both Chan and Jin.

Clearly, the kidnappers didn’t expect much of a chaebol heiress; since she was untouched, her eight knives, two GPSs, and five impromptu weapons were still on her. Well, at least they were respectful. This meant she was likely not going to be harmed, at least at first, and they didn’t know she was Vixen. 

She could work with that.

“Nabi-ah, are you awake?” If she was, Ara would have to wait for her prince(s) in shining armour (unless the kidnappers tried something before then), but if Nabi was still out, Ara could fight her way out and then claim a rescue…

She felt Nabi’s hands brush hers, then– “I know you’re Vixen. Can you get us out of here before oppa comes?”

 How- how did this child– Jimin still didn’t know!

“I’ll try.” She wiggled a knife free and passed it through their bonds to Nabi. “Go for blood if you’re in trouble. Now is not the time for guilt or gentleness. Use your teeth and elbows if you have to. Aim for fleshy parts like eyes, groin, or disabling their arms and hands.”

“Got it,” Nabi whispered back. “You’re so cool, unnie.”

Ara smiled inwardly, then began tugging the knot of the rope around her hands loose.

Once she had undone the ropes, she slyly slid one of her knives from her thigh free, using it to cut Nabi loose. “Sit tight unless you’re attacked, okay? On three, I’m going to get our captors’ attention. I already sent a distress signal, so Jimin and Jungkook will be here soon,” she added to reassure her foster daughter.

On three, she ripped the blindfold off and stood up, sliding the knives tucked into her heels out and kicking them off, choosing to fight barefoot.

A quick slash up the side seam of her skirt, and she was ready to fight.

The kidnappers had noticed that she was awake, and five men dressed in black ran into the room. 

Good, no guns, yet. The illegal weapons left traces very difficult to clean up and explain away.

Silently she charged the row of three, using the first’s momentum to tumble the second and third like dominoes.

While they were still reeling, Ara began slicing at the fourth and fifth, incapacitating them by aiming for their thighs and shoulders.

One, Two, and Three regained their balance, and Ara hurled one of her blades into Two’s shoulder as she danced around Three, hitting pressure points to take him out.

On her way to One, she yanked the knife out of Two’s shoulder, jabbing it at his waist and thigh.

One appeared to be better trained than the others as he aimed for a pressure point on Ara’s neck. Unluckily for him, she grabbed his wrist, forced him to his knees, and kicked him in the groin.

Spinning back to Two, she hit his neck to temporarily paralyse him, watching him slump before repeating the motion on One.

Sighing, she brushed her hair out of her face, wishing she hadn’t dropped her hairpin at the store as a clue for Jungkook. He’d have found her soon enough through the CCTVs, and she could see better without her hair flying around if she’d kept it.

A second batch of five emerged from the hallway she assumed led to the boss’s control room, but this time the group was armed and better prepared.

Ara supposed the first group were the disposable, bottom-tier underlings who underestimated her.

Dropping into a crouch, she grinned ferally. Worked every time.

Two and Three charged her at the same time, so she simply crouched there, then uncoiled at the last second. Using Two’s knee as a springboard, she wrapped her legs around Three’s neck, sending Two sprawling and choking Three out.

On her way to meet One, Four, and Five, she gifted Two a knife to the thigh, dangerously close to the femoral artery. Oops.

Just before she hit One and Four, she dropped to her knees and slid by, taking their legs out. Rather badass a move of her, if she thought so herself.

Five grabbed her by the hair–rude, but smart— thankfully, it was long enough she could twist to face him and swipe at his knees, then grab his wrist and twist him around.

He released her hair, and she swiftly knocked him out, then headed back to the still-conscious Two, Four, and One.

A quick insurance stab to their dominant arms, and all ten opponents were incapacitated, if not unconscious.

Ara spun to the door, dropping into a defensive stance and re-gripping her blades tightly, only to relax in relief when IN and Felix showed up. 

“Oh, good, you’re the first ones here. Nabi knows– I’ll figure out how later– but as of right now, Jimin doesn’t know, so you two took out those assailants, okay? I watched you rescue me when I woke up halfway through the fight,” Ara quickly aligned their cover stories.

Clearly, she should tell Jimin about her…nightly business ventures, but now would not be the time.

“Yes, ma’am,” Vixen’s bodyguards saluted, then began dragging the kidnappers into a row and tying them up.

Ara reclaimed her knife from Nabi and sat back in her chair, holding hands with the girl.

“Jimin-ssi should be here very soon and we can go home, okay? You were so brave; I’m proud of you. It’s okay now, so I understand if you’re a little scared or overwhelmed. Do you want to talk about it?”

Nabi shook her head. “I wasn’t scared; I knew you’d keep us safe, and Jimin-oppa and Jungkook-oppa would come for us.”

‘’How did you know I’m Vixen, Nabi-ah? And I gather you figured Jimin and Jungkook out too.”

Nabi grinned, turning in her chair to face Ara. “Jimin-oppa doesn’t wear a mask. I recognized him from the night when you all rescued us. That pink hair is kind of distinctive. I thought Jungkook-oppa worked for Vixen, but then I saw him with Jimin at the police station. I didn’t know till you woke me up for supper the first night; the way you talked to me and approached me was just like Vixen. And then I saw you with Jungkook-oppa and you were close to him like Vixen was.”

“Is that why you were watching us all so closely?” Ara had a revelation. “I just thought you didn’t trust us yet.”

Nabi nodded proudly. “I was trying to figure out who knew what about who.”

Ara smiled at Nabi and smoothed her hair down. “You are a very clever girl– you’re the first person to figure out that Shin Ara and Vixen are the same person. Everyone else who knows, I told. Have you figured out what everybody knows by now?”

“I think so…you and Jungkook-oppa know each other and Jimin-ssi, and he knows Jungkook-oppa but not you?”

Ara nodded, “Good job, Nabi-ah. Jimin’s family and mine are allies, and Jungkook works for both of them, Gray and Bangtan. He also works for my –Vixen’s– family, Stray Kids. Jimin-ssi and my appa both do not know about me being Vixen, but I think I should tell them now, don’t you?”

Nabi nodded. “Secrets should be kept few and far between.”

“Wise wor-”

Their talk was interrupted by a group of armed men bursting in, guns in hand.

Ara and Nabi blinked back at Jimin’s wide gaze. “You’re safe!”

He holstered his gun and anxiously looked them over. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked, pulling Ara into a hug, then Nabi. “What happened?”

“We’re fine, Jimin. Nabi is probably a bit more anxious than she lets on, but we’re fine,” Ara ran her hand down his chest soothingly, feeling the rapid thumping of his heartbeat.

Jimin pulled back to examine Ara's face. “Why is there blood on you?”

“Oh, it's not mine, it’s…theirs…” Ara waved at the neat row of captives guarded by Felix and IN. “They took those guys out and rescued Nabi and me. Jungkook called them, saying we were in trouble.”

Ara had to have some last fun as Vixen, before she unmasked. Unable to resist, she asked in a loud whisper, “Why are there so many of you and why did you have a gun?!”

Jungkook coughed loudly to cover his laughter at Ara’s acting. Felix and IN exchanged grins, turning their backs to ‘guard the prisoners’.

The rest of Jimin’s squad of six looked awkwardly around, invested in the drama and wondering how their boss was going to get out of this jam.

Panic flashed through Jimin’s eyes. “Uh…why don’t we get you home and have a doctor look at you, jagiya. You must have been so scared, Nabi-ah. Let’s go home, hm? I think Mrs Lee was stress-baking up a storm.”

Jungkook slipped out to start the car and told Jimin quietly, but loud enough for Ara to get the message, “I called Dr. Hyunjin– he’ll understand. I have Lady’s men ready to help; I called her guys after you and Jin-hyung.”

“Thanks, JK.” Jimin escorted his girls to the car, leaving Jungkook to drive home while he fussed over them in the backseat.

Ara waited till Nabi showered and Hyunjin okayed her to do anything, much to her husband’s chagrin.

Nabi went straight to bed, and Hyunjin told Ara and Jimin that she was healthy, with no side effects from the drug used to knock them out, and was only stressed, though less so than he’d expected.

Ara was touched by Nabi’s faith in her and her guys. 

Hyunjin said good night and all the attention was on Ara. She willingly took a shower, conceding to that after adamantly refusing Hyunjin’s checkup.

Finally, so Jimin would stop worrying, she agreed to give him five minutes to reassure himself that she was indeed feeling 100%.

Ara perched on the counter in her ensuite, her towel wrapped around her neatly and another on her head to keep her hair from dripping in her face.

Cupping Jimin’s face in her hands, she looked him in the eyes.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, yeobo.”

“It’s not your fault, jagi,” Jimin protested immediately.

“Not the kidnapping, no, but the worrying, yes. There’s something I need to tell you. Please don’t freak out, okay?”

Jimin nodded warily, his eyes full of questions.

Ara grimaced, then said. “I know you’re Park Jimin, Head of the Bangtan mafia.”

His face jerked out of her hands. “What? No, I’m not– where did you–”

“Sh, I know, Jimin.” She cupped his face again. “I know Appa is Shin Jungok, head of the Gray mafia. I know my oppas work for you and him as mafiosos. I know your friends aren’t just your friends, they’re also mafia. I know my friend Minho is mafia. The reason I know all this is because…I’m mafia. I’m Lady Vixen.”

Jimin pulled his face away again to stare at her, his jaw slack and his eyes wide.

“I know I was never supposed to know who you all are, but I have since I was twelve. I started planning Vixen then; Kookie helped me. When I was seventeen and Kook was my full-time bodyguard and we could sneak around, I became Vixen.”

“I…don’t believe you.”

Ara hopped off the counter and exited the bathroom, heading for her closet. She changed into jeans and a blouse, then slid her shoes on. “Follow me if you dare.”

Jimin took her hand, confused and curious, as Ara led him to Jungkook’s bike in the garage.

They hopped on, Ara revved, and they sped off, Ara making evasive manoeuvres and pulling over randomly to ensure no one would follow them.

Ara casually strolled up to Vixen’s HQ, D9, and entered her fingerprint, eight-digit code, and eye scan after a moment’s pause.

She headed straight to the back, to Vixen’s room, waving briskly at the sparring members of her mafia gathered in the main room, and pressed on a panel in the wall.

The panel popped out and Ara reached in, removed a small package, and slipped her contacts and fangs in. A small tube of lipstick sat on a shelf, and Ara carefully applied a coat. The mask went on, the jacket was zipped up, and her boots laced up.

Dumbfounded, Jimin watched as his wife did a slow twirl in front of him, a smug smirk on her face. The entire transformation took five minutes.

“You’re really Vixen.”

“Yup.”

Hyunjin popped in with the blacklight again and Ara confirmed her SKZ tattoo on her shoulder. “Thanks, Jinnie. Can you ask the others to come see me in a minute, please?”

In the minute they were left alone, Ara sat behind her desk and kicked out a chair for Jimin to sink into. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you know sooner–for worrying you without reason. I was actually the one who knocked out the guys; Innie and Lix got there after. That’s why I was bloody.”

Hyunjin reentered with IN and Felix, handing Jimin a bundle.

He unwrapped it to discover six knives and two stilettos, which caused him to turn to Ara in confusion.

She smirked. “I never go out unarmed. I also have a GPS in each watch and a few of my larger jewellery pieces. I could also have utilized the belt on my skirt and my necklace as weapons, if I so wish. Unfortunately, I had to leave my hairpin behind, but I often wear my hair up in pins because they double as an excellent weapon in a pinch…especially if they’re modified. All this is to say, I’m sorry for worrying you earlier, and I can take care of myself, so please don’t worry if something like this happens again.”

Jimin stared at her, taking in this whole other side of his wife he’d overlooked before. “Wow, you really are a vixen.”

She tossed him a wink, a proper one, as Seungmin, Minho, Chan, Changbin, and Jisung entered. 

“Sup, Vix? Oh…”

“Yep, I told him. Thought he might like to know some of my most trusted men, so he can reassure himself about everything.”

Once her men gave a succinct explanation of their path to Stray Kids and left, the couple were left alone, silence blanketing Vixen’s office.

Jimin leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. “You’re really something, jagiya.”

The faint sound of people sparring elsewhere in the building filtered through the air while he collected his thoughts.

“I want to be angry that you hid all this from me, but I can’t really without being a hypocrite. Thank you for telling me now.”

Ara sighed in relief. “Thank you for accepting this part of me. Shall we agree to keep no more secrets?”

The two shook hands solemnly. “No more secrets.”

“Oh, by the way…Nabi figured you out the first night she stayed with us because you don’t wear a mask, and also because of your pink hair. She found me out because Vixen and Ara approached her the same way.”

Jimin sputtered and Ara giggled.

“We have a future menace to society and the underworld on our hands.”

Park Jimin and Shin Ara exited the courthouse, their bodyguards shielding them and their new daughter from the paparazzi.

Once the trial was over and the traffickers harshly sentenced, Nabi relaxed more and was able to enjoy life.

She’d readily agreed to Jimin and Ara’s proposal and was delighted to become a Park.

Secretly, she was dying to know which Family she’d join when she grew up, but wisely didn’t say anything about it.

Now, the papers were signed, sealed, and filed, and Kim Nabi was officially Park Nabi.

In honour of the occasion, Bangtan and Stray Kids had collaborated again to open Black Swan, a restaurant that would be Nabi’s future, if she so desired.

Bangtan and Gray had also collaborated to open Blue and Grey, the last bar in the Blue string owned by Jungok.

He’d been thoroughly shocked to find out his little girl had known for a long time about his secondary business, and how she had twisted his most trusted men around her little pinky (Jin and Namjoon had been glared at for weeks after Ara spilled the beans), but he was proud of her ambition and success, even though he wished she had stayed on the legal side of things.

~~~

Jimin crawled into bed beside Ara and flipped off the light, turning to pull her to him.

“How is everything going? You’ve been pretty busy lately,” she murmured, cuddling into his body heat.

“It’s calming down now, thankfully. The worst part is seeing you less.”

“Flatterer,” she said, but Jimin heard the smile in her voice. “I miss you too, when you’re busy like this.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, enjoying her angelic appearance as the moonlight fell across her face. They lay there, cuddling in silence for a while, until a thought struck Jimin. He’d been getting used to talking to Ara about his mafia issues, knowing that she’d understand him better now.

“Yoongi is looking for a wife.”

“Oh?” Sheets rustled as Ara pulled away a bit, turning to look at him.

“Yeah, for some reason he wants a wife who’s not in a gang. You know anyone?”

Ara made a noise of surprise. “Really? Hm…I might! You know how I’m allying with that gang, Seventeen, temporarily? I might find a way. I’ll look into it.”

TO BE CONTINUED…in Godmother: Tigress

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading my story! I hope you have a beautiful life<3

Some fun notes about the universe, if you're interested:

-> 22924514 = Vixen in Alpha-numeric code. It's Vixen's code for D9. D9 is a STAY easter egg.

-> Jimin and Jungkook were both part of the same trafficking/rescue situation. They weren’t together, though, and their memories are fuzzy and black out from that time. Eventually, they realise they have a connection and bond over it.

[burning-thistles-bt]

reasons i havent been writing number 1...

(spoiler: its an hour long again)

BUT!

good news! i know we've really just been teasing you and stringing you along here BUT! BUT BUT BUT!

ive started my ftf (face-to-face) college classes! WHICH MEANS! I AM GOING TO BE WRITING A LOT INSTEAD OF PAYING ATTENTION IN CLASS! (dw it's how i learn best/stave off the boredom)

now i think i'll write a chapter for my WGTKITD? fic (LMK fandom) first just because writing about the complex character relationships and family angst does something to my brain

BUT AFTER THAT! i will start getting myself back into the Burning Thistles GROOVE!

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP I often hear chatter for a yoonmin song which would indeed be fire but the song I’d kill to hear would be a jihope collab. Like an arson/more meets set me free pt.2 type collab. It would be unhealthy how many times I’d listen to it.

what’s an underrated/hasn’t happened yet duo you’d love to make a song together in bts?

***

After the Episode that dropped today where Jimin tells Yoongi at a tour stop that he’s finished his new album, I think we might be closer to having your dream be a reality if there’s a jihope collab on PJM2.

Credit: @/seokjinbit

*

Jimin plus Hobi on a track together, making something like Set Me Free Pt 2 + More combined, will certainly be more flammable and deadly than Huh?!…. and that’s saying something. I pray it happens in PJM2, but even if it doesn’t, because it’s BTS, there’s almost no doubt in my mind that jihope will make this sort of track eventually. It’s within their music scope and their egos need the outlet.

Other underrated pairings I’d love to see more music from are:

Taejoon: Joon loves himself a good bit of Soul and Tae seems to have made Swing and Jazz his go-to styles, so in my mind, the possibilities are endless.

Jinkook: I think their chemistry is underrated and I like how their voices sound together.

The Daegu boys: Yoongi and Tae used to have personalities that clashed quite a bit in their earlier days, but their chemistry has matured into an easy understanding of each other. I want to see that expressed in music they make together.

Minimoni: Joon helped Jimin make Promise, Jimin’s first published solo project. He’s helped Jimin on several solo songs since then, but I want more examples of their work together, because all their work so far, especially given what I know about the temperaments of Joon and Jimin, feels too safe. Imagine a song like Change Pt 2 and SMF Pt 2… Yeah, I need more angry music from Jimin + every member of the rapline. I know they’ve got the rage to pull it off.

Hopekook: Speaking of rage, I want a similar thing from Jungkook, but with Hobi. Somehow I feel this is the optimal combination to bring out a particular kind of energy from Jungkook, what that is exactly I don’t know how to say. But when I hear it, I’ll know.

Thanks for the fun ask!

[namchyoon]

day 324/547 until joon returns cr. jung-koook

[athousandbyeol]

you t(w)o [topbook/topmew fanfic]

top is never one to set things right and make decisions, but he learned from loving (and losing) book that he has to sacrifice one to gain one— and he needs to let a part of himself go to earn mew's love.

or an au where the B initial does belong to book kasidet.

chapter. 1

chapter. 2

chapter. 3

epilogue

"i just want you to know that. i don't want you to have ideas about my past relationship. it's over now. i can finally move on," force hears the air of triumph in book's voice, seemingly so at ease and finally putting the baggage of his yesterdays behind. it makes him smile. "i'm proud of you," force sincerely says. "my boyfriend is the coolest person ever! you're the best!"

[eclipsethemagic]

3.

Summary: One drunk night causes Jin to talk more to y/n, and he's not sure if he likes her or not.

Paring: Kim Seokjin x f!reader

Genre: Fluff, Smut, Drama, Humor

Warning: talking about sex but nothing really happening

☆Playlist ☆Masterlist. ☆ Prev. ☆Next

Seokjin had a hard time showing his feelings. When he was drunk it was a different story. When he stumbled into the the book store late at night poor y/n was shocked. She had just got out of the shower but was about to lock the door. Her wet damped hair was dripping her shirt and the hard wooden floor. Seokjin eyes blink for a couple of seconds then he groans sitting down on the brown couch next to the bookshelf.

Y/n didn't know what to do.. she could either leave him here and go up to bed or she could lock the front door and try to carry him upstairs. After a long thought, she chose the second opinion. Y/n carefully carries the heavier male upstairs to her house. Seokjin was out cold when he laid him on the couch.

She lets out a huff and walks into the kitchen. She grabs a cup and then a water bottle pours some of the water into the cup and walks to the bathroom to grab some medicine. She sets it on the coffee table and grabs a soft red blanket that is in another chair next to the couch. She carefully takes off the male black Nike's and his brown leather jacket. Y/n eyes widen when she sees his pale collarbone. Her brown eyes trail down to his chest and she lets out a little squeak. He was truly buff and he also had a long neck. His pinkish plumped lips and his softly black hair sticking on his forehead. She didn't know if she was being a creep or sexually harassing him. All she knew was that this stranger was handsome. She leaves her thoughts and puts the cover over his body. When she walks to the light switch she looks at Seokjin's body one last time then turns the lights off going into her room and turning the lights off.

The next day was all a blur for Seokjin, he woke up on someone else couch which was surprisingly soft for his back. Jin sits up and groans when he feels his head throbbing. Jin wasn't a lightweight when it came to drinking but he knew his limits. Going out drinking with Hoseok and yoongi was a bad idea which Jin knew. But did he listen? No because he knew he was going to go anyway so why was he complaining?

Jin looks down at the table and sees a cup of water and two pills. His eyes also land on a yellow posted note.

"You came in the bookstore drunk and I didn't know what to do when you passed out, so I took you up to the second floor. I left you some medicine and water for you when you woke up. I would have it to you in the morning but I'll be still asleep by the time you get up."

The note ends with that and Jin shrugs taking the medicine and drinking the water. He stands up and looks around.

"So this is where she lives?" Jin says to himself. The place wasn't bad if you asked him. He walks over to the TV stand and picks up a picture frame. In the picture, there was a tall skinny black man who had his arm wrapped around a short thick woman's waist. She has the most beautiful smile, her braces showing. In the background it didn't look like they were in Korea they looked like they were in New York it was ever snowing too. Jin wondered who it was, he put it back in its right place and turned around then jumped putting his hand over his chest.

"Don't do that again!" Jin yells and the short brown woman tilts her head confused. Oh right, she couldn't hear. Jin looks around and finds a piece of paper and and pin and writes it down. When he turns it around she lets out a little oh and blushes.

"Sorry." She moves her hands and Jin blinks. His eyes trail down her chest and then her legs. She had a rose tattoo going down her brown leg, she was also in a tank top that hugged her chest. She also had on black shorts that also hugged her tights. Jin knew right then and there that he was fucked for good maybe he was still slightly drunk or it was the fact that he woke up confused but what he did know was that he did text her last night and he did know that his fingers did hit the send button because Kim Seokjin knows when he's drunk his heart knows so much more than him.

Was it a bad thing? Maybe but all he knew was that it was his chance. His chance to show him that he wanted something with her. If only his brain didn’t make up fake scenarios once in a while. It wouldn’t be wrong if he kissed her right? Maybe was slightly drunk still, but who would blame him? She was gorgeous in her own right. If only you knew how gorgeous you was.

With one step forward he walks over to you, a smile on his face as he again grabs the pen that he dropped and writes down another thought in his mind. “Dinner? Maybe? I don’t know if I’m still drunk or not but dinner?” His fingers could do it all and maybe sending that text was worth it.

[bumblebwii]

BTS X THE WALKING DEAD C3

Jungkook centric! Please read the previous two parts before this one aha :)

6K word count

Summary:

He was left alone for a while, he fell asleep quickly, discarded bits of twine close by to kill off any threats. His dreams were plagued by his parents, by Jimin, by all of those awful kids at school and Jungkook felt weak in his dreams for a while, cowering away from their attacks in the corner, until his tears solidified into a weapon and his sadness solidified into anger and he used it to fuel his thirst for blood, picking them off one by one in a little game of hide and seek. Jungkook won.

CONTENT WARNINGS

depictions of murder, cannibalism, blood, gore, bad people, bad parents and trauma.

Jungkook let out a gentle breath, a long exhale that barely made a noise as he used it to carry away the day’s intensity. Corrupt bosses meant that the company was beginning to crumble and sink, they didn’t care for the little people and that was the first fault in the company’s structure. The company was on its knees and going under; it would take Jungkook down with it if he didn’t get out soon. He was turning twenty two, his birthday was sneaking up on him like a horror movie plot line and he could not help but feel overwhelmed by it. 

The first year of university had been just as bad as his high school friends had prophesied it would be, as bad as Jimin had warned him about, but it had been fun, and had brought him to an oasis in a desert that was shaped like a twenty-three year old Min Yoongi. The boy who had pulled Jungkook out of the lifeless cycle he was sticking himself in. The door of the small house jammed as Jungkook tried to push it open, like it usually did, and Jungkook groaned as he barged it with his shoulder to get it open. His house was a little house share situation, there were six of them in the three bedroom house, two in each room; it was how he and Yoongi got together, they shared the same room and grew inseparable. Their other flatmates were like ghosts and they barely saw each other; it was ideal for the young couple. 

Yoongi was standing at the stove, cooking something that smelled divine and Jungkook could not hold back the smile that spread over his face. “Hi.” Yoongi smiled, stirring something happily, “dinner’s nearly done I’ve just-,” Jungkook shuffled over and wrapped his arms around Yoongi’s waist and let his head rest against Yoongi’s shoulders, it was a back hug sent from heaven after the day from hell that Jungkook had gone through. Yoongi patted Jungkook’s hands lovingly, letting the younger boy simply rest there for a second, “I’ve missed you too. Now, go wash up and get comfy then I’ll bring dinner up to our room, okay?” Jungkook nodded, detaching himself from Yoongi before dragging his body up for a shower. Getting into his pyjamas had always been Jungkook’s favourite part of the day. 

Yoongi came in with their food just as Jungkook was changing and whistled playfully over Jungkook’s half naked, damp appearance and Jungkook stuck his tongue out, “please, I look like a zombie. Work was dreadful and I’m either gonna quit tomorrow or just hold off until I get another job.”

“If this is what zombies are gonna look like then I can’t wait for the apocalypse. If you need to quit then quit, we’ll be alright. I’m working and I can always take on a few more shifts until you can find another job. My parents are happy to help us with shopping money too.” Yoongi reassured him, setting out the food along the floor, they could not afford a little table, then again, the house was too small to fit one, even if they could afford one. “You’re too young to worry about stuff like this, honey. You’ll be grey by twenty seven.”

“I think I’d look sexy with grey hair. At least I’d not have to worry about buying bleach if I wanted to go pink again.”

Yoongi chucked to himself and took a bite of food, watching as Jungkook shimmied on a pair of pyjama bottoms. Life was stressful but it was dinners spent with the love of his life after an awful day that made Jungkook’s heart feel fully content. Jungkook wanted to spend the rest of his life doing this, eating and laughing with Yoongi, watching some sci-fi comedy on their shared laptop, or scrolling through social media and laughing at the memes that shaped the pair’s humour. 

Yoongi was a great cook, although that was to be expected of a culinary student who dreamed of opening his own restaurant. Jungkook supported him all the way, Yoongi’s restaurant would be out of this world. Yoongi was teaching Jungkook to cook, ever patient and caring. He was like that only for Jungkook though, because from talking with Yoongi’s peers, the older boy gives Gordon Ramsey a run for his money. Darling-boy Yoongi with his soft smile and benevolent habits was a terrifying man in the kitchen, he ran a tight ship and had a commanding aura. One that he threw in the bin when it came to Jungkook and he helped Jungkook with anything; piano, cooking, building, budgeting, all of it rolled with gentle chuckles and careful, wonderful hands.

Their food had long been finished, crusted onto the plates before Jungkook huffed out a little squeeze of air and took them into the kitchen to be washed. It was no surprise when Yoongi trailed after Jungkook with a small blurt of information about the show and actors they were watching. It was a little habit of Yoongi’s to know the who, what, where and when’s of films and series and Jungkook could listen to the man talk for hours, which Yoongi often did, little tangents here and there about whatever thoughts Yoongi had cropped up mid sentence. Yoongi could be a whirlwind when he felt comfortable enough with you; a little goofball and Jungkook’s beaming ray of sunshine.

Love felt good to Jungkook, like sitting on the world’s comfiest settee after being on your feet for hours, like submerging yourself in a pool of perfectly cold water on those humid summer days. Yoongi had quickly become an important cog in Jungkook’s life, he had crept in and captured Jungkook’s innocent heart in a short span of half a year and Yoongi had pulled Jungkook up into feeling like a functional member of society after a lifetime of feeling like an outcast in his own home.

“Jimin-ah called me earlier, Jungkook.” Yoongi said softly, a wary tone sewing itself into Yoongi’s voice. Jungkook and Jimin had a weird relationship to say the least. Jungkook both loved and hated his older brother for being the only person before Yoongi to actually give half a shit about Jungkook, but Jungkook also hated Jimin for being the poster child for everything in their parent’s eyes and unintentionally being the reason for all of Jungkook’s anguish. Jimin was the sweetest person alive, so full of love and grace and all things lovely, always had been, he had been graced with perfect features, perfect nature, perfect everything. That’s something their parent’s would rub in like some lemon and salt concoction onto a gaping wound as they pointed out all of the features Jungkook still needed to grow into or change; the nature he needed to alter. It drove Jungkook crazy.

Jungkook nodded gently and smiled tightly, “oh.” He took a sip of his drink and Yoongi let out a slow sigh. 

“He was asking all about you.” Yoongi and Jimin were close friends, quickly forming a bond that Jungkook was both endeared and apprehensive about. They would talk often, much more often than Jungkook and Jimin would. “He misses you, Jk. He wants you to call at some point so that you can decide when to have that coffee with him like you promised.”

“Ugh, he never forgets anything. That was an empty promise. I don’t even like coffee.” Jungkook huffed into his glass like he did not want Yoongi to hear and scold him.

“He loves you. You forget that.” Yoongi said lightly with a disapproving shake of his head, “so call him and go buy a smoothie instead. Anyway, he called to tell you that your parents are coming tomorrow at noon and they’re taking us to lunch.”

Jungkook chugged the rest of his drink and groaned loudly. There was no escaping his parents grilling him half to death tomorrow at lunch. Jimin most definitely will be there too, gleaming and innocently stomping Jungkook into the asphalt. “I honestly think that being shot in the leg would be far less painful than sitting around a dinner table with my family.”

—

When Jungkook awoke, it was to the feeling of cold metal against his chest and a dead feeling in his limbs, “fuck.” He mumbled, voice clogged with sleep.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would have said that was attractive.” Taehyung sighed, pinching Jungkook’s face in between his fingers and thumb, moving Jungkook’s face side to side and checking Jungkook’s pupil reaction. “I remember you that day. You saved me. Us. Thank you.” Taehyung said, “it’s a shame you turned out like this. We could’ve been great friends, your brother is the greatest.”

It was a knee-jerk reaction to let out an annoyed snarl of a sound, old cauterised wounds reopening at the remark about the two brothers, a constant thorn in Jungkook’s childhood of everyone preferring Jimin to him, of their parents asking Jungkook why he could not be more like their oldest son. 

“Hit a nerve, did we?” Taehyung laughed softly, “Yoongi’s told me all about your little childhood trauma and as someone who took a great liking to neurology, I can’t help but see why you’re the way that you are.” Taehyung had a sweetness about him, but it was boxed away and hidden away beneath a mound of post-apocalyptic ice-heartedness. “Jimin wants to see you.” Taehyung said and cut some of the twine to free Jungkook up a little bit, pulling him into a wheelchair. “You can try to run, but I’ll put a bullet in your other leg and leave it there.” He offered as he pushed Jungkook out of the cell and into another one, They were on a top floor, the stairs not too far away, Jungkook’s leg was in agony, he chose to hold off on the running, it was in his best interest to stay in the wheelchair for now. He’ll run when he’s more healed and better equipped. 

Jimin’s cell was glowing with the light of a yellow-bulb lamp and Jungkook scoffed quietly, typical, it was alive with gentle murmurs and his older brother’s light laughter. “Googie!” Jimin smiled, leaning out of his bed to hug Jungkook, swatting away Namjoon’s worrying hands before engulfing Jungkook in a tight hug. “You’re okay!” There were tears in his voice and Jungkook tried not to shove the other brother away, he tried to collect the good memories together just so he didn’t cause more harm than good; Jungkook took a deep breath. 

“Jimin.” Jungkook patted his back. When Jimin pulled away from the hug, he held Jungkook’s face in his hands and inspected him closely. Jungkook found it infuriating how light and baby-faced Jimin still looked. The apocalypse had taken no physical toll on his older brother, he was still as gorgeous and perfect as ever and their parents would be proud, boastful. The apocalypse had not been so kind to Jungkook, who developed scars and sharper, uninviting features; his skin wrinkled in certain places and in the quick reflections he caught of himself, Jungkook looked old, older than he truly was. Thankfully though, no grey hair.  

“Thirty four looks good on you little bro!” Jimin smiled, it was odd, as if they weren’t surviving an apocalypse, as if Jungkook had immigrated somewhere far for a few years. As if Jungkook had not nearly killed Jimin and felt no remorse in doing so.

“Does it?” Jungkook asked, eyebrow raised, “I would say thirty eight looks good on you, but I’d be a liar. You look half dead. Or maybe a quarter dead would be more fitting considering our current society.” Jungkook shrugged, half a dead laugh edging at his lips.

“Oh, come on, he looks fine, even you can see that!” Taehyung huffed, pushing all of Jungkook’s buttons, “couldn’t even tell you almost died, Jimin.” Taehyung lightly hit Jungkook’s shoulder and Jungkook glared up at him. “You should compliment your brother, it's the least you could do. He looks far better than you do and we only took the bullet from your leg.”

Jimin mumbled something that Jungkook did not bother to listen to and he pushed himself up off the wheelchair, he was much taller than Taehyung, who honestly was so beautiful Jungkook felt bad for cursing him mentally. Taehyung looked tired and prematurely aged by his profession, but he managed to pull it off and look like he had never faced a day of trauma in his life. Jungkook hated it, hated him. Everyone in the cell rose to alert at Jungkook standing, ready to shoot to kill, but Jungkook rolled his eyes and limped away, ignoring whatever they were saying to him and he shut the door to his cell and laid on the top bunk.

He was left alone for a while, he fell asleep quickly, discarded bits of twine close by to kill off any threats. His dreams were plagued by his parents, by Jimin, by all of those awful kids at school and Jungkook felt weak in his dreams for a while, cowering away from their attacks in the corner, until his tears solidified into a weapon and his sadness solidified into anger and he used it to fuel his thirst for blood, picking them off one by one in a little game of hide and seek. Jungkook won.

Jungkook awoke naturally to an unnatural atmosphere. It was silent, deadly so. He got down from the top bunk clumsily on the count of his damaged thigh and observed the open cell door and wondered if this was a test where he would be shot the moment he dared darken the threshold with his feet. He stared at it for a while until the sound of quiet cries stole his attention, Jimin was in floods of tears, tied to the bed much like Jungkook had been and the older one of the pair looked at Jungkook with wide, pleading eyes.

“You’re awake! Untie me.” Jungkook stayed unmoving and he continued to watch his brother. He could kill him. “Please, Jungkook. This is important! They went to go and talk with these people who we’ve been having trouble with and it’s gone quiet. I need to go.” Jungkook nodded once and walked towards his older brother, who watched him with a hopeful gleam, puppy-dog eyes that lured most people in and tricked them into giving Jimin all that he demanded. Not Jungkook. 

He leaned in closer to Jimin and placed one final kiss to the forehead. It was a venture that soothed the inner part of himself that rejoiced in his brother’s survival, it entertained the scattered part of himself that he was tricking his brother and kissing him goodbye to either let him starve or become some other fucked up person’s toy for a while, it lessened his sane-self’s unwillingness to procrastinate death and made him want to live more alongside his only living friend and brother.

“Fuck it.” Jungkook huffed and ran over the threshold. Still not dead. Jimin was smarter than to make a ruckus, there were outsiders here and shouting would only lead them to where he is incapacitated. Jungkook took a little stroll through the block, taking his weapons back. Guns. Knife. Bat. Crossbow. The crossbow had been a little treat for himself from one of the rooms and it hung over his shoulders and across his chest like it was some festival bag. 

Walking up to what used to be some sort of communal room, Jungkook did not anticipate hearing familiar voices, assuming everyone would be dead. He approached silently and waited in the dark doorway, unseen, unheard, armed. It was a circular room with two floors, donut-shaped top floor that allowed a circle of dim light in the centre bottom floor and almost pitch shadows, perfect shadows for hiding, around the edge beneath the flooring of the top floor. He watched on as Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi tried to bargain the survival of Seokjin and Taehyung, who had been grabbed by two ugly, beer-bellied men looking to get their dicks sucked and blood thirst quenched. Jungkook ate these kinds of people; did not even bother in hearing them out. What surprised Jungkook, however, were the two girls and a nimble looking boy sneaking around the shadows, knives ready to attack the three in the middle, unseen, unheard. Fun. A level playing field.

This little band of six were his to kill and his only. Jungkook was a possessive man. Sue him.

Jungkook took a calculated step into the shadows, the smallest girl, early twenties, was closest and henceforth, Jungkook’s first victim. He had perfected silent killings, the apocalypse called for silence and Jungkook steeled himself to be at her almighty, beaconing call. He grabbed her quickly and pushed the knife into the base of her jaw below the ear and pulled quickly across before jabbing it into the base of her skull so that she did not turn, then he lowered her to the floor with ease, despite the hot blood that cascaded over his hands. Jungkook missed that feeling, someone else’s blood coating his hand, another last breath stolen by his god-awful presence. 

The boy was next, running right into Jungkook’s little trap and finding himself slaughtered like the first girl, bleeding and dead on the floor, Jungkook loved the sight of blood, loved the feeling of stepping in the viscous, sticky liquid, but right now, Jungkook had to avoid it because sticky boots were noisy and Jungkook needed to stay unheard. The third girl was unaware of the fate of her companions, so did not bat an eyelid when someone stood behind her as she readied herself to attack, motioning something that must have meant something to the dead ones. Her attack would never happen though as Jungkook beat her to it, acting quickly and uncaring, he cut her throat and her brain stem and dropped her to the floor. 

Whoever these men were, they were foolish. It was three of them, slow and fat and they stunk of rancid body odour. Jungkook hated body odour. He hated people like this, who did things without poise and common sense. What Jungkook hated the most, however, was the bargaining, the talking, dragging this whole thing out by its old, wrinkly balls; these were the creeps that had been causing their little group of six problems? Pathetic. Kill first, think later. Realistically, Jungkook knew there could possibly be more than the sorry saps that just so happened to be present and dying today and that their deaths could cause some reality tv drama Jungkook was too disconnected to truly care about, but if Jungkook was going to exploit and farm these people for his own greedy benefit, then he wanted them to at least go down with a little bit of a fight and preparation. Jungkook wanted it to be fun; so he’d guide them, teach them how to have apocalyptic brains, rather than diplomatic brains, herd them right into their own pens and then the moment it all clicks together for them, it’s too late. Just the thought of it makes Jungkook’s fucked little mind feel some kind of satisfaction.

“It doesn’t have to be like this, we can work together. There’s safety in numbers.” Namjoon spoke loudly and Jungkook held everything he possibly could in just to keep himself from gagging. Idiot. There was so much potential for serious danger in bigger numbers. Plus, it was such a cliche move, the peaceful, rough around the edges leader just trying to restart the world one little piece at a time. 

Jungkook raised his crossbow, new and shiny; something he could experiment with quietly and took aim at the man standing with Seokjin in his arms, the tall surgeon had been forced awkwardly to his knees and held by the head against the man’s protruding stomach, his filthy, stained hand against Seokjin’s mouth and Jungkook dreaded knowing what it smelled like. Shit, probably. 

The release of the crossbow whistled with a satisfying speed and lodged itself into the inner corner of the man’s right eye and through the back of his nose’s bridge and out the other side of his temple. “Nice.” Jungkook smiled to himself before turning the crossbow to the other man holding a very alarmed Taehyung and released the arrow, this one jammed into the hinge of the man’s jaw and disappeared into his head somewhere. The two surgeons let out screams of horror and Jungkook rolled his eyes. You’re welcome. 

Namjoon and Hoseok jumped forward and grabbed for them to return to safety, looking around for whoever had killed the two oafs. Jungkook slung the crossbow back over his shoulder with a huff and watched for a moment as the final remaining pig of a man - an insult to pigs, Jungkook thought - looked around for the attacker and called for the three, very dead, hidden ones to come out. It was pathetic really, sad and pathetic to watch him grasp at nothing. They were standing right by the northern end of the light area

“Show yourself! Who are you?” Namjoon spat and Jungkook turned his glare to the leader. Idiot.

“All this diplomatic talking shit is gonna get you killed, dickhead.” Jungkook said harshly. “Whilst you were trading peace talks, this fucker had three toddlers getting ready to rock your shit and that’s only fun when I’m the one doing the rocking. Trust me.” Jungkook walked silently so that he was in the shadows right behind the guy. “What happened to the guy who shot me before actually checking for bites?” Jungkook laughed, cocking his gun, “what, my brother let you get your dick wet and you change your morals for killing his little brother?” Jungkook almost laughed at the feeling of the gun almost against the guy’s head. He was slipping, quickly.

“Jk-ah that’s-,” Yoongi started but was cut off by the oaf grabbing his hair and holding Yoongi right beside his head. There was something inside of Jungkook’s head that appeared like the conscience did in cartoons, screaming and begging for Jungkook to save the only man that had always made sure to keep Jungkook safe and loved, that part made Jungkook angry and defensive over Yoongi and someone grabbing at his first and only love. There was another angry voice in Jungkook’s head that reminded him that this was the end of the world, their old lives no longer mattered, Yoongi no longer mattered; Jungkook wanted to kill him anyway, get revenge for being abandoned in that alleyway after risking his life to save them.

Jungkook watched in annoyance as the man stumbled and fumbled for safety with a feisty Yoongi fighting to get out of his arms.

“I got your brother. Kill me and I’ll kill him. I just want the pretty doctors. They’re useful in more than one way.” He was waving a knife around, threatening the wrong side of the shadows. 

“That’s not my brother, that’s my husband. Grabbing him is worse than my brother. I need the doctors. You can’t have them.” Jungkook took silent steps toward the man, gun in hand and murder on his mind, and he pulled the trigger without a second thought. The man’s head threw itself in the direction of the bullet and his brain matter painted Yoongi and his body slumped like a sack of potatoes. The gunshot made Jungkook’s ears ring as the sound of it bounced around the room in awful echos and Yoongi catapulted himself out of the dead-man’s grip and towards Hoseok, who pulled Yoongi in with a worried kiss to the top of his head; something about it did not sit right in Jungkook’s stomach, but the adrenaline of the killing was still pumping through him and he could not concentrate on it for too long. Too many voices ringing in his head.

Jungkook’s tongue poked the sides of his cheek and he grabbed at the ankles of the dead man in front of him, pulling him along the floor so that Jungkook could begin to prepare their meat to use. He needed food and lots of it after the ordeal of the past few days. There was a big pool of blood spilling out from the men with arrows in their head and Jungkook only smiled to himself as he pulled the arrows free and watched as the blood splashed at his feet. He stomped his foot lightly in the puddle like a child and then purposefully stomped it on a dry patch, leaning down to messily write ‘Jeon Jungkook. Still not dead.’ Beside his boot print in the semi-warm liquid with his finger. He grabbed at another one of the men and began pulling them toward the open space, a chopping line, with shallow huffs.

“What’re you doing? We put the dead bodies outside.” Seokjin said quietly, shaken up by what had happened and probably half deafened by the gunshot.

“You shouldn’t have killed them. I had it handled.” Namjoon spat, turning to glare at Jungkook, who dropped the body to laugh heartily at Namjoon.

“Handled. Sure. Not how I would have put it, but if that’s what helps you sleep at night.” Jungkook moved onto the next one, huffing, “I just saved your behinds.” Once he had successfully moved all six bodies into the open space and stripped them of their clothes, he took the large axe that one of the dead had dropped and Jungkook twirled it in his hands; he took a moment to admire the blade.

“They were kids!” Namjoon yelled at Jungkook, “how do you have no remorse - no, how the fuck do you kill with no question, it’s-, what are you doing?!” The leader startled as Jungkook brought the axe into position and brought it down onto a shoulder joint with a thunk; someone to the left gagged at the pop of the joint as Jungkook grabbed the limp hand and twisted it with a ruthless pull and it jaggedly came away at the opening.

“Dismembering a body, what does it look like I’m doing?” Jungkook scoffed, bringing the axe down again on the other shoulder joint before he picked the large arm up, the tendons and strings of muscle and veins reached out in a ghostly attempt to pull the limb back together. “Oh, gross.” Jungkook laughed boyishly and it was accompanied by someone retching loudly and vomit splashing onto the floor. “As for those ‘kids’ you speak of, Namjoon-ssi, they were gonna get you before you could talk your way out of it and you would have had no idea about it. We’re at the end of the world, wake up. Kill or be killed; there’s nothing to think about.”

Blood kissed at Jungkook’s cheeks and the surrounding area as he started hacking at more limbs. They shot at him first, how could they be high and mighty about compassion and letting people live. Jeongguk scoffed to himself, pulling more and more limbs into a little pile. He was willing to share, there was a lot of meat here; a lot of organs to burn and bones to whittle at. 

Yoongi straightened himself out from his vomiting, each of them somewhat transfixed in horror and unable to look away. “Jungkook-ah, why are you- why, just why?”

It was a loaded question and Jungkook thought for a moment, he was a ticking time bomb and deadly, but he refused to be stupid or walked over. “Gotta survive somehow. I told you all, I’ve had to figure out the best uses for bodies.” Jungkook said slowly, bringing the axe down onto a blood stained neck “It was sunshine and rainbows for you lot, being in a group from the beginning, you’re all in it for each other. Outsiders, as you can see, have ulterior motives. Dangerous.” Everyone listened closely, silently horrified and getting semi-answers they’ve all wanted to ask, “You have to go insane to stay sane, but when someone’s ‘sane’ is a superiority complex, the normal people have to get the upper hand if you want to survive, which naturally - Taehyung will vouch for this with his brain stuff - humans have survival instincts that go haywire in dire situations.” 

Jungkook leaned down to pick up the head of the person, looking at it for a moment in it’s greying, ugly glory, half open eyes and blueish lips, hollow cheeks from lack of food and deep, deep bags.

“Survival instincts of other people, animals, viruses and plants will be the reason you die in an apocalypse. That and lack of resources. People are deadly.”

“Are you deadly?” Hoseok dared ask. “You must be to make it this far alone.”

“Yah, Jung Hoseok, are you missing the part where he just silently assassinated six people and is now dismembering their corpses?!” Seokjin snapped, glaring up at Hoseok from where he was sprawled on the floor, “obviously he’s deadly.”

“Are you a threat?” Namjoon challenged, arms crossed and eyes flickering over the dead bodies, to Yoongi, then back to Jungkook. Yoongi looked several ways devastated, a little green in colour and he was doing all he could to not look at Jungkook.

“Push my buttons like you did last night with that bullet wound and I might be.” Jungkook shrugged, the head still in his hand, blood dripping from the slice quickly into a large puddle at Jungkook’s feet, “so much blood in such a tiny person.” He marvelled softly, before throwing the head toward Taehyung who squealed in surprise, “a brain for you to look at and poke.” Jungkook laughed heartily, the sound only growing when Taehyung picked the head up and kicked it away from himself like a football.

“So you-,”

“Do you know how hard it is to survive alone?” Jungkook asked, mood switching quickly and the others seemed to notice the darkness in his voice because even Seokjin sat up to look at him. “Forget the walkers and the adults being dangers to your very existence, but to be that hungry, that alone, to see literal children die or fight or beg for food you could never give them?” Jungkook glared at Namjoon, the direct cause of his anguish, “do you know how soul destroying it is to put a six year old out of their misery? Or to ignore their cries to help them because you can barely keep yourself alive, adding another the mix is asking for something bad to happen.” 

Jungkook looked over at Yoongi, who had begun crying, mumbling that he couldn’t stomach listening to more. He needed to hear more.

“You said to me, Yoongi, I’d understand if I’d been through what you guys had, so you’re gonna understand what I’ve had to go through and then I can hear what you’ve had to fucking go through.” Jungkook hissed, “because I am not going to be this nasty little villain for surviving; I will not let any of you sit there and pity me or look down on me just because I’ve had to change because all six of you left me for dead.”

“I went back!” Yoongi hollered, crying and shaking, “I went back! It took all five of them to pull me away from you. You were so fucking still and covered in blood and we thought you were bitten and-,”

“I already told you, I don’t want to fucking hear it! Too little too late.” Jungkook shouted back, axe pointed toward Yoongi, “not a force on earth would have pulled me away from you! I certainly wouldn’t have just left you to fucking turn!”

“And you think I was in any fit state to put a knife in your head or let one of them do it?! I loved you more than life itself, you were the only thing that ever pulled me through life, especially after my parents died!” Yoongi slammed his hand on the table in frustration, “you still had a pulse and I had plans to come and rescue you but you had gone when I got there!”

Jungkook turned away from Yoongi, “whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore, the damage has already been done.”

Jungkook heard the clunk of Yoongi’s boots along the floor, away from him, “stop blaming me for leaving when you left first. Playing the hero when you were nothing but an idiot who had no idea what the new world was. Seriously, what did you expect Namjoon to do after you ran head first into a hoard of zombies, Jungkook?!”

Jungkook brought the axe down hard onto the hip joint, slicing it clean off with a shout of fury. “You’re supposed to check! You were supposed to see if I was okay before shooting me! You were supposed to pull me out of the fucking rubble and wait to see if I was coming to! I saved your lives and you tried to kill me.” Jungkook swung the axe down again, “there were two fucking doctors present!” Jungkook shouted, throwing the axe down to use his bat to smash the skulls of the dead, watching them cave in like rotten pumpkins, taking in deep lungfuls of the stench their blood and brains gave off. He took one last swing before he steeled his emotions and threw his bat down and stretched. “Hoseok-ssi.” Jungkook said quietly, “take these and put them wherever you store your food, I’ll finish sorting the rest out.” He pointed at the limbs to his left.

“F-food?” Hoseok asked, leaning down to grab the limbs.

“Yes, food. Gotta eat something.” Jungkook frowned, “Seokjin-ssi. Go and get a bucket or something to put the organs in. Taehyung. Do what you want with the heads, look at the brain and try to find a cure, throw them away, use them for football, I don’t really give a shit.” Jungkook puffed out a little bit of air. “Namjoon-ssi, Yoongi-ssi, take their bags and clothes and sort through them into what’s needed and what can be burned or thrown.”

Nobody really gave any objections, but everyone moved with slow and confused movements, unsure if Jungkook was serious or not. “Food.” Hoseok said disgruntled and visibly disgusted. “They’re humans.” He was talking to himself, subtly addressing Jungkook but attempting to avoid confrontation. 

“Like I said, flying solo is hard. Gotta eat whatever you can get your hands on.” Jungkook shrugged, examining what he had cut off. “I’d much rather eat cake or a salad but it’s tough shit. There’s a lot of you, surely food is hard to share sufficiently?” Jungkook turned to a pale looking Namjoon. 

“We adapt.”

“That’s…” Jungkook scratched his stomach, his shirt coming up over his hand. “So you’re all used to eating like... snakes?”

“That’s not what I said. We adapt. Took the ‘sane’ route and went hunting animals, not people. That’s twisted.”

“Oh so you’re used to eating snakes, not like them.” Jungkook laughed to himself and lugged up a torso, “more for me I guess. Where do I store this? Show me.”

Hoseok nodded and scurried out in front. Jungkook thought fleetingly that he should probably mention that Jimin was freaking out and probably tearing his stitching but he chose not to say anything. They’d find him eventually. 

Hoseok was talking about something rather animatedly; Jungkook had never paid attention to what he was saying, he did not care enough but he thought that had their paths crossed in their lives before, the pair would have been inseparable. Hoseok gave off that sort of energy. Jungkook hated it. Nobody should be like that through the end of the world. 

Jungkook stopped walking as he stood beside a door that read ‘infirmary’ on a faded sign and then underneath, in some kind of paint, read ‘dead inside’ and he huffed out an eye roll and turned to Hoseok, who was still blabbering on. “Aye, has anyone looked behind the relatable door?”

“Oh, uh, no. We looked through the windows on the outside and it’s like sardines in there. Seems like everyone went to the doctor with the flu.” Hoseok motioned horizontally across his neck with a flattened hand and a grimace, “Seokjin hyung said that any medical stuff in there will be redundant because it’s all infected with blood and gunk and stuff, so we all voted to save our resources and leave it.” 

“How stupid.” Jungkook scoffed. Medical supplies were vital, even if it was just one small thing, it was needed.

“Come off your high horse. We’ve raided about fourteen different pharmacies and everyone’s medicine cabinet. Your brother remembers his way around.” Jungkook side eyed Hoseok, who was readjusting the limbs in his arms. There was a switch in his demeanour, like the atmosphere around him had fallen from soft shades of purple to the separated elements of pink, red and blue. “There’s also more than one infirmary in places like this, we’re not completely hopeless. You forget that we’ve also had to do shit to survive. It’s not been some kind of peaceful journey, don’t forget that. We know danger when we see it and we are not afraid to do what it takes to stay safe.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Guess we shall have to wait and see.” Hoseok huffed and came to a stop in front of an old freezer. He heaved it open and stood proudly before the open space and that switch had been tampered with again, “jajang!” He cheered sweetly, “a solar powered freezer, courtesy of Namjoon’s sexy brain. Wanna know how he did it?” The man looked as hopeful and excited as Jungkook get about shutting him down and the fact made Jungkook mentally laugh; he remained stoic and silent as he regarded Hoseok. 

“No. I’d rather stick my own fingers in my bullet wound again.” Jungkook neatly placed his meat pieces in there and then turned away so that he could fetch the remaining pieces. 

He entered the canteen area again, Hoseok stropily following behind. “What the fuck are you all on?! My Jungkookie wouldn’t do that!” Jimin’s frustrated voice echoed through the room and Namjoon’s deeper, calmer yet stressed voice followed.

“Hey, calm down, you’re gonna pull your stitches. He can explain.” Namjoon pointed to Jungkook, who looked between them both and shrugged. 

“Probably could but I don’t want to so I won’t.” Jungkook shrugged and heaved up some more body pieces, there was a twinge of pain in his leg but he did his best to not address it. No weaknesses. “Did you get me a bucket, Seokjin? They burn better when they’re fresh.”

“Told you, Minnie. Your little bro is a few tools short of a whole toolbox.” Taehyung muttered to Jimin and Jungkook halted in his movements, dropping the body parts like they were hot and he turned to Taehyung with a nasty glare.

“You’re really getting on my last fucking nerve.” Taehyung looked unphased, entertained if anything, he was doing this on purpose; Taehyung would be the crack in the floor of Jungkook’s plans. Taehyung was a neurologist, he knew all the ways he could manipulate someone’s brain. Jungkook would have to take their trust in him first. “I’m trying to help you, I just saved you, I’m not trying to make enemies with any of you.” Jungkook lied, pointing an accusing finger at Taehyung, “but you’re really testing my patience, Taehyung. Stop running to my brother like some child trying to ‘tell on me’ it’s pathetic.”

“Koo, lets just ca-,”

Jungkook turned his glare to Jimin and his brother went quiet. “Tell me to calm down Jimin, I dare you.”

“Hey, one of those kids had an Iphone in their bag! It works and everything! Oh, JK, they even have your favourite song!” Yoongi cheered, walking into the tense atmosphere obliviously, the beginning trill of a song Jungkook had only dreamed of hearing again and he soothed instantly. Yoongi was semi-cleaner, no more smatterings of brain.

Hoseok burst into small twinklings of laughter, “you listened to Mang?”

“Seokie, he had the biggest crush on this guy and he had never even seen whoever it is-, was-, whatever.” Yoongi chuckled and cuddled up to Hoseok, showing him the phone. There was that twist in Jungkook’s heart again at seeing Yoongi so close, so soft with someone else, but he ignored it and huffed his way over to the body parts and lugged them back up and limped away.

“Go back to bed, Jimin. Stop following me.”

“Jeon Jungkook.” Jimin was firm and tearful. It was just them in the hallway. “You’re different. Where’s my Jungkook? There’s no spark in your eyes anymore.”

Jungkook huffed and stopped for a minute, “I’m sorry that not everyone can be as untouchable as you. Get over it. People change, life goes on.”

“But this is a scary change. You’re the thing they fear. Tread carefully because they shoot to kill and I can’t lose you twice.”

[pennyellee]

LACRIMOSA IS GETTING TOO EXCITING OMG THAT WAS SOOOO BADASS OF OC

I'm very glad to hear that honey! ♥

Oh yeah, it was very brave. Let's just hope she will keep this brave act 👀