A/n: Please do read the author's note at the end.
"You ready?"
Jimin asked, walking up to Taehyung who was zipping up his bag before turning and throwing a quick nod at his direction.
"Great then. I bought some cheesepuffs from the store below so...eat. I'll freshen up and then we can leave, alright?"
Taehyung nodded again, a little too tired to use words. It was afternoon already and after spending a whole night and half a morning talking aimlessly about their lives and their plan to prove him innocent, Jimin and Taehyung were going to leave the ugly shack to go look for another place to stay.
Meanwhile his mind wandered away to how a couple of days had flipped his entire world over. Again. But then its not like he wasn't used to it or anything.
Since the day his abusive dad died suddenly one night, nothing that happened could be termed as normal. Not him being adopted by the village headmaster, then joining the police force, getting kidnapped by the mafia-- basically turning into his whore before falling for his own captor and then being almost killed, twice.
Taehyung knew he thought about it a lot more than necessary instead of just going with the flow like he should have, but could you really blame him? He hadn't even turned 20 and misfortune always seemed to tail him everywhere!
With a sigh he placed his bag on the floor and plonked on the bed, swinging his legs about as he waited for Jimin to come out. He ignored Jimin's suggestion to eat because he wasn't really hungry, seeing as he had lost his appetite the moment he was distanced from Jungkook but it's not like he was going to admit that to anyone.
At a moment he felt the mattress underneath him buzz with little tremors, causing to boy to look around until his eyes fell on its source- Jimin's cellphone, which was lying on the other end.
Taehyung frowned at the odd number flashing on its screen. It was seemingly a landline number but who even used it anymore? Right, the mafia.
The phone went off again, appearing to be vibrating louder with each passing second or maybe it was just Taehyung's tired mind exaggerating the pestering sound into a noise and turning him low key irritated.
The blue haired peered at the washroom which was still very much closed, and water running in the background said that the older wasn't going to return soon so he just stood up and went towards the device, mindlessly swiping up the receive icon.
"Hello?" Taehyung spoke, casually pulling at the strings of his peach hoodie but instantly froze when he heard the voice from the other end.
"Hello, Jimin-ah?"
That voice...
Taehyung didn't even have to think twice to recognize whose it was.
"J-jungkook?" The blue haired boy blurted without a second thought, shock filling his veins as his heart pumped up more and more blood all over his body. His skin ran cold and knees trembled, mind running all over the place.
The line went silent for a moment. A pin drop silence taking over, that seemed more poisonous than a blue tipped arrow but that was until Taehyung heard a noise- somewhere between a choke and a gasp emitting from the other end.
"Taehyung?"
Just as the said boy was about to open his mouth again, the phone was snatched away from his hands violently, causing the boy to jump and fall back on the bed with an alarmed Jimin towering him.
The short boy glanced at the screen with wide eyes before looking down at Taehyung, who only then seemed to realize what he had just done, eyes widening in shock and fear.
"T-taehyung? Is that you?" Jungkook's voice echoed again tinged with an unknown mixture of surprise and relief that caused both the boys to break out into panic.
"Shit, shit, shit, i fucked up!!" Taehyung mouthed soundlessly, hands going to pull at the roots of his hair while Jimin nervously paced around the front of the bed, inaudible curses leaving his lips.
He so wanted to direct them at the younger for his sheer stupidity but figured he should focus on the more important stuff at hand. Jungkook's call.
The short ravenette quickly thought of something before pressing the phone against his ear.
"Ahem-ngh- h-hello, Jungkook can you hear me? Whoops, network issues! It's me Jimin."
"Jimin?" Jungkook sounded confused for a second,"b-but i thought i heard--"
"What? You thought you heard somebody else? On my phone? Haha well you know that can't happen right?" Jimin raced with his words, blurting all sorts of nonsense that came into his mind at once. He wasn't really the best at lying and especially not with his boss cum BFF but this had to be an exceptional case.
Jungkook went silent for a moment, the older nearly throwing up at the thought of getting caught but then he heard a small resigned sigh.
"Hyung i... i think im going completely crazy." The younger ravenette exhaled slightly, causing the older's insides to uncoil a little.
"Wh-what's wrong, kook?" Jimin questioned softly.
"First of all, im so sorry for not visiting you in the hospital. I was just caught up with some work and--"
"Ah, it's okay dont worry about it, uh--it was a small wound and im completely healed anyway." Jimin interrupted him quickly, smiling a little. Even though he was pissed at him, Jimin had missed his bestfriend.
"You sure? I could come visit you right now--"
"No,No,No!!" The older screeched, interrupting him again but then bit his tongue for sounding so shambled and all over the place. He quickly sucked in a breath and composed himself before speaking up again. Somberly, this time.
"I mean you can't come here."
"Um--why?" The boss sounded confused.
"Because i already left?" The older supplied, biting his lip.
"You left? To where...?"
"Cousin's home. I uh- I've gone here f-for a while. Just until my wound heals that is." Jimin's cousin Sana lived in a small apartment in Florida, working as a port agent for their mafia. It wasn't something new for the older to visit her from time to time when he needed a break, so he hoped his boss would buy that excuse.
But it seemed as if luck wasn't really on his side that day.
"But didnt you just say your wound was completely healed?"
Jimin nearly smacked himself before trying to come up with something else.
He failed and so resorted to the next best thing.
"O-oh cut the crap Jungkook!! Stop asking so many questions!" Jimin snapped in fake annoyance,"Can i not visit home after literally taking a bullet for you!?"
Jungkook was silenced with his friends dramatic accusation, third time in a row before letting out a small groan.
"You're right... ugh im so sorry. You can stay there for now. As long as you want actually. You kinda... deserve that, hyung."
Jimin let out a bated breath, finally feeling his heartbeat return to normal.
"Yeah, anyway, about earlier-- what were you saying? About you going crazy and all that?" The older diverted the conversation, waddling off to the small window in the room, away from an exasperated Taehyung who was still silently screaming, rolling around on the bed like a lunatic.
The boss respired and Jimin could already imagine him running a hand down his face like he always did when he was extremely upset.
"It's Taehyung." Jungkook began warily, voice low, "i thought you were him for a second."
"Really?" Jimin asked pretending to sound surprised," why? I mean that's crazy. Isn't he like... dead?"
Jimin waited as the younger hesitated for a second before responding to that.
"Yes he is. Probably... But i can't stop thinking about him. It's like-- a wire went loose somewhere in my head or something..."
Jimin quirked a brow at the signals of distress in his friend's voice. Jungkook sounded confused, befuddled and to a certain extent scared as well. He hardly sounded this vulnerable when it was not something related to his extremely personal issues.
"You're thinking about Taehyung?" Jimin repeated, looking behind him to make sure the younger didn't hear him and get any false ideas," why?"
"That's what i can't figure out either! I-- look, it's better if we don't talk about it."
The boss seemed to backtrack, immediately.
"No! No let's talk about it-- please--" Jimin countered him quickly," it's-its for your mental health so tell me... how are you feeling kook?"
Jungkook just sighed deeply in response.
"I don't really want to talk about it... whatever's done is done anyway. It's not like i can change it now..." The ravenette mumbled out the last part, probably thinking Jimin wouldn't catch it but the older wasn't called his bestfriend for no reason.
"Hey Kook? Are you really okay?" The older questioned, furrowing his brows at his tone,"Why do i feel like you're having one of your episodes--" the older was interrupted by a few shuffling sounds emitting from Jungkook's end of the line. They were like noises, people talking loudly and their footsteps, seemingly entering the room where Jungkook was.
"Hyung, I'll have to call you back later. I have some people over from the federation." Jungkook spoke quickly, before the line went off with a sudden beep.
"Kook listen-- wait!" The older called after him, only to realize the boy had already hung up.
He released a sigh of his own, partially relieved he was able to save their cover from blowing completely but another part of him got restless.
Jimin had been with Jungkook for the longest. He'd known the younger inside out, top to bottom and enough to tell that who he heard in the phone right now wasn't like the usual Jungkook everyone knew -- the cold, manic mafia leader who had everything and everyone dancing on the tips of his fingers.
This was someone else.
Today he sounded more like the boy who once lost his innocence at the age of seven, when he was made to make his first kill and nearly lost his consciousness at the sight of blood. The same boy who had the best bunny smile and twinkling eyes when someone cracked a silly joke. The same boy who was Jimin's best buddy.
He rarely saw that boy anymore.
But the older also knew that, that side of Jungkook had to keep returning to the forefront from time to time. Probably without even his or anybody else's knowledge, but it did.
Because Jeon Jungkook, his bestfriend, was clinically diagnosed with Bipolar disorder in the past.
And It wasn't like the silly references made to describe those double faced people suffering with indecisiveness, no. Jungkook's problem was real.
A part of it was pretty common knowledge since almost everyone had witnessed the gangster riding through his phases of manic high-- recklessly lighting up the streets into flames and reducing everything into ashes until nothing remained but his burning arrogance.
The part they hadn't paid attention to was the inevitable underside of the coin-- the depressive lows.
No one knew what happened to him when those lows hit the young gangster. Not even his close friends or family. Over the years they could simply guess the younger was going through some phase when he suddenly took off somewhere without even informing anyone and they got used to it.
Sometimes their leader returned just fine but some other times... they had to bring back an unconscious boy smothered to the core with the hardest drugs there existed.
Jimin just hoped it wasn't one of those, but he had already had a bad feeling about it.
"Hyung?" The said older turned to face a still guilty and fearful looking blue haired boy.
"Did he catch on?" Taehyung questioned, biting his nails nervously and Jimin shook his head in negative, smiling a little.
"You literally threw us under the bus for a second. Just be careful next time alright?" Taehyung released a gasp of relief at his words before nodding his head like an obedient woodpecker, apologizing continuously.
Jimin chuckled and ruffled through his soft hair, patting it slightly afterwards. Taehyung lowered his eyes and bit his lips, looking like he wanted to say something. The older rolled his eyes and urged him to speak up.
"I just wanted to ask... h-how's he? I mean how's he doing?" The boy asked timidly glancing at the elder. Jimin knew who he was talking about and simply dropped his hand from the boy's head.
"I hope he's okay Tae. I really hope."
_________________________________
"This is the best news we've got in a few days!" Hoseok hummed gleefully, taking fast steps towards the main office.
"Yes you're right hyung, just imagine how happy Namjoon hyung would be!" Soobin gushed happily, following behind the elder with equally rushed steps.
Hoseok nodded chuckling a little because he couldn't hide his own excitement for sharing the news with everyone else.
They reached outside Jungkook's office just as a few people walked out of it, dressed in cop uniforms and Hoseok had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes at them.
The cops left and the two members bolted inside the leader's office, momentarily startling the latter on his seat. Even Yoongi and Namjoon who were already inside, looked a little bit surprised at the sudden energy entering the dull space.
"Leader-nim! We have a surprise for you~" Soobin, flashed a gorgeous smile at the three elders who simply looked confused.
"Ah Soobin-ah, can we do this some other time? Im not really in the mood for any uh... surprises at the moment," Jungkook told him, trying to sound as polite as he could. It was his third attempt negotiating with the police in order to get his Seokjin hyung released from jail but even this one had failed, just like the two previous attempts.
The cops always demanded him to give up a half of his men in return for one and no matter how much he wanted his hyung back, he couldn't trade his own men for it. Also the case with Taehyung had his mind in shambles already.
"But you'll like this one, Jungkook-ah. Trust me." Hosoek butted in,"It'll be here any minute now... are you guys ready?"
The three men blinked on, exchanging wary glances between them as the excited orange blonde suddenly began a countdown from three.
"... two... one... and tada!!"
The door to Jungkook's office squeaked open, revealing a tall frail figure who peeked in just until his face was visible.
"Baby!?" Namjoon dropped the file in hands, turning dumbstruck for a second as his handsome boyfriend emerged into the room with a gorgeous smile on his lips. His jelly legs worked on their own, rounding the boss's table to take him to Seokjin who already had his arms open for him.
Namjoon engulfed the slightly shorter male in his arms tightly, tears springing up in his eyes when he felt the other return it just as eagerly.
Hoseok just sighed happily, eyes glazing a little as he exchanged a look with Yoongi and Jungkook who had sprung up from their chairs, shocked-happy expressions painting both their faces.
"Baby you're really here? Am i- im not dreaming right?" Namjoon croaked, running his hands all over Seokjin's back to make sure he was really there. Seokjin just nodded, own throat choking from tears upon finally feeling his love back in his arms.
Just as Namjoon released the older, Yoongi quickly made his way up to him also embracing his side while Seokjin returned it, sniffling a little.
"Hyung?" The oldest turned to face Jungkook, a wide smile on his lips which the younger returned with an extremely relieved one,"how did you manage to come out?"
"Now that's a long story for laters but the important fact is that the queen bitch is back now! Did you guys miss me?" Seokjin wiped his tears and sassed, flicking back his imaginary hair that made the other's laugh out, shaking their heads at him.
Damn, they missed him.
"Ofcourse we did, this place seemed so lonely without you," Soobin said, a pout on his face as he was finally allowed to embrace him after all the others. Seokjin chuckled and took the teen in his arms, patting his back a little before letting him go as well.
"Where are the others? Jimin... is he okay now? I heard you guys managed to help him escape from the ambulance?" The older asked.
"Yes he's fine. S'gone to Sana's until his wounds cover up." Jungkook informed him, missing the way Yoongi threw a sharp gaze at Hosoek.
"Oh that's alright... and Taehyung? Where's my little pet?" Seokjin asked, expectantly glancing around the huge office,"Hobi did you forget to tell him i was coming? Why isn't he here with us?"
The lively atmosphere of the office seemed to have died a premature death, all the males except Seokjin freezing right on their spots, especially Jungkook.
"Guys...?" Seokjin drawled, looking at each of their pale faces one after another as the confusion in him only multiplied. Even Namjoon was being hesitant to look into his eyes," you all are scaring me. What happened? Soobin-ah?"
The teen boy bit his lip, wary for being chosen as the scapegoat but it wasn't like he could do something about it now.
"U-uh... K-kim Taehyung was ordered to be executed under charges of t-treason. H-he was the one behind the attack made by the police." He told him whatever he knew, just like him and everyone else in the gang were informed by their seniors.
"Sorry what?" Seokjin blurted, purely bewildered by the boy's statement,
"Taehyung was behind the attack...? what do you guys even mean by that?!"
"Hyung that--" Namjoon started, only to be stopped by a palm to his face. Seokjin took a step forward, coming face to face with a tense shouldered Jungkook.
"Explain." He urged the boy in front of him, expressions losing all the mirth from earlier and now replaced by a scary sobriety that had the power to make the strongest of men shake in their spots.
But Jungkook stood still, non chalantly flicking his cold gaze up to match the older's fiery one.
"I think he was pretty clear hyung. Taehyung betrayed us and i ordered Yoongi to kill him. Just the way i ordered him to kill all the other pests that infested my home. Did you expect me to make an exception for him just because i liked to fuck his ass and you liked to clothe him?"
As soon as those words left his mouth Seokjin's hand met his cheek, the boss's face getting thrown to the left at the sudden harsh impact.
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A/n: So... well i know this might sound strange but i admit these chapters are getting pretty boring by the day.
Seriously, who even likes the realization and regret parts? but then i can't really let go of this story until i finish it. The climax is the main base of 'Fast Draw' and I'm not going to give up until i reach it.
So to balance the depressive shit, i propose an alternative!! 😇😇😇😇
I wrote another fanfiction-- it was my first one. A vkook training camp au with switch Taekook but preferably bottom Tae.
It's a typical haters to lovers, simple slow burn story taking place in a hostel life setting. So if you're into that sort of thing please check it out on my profile.
The prologue is already up. The updates will be shorter and faster, since I've already written most of them.
You can also read this while you wait for another episodes of Fast Draw, which is also nearing its end. Vote, comment and tell me if you want me to continue this???
Another good news is that I've a few more plots lined up after these, im just not starting them all at once only to stop later in between.
I love you guys so much 🥺🥺💜💜💜💜💜