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We both have no idea how to respond after the shock comes to us. He's the last person I ever would have thought to be here, but he must think the same because he's looking at me as if in shock.
"You can't be here, Vee. You have a decent life going. You don't want to make a mistake and be stuck in this life forever. Believe me, I would love to get out. I can't; you can." His words tumble out of his mouth. "You need to leave and go home," he starts pushing me out of the door, but I turn around and remove his hands.
"I can't leave, Yoongi. My identity was revealed on the news," I sigh when I see his confusion. "After what happened at Dad's store, I wanted to find the Street Killer to confront him. I did find him, and so did the police. They thought I was an accomplice and tried to arrest me. If it weren't for Jungkook, I would be behind bars right now. He's giving me protection since the world knows my face. I have nowhere to turn if I don't stay here."
I don't mention the remark he made about my father. Truth be told, I don't want to believe Dad would stoop low enough to trade in his daughter for a cash reward.
When my explanation catches up with him, I watch his face twist into an unpleasant expression.
"You're joining us? You do realize that you can't randomly quit whenever you want. This place is more than a job; it's your life on the line. I wish it didn't come to this, but I'm grateful you're here and safe if your identity was exposed. I know we didn't have a relationship outside of the workplace, but I wouldn't mind answering any of your questions or if you have any concerns."
His personality flips drastically. His earlier words of concern vanish once knowing I'll be staying.
"Thanks, but Jimin is going to tell me. He's with Barbie right now—"
A roaring laugh falls from Yoongi's lips, cutting me off.
"Are you telling me that he couldn't keep it in his pants for an hour to explain things to you?" I watch him hold his stomach, laughing too hard.
When he raises up, he stops laughing and motions for me. "Come on, I'll finish what he started." He walks out of the room, placing a hard knock on the door of the room Jimin and Barbie are inside. "I'll be taking Vee around. You two take your time."
He walks away, hearing a single okay from Jimin behind the door.
Rolling his eyes, Yoongi guides me around the second floor. "There's not too much up here," he begins, opening the first door to his left. "This is some of the bedrooms we have. Notice, that not everyone lives here. Some go to the next warehouse if it's too crowded here, others will take turns sleeping on beds and furniture, and some choose to sleep on the floor. I'm lucky since I brought my sofa from home. So since I own it, I'll have somewhere to sleep every night."
I listen to every word he says. Though, it's a bit confusing. His explanation is fast, but I try to keep up.
"Are there more rules I should know about?" I finally asked, watching his eyes flash to the side in thought.
"Most of the rules are basic. No stealing from others here, if you make a mess, clean it up, and never rat out your crew to the police. They're rules most people abide by in a normal home." He starts walking again, only to suddenly stop and turn around to face me once more.
"I should mention the leaders of our crew. So there's Jungkook; he's the person behind this place. He owns these two warehouses, so initially, we report to him. Next to him in ranks, there's Ghost, Twix, Taehyung, Acid, and," he pauses, taking a bow in front of me. "Min Yoongi," he raises up with a sly smile.
"So you're one of the leaders?" He nods to answer my question.
"Each of the leaders has different tasks. The leaders were the founding members before our gang ever grew this big. The six of us grew up in homes that shouldn't be called ones, so we ran away. After Jungkook's father died, he gained these warehouses through his father's will. Thus, leading us here," Yoongi outstretches his hands. "As I was saying, each of us leaders has different tasks. For Jungkook, he exposes secrets, Ghost makes the plans and finds the next business to target, and Taehyung films the big missions, posting them online for others to see."
He pauses, looking around to make sure no one is here. "Twix starts the distraction if Jungkook ever gets into trouble. I'm the innocent bystander in most cases. If anyone gets arrested or taken in by the police, I'll bail them out if the police don't believe they're affiliated with the Street Killer. I also do the shopping, have three different jobs, and take care of what I can around here. My income goes to my family, and yeah, other people have jobs, too, but some don't, so we make sure everyone is taken care of. That includes you now, too, Vee. You won't be able to work, so you'll need someone who can help you."
I understand what he means, but I don't want to be a burden to anyone.
"Isn't there one more leader you forgot to mention?" I ask, changing the topic for right now.
"Acid?" He questions while I nod in agreement. "Acid is the hacker. She removes footage of Jungkook or anyone else who's been around the stores we target. She silences the alarm systems, too. If not for her, a lot of people would have already been placed in prison by now."
"I see," it makes more sense knowing now why they haven't been able to be arrested. They have numerous people working together to act on one store. However, it's strange considering I found Jungkook working alone.
"Yeah, let's keep walking."
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"And that's everything I can show you here. We went through the kitchen, showers, toilets, dressing rooms, and even the lounge rooms." Yoongi rests against the wall inside the living area, letting a small breath of exhaust pass from his lips. "At least you shouldn't be lost now." He smiles cheekily.
"Thank you," those are the only words I can muster given the situation. I can't help but wonder what Dad's doing right now. It's already night.
The intruding thoughts vanish when the doors to the warehouse come busting open with a few people stepping inside.
Jungkook walks along with the group, but he takes his spot near the wall, watching everything when the group of people stop moving in the center of the room.
I notice Taehyung is in the group and a few other unknown faces.
"Those are the other leaders. They're about to make a speech," Yoongi leans closer to me, explaining while straightening up to listen.
"Everyone, we have some news—both good and bad. For now, we need to address a couple of announcements. First, we have some new members of our family. Tonight, the newcomers will be welcomed with open arms to get used to our home, but starting tomorrow, there will be no kindness until the new members have made their pledge to stand with us."
"That's Ghost. He likes to think he runs things around here," Yoongi mumbles again, a tad annoyed.
However, it's the statement this Ghost person made that pisses me off. What's up with his logic? If anything, treating people with rudeness will drive them away, not want them to join the crew.
"In a few days, we'll hold our ceremony to fully welcome the new members into our family. If anyone here wishes to leave who has not pledged their loyalty to our cause, you may leave so now."
No one takes a step forward. The room remains in silence with the crackling of the fire which is burning inside the metal barrels scattered around the room.
"Since everyone is choosing to stay, I hope to see you at the nearing ceremony. As for the good and bad news, our first is bad. One of our leaders' identities has been exposed. Taehyung's face has now been seen, so we must work more carefully." Ghost darts his eyes to Taehyung who rolls his eyes, uncaring. "Taehyung's stupidity got his identity exposed. He filmed himself who wasn't wearing his mask in the public eye. He is going to be housebound for a while now."
"Can he do that?" I find myself whispering to Yoongi who holds a small laugh on his lips, yet he doesn't act on it.
"Yeah, but don't worry about him. He's trying to make Taehyung understand how risky his actions were. He'll be out filming the next missions in a week or two. It's a small punishment." Although Yoongi's words are informative, I'm not too sure how to feel about any of this as of yet.
"Now, for the good news." Ghost turns to face Jungkook with an outstretched hand. "Jungkook will be leaving home for a while to take care of some personal business. On his leave, he will be taking one person with him." Ghost's eyes dart to mine, sinking into me as if a snake has plunged its fangs into my very skin.
"He'll be taking one of our new members. While they're gone, we will be establishing a new mission and proceeding without them. The mission will consist of—"
"Are you seriously going somewhere with Jungkook?" Yoongi asks me, not trying to hide the fact he's talking at all. However, Yoongi's too quiet for anyone else to hear besides us.
"I never knew about it. I have no reason to go anywhere with him, especially after what he did to my father's store." Yoongi comes closer, placing his hands on both of my shoulders.
"You must hate him, Vee. I didn't get a chance to tell you this earlier, but Acid is Jungkook's girlfriend. She's extremely jealous. I know this probably sounds stupid considering everything, but she's insane. She stabbed a fork into Jimin's thigh once because he fell asleep too close to Jungkook. She is not someone who plays nice, so whatever you do, keep hating him." Yoongi pulls away quickly when the room starts clapping to whatever else Ghost had to say.
However, I keep my hands down. Only once the crowd in the room begins leaving do I see a woman standing on the opposite side of the warehouse, directing her gaze at me. Her eyes aren't kind; they're laced with malicious intent to harm and bring pain. It's Acid.
I suddenly feel all alone when I notice Yoongi isn't around. I spot him talking to someone a few feet away.
"Hey, what's wrong?" The hand on my shoulder stops my heartbeat from beating any further. When I turn around, I see Jimin smiling with a bit of hesitation on his features. I see Barbie standing a few inches away, smiling, too.
"It's nothing," I lie.
"I hope it's not because of earlier. I'm sorry I took Jimin away." A soft laugh comes from Barbie. Her long black nails run through her silver hair with a tad bit of embarrassment in her grin.
"It's okay. Yoongi showed me around. You don't have to apologize." I admit.
"If that's not it, why did you look like you were panicking a second ago?" Jimin asks, confused.
"It's my nerves from what Yoongi said about Acid. He told me how jealous she is. He also said she stabbed you with a fork," my eyes flick to his thigh, then back up into his eyes where I see his nervousness.
"It's true. She's like the devil when it comes to Jungkook. She'll do anything—"
"Are you telling nasty stories about me again, Jimin?" I feel my heart begin beating too fast once more.
With hesitation in my body, I turn around to see Acid standing behind me with her arms crossed over her chest and a sour expression on her red lips. "I won't hesitate to stab the other thigh... but this time with a knife."
Sweat begins rushing down my forehead when she darts her eyes to me once again. "What are you looking at?"
She follows my gaze, not realizing I'm staring at her, but she darts her eyes to Jungkook who's walking up to us. "You were checking out my boyfriend?" She snaps, roughly grabbing my shoulders.
I flinch, tightening my eyes. "You... you..." she begins, finding her next words while I wait for the fork or knife to be sliced against my throat. I never realized my life would end due to jealousy. Well, goodbye, cruel world. It's been shit.
Cracking open my eyes after nothing happens, I'm stunned to see smiling faces, holding back fits of laughter. I widen my eyes in confusion from seeing the group around me giggling. Yoongi comes up laughing, too. The only one with a serious expression is Jungkook who's standing close to Acid.
"You didn't really think I stabbed Jimin with a fork, did you? I might be mean at times, but I would never go so far. I'm in no way a jealous person. Sorry, I just wanted to make you sweat a little. It's fun," Acid removes her hands, replacing her earlier venomous glare with a bright grin instead.
"Yoongi was the mastermind. He thought it would be funny to prank you since he said you were a bit nervous to be here, so we thought we would make it fun. Sorry again if we took it too far." Acid keeps talking, letting her brown eyes shine when she looks at me.
I take in her beauty and feel much better knowing this was a prank. Her brown, straight hair is let loose, falling to her midsection on her back, and her makeup is done nicely. Similar to Barbie, she's a very pretty girl.
"I'm sorry, too. I thought it would help take the edge off." Yoongi speaks up, patting my shoulder tenderly while the others agree.
"The only ones who weren't in on it were you and Jungkook. He still hasn't changed. He has no sense of humor, but it makes it all the more hilarious." Jimin wipes a tear from his eye when noticing Jungkook's blank expression.
"So are you a jealous person?" Feeling awkward, I blurt out the first thought which comes to mind. Acid shakes her head.
"I'm not. Actually, I don't have a problem sharing my partners. Jungkook and I are in an open relationship. We're still dating, but we're open to trying new and different things." She grins once more, grabbing Jungkook's hand in a sweet gesture, which makes him drop his serious expression into a soft smirk.
"Honestly, since you two will be gone for a few days, I won't have any issues with the two of you sleeping together. Matter of fact, if you do, I better hear every detail from your lips." Acid comes up and places a kiss on my cheek. "I have some business to take care of on my own, so don't stop the party because I'm leaving. It was nice meeting you, Vee. I hope we can get real close one day."
I watch her walk away, swaying her hips from side to side when exiting the building with the rest of the leaders. I didn't realize she knew my name until after she left.
"You should get some sleep, Vee. We're heading out early." Jungkook yawns, eyes not holding any emotion.
"Where are we going? Why do I have to come?" I ask, confused by what all just happened.
"It's for you. I know you don't trust me, but I know you'll appreciate where we're going." He turns his back to me, walking away while throwing up his hand. "Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."
"But—"
"Vee, let it go. He's hardheaded and won't change his mind once it's set. Let's go upstairs and find a bed for you if we can," Yoongi pulls me along with Jimin and Barbie. They talk amongst themselves, giggling quietly to one another while I'm left more confused than ever.
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