The familiar black bike roared as it approached the entrance of the university building. It got Jungkook feeling some type of way. The same way Taehyung had made him feel since day one: curious, excited, but still fearful.
Namjoon huffed by his side. Neither he nor his other two hyungs were one bit happy by Jungkook's intentions on going forward with his plans, nor the outcomes of his 'friendship' with a sketchy guy.
That same morning, in between classes while they went for a run for beverages, his bodyguards cornered Jungkook with questions and intended purpose to make him back away. They were still threading in thin ice after the questions Jungkook made after they left the café, afraid to make him doubt himself and his own worth.
"It's not worth putting your life in danger just to spite your family." Namjoon carefully brought the topic up after Jungkook told them he was going to have lunch with Taehyung out of the campus.
"I'm not stupid, hyung." Jungkook huffed, rolling his eyes.
If anything, Taehyung being a gangster would only drive him off quicker. His family would have a field day of reasons to not want that kind of man with their maknae.
"I never said you were."
"Then trust me."
"It's not you I don't trust, Jungkook. We don't know the guy." Jungkook let out an elongated breath, swirling the ice of his blue lemonade with the straw while he put his thoughts in order.
"We should give people a chance to prove themselves. I have a good feeling about him." He muttered, loud enough to be heard.
Namjoon let out a louder sigh, eyes rolling back, which made Jungkook more desperate for his approval; after all, his hyungs' opinions are more important than his family's. Jungkook whined and grabbed Namjoon's arm, flipping his pleading eyes between him and Hoseok.
"The moment I sense I'm not safe anymore, I'll tell you. Besides, I'll have you by my side all the time." Namjoon couldn't resist Jungkook's puppy eyes. He tried to seek Hoseok's help, but he just shrugged.
"I feel like my death is approaching fastly." The driver mumbled to himself, although it didn't escape the maknae's ears.
"I would never put you in danger on purpose. I know it might seem reckless on my part, but I feel like he could be a good friend." He spoke with honesty; he wanted them to understand his side, and trust his judgment.
He could have given a lot of misplaced faith to his ex-boyfriends, but that was mostly an act of desperation. He didn't have many expectations with Taehyung, even though he really felt attracted and curious by the man.
"Friend, you say? It didn't look like he wanted to be just your friend." Hoseok snickered with a lopsided scoffing smile.
"Maybe I don't want him to be just my friend," Jungkook admitted in a deaf mumble that, thankfully, was missed by his hyungs.
"You promise you're not doing this just to spite your family?" Namjoon questioned with a worried look.
He didn't care if Jungkook gave his family a living hell, but he also knew how hard their bite back could be, and he didn't want Jungkook to hurt more. The maknae seemed close to his last straw.
"I just want to see how long Taetae hyung will last." He confessed. He really didn't have any expectations, but he also couldn't deny his deep curiosity.
Perhaps he was playing with fire, but maybe he didn't mind getting a mild burn. So as soon as his classes ended that morning, he happily ran towards the exit and skipped down the steps to meet with Taehyung, who had just now arrived.
Jungkook stopped in his tracks to look at the vision that was Kim Taehyung, who was supporting the bike between his legs, bike-stand out and one foot on the ground.
Taehyung opened the visor of his helmet and Jungkook looked over his shoulder, to his hyungs, and grinned sheepishly.
"I'll go with Taetae." He informed, hopping behind Taehyung, who handed him a helmet he had sitting in front of him.
"Let's go, pretty?"
"Jungkook-" Namjoon tried to stop them, but the bike was soon driving away.
"C'mon before we lose them," Hoseok called, walking quickly towards the parking lot.
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"Are you trying to impress me?"
Jungkook asked after they entered one of the most expensive and VVIP restaurants in whole Seoul, where you could only get a table if you reserved in advance; like, at least three months in advance.
The bodyguards too had a table where they could eat and wait until their protégé was ready to get back to school. They hated how distant their table was, but Taehyung mockingly said it had been the only table available in such short notice, apart from the one he and Jungkook would eat.
The bodyguards huffed, but let it go. While they had eyes on them, it would have to be enough.
"Just called in some favors." Taehyung shrugged, guiding Jungkook to their table by the small of the boy's back.
"My father is friends with the owner." He answered as he pulled Jungkook's chair for him and helped him sit.
"So... it's a family business? The gang." Jungkook questioned sheepishly, low tone as he watched Taehyung sit in his own chair.
Taehyung halted in his movements, eyes locking on Jungkook like he had been caught red-handed. There was no use in lying, so he returned to his actions, pulling his chair closer to the table.
"Kind of. The gang is entirely mine, but the business we run... that's more family business." He explained, irking even more Jungkook with questions.
"So... what do you do?"
Even though the question was whispered, with Jungkook leaning closer so that only Taehyung could hear, the older still felt taken aback by the questioning and the assumptions.
He knew it was only normal for Jungkook to question those things if they were trying to get to know each other better, but he has never been in this kind of conversation. Mostly because the people he dated were already part of his world.
"You really wanna know?" Taehyung questioned with a raised brow, reading Jungkook's eyes to see if there was any kind of fear reflecting in them.
"Gotta be careful where I step in." But Jungkook just looked curious, interested. It made Taehyung smirk.
"Don't worry, darling, I'm not dealing drugs, trafficking humans or organs, nor am I a pimp. And I most definitely do not kill people. Did I cross off all the bad stuff?"
"That I can think of, yes, I feel more at ease now." Jungkook agreed after a pensive moment where he looked off into the air and pushed his index finger under his chin.
"But you only told me what you don't do, not what you do." The maknae accused with a squinting gaze.
The waiter came just in time to let the topic float in the water until after they made their order. Jungkook seemed indecisive, so Taehyung asked if it would be okay for him to order for the both of them, so Jungkook asked for the older to surprise him.
Taehyung smirked and pointed to the menu, so the waiter could see what he wanted, without Jungkook knowing. The maknae tried to peek over, but Taehyung pulled the menu up, making the other grimace in a heavy pout.
"You told me to surprise you, if you see what I'm ordering, it's no longer a surprise, is it?" Taehyung said, leaning over to tap a finger over Jungkook's button nose, which made the younger cross his eyes and blink his lashes rapidly in surprise, cheeks threatening to burn in fluster.
"You still haven't answered my question." Jungkook chided, trying to disguise his affectedness.
"Let's say my business is not much different from your dad's. I deal with cars if we like to call it that." Taehyung explained vaguely, but it seemed enough for Jungkook to feel more at ease.
"Oh, so you'll have a lot in common to speak with him." Jungkook giggled excitedly, nose scrunching and eyes turning into crescents.
He looked so adorable and squishy that Taehyung didn't know how he was so strong to hold back a cooing sound.
"Maybe he'll like you," Jungkook mumbled, hopeful, face falling back to a lost pensive one.
"And what if he doesn't?"
"That's his problem." Jungkook shrugged again, but a pout threatened to surge as he scrunched his nose in a maddened grimace.
"But if he doesn't, he'll let my siblings do everything to separate us." Once again, their conversation was interrupted by the waiter, who came with the entrances.
"I'd like to see them try." Taehyung instigated even before the waiter retreated.
"I've heard that before," Jungkook said with a sad smile, eyes trained on his food, which he started to play with, feeling no longer hungry.
Taehyung felt a tug on his heart at the vision of despair and waiver in front of him, but also a grand feeling of rage coursing through his blood, and a deep desire of overachieving, just so he could prove Jungkook wrong.
"The guys that left you, they were boys, weak. I've dealt with a lot of shit, I won't be phased by your spoiled siblings' worst attempts at sending me away. I just started to get to know you and I will only leave if you ask me to."
Jungkook's glistening eyes blinked up at Taehyung, looking at him with admiration for his determination. It gave him hope, one he could never hold on to for long but that he had attachment feeling.
"You do know how to make a heart flutter," Jungkook mumbled, pushing the spoon full of creamy mushroom soup into his mouth, to keep himself occupied.
"Yeah, pretty? Your heart already falling for me?" Taehyung teased with a low tone that made a shiver run down Jungkook's spine.
It was insane how easily the gangster made Jungkook feel things he never imagined feeling before. Yes, he felt aroused before for some of his boyfriends, but he never felt so affected so quickly.
It was like Taehyung had some kind of power over him and it bothered Jungkook as much as it excited him. He wanted to see how much further that power went.
"You wish." He snickered, making Taehyung chuckle, amused.
They ate some more, playful smiles dangling on their faces as they sneaked some gazes towards the other. Jungkook always looking away as soon as the impending intense gaze of the gangster dared to turn his way.
Soon the main course came, a soft and delicious duck salad for Jungkook, that had his mouthwatering and hurting even after the first bite.
They talked some more about Jungkook's hobbies and his passion for fashion, videography, and painting, something both similarly shared since Taehyung loved fashion, arts, and photography.
As they were finishing the chocolate bomb dessert Taehyung had asked, which left the maknae amazed at how the chocolate dome melted under the hot chocolate cascade, Jungkook's phone beeped with a message from his hyungs, warning him that his lunchtime was near an end.
"I have to get back to school." Jungkook pouted, disappointed with how fast their time together had passed.
"I'll take you." Taehyung offered, and who was Jungkook to deny?
"If your parents don't care about you, why do you have guard-dogs always after your every move?" He questioned after he paid for their meal, as they walked to meet the bodyguards outside.
Jungkook informed his hyungs about Taehyung taking him back to school, so they followed behind while the duo walked slowly towards the parking lot. And since Jungkook asked for that, the bodyguards gave them a few feet of space, for their privacy.
"It's not that they don't care about me at all, or that they're trying to control me." Jungkook sighed.
It was a matter hard to explain. He didn't mind the bodyguards, not even at first, before getting to know them and like them.
"Hyung's are here to protect me." He mumbled.
"If they're trying to protect you from guys like me, they're failing." Taehyung chuckled.
"Not from guys like you; just protect me in general." Jungkook shrugged, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth, but that was something for much, much later, if they ever reached that point.
"And I appreciate their company, they are the only ones I trust in that house, alongside Jin hyung. They're the only friends I truly have." Taehyung frowned at that statement.
He hadn't realized how friendless Jungkook actually was when he got all of his info. He saw so many followers, and he thought he was far from being friendless. But now, hearing Jungkook tell him how the bodyguards were their true and only friends, he felt protective of the younger.
"Having the help as friends is-"
"Pathetic?" Jungkook interrupted, to which Taehyung shook his head vehemently.
"Lonely; they're paid to be there." He corrected, searching for Jungkook's wrist and securing it between his fingers, a thumb grazing over his pulse point.
"Yeah, I know. But they are the only ones that truly care about me, money or not. In fact, they only stay at their job because of me, otherwise, they would've quit a long time ago." He explained and a smile drew out of Taehyung's lips, a sense of relief dawning on him.
"Good to know."
They stopped in front of Taehyung's motorcycle and the older helped Jungkook to hoist himself on the bike and put the helmet on, carefully grazing his fingers on his skin in short soothing motions to comfort the maknae.
They drove back to school, arms tightly wrapped around Taehyung's waist, not because he was scared of the speed or of falling, but because Jungkook felt comfortable with his chest attached to the broad back of the gangster, the contrast of a with the dark rebel one Taehyung wore.
And that feeling was something Jungkook didn't feel ready to let go of. He didn't feel ready to let Taehyung go any time soon that day, so when Taehyung parked his bike in front of Jungkook's college building, his hold around Taehyung's waist tightened.
"I don't want to go back," Jungkook spoke when Taehyung turned his head back, visor up to check on the younger.
"What do you want to do, then, pretty?" Jungkook felt his heart punch against his ribcage so hard he was sure Taehyung felt it on his back.
"Take me with you." He spoke without hesitation, seeing a smirk grow on the older's beautiful lips.
"Are you sure?" Taehyung asked, already pulling his visor down and lifting his foot from the pavement.
"Yeah." And with that, Taehyung sped off from the college grounds.
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The bodyguards' car was turning inside the parking lot when they noticed the motorcycle speed off with Jungkook still on it.
"Fucking hell!" Hoseok cursed under his breath, changing the march to the rear and stepping the gas pedal.
White smoke burst from the pipes, as the tires screeched and melted on the ground as the car pulled back and swerved violently around, leaving all the students' present gasping and jumping out of the way.
"I'm gonna kill him, I fucking will!" Namjoon emptily threatened, holding himself on his seat and the ceiling handle while Hoseok raced behind the bike that was almost lost on the horizon.
But Hoseok was a good driver, he knew how to bypass the moving cars with precision, how to swerve the right way, to make the car slip quickly on a turn, how to step the gas or the breaks at the right times to make him pass the traffic lights.
Hoseok liked the adrenaline of driving fast, but in his line of job, he had to follow the speed limits and do his best to keep his boss's son safe. But right now he couldn't bite away the smirk growing at the corner of his lips.
"Jesus Christ, you're driving so fast. Please don't crash!" Namjoon spoke with a trembling voice, blood draining out of his body and making him cold-sweat.
His knuckles turning white at the amount of pressure he was putting on the holds around the ceiling handle and his security belt.
"I won't, trust me, this is peachy," Hoseok spoke with a singing tone, completely ecstatic by the situation.
"Is that motherfucker trying to lose us?" Namjoon questioned in a pitchy-angry, yet scared, tone.
"I don't think so, he's driving towards his lair. If he wanted to lose us, he would've gone through alleys where cars couldn't pass; and we passed by a bunch of them."
"Then why is he driving like a maniac? I swear if something happens to Kook-" His sentence got cut off by the sudden swerve Hoseok did, almost driving up the passengers' walk.
"He's a good racer. He's smoothly avoiding obstacles, like a knife cutting butter." The smirk on his face grew wider, loving the challenge presented to him.
"Is that supposed to calm me down? Butter is greasy and slippery!" Namjoon felt his voice also slippery and rough, from how much he was screaming.
He surely would get aphonic by the end of the day.
"Joon, just breath, Kook is gonna be fine." Hoseok tried to calm his job partner, putting a hand on his knee and squeezing it.
Namjoon didn't know if he would get relaxed at the gesture or freaked out that Hoseok was driving with just one hand, and that made his brain caught up to something he took his sweet time to realize.
"Wait, if you know where they're going, then why are you racing too? Just fucking slow down before I project myself out of this body and pass away!"
He ordered, and at his request, Hoseok grew a pout as he reduced the car's march and elevated his foot from the gas pedal, and pressed the brakes lightly to decrease the velocity.
"'Kay, sorry."
After some minutes of boringly-normally driving, Hoseok parked the car near the alleyway they remembered entering some nights ago.
This time, being in daylight helped them see their surroundings more clearly, and as they approached the familiar fence, they realized the hole where Jungkook, and later they had passed through, was now fixed and reinforced.
Also, now there were some gang members guarding the entry as well.
"You're back." One of the short guys, Jimin if they could remember correctly, spoke.
"Are your boss and ours there?" Namjoon inquired, wanting to make sure he didn't make a dumb decision by asking Hoseok to slow down and lose them.
"Boss?" The short blonde scoffed. "Boys, did you see anyone coming in?" He questioned, and everyone shook their heads, smirking as well.
"C'mon, we know they're here, let us in." Hoseok pushed. They didn't know for sure, but by the teasing, the blond was adamant on giving them, he figured they were.
"No, can't do. Only trustworthy people can get in." The short spoke, crossing his arms and leaning with his back at the entrance of the warehouse.
"For fucks sake, I'm calling Jungkook," Namjoon grunted, reaching for his inner jacket pocket and pulling his phone out.
"Just chill man, you're not gonna lose your job for letting the boy breath out of your sight for a second." Jimin rolled his eyes, letting an annoyed sigh out of his plump lips.
"I don't fucking care about my job, I care about Jungkook's wellbeing!" Namjoon snapped, making the blond widened his eyes, taken aback by the sudden and sincere outburst.
"Let them in, Min." Another voice said, surging from inside the warehouse. It was the other short guy, the pale one.
"Ugh, you're no fun. I was just teasing them." The blond said, rolling his eyes and pushing himself off the wall to go open the barb-wired gate.
"I'm Yoongi and this is Jimin."
"I'm Hoseok and this is Namjoon." After they shook their heads in acknowledgment, the bodyguards stepped inside, as they followed the two short guys inside.
"They're upstairs, in the gaming room. He's safe." Yoongi assured, looking directly at the taller and broader bodyguard.
"We'll see that for ourselves." Namjoon pushed past Yoongi with an angry scowl.
"He's just worried." Hoseok tried to justify with a nervous laugh. For a second they forgot they were dealing with a gang, but now inside the warehouse, the driver was quickly reminded of it.
"It's hot," Jimin commented, watching Namjoon stomp towards the closer staircase, while Yoongi just rolled his eyes and followed suit.
Hoseok fastened his steps up the staircase to reach his co-worker and Jimin giggled, slowly trailing behind the trio.
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The ride was fun.
Taehyung had sped off, not only to miss the bodyguards, even if for a bit, knowing they would figure out where they were going to, but because he could hear Jungkook squeal with excitement and press his chest harder against his back, almost like he wanted to merge with Taehyung.
And to be completely honest, Taehyung loved the idea of that.
They soon arrived at the Claws lair, where his guys opened the gates immediately. Since Jungkook's invasion, they thought it was best to be more alert of intruders, especially when they had a big one coming and they needed to be careful of snitches trying to steal their secret "recipes" for success.
Taehyung parked his bike alongside the others of his crew, inside the warehouse. It was strange for Jungkook to imagine that he would be here again, after his impromptu invasion. So much has happened since then and at the same time, nothing happened at all.
He just never could imagine that the invitation Taehyung had made that night was sincere. He also never imagined that Taehyung would take a real interest in him and chase after him.
Taehyung jumped out of the bike easily, taking off his helmet and shaking his wavy locks into a purposefully messy hairdo.
Jungkook too was trying to get rid of the helmet, but it seemed stuck in his pigtails. Taehyung chuckled when noticing Jungkook's distressed whines, pulling the helmet of the younger's head carefully but triumphantly.
Jungkook's hair got tangled all over his face, and a pout manifested as a response. He tried to quickly fix his unsexy tousled hair, but the pigtails were already ruined.
"Let me," Taehyung spoke, pointing to the younger's hair.
Jungkook's pout deepened, but he nodded in consent, watching attentively as Taehyung threaded his long elegant fingers over his locks, taking off the bands barely holding his pigtails. Taehyung's fingers brushed the tangles, undoing the knots carefully and patiently until he finally redid the pigtails.
"All done."
Jungkook was a blushing mess, his heart beating a mile per hour. He couldn't figure out what exactly left him in that state: Taehyung's tenderness or his proximity. Maybe it was both, because how could Jungkook stay undaunted at the sharp godly features of the gangster's face.
A smirk grew on the older's smile as he looked back at Jungkook, thumb grazing softly over his cheeks.
"You're flustered."
"N-no I'm not!" The younger frowned, finally jumping off the bike and almost tripping, wasn't for Taehyung to promptly hold him by his waist and help him get firmly on his feet. "Th-thank you."
"You're back. And accompanied." Yoongi pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm taking Jungkook to the gaming room."
"Gaming room?" Jungkook's eyes sparkled at the words, excitement coursing through his veins.
"Hm, I bet I have some games we could play together. What do you think?"
"Yes yes! I want to play with you." Taehyung chuckled at the adorable reaction of the younger, how he tangled his fingers and fisted his hands, bouncing in enthusiasm, making his cute pigtails flap up and down like wings.
"Let's go then."
Taehyung guided them up the stairs and through some halls until they reached a big space with an archway entrance.
There was a lot of physical games there like pool, football table, ping-pong, fliperama, and other arcade games, but there was also a room with computer games and other virtual games Jungkook loved so much.
But before he could wonder any longer or even shout out his excitement, he heard his hyung calling him out with a scolding tone.
"Jungkook!"
"Hyungs, you're here!" He cheered, skipping quickly towards them and ignoring Namjoon's angry scowl with an edge-cutting gaze and a locked and prominent jaw.
"It was not very smart of you to kidnap him and bring him here," Namjoon grunted, glaring deadly at the lead gangster.
"I didn't kidnap him, he asked me to bring him with me." At that, Namjoon looked back at Jungkook with a raised eyebrow.
"Uhm, I did."
"You're missing your favorite class, Kook." Hoseok stepped in before Namjoon went all berserk on the boy. His overprotectiveness was overflowing.
"Oh, I forgot it was today..." Jungkook's shoulders slumped.
He really loved Interpretative Art where he could paint whichever he was feeling based on a common theme, but being with Taehyung was having the same cathartic feeling he had in those classes.
"It's okay, we can go back," Namjoon suggested, softening his features and his tone.
"But... I was about to have fun with Taehyungie hyungie." Jungkook pouted, making his hyungs look at him with wide eyes while Taehyung bit back his laugh at the double-meaning phrase Jungkook said.
"And what- kind of fun... are you talking about?" Namjoon asked with difficulty, feeling sweaty and breathless at the hidden implications.
It wasn't like he thought Jungkook was all pure and innocent. He just wished to never know. To him, Jungkook would always be the baby bunny with wide, scared, and curious eyes he met five years ago.
"I don't know, I have pretty much everything here. Pool table, darts, paintball, bowling..."
"Ohmygod, I want to play darts! Please hyung, teach me darts!" His sudden pitchy happy outburst made them all jump-scared, but Taehyung soon smiled at him, nodding in concordance.
"Bowling? You have a bowling alley here?" Hoseok questioned with piqued interest.
"Yeah, I could take you there," Yoongi suggested, to what Hoseok looked between Jungkook and Namjoon and then shrugged, following the pale shortie out of the gaming room.
"C'mon pretty, let's play darts." Taehyung invited, extending his hand to what Jungkook grabbed with no hesitation, hopping behind the gangster happily.
"And you, big guy? Gonna play stalker?" Jimin questioned, seeing the taller bodyguard follow the other two with an attentive gaze.
"Let the lovebirds be!" He rolled his eyes, being continually ignored, which pushed some of his buttons. With a suggestive look and biting his lip, Jimin nudged at the taller's sides, making him squirm slightly.
"Wanna play paintball with me? Bet you're good with guns."
"I'm good." Namjoon refused, keeping his stern look which made Jimin huff in annoyance.
"Seriously, why do you worry so much? He's not gonna break or disappear. I know we look like the bad guys, but we're not." Jimin snapped, to which Namjoon finally looked back at him, with a glimpse of sadness that took Jimin aback.
"I can't help but worry about him. Everybody is out to get something from him and leave him with nothing but a broken heart. And your friend, he's just another player."
Jimin pressed his lips together and looked back at Taehyung and Jungkook, who were smiling non-stop at one another. True smiles, happy smiles.
"Maybe you won't believe me, but Taehyung has a hard time getting interested in anyone. I won't say he's the big commitment type of guy, but he respects and cherishes his partners. Even if they don't last, Taehyung will take care of Jungkook while they're together, and if the time comes that he needs to break things off, he will let Jungkook down slowly."
He was being truthful to his core. It wasn't like Jimin was also supportive of this relationship, but Taehyung was someone who couldn't be deterred from what he wanted, and for some reason, he wanted to be with Jungkook, just as friends or maybe as more than that.
"Where's this paintball court at?"
A big smile erupted on Jimin's face, making his eyes go crescent. Namjoon thought the gangster looked soft and cute, but he didn't dare to voice that out.
"C'mon big guy, follow me and get ready to have your ass kicked."
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I wrote this chapter even before Butter was announced
(a reference to Hoseok's driving scene).
Do I have Minstradamus blood on me?
Also, I don't know how to drive, so I'm sorry for
driver-army if I wrote something stupid XD
What are the parts you're most liking so far?
What are you curious to see/know?
Let me know.
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