𓆩・༺ ꔫ ༻・𓆪
The metal cans in his hands vanish when he brings them inside a black backpack, zipping up the evidence concealed within. Throwing the backpack over his shoulder, he takes in hand another, much lighter, backpack in his fist to hold.
I decide to step up where he finally notices me. I gulp hesitantly but hide my anxiety about the situation and how it will play out.
If I don't go along with this mission tonight, I won't have anywhere else to go, which is exactly what Ghost said moments ago. If I do go along with the mission and return here after it's done, I'll officially be a criminal in the eyes of the public. The chances of returning home to live a normal life again are slim to none.
I don't understand why I should have to prove myself when none of the other new crew members are having to do it. It's not fair treatment in the slightest.
"You two be safe," I turn in the direction of the loud voice, tilting my head up to the second-floor railing where I see Ghost grabbing the bars of the railing and directing his words to both Jungkook and me.
Although no one else in the warehouse stops what they're doing to pay attention to Ghost, I do. Not even Jungkook turns his head in the direction of him, but I keep my challenging eyes on his which hold an alarming threat behind them.
If I do anything today, I'll be struggling the most with my morals. Either I can forget about what's right and wrong and go along with it, or else I can protest and try to make it on my own without being caught. The only problem is time—a luxury I won't be given today.
Before I know it, the backpack, which was in Jungkook's hand, is being placed in mine. Nodding his head to the door in front of us, he starts jogging out of the building. I know already what his nod signifies—it signifies it's time to go and get this over with.
Although my bravery will always be a part of my character, I know I'll struggle with it today.
Putting on the backpack, I follow after Jungkook, rushing outside toward him with my heart hammering in my chest and my soul racing with adrenaline.
𓆩・༺ ꔫ ༻・𓆪
"Put this on," while crouching down next to a large, green dumpster, he shoves a plastic bag into my hands.
"What is it?" I survey the items inside the clear bag, giving a puzzled look when I meet his eyes.
Sighing, he gestures to the bag. "There's a wig, sunglasses, and a few other things Acid threw in there."
So Acid packed this?
"And why do I need all this?" I open the bag, pulling out the blonde wig and lipstick with confusion.
"It's a disguise. You need one considering the public knows your face." When he says those words, I let my mouth shape into a silent O when the realization hits me.
He shakes his head. "Quickly put those on and follow me,"
Following his instructions, I put the items on and stand up after him. However, I slide the lipstick into my pocket, not putting any on considering I don't have a mirror in the first place. We stand in the alley while his eyes scan the fake disguise I wear.
He comes closer, pushing the sunglasses higher up my nose, and runs his fingers through the wig, making it look more natural.
"There," he comments, taking a few steps back. He takes me in, drinking the picture before him like a bottle of whiskey to his thirsty soul. "Perfect,"
His quiet words slip out on accident, but I hear them; he says nothing.
"Now, we should get going," he turns on his heels, starting to walk out of the alley. Before he can take the first step on the sidewalk, he checks both ways and pulls back into the shadows with me. "Before the mission, there's somewhere I have to take you." Without waiting for my response, he clasps his hand around mine and pulls me into the street with him.
With our backpacks on, we walk beside one another when strangers bypass us in silence. We return the quietness, not daring to say a word to each other.
I follow behind him like a lost puppy wanting to find her way back home, but I don't verbally admit it. Instead, I take big strides and follow after him with a goal set in my mind. My goal is to one day get out of this mess, but for now, I readjust my blonde wig and continue walking down the street in silence.
𓆩・༺ ꔫ ༻・𓆪
Without warning, Jungkook turns down yet another alleyway, sliding into the shadows with ease. I say nothing, only follow him.
He checks both directions down each alley side and soon stops walking when he crouches down to the ground.
"Make sure no one comes by," he says when pulling out a red brick from the side of the building beside us.
When I see him, I keep my eyes on either side of the alley, making sure no one sees what he's up to.
He could have an object hidden for emergencies, he could have his I.D., or he could have a passport ready in case the situation ever got so bad he needed to flee.
When he stands up holding a metal box, which was hidden behind a few loose bricks, in his hands, I eye the box confused and lose interest in keeping watch when I see what's in his hands.
He blows over the top of the dusty lid, wiping a large amount of dust off the top when blowing doesn't work. Eventually, he flips up the silver lock on the box and opens the lid, exposing rows of cash, rolled up with rubber bands.
When carefully eyeing the black space behind the bricks, I notice more metal boxes that are the same as the one he's holding. The other boxes, hidden in the darkness, must have
more money hidden away, too.
"How did you know about this—"
"Here's four thousand and then some." He places a few rolled-up piles of cash in my hand after counting one pile, ignoring my question. "That should be enough to do anything you would like. We can drop it off at your house, and give it to your father. You can use it for yourself. You can do anything you want with it."
I push the few wadded-up bills back to him. "I don't want your money, Jungkook. I'm not taking it." Despite the flash of surprise in his eyes, he doesn't hesitate from my tone.
"Yes, you are. I didn't bring you all this way for nothing. It's to make up for what was taken at your father's store. We don't steal, Vee. I'm returning what's rightfully yours. It's up to you what you want to do with the money, but you're taking this from me." He pushes the money back into my hands. "We're doing this now and settling it. If you decide to stay at the warehouse, I don't ever want to hear you mention the money to anyone. Do me a favor, take the cash, drop the theft incident, and let's get back to our current mission, okay?"
With his rushed words, he shuts the lid and places it back into the darkness with the other metal boxes. Piling up the loose bricks as they were before, he hides the boxes as if a hidden treasure to my very eyes.
"If I take it, I need to know if all of this is stolen." I gesture to the money in my hand, while also tilting my head to the bricks he placed back perfectly. "I'm not taking money that's been stolen from others."
It's enough knowing he, and the others, destroy what people have built in the city. Jungkook and his family desire to harm the people who aren't with them in their goals. They aim to hurt one owner of a shady business but end up hurting much more people instead. I'm asking where this money came from because I'm not about to take cash when it could've been used to put food on the table for innocent children. I know all too well what it's like to go to bed starving.
Not backing down from my much-needed-answered question, I watch his eyes fix on me with a look of guilt.
"I won't lie; it's stolen money. Trust me when I say this money is doing a lot good here than it was originally, Vee. It's better out here than—"
I throw the rolled-up bills at him, shushing his words because I can't bare to hear anymore.
"I thought you didn't steal from others, but after seeing all this, I know damn well who you are now. You're a lying bastard who ruins low-class family businesses and steals their hard-earned money. It's pretty pathetic you can't leave the money alone considering these families hardly have enough, much less have the money to pay for the damages and insurance on a shop that has been destroyed by you and your so-called family. Take your money and put it back, or better yet, return it to its rightful owners."
I don't care when I see the flash of hurt, then anger cross his expression in a blink of an eye before dropping every ounce of expression. He becomes blank, emotionless, but it pisses me off he does that. He doesn't deserve to block his emotions after what he's done. After what he's been a part of.
He picks up the cash, shoves it into his backpack, and walks forward, away from me.
"Let's do the mission and get back home." His words are cold, but so are mine.
"Finally, something we both can agree on."
𓆩・༺ ꔫ ༻・𓆪
Walking on the side of the street, he suddenly takes off his backpack and urges mine off as well. Opening his backpack, he takes out the cash, shoving it into his pants pocket. He hides the backpacks underneath a pile of garbage bags which are next to the building we're about to go inside.
After he hides the backpacks, we go into the store next to it in the city. The store is rich, enchanted with beautiful diamonds galore. We step inside, and it takes me off guard. It's a jewelry shop.
"What are we doing here?" I ask once he urges me forward into the store. The clothes we wear aren't good enough for the luxurious clothing other shoppers are wearing. This isn't some cheap jewelry store; this is where the rich people go.
I feel hard, sudden glares directed my way from rich, housewives, and employees, and I swear a hateful, teeth-showing Chihuahua placed in a pink carry bag gives me the death glare when we pass by the dog. I'm so out of my comfort zone here.
"Play along," Jungkook whispers, grabbing my hand and holding it in his. He intertwines his fingers with mine when stepping up to the clear counter.
While stopping at the glass case, we both let our eyes rake over the large number of jewels that twinkle in our eyes. It's beautiful.
"May I help you?" A slim, bald man comes up to us behind the counter, a questionable eye raise coming from him when glancing at us in our attire.
"Yes, my fiancée needs another ring. You see, she's clumsy and lost it on our vacation in France a week ago. We seemed to have bought it here but lost track of our receipt." Jungkook takes the role of talking, stroking my fingers when the bald man behind the counter glances at our locked hands.
"You're dressed in awful clothing and expect me to believe you've traveled to France? Is this a joke?" The man spits harshly, yet holding a blank expression all the same.
Jungkook sizes the man up and down in a hidden way so the man won't see. He nods his head, unhooking his hand from mine. "You got us, Sir. We do have money but—"
"I think it's best if you and your..." he turns to me, looking at me and scoffing. "Prostitute," he whispers, "Vacate the store immediately. This is a place for only people who have money—"
He stops talking when Jungkook takes the cash out of his pants pocket and places it on top of the clear counter.
"This is a little over four grand—count it if you need. You're right about us, but this is yours—all of it. You won't need to half it with any company that sends their jewelry to your store. This can be all yours if you let me and... my date tonight hook up in the back for a while."
I have to hide the way my face flushes from the topic change, but I hide the embarrassment and act the role I'm supposed to act here.
"I see," the man says, sliding his hand on top of the counter when taking the cash. "Only for an hour," he says quietly with Jungkook smiling.
"An hour is all we need."
𓆩・༺ ꔫ ༻・𓆪
Walking into the back of the store, the bald man shows us to the basement.
"You can do whatever it is you want to do here. I don't care, but don't wreck the place, and if I catch one item out of place or stolen, I'm calling the police." After his harsh words, the bald man stomps upstairs while shutting the basement door behind him.
"Jungkook, what the hell are we doing here?" A part of me is freaking out from the mention of cops so soon. I won't ever forget how rough those cops were being to me for absolutely no reason. I was innocent; they didn't care.
"We're preparing everything." He admits, coming to one side of the wall. He pulls one of the wooden tables against the wall where he climbs on the table and stands.
He wipes his hand over a small, glass window to peer outside. It's a window placed at the top of the wall, able to see a hint of feet when people walk by in the alley beside the store. Swiftly, he unlocks the window, jumping down from the table. He moves the table back to where it was originally while scanning the rest of the room.
Taking out a flip phone from his pocket, I watch him dial a number while placing the phone to his ear.
"I'm in, tell the others to be prepared. I'm going to need eyes and ears for this mission. Tell Yoongi to bring the car tonight; I have a feeling we'll need a getaway driver." When his eyes flick to mine, a part of my adrenaline starts rushing through my veins and very soul.
What kind of trouble are we about to get into?
𓆩・༺ ꔫ ༻・𓆪