Park Jimin is standing alone in his office, sipping at a cup of bitter coffee. He would've preferred having a white mocha, or really anything but this coffee, but he doesn't really have a choice. He needs to wake up, stay focused and work harder, even after the many sleepless nights he's spent thinking over some of the prisoners' confessions, having nightmares about what happened to some of them... about what some of them did.
A few days ago, when he saw the small Donghyuk weakly walking down the hallway, eyes red and puffy from crying, his small body bruised from head to toe... he felt so useless. Even with the reassuring words, the comforting advice, the protective hug he gave him, it didn't stop the insomnia from keeping Jimin's eyes open at night, and he just knows it didn't make the boy any less hurt.
Jimin sighs, leaning over the window to see a few prisoners jogging in the yard. He thinks about what Taehyung said, and the way he just casually stood up and left the room afterwards, smile still playing at his lips. He doesn't know whether or not he's serious, he really doubts that he is, but his job doesn't give him any place for doubt. The second those words leave someone's lips, he is legally obliged to speak to the concerned person about it.
Three little knocks can be heard on his office door, and he knows exactly who it is but it's strange, he never knocks.
"Come in!" He says and takes a sip of his coffee.
Jimin then faces away from his window to look at the familiar figure shutting the door as he steps into the office. The mint-haired man then leans on the closed door, arms crossed on his chest. His multiple ear piercings shine under the sun rays filtered by the windows.
"You look stressed." He voices out, noting the way Jimin's brows are slightly furrowed and his cup shakes a little in his hand.
"I'm fine, Min." Jimin sighs and finishes his coffee before walking to his desk. "Sit down."
"Still won't just call me Yoongi?" He asks, taking place at his desk.
"You call me Jiminie when I clearly tell you not to. Plus, the walls have ears, and as far as I know you've been going by Agust D before I even started working here." Jimin retorts playfully.
"But you're also the only one who knows my name."
Jimin looks down, a slight smile creeping on his face before he represses it.
"Touché." He admits. "So you wanted to rant?"
"Yeah. So you know how I go clean up that really nice piano in the storage every week?" Yoongi asks, propping himself on his elbows, chin on his knuckles. "And then play a little if there's no one around?"
"You still owe me a song by the way. I've been waiting to hear you play for a year." Jimin teases, suppressing another laugh when Yoongi looks a little guilty.
"Ah-- sorry..." Yoongi awkwardly scratches the back of his head and clears his throat. "Anyways, today I walked into the storage, and guess what I fucking found?"
Jimin only arches an eyebrow, not bothering to try and guess because he knows Yoongi's just pausing for drama.
"Two guys fucking. on. the. damn. piano." Yoongi grits out, punctuating his last words by slamming his hand on the desk. "And the pieces of shit then just left! I had to spend thirty minutes cleaning up their gross body fluids, and I didn't even have the time to play on the piano after that 'cause yard time ended."
This time, Jimin can't help it.
He bursts out laughing, his pretty eyes turn into little crescents and his hand darts up to cover his mouth as he laughs profusely. Yoongi just watches him, smiling softly as he drinks in the melodious laughter coming out of his mouth. He stares at the way he holds his stomach, the way his shoulders shake and his hair falls on his eyes messily. He tries to catch a glimpse of his pretty smile despite the hand covering it. Jimin slowly regains his composure, taking in sharp breaths to try and pace himself.
"I missed seeing you laugh like this." Yoongi speaks once Jimin's laughing stops completely.
The mint-haired man hesitatingly reaches across the desk for Jimin's hand, gently taking it in his. He almost sighs in relief, almost, until Jimin's smile disappears when he realizes Yoongi's hand is holding his.
He pulls away, leaving Yoongi's hand on the desk as obvious hurt shows in his eyes.
"Min, I can't-"
"I know, I know, you're my counselor, I'm a prisoner, and the law and society and all that bullshit, I know, Jimin. But for fuck's sake, I just want to hold your hand for one goddamn minute, let me live!"
Jimin freezes. This is not the first time Yoongi makes a move on him, and not the first time he pushes him away, but it's the first time he snaps at him. It's the first time he uses those words. Words that tear through Jimin's heart inside out.
"You're not allowed to use that against me. You can't." Jimin's voice cracks unwillingly.
Yoongi tries to reach for Jimin's hand again but he yanks it away, a lot more violently than the previous times.
"Jimin-"
"It's Doctor Park." He cuts him off before he can place a single sentence and quickly stands up, holding out his hand in the door's direction. "And your counseling is over for today."
Yoongi doesn't say one more word. He simply looks away and stands up, walking out of the office with his hands clenched into fists.
As Taehyung walks past block A to get to his own, he bumps into Seokjin who was just getting out of block B.
"Ah, Seokjin. Nice to see you here." Taehyung smiles sweetly.
"Hey, Gucci boy." The brunet responds, smiling back at him.
"Going somewhere?"
"Yeah, activities just started. A clumsy guy just spilled his sauce on my uniform so I came back to change real quick."
"Activities? Sauce?" Taehyung questions.
"Yeah, I'm in culinary. Activities are from 4 to 6 pm everyday. You should be able to start next week. What did you sign up for?"
"I put dancing as a first wish. Then music second." Taehyung says, recalling the hard time he had choosing among all the boring options in the activities chart.
"Dancing, huh? If you're accepted there, you do know that you'll have to see Jeon for two hours everyday, right?"
"I'm already forced to sleep in the same room as him every night..." Taehyung trails off.
His hand instinctively darts up to touch the shallow wound on the side of his neck as he frighteningly remembers the lingering feeling of the blade on his throat, Jungkook's body pressed against his, the raging fire in his eyes when Taehyung breathed out smoke on his pretty lips.
"...Not that I mind." Taehyung mutters to himself.
"I'd be a lot more careful with him if I were you. Seriously, what I told you the first day was no joke." Seokjin warns him, but his words fall on deaf ears as the frightening scene in the cell replays again and again in Taehyung's head. The brunet sighs, defeated. "Anyways, I need to go. I'll see you around."
Just as he starts walking, Taehyung stops him in his tracks, remembering something he needs to say to him.
"By the way, thank you." Taehyung starts, earning a confused look from Seokjin. "For the shower thing."
Seokjin smiles gently at him and nods. Then he lands a friendly pat on Taehyung's back as he walks away, worry obvious in his eyes. The younger man can't help but wonder why he worries so much about him, despite only knowing him for a few days - three of which he spent isolated from everyone. Not wanting to overthink it anymore, Taehyung simply shrugs it off and keeps walking down the hallway towards block J.
He pulls out a cigarette and places it between his thin lips before lighting it, then he walks into his cell just as he takes his first, satisfying drag.
However, he almost chokes on the smoke when he sees what's in front of him.
Jeon Jungkook is splayed out on the bottom bunk, completely rid of any piece of fabric save for the thin towel around his waist. His hair is dripping wet, dampening the pillow, and his chest rises and falls quickly as he breathes, drops of water littering his tan skin and pooling in the crooks of his muscles. His cheeks are dusted in a vivid shade of pink and his eyes lidded, he looks completely exhausted. Taehyung eyes the clothes sprawled out on the floor messily and a pocket knife he knows too well placed on the lavatory.
When Jungkook notices the presence staring at him at the door, he props himself up on his elbows and Taehyung can't help but follow a little drop of water than softly streams down his neck, his chest, his stomach, before disappearing under his towel.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have activities?" Jungkook asks, voice coming out slightly raspy which makes Taehyung breathe out his cloud of smoke much slower than intended due to how hard he tries to pace his breathing.
"Starting next week. I could ask you the same thing."
"Too lazy. I worked out at the gym during yard time after lunch, so there's no way I'm going to dance for two hours after that."
Jungkook grunts as he gets up, towel almost slipping off his waist as he does but he manages to pull it back up. Taehyung coughs, having inhaled his smoke a little too sharply. Once he regains himself, he opens his mouth to speak but is immediately cut off by Jungkook's voice.
"Curfew's in less than six hours, Gucci boy. Didn't make up your mind yet?" Jungkook chuckles, hooking his fingers under the towel to keep it in place as he turns around to face Taehyung.
Jungkook starts walking towards the older man. He doesn't notice how his fingers tighten around his cigarette and how his breath hitches in his throat at the proximity. He doesn't know how much self control it takes Taehyung to not let any of the heat engulfing his body take over him as he takes in the image of a wet, panting, almost naked Jeon Jungkook.
Jungkook thinks of this as a game, a challenge, with Taehyung as his rival to defeat, he doesn't fit lust into the equation.
"It's a shame you're so stubborn. We would've made a great team. Fearless. Smart. Dangerous." Jungkook starts, taking one small, slow step towards his cellmate with every word he says, so that right now they're so close he can feel the warmth oozing out of his body.
He sees Taehyung bring the nicotine stick to his lips, smirking around it as he inhales and breathes the smoke out on his lips in that manner he loathes. He taps his cigarette against the lavatory to avoid letting the ash fall to the ground, but instead of bringing it back to his mouth he leaves it there.
Jungkook notices too late that Taehyung now has something else in his hand.
In an instant he's got a blade to his throat. His own blade, the same one he threatened Taehyung with only this morning. A gasp escapes Jungkook's throat before he lets out a breathy laugh. He wants to fucking punch himself for being stupid enough to leave his fucking pocket knife on the lavatory.
"Motherfucker." He grits out at Taehyung, but he doesn't move a muscle because he knows what the knife does, knows that if he does so much as lean forward just a tiny bit, it'll cut right through his skin like it's paper.
"I think you've had one too long moment of glory, Jeon. The power made you stop using your brain, taking your peaceful little respected leader life for granted, but..." Taehyung leans closer, the smell of mint, soap and nicotine invading Jungkook's nostrils. "...I'm not buying it. You wanna know why?"
Taehyung places a hand on Jungkook's chest and pushes him back, again and again until his calves hit the bottom bed and he loses balance, hitting his head against the metallic bed frame of the top bunk as he falls on the mattress. He hisses from the pain, a grunt falling out of his lips. His towel slips from his fingers, falling slightly out of place so that it barely covers his bottom half anymore, but Taehyung's too damn content with the current situation to notice.
In an instant, the man's on Jungkook's lap, sitting exactly where he shouldn't, and the younger man can't help but gasp. The knife's still in Taehyung's hand, but just as the dark-haired man thinks it's going back to his throat, Taehyung grabs his wrist and places the weapon in his palm. Jungkook's eyes widen, but he doesn't speak. He can't speak when every time Taehyung moves on his lap, something stirs inside him so it makes him tremble from head to toe. So he just stares at him in confusion, stares at the daring smile he still holds even when he's not the one bearing the weapon anymore, stares at the defying way he looks down at him with those fucking eyes of his.
"Go on. Kill me." Taehyung whispers. "It's what you wanted to do if I didn't change my mind by curfew, right? I won't change my mind, Jeon. Save yourself some time. Do it now."
Jungkook doesn't move a muscle. He doesn't budge, keeping the knife tightly in his hand. He doesn't know why. He could slice the fucker's throat right now, but he doesn't do it. They stay like that, staring at each other, waiting for someone to do something, say something... but nothing happens.
Taehyung's lips curve into a victorious grin. Silently, he climbs off Jungkook's lap, and he can hear him let out a dragged out breath. Jungkook fumbles with his towel, covering himself up as he sits, his brain turned completely upside down from what just happened.
Actually, what just happened?
"This is why I'm not scared of you, Jeon." Taehyung takes his cigarette from the lavatory, a little displeased when he sees half of it already burned out. "I won't say you're all bark and no bite. I know you can bite. Hard."
He places his cigarette between his lips and breathes in, letting his eyes flutter shut as he breathes out.
"But you're a beast. You only bite the lambs, Jeon. You'd never dare to bite another beast. And that's exactly the difference between you and me..."
Taehyung swiftly turns around when he feels a presence behind him, and comes face to face with an impossibly close Jungkook. He gently traps his chin between his index finger and his thumb, and inches his face even closer until they're barely an inch away from each other.
Right then and there, Taehyung sinks his eyes deep into Jungkook's dark ones, electricity in his gaze, and speaks in a low, hoarse voice.
"I'm a beast that bites everything."