Jimin winced, bending and flexing his sore knuckles as the island breeze whipped sea spray onto the Maserati and Tae carelessly drove over another pothole.
He really needed to stop punching things, but it was a difficult deed when it came to Kim Taehyung's colossal fixation with his partner.
Over and over he'd tried to convince himself that Yunhee would not be physically harmed while under his supervision, but cuts and bruises were not the only results of abuse.
The Dark Energy was a force to be reckoned with. It was already living inside her, tempting her away to an unreachable place filled with darkness and sin. Jimin's biggest fear was not losing her to death. It was losing her to something unbearably greater.
To see her alive and well. To see her succumb to its power and walk willingly in Taehyung's arms...
'So, this is the infamous beach house?'
Lost in a stream of horrendous thoughts, Jimin was oblivious to Tae cutting the engine until he followed his line of sight and squinted through the window.
There, at the bottom of a sloped driveway, sat a recognisable dwelling full of enchanting personality. The white-washed slats and sage painted shutters, the terracotta pots and decrepit rocking chair on the porch that swayed in the wind.
Nothing had changed.
'Sure is,' Jimin murmured as he looked beyond the quaint structure.
Sullen clouds cruised above the rough sea, choppy waves breaking on a silver beach that he and Yunhee had walked upon and later brushed sand from between their toes. Almost two months had passed since their time here, but it felt like two lifetimes after everything that had transpired.
'Do I even want to know why you're smiling?'
Jimin tore his eyes from the nostalgic view to find Tae lounging behind the wheel with a probing brow.
Well, this was awkward.
'Nope,' Jimin quipped.
Clearing his throat, the mobster faced the window to avoid his suspicious gaze.
He had nothing to hide; his former enemy turned friend knew the truth about him and Yunhee, but that didn't mean he needed to know the when, where and how they'd come to be a couple, nor the details of their intimacy during their time here.
'Think they're still in there?' Suga asked the million-dollar question as the four men cautiously inspected the building.
It was tricky to see any movement from where they were angled, but Mee and Joonie couldn't leave the island without transportation, and the Santa Fe was parked on the drive.
'They're in,' Jimin confirmed with a knowing smirk as the rear door flew open. 'Whoa, Jinnie, wait a sec-'
Their overly excited rescuee fell out of the car, clumsily landing on his hands and knees before crawling to his feet with a hoarse cough. Jimin, Tae and Suga clambered after him, but they were unable to stop Jinnie from making a break to the residence like a boneless moron.
'Bloody hell,' Suga grumbled, 'there he goes- oh, wow. Who's that?'
Jimin licked his lips, resting his elbow on top of the car door when a slender woman with flame red hair flew out of the beach house and raced down the rickety steps. 'That's-'
'Mee!' Jinnie wailed like a dying banshee while running towards his girlfriend. 'Mee, I came back!'
'Jinnie! My God! You're alive!'
'Oof!' Jimin wasn't sure who hit who first, but their colliding reunion - not too dissimilar to the one he'd had with Yunhee - ended with Mee and Jinnie on the sandy floor in a tangle of limbs as they kissed each other to death. 'Nice.'
'Nice?' Suga grimaced.
'Yeah,' Tae croaked as Jimin retrieved the satchel from the foothold and hooked it over his shoulder, 'I think I just threw up in my mouth.'
Over the moon for the loved-up couple, Jimin kicked the passenger door shut, but paused with a shit-eating grin when he heard a familiar voice over by the porch.
'Jinnie! You're back- oh, holy smokes. Is that you, trouble?'
Jimin's feet carried him away from the Maserati, as Joonie - flushed and showing the biggest dimples he'd ever seen - hurried up the driveway to meet them.
'I knew you couldn't stay away!'
'Good to see you, Joonie.' Jimin flashed his teeth as he embraced his much-missed friend in a bear hug. 'How've you been, mate?'
'Worried sick, you piece of shit, but happy to see you both again!' Joonie laughed before drawing back to ogle his natural, black hair. 'Better.'
Jimin sniggered, punching his arm as he twitched his head towards the car. 'Let me introduce you to-'
'Jumpin' Jehoshaphat!' Joonie sprang back on his trainer-clad feet, his skin turning an unhealthy shade of grey as he observed the two men walking towards them. 'Please tell me they're doppelgängers.'
'And you wonder why I'm apprehensive about starting a new life here?' Tae muttered to Jimin as he glared at Joonie. 'Yes. We're doppelgängers.'
'Did you see that petrifying glower?' Jinnie caterwauled while dusting sand off Mee's denim jeans. 'Watch yourself around that one! His identity is yet to be proven!'
With a boxy grin, Tae flipped the dubious fella a middle finger just as Joonie - somewhat alarmed - leaned into Jimin's ear and mouthed, 'Am I here?'
'We left you and your stiff upper lip back home,' Suga drawled as he stepped forward and extended his hand. 'Min Yoongi, aka Suga, by the way. This is Kim Tae-'
'I know who you are,' Joonie snapped, but shook his hand nevertheless before wiping his sweaty palm on his pants to vigorously shake Tae's. 'Suppose I should get used to your face. Welcome to our world. I'm Joon-'
'Ow!' Tae fizzled through clenched teeth. 'Can't you see I'm bleeding?'
'Sorry,' Joonie blustered as Tae shot Jimin a disbelieving look, 'how should I address you? Taehyung or Mr. Kim?'
'Tae,' the exasperated man recoiled while Jimin chuckled at the entertaining scene. 'For the love of God, it's just Tae.'
'You guys look like you've been through the mill,' Mee said as she tugged on Jinnie's shirt and eyeballed Tae's blood-soaked sleeve. 'Come on, let's get you inside and cleaned up, then we can talk.'
Joonie jogged up the wooden steps first, disappearing into the beach house with the couple as Jimin motioned for Suga and Tae to follow. Leading the way inside, they stepped over the threshold just in time to see Mee direct her beau over to the sofa.
'Ahhh,' Jinnie groaned as he sank into the plush cushions. 'I've really missed this place.'
Surprisingly, as Jimin soaked up the charming living room, he realised that he too had missed it.
The clock in the corner that ticked unevenly, the vintage furnishings and knick-knacks in the heart of cotton walls and rustic floorboards. The floor-length curtains that framed the serene sands and lapping waves out back.
'You're so pretty,' Jinnie fawningly announced as Mee examined a scab on his forehead. 'Are there any animal crackers left in the cupboard?'
'I'll grab them in a moment, darling,' she cooed as he tried to pry her fingers away. 'Just let me check you over, first.'
'I'm fine. I just want some animal crackers.' When Mee huffed and plonked her hands on her hips, Jinnie squared his teeth and stuck out his bottom lip. 'Pwetty pwease?'
'I'll get them,' Joonie conceded as he swanned off into the kitchen.
Dropping the satchel to the floor, an exhausted Jimin sprawled out on the single seater, while Tae and Suga opened the patio doors to check out the picturesque backdrop.
Since opening the vortex at Crystal Kingdom and landing with a bump in Taehyung's study, his body had run on nothing but adrenaline. Now that they'd reached Jebu-ri Island, his muscles were protesting, and he couldn't erase the stress that clawed at his conscience.
To an outsider, the Mafia King appeared calm, but his mindset had changed very little since departing Pyeongchang-dong. If anything, the hounding questions he'd asked himself stacked up in his brain and polluted his ability to think clearly.
Had he made a mistake leaving Yunhee behind? Was there something more he could have done to get her out of that safe room?
Jimin swiped a palm over his clammy face, fighting to stay in the right frame of mind as Joonie trundled back into the living room with a bundle of supplies. Chucking Jinnie's crackers onto his lap and a first-aid kit into Mee's awaiting hands, he turned to Jimin and handed him a fresh dressing.
'Wasn't expecting you to bring them along,' Joonie mumbled as his bemused gaze followed Tae and Suga out onto the veranda. 'How is it that you're on speaking terms after you kidnapped his girlfriend?'
'Long story,' Jimin retorted as he popped the plastic wrapping of a bandage.
'Right.' Joonie scratched his head. 'Does he know about your Stockholm Syndrome relationship with Yunhee?'
'He does,' Jimin replied, smacking his buddy's thigh for the unnecessary comment. 'Again, long story. All you need to know is that they came to help, and I couldn't have done it without them.'
'Guess I should thank them,' Joonie snorted as Jimin swathed his knuckles. 'How is Yunhee, by the way? Did you manage to find her when you got home? What about Taehyung? Did you track him down? Please tell me he's dead.'
A pang of guilt swept through Jimin as he peered up at Joonie.
That was a lot of queries in one hit, but so much had happened since going home.
Yes, he'd found Yunhee within hours, but they'd had to rescue Hobi from a container before Jin discovered The Greater Good and The Dark Energy, while Taehyung switched places with his doppelgänger to later abduct the woman he was obsessed with.
There was also one of the two powerful stones sent by The Greater Good, hidden inside the satchel beside his feet that Yunhee had managed to exhume for her captor.
They had a lot to catch up on.
Jimin figured it would be best to take the bull by the horns and explain their current dilemma, but when Tae meandered into his peripherals with his hands buried in his pockets, he held his tongue and sent him a tight smile instead.
'This place is sweet,' Tae complimented as his doe eyes darted over the walls and coving. 'Yunhee and I never visited-'
'Eh?' Jinnie screeched while Mee dabbed ointment onto his cuts. 'Yunhee never brought you here for a romantic getaway?'
Everyone cringed at Jinnie's insensitive remark when Tae shuffled from one foot to another with reddened cheeks. 'Um, no.'
'Yunhee brought no one here,' Jimin jumped to his aid. 'We used this place as a hideout, Jinnie, not a holiday home.'
'If you say so.' With a carefree shrug, Jinnie crammed a handful of snacks into his mouth, offering the vivid red box to Suga when he took a pew on his armrest. 'Here. You look like you haven't eaten in six months.'
Outwardly tickled by Jinnie's straight-shot attitude, Suga accepted the food while Mee zipped up the first-aid kit and made a beeline for Tae with an unnervingly questionable expression.
'Uh oh,' Joonie skirted aside when Mee rose onto her tiptoes and came nose-to-nose with Tae.
'Is your conscience clean?' she demanded.
'Mee,' Jimin sighed as the man under interrogation narrowed his eyes and swiped his tongue across his bottom lip, 'leave it-'
'It's okay,' Tae interjected. Although his face was hardened to stone, there was sincere compassion in his eyes as he tentatively lifted her hand. 'I heard what Taehyung and Hoseok did to you, and I'm sorry, truly I am. If there's anything I can do while I'm here...'
'Wow,' Joonie gulped, 'I wasn't expecting that. He's quite the charmer.'
Stunned, that was the only word to describe Jimin's expression as he watched Mee's guard slither from her shoulders and melt away at her feet.
If this was how Tae was going to behave should he step into Taehyung's shoes, the women who were wronged would be lining up at his door with little to no resistance at all.
If Tae could only see it for himself.
'Can I take a look at your arm?' Mee shyly asked.
'Are you kid- do not fall for that angelic face!' Jinnie sputtered through a mouthful of food. 'It's as deceiving as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct!'
'Oh, please,' Tae defended as he was led over to the couch. 'If not for this angelic face, you'd still be trapped in that cell eating muesli. So, why don't you keep packing your mouth with tigers and elephants and shut- Argh!' Tae stiffened when Mee unwrapped the strip of material from his bicep. 'Careful.'
'Sorry,' the redhead tittered, but her smile withered into a concerned frown when the bloody rag fell away. There was a hole in Tae's shirt where the bullet had torn past him, beneath it, an angry red welt gouged across his flesh. 'Goodness. You were shot?'
'Seems to be a recurring issue,' Tae responded with a dry wince when Mee began to sterilise the wound with alcohol. 'It's just a graze. I'll live.'
'You helped Jinnie escape?'
'Well,' Tae modestly coughed, glimpsing supportively at Jimin and Suga as she unravelled a clean bandage, 'we all did.'
'Either way,' Mee whispered before eyeballing her dogged boyfriend across the room, 'thank you.'
Jinnie rolled his eyes, but dusted his fingers free of crumbs and earnestly nodded his head. 'Yeah, thank you, Taehyung.'
'So, Jinnie's back!' Joonie clapped his hands together to dispel the strained silence. 'Are you guys planning on sticking around for a day or two? It would be great if we could catch up over a couple of beers?'
Tae grunted as Mee coiled the dressing around his arm. 'You can stay here and drink as much beer as you want. We're going back to Pyeongchang-dong to rescue Yunhee.'
'Okay, cool!' Joonie nodded before Tae's words sank in and his face plummeted like a meteor hurtling to earth. 'Wait. What?'
*
'Grub's up!'
Jimin fired Mee a grateful smile, his hands working tirelessly to secure the deadbolt as she breezed out of the kitchen with enough sandwiches to feed the five thousand.
Justifiably, Tae and Suga congregated around the dining table like vultures, but as he tightened the last screw into the latch, he found his appetite waning still.
Alas, their adventure here was far from over, and Jimin knew that nourishment was vital if he wanted to preserve his strength.
At least the nitty-gritty exposition was over and done with.
Joonie had nearly suffered a hernia when Tae dropped the bomb that Yunhee was once again in Taehyung's hands, but after calming the frazzled fella down, they'd updated them on the situation, going over every detail right up until they'd arrived on the island.
It was heartening to hear that Joonie and Mee - although laying low in the heat of a feud - had never given up searching for Jinnie. Just as heartening as seeing them chatting and laughing in their reunion while he, Suga and Tae secured the building.
While they were busy safeguarding the entries and exits, Jinnie continued to stuff himself silly with Barnum's Animals, but it wasn't long until his stomach grumbled in need of real sustenance.
And so, Mee and Joonie prepped lunch while Jinnie skipped off to take a long-awaited shower and grace the entire household with his ear-splitting vocals.
Satisfied that the deadbolt would hold the door should someone try to break in, Jimin discarded the screwdriver and joined the hungry party gathered at the table.
Claiming a sandwich, he pulled out a chair, his gaze attached to the two men who'd accompanied him on his mission as he took a seat and bit into the bread.
Tae and Suga had been discussing a hundred and one ways to sneak Yunhee out of the mansion for the past ten minutes. It was encouraging to hear, but despite their enthusiasm, their shoulders were taut, and they looked shattered to the bone as they filled their bellies.
A part of him wanted to open the portal and send the pair home before one of them was killed; they'd already been to hell and back rescuing Jinnie. He knew, of course, that Suga would object, and that Tae would kick up a violent storm of his own if he so much as suggested the notion.
They'd come this far, and were determined to stay and fight until Yunhee was free of The Dark Energy.
'It'll be different this time, Tae,' Suga insisted as he picked a tomato out of his sandwich. 'The stone isn't in Taehyung's study. We don't have the same access to the mansion.'
'I get that,' Tae argued, 'but the grounds are huge. There has to be another way in.'
'There's a gate in the garden wall,' Joonie threw in.
'Which,' Jimin pointed out after swallowing his food, 'Taehyung will have blocked off.'
'I have a question.'
Wiping a dollop of sauce from his mouth, Jimin swivelled around, shocked to see Mee had moved to the neighbouring chair and was staring at him with a puzzled frown. 'Go on...'
'How did Taehyung convince Yunhee to leave with him?'
'Weren't you listening earlier?' Suga ruthlessly beat him to the punch and thumbed to his best friend. 'Taehyung switched places with Mr. Ex here and threatened to assassinate him if Yunhee didn't comply.'
'Nah, you guys are stupid. There's more to it than that.'
All heads at the table turned, and Jimin had to refrain from covering his eyes when Jinnie waltzed into the living room with sopping wet hair and a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination.
Crickey, he was an oddity. Instead of wearing a t-shirt like a normal person, it was strewn over his shoulder, and in his hand was a small book embellished with gold trimming.
'You're not going to flash us, are you?' Jimin recoiled as the wacky man approached.
'Don't be a weirdo,' Jinnie chastised, tossing the hardback at him so that Jimin caught it against his chest. 'Thought you might want that. I borrowed it from Taehyung's mansion.'
'You mean you stole it,' Tae accused.
'Excuse me, I don't steal.' Throwing his t-shirt over his head, Jinnie slipped into an empty chair and pulled Mee onto his lap. 'I found it on the floor outside the sitting room while you lot were moping around the safe room. I had a feeling it belonged to Yunhee, so I picked it up and shoved it down my pants.'
'Aw, Jesus!' Suga and Tae exclaimed in unison.
Jimin, however, was in another world. Intrigued and wholly elated at the thought of reclaiming one of Yunhee's possessions, he flipped open the book as the rest of the crew huddled around to see what all the fuss was about.
The first thing he came across was a pleated piece of paper, and so he siphoned it out, his mouth turning dry as soon as he unfolded it.
'What the hell is this?' Jimin uttered, unable to comprehend what he was seeing as his eyes whizzed over the printed sheet.
This year's census with Hahm Sook's name and address? But she was supposed to have died in 2018...
Jimin's head whipped up, the truth smacking him like a tonne of bricks as he passed the document to Joonie. 'You're not going to believe this.'
'What?' his friend half-laughed while quickly skimming the text. 'Whoa, no way!'
'What is it? Suga questioned as Tae snatched the embossed book from Jimin and read the inscription on the inside cover.
'Hahm Sook? That's Yunhee's grandma,' he whispered. The lines on Tae's forehead deepened as his unsteady fingers leafed through the pages of handwritten scribblings. 'This looks like a diary, but...hold on, that's impossible! The entries stop on October twelfth this year!'
'Not impossible, actually,' Jimin growled as Joonie handed the census to the befuddled man. 'Not if she's living in Seoul.'
'Are you fucking kidding me?' Tae bellowed as he scanned the paperwork. 'Sook's alive?'
'Yup,' Jimin replied grimly as he tapped his nails on the tabletop. 'Seems Yunhee left to protect Tae, and once they were here, Taehyung used both Jinnie and her grandmother to keep her in check.'
'That sick son-of-a-bitch,' Suga snarled.
Jimin shook his head, internally stewing as he covered his mouth and thought back to the night he, Joonie and Mee broke into Taehyung's office at the House of Cards.
Sick was putting it mildly.
The photo of Yunhee's grandma on his laptop; why would Taehyung be interested in a dead woman? It made little sense. Until now. The bastard had known for weeks that Sook was alive and had masterfully hatched a plan to use the old lady as bait once he had Yunhee under his roof.
'I thought this place was passed down to Yunhee because her grandma died?' Mee stuttered as the diary was handed from person to person.
'So did Yunhee until Taehyung showed her that census,' Jimin seethed. 'There was a spare key under the mat that she knew about when we first arrived. We didn't question it at the time, we were just desperate for refuge. Thinking about it now, it's pretty obvious the property still belongs to Sook.'
'Well!' Jinnie chortled. 'That explains the espresso machine!'
'And the rest of the décor,' Jimin begrudgingly added as his eyes swept the furnished living room.
They'd walked in all those weeks ago to sheets on the sofa, dust-covered ornaments on the shelves, and a fully stocked kitchen. Whereas Yunhee and Jin had rocked up to a blank canvas back home because it had been cleared out after Sook's death.
'Great work, guys,' Tae chuckled as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. 'We're trespassing.'
'Oh, no!' Mee jumped off Jinnie's lap with a panicky whine. 'We broke into someone's home! What if Yunhee's grandma walks in on us?'
'Mee has a point,' Joonie said while nervously glancing at the spread of sandwiches. 'Shouldn't we perhaps leave? I mean, I don't fancy having to explain how we ended up living here. No granny in their right mind is going to believe our story.'
'True, but it's November,' Jimin clucked his tongue as he looked out over the veranda and watched grey clouds gather above the sea. 'Something tells me Sook uses the house, but only during the summer months. We'll just have to make damn sure we leave the place as we found it once we're gone.'
'There's a hoover under the stairs and a duster under the sink!' Jinnie announced as he munched on a beef sarnie. 'I was also thinking we could get Yunhee and Sook together and throw a reunion party. Jimin and Mee could make hor d'oeuvres, and I could make a banner that says, "Surprise! Guess who's alive!"'
'That's all very well,' Tae countered darkly, 'but right now, Sook doesn't have a granddaughter to be reunited with.'
'Don't be such a negative ninny!' Jinnie huffed as he lobbed his sandwich at Tae's chest. 'Perhaps if you tried embracing a PMA every once in a while, you'd have less of a resting bitch-'
'A party would be a great idea,' Jimin mollified as Tae smirked and flicked a piece of lettuce at Jinnie's clean shirt. 'When the time is right, I'll track Sook down myself and make sure they're reunited. Right now, we need to focus on getting Yunhee out of that house.'
Scraping back his chair, Jimin patted a disappointed Jinnie on the shoulder before collecting the diary and census for safekeeping.
The items, although given to his girlfriend under duress, were still of great value, and he wanted to ensure that they were returned to her later down the line.
Opening the satchel, he positioned the priceless objects next to the stone while his friends prattled on about Sook being alive, and he thought about their next objective.
Tae wanted to return to Pyeongchang-dong first thing tomorrow. His heart was in the right place, but after this morning's showdown, any attempt to re-enter the mansion would be suicide.
Taehyung would be prepared, but Jimin was already devising a plan of his own.
Closing the leather bag, he rose from his haunches and stared at the man with a disposition akin to his evil twin.
After witnessing Tae's award-winning performance with the security guard earlier, Jimin felt quite certain that Joonie's hacking skills were unnecessary this time around.
They had just the man to procure a copy of Taehyung's schedule.
***
Let the tables turn, biatches :D
28th August 2022