jjk.
After an hour or so, Hoseok, Namjoon, Jeongguk and Jimin were on their way to the palace. It appeared that Jimin had hired some car to pick them up so that they could arrive to the ball at 11 p.m. sharp. The crowning is supposed to happen precisely at half past midnight, meaning that once Taehyung makes an appearance with the crowd, they'll have plenty of time to familiarize themselves with him.
They arrived within twenty-five minutes of departing, and in all honesty, they were shocked upon seeing how glamorous the setting around them actually appeared. Even the exterior walls were decorated with care - especially when endless lights were emerging through the decrepit Victorian windows.
Upon entering the building, it felt like being transported into another world; a dream.
When Jeongguk first placed his foot inside, he couldn't believe at how crowded the entire place already was; guests, servants, security guards - every single person's presence added to the growing body count in the area.
To take his focus off of the busy crowd, Jungkook attempted at taking a scan at the setting instead. His eyes shot up to the ceiling immediately; expecting to find nothing but a grey, bland ceiling yet instead, he was met with a marvelous sight. A large painting was stretched vertically across the top, with a golden frame attached to it which was practically yelling "you're broke" at Jeongguk.
He huffed (mostly to himself, though he still received a weirded-out look from the odd stranger here and there), then he averted his attention onto the grand, thin poles than hung down from the ceiling and outstretched into various directions - all to hold up pots for a couple of spherical plants that had minuscule flowers popping out.
Jeongguk's eye twitched slightly. Do the royals really spend their money on making their place look better than my ass when they COULD donate the same money to charities? Wow..
Other than that, the palace looked extraordinary; golden-themed tapestry was plastered amongst every wall in sight, accompanied by massive hanging banners that appeared to have been hand-crafted with the utmost of care.
He also noticed that the servants are trying to swerve around the dancers and other strangers who keep getting in their way; making Jeongguk feel like this is some sort of club party instead of a royal ball - honestly, those servants should join a dance group.
He noticed that Jimin was intently staring at everything around him - most likely observing whether anything in the building was new or not; comparing to the last time he was here. Seeing how there are many lazy people in the world, Jeongguk assumed that the decorations (and even the furniture), weren't moved around because he highly doubted that people would constantly have the energy to push a load of metal and plastic around.
You need to focus, Jeongguk...
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to regain himself, then he let out a deep breath before straightening out his posture. Focus.
Jeongguk quickly located where Namjoon and Hoseok were located - the pair of them had already commenced with the plan, seeing how they were engaged in some sort of conversation. After Jeongguk's interest was piqued, he walked over to the other two. In their presence already stood two other rich folks who were gently swaying the champagne in their flutes; enjoying the way in which tiny bubbles arose every now and then.
"So, what do you do in your free time?" Namjoon asked with that confident voice of his; engaging eye contact with the fifty-year-old man whose lips were crustier than a pile of shriveled leaves. Even the thought of staring at his lips for too long weirded Jeongguk out..
"Ah, you know.. Owning a club is a lot of work. Always making sure that my workers aren't slacking off on their shifts, and if they are.. then you know what happens.." The guy suggestively rose his eyebrows and gently nudged Namjoon's side; making both of them chuckle to themselves, (though Namjoon's laugh sounded a bit too fake to Jeongguk's liking).
"Ah, so you hire strippers?" Hoseok asked; finally joining in on the conversation.
"Of course, not only do they have amazing bodies, but they're great entertainers too.."
At this, Jeongguk's eye couldn't help but twitch. Great, all rich folks are a bunch of creeps.
Jeongguk was glad when Jimin dragged him quietly away by linking their arms together, as otherwise, Jeongguk would've punched the old man for treating his strippers like toys, (it really hit a nerve.
"You seem like you want to throw somebody against a wall.." Jimin quietly stated with a playful smirk dancing on his lips.
"Of course, the old pervert over there is asking for me to shove a knife up his ass." Jeongguk replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but he couldn't help but laugh when Jimin looked grossed out.
"Too much information.." Jimin murmured under his breath, letting out a disappointed exhale. "Anyway, we're gonna have to start the plan soon. I've noticed that Hoseok and Namjoon have already started with their part."
"Speaking of their plan.. what are they doing?"
Jimin raised his eyebrow in a questioning way. "Do you really pay no attention sometimes? Jesus.. They're gathering information about other popular folks whom we could steal a thing or two from.. considering that it all goes well right now. This whole thieving thing isn't so bad considering our situation.."
"Oh.. I see." Jeongguk refrained from chewing on his lips whilst he pondered in thought. "So we're just gonna be criminals?"
Jimin quietly chuckled and shook his head - though it only left Jeongguk with confusion. He was about to question further when he noticed that Jimin was already eyeing the exits and entrances; noticing how security guards littered the majority of the entrances.
"Think you can get past them?" Jimin asked.
"Yeah, I believe so. Hold on.. which entrance do I go to?"
"You're trying to go deeper into the palace, Jeongguk." Jeongguk heard Yoongi's voice come through the earpiece, though it was slightly difficult to catch what he was saying since the crowd's murmurs were getting louder by each passing second. "Turn around and face the stairs."
Jeongguk did as instructed and his eyes landed on the grand set of stairs that outstretched across a couple of metres. They were white and ordinary, with a thin carpet that licked down the polished floors. Nothing fancy.
"Just wait a couple of seconds and.."
"Excuse me, can I please have everyone's attention?"
Everybody's head turned around to face the source of the irritatingly loud sound, only to find a man in his late sixties standing at the top of those stairs with a microphone resting in his hand. That's clearly the King, but why is he treating this like some lame-ass club? I could literally do the worm on the floor and nobody would give a flying fuck.. so you might as well as add some music.. mix a couple of drinks together.. c'mon.
Jeongguk stared intensely at the man - the man who made Taehyung's and Seokjin's childhood miserable; the man who has no sense of respect; the man whom Jeongguk wishes would choke on a stick.
"Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for attending tonight - it warms my heart to see so many citizens being eager to see the person who's going to lead the next few decades. It has been an absolute pleasure to watch him grow into an amazing man throughout those years." Bullshit. "And so, I hope that you will also take notice into how much he's learned to prioritize the country above anything else."
Jeongguk snorted and received a sharp jab in the ribs from Jimin's elbow, then the younger mouthed "What?" as a rhetorical question.
Right after the audience quieted down from a rhythmic clap, Jeongguk finally saw the man of the night appear on the stairs; accompanying his father. If he looked hard enough, Jeongguk could spot some of the facial features that Taehyung had inherited, though it was difficult to spot - especially since his father was practically covered in wrinkles.
The audience seemed to be rather occupied with murmuring their thoughts out on Taehyung, then they all erupted into polite cheers with a bundle of claps following in pursuit. A proud smile rose onto Jeongguk's lips and he couldn't help but smile whilst looking directly at the man who has had previously stolen his heart.
"He's actually..handsome? I would definitely love to take him on dates and what not.. he looks like he would be our age as well!" A woman spoke amongst the cheering, however that comment did not go unnoticed - especially when Jeongguk's ears were sharpened.
Keep your dirty hands away from my man, woman. You dare to go near him and I will personally feed you to his dog.
Wait.. why are my threats so violent tonight?
When Taehyung started scanning the area to look for a certain pair of eyes, Jeongguk could've sworn that he felt butterflies shooting off in his tummy; making him feel lovesick. He intently watched as Taehyung's eyes gradually got closer to his own pair, then there it was.
They locked eyes amongst the crowd - all despite the fact that there were at least a couple of hundred other people in the surrounding area. Despite that, they still managed to eventually find each other.
Taehyung gave Jeongguk a warm smile that was unwillingly turning into a larger smile - the type which reached the tips of his eyes; further placing his bread cheeks on display.
Jeongguk bit his lip whilst trying to suppress his own smile.. but either way, he still appeared unsuccessful and looked down with the biggest smile on his face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Kim Taehyung and.. I'm going to be your next leader at exactly midnight. In all honesty, I'm honored to be here right no. Everybody, I assure you that you'll all be in good hands." He spoke for the first time; immediately catching the audience's attention with that alluring voice of his. It seemed as if everybody was hypnotized by the man in front of them and at this, Jeongguk couldn't help but smile proudly.
Eventually, Taehyung went down the stairs and started interacting with the guests around him. He had no choice but to answer a couple of basic & repetitive questions over and over again, (with the most frequent question involving his age).
Jimin snapped Jeongguk out of his daze by waving his hand in front of Jeongguk's face, then he dragged the latter off to the side.
"Look, I get that he's hot and everything, but we've gotta snap out of it and proceed now. Understood?" Jimin asked whilst grabbing Jeongguk's shoulders firmly. He looked over to the side and saw how Hoseok and Namjoon were both looking expectantly into his direction; waiting for him to start.
"It'll all go well. Once you grab what you need, we know what to do. Seokjin will inform us."
With a last nod, Jeongguk turned on his heel and started making his way over to one of the halls that led him further into the palace. As expected, a man was guarding the door.
Jeongguk walked up to him and with a sweet smile, he asked the guard "Excuse me, but could you possibly tell me where the bathroom is?"
The guard pointed into the hallway and said, "Go straight ahead and it's the door on the left. You can't miss it."
Jeongguk thanked the guard once again and followed along with his directions. As the guard said, it wasn't difficult to locate the bathroom. Jeongguk entered the bathroom and after a quick scan of the cubicles, he was able to figure out that the toilets were currently empty.
He clicked his earpiece to check that it was working, then he murmured "Yoongi? Directions, please."
Jeongguk adjusted his suit by straightening it out whilst observing himself in the mirror, then he tilted his head to the side to catch a glimpse of his jawline. Looking good.. okay fuck, I'm growing into Jin.
A static noise came through for a moment, but then Yoongi's voice appeared again. "Once you're out of that bathroom, take a left and walk straight down the hallway."
Jeongguk immediately listened to Yoongi as for one, the connection was bad in the bathroom and secondly, Jeongguk was fully aware that they were working under a time limit.
Following a series of directions (which simply consisted of 'left, right and straight'), Jeongguk could feel his heart racing. Exploring a dangerous territory was certainly driving his adrenaline insane - one wrong move, he's caught and boom. Mission unaccomplished. A fail.
During the time when Jeongguk was moving through the endless hallways, he was able to find a number of endless paintings that littered the walls at every corner, however there was not a single photo of the family themselves.
There was even a sculpture of a RABBIT for Christ's sake.
"Jeongguk, you should see some stairs once you turn to your left. Once you're up, head towards the room that has the biggest doors and, wait, hold on-" Yoongi appeared to cover his mic for a moment; probably listening to what Seokjin was telling him in the background. "-and the doors which have a maple leaf on them. According to Seokjin, it has their parents' more valuable shit in there, HOWEVER,"
Jeongguk felt the warning slip through his tone and immediately knew to not fuck around with what Yoongi was about to say. "However..?"
"There's some sort of highly prized possession in that room. Seokjin says that it's worth millions of won, but it's hard to find. Not even Taehyung's aware of the hidden location. Jeongguk, look hard. Once you find it, be careful - as soon as you try to take it, an alarm is supposedly going to go off. Maybe it'll ring throughout the entire palace, maybe it'll only alert the guards.. I don't know. Long story short, you grab your shit and you go. Understood?"
Jeongguk quietly approached the double doors that had a large leaf imprinted on it, then he pushed the doors open and let out a shaky exhale.
"Understood."
A/N aaaa!!! Thank you sO much for 5k on this book!! We're almost at 6k!! I'm not sure if you all are aware, but achieving these small targets makes me incredibly happy, especially since I'm a small account and not many people read my work. I'm actually content with this book, so knowing that people feel the same way about it makes me so 🥺🥺
ALSO!! I'm sure you've noticed, but I updated this book's cover! What do you think of it?