Within an hour, Jin's managed to pull an in-depth blueprint of the hotel out of thin air.
It's the exact kind of hotel you'd expect for this type of thing- the one out of the movies, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and gold-gilded hallway with plush carpets running through. The ballroom is a monstrous room, grand enough to be nestled like a gem into the interior of a brilliant castle. The floors are pure marble, and the ceilings are trimmed in brilliant gold.
If they don't have an ice sculpture of a swan in the middle of the party, you'll be thoroughly disappointed.
The blueprints of the layout are spread across the entirety of Wooseok's tiny kitchen table, your host hovering nervously at the edge of the room. It appears that no matter how generous the group of hitmen has been to him, he's still wary in their presence.
As Yoongi and Hoseok stand over the blueprints, pointing out spots and things that you don't understand the significance of, you stand on the outskirts of the group and watch them plan.
The atmosphere is electric and ready, energized to action by the thought of taking back Taehyung from the dregs of humanity.
Your heart is pumping, racing like never before with the eagerness to bust into that hotel and get your brother out.
At the thought, you pause, startled.
Your brother.
He feels like your brother.
They all do, except for one.
Your gaze lingers on the slope of broad shoulders hunched over the blueprints, fingers rubbing absently at an ear piercing as black eyes concentrate down on paper.
Jungkook sucks a breath in through his teeth and tilts his head, tracing his finger along a line on the paper.
...
He's beautiful.
"So what exactly prompted all of this?"
The smooth voice comes out of nowhere, making you jump a little with the abruptness of it.
Your mind blanks for a moment, dropping Jungkook out of the train car of your passing thoughts.
With curious eyes Namjoon observes you, his full lips tucked together into a contemplative expression.
"Sorry?" you ask, scrambling to recover your brain's functioning.
"All of this." Long fingers splay out in the air, motioning to the group of men pouring over blueprints and arguing whether air ducts or elevator shafts are more viable options. "No offense, but you usually aren't one to spark the upstart of things like this."
He's not wrong.
Usually, you're the one in the back, going along for the ride on whatever crazy plan the men have conjured up from those illegally-wired brains of theirs.
"It'll sound stupid," you sigh. "Can't you just accept that you guys are rubbing off on me?"
A soft laugh bubbles up from Namjoon's lips, soft and deep like rich silk. "Nope. Let's hear it."
You tilt your head back, letting it hit the wall behind you, and focus your eyes on the ceiling.
This way you won't see him laughing. "I had a dream."
"About Taehyung?"
"No." You bite your lip, letting your eyes drift close as memories of the domestic bliss from your dream come drifting back, filling you with a nostalgic feeling.
That life will probably never happen.
You're glad, because you want Taehyung to live, but you're also a tad bit mournful for the life and family you had for a split second.
"Taehyung wasn't there," you say quietly to Namjoon. "He never made it out. And everyone was gone, split up. You and Jin and Jimin and Yoongi. Hoseok...he ended up in freaking jail. And Taehyung never made it out."
Out of the corner of your eye, you see Namjoon tilt his head. He runs his hand through the dark blond of his hair, tonguing his lip ring to fight a smile.
"How is that funny?" you scoff.
"Hobi? In jail?" His hand comes up to rub his neck as he looks down, smiling enough that his dimples pop out. "Just seems a little unrealistic. I don't see why that would worry you."
"Unrealistic? He found the people who murdered his family and got caught trying to take revenge!" you hiss. "That could happen! And it wasn't just that. Did you even hear the part where Taehyung didn't live?"
Almost in a dismissive manner, Namjoon waves his hand in the air. You're shocked by his unconcerned aura.
"We're going to get Taehyung out," says the man in that coolwater voice. "There's no doubt. Like I said before, he's family, and we're not a group to be taken lightly."
Remembering the look in Hoseok and Jimin's eyes on the ride here, you silently agree.
"As for Hoseok suddenly going to jail because he got caught taking revenge?" Namjoon shakes his head, lips twisted up on one side into a smirk. "I wouldn't bet on it."
"I'm not betting on it. I don't want it to happen, but I'm also not ruling out the possibility altogether," you mutter. "It could happen. Hoseok could get caught."
"You think he could?" Shaking his head, Namjoon tucks his thumbs into the pockets of his pants, shrugging his shoulders forward. "Hoseok wouldn't be caught. Out of all of us, he would never."
Out of all of them?
Out of all seven of their sly, fox-like personalities, how is loud, cheerful Hoseok the least likely to get caught?
Even if he has the power of his freaky intuition on his side, that can't save him in every situation. Hoseok wasn't even raised in the underground like most of the others; he was bred through life, not born into it.
The teardrop on his sharp cheek one seems to glow at the thought.
Namjoon can see the incredulousness in your eyes.
He points at you. "That right there. That's why I think Hoseok'll never get caught."
Namjoon grins broadly, his gorgeously tan skin shining against the white of his teeth. Your breath catches in your throat for a moment at the brilliance of his smile.
"Hoseok's a dark horse," he says, clasping his hands insistently. "No one sees him coming - everyone underestimates him. That's why he's more dangerous than any of us."
It's with a kind of malicious glee that Namjoon says the words, delighted by the apparent depth of Hoseok's menace.
You, on the other hand, glance over at the chestnut-haired man who's listening to Yoongi explain something on the blueprint.
Hoseok's face is elegant without doubt, all straight planes and sharp angles and smooth, gliding slopes. His eyes, with are usually bright with sweet kindness, can also echo that same depth with infinite intensity.
As he stands there between a hard-edged ex-mob boss and a three-percent psychotic ex-bodyguard, you can see why people would offhandedly toss him aside as a non-threat.
But you've seen Jung Hoseok angry.
You've seen him ready to crush the world between bare hands, and you know that anyone who underestimates him won't be alive to continue the mindset for long.
"On top of that," says Namjoon, "-I'm pretty sure Hoseok knows exactly who killed his parents."
You go still.
"What?"
"Mhmm." Namjoon's looking at him too, considering the slender, lanky man with appraising eyes. "I've thought over it before. He's looked and looked for years, and with the combination of his intuition and his brain...he should've found out by now. In fact, I'm almost positive he has."
"That's just an assumption," you say with a squint of your eyes. "If he's found out who killed his family by now, why hasn't he done anything?"
"Assumption...or observation." Namjoon's eyes crinkle in that knowing way that makes you think you're missing out on the joke of the century. "I'm more than 98.5% sure he knows. I don't make assumptions, Y/N. And his reasoning is his own, but, based again on acute observation..."
Namjoon shrugs.
His shoulders lift and fall, loose, shoulder blades a sharp angle beneath his shirt, and his eyes crease again.
He says, "Maybe Hoseok found something that's better than revenge? Just maybe."
At that moment, Hoseok glances up.
His gaze land on you, on Namjoon, and his dark eyes focus onto the contours of your faces.
He smiles.
It's pure light.
"An assumption," you mumble.
"An inference," replies Namjoon. "Based on-"
"Acute observation." You finish the sentence for him, already knowing where his tone is leading.
Patting your shoulder, Namjoon bends his shoulders toward the group of men in the room, starting to shuffle toward them.
"Don't worry, Y/N," he says as he goes, deep eyes smiling at you without the aid of his mouth. "We'll get Taehyung out. I don't make assumptions."
[A/N]
Unedited
Sorry for the wait! I took my finals, but I'm finished now!
Am I dragging this story out too much? It's long, but I still feel like there's kind of a lot left to cover.
Either way, we're starting to get to the end of Blood Ink. It's not over yet, but we're definitely nearing the end.
If y'all haven't yet, you can check out my new published book called Spark! Blood Ink will still be regularly updated, so don't worry.
❤️PB
P.S.
I've been reunited with my baby Delilah. She says hello😊