Kim Seokjin rummaged through the bathroom drawers, sighing in relief as he found his pair of emergency contact lenses. He took off the ones he was wearing, making sure the door was locked beforehand and stared at himself in the mirror. There was nothing major. His cuts and injuries had already healed, the sedates used in his body almost flushed out of his system entirely, bringing in new problems.
He cursed silently at his eyes. He had hoped that the eye color would have returned normal, but it hadn't. His right eye remained the same color since birth, a dark brown. His left eye had taken on an emerald green color, specks of gold glinting off it. No matter how much he blinked it was still there.
Emerald green. The color of ownership. Ownership and betrayal.
It was a color utilized by the government to recognize its traitors. Once injected into the system, it begins corrupting the person, breaking down their free will, slowly detaching them from the rest of society. They become a pawn to the government, a slave, bending to the will of others. It also dampens the connection of the Perfect Match. Traitors had no right to their Perfect Match connection. They were meant to pay for their sins. The Perfect Match was a gift that the government gave their people. Traitors didn't deserve such a gift. It wouldn't take long for Seokjin to fully succumb to the effect of the green eyes. Once he did, he would lose his connection with Namjoon and be tied to heed Taehyung's every word.
Even if it could kill him.
There was no alternative solution to the green eyes. Not ones that have been successful anyhow. Namjoon and Seokjin had been trying to find a cure for years, to no avail. All potential cures had been proven ineffective and Jin didn't want his match to worry about him. Yoongi was the main focus here. So for now, Jin would wear his contacts and hope that his match would be oblivious to their dampening bond.
"Jin?" Namjoon asked from outside the door."Are you okay in there?"
Jin quickly put his contacts on, changing his expression completely. He unlocked the door, smiling brightly at Namjoon.
"Of course I am." Jin said, kissing Namjoon quickly on the cheek."How's Yoongi?"
"He's not waking up." Namjoon responded."He's slipped multiple times. The longest period has been a full minute. It's not looking good."
"Hoseok?"
"We're keeping him in a dormant state for now." Namjoon said, frowning."None of the suppressants are working because of the extremity of the situation. Jimin and Jungkook volunteered to take care of the twins. Jimin didn't feel comfortable leaving them in the Nursery."
Jin nodded, pensive. before pulling up Yoongi's file."Do you think we can regenerate some of his organs?"
"That's what I was thinking." Namjoon answered, pointing to the files."We've already done plenty of blood transfusions on him, but his body keeps rejecting them. When he first got shot, the bullet hit the subclavian artery, which already set him towards the path to death. If he had stayed still, his heart wouldn't need to try to pump so much blood. The stabbing itself proved to be somewhat fatal. He did well in keeping the blade there or else he would have died at the scene. The blood loss he received from the gunshot wound is what messed his chances of survival. I would suggest the replacement of his stomach as that was what the blade ultimately hit as well as the spleen which was damaged."
"As long as we have some tissue from those organs we'll be able to replace them." Jin paused."Cryogenics. Do that. It'll stop the connection between Yoongi and Hoseok until we can bring him back fully. That's our best option. We need Hoseok available if Taehyung figures out where we are."
"He wasn't able to get through to you, was he?" Namjoon half-smiled. Jin shook his head.
"I told you I would hold out." Jin replied cheekily."Alright. Let's go get the samples and then we'll go freeze Yoongi's body."
They walked out of their room, Jin's heart flooding with guilt at lying to his love.
⌛
Ruby looked at herself in the mirror, eyes zoned in on her mark, which she realized upon closer inspection, was now turning back to normal. The mark itself no longer looked like a parasite. It was still black, but now it was blending in with her skin. If she looked hard enough she could see a hint of glow. It would only be a matter of time before the mark fully restored itself.
She needed to get out of here as fast as possible. To do that, she would have to manipulate Taehyung. Any wrong move however, she would most likely be killed.
After cleaning herself, she put on a shirt and some pants that Taehyung had laid out for her. Looking at the size, he knew they had to be his, but she wore them anyway. She could tell that Taehyung was trying to make an effort with her, leading her to believe that was the reason why she was taken by him in the first place. But she didn't want to be with him. He'd done too much wrong for her to accept him with open arms. She could not allow herself to be vulnerable to him. If she let herself open up to him, she would be on the opposite end of the receiving stick. She couldn't afford to gain feelings. She had come too far to not see Taehyung's justice being served.
But a small part of her had begun to nag at her, the same part that had played a role in Miyeon's death years ago. The small part that begged Ruby to give him a chance, to give him the benefit of the doubt. She knew better. After leaving, she had Namjoon pull up any files on Taehyung's family and she had learned they all had one thing in common.
They were a family known to be extremely possessive of the things they loved.
There were countless cases of abuse within Taehyung's family, including some who had mental illnesses. Kim Miyeon had been one of them, diagnosed with both bipolar disorder and obsessive love disorder upon death. Kim Taehyung had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. None of the Kims with mental illnesses and suffered abuse were ever apprehended and given proper medication.
She walked outside of her room, taking her time to inspect the unknown hallways. The house was a simple one, one that was still marked with luxury. It was two floors and modern, living up to Korea's current standards of home. She walked downstairs, smiling at the artwork that hung on the walls, a sweet smell in the air. Her stomach grumbled at the smell, wanting food.
"Smells heavenly," she commented as she entered the kitchen, where Taehyung had just finished laying the food he had just made."I forgot you loved to cook."
"I can't blame you." Taehyung shrugged."It's been years. Come on. Let's eat."
They both finished eating relatively quickly, Ruby making a move to excuse herself. Taehyung set the dishes in the dishwasher before catching up to Ruby, grabbing her wrist. She looked at him in surprise.
"Do you want to go outside?" he cleared his throat."It's kind of nice right now. We could go for a walk around and I can show you the property."
Ruby pursed her lips before saying, "Only if you answer this question."
"I'll answer as honestly as I possibly can." he smiled at her, causing her heart to do a double-take. It was the boxy grin that she had gotten used to seeing all those years ago, the smile that she had looked forward to seeing.
"How's Yoongi?"
A flicker of annoyance passed through Taehyung's face. "Really? That's what you ask?"
"Hey, I've been plagued with guilt over him. You stabbed him before kidnapping me." Ruby pointed out.
"Aaliyah." he groaned. She crossed her arms."Fine. As far as I know, he's in intensive care. I've heard talks of cryogenics. They have to regenerate some of his organs and cells, as well as blood. Hoseok isn't doing well either. He's been heavily sedated so he won't feel the pain."
"How do you know all of that?" she questioned. Taehyung shook his head.
"Nope. One question. I answered." This time he grabbed her arm, dragging her outside, despite her protests. She succumbed, letting herself be dragged outside, where it was in fact, a refresher from the inside of the house. She looked at the open gate, an idea already forming in her head. Taehyung watched her reaction."I wouldn't if I were you."
"Huh?"
"You're looking at the exit of the place." he drawled."It doesn't take a genius to figure out what you're planning to do. You try it, you'll die."
"I wasn't going to go anywhere," she muttered. Taehyung grinned at the response, coaxing her to the trail.
"It's really pretty out here." he said."Liyah, I think you'll like this place. Unless of course, your interests have changed."
Ruby's heart hurt at the look in Taehyung's eyes. They were different than she had seen them last, and it reminded her so much of the boy from years ago. His sparkle, his warm, loving eyes staring back at her. She forced herself to look away.
"A lot can change in a few years," she responded indifferently. Taehyung shrugged, leading her away. That's when she realized it.
Taehyung had called her by the nickname he gave her.
And she had done absolutely nothing about it.
a/n: i think i like me some soft taehyung. after writing 2.2.3 i watched bts run and seeing how tea was, it kind of inspired his soft side here. not at how bts all gay panicked at seeing the hot florist. and jungkook's bouquet of various loves ugh we love an lgbt+ king.
cryogenics: the branch of physics dealing with the production and effects of very low temperatures.
the concept of using cryogenics was actually inspired by a telenovela i watched in elementary. it was called aurora and it was amazing actually like one of the only telenovelas i watched. don't ask me why, over a decade later that telenovela is still stuck in my head because i cannot tell you 😔