Hoseok was dozing on the couch, the long night starting to catch up with him, when he heard the sound of your bare feet rushing down the stairs.
"Hobi!" You nearly wheezed, clinging to the rail for balance as you rushed down to him.
At the sight of you, he felt a flood of relief wash over him, followed by a tsunami of guilt.
"I am so glad you're okay," he breathed, wrapping you into a hug the moment you collided into his chest. You squeezed back just as hard.
Last night, after Jin broke the news, it took a moment to process everything that had happened before he immediately filled with panic at the thought of you being at the club. Jin had assured them that no one from the team was harmed during the shooting, but just because you were intact didn't mean you felt safe.
He demanded RM let him call Jin back to get a proper report on Ella and the others. Begrudgingly, the leader complied as he went off to coordinate with Suga and dispatch teams to guard the other assets BTS had around town, like the bakery.
Jin had assured Hobi that while you were a little out of it from the gas, you were mostly keeping it together. That wasn't news to him. You were a strong and adaptable person in a high-stress environment. But Hoseok knew the moment your adrenalin crashed you would too. So he made the order with what little authority he had and asked Jin to have Jimin to take you home as soon as possible. His elder respected the call and promised to send Taehyung back with them to the safety of the Den.
Forty minutes later, still trapped and restless at the warehouse, Hoseok received the phone call that made his heart drop. You were unintelligible over the phone, but your stress and anxiety were clear.
"I don't know what to do and she kept asking for you." Jimin pleaded over your cries.
Hoseok can only think of one other time in his life he has felt so helpless, and it ended with his sister's death.
This evening was becoming an unending nightmare.
You were drunk while having a panic attack, and all Hoseok could do to help you was ignore Suga's judgmental looks as he took the phone call, promise you were safe, and talk Jimin through your breathing exercises to help calm you down.
But how could he lie when you were in such a state?
He has no assurances even with his two most trusted brothers in arms by your side, that you were safe at this moment. That you were going to make it safely to the Den, eat a hot meal, and get to bed.
He couldn't promise you that you wouldn't hear gunshots again tonight because you were just caught in the crossfire of a war. You were trapped in the middle of a conflict Hoseok couldn't see an end to.
Last night was his fault.
He let you get too close to BTS.
He couldn't control your involvement with Jungkook or even your contract with RM. At the end of the day, those were the results of your actions and decisions. But he threw a party. He allowed you to invite the seven most dangerous men in BTS as if that wouldn't draw a bright red target on your back.
He brought you to a gang-affiliated bar that you would have never gone into if the night was up to you.
A quiet night in. That's what you insisted on, all you said you needed to celebrate graduating. You were tired and due to have your wisdom teeth removed soon, and start summer classes soon after that. You felt like a night out on the town would throw off any semblance of a routine you built for yourself.
But you deserved so much more.
You deserved to be celebrated for all your hard work. To feel weightless and free and dance until your feet ached and have a night of guiltless fun. And Hoseok wanted to give that to you.
He had forgotten himself. Forgotten that he was cursed to only endanger the people he loves anytime he gets too close.
"Ella, how are you feeling?" Jin asked when Hoseok finally let you free of his embrace.
"We'll talk later," you assured Hoseok in a hushed tone, patting his chest before moving towards your boss. "As good as I can? How about you all?" You offered back and Jin picked up the slight professionalism in your tone.
You weren't feeling good at all. You had a throbbing headache from an unknown substance that drugged you, you were sore everywhere, and you weren't even ready to tap into the emotional wreckage you have to face from last night's events.
"Here this should help you," Jimin offered, stirring a spoon in a thick, dark liquid before handing you a small glass. You blinked in surprise, not even realizing that he was in the room with you.
"What is it?" You questioned hesitantly as you smelled it.
"Activated charcoal, egg yolk, spinach puree, ginger, orange, coconut water, -"
"It's a hangover smoothie," Taehyung cut him off impatiently.
Jimin frowned, "It's more than just that, it will combat the effects of the gas from last night as well, help clear your head."
You gave the dark drink a hesitant look before making yourself down the whole thing in two gulps, delighted to find it tasted like chocolate.
"Good right?" Jimin prompted. You nodded as you followed him back to the kitchen where Jin was back to tending the stove.
You took a moment to scan the room. It seemed like most everyone was back at the Den. Jin and Jimin were manning the kitchen.
Suga was laid out on one of the recliners, eyes closed and arms tucked against his chest. But based on the rise and fall of his chest, he was either faking or fighting his mid-morning nap.
RM and Jungkook were nowhere in sight, but you couldn't bring yourself to ask about their whereabouts.
Hoseok and Taehyung both trailed you to the kitchen, and you fixated on both of them as they made their way to the counter, watching their legs as they walked, and which hand they favored as they moved to fix their plate. Tae told you no one was seriously injured last night, but if there were any minor ones to tend to..
. Her desperation felt selfish as she took in Taehyungs form.
"Will you chill out and grab a plate doc, we're fine," Hoseok teased, recognizing your over-analytical gaze.
He was a little shaken by the unnatural calm you walked in with this morning. He was prepared for you to run out of the house and never look back after last night, but of course, you never made things easy for yourself.
Instead, you found some false sense of peace to hold yourself together this morning and were looking for any chance of a distraction to launch you into action.
"Sorry, but are you guys all okay from last night?" You asked as you accepted the plate Hoseok offered you.
"Well, my pride is incredibly bruised but other than that, we're fine, Ella; any minor scrapes and bruises were taken care of last night," Jin assured.
Taken care of last night.. When you couldn't help them.
You tried not to let the thought get to you. You had no reason to be sober and able-minded last night, but you still felt some piercing guilt to know that not only were you useless in a time of need, but you were also a burden to them.
Jin and Jimin made crepes. The kitchen island was lined with a tall stack of them and every possible topping you could want to dress them, including, as Taehyung promised, bacon.
You indulged your sweet tooth as you made your first, covering it in strawberries, freshly whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. You snagged yourself a few pieces of bacon and some citrus fruit as a side before making your way to the table. Hoseok was quick to settle in the chair next to you.
"Do you want any real food with your dessert?" Taehyung asked as he eyed your plate, helping himself to one of the strawberries.
"You're one to talk, what's that monstrosity?" You questioned as you eyed his plate. His crepe was covered in peanut butter, bananas, chocolate chips, and crumbled bacon.
"A balanced breakfast," he answered with a smile before digging in.
Your lip curled in distaste as you watched him devour his meal.
"Jin, I'm going to go into the bakery tomorrow if I can. I have a new recipe I've been wanting to try," Jimin informed as he made his way to the table.
"Do what you want, just be sure to clean up your mess," Jin said dismissively, not looking up from his phone.
"Well I'll be working in the back so I may need someone to cover the kitchen for me." Jimin said pointedly.
"Oh I'm free tomorrow I can cover." You offered, never one to pass up a chance to snag some extra cash.
Jimin looked at you with hesitation, "I don't know, I'm pretty shy about my projects."
"She'll be fine, just stay in the front and out of his way, yeah?" Jin sighed typing vigorously.
"What recipe are you working on?" You asked curiously. Usually, Jimin was excited to share his new projects with you. You didn't think he had a shy bone in his body, but your friend wouldn't meet your eyes at your question.
"Hey Y/N, did you want your cell phone?" Hoseok asked, digging into his pocket.
Instantly, your head snapped to him, all concerns leaving your mind as you took the magical device in your hand eagerly.
Jimin smiled at his brother in thanks for the distraction.
Reunited with your phone, you almost forgot you were eating breakfast at the table of a notorious gang as you went on with your meal.
You spent your time scrolling through and checking your notifications, seeing all your classmate's graduation posts, and participating in small talk with the guys.
The mood was almost too light. A forced calm in the aftermath of last night's events, but you weren't about to be the one to spoil it for them.
At one point, you and Hoseok gave a dramatic retelling of your race through the countryside yesterday morning. Somehow that felt like a lifetime ago after the evening that followed it. But the way the others laughed as the two of you bickered over who actually won the last round made the morning feel normal, and like their family wasn't on the cusp of losing the world they worked so hard to build.
You were getting up to fix your third serving of breakfast when the front door opened, RM marched in with Jungkook trailing behind.
The mob boss glanced at you for one second, unphased as he took in your haggard appearance before barking orders, "V I need you at the police station, if Ella's awake, that means the gunmen are, and they're probably ready to talk by now. Get a uniform and get me that report." He said, his pace unfaltering.
V was in action instantly, abandoning his plate and making his way upstairs.
"Suga get up, the new security system is getting installed in an hour, I want you there," RM added as he made his way to the center of the room. His drowsy second sat up quickly, looking more alert than you were expecting before making his way out the room.
All the members sat ridgid, looking ready for orders; any sign of the peaceful breakfast you were having a moment ago was gone, the leftovers on plates the only piece of evidence.
Your eyes drifted to take in Namjoon and Jungkook, both were dressed cleanly in solid black tee shirts and well-fitting cargo pants of some sorts. They looked professional, not in a business way, but maybe in terms of their line of business.
"Jin, I want you at the casino handling all news coverage," RM continues.
"I already spoke with channel 9 and our local outlet." Jin informed.
"Well go find someone else, the newspaper I don't care. I want full control of their coverage." RM dismissed in frustration.
Jin frowned slightly, and you waited for the lovers to dispute, but instead, the baker stood silently and made his way upstairs to clean up.
Taken off guard by RM's harshness, you looked to Jungkook to judge his reaction, surprised to lock eyes with him. You anticipated Jungkook's attention to be glued to his leader awaiting orders but instead, they were looking at you, traveling up your form, taking in the bruise on your leg, and the baggy basketball shorts you had to triple knot to keep around your waist, paired with the oversized tee-shirt that absolutely swallowed your form.
You weren't self conscious about your appearance until now.
RM seemed to be done giving direct orders and settled in the living room in discussion with Hoseok, Jimin and Jungkook. Whatever they talked about went over your head by the overuse of code words. And your hangover made it too much of a challenge to try to decode, so you returned to your meal listening absentmindedly to their voices, the language sounding near foreign to your tired mind.
Jin returned downstairs, giving RM a quick debriefing of his plans for the day before moving to clean up everyone's plates as he waited for his next interview. You were quick to join him, excited for something to keep you busy.
The two of you worked in silent tandem, you washed the dishes while Jin dried and put them away, and for a moment it felt like you were back in the bakery and everything was normal aside from the five men in the living room discussing their criminal plans.
RM planned to weaken the Black Tips before going in for the kill it.
Their large-scale investments were under lock and key after making such a big move against BTS. They were anticipating a retaliation, but their small scale projects were more or less the same.
Individual drug dealers were pulled deeper into Black Tips territory to avoid any risk of an ambush, but otherwise didn't seem to be operating in larger groups. Jimin and J-Hope would be in charge of deploying small attack teams to target and take down any dealers rolling in with their stolen product.
The Black Tips also have a few small investments that weren't related to any fields BTS worked in. The Black Tips were going to leave these investments more vulnerable, convinced BTS didn't know where to hit them where it hurts in these fields.
One of the investments was a small construction company. JK would take a small team to their storage yard in two days to sabotage any major equipment they have. And wreck any of their active work sites.
"Be discreet here. I don't want it to look like the sites were wrecked. I want to discredit their whole operation. Make it fail." Rm ordered.
From there Jin and V would use all his connections to prevent the Black Tips from getting any future bids on projects, hopefully putting them out of business.
Taehyung rejoined the group, and you almost choked as you caught sight of him in the Alcor police uniform. You wanted to laugh as you remembered just a few weeks ago the two of you were running from the chief of police.
With V holding RM's attention, Jungkook took the opportunity to slip away from the group to fix RM and himself a plate of food before Jin packed away the leftovers.
You moved to help him and he smiled at you quietly, but it didn't quite meet his eyes. You noticed the deep purple lurking underneath and wondered if he's gotten to sleep at all. Or has he been up managing everything with RM this whole time. He clearly had time to clean up and change but other than that, has the boy been given a break?
You opened your mouth to ask him when you noticed a stained bandage on his bicep.
"You're bleeding," you said, shocked.
The room went quiet as everyone looked to you. RM looked annoyed and you realized you interrupted whatever he was saying to his men.
"It's fine Ella," Jungkook said with a sheepish grin.
"No it's not, you need to have that redressed ASAP," you pushed, taking the plate out of his hand.
"He got it treated last night, he's fine. Jungkook get over here, we're not done yet," RM ordered.
Jungkook made a move for the living room, but you put your arm out to block him, careful to not touch his injury, "No he's not." You snapped back, "He's bleeding through his dressing and he looks exhausted, he can't keep working like this. You need to let me help him."
"Y/N, I'm fine," Jungkook insisted, but you gave him a withering glare, daring him to make another comment.
RM gave an unamused smile as he stood and made his way towards you. You've seen the boss get impatient with people before, and it had made your stomach feel cold witnessing it second hand, but this was the first time you were on the receiving end of such a look and the patronizing tone that accompanied it.
"Ella, you are a guest in my house. I ask that you remember your place and not give me orders." RM kept a respectful distance from you as he spoke but he still towered over you. You made yourself stand your ground. You've seen this routine when he was meeting with clients plenty of times and you found his intimidation tactic predictable.
"With all due respect, Mr.Kim," you pushed back, your voice icy and sacherine, "One of your men is bleeding. I ask that you use some common sense and let me tend to him so he doesn't lose his arm to infection." You knew the infection was unlikely, but not impossible especially if Jungkook was going to be spending time on a construction site.
Namjoon's jaw clenched but his eyes danced with amusement, "It's in your best interest to stay out of gang affairs, maybe we should get V to take you home." He responded to you in a threatening, but overly polite tone.
The others were silent as they watched in awe. They have seen RM play countless roles and countless games as their leader. But this exchange between the two of you, you were inventing a new game entirely.
"Actually, considering you pay me for my services it's in my best interests to change Jungkook's bandages right away. V, you could hang around and take me home when we're done. That would be lovely." You cooed peeking at the uniformed man over RM's shoulder.
RM glared and you smiled sweetly before turning your back to him and looking at Jungkook, "Can we go to your room maybe?" You asked him.
Jungkook stood rigid and wide eyed glancing between you and RM for orders.
"She makes a valid point, lemon square," Jin said, stepping forward to rub Namjoon's shoulders and leaving a peck on his shoulder to ease the tension.
You had to fight the corners of your mouth from curling up at the nickname as you dared to glance at RM. You knew about he and Jin's habit of calling eachother pastry names as patnames, and you were thankful for Jin choosing such an outlandish one to help break the intensity of the moment.
"Be quick," Namjoon growled.
And again, you fought back a smile as you followed Jungkook out the room in victory.