'It's empty.'
'I can see that.'
'Why is it empty?
'I don't know, Jimin,' Tae gnarled out his answer as the mob boss rescanned the paper to check he wasn't losing the plot.
A copy of Taehyung's weekly planner was unfolded for everyone to view as they congregated around Sook's dining table. It was sitting directly under the ceiling light, and yet, the daily columns were still void of information.
'Did you get the right one?' Joonie blustered while staring dubiously at Tae.
'How many schedules do you think I have?' Tae glowered, but instantly held his hands up when every head in the room turned to gape at him. 'He has. Not me.'
Jimin's eyes narrowed to tiny slits as he tenaciously occupied his personal space. 'Tell me what happened. In detail.'
Running his fingers over his drained face, Tae garbled a few unintelligible curses and dropped his arm with a tormented lour. 'For the umpteenth time, Park. I put the baseball cap on, kept my head down, and walked into the House of Cards like I owned the place-'
'How could you act like you owned the place with your head down-'
'You told me to keep my head down in case they saw my scar-free face!' Tae despairingly cried. 'I barged into Taehyung's office and ordered some halfwit to get me a copy. He printed it out and handed it over before I made my exit, walked two blocks, and got in the awaiting car with you.'
'And you didn't think to check the printout before leaving?' Jimin admonished with a patronising snarl.
'No!' Tae comically chortled. 'I was too busy trying not to get caught!'
Jimin sneered, waving him off with a dismissive flip of the hand as he strolled away. Tae had done an incredible job obtaining the timetable, but he was too stubborn to praise the man because - ultimately - it was useless, and they were no closer to helping Yunhee.
'I highly doubt the guy printed out the wrong file,' Suga drawled as Jimin and Tae threw themselves onto a chair and glared at each other across the length of the table. 'This is definitely it.'
'Right,' Jimin laughed while mussing his raven hair between his fingers, 'so, you're telling me that Taehyung has nothing coming up in the next week? No business? No parties? Not a single fucking orgy?'
'Either that, or he cancelled his appointments to spend time with Yunhee knowing that it would leave you hamstrung. Two birds, one stone, and all that Mafia King jazz,' Jinnie nonchalantly added as he picked a piece of food from between his teeth. 'If I didn't know Taehyung was a raging psychopath, I would go as far as to say that's romantic-'
'Not the time, Jinnie,' Mee reprimanded as a communal groan sailed around the living room.
Jimin massaged his temples, willing a stream of times and locations to appear on the barren schedule while Jinnie's insensitive statement generated a restless cacophony in his head.
If Taehyung had cleared his calendar to romance Yunhee while under The Dark Energy's spell, he was going to tear him a new arsehole.
To add salt to the wound, the shrewd bastard knew that they would try a different tactic after yesterday's botched job. He knew that they would procure a copy of his schedule and be unable to track Yunhee outside of Pyeongchang-dong because it was blank.
No matter how hard Jimin tried to stay abreast, the son-of-a-bitch was always one step ahead. Thirty-six hours had passed since they'd arrived at the beach house, it was obvious that they were holed up on Jebu-ri Island again, and yet, there'd been no attempt made on their lives.
Taehyung was growing increasingly cocky.
'Any ideas?' Suga harrumphed as he fiddled with the edges of the paper. 'I know we were counting on this.'
'How about we call round Seoul's finest restaurants?' Mee suggested. 'Maybe Taehyung plans to take Yunhee out to dinner this weekend?'
Jimin clenched his jaw at the idea while Tae gradually rose from his dining chair with a chalk-grey complexion. 'What's the date today?'
'November fourteenth,' Suga grunted. 'Why?'
'Shit...' Walking into the centre of the room, the agitated Tae drummed his fingernails on his outer thighs and glanced at Jimin with an unsettled expression. 'Do you remember that conversation we had about Taehyung's mental health?'
'What conversation?' Joonie squawked impatiently.
Nodding morosely, Jimin swivelled around in his seat to address the collection of confused faces.
'We think Taehyung has a delusional disorder because of The Dark Energy. There are times when he actually believes he is Tae. He's become an erotomaniac.'
'What's an erotomaniac?' Mee asked with a wrinkly frown.
'A person who believes that someone is in love with them when they're not,' Suga croaked. 'It's impossible for them to distinguish between fantasy and reality.'
'Exactly.' Planting his hands on his hips, Tae swirled his tongue around his mouth before his grieved eyes slammed into Jimin's. 'If Yunhee and I were still together, tomorrow would be our one year anniversary.'
A puce-faced Jimin was on his feet faster than a toupee on a windy day. 'You're telling me this now?'
'Oh, boy,' Jinnie squared his teeth while Joonie hurriedly swiped up his laptop, 'Taehyung cleared his schedule because he believes it's their one year anniversary. He's going all out.'
'Unbelievable,' Jimin chuntered, quickly following his brainy buddy to the table when he took a seat.
'Did you have anything in mind for your anniversary?' Joonie quizzed as he navigated to Naver. When Tae sent him nothing but a blank stare, he stopped typing and peered at him like he was some unfeeling imbecile. 'You only broke up two months ago. You must have had something in mind!'
'Oh...' Tae's cheeks regained some colour, but he shuffled closer nevertheless, scratching his head as he gawped at a spot on the ceiling. 'There was one thing, but I was worried I'd be unable to snag a reservation in the evening. It can get pretty busy-'
'Where?' Jimin implored while trying his utmost to push his personal feelings aside.
Now was not the time to throw a jealous fit over a bygone relationship.
'Lotte World Tower,' Tae mumbled. 'Yunhee told me that she was fascinated by its construction and how - every day, on her commute to work - it would be that bit closer to the sky.'
'Ah, yes, women love a phallic structure,' Jinnie remarked as Joonie's fingers worked ten to the dozen to bring up the skyscraper's website.
'When we started dating,' Tae continued, 'she always talked about the two of us visiting the top floor to admire the view. I thought it would be sweet to take her up there for dinner.'
'Do you think Taehyung knows this?' Suga questioned.
'He knows a lot about us.'
Seemingly troubled, Tae rapped his knuckles against his chin before his eyes expanded like he'd just been struck by some almighty revelation. Delving into Joonie's shirt pocket, he pilfered the man's smartphone and waved it in front of his shocked face.
'Unlock it. I need to make a call.'
'Oi!' Joonie guffawed. 'That's mine!'
On any other occasion, Jimin would have snatched the cell out of Tae's clutches and given it back to its rightful owner. Instead, a telling grin cracked across his dry lips. 'Do it, Joonie.'
'Ugh, fine!' Joonie rolled his eyes, seizing the mobile to input his pin before whacking it back into Tae's awaiting palm. 'Weirdo.'
Tae's focus zipped between the Lotte World Tower website and the phone while he typed a number into the keypad. When he was done, he shushed the occupants of the room, and lifted it to his ear with a chilling visage.
'Yes, hello,' he clipped when the call connected, 'this is Mr. Kim.'
A brief pause on the line had every man and woman inside the beach house waiting with bated breath, while Jimin's smile widened all the more at his genius concept.
Having a replica of Kim Taehyung really did come in handy.
'No, girl, I have no desire to speak to your manager. He's an incompetent fool,' Tae brusquely declared before a shadowy chuckle trickled out of his mouth. 'What appears to be the problem, you ask? The problem is that I promised my girlfriend a special night and-'
Jimin winced when he heard the receptionist cut him off. Her voice was indistinguishable on the other end of the line, but it sounded like a garbled mass of feeble excuses as Tae exhaled through his nostrils and impatiently waited for her to finish.
'Do not interrupt me again,' he cautioned while frantically waving at Joonie and jabbing a finger at the laptop. 'I don't care if it's an invite only jamboree on the top floor with a glass curtain wall offering a magnificent view of Seoul. Is it the best view of Seoul? Because I will settle for nothing less.'
'Nice,' Jimin smirked as he and the rest of the gang huddled around the computer screen to browse the website's menu.
Jesus wept; the famous multistorey building was crammed with tourist attractions.
A Sky Deck, a Sky Terrace, a Sky Shuttle, a Sky Bridge Tour where you could make thrilling memories crossing a suspended overpass at the height of 541m.
It even had a Photo Zone and a Media Stand, whatever the hell that was.
'There!' Mee whispered, pointing to a Café & Lounge button as Tae continued to craftily milk the receptionist for details. 'Click it! Click it!'
'I am doing.' Joonie swished his finger over the mouse pad, hitting the link so that they were presented with a fresh page of data.
119F Sky Friends Café: delicious, soft ice cream at the highest point in Seoul.
122F Seoul Sky Café: the highest café under the sky.
123F Lounge: a taste of Seoul above the clouds-
'That's it!' Jimin proclaimed, elbowing Joonie aside to read the description aloud. 'A premium lounge where you can enjoy a variety of menus with a view through a magnificent curtain wall. Rentals are available for special events such as parties, wedding receptions, brand launching and...proposals? He better not fucking propose-'
'Have you got it?' Tae mouthed excitedly as he cupped the receiver and glanced at the laptop. 'That's the place. Great, okay, gimme a sec.' Clearing his throat, he removed his palm from the phone and barked, 'You're boring me with your dribble, girl. Tell me; what time should we expect our guests?'
Another pause, and the coterie momentarily abandoned the website to wait for their answer.
'No, I do not wish to change the time,' Tae growled as he sent the team an enthusiastic thumbs up. 'Seven PM is sufficient. Thank-'
Jimin coughed loudly to steal his attention, slicing his fingers across his jugular in a bid for him to quit while he was ahead. They had more than enough information, and Taehyung would never in a million years thank a soul for their assistance.
Rather than fuck up his stella performance, Tae hissed a few last words of disapproval and warned the little harlot to steer clear of him when he arrived. He then quickly disconnected the call and clasped the cross rail of a dining chair with trembling hands.
'Well done, mate,' Jimin praised as he patted Tae on the back. 'That was great.'
'I feel terrible,' Tae stuttered. 'That poor woman is going to need counselling after that.'
'Maybe you can stick around and help her when we're done,' Jimin winked.
Tae scowled and nudged him away as Joonie closed his laptop with a weary raspberry blow. 'So, we know where Taehyung and Yunhee are going to be tomorrow night. That gives us twenty-four hours to come up with a plan.'
'Whatever it is,' Jimin uttered with terrifying fortitude, 'we're not leaving without her this time.'
'Who's going to this party, then?' Mee squeaked as she protectively clutched Jinnie's hand.
'Well, Jimin's in, obviously,' Suga pointed out, 'and Tae's face grants him access. No one will question his presence as long as he stays away from his doppelgänger. I'm up for the task, too, but I think it's best if you, Jinnie and Joonie stay here at the beach house.'
Mee released a sigh of relief while Jimin's fatigued brain tried to figure out numbers. Too many men would be risky, but they were going to need all the backup they could get because the event would undoubtedly be riddled with security.
It was times like this he wished that he had his trusted men by his side, but there was no way of getting his two comrades here without travelling home himself. He was the only one that could open that vortex because he was the only one who could touch the stone.
Unless...
Staring out through the double doors, Jimin watched the tide break against the shore before he homed in on a discarded bucket rolling across the patio in the wind.
They wouldn't know unless they gave it a try.
'I have an idea.'
*
Jimin wedged the stone under his armpit and trundled barefoot along the beach.
A thick blanket of darkness obscured the island now, the only trace of light spilling from the quaint house in the distance. It acted as a beacon in the night, leading the exhausted group to safety after a jaw-dropping farewell to one of their crew.
As per his idea, Jimin had placed the grey rock inside the plastic bucket and - after volunteering to head home to get help - Suga had tipped it into the sea while everyone else steered clear to stop themselves getting caught up in the sphere.
Opening the portal was as easy as taking candy from a baby, and Suga vanished from the shallow waves with a confident smirk in less than a millisecond.
The biggest drama came from his buddies when the bright blue orb exploded across the shore and sent a tremor of water and sand in all directions.
If the local residents hadn't noticed the burst of vibrant light on the neighbouring coasts, then Jinnie's scream - a hundred decibels louder than Mee's when they dived for cover - was probably enough for them to suspect a homicide and call the authorities.
There was also Joonie's non-stop griping about how simple it was to submerge the stone in water when he and Jimin had almost been cremated building bonfires several weeks ago.
Beach palaver notwithstanding, Suga had successfully departed, and if luck was on their side, Jin and Namjoon would use the same tactic and come to their aid as soon as possible. In the interim, the rest of the squad needed to come up with a plan and fast.
Keen to produce a rough strategy before sunrise, Jimin picked up speed and traipsed further away from the choppy sea. He could hear Jinnie, Mee and Joonie debating about what to cook for dinner as they ambled onto the patio, while only a few steps ahead, Tae kicked up sand with his naked toes.
It wasn't difficult to pick him out in the dark. The white bandage on his bullet-grazed arm stood out like a sore thumb, and it looked like he was rubbing the bruise on his chest from Hoseok's failed attempt to kill him at the theme park.
Jimin had to give it to him; Tae had worked extraordinarily hard the past five days. Pinpointing the stone at Crystal Kingdom, camouflaging himself as Taehyung to obtain a copy of his schedule, phoning Lotte World Tower to extract details of their anniversary shindig.
Understandably, the guy was shattered, but something else simmered beneath the icy exterior he liked to use as a shield. Something that weighed heavily on his mind and had done since leaving Yunhee in the safe room yesterday.
Was being here and witnessing Kim Taehyung in his natural habitat swaying the decision he would soon have to make? There was no pressing rush, but Tae had yet to accept or decline his proposition.
In fact, every time he raised the subject, Tae either brushed it off or avoided it like the black plague.
Seeing Jinnie, Mee and Joonie enter the house, Jimin hoisted the stone onto his shoulder and jogged to catch up with the straggler before he too could disappear.
When he slowed to walk beside him, Tae glanced up from the sand, his black brows shooting north when he realised he had company.
'Wanna talk about it?'
'Talk about what?' Tae coolly diverged.
'You know what.'
Jimin's response appeared to push all the wrong buttons. Not that he was at all surprised when Tae rolled his eyes and quickened his pace to get away. Sighing heavily, he hurried after him, eager to get the man to clear his mind before tomorrow's showdown.
'Tae, wait!'
'I'm fine,' he nipped while tramping up the steps.
'No,' Jimin laughed as he gave chase onto the veranda, 'you're not. I know when something's bothering-'
'For fuck's sake!' Tae came to a jarring halt and spun around so fast that they almost came nose-to-nose. 'You want to know what's bothering me? Jimin and Yunhee, that's what. I saw what happened to them in that bar. I was the one who pulled the fucking trigger. So, forgive me if I'm looking a little off colour!'
Jimin's features contorted. 'You had a vision?'
'Yesterday at the mansion,' Tae answered hoarsely, 'and a very graphic one at that.'
Sliding the stone off his shoulder, Jimin placed it out of harm's way before closing the patio door for privacy. It had never occurred to him that Tae would also share his doppelgänger's memories, but why wouldn't he? It was a recurring theme when anyone visited a parallel world.
There were countless scenarios pertaining to Taehyung's crimes that Tae could have encountered, but he'd been unfortunate enough to witness the most cutting one of the lot.
Jimin and Yunhee's murder was disturbingly appalling because he'd seen it for himself.
'You guilefully bring up that Goddamn proposition every chance you get knowing damn well I have my reservations about staying,' Tae grumped. 'Seeing first-hand what Taehyung has done hasn't exactly helped sell the idea to me.'
'Understandable,' Jimin soothed, 'but you're not the same person. You didn't kill them.'
'I know that,' Tae stressed as he gripped the veranda railings. 'I just...I told you to watch your back all those years ago, but I never had any intention of actually slaughtering you. You're the only one who gave a damn after what happened with Seung, so seeing you die at my own hands, it sorta messed with my head.'
Tae turned his face to his, and Jimin's heart cracked in half when he saw just how red and vulnerable his eyes were.
'Working together to help Yunhee doesn't change what is past, Jimin. There are things that...we haven't...we never talked. You were my best friend.'
Jimin gulped as Tae stared at him with the most harrowing expression.
Seung, the woman who'd taken his virginity at the age of fifteen; he hadn't heard that name from his lips since they were teenagers. He was not expecting her to come up in conversation tonight, nor hear how much Jimin's death actually affected him.
Half of him wanted to shut down and retreat inside the shell he'd formed after his mother died. The other half - the part that had always loved Tae - couldn't walk away and abandon him.
They'd evaded the discussion all this time. It was crushed under a blanket of loathing after ten years of no contact, but fate had thrown them together again, and now, one of them was finally spilling his guts about how much he still hurt.
'I...I tried to be there,' Jimin said with a strangled voice. 'You told me about those months your father sent Seung to your room. I urged you to get help-'
'From whom?' Tae wailed. 'I was fifteen! My father was a pig, and my mother walked out on us years before! I had no one-'
'You had me,' Jimin beseeched as he sidled closer to the broken man. 'I was ready to listen as soon as you were ready to talk. But you never did! You withdrew from me to the point where I barely knew you-'
'Is that why you destroyed my life?' Tae bitterly bit. 'Because you barely knew me?'
'No!' Jimin cried. 'It was because no matter how much we hated our fathers, they still had the power to influence our decisions. And let's not forget the fact that you spitefully sought out Heir-'
'I didn't hate my father!' Tae's bellowing voice bounced off the beach house. 'Don't you get it? I didn't know how to! The mafia was the only life I knew, the only life I ever wanted, and you took it away from me in the blink of an eye! I didn't have a fucking clue what to do while you carried on living the high-life in Seoul!'
Unprepared for the verbal assault, Jimin tried to remain calm and collect his thoughts, but beneath his nerves, his temper sizzled along a short fuse which grew dangerously close to detonating.
Yes, there were elements of remorse for sending Tae's father to jail when they were eighteen. Wrecking the Kims' lives had sent their one and only son running to Busan when he was crying out for help, but he was not the guy's saviour, nor was he responsible for making sure he got his shit together.
'You're right,' Jimin rasped, 'I took it away from you, and I'm sorry, but you-'
'Wow. You're-?' Tae cut himself off, his voice gruff and disbelieving as he pushed off the railings to pace across the decking. When he stopped and whirled around, his face was an incensed shade of maroon. 'You're sorry? You weren't sorry when you kidnapped my girlfriend!'
'Hey!' Jimin shouted. 'Neither were you when you fucked mine!'
There was no going back now. No stopping the equally bitter accusations spilling from Jimin's lips as he stomped towards Tae.
'I didn't ruin your family because you pushed me away,' he hissed, 'nor was it because of some stupid old feud! I did it because you vindictively went behind my back and betrayed me in the worst way a man possibly could! Instead of doing something to fix your sexual trauma, you used it against me and decided to fuck Heiran instead!'
Startled, that was the expression on Tae's face as his spine hit the patio door.
'But the second I retaliate,' Jimin moved closer, ensuring that Tae had his undivided attention as he gave him an icy once over, 'you disappear off the face of the earth rather than stick around to face your problems. You think that's the path of a Mafia King? You could have stayed in Seoul and fought for your family right while your piss-poor father rotted in jail, but you didn't.
'I was the one who pushed through after seeing my mother's neck break at the hands of my father. I was the one who worked their arse off to build an empire. Did you honestly think I was going to sit back and do nothing when you slithered back from Busan to embezzle from my fucking livelihood?'
'I was perfectly happy living my life in Busan until this Greater Good of yours intervened!' Tae screamed. 'You said it yourself: I came back to Seoul for reasons beyond my control!'
'It's in your control, you fucking dimwit! So, stop fuck-arsing around and do what you were obviously supposed to do!'
A stark silence befell the patio as a curtain twitched and Jinnie's distressed face materialised in the window before floating away. But Jimin's gaze continued to drill into Tae's, watching a flurry of unspoken sentiments spread through his brown irises until he could no longer bear it.
Backing away, Jimin pivoted and left the man alone to go and sit on the steps.
What he'd said was cruel, but it was the truth and Tae needed to hear it. They were both at fault for their past antics. Jimin knew that, but it was time for his friend to pull his head out of the sand and take some fucking responsibility rather than deflect the blame onto everyone else.
'I'm sorry,' Tae choked.
Jimin wiped his nose, his eyes glistening as he craned his neck to look up at the starry skies. 'Me, too.'
A light sniffle, bare feet padding along the wooden slats before Tae took a seat beside him. Their conversation wasn't over yet, but they'd each said their piece, and a decade of festering resentment, at last, had burst to the surface and diminished the tension.
Their relationship was a far cry from what it was during their childhood. Perhaps they would never be those two young boys again, but Jimin felt a bridge had been mended tonight, and for the first time in forever, he hoped it to be the first of many.
'This vision you had of Taehyung,' Jimin muttered, 'Yunhee and I saw it the first time we were here.'
'Makes sense. We see their memories here; they see ours there. Taehyung told me as much at the penthouse.' Taking a moment, Tae shook his head in disbelief. 'I just didn't realise how significant they were until I experienced one for myself. It's like you're there with them. Sharing every thought, every feeling. I felt The Dark Energy radiating through me when he pulled the trigger.'
Jimin massaged his nape, dragging his gaze from the heavens to peer at the aggrieved man. 'Are you alright?'
'I will be,' Tae breathed out while skimming his palm over his sleepy face. 'I just need a little time to process it. Is that a bad thing?'
'Not at all. That vision messed with my head, too,' Jimin assuaged. 'I stand by what I said earlier, though. What happened to them is not your fault. I'd go as far as to say it's not even Taehyung's. The Dark Energy is responsible for all of this. We're just insignificant pieces on its universal chess board.'
'Nah,' Tae reasoned with a crooked smile, 'I'd say you're pretty significant. You have the power to end that all-consuming evil son-of-a-wanker.'
The minutest of smiles curved across Jimin's lips as he regarded the man who'd not two minutes ago thrown a hissy fit.
Now he was on his side.
Poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue, Jimin extended his legs over the sand and propped his elbows on the steps.
Now was as good a time as any to be guile.
'Neither of us are perfect, Tae. We've both made some pretty stupid decisions that have gotten us where we are today, but we can't change the past. What we can do is take this opportunity that fate has given us and pave a way forward. As soon as this is over, as soon as we put a stop to that all-consuming evil son-of-a-wanker, there's going to be a position open for you.'
Wow, that was philosophical. He was sure Yunhee would have laughed in his face if she'd heard him. But Tae wasn't laughing, he was etching more lines into his brow with his fingernails while staring into space.
'How can I right the wrongs of another man when I can't even right my own?' he maundered. 'Like you said, I ran from my problems. That's not the path of a Mafia King.'
The doubt that clouded Tae's judgement still lingered like the aftermath of a bad dream, but it was no longer about witnessing Yunhee and Jimin's murder. It was because he'd yet to believe that he was capable of being an incredible person after thirteen years of trauma and hardship.
Too bad this Mafia King disagreed.
'God, you're as dense as Yunhee.' Jimin rolled his eyes and punched Tae in the bicep, making him wince out of his stupor as he sent the guy a genuine smile. 'Your time as Mafia King wasn't then, you idiot. It's now.'
Tae gawped at him like a koi in a millpond, but Jimin saw it, the faint flutter of his lashes and the expansion of his pupils as his inspiring statement hit home.
'Balls in your court,' Jimin stated smugly as he broke eye contact and glanced over his shoulder.
The living room was lit up like Santa's Grotto, and through the slip of the curtains, he could see Mee and Joonie peeking out into the darkness while their purple-haired friend flapped his arms around and fretted like an old lady.
'Oh dear, I think we may have upset Kim SeokJinnie,' Jimin chuckled as he clambered up and brushed grains of sand off the balls of his feet. 'I'll head in and let them we didn't kill each oth-'
'Do you know any tailors?'
Halfway across the patio, Jimin hesitated and swung around with a quizzical brow.
Tae was standing at the top of the steps, a sulky pout adorning his lips as he twiddled the hem of his t-shirt.
'I can't go to an anniversary bash dressed like this. I'm going to need a suit.'
'I do, actually,' Jimin grinned.
His tailor catered to Taehyung's wardrobe in this world, but Jinnie had put him in touch with another fellow who'd kindly fitted him out for the masquerade. He could easily call in a favour after paying him handsomely.
Something was missing, though...
Jimin took a moment to observe Tae's bleached-autumn hair.
It had grown out over the weeks, the shaggy tips curling around his ears and falling into his eyes just like Taehyung's. It would need a trim, but it was long enough to blow-dry into a classic gentleman's cut, and they would definitely have to do something about that colour.
'A suit's not going to cut it, Mr. Kim,' Jimin teased as he contemplatively tapped his chin. 'I'm thinking tux, Raptors, and back to black.'
***
11th December 2022