BLOOD MONEY || bts mafia au

thirty four.

For a moment, Jungkook could only stand there. After everything... he couldn't believe the face that was looking back at him.

Hoseok looked terrible. His dark hair hung flat in front of his eyes, unkempt. Dark circles clung beneath his eyes and he didn't look like he'd had a good night's sleep in weeks. But it was his bloodshot eyes and the way his clothes seemed to swallow up his too-thin frame that bothered Jungkook the most.

"Hoseok?"

Hoseok looked back at him with tears in his eyes, his voice breaking as he spoke. "Jungkook..."

His name had barely passed his cracked lips before Hoseok's eyes were rolling back and his legs gave out.

Kai lunged forward immediately, catching the older boy before he hit the ground. "Oh my god, is he okay?" he asked, his gaze flashing to Jungkook seeking help as he fought to hold Hoseok upright. "What's wrong with him?"

Jungkook stared impassively at his friend, clutching Yeonjun's arm for balance so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "I think I have an idea."

Yeonjun frowned at that but motioned for Kai to take Hoseok inside, leading the way. Kai sighed, pulling one of Hoseok's arms around his neck as he lifted the unconscious boy into his arms and followed the older boys back into the safety of the den.

As they disappeared once again into the shadowy corridors, Yeonjun cast a sideways glance at Jungkook. "Should we take him to Beomgyu?"

Jungkook nodded solemnly but offered no other commentary. He didn't know how to describe the emotions that swirled inside him, each one violently different from the last. He didn't know how to explain the feeling that washed over him as he watched Kai carry Hoseok down the hallway, drinking in every detail of his unconscious friend like he could uncover everything that had happened in his absence just by looking at him.

He had been torturing himself with all these questions ever since that night and now... here was someone who knew the answers.

But at the same time, he dreaded any answers Hoseok would give. If something had happened... If he hadn't been there for his friends when they needed him most... He wasn't sure what he would do.

Beomgyu looked up sharply as the four of them stumbled into the infirmary, shooting to his feet from where he was seated beside Taehyun, who was now sleeping peacefully. "What is this?" the medic asked while he watched them set Hoseok down on one of the empty beds.

"I don't know, he just showed up," Kai said, sending a shrug to Soobin who was eyeing him carefully.

Jungkook locked eyes with the other boss. "He's a part of the Purgatory. He's under my protection."

Soobin nodded, seeming to understand. "We'll help him this time. But don't turn this into a regular thing, Vice."

Jungkook tightened his grip on Yeonjun's shoulder as he shifted his weight onto his good leg, hoping to alleviate the pain pulsing in his injured leg. "Trust me, I have lots of things I would much rather be doing than sitting here."

Yeonjun frowned, taking notice of the movement. "Do you want to sit? I could-"

"No need." Jungkook waved aside his offer nonchalantly, shoving thoughts of how his entire leg felt like it was on fire to the back of his mind, forcing his attention back to Hoseok.

A crease appeared on Beomgyu's forehead as he drifted towards Hoseok's side, examining the other boy carefully. "What happened?"

Jungkook's gaze trailed over his friend's features impassively. "He relapsed."