Disclaimer:
I don't own the characters and in no way do these characters reflect who the BTS members are in real life! Or any celebrities mentioned in the book, for that matter.
This story was inspired by a few others I've read but the idea is new and entirely my own. I have never read anything like it so if there are any similarities, they're purely coincidental. I also own copyrights over all the text and the book cover (The design is mine, not the images). Plagiarism is something I will not let slide. But if you wish to quote the book somewhere for a few sentences, I don't have a problem with that.
Warnings have been given in the introduction so do be mindful of them and if anything bothers you that you weren't warned of, tell me and I'll either take care of it or ask you to stop reading.
This is a Taekook book, but romantic Taegikook is used as a major plot device so do whatever you will with that information, I guess.
I hope we can all respect each other, readers and author alike and build a loving community. I will not tolerate myself or any of my readers being disrespected.
Thank you!
----
Jungkook lightly rubs the skin ointment his tattoo artist prescribed for him over the light blistering on his bare chest, holding in his winces as he does so. Once the white cream disappears into his skin, he pulls out his phone and checks the redness through the front camera, huffing through his nose.
Why did he even fight Jin to get the tattoo? When it was optional, too?
Jungkook groans as he recalls young him smitten for his mafia captain and willing to do whatever he could to gain her approval. Even go as far as getting an optional Rings tattoo. On his chest, no less. When he knew damn well, he'd have to get it removed at some point for a mission.
But it was necessary.
Otherwise he wouldn't be standing in the bathroom of a plane headed to Croatia on his twenty-second birthday.
"Happy birthday, Kookie," he says to himself, smiling in his front camera. "You don't turn twenty-two everyday."
He rests his phone on the sink and pulls his white t-shirt over his head, setting it for wrinkles, trying to look as casual as possible and not like he's on a mission to bring down the world's most notorious mafia, Ruby and Sapphire, better known as Jewels.
Not that he is.
That's just what he wants Rings to believe.
He has his own personal things to settle with the leader of Jewels himself.
Vante best be prepared for his arrival.
Jungkook sits on the toilet seat and fixes his intense gaze on his phone. Any minute now, Jin will call.
Meanwhile, Jungkook plays with his wavy black hair, satisfied with his decision to let them grow out a bit.
It makes him look badass.
The phone vibrates and Jungkook instantly picks it up, attending the call from an unknown number and pressing the phone to his ear, "Hello?" His fingers shake slightly but he quickly inhales to calm his nerves.
"The same water that softens the potato hardens the egg," Jin's familiar voice reaches Jungkook's ears through the phone. "What are you? Potato, or egg?"
Jungkook smiles, puffing his chest out and sitting back, "Neither. I am the water that swallows both."
Jin chuckles on the other side, "Happy birthday, Jungkook."
"Nice to hear your voice too, Jin."
"You land in five hours."
"Mm-hm."
"Nervous?"
"Why would I be?"
"It's your first out-of-America mission," Jin whisper-squeals. "Must be exciting at least."
Yes, there is no denying the adrenaline pumping Jungkook's body. It is the reason Jungkook has not been able to catch a wink of sleep in more than twenty hours.
"I feel like I could kill all the Jewel motherfuckers and get away with it," Jungkook says, his voice low.
"Keep your head in the game."
"I know, no murder until I get the all-clear," Jungkook slumps onto the toilet seat.
"You memorised your identity?" Jin asks.
Jungkook once again puffs out his chest and nods, "I am Lee JayKay, born on the twenty-fifth of March, 2001 in Gwangju, Korea."
"Why is your name so weird?"
"My parents were weird."
"What is your goal in life?"
"Surface goal, become the greatest singer in the world," Jungkook answers without a hitch. "Personal goal, avenge the murder of my parents."
"Who are?"
"Lee Minjun and Kim Suren," The names of fake parents roll off Jungkook's tongue as if these are the two people he has known his entire life before their gruesome deaths.
"How did they die?"
"Stabbed to death while I was listening to music in my bedroom."
"Great, you seem to know it all," Jin affirms. "You're going to do great."
A sense of pride fills Jungkook. Of course he did well, he was born for this. But a compliment from Jin never fails to make him feel better. "Thanks."
Jin laughs a little on the other side. Jungkook sits back, listening to the sweet sound, closing his eyes and memorising it.
He will probably never see Jin again.
There's no saying what's going to happen once Jungkook lands in Croatia.
"JK?"
Jungkook blinks and stares at the wall, "Hmm?"
"Be careful."
Not a lot of people expect him to come out alive after trying to infiltrate Jewels, especially after the history Vante has with spies. He does not tolerate them, at all.
It's Vante after all. They say the very mention of his name alone rocks even the deadliest of demons to their core.
And Jin can only hope that Jungkook returns in one piece.
"I will," Jungkook nods firmly, even though Jin can't see him.
"See you later, soldier."
"Love you too, Mom."
"I am gonna miss you calling me that."
Jungkook chuckles at Jin's comment. Jin hates it when Jungkook calls him mom. But not now, when this can be the elder's last conversation with Jungkook, they both can do nothing but pray Vante didn't see a spy in him right off the bat.
Jungkook wants to keep talking, talking to Jin until he lands, but he knows how risky it is. He wants to tell Jin everything, of his past, of his real intentions, but he holds it in.
He has come too far to ruin his plan now.
And even if Jin is the closest friend he has had since he was seventeen, he needs to be kept in the dark about this. Jungkook cannot risk getting himself killed with his ideas and intentions. He trusts Jin, but he does not stand a chance against the elder's loyalty to Rings, the only home Jin has ever known.
The cull cuts and Jungkook closes his eyes, swallowing hard.
This is happening.
He fooled his psycho mob boss.
He did it.
'Device set to self-destruct,' a robotic female voice says through the phone's speaker.
Jungkook stands and places the phone in the sink, staring at it until it erupts into a mini-explosion, like all his previous devices did in the past.
There it goes. His final chance to back out.
Jungkook collects the still-hot remains of the phone and throws the little ashes into the toilet, flushing it once all of his phone is inside.
He intakes deeply once all traces of the phone disappear, sighing in relief and hurrying out of the bathroom, closing the door and exhaling a puff of breath, placing his forehead against the door.
"Um, sir?" a hostess taps his shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Jungkook looks up and flashes a polite smile in her direction, "Yep. Explosive diarrhea, is all."
"Oh," the hostess nods, her hands clasped in front of her. "Shall I get you some yoghurt?"
"Thanks," Jungkook nods and she walks away.
Jungkook exhales and swallows, turning around and walking towards his seat, his timberland boots weighing more than usual on his feet.
Every step burns, making Jungkook more aware of the gruesome fate that might be waiting for him in Croatia.
No turning back now.
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Taehyung pushes the blue side of his hair back as he licks the fresh blood stuck to his upper lip, the adrenaline (mostly nicotine), still fresh in his system. The metallic taste of his victim's blood coats his tongue, sending a surge of pleasure through his jaw. The pleading, fear-stricken eyes of the victim under him do nothing to nudge the little humanity he has left in him.
By Taehyung's side, there is Jimin, who watches with pure bloodlust as Taehyung does his thing.
This is Jimin's idea, committing murder after Taehyung's panic attack. Jimin grabbed the boy from an alley and brought him to Taehyung, whose anger quickly switched to anticipation once he got the upper hand against the boy.
Taehyung clutches the hilt of his dagger tighter as the young man, no more than twenty, attempts to drag his body away from the angry don. Taehyung steps into a pool of blood flowing out of the male's cut ankles, curling his toes in the warm liquid, taking his time to revel in the fluid.
Taehyung steps closer to the young boy and stands over him, his blood-bathed feet on either side of the kid's waist. The boy screams but the pain is too much for him to move away.
Especially when Vante himself is staring down into his soul, his gaze as piercing as ever.
"Please, I don't have anything," the boy begged, voice laden with humility. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"
Oh, I think you did.
Taehyung signals to Jimin, who rushes to the victim and holds him in place, earning a loud, desperate cry out of him. Jimin adjusts himself and crouches, holding the boy from his head and sitting down. Jimin wraps his legs around the boy's waist and pulls him closer to himself.
The boy struggles and cries, crocodile tears flowing out of his eyes and streaming down his flushed cheeks. He writhes in Jimin's grasp, unsuccessful in his attempt to escape the smaller man's hold. When all seems futile, the boy screams. A loud, agonistic scream. An innocent cry for help. But no one would be able to hear. Not at this distance. Taehyung trusts this warehouse. This is where he enjoys playing with everyday, regular victims.
Like the rapist at his feet right now.
"What was her name, again?" Taehyung crouches, looking the boy in his eyes as he weeps.
The boy tries to shake his head, tears bolting out of his eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about, please, let me go."
He looks so pathetic.
Taehyung clicks his tongue and looks up at Jimin, straight in his eyes hooded with the desire to kill, "Tell me Mochi, should I let him free?"
Jimin smirks, his lust for death only growing, "I'll kill him if you do."
Taehyung gently runs the blade of the dagger over his fingertips and looks back at the boy in front of him who is hiccuping, too exhausted to cry or scream anymore. His struggles die down as he looks at Taehyung, pleading with his eyes, his pupils dilated.
"You can choose. Mochi, or me."
The boy once again tries to shake his head, his cries almost inaudible, "Please, I'm sorry, I won't ever do it again, I'm begging. I'm a good person, I swear-"
In one swift movement, Taehyung slashes the dagger against one of the pretty blue eyes. The squelch of the eyeball followed by the boy's screech was like music to Taehyung's ears. The blood splattering over the kid's face and Taehyung's own painted a picture Taehyung would pay to give to an art museum.
The boy struggles against Jimin's hold and wails, his cries echoing off the walls of the warehouse. He just wanted to go home after a long day at college.
"Good person, huh? Good person? Good person! Doesn't even know what he did wrong!" Taehyung's veins throb against his temple and he looks at Jimin, who's pouting at him.
"Well, that's just a waste of eye."
Taehyung smirks, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll be sure to carve the other one out for you."
Jimin shakes his head, "I think the art piece looks better slashed, don't you?"
Taehyung chuckles, his anger replacing itself with the need to kill the monster in front of him and get it over with.
And so he does.
He slashes the other eye, listens to the screams with satisfaction pumping his heart as he watches his victim's face contort into one of pure pain. The boy is getting dizzy, he is losing too much blood.
And Taehyung enjoys it.
Once his screams start to die down, Taehyung slashes the knife through his throat, watching him choke on his own blood as Jimin lets him go.
The limp body falls to the floor and Taehyung watches as the blood spreads and flows in his direction.
Funny how all that blood is just running through your body at about five miles per hour all the time. A human being's anatomy is truly a marvelous creation.
The warmth of the crimson liquid graces Taehyung's feet and he sighs in pleasure. Jimin gets off the dead boy, his boxers and legs covered in blood, some of it splattered on his vest, face and hair.
"Just throw him in the ocean," Taehyung says, wiping his hands on the towel Jimin hands him.
"So, I get to puncture his lungs?" Jimin's eyes gleam.
Taehyung laughs lightly, "Go for it."
Jimin does not waste a second in jumping on top of the rapist and stabbing his chest several times, shooting a few bullets through, just to make sure the body doesn't rise once they dump it in the ocean.
Taehyung picks up his golden coat and pulls it over his black tank top, buttoning it up and cleaning any remaining blood from his face and neck with a towel. He stares down at his sweatpants, matted in blood and takes them off, standing there in just his boxers as he reaches for the golden pants he kept nearby, pulling them on too, not caring if Jimin was staring at him or not.
"Tae, done."
"Take it away, then," Taehyung stands straight and sets his collar, picking his dirty pants up and heading towards the warehouse door. "And make sure I don't see him or you until the body is taken care of."
Jimin stands and nods. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that."
"Great," Taehyung halts in the doorway, looking back at Jimin as the smaller man collects their victim's body into a small man-bundle. "And meet me at home before we go for the next one."
At this, Jimin pauses and stands straight to look at Taehyung.
He looks perfect.
His pink hair is covered in blood droplets, same with his skin. Blood is still dripping from his boxers and his vest. His smooth, milky legs too, bathe in the polluted liquid. His hair is a mess and yet amidst his tired state, his eyes are buzzing with energy.
An energy that momentarily soothes as he locks eyes with his best friend, "You wanna talk, or something else?"
"Does it matter?"
"I need to know how to dress."
Taehyung rolls his eyes playfully, a smile gracing his lips. "Talk. About him."
Jimin closes his eyes and nods softly, "Oversized sweat-shirt and hot chocolate it is."
Taehyung smiles, letting out a small laugh before he rushes out of the warehouse, leaving Jimin to deal with a dead burden.
----
A/N:
And there it is!
Off to an okay-ish start, I think!
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