| Chapter Eighteen |
[12k words]
A/N: Had to split chapters but the double-update still have like 12k+ words um 🕴️
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"You, the underground market isn't safe now just so you know. You've got nowhere else to risk, right?"
Hoseok frowned slightly. Did he hear it from someone who was near them?
Taehyung kept his gun pointed at them as he carefully placed his arm behind her knees to pick her up. When she realized, she confusedly looked back at his cold yet realistically furious expression. Was he worried for her, by any chance? There were a lot of questions and she hadn't expected to see him at all, she hadn't seen him since when again? Her head ached and the bleeding wound throbbed in pain, she unintentionally clutched her nails into his shoulders. He didn't react and just sat her in the front seat. There was blood on him too but of his victims.
"All of you, this way!" Jimin shouted somewhere ahead, but he saw Namjoon and Jungkook casually heading the other way. Not that Jimin cared much to shout after them because well, his car would be less packed with two fewer passengers. He wasn't sure what Taehyung would think though.
Taehyung closed the car door at the sidewalk, took off his bloodstained white face mask before he proceeded to take out a gauze from under the car.
"Don't be stubborn in case you're going to be." he said desperately, "It's a gauze pad. Stop the bleeding."
She felt as if he was avoiding her eyes at first as he held it out to her. She took it and thanked him quietly, still hissing faintly through her teeth.
Just when Taehyung was starting his car, two men casually slid into the backseats. Namjoon looked out the window with an ominous calmness on his face whereas Jungkook just crossed his arms and legs after closing the car door and they both sat at the sides to stare outside. She forgot that they had conflicting first impressions of one another.
She stared into the car mirror wordlessly. "You guys —"
Taehyung looked baffled but Jimin's car was already moving ahead.
"Yah."
"What? Start driving now, we have an injured person." Jungkook said nonchalantly and cocked his jaw, brows furrowed annoyedly. Namjoon noticed him tapping on his boots and just eyed him with a frown at the side.
"Why didn't you go with Seok —?"
"I'm not leaving my colleague alone with some creepy bastards." Namjoon said flatly with a sneer as he was probably holding himself back from pulling out his pistol or a knife, "And I didn't want to inconvenience your friend's and Seojoon's ride."
She heard Taehyung muttering something under his breath but he started driving the Rolls-Royce anyway. Jungkook rolled his eyes and just looked outside the window, probably keeping to himself a number of negative comments on the NIS after being called creepy.
"Soyun, do you need anything?" Namjoon asked softly behind and it took her a long guilty second to reply with a quiet "No".
"Drive faster." he added, speaking to Taehyung.
"I don't need anyone to tell me that."
Soyun knew her own blood was already soaking the bandage over her shoulder's bullet wound and just silently held in her hisses of pain. It burned right there and she just rested her head against the car window as the scenery was moving, her determination to keep her eyes open was fading slightly — but nothing burned more than the growing guilt in her chest. Namjoon would naturally be confused yet the first thing he asked was if she was all right, and he didn't seem pissed, at least not yet, and even if he already was, she knew they wouldn't always show so it was increasing her own awareness. Would there be consequences in the workplace terms? The guilt was a given, though.
"No one saw us?" inquired Namjoon without looking in front, his eyes on the view outside the car window. Jungkook had been quiet for a short time being.
"We took control of the cameras. I have a friend who can do that." Taehyung answered serenely.
He's telling us this?
"So where are we going? Is it close?" Jungkook asked and went on abruptly, "You're not bringing us to wherever your hideout is, are you? Your boss isn't going to let us live."
"It's my manor and I am the leader."
"Heh, now I see..." Jungkook's reaction was less responsive than hers. He looked surprised but not for more than a few seconds.
Namjoon felt the young man stirring with restraint, his fists clenched tightly before he released with a silent exhale. He found it reasonably realistic as he himself was taken aback and easily felt hostile toward a mafioso, but there was something else to it...
"Taehyung —?" Soyun discreetly whispered. He revealed that with such casualness in front of a vigilante and the head chief of NIS. She couldn't understand it at all. "What are you trying to do? Isn't something like that —?"
"It's not harming me to repeat this: it's honestly for you." he replied just as quick as he kept his eyes on the road. She went silent again. She shouldn't even concern herself with this to begin with.
Jungkook quirked both his brows unamusedly, putting his tongue against his inner cheeks. Namjoon glanced at her. Soyun tried to just think about the burning twinge in her left arm and shoulder but eventually, she'd have to explain to him everything by herself later.
"So you do know him." said Namjoon, his voice finally letting out some faded edge when a small sneer also showed on his lips. "Soyun, since when? And you really know him? This guy too?" he cocked his head at Jungkook's side.
Jungkook spoke first though, "Oh right you didn't know."
And he was uninterested in explaining for her.
Namjoon didn't take heed of his presence anymore. Soyun just felt her head aching again from their voices and sighed inwardly. The news played in the car and they were following Jimin's Porsche in the front. Jungkook pulled out his phone as they listened to it. She felt her left arm sharply burning beyond endurance but held it in to move a little.
"A number of dead bodies were found within the basilica, across and along the streets of Vatican City — police concluded that there was a mass assassination around the area, possibly the work of multiple groups — Albergo Del Senato hotel reportedly had known the victims as their guests just this morning at..."
Her phone was muted but she had an unconscious instinct to check and she was right, Jungkook texted her something then.
"Translate for me."
"You didn't have to text me to say this though." she wondered why.
"It's embarrassing to ask it aloud."
She would've giggled but the grim and awkward tension in the car made her just swallow it. She didn't want to be seen on her phone after everything that happened though. Not after the news just now. She felt her heart clench. It felt off and it was aching uncomfortably. Jungkook was behind her and Namjoon could see her on the phone too so — Suddenly, she couldn't type and she just knew that the pressuring gaze she felt was from her boss.
"Sorry, can I fill you in on it later?"
Jungkook frowned slightly, glancing at the back of her seat.
"Okay." he typed, with a small snicker on his lips. He could see even without mirrors or screen that Namjoon's gaze had shifted from Soyun to him. He could guess why she didn't do it right then, not sure of showing such 'insensitivity' after her affiliations and 'secret connections' were brought to light, not in her head chief's presence. Jungkook just leaned back in the car seat and glanced at her shoulder.
He huffed out a sigh and stared outside the window until he felt the silver-haired man moving away his soundlessly livid gaze. Likewise, Jungkook did bitterly from the corner of his eyes and couldn't stifle a "tch" for some reasons when he recalled something back around the lively street with stalls.
Namjoon knew not of how long Soyun had known these new people but he caught on with the sense of familiarity, even slight conflicts between one another as he observed.
It wasn't exactly silent for her in the whole ride even if she had decided to ignore her injury; Seokjin and Hyowon had been questioning Seojoon passive-aggressively since the start of their ride in the other car. She was certain Namjoon heard them too, and she found herself shamelessly silent like Seojoon.
"Is something wrong?" Taehyung asked.
"No," she said quietly.
Silence followed and it looked like they were exiting the city. She wanted to ask Namjoon, Hyowon and Seokjin what their next plan was going to be but contained it with all her conscience or fear of being shut up. Honestly, she had not been glancing at the car mirror no matter how much she wanted to. Namjoon came off pissed.
"Haneul's starting to make more connections within the mafia-based organizations." Taehyung began, speeding through the drivers in the highway.
They pensively listened.
"Just a few hours ago, Haneul was in New York to try one of my underbosses." he continued calmly even with both Namjoon and Jungkook raising the tip of their guns behind his head. What the two found odd was how Soyun didn't seem surprised with his information or impassiveness, not a little flinch or stutters at him despite the mention of Haneul.
"He knows my face and real name but still thinks I'm neutral. I can use it as an advantage." he added, leaning back in his seat.
"Sounds suspicious to me," said Jungkook.
"No, wait. Stop." she sighed.
"Soyun, you trust this guy?" Namjoon now added to the ice-sharp staring and she felt Taehyung looking back at her too; there was slight desperation in his eyes and she wasn't listening to the other two explaining in detail on what they think Taehyung was plotting to bring them to his hideout.
"He saved us." she breathed out softly, looking outside again. "He could've killed you guys in the highway if he was with Haneul."
"Thanks." said Taehyung, eyes on the road after asking her if she was not hurt anywhere else. The car was moving fast.
"I'm all right." Soyun assured faintly when she felt his gaze on her again.
Jungkook grunted in annoyance and leaned back in his seat. She had a point back there and he trusted her guts on this one, starting to believe one of Hoseok's assumptions on what Taehyung felt about Soyun. Namjoon eventually abstained, pulling back his gun.
"Can I ask some questions?" she said and it somewhat reminded her of how she used to talk with him. He gave a nod. "Seojoon and Hyungsik are your men, aren't they?"
Namjoon curbed his temper when Taehyung calmly gave a nod, "Yeah. Also, we were the ones who helped them out of the gas leak the other day. Trust me."
"Who were the ones that attacked them?" she asked.
"It was Bronco's scheme. Fede Family." he replied simply and it seemed as though their exchange was too straightforward for the other two to process. What kind of mafia leader would sound so unthinking, casually telling someone what he knew? It was different.
Jungkook frowned slightly, noticing the way Soyun relaxed. It wasn't in a way that she was at peace. He felt that it looked even forced, the casualness she used when he saw her reflection on the mirror sighing silently. Perhaps she wasn't sure what to feel about Taehyung's special treatments toward her even with their history.
For a fact, she did feel slightly different because they both changed in different ways since they were separated, their familiarity from old friendship wavering even now.
"There are other mafiosi there, right?"
"I will keep them in check."
•••
At 1 PM, they reached a manor in the middle of a forest-like land after hastening through the highways. It took a few hours and entering secret tunnels with the car.
Now they were greeted with white walls surrounding an estate; polished yet secure gates, modern lamps down the paths and a vast front yard decorated along with sculptured or untouched hedges gave them insight into how much money some crimes could bring, wickedly. It was not unknown to the non-mafiosi that Taehyung definitely has his own share of illegal businesses for his income.
Jimin and Seojoon were giving the guards some calm orders before continuing to escort them as guests to the mansion. Taehyung was calm while they did the work for him. Still inwardly confused but serious, both sides, the mafiosi and their leader's guests only went along with what they were told to do.
It was a manor-like building with four floors, pretty similar to how she could recall vividly how his mansion looked in Daegu. It brought her to a question: if Taehyung was the leader, did he manage all this to keep up with his father's contributions and even upgrade them, all by himself? At such a young age?
"Rich." she heard Jungkook snort under his breath. He was actually staying very close to her as though to make it easier to make sure that she was walking just fine.
It was honestly reassuring to know someone trusted was there, she had been feeling unexplainably cautious of her back since she took the shot. She kept feeling wary, wary if another bullet would suddenly pierce her again and she had to experience the sharp, vibrating burn in her arm or anywhere again. It felt taxing, and the pain never receded since.
"Hey,"
"Hm?" Soyun turned to Jungkook's whisper as Taehyung led them all inside the mansion without turning to his bowing butlers at the foyer.
He went quiet for a moment and stared at her face instead.
"...Nothing." he said, scratching the back of his neck. But Yoongi noticed him silently constricting his hand away from making to hold her.
"I'm fine by the way. It's the arm, shoulder and stuffs that are hurting. I can walk." she smiled.
"I didn't ask." he said with a small smirk.
Namjoon's jaw clenched.
"Yeah, yeah. I was just saying."
"Yah, Hoseok, are we really just going to go along with them?" whispered Jackson, pulling both Hoseok and Yoongi to turn to him for a moment. The chandeliers above their heads dangled and their boots echoed with taps along the marble to wooden floorings.
"...We'll see." shrugged Yoongi.
Hoseok just looked around the place with a calm smile, the stares of Taehyung's sniggering men worthed less than an eagle's to them. Namjoon had been silent but observant.
"So, mafia prince, are you letting us stay here?"
"Mafia prince?" Seokjin laughed quietly.
Taehyung, however, couldn't care less. Namjoon's gaze was freezing both Soyun and Seojoon who walked in front but they kept their calm.
As they passed some men in black or casual but scruffy attires, she thought that they uncannily reminded her of the bodyguards and old butlers Taehyung used to have. She looked in front and met Taehyung's gaze unplanned.
"Don't worry, they'll end up just like them if they try anything funny." he mouthed calmly as if he could read her memory lane. Was it just her, or had he also glanced to Namjoon at the back for a second there? He gave her a small smile, "I know how to keep my kind in check."
Jungkook also heard him talking, being right beside Soyun but it didn't look like either guy cared.
"When did you come to Rome?" she asked.
"The same day Kim Namjoon did," he answered calmly. So the person who Namjoon felt hold such a mysterious resemblance to Taehyung was indeed Taehyung himself. "You guys can rest assured if you're worried about being recognized, we hadn't accepted anything or task from Haneul. I've been the guardian angel for the NIS too, sort of."
Jimin giggled at Seokjin who noticed the reference to what he said himself a day ago. But Namjoon did not look amused, his face clearly mirroring "You? Our guardian angel? You, the one who killed our late head chief?" from his mouth.
Hyowon was talking to Namjoon about something she couldn't hear clearly and it only made her feel, somehow, worried if it was about her. Their faces were grim.
"You live here?" Yoongi asked Jimin. The other seemed a bit surprised at first but just smiled harmlessly, a bit too harmlessly that Jackson felt like the guy was hiding some malice behind that angelic smile because he saw how he threw bodies off buildings.
"Yeah." said Jimin.
"And you?" Namjoon stared at Seojoon.
"Yes, but no."
Taehyung and Jimin led them deeper into the first floor where they walked along a very calming, modern intimate-coloured antechamber. Namjoon could recognize the scent of tobacco again and he had been very patient to not make comments on the suspicious boxes they saw throughout a length of an opened room in the corridor.
"So he... he's the leader, right?" Hyowon whispered quietly to Namjoon, "A mafia boss is literally inviting us in like this. What is going on today?"
Jungkook and Seokjin seemed to have forgotten one another's unusual encounter, both looking around with quiet awes. The chandelier lightened the room they entered but since it was still so dark in the dining-like room, Hoseok went to open the curtains casually for himself. Mahogany long table, a painting of a golden raven in a black canvas, dried prints of blood on the vase near the fireplace intrigued some of them and the dark reddish-brown floor that matched the chairs. The brightest things in the room were probably Hoseok's calm smile, the chandelier and the fridge beside the countertops. She noticed a framed photo on the mantel-shelf of the fireplace.
"You guys lived in Daegu?" Jungkook asked, appearing at her shoulder.
"Ah, yep."
"You guys should take some seats for now." said Taehyung, "This is not exactly a meeting room but no one comes in unless I let them so, you can rest easy."
"So kind of you." said Seokjin suspiciously, he had not forgotten who would have shot him to the truck back there.
"Are we having a meeting?" snorted Jungkook, "After everything that just happened, this feels quite awkward."
"How long have you been tailing us?" Seokjin asked then, his question posed for the vigilantes first.
"Technically, since Soyun made contact with us." said Jungkook casually and he whispered to her, "Are you gonna sit?"
"Soyun, can you come with me for a moment? Your wound needs to be cleaned." Taehyung said. He added calmly when Namjoon got up, "I'm not going to apply poison or anything. I don't even want to argue so just sit there."
"More like, he's not interested in the rest of us." Yoongi shrugged.
"Wait." said Namjoon again and Soyun actually hadn't even turned around to Taehyung calling her. He looked directly at the young man who was still wearing his bloodstained hoodie, "You've been following us in secret since the day we were at Incheon airport, haven't you?" he didn't feel right with leaving his colleague alone with the criminal too.
Taehyung didn't reply but just gave a glance at Seojoon then Jungkook who was beside her.
"He said it already." said Jimin casually.
"And also sir, your Seojoon guy happens to be a mafioso in secret. NIS sure is diverse." chuckled Hoseok, sitting around the table since he was suggested to.
"This feels quite familiar." Soyun muttered silently to herself, hearing the same tone Jungkook had from Hoseok. The ingrained feeling wasn't hard to catch on, Hyowon and Seokjin were already curious. She peeked at Namjoon who looked impassive.
Jimin just leaned against the wall next to the curtains, a perfect position to observe all of them. Outside the window, he could see the gazebo in the gardens where Sunghwan was still tirelessly working at.
"Soyun," Namjoon said.
"It's fine, sir." she felt that it was worrying to let her wound throb in pain and also letting it burn more with contamination so she just went with Taehyung.
Jungkook wasn't looking in their ways but slowly moved back a chair to sit, his face serenely aloof and it deeply ticked off Namjoon.
Seojoon coughed, "You all owe the young master, by the way. He —"
"Young master? I see we're in debt with that kid now huh. Seojoon, you sound really fancy. Suddenly feeling more confident after your real boss saved us?" Seokjin crossed his arms in his seat as he looked around the room, finally scoffing. "I didn't expect you to be a liege to a mafia lord. What crimes have you committed?"
Maybe for the first time, Seojoon's gaze was icy, not what their chauffeur usually would have on him. He didn't appear bothered enough for the NIS agents to sense guilt or empathy. A meaningful silence lingered around them.
Yoongi kept his eye on the young leader as he brought Soyun to the other room through a door and he surely could accept it easier than Jungkook that the man genuinely wanted to help them out, no matter what his main objective was. The air around them was naturally still leaden and awkward, the dark-themed interiors didn't help much either.
She could still hear them talking; there were some scoffs and calm voices after the door closed behind her, three sides were discussing tenebrously as everyone could actually address each other in each confusion whenever one of them brought one up. She wondered how long had Taehyung been watching from afar. Fine dust floated on the soft rays of pale light peeking at them from the window.
"You still keep the pictures we took in Daegu." she said quietly, not knowing how to lighten the air in the same sombre room.
"Do you?" he asked, back facing her as he went over to the cabinets ahead. The room was like a small kitchen. There weren't stoves but piled boxes, bookshelves on the wall of a spiral staircase leading to a trapdoor above.
The mansion in all had an elegant, quaint air to it.
"...I do." she replied with a soft sigh, looking outside the small window for a moment. Even the gardens felt similar again. There were a round table and two chairs around it near the shelves.
"That's strange." he chuckled quietly and turned back to her with what she guessed was water with 97% alcohol and disinfectant. She could already feel the stinging pain just by looking at it.
"I just... didn't think much about it." she said, eyeing the chemicals and sighed at her fate. She hissed silently as her wound burned again when she tried to take a seat. She didn't think much about it because even the sight of him used to remind her of her sister, and she avoided it at all costs most of the time. Even now, as he was looking at her, she thought of that pain.
"Taehyung, how did you —?"
"Become the leader?" he tilted his neck slightly, "My father died."
Soyun didn't say 'sorry' since there was a cautious part of her who remembered clearly that he had no empathy for the man in question. It wasn't really the question she wanted to ask. She noticed how he answered that one so calmly.
"How did you guys find us?" she asked.
"I put a bug on Kim Namjoon on the day he left for the plane," he revealed calmly, grabbing some bandages from the shelves across her, "and Seojoon had been with us since the beginning."
"You can leave this to me —"
"Are you being deliberately stupid?" he sighed softly as he walked over to her again, "I'm not letting you treat yourself when you're injured. A bullet wound attracts the most contaminating risks, come on."
She listened and stared away from his genuine look, letting him tend to her shoulder. He took off her coat that she put on over her bloodied shirt.
"You'll have to just take off your shirt." he said casually, cutting off a bandage.
"I can't raise my arm to do that," she countered flatly.
"This makes it difficult." he said back.
"You have a lot of butlers and bodyguards. Do you have a maid or um, any woman who works here for this matter?"
From his silence, Soyun guessed he didn't and just groaned silently to herself without showing it on her face.
"I will do it myself —"
"Just leave it to me." he cut in tonelessly but firm enough to speak over her.
Soyun pressed her own lips together and turned away; having most of her bare skin exposed to a man out of anything else surely felt off, even more with the somewhat torn friendship they used to have. He threw a white shirt on her other shoulder to cover some parts, but he could see her bra. She regrettably asked herself why did she wear a shirt without buttons but didn't have time to anymore the moment he poured the alcohol on her bullet wound. She never had been shot before but she just knew it would hurt as much as when it pierced her.
"It will hurt a lot," he said.
And she held in her grunts, the burning sensation and the stinging pain as the liquid traveled into her injury agonizingly. The disinfectant just added more to it, she reflexively had held onto his other shoulder and he just casually proceeded to bandage her wound up again.
His ears reddened slightly and he sighed, "Right. I suggest you stay here with us for the time being since nowhere else is safe. I think Jimin is explaining to the other guys at the moment. And... How did you even get shot?"
"W-Well, I just did." she stuttered as she turned her head to the other side, still leaning into his shoulder as he calmly began to wrap the cloth, "If I didn't, Jungkook would've been shot so — yah!"
His handling was suddenly rough as he just finished wrapping the bandage on her shoulder, snorting silently. "Sorry." he apologized impassively and she gave a look, baffled.
She literally felt like her skin was going to be ripped off. Huffing and panting lastly to herself, she just buttoned up herself with one hand. She saw the small amount of blood on her left shoulder and left the shirt a bit loose there, since she should know when to change the bandages.
"I know the rest of the procedures by the way, thanks —" Soyun was getting up but he kept her still. She stopped awkwardly as he gripped her wrist on his shoulder, his gaze hardened upon hers. She slowly shifted, feeling his breath too close to her skin. "Taehyung, is something wrong?"
"What's your relationship with that guy?" he frowned darkly. For a moment, she was blank.
"There's nothing between me and Jungkook, I know you and the other guys might still think it's weird but really, we're just allies or friends."
He snorted coldly, "Taking a bullet pain for someone takes a lot of guts, I know shit is fucking painful Soyun you wouldn't do that for just anyone. No one does that —"
"I, I guess you just found out that I do. Why does this matter now anyway?" she frowned slightly and pushed him away despite the burst of sharp pain in her shoulder for a split second. She paused patiently, "Is there something you want to say?"
He didn't reply.
She sighed to get up but flinched slightly, startled and thought she had knocked over something, they heard barks from behind the countertops: a small dog with black and orang-ish brown fur had slipped from his own plate to jump out.
"Yeontan?" Taehyung sighed under his breath and it stared at both of them from the tabletop, casually scratching its ears. "Aish! Look at the mess you made, you literally just woke up —"
"You said Yeontan?" she blinked and beamed slightly; Taehyung paused at the side when it ran at her for a hug and she picked it up with a soft chuckle, hearing her giggle was something he missed. "It's grown so big? How long has it been again, it was as small as your palms..."
She didn't seem to realize she was talking so casually at the moment and he just forgave the little dog, scratching his head at the floor which was scattered with some dog food. "I guess it's been five years."
She gently placed it down when she remembered the place and the situation she was in, silently pressing her lips together again. Yeontan stared up at her excitedly. She hadn't seen the dog for five years since — she stopped thinking about it at once before the heartache came at her, her sister's death.
"Taehyung," she faced him, "I'm thankful you came and saved us. You even let us stay here but I don't think we should —"
"You need recovery time. Now look at this realistically, where else would you guys go?" he asked with a tone of confidence, confident that she wouldn't be able to answer. "See. Even if you want to say you guys wish to return to Korea, that too would be difficult without our help."
She listened grimly.
"You said Haneul is making connections with mafia groups and had already contacted one of your men in New York. I don't know much about your ability to keep your men in check either but more importantly, it's the fact that our presence here in your manor brings you harm. What would —"
"— my loyal men think?" he remained composed. He wasn't sure if she was worried for him or that she didn't feel comfortable enough around him. The room was getting colder as seconds passed and he sighed softly, "I've made my decision, you can't change it."
"Decision?"
"I will help you with Haneul." he said calmly.
"He's your customer. This doesn't benefit you, it would only put you up against many other families and Haneul himself. Besides," she knew Namjoon, Seokjin and Hyowon would be feeling the most conflicted thoughts, being sheltered by someone who assassinated their head chief. "Taehyung, why are you even doing this?"
"I let your sister die by the hands of my own butler when I could've stopped it." his gaze didn't drop to the floor. He was firm, "Even if you don't want to accept this kind of apology, I have to do it. I have some personal reasons to not want to affiliate with Haneul at this time as well."
"What is it?" she asked calmly, "No, nevermind." she was leaving but felt him pulling her back again.
He was holding her hand tightly and she saw him swallow. He looked slightly forceful.
She stared surprisedly because the gesture was generally seen as 'close' or intimate, and she didn't remember them reconciling or anything after what had happened between them to feel comfortable for it.
•••
"But why are you helping us?" Namjoon asked Jimin across the table.
"The reasons I stated weren't convincing enough?" said Jimin with a short chuckle, finding the abrupt interruption too sassy. The man didn't say anything next. Exhaling calmly, he paused calmly to lean his back against the wall again, humming absentmindedly and glanced at the door to his right.
"You see, I personally think Taehyung likes Shin Soyun."
Several people choked on their hot tea cups including Jungkook and Seokjin who were glaring at each other to death, they blankly stopped, turning to Jimin incredulously.
"What did you say?" Jungkook asked, his cheekbones twitching.
"Romantic feelings, perhaps." Jimin nodded in confirmation. Hyowon glanced at Namjoon apprehensively while Seokjin cleared his throat to sip some of his tea. He chuckled, "Hilarious, right?"
"I didn't know you were this straightforward." said Yoongi casually, the only one with Namjoon who had no reaction around the table. Seojoon honestly felt very targeted by his chief's fixed expression.
"Well, it's not even my own feelings to be shy about." the blond shrugged as he scrolled on his phone, "I hope we all see the benefits here though. And NIS head chief sir, you don't look so good. You haven't touched your tea to calm the mind too."
The skies outside were greying as they spoke and it was only afternoon. Namjoon felt all their blank gazes on him and just sneered. Jungkook sat in his own seat and blinked to himself a few times, and Seokjin noticed his hard frown.
"You expect me to process all this after shit hit the fan?" Namjoon raised a brow and Seojoon whispered something to Jimin. Again, he sent a glare with a slight raise in his tone, "After your boss killed our previous head chief?"
At his words, Seokjin and Hyowon turned to observe Jimin intensely.
"No but anyways, we all have and need information. Let's all share, pinky-promises?" The guy smiled light-heartedly, palms on two sides of the table as he addressed all of them and Seojoon just closed the windows when the winds were growing cold. It was going to rain, hadn't rained yet but the room had went darker and colder as seconds went by.
Namjoon's fists clenched and he felt as though the whole place was turning red in his vision, only Seokjin might have realized it to hold his gun back under the table.
•••
Yeontan's paws were holding onto her feet as Taehyung stared at her with parted lips. She didn't know where she was going with this.
"Ryujin's death... It wasn't your fault."
His eyes widened at her, a clear look of disbelief taking over. She knew he could hear the false sense of calmness in her voice.
"Soyun, you're just trying to refuse my help."
"And you're trying to make it your fault so I would. You were denying it that day we encountered in the hotel. I don't like the way you're using the matter for this." She glared, "You meant to kill our head chief, on the other hand."
He narrowed his eyes and approached her, pulling her closer with ease. He chuckled harshly, "You still hate me for letting your sister die, don't you?"
"What do you want me to feel? I can't like it when you talk about her." she hardened her gaze and he hated that he could see the sadness in her eyes, her lower lashes already glistening faintly. "Thanks for saving us but I think we won't stay here for long."
"You guys are going to have to do this with us. You know, I didn't like it too at first."
"Whether or not I hate you because of that, it doesn't change that we cannot work together with these things bothering us." she honestly wasn't even sure about how to face her colleagues like this but she didn't feel right working with someone who killed the previous head of her agency.
"No, we can work together since we all need information and numbers. And I'm doing this not only because of my guilt."
She looked at him.
"I like you."
He it said quickly without realizing.
"What?" she blinked, frowning slightly. Maybe she was not in her right mind at the moment or he had really just casually confirmed that what he felt wasn't platonic. She wasn't 'absolutely' surprised but was confused as to why he would say that here, no, she was indeed slightly taken aback.
"I'm doing this because I like you," he repeated and came closer again with a frown, "So honestly, I like doing it. I don't mind."
"Oh. Uhm," she didn't know what to say and he just chuckled lowly, ears red once he realized he had just confessed out of the blue.
"Shit." he said. He felt like he messed up, he was scratching his head. The smell of blood drying on both of them began to prickle the air for her.
"Soyun,"
But it wasn't like she would certainly reciprocate his feelings if he helped out, she couldn't be sure about that and it was too sudden. She heard some voices from the other room and returned to the present, waiting for anything to happen. He just tilted his neck slightly and gazed at her face. Uncertainly but sure that she needed to breathe out, she turned to leave the room thinking he wouldn't pursue the topic in any way if she did, but he didn't seem to care much about the rest of them unintentionally catching him with his grip around her wrist.
All of their heads turned to them wordlessly. Seokjin and Jackson looked stupefied and struck with gossips in their heads. Namjoon, well, she could feel her own presence shrinking slightly the moment their gazes met. Lately, his gaze had been more solemn than usual.
"Uhm, let go of my hand." she whispered nervously at Taehyung behind her and he released with a silent facepalm. Maybe he was going through a bit of an epiphany, she never struck him as someone so direct about a confession and it might have just slipped out of his piling confusions.
Jimin looked away, furtively covering a laugh and she saw Taehyung's face hardening at him.
"You told them something unnecessary, didn't you?" he could guess just by looking at his friend's mischievous restrained grin. It was already pouring gently outside the windows and she had taken a seat somewhere, trying to not look in Taehyung's way at all.
"No, I did not." Jimin said with a smile, smugly satisfied with something as though he could tell too just by looking at his friend's reddened ears that he realized his own feelings.
Since she sat at the farthest seat around the long dining table though, she was stuck with Jungkook and Seokjin having a glaring competition. It wasn't hard for anyone else in the room to notice Taehyung glancing at her with a rather concerned look, and they wondered what happened between them earlier because the treatment took longer than expected.
Taehyung finally began speaking, "I take it that my men explained why we have been helping? I know that the NIS —"
"Oh yes, we know why." Hoseok interrupted casually and then smiled, "Of course it's what you are going to repeat."
"Then I guess I don't need to repeat them." he said and got up from his seat with a low exasperated sigh as he turned away from the windows, looking at Sunghwan who just came inside the room with his laptop. "I think we all should clean up first before we start talking about business. Jimin, Seojoon, and Sunghwan perfect timing. Sunghwan, you and Seojoon are to take care of the media. Jimin and I will show them some guest rooms —"
"Is it just me or did your clothes change?" Jungkook asked, staring at her as Yeontan barked excitedly overhead, probably after coming out and seeing so many people with different smells.
"...I did have to take off my dirtied shirt." she replied quietly to not talk over Taehyung.
"— in the third floor. I told the mafiosi that we are the only ones allowed in the floor for the time being," he casted a look at Soyun.
"You —?" Jungkook asked and paused emptily, suddenly falling quiet. "Okay."
His gaze remained on her from the side.
"What are you thinking about, hm?" she asked but nervously put down her teacup when he smirked and raised his brow knowingly.
Seokjin stared apprehensively but it wasn't exactly because of the two.
Hyowon asked Taehyung calmly across the long table, "Can we really trust you?"
Soyun turned from Jungkook upon his question. Could she really trust him?
A terse silence fell between all of them again as some had pushed their chairs back, some paused and some still sitting calmly. Namjoon was one of them who hadn't moved from his seat at all, arms crossed firmly on his chest.
"They are asking a lot of annoying questions, did you really tell them or not?" Taehyung scowled at Jimin and Seojoon in Italian. Before Seojoon said anything, there was a chuckle.
"They told us why you're helping, not if we can trust you or not. We need clarification." Namjoon spoke in Italian and between these two, there was an odd sense of relation in the way both of them were leaders.
"Tch. Forgot that he could understand Italian." Taehyung snorted coldly, "Yeah. You can trust me."
She doubted that his clarification made any difference for the NIS agents but supposed they all weren't in the shapes to have a serious discussion in their clothes that just came out of a mess and her empty stomach but she didn't ask anyone about it either, very perceptive of the stiff politeness from a few of the butlers.
"How many rooms are there? I don't want to sleep with all these other dudes, it'll be stuffy." Yoongi complained in a casual tone as they split with Seojoon and Sunghwan outside the room.
"Be grateful and know your place." Taehyung said, "There are a total of seven of you excluding Seojoon who already has his room,"
"Eight, I think you aren't counting one in?" said Namjoon, raising a brow.
"Wasn't really a mistake. Soyun can share a room with me, it will save up space. The rest of you can be with each of your own."
They either stared at Taehyung or was like her, slightly taken aback.
"Huh." Soyun's head turned to him. Maybe they knew each other already but clearly, the idea was sudden.
"It's not like we don't know each other." he said.
"No, but that's —"
"I would like that if she agreed and would be comfortable with it." Namjoon had slowly stepped forward. He exhaled lowly under his breath, his height towering slightly over Taehyung as he confronted him, eye-to-eye, "She doesn't seem to —"
"She is." the mafioso spoke over him casually.
Jungkook frowned a little, one brow raised.
Soyun bit her lip inwardly as she observed. This same possessiveness was what she definitely knew from their friendship. At times, it felt like there was more to what he thought of her because of it.
She cleared her throat, "So... I think —"
"But isn't that weird," Namjoon said and she was cut off casually though it was probably unintended, "Deciding these without asking?"
"It's my mansion to begin with, and I take consideration in her comfort. State your problem with it. Where else would she go? Alone, or with you lot?" he said, returning Namjoon's dark gaze calmly. Never in Hyowon's or Seokjin's lives were they used to seeing people try to provoke their boss like that. Jimin stared from Taehyung to Namjoon, entertained as they paused at the stairs.
"Yall, am I even here? I should be speaking." Soyun held back an incredulous snort but it somewhat showed on her face as she let out a sigh. She opened her mouth again to speak, "Okay, you guys know what —?"
"You're literally a mob." Namjoon gritted his teeth with subtle edge, "She will stay with me and her colleagues."
Jungkook sighed lightly and scratched his head, pointing his thumb at Soyun beside him, "Listen so mhm, shouldn't she do the talking if you're saying you take such consideration?"
She looked at the vigilante with a featherlight-stutter, pausing until he nudged her.
"Right." she spoke with a small sigh of satisfaction and relief that she didn't have to cut in with a loud snap, "I'd go alone. So a single room would do, actually."
"There are other mafiosi in the manor and I'm not sure if they are that true to their capo's restrictions. If he even cares." Namjoon chuckled calmly over Seokjin's small laugh of amusement, "Like I suggested when we were at the hotel the other day, we can't be alone."
Soyun froze inside. Being with Namjoon again would actually be reassuring but after what happened like her hiding controversial connections from the NIS, she'd rather not.
"What? You want to be —" Taehyung inhaled, "Fine then." he let out a sigh then after looking at her, "Sorry about that. She can decide it."
"Yeah, I'll be alone." she said easily. They were silent for a second and she just returned Namjoon's calm questioning look with another nod, "Don't worry about it so much."
"Right, you're not her father. And you're not her manager." Jungkook added, looking at the both of them with a smug look before turning. "Already at each other's throats. Couldn't be me."
She didn't say anything. There was a slight hesitance but she trusted that Taehyung could really control his men so there was nothing to be so worried about. There was an odd assumption in her head when she glanced at Namjoon again. She just could tell that he felt down and stressed.
As they walked, she did not forget to thank Jungkook even though he seemed to be more focused on anything but where they were heading to inside a Mafioso's manor.
"No big deal, you're welcome." he hummed.
•••
They had already forgotten about the ridiculously solemn discussion over rooms by the time Jimin showed the NIS agents theirs and they believed they needed to relax after the events that happened just an hour ago. The vigilantes would be sharing one room and they'd actually very much like that, she could tell.
Soyun looked at her phone and it was 1:45 PM. She followed Taehyung and Jimin in the corridor. She thought she should be concerned of how his men would do, whether they would flow along with their leader's orders or not when he wasn't explaining anything; it was clear now that Taehyung had something, whatever it was, it had a firm hold over his men who he seemed to be treating as mere pawns. They all noticed, just weren't pointing it out how his men just go along with anything he said.
"How does it work, you may wonder." Jimin laughed amusedly at her. She just wondered how he noticed she was wondering. "Taehyung's a natural here."
"Soyun, about earlier..." Taehyung began slowly without turning, "Nevermind. Anyways, after you're freshened up,"
"We gather at the room earlier?"
"We have to work together." he said, "Kim Seokjin got the clips from Vatican City. And I have something quite valuable from New York that I have to share."
They stopped in front of a room.
"If you need anything, you can call me." Jimin smiled innocently. All of them had met under unusual circumstances so this sudden casualness would take some time to get used to.
Jimin turned from the door and walked off first and she had the impression that he knowingly did so Taehyung could say something to her without unwanted ears listening in.
"We had maids before this, actually." he said conversationally, "I think some of them left their clothes around so I think you can just use them. Wait, it's not that I'm giving you a maid's room —"
"It's fine, thank you." she chuckled.
"Well, it's not a maid's room anymore."
"Where are the maids now though?" she asked and opened the white door. The room was the size of her room in the condominium in Seoul, there was actually nothing bad with it. Like other parts of the manor, it was a bit dark with the wine-red curtains, dark green carpet flooring and elegant dark red chair rails that framed half of the moss-green wall.
He walked in and watched her look around, "I fired them because the mafiosi started fucking around and being annoying. It's better that they're away from this filthy place anyway, even if they needed money."
She guessed he did it after taking over his father's place. Worrying for innocnet people was something you wouldn't usually expect from a mafioso, especially their boss. She didn't comment but he noticed the corners of her lips turning up slightly from behind as she checked the wardrobes.
It felt like someone had actually cleaned the room beforehand.
"You shouldn't open the windows —"
Brrrr.
The cold winds from the rain blew at her face and she quickly closed it back, shaking her head and rubbing an eye.
"Tell me earlier, gosh." she sighed discreetly and heard footsteps walking over to her with a light sigh or a chuckle, "I forgot it was raining."
"Something even got in your eye?" he asked.
"Just rain, it's fine." she said quickly, slightly surprised that he was suddenly in front of her. They didn't say anything for a couple of seconds but perhaps the sense of familiarity between them made it feel shorter. Was he gazing at her face?
"You're even prettier now." he said calmly and somehow with an impassive face.
"Hm? Yeah," her glance darted somewhere else for a moment and she just remembered that he literally confessed earlier. Honestly, she didn't remember him saying things like this casually back then. Maybe because she knows now...
Then again, his tone was still the same as ever.
"We haven't seen each other for years."
"It's awkward and a pity that we always encounter each other this way. I never thought you'd become an NIS agent." he said, sitting on the bed and she stayed at the window calmly. He looked at her, "I also wanted to talk about what happened before I disappeared."
"My sister —?"
"I agree with you that it doesn't make sense for an eleven year old kid to send me secret death threats with letters and things like that. However..." his gaze remained on her who listened attentively, "how do I explain the contents? It was someone who knew I was friends with you."
"Someone that close tried to frame Ryujin?"
But why?
"What kind of things did they send you?"
"Letters telling my father to come back to Italy. But when we did, nothing happened." he said pensively, trying to remember more but it wasn't like he'd keep letters with death threats so he needed to recall by memories.
She frowned slightly. Someone who wanted Taehyung's mafia family to return to Rome and someone who knew that she was Taehyung's close friend.
"The letters had different handwriting. One was quite modern or firm and I could tell the other one was a younger kid's. As if she added it herself," he said, "things like telling me to stay away from you."
"What?" she was confused, "Why would Ryujin write things like that as if she..." she gulped silently. It was as though her sister had known something about her friend's background. She knew herself, she never told anyone and would've carried the secret to the grave.
"I'm sor —"
"That one lunchbox I got... I know it wasn't you, you would've known I'm not good with spicy food."
"Wait, what? A lunchbox?" her blank response just told her that there had been someone had been trying to assassinate Taehyung using her name. She felt herself shudder.
"A poisoned one, but it doesn't matter now."
Her chest tightened slightly at his indifference; being someone in that position, she doubted that he wasn't used to dealing with these kind of attempts.
"Yah, Taehyung..." she said softly and slowly, looking at him. "I believe you. I meant it earlier when I said my sister's death was not your fault. It's clear that someone else was behind it." and she never knew. She never noticed it, that someone could've approached her vulnerable sibling when she and Sungrok wasn't around. If only she took care of Ryujin better, maybe something like that wouldn't have happened?
How did it come to something as bizarre as —
She was surprised, falling into silence when he suddenly hugged her. His hold was gentle and weak as though he was going to collapse to his knees for a moment.
"I'm glad," he said with a half-hearted laugh, "I haven't — I haven't been able to forgive myself for it."
"Well you can now." she said lightly as she held him back, "But it's really been so long since we talked, huh? Whoa, your voice dropped an octave."
He let out a small chuckle and drew away a little, "Can we... catch up? We haven't even talked to each other like this for a while."
There was undeniably a warmer feeling in his gaze now that she noticed it. She had unconsciously put away his arms as he stared for her answer. How could she reply to that knowing that her previous head chief was killed by him? She hesitated.
Taehyung frowned slightly at her silence and it might be true that he didn't even remember what he had done.
"What's wrong? You don't want to?" he asked calmly, surveying her face.
"You know there's something between the NIS and you." she brought up and his expression didn't change. There was silence between them and she eventually asked him to leave so she could take a bath. It was as though a dark autumn breeze left the room when he did.
Looking outside the window didn't change much as well. With some patience and difficulty, she got into the shower and sighed softly after she could finally breathe out. She would admit, after hearing Taehyung's reason to fire the maids they had, she understood Namjoon's concern but well, she was actually confident in her own abilities most of the time and Taehyung reassuring her once was enough.
The only thing she wasn't sure of was if some of his men could recognize the vigilantes or her. Being mafiosos meant they were probably familiar and hanging out with other underground criminals — maybe some of them knew the faces of the wanted vigilantes and herself.
•••
2 PM in Rome, Italy.
She closed the door behind her. If Taehyung had been in Italy ever since... She looked at the paintings on the walls and just knew these were artworks he bought and picked himself. Vincent Van Gogh, Klimt, Renoir, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Egon Schiele. She remembered how he used to talk about these when they were younger.
She let out a silent, nostalgic sigh as she pulled out her phone. It would be safe to finally call back her brother and she laughed at how he was trying so hard to not sound frantic over the phone.
"Soyun, where are you guys exactly? I've been told that none of you are telling anyone where you are —"
"Oh right." she carelessly almost forgot about it herself, walking along the stairs as she held her phone to her ears. "Sungrok, is Sana there?"
"Hm? No, she went to buy takeaway food outside. Oh, do you want me to call her —?"
"Wait no, don't!" quickly, she nervously hissed, "Just don't tell anyone we called. This is a burner phone that I'm using but still, don't tell anyone."
"But why?" Sungrok frowned, disappointed. He shook his head then, "Never mind that. I know that you're probably still in Rome now. Are you guys okay there? Just tell me that,"
"We're okay. I got shot on the shoulder but that's all —"
"What? What the fuck?"
She jumped slightly from his sharp tone and only got herself to blame for carelessly letting such info out of the bag. She ignored his scowls anyway.
"I'm fine though. It hurt but I'm fine now." she said quietly as she walked down the dark stairs. Why was the manor so dark anyway? She heard Sungrok immediately running to the bathroom perhaps because Sana was coming back and laughed from amusement. "And I suppose I should go now."
"Yah, I haven't asked you some —"
She had to hung up quickly once she reached the landing of the stairs. She guessed she was later than everyone else based off how quiet the corridors were. There were some chatters, maybe from a TV screen as she headed to the meeting room.
Jungkook, Hoseok, Yoongi and Jackson weren't seated, probably because the NIS agents were already seated first and she didn't know why it was ever that much of a problem but maybe they were just being bitter. They were listening to the news and Taehyung's eyes moved to her right away when she came in. And his friend was another story — why did he always have that knowing look on his face?
The news played the recordings from the St. Peter's Basilica when the chaos first broke out and she felt the vigilantes stirring, their expressions darkening slightly when a familiar scribbled sunflower mark was shown, found on the grounds. The heart-shaped smile was distorted with red crayon.
"Look at them, calling us out like that." Jungkook sneered, gulping in the bottle of water that Hoseok passed to him. Seokjin looked very calm at the moment.
"— it seems as if the vigilantes are deeply related to this incident —"
"Do you feel any sort of headache?"
There were shots of the victims showed on the screen.
Soyun turned to the voice which she knew belonged to her mentor subtly, still feeling wrong and guilty.
"No, why?"
"You pulled out the bullet at once and I think you know the amount of blood you spilled." one corner of Namjoon's lips stretched slightly as he said, restraining a sneer. "We'll talk about how lucky you were later."
Seojoon would the only one who didn't need an explanation. She already could note down the times he had been suspicious and now remembered, recalled two similar instances with both Taehyung and Seojoon where Jungkook had already sensed something off with them.
She didn't need to bother translating for the vigilantes since the screens had correct translations ready. Although she felt like they didn't need it, the small flash of their group's drawn trademark filled enough tension for them.
"Haneul's main priority is really the vigilantes, it seems." Hyowon said solemnly, looking over to them at the walls.
"Soyun too," said Jungkook. Taehyung was silently thinking. "Actually, she might possibly be prioritized more now that Haneul knows we worked together. Somewhat."
"That brings our questions and by ours I mean the NIS," Seokjin kept his calm as he went on after Jungkook, "How long have you been —"
"Stick to the topic." sighed Taehyung who seemed very uninterested or simply didn't want to hear more things that could frustrate him. He cocked his head slightly and Jimin closed the tab, putting on an audio clip for them instead.
"We are sharing our information first to show our honest intent for cooperation." Jimin said casually over Seokjin's baffled snort at his young master.
"What's this?" Soyun asked.
"An audio recording of Kang Haneul himself in New York that I got from one of my underbosses." Taehyung explained briefly and he had expected them to react with business-like bewilderment, "I did mention it in the car."
The moment she heard the voice of the man 'Jaesik' was speaking to, it all came back to her like the smokes on that day when she lost her parents. Ashes roamed the air but before her surroundings shrouded her with some unpleasant stigma, someone pulled her attention with a tap of her balled palms. Namjoon was familiar with a few of her habits after all, being her mentor...
"Thanks," she whispered. She did not miss Taehyung's graphite-like gaze on them.
"Pay attention." Namjoon said with a light sigh and she nodded.
"I'd like your help with something in the North."
Haneul said,"You have a good hold of the drug sales there and I heard that the Mafia prince have been working on a new killing drug,"
"Pause it."
Jimin listened without hard feelings, "Is there a question already, Mr. Kim?"
"You're working on a new killing drug?" he asked with a sarcastic look.
"And they start." Jungkook made a small chuckle somewhere over their shoulders, now tuning into the tension for entertainment.
"I've been procrastinating on it though." Taehyung replied nonchalantly. She had a feeling that Namjoon, Seokjin or Hyowon was recording all this for themselves in secret.
"I don't understand why you're asking as if you think you need evidence to arrest us." Jimin laughed amusedly as he spun a killing knife in his hand, "That won't happen."
"Well, you guys killed our head chief. Everything we're shown here is evidence." said Seokjin with gritted teeth, his glare unusually fierce and he turned to the vigilantes, "You guys are not an exception. You've spurred almost as much problems if we compare to how much yall saved."
"Still want to play the fake heroes in this situation?" Yoongi snorted. Jungkook was flipping the emptied plastic bottle at the side as their silence were grappling with one another across the cold, dreary air.
"What do you mean?" Hyowon asked, fighting his own temper as he stared at the younger opponent.
"What he said, figure it out for yourself." Jackson said.
"I didn't clear this one thing up yet. Taehyung." Namjoon began calmly and had called the man by his name directly, "You had a hand in killing Bang Shi-Hyuk, didn't you?"
The vigilantes stopped playing around and listened in pensively. Taehyung gave a simple and blunt reply.
"Yeah. To be honest, I was the hand myself."
Namjoon furiously got to his feet at once but Hyowon held him back. Seokjin just stayed in his seat and Soyun groaned inwardly; Jimin posed his gun to Namjoon who was fighting back hold to be released, rage taking over him quickly as Hoseok stared from behind them with no intentions to intervene.
Taehyung was still oddly calm and unaffected. He felt bad for a different reason: if he hadn't killed the man, they would've had much more leads now...
"YOU KILLED HIM, YOU KILLED OUR HEAD CHIEF AND YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST GET AWAY WITH IT? SKIP THAT BULLSH —" a vase was knocked over and Hyowon tightened his hold on him with restraint, "— Hyowon-nim, why are you stopping me?!"
Jimin frowned slightly, looking at his friend from the corner of his eyes and wondered if he was going to let this flaming dragon sear more. Soyun didn't insert anything. She just observed them calmly. They were off to a bad start for the so-called cooperation but she couldn't blame any side yet. She stared at Taehyung who remained indifferent throughout the provoking atmosphere, and his gaze found hers. This was what she meant.
"Not even looking this way, are you?" Namjoon taunted widely, sneering.
"Why did you kill the boss?" Seokjin then asked steadily despite Namjoon's aggressive shouts, or at least, he successfully hid his same anger.
"If you were me, you would've done it too," Taehyung stated calmly and felt the vigilantes looking at him expressionlessly, but their gazes sure were mysterious, hiding deep intents that just made Jimin beside him proceed with playing the audio recording to see if that would change then. At the same time, "Kim Namjoon, you should know better."
Jungkook's eyes narrowed a little after unintentionally catching whatever they were screaming anyway, and there was a short but heavy pause between the two men for a moment. Soyun just stiffened slightly in her seat as she concentrated on the played recording:
"Not sure where you got that rumour from but he's been procrastinating on it." Jaesik sighed.
"Not only that, but you guys have great doll makers." Haneul's tone lightened up slightly, "I once had a contract with them, remember? But they are so unreachable and so is Mr. Kim —"
"Namjoon, we can't be so reckless over here when we would legit be stranded somewhere else!" Hyowon warned but nothing seemed to be getting into the man's head. "Put that gun down already young man!"
"He said doll makers?" Hoseok raised a brow and discussed amongst his teammates casually.
"Why should I?" Jimin giggled.
Taehyung calmly turned as he leaned against the walls, not the slightest bit afraid that Hyowon could give up on restraining Namjoon who would've already lunged at his unguarded side.
"KIM TAEHYUNG —"
"Quiet down and listen in, would you? This is an important piece of information from me." Taehyung scratched his hair and annoyedly grunted inside his head, "How annoying."
"— understand, mister. The Vigilantes haven't even started and Shin Soyun has the NIS. I don't like to lower my status to fight on equal grounds with them, nuh-uh I will use my own resources. You might not know this, Jaesik, but —"
"I can see that," Jungkook commented on the recording through clenched teeth, nodding to himself.
"— the NIS is keeping something from us too."
"Owh and I expected that." he said again and she supposed Namjoon was actually pretty insane to catch everything even with all the non-quietness in the room, that he had turned to the screen consciously after shaking off Hyowon.
"Why did you pause? Did the clip end?" Seokjin asked calmly and Jimin shrugged as if he wasn't the one who paused it.
"He paused because Haneul said you guys are hiding something." said Jungkook and she already sensed Seokjin's sharp scowl incoming.
"We are the government's direct workers, it's not a surprise that we hold secrets and confidential information."
The rest of them had went quiet again as two of them were bickering on their behalfs; Taehyung once again seemed completely invulnerable to Namjoon's death glare, staring at her.
"The usual classified information clearly isn't the only thing there. You know Haneul has a mole right? Having a mole but still having that tone," Jungkook frowned at him, "There's something else. Like why Soyun couldn't get an answer from you guys when she asked about what yall did wrong. She even went to ask me instead."
Namjoon glanced back at her for a second, looking slightly perplexed. She stared at Jungkook uncertainly when he had calmly panned his gaze to her. The room quietened again.
"Oh, is that so? Is there something that needs to be shared here, Mr. Kim?" Jimin chuckled. Taehyung's attention returned since he hadn't caught anything much from Namjoon, Seokjin and Hyowon on this.
"Soyun, I already told you that not even I know." He ran his hand through his hair as he faced her with a light sigh, casually kicking away the pieces of ceramics on the floor with his boots.
"Wait, what? When —?" Wasn't that one when he said I reminded him of someone though? Where was the connection —
"I'm not in the mood to recall for you." he said coldly.
She was slightly taken aback and just gulped silently from her seat. Jungkook and Taehyung looked at them. But she understood why he'd be heated up and sensitive today, and chances were that her words in the morning never got in either. Seokjin didn't look like he would step in or hold Namjoon back there. She didn't know about Seojoon who weren't there at the moment but these three especially — even the other two — Seokjin and Hyowon who hadn't exactly snapped like Namjoon yet — they were most likely still restraining themselves in their own ways.
"Now that we gave an explanation of some sort, continue the clip?" Hyowon said to Jimin who was going to listen but the quietness didn't stay for long, not when the vigilantes, NIS and the mafia were in one place.
"You're quite incompetent for a head chief, actually. No wonder the NIS is so penetrable with such a leader," Taehyung said calmly and she felt her heart clench; maybe even Jungkook and his hyungs were incredulous at how he commented unprovokedly from the way Jackson covered a gasp, the look in his eyes were pure challenge. "So many untrusted members and people running around easily under your watch. Why do you think that is?"
"Taehyung, what are you —?" she stood up to her feet as once but felt her shoulder ache, Hyowon had scowled at her to stay calm, she did but didn't stop observing Namjoon worriedly.
"Oh, sorry for putting all the blame on you. I forgot that Seojoon had been inside the NIS before you were the head chief." Taehyung added and she clenched her teeth; Namjoon had lunged forward and she quickly held him back, Seokjin and Hyowon didn't look as calm as they tried to seem before anymore.
"This really won't work, would it?" Jackson sighed at the side and Jungkook watched.
"Let's let them wrap up the round first." Hoseok said.
"You've gone too far." Namjoon said exactly what she wanted to.
"Jimin, keep her safe. I just had to get it out of my chest seeing how you could bring down NIS before Haneul does —"
"Keep me what?" she snorted and sensed something over her shoulder, she had already cornered his friend to the wall with her knife's tip close to his chin and he seemed to have not expected it or even had a permission from a certain someone to fight back either way so he grunted on the floor; Soyun just casually made way to Taehyung across the long dining table after using her sole uninjured arm to point a knife.
"What is she up to?" Jungkook chuckled quietly, watching her. He hadn't turned to Jimin who got back up almost expressionlessly.
"Wasn't she supposed to be injured?" Yoongi said.
Taehyung's eyes widened slightly, mildly taken aback because he didn't expected her to intervene or side with someone else. And he didn't like it one bit. But he noticed how she didn't raise the knife for him.
"For your information Taehyung, I just hurt your friend using what Namjoon taught me, basic skills, yeah, this man taught me everything from the scratch —" she inhaled and continued fiercely, "— he took me in the NIS, me, he took me in when I was fifteen years old, a miserable and a lost nobody and taught me everything from the beginnings! I am probably alive today like this because of his mentoring and all that, so it doesn't feel right for me to hear your bullshit on his leadership and —"
"Soyun," Taehyung stuttered and she just held her glare at her old friend. But soon she just frowned slightly at his look of bafflement rather than guilt for what he said unprovokedly, "Soyun. You know it's true. You know it's right, here you are as an indirect accomplice of mine and with the vigilantes —"
"I'M NOT YOUR ACCOMPLICE!" she scowled incredulously and his gaze hardened, "I didn't know you would've killed the head chief of NIS, I think we can't do this —"
"Oh? What are you guys going to do now then?" He cut off abruptly with a laugh and shifted his darker gaze to Namjoon as he held something in him back, "I know there's something going on in the NIS already and you know who would be in the bad light if anything here gets out. Also, I don't want you all exposing Jaesik and me —"
Namjoon had thrown a punch at Taehyung after Seokjin pulled her away. However, she felt more apprehensive than she thought she'd be.
"Bro, what the fuck?" Jimin would've stepped in but Taehyung gestured him to stay at the sides and just wiped the blood off his lips.
No one would risk getting some hits if they intervened in the fight and some of them would admit, they hadn't expected Taehyung to keep up with Namjoon so calmly or how he pickpocketed for his hidden knives and weapons as they swung fists at one another.
"He's fast. Hui Su was right." Hoseok said and Jackson looked surprised, both because his leader commented on skills and the two men who fought like they really were after the other's life.
"You know what, this can be bad." Seokjin grunted and got up from his seat as Hyowon did too.
"Isn't someone supposed to stop them?" Yoongi whispered.
"Namjoon, we haven't even seen everything we needed yet!" Hyowon groaned.
"Why does that matter? We can force them out later —" Namjoon spat and kicked back Taehyung to the walls, the other had a sneer on his face the entire time and he felt himself panting heavily — "DON'T STOP ME!"
They both tried to stop Namjoon but had moved out of the way when he skidded backwards on the table; there was no blind instances to grip him and Taehyung would drag them into the fight without hesitation if they came any closer, Jimin held her back but maybe it was less tight since he couldn't hold her with her injured shoulder.
"And I find it pretty funny how you pretend to br all about justice," Taehyung snickered lowly, rain pattering harder against the window panes beside him.
When she had caught Taehyung's fingers entwining differently on one of the sharp knives he stole, she tensely shook Jimin off her and despite their shouts and stepped in between them: Taehyung halted himself quickly but was still glaring breathlessly at Namjoon over her shoulders, she could hear Namjoon coughing from a hit behind her. Jungkook frowned uncertainly and Yoongi stared at him again then at Jimin who sighed to himself.
There was a pause and Taehyung's gaze softened slightly, "Move aside, please. Jimin, why did you let her off?!"
"Who was it who told me to be careful with her, I can't if you limit me like that —"
"Right, he likes her." said Seokjin flatly but he and Hyowon tensed quickly again when Namjoon had lunged at Taehyung anyway; she wanted to scowl but Seokjin and Hyowon didn't look like they knew what to do at the moment too, she shouted at Namjoon frustratedly and Jungkook just inhaled, scratching his head with a light groan but he didn't look like he would jump in unlike Yoongi predicted —
"We can get out of here without killing someone, Namjoon please!" she sighed, pushing him back and Hoseok felt both Jungkook and Yoongi stirring silently beside him as the other NIS agents were walking over to them.
"SOYUN, OUT OF MY WAY —"
A loud knock caused all of them to fall silent at once as Soyun just swallowed in her grunt when her shoulder his the sides of the table. Namjoon turned around quickly to realize what he had done and Taehyung shoved him away, eyes widened with concern as he went over to her who had been shaken off harshly. Distant thunders flickered in the grey clouds outside.
"Soyun, are you okay —?"
She slapped his hand away but muttered a faint apology knowing they were stuttering in shock, "I'm fine, don't worry about it, just — ugh."
A part of him froze and felt as though she did that because she was actually holding herself back from snapping.
And Namjoon could say anything, he didn't say anything with his slightly parted lips, she heard other shuffles toward them from behind Seokjin and Hyowon followed by a groan. She hadn't looked up yet, staying still against her will as the pain sprinted to other parts of her consciousness that it burned there too —
"Will you stupid dudes make way please, I can't stand this ridiculous sight anymore." Jungkook whined as he strode over to them and pushed Seokjin aside, ignoring Taehyung's scowl and casually proceeded toward her, "What are you guys even doing, honestly."
He crouched to her level and she tried to get up, somewhat hating the idea of him seeing her weakened on the floor like that but she grunted in pain again and staggered. She didn't think the wound reopened but maybe the blood she lost earlier just decided to show its circumstances after being hit with pressure. Her head hurt occasionally.
"Soyun, the wound was hit you shouldn't —"
"Mafia prince, I think she knows." Jungkook snorted menacingly and his gaze sent chills down their spines for a brief moment, "I'll bring her to her room and you guys can fill us in later," he wryly glanced at Namjoon and Taehyung, "Yall can continue fighting to death in the meantime."
"What? Yah —" Taehyung coldly shouted after him and Namjoon hadn't spoken a word. Yoongi had a small smirk but who would know why?
Soyun blinked confusedly when his hand went under the back of her knees and she was picked up gently; she tried to not look flustered when literally everyone was watching but doubted that he cared.
Seokjin didnt look exactly infuriated, he probably appreciated that Jungkook was sane to get up and move her away unlike the other two who suddenly went dead quiet in the room. It did feel different for him to see the man showing affection like that whenever dark flashes popped back into his head; his rough fists were the marks of experiences with many lethally-injured underground and street opponents. He figured that the other vigilantes seemed unaware, and wondered if Soyun could tell. He just knew she already had a few times where she was curious of that darkness.
"Wait, so he's really the guy you saw in Busan during that one loan shark case?" he heard Hyowon whispering.
"I'm sure about it now, Hyowon-nim." he said.
Jungkook had walked out as he carried Soyun calmly and maybe they realized how much worse it could've been if the ceramic shards Namjoon knocked off earlier were there where she fell.
End of Chapter Eighteen
A/N:
Ya I know Jungkook's character is like so mysterious hmmmmm 🤔