Code V | BTS

14.

Unlike the car behind them, which was filled laughter and conversation, Yoongi's car was absolutely silent. Jimin and Yinn sat on opposite ends of the back row, while the older was in the driver's seat.

Ahead of their other members by a few kilometres, Yoongi drove in silence, steering the wheel with one hand as he uncomfortably glimpsed behind at the awkward tension at the backseats.

"Why did we bring her along again?" Jimin asked from behind, precariously eyeing the brunette beside him.

"We weren't going to." He rolled his eyes. "It was you that saved her on impulse from that falling brick, and now we're here."

"I sure hope Seokjin doesn't get mad. He hates it when strangers come home."

As the two conversed, the girl only listened quietly with her watery eyes fixed onto her lap. Panic arose from Jimin as he realized he had just made a woman cry. Yoongi sniggered as he felt the silver-haired man's sense of dismay all the way from the front.

"H-hey, we weren't annoyed by you or anything," Jimin explained, suddenly flustered. "We were just... Discussing our next steps."

As he was about to pass her a box of tissues, a deafening explosion sent their car swerving through the road. With the gust almost blowing them over, Yoongi stomped on the breaks, barely evading the railings on the sides of the road.

The momentum threw them forward, allowing no time for reactions as the air bag expanded to counter the collision impact.

His heart pounding in his chest, he glanced at the rear-front mirror to ensure that the two behind were safe. A sigh of relieve escaped his lips as Jimin, though startled, gave him a thumbs up with one hand while the other held the girl in an embrace, saving her from flying headfirst into the front.

After clearing his head, Yoongi parked the car by the side of the road and stepped out.

"Stay here," Jimin commanded to the girl, his eyes widely alert as he did the same.

Trails of ominous smoke oozed from a distance, polluting the starry sky. A dark tint of red blended with the night as it created a violent gradient of navy and red, ambiguously blended by the smoke and fire. Seeing no sight of the other members' car, Jimin and Yoongi exchanged glances as they recognized simultaneously the reason behind the incident.

"Shit," the two said in unison as they dashed back to their car, speeding towards the direction of the smoke.

—(0 - o)—

It was instant regret for Clarity as she recalled her optimistic claim from earlier.

Her knees barely holding the weight of her body, it took everything she had to merely maintain balanced as Jungkook spun the steering wheel in another sharp turn to the left.

The sound of wheezing bullets merged with her pounding heart as the momentum threw Clarity to the side, her face pressing into Taehyung's body in the process. A sore sensation ripped through her nose as it stung from the hard abs prominent even under his clothes.

She didn't have time to apologize, as another gunshot was heard behind them. The highway was conveniently deprived of all other cars as they were pursued by a black truck. Standing on its trunk were two Senyu bodyguards in black, unaffected by the speed nor the wind as they targeted their car with handguns.