Tear

~18~

Namjoon sat in the driver's seat of his car. Another headache rattled his mind as he thought back to the conversation he and Baekhyun had shared.

"It's been a while," Baekhyun flashed a crooked smile. The look in his was definitely that of a madman. He looked crazy under that calm façade.

Namjoon stared at the guy he used to trust so much. "I don't know what you want with me, Baekhyun."

"I just want to be the next CEO of the company. Is that so much to ask for? I clearly know more than Taehyung. Why can't they see that I'm more capable?"

Namjoon felt bad for him. It made sense. Baekhyun just wanted something he'd had his eyes on for a long time. And now, they were letting someone else who knew basically nothing take charge.

"Now, do you have information for me?"

That snapped Namjoon out of it. He remembered how cruel the guy standing before him was. Yeah sure, money was everything these days, but how could one cousin sabotage another? Baekhyun and Tae were terribly close. Did all those years mean nothing?

"I don't really know anything more. I'm looking into things, though," Namjoon fibbed.

Baekhyun stepped closer, so that they were closer than Namjoon would have considered comfortable.

"Lies. I already know he stays in a joint house with a girl. What was her name again? Hwang Ae Ra?"

Namjoon froze. He tried to maintain his poker face. "I'll look into her for you."

"I have a feeling you're purposely not telling me things. You know more than you're letting on. Next time, we'll meet in an alley. They won't be able to hear your screams there. Or, you could bring me something I've never heard before. Simple as that."

Namjoon was about to slink down into his seat when the passenger door opened, and someone hopped in. It scared Namjoon so badly that he slammed a fist on the horn. That probably gave everyone in the neighborhood a bad wake up call.

"Yoongi?! What are you doing here?!"

Yoongi flashed Namjoon a gummy smile. "You're not alone. I was hoping you'd share what you were going through with me the other day. Truth is, ever since you started showing up to class looking like death, I knew what was up. Baekhyun has been targeting you, hasn't he?"

"How'd you know?!"

"Because he's been bugging me, too. I've been losing so much sleep, ugh. I only get around ten hours a night these days. Tragic."

Namjoon laughed. It was the first time he felt anything close to being at peace in the last couple weeks. Knowing that the toughest member in their group besides Taehyung was there for him made him feel a lot better.

"So what do you know? Any inside news?" Namjoon asked.

"Yes. He's got a tracker on you. So he knows what you're up to at all times. He's also planning to stick a mic on you, but that won't happen because he asked me to do it, and I won't. Besides, I'd be the one monitoring the mic, so that's easy to lie about. Right after he met you, he met Tae. And he put a mic and tracker on him; however, I don't have access to those monitors. We have to find a way to get those devices off him. Baekhyun is trying to get any information he can to bring Taehyung down. Unfortunately, I don't think he cares about who he hurts in the process, Ae Ra included."