Yunhee once believed that Taehyung's fascination stemmed from attraction.
She had, after all, spent the best part of a year in a relationship with his doppelgänger.
The potency of his kiss the night they'd dined at his mansion, fuelling a sinful fire in her veins. It could easily have been the remnant embers of a flame that once burned bright in another world. She was even willing to blame the aftermath of his velvet whispers on her mental health after the trauma he'd inflicted.
That would have been a mistake.
It was not Taehyung who called to her. Nor was he responsible for the appalling deeds committed over the years.
It was The Darkness. A grand master, controlling the Mafia King like a puppet on a string.
Two Souls; One Star.
A beautiful name, yet a troubling tale of light versus dark, good versus evil, destiny versus destruction. The Greater Good brought Jimin into her life, but The Darkness polluted their love, its black presence seeping into the purest corners of her soul and arousing desires that had no business there.
There was nothing Yunhee could do to control it; the malevolent energy was bigger than anything any of them could ever comprehend, leaving her incapable of ridding her mind of his precious calls and visions of an unwanted future.
They haunted her frequently now. In the National Library this morning, in the car travelling home, in the bathroom after she slipped away to vomit up her stress because she was terrified of being unable to resist the entity who'd travelled across an entire universe to find her.
'Just another day in paradise,' Yunhee muttered as she arched across the lounge pug with an almighty yawn.
One of the perks of Jimin's library was the cosy seating dotted around the bookshelves, but an hour of reading the enlightening book had left her fatigued.
In need of a distraction before everybody filed in for the latest debrief, Yunhee let her imagination dream up a colourful crescendo of the mafia trio and her close friends bravely fending off an evil spirit to rescue her.
Cuss words from Jimin as bullets flew in all directions, a chortling Jin, an impatient Namjoon. If Hobi's shrill scream didn't frighten The Darkness back into its cave, then Jungkook's spinning hook kick and Suga's resting bitch face would.
As for Tae, what would he do to save her?
'Hey, trouble, the guys are on their way!' Jin broke into her chaotic daydream, striding into the library with a mountain of hardbacks in his arms. 'You still have the book?'
Lifting the item in question, Yunhee waved it at him with a dry smile. 'Can barely put the thing down. Bestseller material and all.'
'Plenty more in here if you fancy a change,' he suggested as he juggled the novels and rolled the ladder along the bookshelf.
Easing to her feet, Yunhee slowly breathed in and out for a shred of fortitude, Taehyung's persistent tone playing with her mind as Jin proficiently climbed the rungs.
Precious...
'Been meaning to put these back for months,' Jin made conversation while sliding each book into an empty slot. 'They were collecting dust in my room.'
Precious...
'Fuck off already,' Yunhee hissed.
Traces of Taehyung's dusky chuckle resonated in her head as she wearily massaged her temples and willed the bastard to leave her be.
There was no doubt he'd return, but there was a sense of relief when his amusement slithered away, and she heard nothing but the drone of the air-conditioning unit.
And Jin's dramatic sigh.
'You still haven't told him, have you?'
Glancing up, Yunhee was met with a discomposed Kim Seokjin looking down at her from the ladder.
Shame washed over her as she shook her head; only he and Tae knew about the voice that plagued her. She hadn't told Jimin yet, and it was beginning to eat her up from the inside.
Ramming the wad of books into a gap, Jin hopped to the ground, dusting off his hand as he walked over to grasp her upper arms. 'He'll appreciate the truth a lot more, I assure you.'
'I know, but I'm afraid,' Yunhee mumbled as she picked at the hem of her blouse. 'Afraid he won't understand. Tae and I have a past...'
'I know,' Jin replied softly, his ochre eyes gleaming with understanding, 'but the past is in the past, Hahm. You need to stop being a hypocrite and give Jimin the benefit of the doubt. Why insist on honesty within your relationship if you're going to keep such an important truth from him? You left Tae for that very reason.'
'You're not wrong,' Yunhee smiled through her tears. 'Jimin also seems to ease the blow. Whenever he's around, whenever he touches me, Taehyung disappears completely.'
'Of course, because you're soulmates. When you're together, you're like a force of nature. The Darkness doesn't stand a chance against you. That's why I wholly believe you can defeat it,' Jin soothed as he tucked her chin. 'You now have a valid excuse for mentally lusting after Taehyung, so let go of that guilt and tell him.'
'Shut up!' Yunhee swatted his chest with a hearty laugh, but then wiped her nose and affirmatively bobbed her head. 'Thanks, Jin. I'll tell him today.'
'Tell who what?'
The colluding couple sprang apart when a jovial Jimin made an unexpected appearance.
There was no sign of the weathered leather jacket he'd worn at the National Library, but his fitted jeans, loose-collared shirt and buckled holster looked just as sexy as he made his way over and draped an arm around Yunhee's waist.
'What'd I miss?' he whispered after pecking her hair.
'Nothing much,' Yunhee sing-songed, telepathically informing Jin that now was not the time to mention her premonitions when he rolled his eyes behind Jimin's back. 'You look great, by the way.'
'I'm wearing the same outfit.' Jimin's lips slanted into a puzzled smile before he paused and glimpsed suspiciously between his comrade and Yunhee. 'Were you two conspiring? Should I be worried?'
'Depends,' Jin drawled as he threw himself onto a bean bag and lazily reclined. 'How would you feel if your missus and I ran away and eloped?'
Yunhee hid a snort behind her fist when Jin grinned and braced his cheek in his palm; way to go for coming to her aid with a distracting joke.
'I see,' Jimin tsked, his eyes thinning to slits as he cagily regarded Yunhee along the bridge of his nose. 'Let me know the date and I'll be sure to send you a gift.'
'Boss,' Namjoon greeted curtly as he waltzed into the library with Hobi.
'What's happening?' Jungkook exclaimed with a mouth full of nosh as he raced in with a humongous packet of potato chips.
'Whatever it is, it better be good,' Suga grumbled, trundling after him while kneading his eyelids. 'I was taking a nap.
'You're always taking a nap,' Hobi countered as the guys dragged seating into the centre of the room. He remained on his feet, however, courteously acknowledging Jimin before lightly squeezing Yunhee's shoulder. 'Hey, wild cat, everything okay?'
'It will be,' she responded with a courageous smile before returning her attention to Jimin.
A strained jaw, fingers flirting with the grip of his Raptor while his fierce eyes remained locked on the door. He was trying to behave for her sake, but Yunhee knew exactly what was eating him.
'He'll be here in a moment,' she said for only him to hear.
'If he's not unapologetically late to my meetings,' Jimin grumbled as he tore his gaze from the doorway to look at her, 'he's blatantly early and sifting through my book collection.'
'Don't let him get to you,' Yunhee conciliated, meandering away to retake her pillowy throne with the all-important Two Souls; One Star.
'Oh, look,' Jin uttered when Tae finally dashed into the library, 'Satan's doppelgänger has entered the building.'
'Button it, Jin,' Yunhee warned as her ex - freshly clad in grey joggers and a baggy t-shirt - hummed an apology and joined the gathered group.
Taking a pew between Suga and a munching Jungkook, Tae crossed his legs and tousled his wet hair, his cupid's bow curving upwards when his umber eyes sought her out and crinkled under the downlights.
'Afternoon,' he mouthed.
Silky promises of a new beginning began to saturate her mind, and Yunhee quickly averted her gaze, concentrating on the book in her lap as Jimin thanked everyone for coming and closed off the library.
She was no stranger to the whispers when in Tae's company; they'd smothered her when he'd walked in and found her in his apartment all those weeks ago, clogging the air of the coffee shop when they'd agreed to meet and lay their souls bare.
Every day since his arrival at the mansion, The Darkness swam around Tae like a black smog, trickling into the cracks they endeavoured to mend.
But enough was enough.
It was time to rid herself of Taehyung's presence.
*
Through the door, Yunhee heard two people confessing their love on a TV that someone had forgotten to switch off.
Inside the library, a subdued hush blanketed the atmosphere, thick and heavy like a drifting nimbostratus as Jimin - kneeling behind her bean bag - squeezed her shoulders and waited with bated breath.
For the past thirty minutes, Jin had done the honours and crossed the Rubicon on their behalf, but after regaling the gang with the magical fairy tale, they were now faced with a glowering Min Yoongi, a head-scratching Jung Hoseok, a goggling Jeon Jungkook, and a sceptical Kim Namjoon.
There was also Kim Taehyung, his hair partially dry and his cheekbones cast in half light, half shadow as he gazed pensively through the window.
'Jesus, never thought I'd hear you lot this quiet,' Jin grunted, drumming Two Souls; One Star against his thigh as he anxiously circled on the spot. 'You don't have anything to say? Anything to ask?'
Jungkook shifted first, his potato chips crackling as he inched forward and surreptitiously raised his arm. 'What do you mean by a unique star? Like, Michael Jackson or something?'
Jimin's forehead crashed into Yunhee's crown, a whimper of despair reaching her ears as a collective groan filled the room and broke the stunned silence.
'Are you twelve shy of a dozen, kid?' Namjoon guffawed as he glared unabashedly at the oblivious Jungkook. 'A star. You know, like a star in a solar system, but unique?'
'Like the sun, JK,' Hobi emphasised desperately.
'Ah, right!' Jungkook nodded enthusiastically, tapping out a rhythm with his toes as his black brows dipped. 'Wait...the sun is a star?'
'Wow,' Tae articulated, rubbing the light stubble on his chin as he continued to stare through the window.
'JK, dude,' Suga sniggered, 'I love you, but sometimes, you're as numb as anaesthetic.'
'Can we please get back on track?' Jimin implored after removing his nose from Yunhee's tresses and walking into the crux of the unfolding mayhem. 'We may have answers, but until we figure out a way to stop this...this thing, we have a serious fucking problem on our hands.'
'I'll say,' Jungkook shuddered, stuffing another crisp into his mouth as he rocked back and forth on his lounge pug. 'I mean, is this Darkness thing watching us all the time? Because if it is, I'm never walking around naked again.'
'You have a beautiful body, JK, embrace it.' Suga batted his eyelashes, but winced when his friend retaliated with a stiff punch to his thigh. 'Ow, fucking hell! You're like a machine!'
'Ugh,' Jimin groaned as he squished himself onto Yunhee's bean bag and deflated like a balloon, 'how do you cope with this lot?'
'You get used to them after a while,' Yunhee giggled, tickling his forearm as her beloved friends chattered about the current topic.
Nattering questions were raised, a handful of "what-the-fucks" flying at Jin as he answered all of their queries to the best of his ability. All the while, Tae remained in a meditative state, preoccupied with the window view as if he hadn't heard a single word.
Yunhee expected this, of course; she was still trying to wrap her head around the staggering concept of unique stars and soulmates herself.
'You alright, Little Legs?' Jimin muttered beneath the ruckus. Tilting her head, she came nose-to-nose with his fretful face and a pair of exploring irises that searched hers for truth. 'When we got home earlier, you disappeared into the bathroom for a while...'
Fuck, Yunhee thought as she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his; the man didn't miss a beat, and now he was worried sick about her prolonged absence.
'Yes and no,' Yunhee responded honestly as her eyelids fluttered open. 'We should talk later. There's something I need to tell you.'
'Okay.' Jimin licked his lips, his brow indenting as he fleetingly peeked at her stomach. 'There's something I've been meaning to discuss with you, too. How does tonight sound?'
'Perfect,' Yunhee grinned, swiftly kissing his mouth as Suga sidled over and diverted their attention.
'If this Darkness is inside Taehyung and controlling him like you say, then it certainly explains a lot about his behaviour over the years.'
'It does indeed,' Jimin agreed as he leapt to his feet and cracked out his stiff knees with a grimace.
'I knew there was something sinister at play!' Jungkook abandoned his potato chips and joined the party. 'If Tae had become Mafia King, he'd have done a spectacular job like Jimin because he doesn't have an ounce of evil in him!'
'Nonsense,' Tae decisively roused from his lethargic trance and wandered over with a satirical grin. 'I've often considered selling your kidneys on the black market.'
'B-black market?' Hobi stuttered as he nervously covered his torso.
'You wouldn't know the black market if it smacked you around the back of those big ears,' Suga scowled as he shoved a snickering Tae aside. 'Anyway, how do we stop this thing? Anyone have any ideas? Cause I sure as hell don't.'
'Beats me,' Namjoon cynically replied as Yunhee climbed off the bean bag to stretch out her numb legs.
'There's something else of importance in here, I saw it earlier,' Jin announced while leafing through the informative pages. 'We know that The Darkness is powerful and can gravitate from universe to universe. It can disguise itself in human form and compel people into getting what it wants. Taehyung isn't the first vessel, and we're pretty sure he won't be the last, so...'
'So what?' Hobi squeaked as the team waited on tenterhooks.
'I think...The Darkness is at its weakest when it's inhabiting a human.' Double-checking the contents, Jin nodded confidently and snapped the cover shut with a triumphant smirk. 'Just as I thought. If we extinguish the vessel, The Darkness should die right along with it.'
'The vessel?' Suga rasped. 'You mean Taehyung, right?'
'Yes, Taehyung,' Jin quipped as Tae plucked the book from his possession with an introspective frown.
'Extinguish him?' Namjoon scoffed. 'Just like that?'
'Let's hope so-'
'Will extinguishing Taehyung extinguish The Darkness forever?' Jungkook added eagerly.
'I don't fucking know!' Jin uncharacteristically barked. 'Warding off vampires, zombies and devils isn't what I usually do. Putting cruel bastards in their rightful place, however, is. So, if our endgame hasn't changed, I'm still on board for getting hold of Taehyung and ripping his head off!'
'Huh,' Namjoon sniffed as he sat back in his chair and scratched his chin, 'that kinda blows. If not for The Darkness, we wouldn't need to harm him at all. Taehyung would just be out there in some other cosmos, living a normal life like Tae-'
'It doesn't matter, Joon.' Jimin's face was pale as the morose truth that none of this was Taehyung's fault descended over the library. 'It happened, and this is the reality we're faced with. If we don't kill him, it will claim Yunhee, and then it will go after two more just like us. It's never going to stop.'
'Jimin,' his right-hand man appeased, 'the Greater Good sought you and Yunhee out for a reason-'
'No, not just Yunhee and I,' Jimin shook his head, his chocolate eyes shining with respect as he looked amongst their friends, 'all of us. I know we don't always see eye-to-eye, but my men and I have seen what you're capable of, and the truth is, we can't do this without you.'
A surge of pride encompassed Yunhee's heart, doused with appreciation and love as Jungkook, Hobi and Suga stared at the Mafia King with the greatest admiration.
'Well,' Hobi puffed out this chest as he reached out and clutched Yunhee's hand, 'after what those evil bastards did to my best friend and I, I'll be damned if I'm going to bypass the chance to-'
'I don't like it.'
It was like time had decelerated to an excruciating slog of hour long seconds.
Yunhee turned her head, her ticker pounding like a train on the tracks as her startled gaze fell to Tae. The controversial man who'd barely spoken a word was clutching Two Souls; One Star, his mouth distorted into a childish pout as each and every person examined him like he'd grown a second head.
'You're objecting?' Suga laid into him. 'Are you insane?'
Suppressing a laugh, Tae dropped his arm and let the book dangle by his thigh. 'Put your pitchforks away, Team GG. I only meant the name.'
'What name?' Suga interrogated suspiciously.
'The Darkness,' Tae confirmed as he slapped the paperback into his mate's chest. 'It's lame.'
'I'm not the only one! Thank God!' Jin threw his head back with an enormous sigh as a wave of relief washed over Yunhee. 'I always think of that outrageous British rock band whenever I hear it. We need to change it to something else. I was thinking: The Dark Energy.'
'Why The Dark Energy?' Yunhee ventured as Tae contemplatively mulled the title over.
'Dark energy, dark matter, call it what you want,' Jin explained, 'it's a distorted, invisible force that's all around us. It's what stretches our galaxies apart and expands the universe. The way I see it, Jimin and Yunhee are the universe, and Taehyung is the dark matter trying to pull them apart.'
'Fantastic,' Jimin clapped his hands while hastening to open the library door. 'Anyway, I think that's enough for today-'
'What about this second coffee date?'
Yunhee's breath hitched when Jimin stopped on the threshold and carefully pivoted to glare at Tae. 'What about it?'
'If we want Taehyung and Hoseok to crawl out of the woodwork,' Tae said with a blasé shrug, 'we need to keep up this dating ruse and get our arses back to Dream Bean.'
For a millisecond, Jimin's gaze met hers, and Yunhee willed him not to kick up a storm after everything they'd discussed. To her relief, his shoulders sagged, and he switched his focus to the persistent man.
'Fine. Tomorrow. Same location, same time, same plan. If you try anything funny-'
'I won't,' Tae clipped, though his lips twitched into a cheeky smirk when he peered at Yunhee and covertly rolled his eyes. 'Tomorrow it is.'
Bone-tired and dreading what their second "date" may bring, Yunhee threw herself onto the bean bag, half-listening to Jimin and Jin discuss a business matter as the rest of the crew dispersed.
Hopefully, Tae wouldn't get any heroic ideas this time, and her envious boyfriend would stay calm enough to chase Hoseok if and when he showed his face.
'Whaddya mean "no"?' Jimin's puerile vocals echoed off the library shelves just as Yunhee looked over to see what all the fuss was about.
Uh-oh; the Mafia King was glaring at Jin who was rudely ignoring him to type out a text.
'I'm asking you to check over the club's bookkeeping and make sure there are no loose ends,' Jimin reiterated. 'If Taehyung gets his hands on our payroll or VAT-'
'I said no.' Jin finished off his message and locked his phone with a boyish grin. 'I'm officially off duty for the rest of the day.'
'What? Hey!' Jimin briskly marched after him when he made a beeline for the exit. 'Seokjin! Where the hell are you going?'
'Adios, amigos!' Jin hollered before the door slammed in his boss' face.
Having a pretty good idea of what was going on, Yunhee stifled a giggle, watching as an incensed Park Jimin immediately spun around to seek her aid. 'Did you see that? He just snubbed me!'
'Oh, dear.' Yunhee patted the lounge pug and gestured for him to join her. 'Come here.'
Like a sullen toddler, Jimin shuffled over and plonked himself onto the cushiony cloud. 'He's never disobeyed an order before.'
'That's because he's never had a girlfriend before,' Yunhee tittered as she played with his dark roots.
Jimin fell sideways with a profound sigh and burrowed his head into her lap with a helpless expression. 'He doesn't have a girlfriend now.'
'God, you're hopeless.' Yunhee flicked his nose. 'Let him be, you ninny. He's taking Mee out on a date.'
***
Thanks for reading guys! And just a little reminder as per this chapter, Yunhee always heard The Darkness calling her WITHOUT Taehyung around. She also heard it when in Tae's presence before he was kidnapped, hence her not suspecting Tae to be Taehyung in the mansion.
10th February 2022