tw: violence,,, please skip forward if you need!
"I need to talk to you," Jiah had always been bold, but she honestly didn't know she'd ever be here, standing in the doorway of Jung Hyung Sik's office, ready to ask for guidance.
It hadn't been too long ago where she would rather walk through fire than ask someone for help, but now she had no shame in doing so.
First, it was Taehyung, then it was Jimin, and now she was confident enough to ask it of him too.
Asking for help didn't mean you were weak; it didn't mean you were vulnerable; it meant you were strong enough to want change.
It took her too long to figure that out.
The smile that appeared on his face surprised her, considering the last time they talked, he had glared at her so deeply she'd felt her insides churn.
"Taehyung's so busy he needed to send his secretary to talk to me instead of him?"
"Uh," she shook her head, "No, it's me that wants to talk to you, not Taehyung."
He looked at her questioningly, reaching around her and closing the door.
"I'm not sure if I should be worried-"
"I should properly introduce myself to you, my name is Lee Jiah, and I'm-"
"I know," he answered, "you're Taehyung's secretary."
"I am, but what I wanted to say is that I'm in Kkangpae. I know you are, or that you were, I don't understand what's happening."
"You're... what?"
"I'd been ordered to kill you, sir," he nodded, opening his mouth to say something, then closed it, "But I don't want to."
"Why not?"
"Because I know why they want to kill you. My entire life everything's been black and white; the mafia was my home, it's my family. Everything they tell me to do, I do," she told him plainly, "but I'm starting to realise that the world is in colour. The world I've been living in had so many dimensions, but I only saw everything front on.
"I want to help you help those innocent people. I want to join you on your mission to stop the organ harvesting. Please let me help you."
"I don't know what you're-"
"I have nothing to show to prove to you that I'm not luring you into a trap," she admitted, "But my best friend, I know he met with you. Jung Hoseok, that's his name... he was killed."
"What?"
"We need to stop it; we can't have this going on any longer. More people are going to get killed for this. They truly are taking this business way too far."
"You're the girl, aren't you?" he asked after a long silence.
"Sorry?"
"You have O-negative blood, don't you?"
"Yes," she sighed, "I'm the one Boss wants to take as his own," cringing internally, she looked up at him again. "Please let me help you take them down; I need to do this for Hoseok at least."
"Okay, I guess it would be helpful to have a little more manpower."
"I have a friend, too, Jungkook. He's willing to help, we-"
"But Jiah," his voice grew lower, and she watched as his eyes somehow aged fifty years, she could see the wisdom in them, "You'll be risking your life if you join me.
"When I joined the mafia, it was more of a community, a family pursuing all the wrong things but doing it all together.
"Now it's all different; they're all money hungry. This new business of theirs is bringing in so much more money than their drug deals ever were, and they're not going to let anything get in the way of that.
"They will not stop themselves if they catch us, you know that, right?"
You cannot kill him. You need to work with him to get out of this.
"I know."
--
"That was a long talk," Taehyung said when Jiah walked into his office holding the iPad with his schedule open.
"Good morning," she gave him a polite smile, throwing one to Jimin who was on the couch as well.
"You were in there, what?" he looked at his watch, "Thirty minutes! What did you guys even have to talk about? Did he ask you to be his valentine?"
Jiah raised an eyebrow while Jimin burst out laughing from the couch.
"Oh boy," she heard him mutter under his breath, "I could have sworn Taehyung never gets jealous."
"What?"
"You were having so much fun with him that you forgot you work for me?"
Jiah still wasn't comprehending his questions, and so sent Jimin another look, asking for help.
But he simply shrugged, "I've never had to deal with jealous Taehyung, after all these years. Sorry I can't say much."
"What do you mean?"
"Why were you there for so long?" she saw the pout begin to emerge on his lips, and she finally got it, "It's Valentine's Day."
"We had to talk about something," she told him, "What's that got to do with Valentine's Day?"
"What did you need to talk about?" Taehyung slowly got up from his seat, sensing that it wasn't a benign topic.
"Nothing," she shook her head, "Just work."
She didn't need to tell him to know he was not going to let her go through with this plan. He would deem it too dangerous and simply not let her.
That was something about Taehyung she would never stop being grateful for. He never restricted her, never told her what to wear or who to hang out with.
Which is as it should be.
He would always explain that he didn't see the reason to tell her she can't wear mini skirts around other guys, or not to spend her free time racing at the track - which were things her ex-boyfriend definitely restricted her from doing.
There were only a few things he'd draw the line at, and the whole risking-her-life thing was most likely going to be one.
"Yeah, no," he shook his head, finally reaching where she stood in the open area of his office, "It definitely wasn't work. Is it about... uhm..."
"You don't need to worry-"
"Do I need to keep saying it?" he was trying so hard to keep his composure, "I do not care about myself when you're in the picture Jiah, if you think you're doing me a favour by keeping it all from me, think again.
"I am here to fight your demons with you, not watch you fight them and act as I've helped."
"I'm, uh," Jimin coughed from behind the pair, "gonna go-"
"No, stay," Taehyung cut him off, "We haven't finished planning out that deal."
"We can always do it another time."
"Jiah, is it about Kkangpae?"
When he said it, his face cringed as if he had taken a bite of a lemon. The word left a bitter taste in his mouth, and she didn't know how she felt about that.
Slowly, she nodded.
"What about it? Why did you need to talk to him about it?"
"Maybe we should sit down."
--
So that's how she ended up telling both Taehyung and Jimin about Jung Hyung Sik and how she was ordered to kill him. About the new organ harvesting business Kkangpae is involved in and how Jung Hyung Sik has been trying to stop it. About how she wanted to join him.
She was holding nothing back anymore.
At first, the terror she felt thinking about how these two men now had an even more significant burden to carry weighed on her.
But neither one of them made her like she couldn't tell them. They made her want to tell them.
"So what's next?" Taehyung asked as soon as the awkward silence got a bit too much.
"Well, he wants to meet with us tomorrow evening. I offered our hideout, so I guess Jungkook and I will be discussing our first steps then."
"Awesome, you busy tomorrow night?" Taehyung looked over at Jimin, and he shrugged.
"Nope," he turned to Jiah, "We'll be there."
"What?"
"Do we need to bring anything?" Jimin asked, "Like uhm... a notebook? It is a meeting, right?"
"Wait, you're not coming, neither are you," she said to the both of them, "You guys are not coming."
"Yes, we are," Taehyung told her, "It'll be better with more people, and you're stupid for thinking I'm going to let you risk your life alone."
"I can't let both of you do that either, no, you're not coming."
"I'm not letting you both go alone, not Jungkook, not you."
Taehyung couldn't help the smile that crept up his face because of his best friend's words.
He was so happy Jimin was letting someone into his heart because the last time he had a crush was in high school.
God knows seventeen-year-old Jimin couldn't voice his feelings about someone out loud.
But here he was. Ready to risk his life for Jungkook.
While he really would have done the same thing for any other person, this just seemed different.
"Please, guys, I don't want to have to-"
"Jiah, don't feel bad. I've been thinking a lot about all this stuff after meeting the two of you. And if there's anything I can do to help you guys, I really will do it.
"At first I really didn't like you, because of how this idiot was so head over heels for you way too fast," he shrugged, "But then I saw the way you made him feel, and how you made him smile. My best friend being happy is one of the only things I've wanted in life. And so I softened up to you. I'm in, and you're not going to be able to convince me otherwise."
His words had all been spoken with a ghost of a smile on his lips, but now that smile turned into a full-fledged grin, and if Jiah hadn't heard what he had to say next, she would have thought he was crazy.
"And there's no way in hell I'm letting Jungkook do it without me."
--
"Taehyung I can't have you risking your life for me, why are you not getting that?" Jiah had been repeating the same thing over and over again as they were making their way to his car.
"And of course I know you'll say that," he hopped into the driver's seat while she sat on the other side. "But nothing you say will change my mind. Nothing."
"Taehyung," she was begging, but he shook his head.
"Now, enough of this talk, we have somewhere to be."
"What?"
"Yes so can you please buckle up? We're wasting time."
"What do you mean we have somewhere to be?"
"Is that a difficult statement to understand?" He pretended to think, "I'm sure it can only mean one thing."
"Where are we going?"
"First, we're making a stop at your place, and getting you into something a little classier," there was a hint of amusement in his tone, and she turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised.
"Taehyung," she deadpanned, "where are we going?"
He pretended to zip his lips, shrugging his shoulders.
She groaned, throwing her head back on the seat, "You can't just dismiss our conversation like that, Taehyung, you and Jimin are not coming with us."
"We're still on that?" He shook his head, "Let's move on, please?"
Jiah didn't say anything, slumping back into her seat. She didn't often get mad at Taehyung, and they seldom fought (which she thought was weird for a couple so in love as they were), but now she felt that anger bubble up inside of her.
She hated it when she didn't get her way.
When people didn't listen to her.
"We're here," Taehyung tried to speak cheerily, given the last five or so minutes of the car ride was dreadful silence, "Jiah?" He asked when she didn't make any indication that she had heard him.
"Sweetheart," he breathed, reaching for her hand, "Please drop it? Do you have that little faith in your own skills? Do you really think I'd be risking my life with you there? You're one of their best fighters, aren't you?"
"But if something goes wrong, Taehyung I wouldn't be able to live with myself, knowing-"
"Likewise," he said simply, "I wouldn't be able to either, knowing you're walking into that fire, and I didn't do my best to help."
She sighed, looking down at her hands that were safely encased in his. At the man whose veins contained galaxies, and whose eyes shone like a chandelier of diamonds.
How she wished they could nestle together in the back of his car as the world went by, running away from all this.
"So let's drop it, okay?" He whispered finally, causing her to look back into his eyes, "Because this is what I want to do."
She can feel it. Her heart is still beating, and for the first time in a while, she takes that as a good thing.
"I don't know what to say," she mumbled, looking down again.
"Just say you love me and let's move on," she heard the grin in his voice.
"I was thinking something more along the lines of 'you're an idiot', but I guess that'll do," she brought her hands to his jaw, pulling him to her, "I love you."
With a quick peck on the lips, he pulled away quickly, shaking his head, "No, no, you have to go get changed, or we're going to lose our spot."
She smiled a little, "Where are we going?"
"You won't find out unless you get ready, do you think I can wait down here for you?"
"You sure you don't want to come up and wait?"
"It's okay. I'll give Jimin a quick call and see where he's up to with our work. I'm fine here."
"Okay," she opened the door, "so something classy? Oh God, this is sure gonna be fun."
"Oh yes," he wiggled his eyebrows, "It'll be more than just that."
With that, she left the car and entered her building. Taehyung did exactly what he said he would, calling Jimin and talked to him about what he was doing. Their conversations always ended up changing directions, however, and Taehyung had a feeling this one would too.
"So you think you can fax this over to them by tomorrow?"
"Yeah," his friend on the other end sighed, "You really okay with joining them, Tae?"
"I am," Taehyung didn't miss a beat when he answered, "Are you? Because if you're not-"
"I'm sure as well," his reply didn't lack any certainty either.
"Who would have thought, aye? That we would not only have the mafia using our company for their own business but that we'd team up with them to overthrow their business?"
Jimin chuckled, "But we wouldn't have been staying true to ourselves if we didn't."
"You're right. All those years of us talking about how we thought we were here to do more than just run a business, I guess we were right."
"We were so sure we had a bigger purpose," Jimin's voice was never absent of cheer, "I swear we used to think we'd die trying to protect a bigger cause."
Taehyung laughed, "That's because we did; we were such wistful thinkers."
"But you're sure about this, Tae?"
"Yeah man, I am."
"Good. Okay, we're doing this," he heard his best friend puff out a breath of air, and he laughed to himself.
"So, you thinking of telling Jungkook anytime soon?"
"That we're going to join them? I'm planning on just showing up tomorrow evening and telling him, really."
"No, about how you feel about him."
"Oh, no, not yet- wait, what do you mean about how I feel about him? I don't fee-"
"Love," Taehyung cut him off, teasing, "It's like you forget I know you better than you do yourself. Besides, it's not like you even try to hide your feelings for him."
"He doesn't feel the same way," he stated simply, "There's no way I'm telling him."
"Oh come on," he pleaded, "You have to! You'll never know how he feels until you give it a go, he might like you too, you know."
"I doubt it," even though Taehyung couldn't see him, he knew Jimin was staring at the blank wall, shaking his head to himself, "Why would he?"
"Sir," Taehyung's voice grew deeper, "If you're putting my best friend down right now, you better stop."
"Oh shut up," Jimin laughed again, and Taehyung considered his attempt at cheering him up a success.
"You think I'd have such low standards with who my best friends are? Think again."
That earned more laughter, and with perfect timing, Taehyung heard his phone let out a short 'ding', indicating Jiah had just texted him.
"Hey man, I've got to go now. I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?"
"Alright, see ya."
Bringing the phone from his ear, he read her text telling him she was done getting ready and was on her way downstairs.
Taehyung smiled to himself, putting the phone in his pocket and pulled down the sun shield to check his reflection in the mirror.
When he was satisfied with his appearance, he opened the door and got out of the car, getting ready to open Jiah's door for her.
His eyes were trained to the main entrance of the apartment building as he leaned against the passenger side door, arms crossed over his chest.
It wasn't too long before the sliding doors opened, and as if they were in a movie, Taehyung was rendered motionless when his eyes lay upon her.
That was when he realised the world could look so different in ten seconds.
The world, before knowing Jiah and the world after.
Even now, as he took in her appearance, he could have sworn the night clouds cleared, and the stars came out of hiding. And her skin was the moon, reflecting the light and shining as if she, herself, was the sun.
The white top that hugged her body, reaching to her waist where a black skirt flowed down to her feet didn't have any business sparkling the way it did. It was plain, but on Jiah it was if she had plucked the comets out of the sky and laced her dress with it.
Slowly, he saw the expression on her face change, one of content, to one of horror.
He furrowed his eyebrows, wanting to run to her and ask her why she looked so worried but before he got to, he felt something heavy and sharp hit the back of his head.
The world flashed black, while Taehyung lost feeling in his legs and he fell to the ground helplessly.
With one swift movement, she was able to throw her heels off and run toward him, ignoring the tears that were streaming down her face.
Not the time.
She wasn't fast enough to reach them before the man behind him took another swing at Taehyung, and she watched as the weapon - which looked like some pipe - made contact with his stomach - causing him to jerk up a little.
The third time he tried to hit Taehyung, however, Jiah was able to jump in front, feeling the cold metal hit her back, making her fall on top of Taehyung.
"You two sure have some nerve, knowing what this would lead to," the man muttered, and Jiah quickly got up, spinning to face him again.
"You better fucking get out of here," she growled, rising to her feet. The man before her only laughed.
"Or what? Are you going to beat me up in that? Geez, I'm scared."
She balled her hands into fists, but as she was about to throw them at his face, two shadows approached from behind him, making her stop.
"Three against one," he grinned, "This doesn't look like it's gonna end well for you, sweetheart."
"Don't call her that," a low voice behind Jiah grunted. She was reluctant to take her eyes off the man in front of her, but she risked looking back for a second, only to see Taehyung slowly regain his composure and get on his feet again.
"Only I call her that."
And without missing a beat, Taehyung lunged forward, swinging his fist against the man's jaw. He fell back, a loud click echoing through the car park.
Taehyung shook his arms, pulling his blazer off with one movement and throwing it to the side, getting ready for the next to him.
"Stop it," Jiah begged, "Please, you're going to get hurt-"
One of the other men aimed a punch at Taehyung, cutting Jiah's words off, but she managed to stick out her hand, catching his fist in her palm before pulling him down to the ground.
Five
With a satisfied huff, she turned to grab Taehyung's hand and head for his car.
But Jiah saw that behind Taehyung the man from before started to approach them, eyes locked on Taehyung's back.
Four
Her eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out what he was so focused on and then it dawned on her.
Jiah tried to lift her feet, move her legs, reach out her arms, but for some reason, her body had turned to stone. The shrieks and cries she let out were of no help as she watched everything happen in front of her in slow motion.
Three
She would forever recall this day and curse herself for being so helpless.
The frustration cascaded through her veins and pumped into her brain, leaking from her eyes in the form of tears.
Why could she not move?
Taehyung turned around after hearing her and his eyes grew wide at the man who was slowly getting bigger and bigger as he got closer.
Two
The tears wouldn't stop streaming down her cheeks, and all she could do was watch the scene unfold through her blurry vision. Resentment just kept building as she willed to move, nothing proving successful.
One
Taehyung felt the impact of the blade of the man's knife as it pierced through his abdomen, making him jolt in his spot, a scream escaping his lips before his eyes drifted to a close.
And he fell to the ground.
Finally, as if her body was punishing her, forcing her to watch Taehyung get stabbed before she could move, Jiah lunged forward and ran toward him.
As she moved, she put all her weight into kicking the man away, all while he was laughing.
"You two really shouldn't have been playing with fire. You knew the consequences."
And without another word, they picked up the metal pipe and the knife that were both used to make Taehyung bleed and bruise like a fucking pulp, walking into the black of the night.
She didn't even think to follow them, wiping her tears, she cupped Taehyung's face in hers, her breathing quickening as she tried to take in his state.
"Taehyung!" she breathed, her throat clogged, "Taehyung, baby, please please keep your eyes open, Taehyung, please."
With that, the eyes that were drooping to a close slowly opened a little, and Jiah could tell he was trying with all his effort to keep them that way.
"Taehyung please," she hiccuped, her shaking fingers finding its way to the spot on his abdomen where he was stabbed.
She covered the wound, pressing as hard as she could, despite all the pressure leaving her body as she tried to hold him closer.
Leaning down, her body trembled as she cradled him closer, wrapping the free arm around his neck.
Blood seeped through her fingers and painted both their white clothes like an art piece they would never forget.
Pushing his stomach, she dug her hand harder against him.
She could only watch as the muscles in his face dropped, the smile fading from his lips, and fading quick.
"Taehyung," she whispered again, the boy with stardust in his veins and gems in his eyes, was slowly losing it all.
"Nothing that's easy is worth it," he said calmly, as if he were reciting a song, "Nothing that's worth it is perfect."
"Taehy-"
"I want it to be me, Jiah," he begged, "If you're going to hurt someone then let it be me. If you're going to break my heart, make it bleed. Let's take this to the end, Jiah, I'm utterly, crazy in love with you, I'm not backing down."
"Who I am makes everything impossible."
"No, who you are makes everything worth it."