Pic: That's Soobin lying down and Yeonjun with the light hair!
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Soobin's eyes adjusted to the darkness a while ago and now all he can do is trace patterns in the dark with his eyes to keep himself from thinking too much of the events that unfolded during the day.
The cell door opens and his head perks up, his eyes wide and his heart thudding against his chest.
Soobin sighs heavily once Yeonjun closes the cell door behind him.
"You alright?" Yeonjun asks.
"That wasn't J-hope," Soobin quickly tells him. "He's taller."
"I know," Yeonjun brings forward some food. "It was Yoongi."
"Do you think Vante knows?" Soobin asks as Yeonjun sits in fron of him, seating the glucose drip on Soobin's shoulder.
Yeonjun stretches his lips in a thin line and shrugs. "He may have noticed, but I think that because of what just happened, he may forget."
Soobin frowns as Yeonjun injects the drip into his hand, "What? What happened?"
Yeonjun sighs and stands, holding the drip from above Soobin as he stretches himself towards a glass of water. "He knows about Jungkook."
Soobin's frown deepens as he recalls the name from the top of August's no-hit list. "He knows what?"
"You know, that Jeon is with Taylor."
"Oh," Soobin's eyes widen. "Oh shit."
Yeonjun huffs through his nose and places the glass of water at Soobin's lips, who quickly drinks from it.
"How bad is the situation?" Soobin asks, clearing his throat, thankful for the coolness the water provided him with.
"Like, tied up behind Taehyung's bed with just Taehyung alone, bad."
"How bad is that?"
Yeonjun sighs and places the glass on the floor. "Very bad."
It's quiet for a few minutes as Yeonjun focuses solely on the drip and Soobin tries to figure out what kind of mess this is and where it puts him.
August had two hit-lists, the Red one, and the Green one.
If your name was on the Red one, you were simply someone who is not supposed to die at August's hands. However, if killing you will save the member's life, you will be killed. If your life is at risk, and an August member can save you by sacrificing themself, you die.
Kim Taehyung is on the Red List.
However, if your name is on the Green one, your life is to be given top priority. If making sure you live is in the power of a member from August, no matter the risk involved, they must keep you alive. As long as August has a say in it, you are not to die.
Jeon Jungkook is on the Green List.
And his life is at risk.
By the look on Yeonjun's face, his eyes lost and his brows furrowed, Soobin can tell they both are thinking the same thing.
How to get Jungkook out of this mess alive, while making sure Taehyung deosn't get hurt either.
The weight of it is heavier on Yeonjun, since any man can tell he has developed a connection with the leader of Jewels. Will Yeonjun be up for the job at hand? Will Suga force him to do what is demanded even if Yeonjun can't?
"Do you think you have it in you?" Soobin finally asks, his mind telling him not to, for he is unsure of the answer he may receive.
Yeonjun huffs and squeezes the glucose pack lightly, "Have what in me? Saving him?"
"Saving him at the cost of Vante's life."
Yeonjun doesn't reply for a while and Soobin gets used to the silence again. He can feel Yeonjun's body stiffen and relax above him, repeating the cycle a few times before he exhales loudly.
Soobin's head perks up, expecting an answer.
What he gets, leaves him unsatisfied.
"I have to."
Soobin doesn't question him further. There's no point, Yeonjun doesn't know, and asking him again won't get a proper answer.
Ten minutes of silence and Yeonjun packs everything up.
As he makes his way to the door, Soobin's heart sinks. Deep down he knows, he can feel it... that this big change in routine will affect him and Yeonjun, especially their short meetings like this.
Soobin may never get to see Yeonjun again for all he knows.
The thought of not hearing Yeonjun's light laugh, not seeing his curly smile, not staring at his lips... leaves a dread in Soobin's heart he's all too familiar with.
What if Yeonjun dies?
Soobin's breath hitches in his chest, his arms tensing up.
Yeonjun is reaching the door.
He needs to say something. Now.
"Yeonjun."
The man mentioned halts, turning around, "Hmm?"
What does he tell him?
"Be careful," Soobin chokes out, his feelings lodging themselves in his throat.
Yeonjun's body slouches a little and Soobin imagines him smiling softly in the dark. "No promises, Binnie."
That's not enough to satisfy Soobin, but it's the best Yeonjun can afford to give him.
The door opens before Yeonjun can reach it.
Every muscle in Soobin's body stiffens at the man standing in the entrance.
Golden hair askew with remnants of black dye sit atop his head, his dark irises staring at Yeonjun, scrutinizing him with his gaze.
Yeonjun nods and Soobin chooses to stare at him while he can, while there's light pouring from outside.
"Sir, I came in to get the final details of the report on August," Yeonjun bows, lying with ease.
Vante nods and pushes the door open wider, allowing Yeonjun a path to walk out. Yeonjun does so without looking back at Soobin, who's left waiting to see Yeonjun smile for what could be the last time.
Vante walks in once Yeonjun is out of sight and Soobin presses himself against the wall. The leader pulls out a flashlight and switches it on, closing the door behind him.
Soobin immediately tries to think of a way to avoid trouble.
Stall, he has to stall and distract Vante.
Vante walks over to him and comes to a stop right in front of him. Soobin can smell the tobacco mixed with cologne as the leader leans closer to Soobin's face, not uttering a single word.
Soobin holds his breath, not wanting to blow it out in Vante's face.
His eyes sting as the flashlight is pointed at them, causing him to squint.
"Where's the camera?" Vante asks, his deep voice cutting through the uncomfortable shifting in the cell.
Soobin tries to process what he said, what he meant by camera.
"I- what camera?"
Vante huffs, the scent of tobacco filling the air between them. "I'll just have to find out for myself then."
Soobin chokes on air as the flashlight is directed straight to his right eye and he is blinded to anything Vante decides to do.
He tries to adjust fast as Vante gently strokes his left eye-lid. Soobin vageuly makes out Vante pulling his hand back and shooting it towards him. No.. not him, his eye-lid.
Soobin has no time to defend himself, the leader's fingers digging abive his eye-socket, creating a force on it that pushes his eye right out of his skull.
For a few seconds, Soobin doesn't react. His eyes widen and he stares at the eyeball in Vante's hand.
And then the pain sets in.
Such agonising, mind rattling pain. Warm liquid spurts out of his eye-socket and cools on his cheek as everything inside hurts. Soobin slams his back into the wall, hoping to find relief from physical activity. He repeats this several times, kicking his legs as much as he can. He can't hear himself scream, but he knows he his because his throat hurts.
He doesn't even notice the flashlight switching off and Vante walking away from him.
The door opens and light shines in. Soobin wills himself to scream louder, hoping someone from August will walk in and save him.
The door closes, and Soobin is left with a moist left face, aching back and screams that echo off the wall and haunt himself.
Never in a million years did he think Vante would poke his eye out unprovoked and then just leave.
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Yoongi may have seen that coming.
Half of him is proud he still knows Taehyung so well, and the other half wants to grab Taehyung by the hair and lock him up in a hotel so he never bothers anyone again.
Hoseok exhales a puff of breath after Taehyung shot Soobin's eye out of his skull and carried it out with him.
The two of them are in Hoseok's room, sitting in front of the man's computer after Yoongi just returned from Croatia, late at night. Namjoon left to go get things clarified with Yoongi's brother, Guemjae.
Yoongi runs his hands through his hair, eyes still on the screen as Taehyung lifts the eye with the camera in it to his face, smiling dumbly. Hoseok tskes.
Taehyung's face turns serious, "If it's not this one, I'll poke the other out."
"We blow it up," Hoseok suggests.
Yoongi looks back at him, studying the younger's tense demeanour as he rests his hands on his hips, his face settled into a tired frown.
"Not while it's still in Taehyung's hand."
Hoseok makes a face and sighs. "I don't see what we lose if his hand does blow up."
"No."
"Why?"
"You know why."
"Yoongi, I'm sorry, but I don't think those hands are ever going to caress you again."
Yoongi's brows furrow and Hoseok shuts up, turning his attention to the screen.
Yoongi does as he does and sighs at the camera, lazily gazing at the hallways Taehyung walks through.
He's in deep shit, he knows that.
Taehyung finding out about Jungkook was Yoongi's prime fear ever since he sent the younger over into Jewels' territory.
He was so scared, he had snuck into Rings himself to conjure up Jungkook's identity, pathway and schedule.
And Jungkook had held his own for pretty long. But, maybe the stress was getting to him. He was also the only man in Jewels who was aware of Taehyung's DID, and that in itself had to be a toll.
Which alters did he meet?
Vante, definitely. Tata, good chance. Shritha, possibly. V, now he has. Shiz, maybe not. Viz, not easy to say.
Yoongi sighs and sits back, massaging his forehead with his fingers. "Find a way to get Jungkook out of there in less than three days."
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Timothée stands over Tom as the latter switches through different cameras of the hotel Taylor is staying in. She hasn't done much, barely even moved out of her room.
Timothée finds it a good distraction from what happened earlier. The look on Taehyung's face after Taylor revealed Jungkook... that ached somewhere inside Timothee himself.
Taehyung is very dear to him and he would rather he doesn't have to see him in pain like that.
Tom clears his throat and sits up. Timothée turns around to see Taehyung walking towards them, a small ball hanging from his hand.
Tom gags and Timothée's eyes widen when he realises the ball is an eye.
"Taehyung... who..?" Timothée frowns as Taehyung holds the eye in front of him.
It's hanging from it's nerve, a ball, red from the back, white from the front, with a dark brown iris, the pupil fully dilated.
"Choi Soobin," Taehyung says. "Get the camera out."
"What?"
Taehyung frowns and Timothée nods, carefully taking the eye from Taehyung, gently handling it.
"Camera in iris," Tom quickly says, wheeling his chair several feet away.
"Come back here," Timothée whispers. "I'm not a surgeon."
"Between the two of us," Tom says. "You deal with body parts more than I do. I don't think I've ever killed a man."
The eye vibrates in Timothée's hand and his eyes widen, "Oh shit."
"Shit," Taehyung whispers before pulling Timothée's knife out of it's sheath and stabbing the eye, splitting the iris from the rest of it.
Timothée flinches and throws both away.
"Idiot!" Tom screeches. He quickly grabs a metal glass and dives at the eye, catching the part without the iris under the glass, pressing on it.
The eye explodes with a soft 'boom' denting the glass from the inside. Tom pulls his hand away, "Ouch."
"Are you alright?" Timothée crouches down. "Sorry."
"I'm okay," Tom whispers, massaging his hand, his curly hair dishevelling.
Taehyung leans forward and pinches the other part of the eye in his hand, carefully pulling the iris out, using Timothée's knife to assist himself.
"What are you going to do with that?" Timothée asks.
Taehyung's breathes out, his nostrils flaring.
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Junghyun splashes cold water on his face for the eighth time that day, his anxiety getting the best of him.
Sooner or later, he's going to meet Jungkook. And he needs to look his best for his little brother.
He's decided not to entertain thoughts of meeting a traumatised or broken Jungkook, rather focusing on what it would be like to hug Jungkook after so many years.
Junghyun closes his eyes as he remembers the news, Jungkook was stolen right out of his prison cell. Their mother got a letter saying that Jungkook had been chosen for programme with the FBI and the secrecy of the job demanded that they both stay quiet and forget about him.
As if.
Jungkook was Junghyun's best friend. The boy he grew up loving, and the boy he grew up hating.
How could he just forget him?
A soft knock at the door startles him and Junghyun opens the bathroom door, walking out, "Yes?"
The door opens and Taehyung walks in, clad in a black suit, his posture confident. His eyes seem tired but his bright smile shines through.
Junghyun bows and Taehyung does the same.
"So...?" Junghyun raises his brows.
Taehyung raises his too. "So...?"
"When can I meet Jungkook?" Junghyun quickly asks.
"Oh, that," Taehyung laughs lightly. "Some complication made itself known. Jungkook is a part of it. I'll see when you both can meet. I'll try to make it as soon as possible, I promise."
"Oh, is he alright?" Junghyun asks.
Taehyung nods, "Yep, it's just a formality. Don't worry."
Junghyun sighs in relief.
Taehyung looks around. "Like your new accommodation?"
Junghyun looks around at the small room with plain walls, a single bed, a desk and a chair. "It's better than the cell I was in before."
"Right," Taehyung nods, tapping his lower lip with his index finger. "I'm pretty sure there was a painting in here."
"Oh, that thing was making weird faces in the dark so I hid it," Junghyun says.
Taehyung cocks a brow.
"It's under the bed."
Taehyung nods and walks over to the bed, crouching down. He pulls out the small 8"8 painting from under there and sits on his knees, staring at it. He smiles and nods.
"You're not going to hang it back up again, right?"
Taehyung rolls his eyes and stands, "The faces are inside the painting."
Junghyun purses his lips.
Taehyung walks over to the spot in front of the bed and hangs the painting on the nail again. "You're not allowed to misplace anything for too long."
"Right, sorry."
Taehyung's hand dives into his pocket and he pulls a small, black thing out of it, sticking it right in the centre of the painting.
Junghyun gasps. "You ripped it!"
Taehyung fixes the thing properly and scoffs, "'Ts a cheap knock off anyway."
"What did you put in it?"
"Don't touch it," Taehyung warns and walks out, closing the door behind him, not even bothering to say goodbye.
Junghyun stares after him for a solid minute, wondering if Jungkook changed as much as he did.
Hopefully not.
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A/N:
Welp, guess y'all didn't expect that
What're your thoughts?
What do you think's going to happen next 👀
Thank you for reading, voting and commenting!
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