The next week consisted entirely of training for the three who needed it. Multiple late nights and early mornings started to ingrain the moves into their bodies. They had a long way to go before getting to any of the dangerous levels, but they were better than Chae's men. I even snuck up on Namjoon to see what he'd do, and he elbowed me in the face. My nose made a sound and my eyes watered, then it bled a little. He apologized as much as he could, but I waved him off. Jimin laughed when he passed the scene, so I threw chopsticks at him. I silently damned my knee for still being weak, since it limited my speed to an unstable walk. It got better as the days passed, so I was walking by the fifth.
Yoongi and I would practice knife skills while sitting down, and I'd show him how the technique to control whether the hilt or blade implanted in someone. There were a lot of marks left on the wall of the kitchen to which Jin yelled at us for. It was entirely Yoongi, though, so I didn't get why I was getting yelled at. Taehyung doted on Jungkook as much as he could. He'd feed him, help him dress, and also held a flashlight so the younger could shower in the dark. It was cute to watch, even when Jungkook would get annoyed. I would catch Namjoon and Jin practicing their fighting skills early in the morning. Hoseok would sometimes join them, though he would take naps after because of how early it was. Jimin would mostly bitch at the TV, prattling on about different shows or what the news was playing.
We shared the bed now, because it was annoying that he kept whining about waking up on the floor. I made damn sure to kick him if he got close, though. He talked in his sleep a lot, so I covered him with a pillow. It didn't happen every night, but it was pretty frequent. Most of the time, he'd end up jolting awake and would smack me. Other times, I pretended to be asleep as he'd sit on the side of the bed, his head in his hands. He was so vulnerable every time I saw him like that, so I couldn't bring myself to say anything. He really seemed to be hurting the most out of everyone. Something was digging at him every time he fell asleep.
I just wish I knew what it was.
~~~~~
I lounged across the couch as Namjoon, Taehyung, Jimin, and Yoongi got ready for a mission. It was about two in the morning, but everyone was alert. They were going to scramble the systems and steal information for a few of Chae's establishments. Namjoon was given a couple pistols, just in case. Everyone else was support, especially Taehyung. He was the long range man, and he'd be the one to signal if there was more movement than there should be inside the buildings. Jungkook wasn't allowed to be up this late, but I saw him stick his head out of his room and flash Taehyung a smile. Jimin was the personal guard for Namjoon, his brass knuckles situated on his hands. It made me a bit prideful that he liked them so much. Yoongi was going to be hidden like Taehyung, and he'd jump in if things went mildly wrong.
Namjoon fixes the gloves onto his hands with a sigh. "I hate gloves. They get in my way when I'm typing."
Taehyung checks his various bullet clips. "Can't do anything about it. We'd be damned if we left fingerprints of any kind."
Jimin flexes his hands around his weapon. "Are we almost ready? We only have a few hours to do this."
"Let's go," Yoongi hums, sliding his beanie on. It hid his mint hair well.
I waved at them as they walked up the stairs. "Be careful."
They all slipped on face masks before leaving out the back door. I rest my head against the armrest. A deep sigh left my lips. I really wanted to be out there with them instead of just waiting and waiting for hours. It was even more stressful than actually being in danger.
Jungkook slips out of his room. "Did they look well prepped?"
I look over at him. "Aren't you supposed to be resting? You're still messed up, young man."
"Now you sound like Jin-hyung." He comes out and sits on the couch opposite to me. "I'm nervous for them. Namjoon-hyung doesn't do a lot of runs."
"I wouldn't worry. Everyone is very good at what they do, and that includes Namjoon."
He pouts and looks at the TV. "Do you want to watch a movie?"
I raise my eyebrows at him. He wasn't supposed to focus on anything for very long.
"Just one? I'll keep it nice and quiet so we don't wake anyone up."
"Fine, fine, whatever. It's not like I've seen any movies anyway."
He gets up, excited to put in the disc. He turns the TV on and puts in a movie. "Wait, you've never seen a movie?" He turns around to face me. "How have you not seen one? They're everywhere."
I curl in on myself as best as I can. "I never had a reason to..." I look at my hands. "They were unnecessary."
"I'm gonna tell the hyungs that we need to make a movie night." He sits happily in his chair. "This is one of my favorite movies." He starts fiddling with the subtitles and that, then he plays the movie.
As it starts, and people begin speaking, I realize it's in English. I look at him, a bit confused, but he's too into it. I chuckle under my breath, shaking my head. He probably wouldn't even react if I told him I spoke English. It was necessary to speak multiple languages when one was in my profession, but we were watching this movie to forget that stuff. That's right. This movie isn't about reality, it's fiction.
I paid more attention to it.
~~~~~
I must've fallen asleep at some point. The movie had finished, and I remembered the ending, but I didn't remember anything else. I didn't understand why I'd woken up until I heard the footsteps coming down the stairs. I must've sensed the presences upstairs and automatically woken up. I knew from the weight and sound of them that they were our members returning. The clock told me it had only been a few hours since they'd left, making them right on time. I shove myself up and massage the knot in my neck. I groan as the muscles relax.
"(Y/N)?" Namjoon's voice calls, stepping down the stairs. "Why are you still awake?"
I rub my eyes. "I wasn't. I was trying to, but I must've fallen asleep here..." I look over at the other couch, where Jungkook has curled up and fallen asleep. He looked really cute with the steady rise and fall of his chest. "He wanted to watch a movie until you guys got back."
Taehyung clicks his tongue lightly, like he's not surprised but still a bit annoyed. "This boy... He's supposed to be recovering, not worrying about us." He goes over and picks up the younger. "I'll come out after putting him properly to bed." He then disappears into their room.
I look to the others. "Did it go well?"
Yoongi takes off all of his weapons, putting knife after knife onto the table. "It went fine. There were a couple men around the perimeter, but we got rid of them."
"We only knocked them out, hyung, we didn't kill them," Namjoon sighs.
The mint-head shrugs. "Knowing Chae, we'll probably never see them again."
I grimaced, but he was right. Any failure wasn't tolerated by that monster. I clenched my jaw as pins and needles went down my entire body. Countless bruises and scars were from a time I'd failed. The only reason I was alive was because I'd become his favorite and most effective hitman.
"Whatever," Jimin says, exhaling. He tucks the brass knuckles into his pocket. "Can we just get to bed? I'm tired."
I slowly stand up and stretch a little. My muscles were stiff from being locked up for so long. Namjoon puts his laptop bag onto the table before stretching himself out. There was a certain tightness to his shoulders that only happened after he'd hacked into somewhere. I wondered why that happened, but I push it from my mind. I wanted to get to bed as fast as I could. Jimin closed the door behind him after we went into the room. I simply fall face first onto the bed, not even dragging my legs onto it. My knee screamed in agony, but I couldn't bring myself to move. I hadn't fully woken up while I was cleaning up, so my brain lulled my body back to sleep. Slow, like it was pulling a struggling horse.
"Hey," Jimin says before slapping my leg. "Don't make me put you on the bed."
I swat at his hand, even though I miss. "Go away. Your side is over there."
His footsteps fade for a moment, then he comes back, and I feel cold trickle down my neck. I bolt up, wide awake now, and lungs for him. I grab his shirt and shove him to the ground, snarling loudly. The cup clattered onto the ground as we transferred, my healthy knee next to his hip while the other remained elongated. I had my fists balled in his shirt, forcing him to stay down.
"Asshole," I hiss.
He chuckles, a challenge glittering in his eyes. He leans up with a smirk. "Bastard."
I slam him back onto the ground. "Wanna sleep on the floor again? I can happily kick you off."
He grabs my shirt and rolls to switch places. He pins me to the ground by my shoulders, and his legs transferred to the sides of my hips. I growl, snapping up. That shine in his eyes was digging at me in the perfect way to piss me off. I wanted to slap him so hard, but his grip on my shoulders basically kept me where I was.
"Yeah? Can you now?"
"Get the fuck off me."
He pulls off and stands up. "Heal your knee properly first. Then fight me again. Until then..." He bends down, offering his hand. "I wasn't kidding when I said you only get to die by my hands."
I smack his hand before grabbing it. I pull my good leg under me and allow him to pull me up. I make damn sure our bodies don't touch. I sit on the bed, properly putting my injured leg up now.
"Good hitman."
I throw our divider pillow at the back of his head. I feel a little smug as he continues to his side of the bed and I see that his eyebrow is twitching in annoyance. I could still beat him at a pillow fight, even if he wrestled me to the ground.
~~~~~
A few more days were spent in a similar fashion, and I was getting so bored of just staying inside all the time. I started playing strategy games with Namjoon whenever he was free, video games with Jin, card games with Hoseok, and simplistic games so Jungkook wouldn't have to think too much. Learning the new games was a good pastime, but it still became too little. I ended up napping a lot since I couldn't even work out. Jungkook and I also watched the news a lot, wondering what exactly that run with Namjoon had been about. We watched clips of Chae's various businesses being invaded by the officials. The news stations even showed the information emailed to the cops from the email address 'wearebangtan', and something about that made me laugh. It was so straightforward and amazing. I could only imagine how much it had pissed Chae off.
Unfortunately, we didn't take any breaks. More anxious waiting lied for me in the living room. There were so many late nights, so many times I'd fall asleep on the couch because I refused to just go back to sleep in my room. At some point, it seemed that everyone expected me there after a mission. I'd be met with easy and tired smiles. There were a couple times I woke up later in bed, Jimin sleeping off on his side. I didn't know who moved me, but I didn't bother asking. I wasn't sure who I wanted it to be.
My knee got way better as time went on, and Jin had me doing light exercises to strengthen it. I wasn't quite to full capacity by the end of the week, but I was pretty close. I felt really good, so I joined in on the occasional sparring we'd do for the three practicing. Jin kept close eyes on me, but I didn't do anything that warranted being ordered to sit. It felt so good to move my body and to hit Jimin in the chest as hard as I could. It would annoy him, but what could he do? He's the one who challenged me. I just had to show him who's boss.