\Revised\
"Do you think it'll be safe for us until then?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure... I can try my hardest to make sure there aren't any casualties. But that's all I can do for now."
"As long as you try....Oh. One more thing..."
"What is it?"
"About that file...was everything...accurate? About...all of us?"
"What file?"
"The one I dropped off at your location with Bogum."
"......I'm afraid so. I tried looking further into it. But it does appear that everything stated in it is true."
"Why didn't they give it to him? Why me?"
"If it was meant for him then maybe one of the manger of another idol wanted to scare him off. He doesn't have any control over his temper. He wouldn't have been able to keep any of it a secret. Unlike him, you actually use your brain in any circumstance."
"You do know if either of them finds out all this shit will blow up, right? You're just dragging yourself into this mess by helping."
"Haha! Trust me. I dragged myself into this mess the moment I made a contract with you and that one manager without any of them knowing. I know the consequences of my actions. But do you?"
"Of course I do....It'll be worth it. If it means stopping this then I'll have to stick to it. There's no turning back now."
"Yes, there is. You can still turn back.. It's not late. But...soon, it won't be easy to back out of."
"Then looks like I'll stay and be the judge of that.."
~~~
The house was nice and cozy, not too big and not all too small, either. It had three rooms, a kitchen, and two bathrooms. The living room was very warm welcoming and it made everyone's nerves calm down.
Jin sat on his knees on the floor while Jungkook laid on the couch, still knocked out from the pain. Jin lifted up his shirt which was soaked in blood and hissed softly at seeing the wound. "It really would've been better taking him to a professional to do this," Jin stated, grabbing the little scalpel he had and pointing it near the wound, glancing at Jungkook unconscious face.
He set the scalpel down as Taehyung stood up, shaking his head. "We shouldn't remove it."
"But it's lodged into his abdomen, what if it hit a lung or-"
"If it hit a lung he'd be bleeding profusely through the wound and through his mouth. He would've drowned in blood if that was the case." Taehyung pointed at the wound. "All we can do is try to stop the blooding and hope the bullet didn't go too far."
Jin glared at him. "You want me to leave it to get infected?"
"It'll get infected if you go probing at it with a knife," Taehyung shot back, trying his hardest not to swear at the other. "You aren't a surgeon, nor do you have an operating room or the tools. All you can do is clean it and stop the bleeding."
"I would listen to him," Namjoon piped up, walking over and looking down at the pale male who was knocked out. "He's been in...many situations where people have been shot. He knows whether or not it's safe to remove a bullet from someone."
Jin sighed and looked at Jungkook as he twitched, groaning and trying to turn over. He caresses his cheek and cooed, stroking Jungkook. "Shh..you're okay, Kookie." Jin looked down, honestly feeling bad for shooting Jungkook. He wouldn't show it, but he was broken from hurting the one thing he tried keeping healthy and happy. His little baby.
So seeing him in unconscious pain tore his remaining heart into pieces.
Jin nodded and stood from his spot and left to the bathroom before returning with some cleaning supplies. He unscrewed the cap of the disinfecting alcohol and poured some on a cotton ball, gently dabbing it around the wounded area. Jungkook twitched and hutch a breath, letting out a pained noise. Jin felt his hairy crinkle and he held Jungkook's hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "You're okay..." he whispered gently. "You're okay..."
He poured some of the alcohol in the cap and gently poured it on the wound, making Jungkook gasp, eyes snapping open as he let out a pained yell. Jin jumped at the sudden movement of Jungkook trying to grab at his wound to cover it in pain, but Jin dropped the cap and grabbed his wrist, holding it away.
Jungkook sniffled and felt tears submerge to his eyes, bottom lip quivering. Jin held both hands and scooted closer to his head, pressing his forehead against Jungkook. "The first time I met you, I cried as soon as I saw you~" he began to sing softly mash quietly as Jungkook squeezed his hands, the wound burning and even showing some bubbles to signal there was already some infection starting to infest the wound. "....was it because I was happy...was it because I was sad..."
Jungkook squeezed one of Jin's hands as Jin continued to dab the spot and clean it up, using a soft and clean rag to dry it up and apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Jin couldn't imagine what unbearable pain the younger felt. All he could was assume just how bad it was. The fierce grabbing to his hand and the firm grip causing himself to feel pain was enough to tell him.
Jungkook blinked his eyes open, tears rushing down his face as the floodgates opened once his eyelids did, and he blinked rapidly, trying to see correctly through the dazed pain. Jin set the rag down and brushed Jungkook's hair back from his forehead, carding his fingers through his hair as he made soft shushing sounds. Jungkook held Jin's hand tighter and the oldest hyung could feel the other trembling. He smiled as rubbed his nose to Jungkook's.
"You've given me everything, you can't give more~"
"Hyung," Jungkook sobbed, taking deep breaths as he glanced down at his exposed abdomen, seeing the soft black rag laying on the spot that was causing him to feel so much pain. Jin gently pushed his head back and continued to sing, allowing Jungkook to catch his breath and ease into the pain to make it more bearable. His lids slowly fluttered shut as his grip loosened, causing a reassured smile to spread to Jin's face.
He pulled away and lifted the rag up to see all the blood was cleaned away from the would. He decided to steer away from the alcohol for when Jungkook was awake and Jin could help him with the pain more. He then pulled out his gauze and placed it on the wound before putting surgical tape on the ends to make sure it stuck, finally finishing with the cleaning process.
He sighed and looked up at the two men, nodding for them to follow him into the kitchen. The other two followed closely, rounding the corner after the hallways to make it to the roomy kitchen with a wind around countertop.
Jin took out a few glasses and set them down, pouring them all a glass of wine before placing the wine back on the top shelf where it belong. He leaned against the counter with one hand while the other picked up the glasses, gesturing towards them before taking a sip.
Namjoon leaned his hip against the wall near the counter and drank the contents of the glass while Taehyung leaned forward against the counter on his elbows, eyes staring at Jin as he set the glass down. "So. While that's recovering, please." His face suddenly because serious; a seriousness that made both Taehyung and Namjoon's skin crawl itch in fear. "Do explain yourselves because I'm this tempted to slitting both of your throats with a broken wine glass."
"There's no broken glass," Namjoon interjected as Jin shot him a piercing look.
"Just wait, there will be."
"The last thing we need is to be killing each other," Taehyung butted in with a smile. "What we need is to explain it as best as we can to you without pissing you off." He inhaled deeply and stared directly at Jin. "In order to live while being an idol, we need to kill off other people, as blunt as that sounds."
"Soooo, what, on your end you're like...You're being forced to take people out?" Jin questioned, leaning back. "Big whoop, just leave."
Taehyung shook his head. "No. We aren't being forced to do anything. We can either do what they say, because it is in the contract, or we can be busy, working every single day of every week of every month. If we're busy with work, they don't give us any problem. But if they see we do have free time, then....that's when they interfere. It wasn't always like this. It didn't start until I joined Bighit."
"And you were the first person they ever tried this on?"
"Yeah. I signed my first contract when I was 14 years old. They didn't start to enact this rule until I turned 15. After that they were...cruel, to say the least. But not towards me. Towards bad people. I was only originally supposed to kill bad politics, cheating housewives or husbands, or people hurting innocent people.."
"There's plenty of people like that. How do you guys decide who dies?"
"Actually, us idols and artists have no say at all. It's all taken up by the officials and by JYP. Managers in that department meet up with some of our managers and discuss things while the officials of JYP meet up with our officials and give them any information that BigHit needs. If something catches their eye, they tell JYP to take care of the issue, and they give the info to their managers who give some of the info to our managers, who then give us the assignment."
"So, technically, JYP is calling the shots, right? Not BigHit?"
Taehyung scratched the back of his head. "Somewhat. It's a 50/50 thing. JYP brings their knowledge, BigHit digs deeper, gives JYP the go, and so on. But...there are rare occasions where BigHit asks JYP to look into certain people if they catch their eye." Taehyung sighed. "I just...what do nobodies have to do with BigHit? Why would they start killing off innocent people...I wish the rules still applied and only messed up people that had bad morals."
"What changed that rule?"
"Honestly we aren't sure..."
"...But some people have an idea," Namjoon said, running his hand through his messy, colored hair. He waited to continued, making sure Jin wasn't going to stop him. "A lot of people are saying it doesn't matter on their morals anymore. Depends on the beneficiary of them."
Taehyung's eyes widened and he nudged Namjoon. "Yoongi and Jaebum were talking about that," Taehyung stated. "Jaebum said something like....everyone nowadays that they set a marker on is more beneficial to our company dead. He said that they've been trying to get their hands on something for a while now and they'll stop at nothing to get it. Maybe what you were hearing about is true. Maybe BigHit's kills really are beneficial to them. But I really wanna know...how? How is killing Jungkook beneficial to them?"
Jin shrugged. "All I know is that four years ago, JYP tried taking Jungkook away from me. I don't know why the officials thought formally coming to me and asking me was a good idea. But that's as much as I know. That the music business is corrupt and if I hadn't started dancing, they would've taken Kook away form me. From what I know, they haven't tried since."
"I mean it could be after the money they think he has," Namjoon suggested, glancing at Jin. "Jungkook's stepdad tricked Jungkook big time when he was younger. Jungkook has none of the money his dad left him when he died, though."
"But why would they need the money? BigHit is already making bank despite having few people under their name."
Jin sat there, rubbing his chin while trying his hardest to think of a solution. He knew the thing about JYP. he knew how corrupted that company was and the messed up shit they were doing so he wasn't all that surprised to hear they were also behind creating these idols into hitmen.
What he was surprised to hear, however, was that BigHit was forcing their idols into killing others for their benefit. He wasn't expecting some company people cherished and talked so highly upon...to have such a dark secret.
"Whatever the reason.....we all need to be aware of one thing," Namjoon said seriously. "..there is no way any of us can back out once we try involving ourselves more. I would say Taehyung and I have got this ourselves since Jin is usually selfish-"
"Listen, i won't hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes, you tasteless artist," Jin spat, glaring at Namjoon.
"That is if you can even learn how to shoot," Taehyung chuckled, glancing towards the hallways that lead to the living room. "I think the hardest part about this entire thing is going to be explaining things to Jungkook. Especially after Jin shot him."
"I agree..." Namjoon sighed, sipping his drink. "I have a call I need to make." He nodded towards them and went to the sliding glass door, heading to the balcony.
"While he's doing that, I'll cook us up some food. how does that sound?" Jin smiled and turned to start getting ingredients out to prepare their very late dinner or...very early breakfast. Taehyung nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, walking to the bathroom, slipping in and locking the door behind him.
He hovered over the sink, turning on the water and splashing it on his face, rubbing it in on the last handful of water. He gripped the edges of the counter and stared into the mirror, some blonde strands of hair falling into his face while other pieces were slicked back. Staring into his own eyes, he felt a very familiar yet foreign feeling rise up in his gut and he saw how his reflection slowly started to morph and change into someone who looked just like him.
Only his hair was slightly darker, browner at least, and he had a harder look to him, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, hair pulled out from his face, exposing his forehead, eyes a slighter lighter color. Taehyung's own eyes widened and he looked away, holding his head and breathing heavily.
What was happening?
Was doing anything like this safe, on Jungkook's terms?
He'd be lying if he said he was 100% confident in his self-control. But how could anyone be so sure of something like that especially if they had a history saying otherwise, and if their morals constantly clashed together with a look a like who had more control?
After calming down he exited the bathroom and spotted Jungkook trying to stand from his spot on the couch, clutching his side in pain. Taehyung hurried to him and gently grabbed his elbow, lowering him back onto the couch. Jungkook hitched a breath and threw his head back, eyes screwed shut in pure pain. He withered in place, eyes blinking open to stare into chocolate brown eyes.
Taehyung grinned, realizing just how much he actually missed Jungkook's company over the past week. He cracked a small smile. "Hey there."
Jungkook scrunched up his nose. "Let go of me," he winced, moving so Taehyung wasn't touching him. The blonde took a seat next to Jungkook, who puckered his lips to control his breathing, the pain wanting to consume his body whole.
"Where's Namjoon?" Jungkook croaked.
"He's on the balcony making a call," Taehyung spoke quietly, glancing at Jungkook who was rubbing his abdomen with a pout. "How are you feeling?"
"Well, I'm not dead or on the ground screaming in agony, so I'm fine," Jungkook muttered, closing his eyes. "Is Jin here?"
"In the kitchen."
"You, Namjoon and Jin-" Jungkook looked at Taehyung. "Have they fought?"
"Not really," Taehyung shrugged. "They were too worried about you to argue or fight." Taehyung looked at the couch and reached over, feeling the urge to comfort the other from his pain, rubbing his back. "Does it sting really bad?"
"I got shot, what the fuck do you think?" Jungkook hissed, glaring at him. "Was it you who shot me?"
Taehyung's eyes grew and he shook his head. "What- no! I didn't shoot you, Kook. If I shot you, you'd be dead." Taehyung rubbed his temples. "Jin did. He meant to shoot Namjoon-"
"What?" Jungkook gasped. "What the hell, why?? Are you sure Namjoon is okay-"
"Don't cut me off," Taehyung pouted. "He's fine. And because, don't you remember? Namjoon was going to hurt you-"
"He was going to help me leave!"
"Cut me off again and I'm poking your wound," Taehyung sighed, making Jungkook shut up. "First off, do you think moving to your home town will actually help you? You think they won't find you?" Taehyung shook his head. "I was able to find you without knowing your location or background. They'll definitely be able to find out where you went."
"I'm so confused..." Jungkook was silent for a few moments before shaking his head, looking at Taehyung.
Taehyung nodded in return. "From what I know, Namjoon said you were the one with Yoongi earlier today at the bar, right? Well, knowing him, I'm sure he explained some stuff to you." Taehyung inhaled deeply as he began to explain what he could, and was allowed to, to Jungkook.
"BigHit is a massive and famous company, I'm sure you've known that for a while now. But, they've only been able to keep up this fame because everyone working under them is well behaved and stuff like that. Obviously, most idols and singers should be regardless, but before a lot of people started to join, there were only two originals under their name. Min Yoongi and me, Kim Taehyung. I, however, was the very first person to ever sign a contract with BigHit as a kpop Idol. I wasn't very well behaved and I did get into trouble predebut and after.
"So...they implied a new rule when I turned 15 and it was the first actual contract I had to sign. It was the same as the one they showed me before but..there was one main change and that was....that I had to agree to follow extreme rules. I wasn't allowed to say no. Or even yes. I just had to say I'd do it and that was it." Taehyung adjusted himself a little more comfortably. "And that one main rule that was consistent was becoming a....hitman."
"Namjoon-hyung already explained that to me," Jungkook interrupted. Taehyung nodded.
"Please don't interrupt me. Anyways, that's how they keep their idols in check.If they are swamped with work, they aren't required to take these 'tasks' or 'missions' because BigHit doesn't want it interfering with how they are making money. However, if you have a free schedule, like breaks and stuff, they'll give you tasks that do have due dates. I'm an exception. Since I'm a huge source of their income, I still have to do tasks even if I'm busy. If it's not complete, then they'd kill you, or try to reason with you to see why you failed. That's how it use to be when there were only two of us.
"Now, though? There are too many people they have to keep eyes on. They don't truly keep track. It's up to you to keep track. They have this thing they go by called Point 5's System. With every 5th task, you write a report describing each one and send it to them along with evidence. Sometimes, if you're always free and getting tasks, you'll have more tasks to chose from, which ones you think will be easier and faster, that sort of thing. If that happens, some people will skip a hard task and kill 5 anyway. But, BigHit does have your tasks documented and if they see you skipped over one....things don't usually end up pretty."
"So it's either you listen to the contract and kill or fail and be killed?" Jungkook asked, frowning and almost looking at Taehyung with pure...disgust. Taehyung couldn't blame him, though. Anyone would look at him like that.
"Yes, kind of. Now.....where you came in... I didn't lie when i told you I knew about you because of the letter I read. I meant that 100%. You attracted my attention because you were sweet. But...after finding out your name, I realized you were the one I was supposed to get rid of by the end of the month-"
"Oh my god, is that what Yoongi meant when he said you made Jin's coffee house your hang out because whatever it was you were looking for was around that area?" Jungkook questioned loudly. "He didn't mean, like, you lost something. You were actually looking for something. You knew where I lived-"
"Shut up," Taehyung snapped. "If i have to tell you to not interrupt me again, I-he might just kill you, Jungkook." He took a deep breath to calm down before resuming. "Yes, that's what he meant. No, I didn't know where you lived. Our managers are only allowed to give us so much information. Killing you guys isn't suppose to be easy. It takes up our time so we have no time to fuck around. I only knew that that area was where you spent most of your time. But once I found out your name was Jungkook, i felt...like I was making a mistake with everything I was doing. Nothing felt right. It all felt....too off."
The blonde sighed in defeat and rubbed his neck. "I stopped going near you because I thought it would cease any of those uneasy feelings. Like remorse and sympathy. But, if anything, it made it worse. About...three...four days ago, Namjoon approached me. And offered to take on my task so I could finish my fifth rather than skipping over you. SO, obviously, I agreed. Not seeing you meant I wouldn't have any more problems. But, You're not a terrible person at all. Or any of the sorts. So. I got Jin and we hurried to where you guys were. Jin had an idea and thank god he was right. The reason Jin shot was that he saw a gun in Joon's belt. And he panicked-"
"So that asshole did have a gun..." Jungkook shook his head. "How do I know it wasn't really you who shot me??"
"Like I said, if I shot you, you'd be dead by now. But no. He went to shoot Namjoon-"
"But Namjoon accidentally put me in harms way rather than out of it.." Jungkook clasped his hands over his mouth and his eyes went wide to see Taehyung staring at him annoyingly. "Sorry.."
Taehyung closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Whatever. You're such a brat, you know that? I thought you did that just to put on this tough guy act but you really are....something else." Tae stood up and glanced at Jungkook just as Jungkook looked up at him. Jungkook's cheeks grew rosy and he puffed or his cheeks, looking away.
"Why are you still here, anyway?" He mumbled. "Just go home already..."
"Awe. Don't miss me much, I see?"
"I do I just-just- fucking hell, just get out of my face." Jungkook turned to look away, using the sofa's armrest to help him stand. His legs wobbled and he looked up at the ceiling as pain shot through his spine. He whimpered and wiggled around, licking his lips and sighing a deep breath. "Jesus," he whispered in a pained groan.
Taehyung was by his side, one arm slightly wrapped around Jungkook's waist as he helped him stay standing. Jungkook side eyed the man, seeing how the dark brown eyes almost stared at him in disgust, yet his touch was gentle. Calming. Nice and soothing.
"Don't try walking," Taehyung laughed. "You might open the wound up again. You may be cute, but you're still a fragile human."
"Shut up and take me to Jin," Jungkook whispered, cheeks a blazing red as he stared at the floor. Taehyung mocked the boy as they walked down the hall to the kitchen, both hearing soft voices speak. Jungkook seemed to be in too much pain to bother listening to the voices that were spoken in a whisper. But Taehyung slowed down their walk as his ears were interested, and he stayed behind the wall that barely covered them from sight.
Taehyung leaned against the wall and glanced near the floor, ears straining to hear the quiet voices of the two older men.
"You shouldn't blame yourself..."
"....."
"Jin..."
"I don't have to talk about how I feel with you, Namjoon."
"Just talk to me. It'll help get things off your mind."
"We made an agreement, no?" There was some sounds of a knife coming into contact with a hard surface. "You aren't my friend, Namjoon, and the thought of opening back up to you disgusts me."
"You don't need to open up to me. But you need to understand shooting Jungkook wasn't your fault-"
"I put him in pain." The sound stopped. "I...I don't want him involved with any of this. I knew he should've listened to me when I told him not to get involved with you."
"But if he didn't then you wouldn't have any help in trying to protect him from Bighit."
"...you're right. And you'd kill him, and give me another reason to hate you.
Namjoon sighed deeply and Taehyung peeked around the corner to see that Namjoon reached out and grabbed Jin's hand, staring at him with regretful eyes. "The moment i would've found out he was close to you, I wouldn't. I would say no."
Jin stared at their hands and pulled his away, wiping it on the apron. "Save the cliche words for your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend," Namjoon almost growled. "He isn't. We aren't anything anymore and, frankly -call me a bad person if you must- you were on my mind the entire time I was with him."
Taehyung felt his lips curl into his mouth as he gnawed at them nervously, feeling a shudder of pain make him tingle and itch. He looked away and gripped Jungkook tight, making the other whimper as the blonde's fingertips grazed his wound. He took a big step and stepped around the corner with a mannequin's smile, walking towards the two.
"Jungkook's awake."
Jin's eyes landed on them and he set down his knife, hurrying over. As if instinct took over, Jungkook reached out and grabbed onto Jin, shaking as he held himself up. Jin placed a hand on his lower back as he led him to one of the seats near the counter, gently easing him into the seat. Jungkook thanked the older and looked over at Namjoon who's studied him.
"You look pale, Kook."
"Try getting shot and looking fine," Jungkook grinned as Namjoon smiled, nudging the male. Taehyung stared at the two, then at Jin, feeling something in the back of his mind beginning to get irritated. Jin glanced at Taehyung and raised a brow before offering him a seat next to Namjoon. Namjoon stared at the spot before at Taehyung, then his eyes rolled to the side as he scooted his stool away from the one Taehyung was to sit at.
Taehyung couldn't help but feel a slight pang to his chest but he continued to smile, squinting his eyes as he sat down on his seat, watching Jin place a plate in front of each of them. He pinched Jungkook's cheek before patting it softly. "Eat up. We'll need the energy from here on out."