The other end of the line was silent for a good minute or so, save for the deep, ragged and unsteady breathing. The sobs had died away almost immediately, though the breathing still hitched on tremulous ripples every now and then. Jungkook didn't even twitch, waiting in dead silence for Jimin to answer.
"This is... Jungkook, isn't it?" Jimin eventually spoke, voice thick and almost unrecognisable, quiet in a defeated way.
Jungkook replied shortly, voice a little terser than he'd meant for it to be. "Yes."
"Well. How have you been?" Jimin's voice was filled with reluctance and the resignation in his tone pricked at Jungkook's nerves. He quite obviously did not want to talk to Jungkook.
"Better than you, by the sounds of it." Jungkook replied flatly without missing a beat and Jimin gave a dry laugh.
"That's not hard to achieve. Where's Taehyung?"
"He's asleep. If you've broken your wrist you should go to the hospital, why bother Taehyung?" Jungkook asked a little frostily, fingers tightening around Taehyung's arm. Jimin didn't reply immediately, breathing gradually steadying bit by bit. Jungkook thought perhaps he shouldn't speak so coldly to his former best friend who was currently obviously dealing with some pretty serious issues, but the whole suddenly losing all contact for months without an explanation thing put a bit of a damper on his reconciliatory mood.
"I... I just wanted to talk to someone. Conversations are grounding, you know." Jimin replied quietly and Jungkook leaned back against the headboard of the bed, eyebrow raising a little. He still knew Jimin well enough to hear the unspoken "let me talk to Taehyung" loud and clear through his tone, but he wasn't going to oblige. He wanted answers, after all.
"Talk to me. Taehyung needs a lot of rest right now, but I'm wide awake. I've got all night." Jungkook stated airily, a lot lighter than he felt, and Jimin's silence blared out what he thought about that. But at least he didn't end the call. Perhaps he needed a prompt. "You said it was Yoongi, "again"? He broke your wrist? How do you even know that dickhead?"
"Don't call him that." Jimin's tone took a sudden steep dive down into threatening seriousness, and Jungkook twitched, a little taken aback at the stone-hard imperative. Looked like there was a bit of a story to tell.
"Why? What is he to you?" Jungkook asked a little sharply, a little provocatively, and Jimin clicked his tongue, drawing an audible breath in through his nose and exhaling slowly.
"He's my... boyfriend."
"Yikes. That asshole actually has a boyfriend? Not to mention well, you. How did you get yourself into an abusive relationship, Jimin? What have... you been up to? Why did you suddenly disappear from my life? That was back around when I first met Taehyung. Was it because of him? Or was it something that I did?" Jungkook couldn't stop the questions once they'd started, needing to bite the inside of his cheek to pause. He couldn't pinpoint any exact emotion within the swirling mess in his head, and wasn't sure how he was meant to feel, or how he should react towards his previously close friend's predicament, when he had no idea where he stood with said friend.
"Don't start labelling my relationship with him when you don't even know shit about it. I stopped picking up your calls and replying to your texts because I didn't need to stick around anymore. You met Taehyung who could babysit you instead." Jimin replied coldly, harshly, voice taking on a wholly unfamiliar scathing edge that shocked Jungkook. He grinded his teeth, fingernails digging into Taehyung's skin as anger began to simmer in his chest and burn at his throat.
"...What the fuck?" Jungkook spoke lowly, quickly releasing Taehyung's arm as he squirmed and made a small distressed sound. He hastily stroked his arm apologetically, running light fingers over the small indents in his skin and kissing the top of his head.
"I knew Yoongi wouldn't like you so I stopped hanging around you. I was right. He was so pissed after he met you." Jimin's voice snagged on a note of bitter resentment and a sort of hollow satisfaction at being right, Jungkook assumed.
"So he took it out on you." Jungkook replied tonelessly and Jimin snorted.
"You guessed it."
"So that's it? You went from being my best friend to blocking my number just because your boyfriend doesn't like me? That was ages before I even met him." Jungkook spoke flatly and Jimin laughed without any real humour.
"Nobody takes precedence over Yoongi. If he doesn't like you then you can go to hell as far as I'm concerned." Jimin replied completely seriously and Jungkook swore, laughing a little himself. Shit, this was worse than he'd've expected.
"I guess we're done talking then. Did you want to talk to Taehyung?" Jungkook offered lightly even though the distant, awkward words soured the corners of his mouth. He didn't know who to direct the ugly black anger coiled in his chest at. Yoongi for emotionally manipulating Jimin to this extent? Or Jimin? He didn't know exactly what he'd done to deserve this treatment but he was guessing he wasn't about to find out.
"No. Let him sleep. How are you two, anyway? Do you love him?" Jimin's sudden question rendered Jungkook's mind blank for a split second but the words sprung off his tongue easily.
"More than anything else."
"Are you treating him well?" Jimin asked and Jungkook paused at that, not wanting to continue this conversation, not when this abrupt Q&A session left a bad taste in his mouth. Now that Jimin had quite clearly expressed his feelings regarding Jungkook, there wasn't much left to say between them.
"None of your business." Jungkook replied tersely and ended the call. He let out a long breath, closing his eyes and letting the tension drain away from his stiff body. Perhaps if he was like Jimin, he would've just pushed Jinwoo away and he wouldn't have caused strain between him and Taehyung. But as much as he loved Taehyung, he didn't think he could do the same as Jimin. It put things into perspective a little, and Jungkook wondered what that said about him. Taehyung shifted against his chest and tilted his head upwards to blink sleepy eyes up at him, evidently having just woken up.
"Who were you talking to?" Taehyung mumbled and Jungkook paused, staring at Taehyung's soft, slightly disoriented gaze for a beat of silence before he smiled, kissing his forehead.
"No one." Jungkook replied easily and waited for Taehyung to settle back against him, watching his eyes slip shut again before clearing the call from the phone's call history.
~
December flashed by in a blur, the short days shortened further by Jungkook's work, the cold nights warmed up by Taehyung's soft laughter and sweet kisses. They fell into a pretty domestic, "married life" routine, which was strange considering how they'd fucked around in the past, sleeping during the day and sweeping their opponents' pockets clean of every last coin in the casino during the night. Nowadays they'd wake up in the early morning, leave for their respective workplaces after exchanging a brief kiss, then Jungkook would come back home after work first and wait for Taehyung, whose hours ranged from nine to fourteen. Depending on whether he came back early enough or not, they'd still go fuck around at BigHit, but otherwise they would just lie around and talk about everything and nothing all night. Jungkook fell more and more in love with each passing day, with each bright and beautiful smile, bit by bit, like the tiny snowflakes falling endlessly past the window panes.
Jungkook had played against Namjoon, Seokjin, Hoseok and unfortunately, Yoongi again, but he hadn't ever come across Jimin. He'd thought to maybe ask Yoongi about him, but Jungkook and Yoongi's relationship was progressing as smoothly as gravel so at that point he'd rather lick every poker chip in the casino than speak to Yoongi more than absolutely necessary. He'd bullied Seokjin into thirteen consecutive rounds one night before he finally managed to scrape a win, purely because of luck as all the peeled eyes fixed their way didn't allow for any tricks or cheats. Namjoon was a little easier, even if he still had no idea how he was winning, but he didn't question it anymore. Now that he'd climbed his way to the top, the only people that actually made Jungkook feel tension and uncertainty of the result of a game, and made him have to wrack his brains and adapt and push himself to invent new tricks on the spot (usually in vain, to his simultaneous frustration and excitement), were those four. Jungkook was still curious about the Dealer, the King of Suits, the Joker and the Two-Faced Bluff, but seeing as nobody knew who they were and whether they even played that many games at the casino, Jungkook was beginning to wonder whether they even existed. He'd asked Namjoon about it, who laughed and told him that the Joker and Two-Faced Bluff would find him if they wanted a game, and the other two constantly floated around the casino so chances were that he'd already played against them, he just hadn't realised. Jungkook supposed he, Namjoon and Seokjin were the only ones out of the seven that were really considered actually famous in the casino. From the sounds of it the other four just did what they wanted, playing around like normal gamblers, disregarding, or perhaps even going so far as to hide their casino aliases.
At first Jungkook's fame as the Red Ace went to his head a little, and he revelled in taking on all daring opponents, amusing himself by coming up with new, more complicated ways to crush them beneath his cards. But by now, the only real entertainment he got was out of games with Namjoon, Seokjin, Hoseok or Yoongi. The rest of the regular gamblers at the casino had started a sort of round-robin tournament like system, in which the victors would face off against one of the three known big names. It amused the three, so they just went along with it. Taehyung had entered one of the tournament rounds once "for shits and giggles" and ended up facing off against Namjoon. To the surprise of everyone, Jungkook included, Taehyung won without breaking a sweat, and he flashed that charming smile and swept away the cash like nothing had even happened. Namjoon didn't seem fazed either, just smiling a little resignedly as if he'd expected it. When Jungkook fought through the circle of awestruck onlookers and asked Taehyung about it, Taehyung just shrugged and said he'd never lost to Namjoon before. Jungkook was not above admitting that that had bothered him so much he forced Taehyung to play round after round with him until his bruised pride had been soothed with a score of tally marks under his name. Taehyung had laughed at him the entire time but played along without any complaint.
~
Jungkook had never really paid much attention to Christmas before, but as he helped with the company's Christmas deal promotions and watched Taehyung's eyes shine with childlike joy as he babbled on about it, by the time the day rolled around he'd become inexplicably excited.
Taehyung had hauled him away from work on the day of Christmas Eve, grabbing his hand tightly as if he would never let go throughout the entire day. He seemed to have had the day planned out, but seeing as it was Taehyung, that quickly fell apart into "oh I haven't been there in ages!", "Jungkook, that place looks so cool, let's go there next!", "Babe, come take a quick look with me!" and similar statements as Taehyung dragged him around the whole city. Jungkook had expected this level of spontaneity bordering on completely unprepared at the very least though, so he'd brought a spare scarf with him. As he'd expected, Taehyung had forgotten his, and Jungkook just sighed and wrapped his extra scarf around his stupid boyfriend's neck, tugging him close and kissing him firmly. Taehyung had giggled and pressed the freezing tip of his nose into Jungkook's cheek, rubbing it against Jungkook's face in a sickeningly adorable, publicly inappropriately intimate way that would have Jungkook punching him in the gut on any other day. But as the snowflakes dusted Taehyung's hair and melted against his cheeks and the hum of the street strewn with fairy lights surrounded them in a buzz of excitement and pure winter joy, he thought he'd overlook it.
It was around midnight and Taehyung was leading Jungkook somewhere with his hand pressed over Jungkook's eyes.
"Your fingers are fucking freezing. Where are you taking me?" Jungkook complained as he stumbled over the snow-slick pavement, taking uncertain steps forward. They seemed to still be in the giant square on the east side of town, judging by the continuous hum of excited friends, family and couples milling around on the beautiful, soft night.
"Oh shut up. Nowhere really." Taehyung replied brightly and Jungkook swore as he tripped over the uneven concrete.
"Then why won't you let me see where I'm going-" Jungkook grumbled and Taehyung hit his arm.
"No. No looking till I say so." Taehyung declared sternly and Jungkook sighed but smiled anyway as he heard the slight excitement brightening Taehyung's tone. He allowed himself to be led by gentle nudges and light touches without further complaint, focusing on the sound of Taehyung's voice as he excitedly went on about nothing of importance. They stopped soon enough and Jungkook could detect a sliver of nervousness in the way Taehyung shifted from one foot to the other beside him.
"Okay, now you can look." Taehyung let his hand drop and Jungkook instinctively looked to him first, blinking and adjusting his eyes to the sudden exposure to light, focusing on Taehyung's bright, gorgeous smile, lit up by the glow of all the Christmas lights. He glanced forward and felt his mouth drop open a little, taking in the huge, beautiful Christmas tree he stood directly in front of. It was easily as tall as the surrounding buildings, and was covered in silver, shining decorations as if someone had gathered stardust and sprinkled it over the dark tree, letting the starlight cascade down in rivulets. As far as Jungkook could see no two intricately designed decorations were the same, reflecting the light scattering of snowflakes drifting unhurriedly down from the impossibly dark expanse of sky. Most of the tree was silver, but bright, beautiful red lights and baubles streamed down in thin lines circling it. Jungkook could only stare in awe, a soft, indescribable feeling enclosing his body in warmth when he finally dragged his reluctant eyes away to gaze at Taehyung. Taehyung was unabashedly staring at Jungkook in the same way Jungkook had been captivated by the beautiful, giant Christmas tree. He stared at Jungkook like he was completely mesmerised and entranced, as if he couldn't quite believe his eyes, giving Jungkook the feeling that if he looked down at himself and saw his skin glowing with starlight, he wouldn't be surprised.
"You're so beautiful. I am the luckiest man alive." Taehyung whispered, eyes shining with boundless love and rapture, and Jungkook felt like he could burst with the unparalleled love and warmth spreading from his chest as he stared at Taehyung's slightly dazed expression, into his beautiful eyes. He couldn't bring words to his tongue for a few seconds, because no words were enough to express how he felt in that moment. Taehyung gave a small, somewhat shy smile, glancing up at the Christmas tree and reaching out to curl his pinky around Jungkook's own.
"I had a lot of money just sitting around gathering dust. Perks of being a gambler, as you know. So I donated this tree to the council, and I just wanted to show you, I guess. I thought about making it super colourful and Christmassy but... the silver's nice, isn't it?" Taehyung grinned as he stared proudly up at the tree and Jungkook's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait, this is your...?" Jungkook gestured helplessly at the tree as he trailed off, and Taehyung broke into a wide, breathtaking smile.
"Hell yeah it is. You like it? You know... I was just going to keep it all silver but... I put so much red on it because red's your favourite colour." Taehyung spoke softly, almost shyly, and Jungkook couldn't explain exactly why he felt the bridge of his nose burn, but he had to reach out and tug Taehyung close, burying his face in the crook of his neck and holding on for a while. He didn't say anything but Taehyung seemed to understand, wrapping his arms around Jungkook tightly. Jungkook wished time would forever stop in that moment as he heard the smile in Taehyung's voice.
"Merry Christmas."
~
Before he knew it, it was already February. Jungkook had gotten Taehyung a husky puppy for his birthday five days after Christmas, and Taehyung had bawled for about a day straight, alternating between hugging the puppy and hugging Jungkook to death. They named him Haru. They usually spent all of their time at home at Jungkook's house, but Taehyung begged to keep him at his apartment with wide eyes swimming with tears and Jungkook had to remind him with an exasperated laugh that the puppy was his, of course he could keep it at his own place. And so nowadays they spent all their spare time at Taehyung's apartment instead and Jungkook had never seen Taehyung happier, which, really, was all he wanted. He and Taehyung alternated taking days off to look after Haru and Taehyung joked that they really were like a married couple now, having become new parents with their own little baby to take care of. Jungkook didn't admit it, but the thought brought an unbidden smile to his lips whenever it popped up in his mind.
Jungkook's father sent him a happy new year text, and Jungkook didn't hear from him again after that. According to Jinwoo though, his father was quite pleased and even impressed at his aptitude for and progress at work and put him in a position that was about equal to Jinwoo after only two months of work. Jinwoo's extensive training had increased in intensity recently though, and there were rumours flitting about the company that Mr Jeon had disappeared. Jungkook didn't know what to think of those rumours, as to him, his father was in a constant state of "disappeared". But Jinwoo, although maintaining his usual relaxed demeanour, seemed to almost be preparing him for something.
Because of work and taking on more and more duties and managing roles, Jungkook hardly had time to go to the casino anymore, if he still wanted to see Taehyung and play with Haru. He hadn't been paying attention to much happening on the news or on social media either, the only aspect of the general public he focused on being the South Korean IT market situation.
Tonight Taehyung had firmly announced that Jungkook was in dire need of a break from work and made him pause everything and go to BigHit to unwind a little. Jungkook had protested at first but ended up giving in to Taehyung as usual, but now he'd certainly gotten some insight on Taehyung's work issues a couple months ago. Now that he was here at BigHit though, the familiar atmosphere and excitement drew him in almost immediately, and he was determined to forget everything for a while and enjoy himself for the night.
Namjoon, Hoseok and Seokjin had invited Jungkook and Taehyung to play a few rounds against them and a couple of others in one of the VIP private rooms and this was definitely new. Jungkook hadn't played against all three of them before, so this should prove to be interesting at the very least.
"Finally a game that'll actually be challenging. I haven't been so fired up since the last time I played against the Grand Dragon." Jungkook grinned uncontrollably wide, cracking his knuckles as he walked up to the door to the furthest room he'd ever been to, deep within the inner maze of the huge building. Hoseok said to keep walking until he got to the very end of the corridors, and here they were, faced by a set of imposing black double doors. Jungkook's blood started to surge in anticipation and sheer excitement, and he could barely keep himself still. He turned back to glance at Taehyung, smile dropping just a little as he took in Taehyung's subdued, almost withdrawn expression. Taehyung's gaze was fixed on Jungkook's sleeve, but he didn't seem like he could really see it. His eyes were blank, serious in the shadow of his fringe and downturned head, like he was focusing on something else, as if his mind wasn't really here. Jungkook frowned, a spark of worry shooting through him at seeing Taehyung so unexpectedly... down. What was wrong? He felt worry grow into anxiousness gnawing at his chest at the downcast expression he hadn't seen since their fight, so out of place on his boyfriend's handsome face usually filled with sunshine and vigour. He stepped forward, reaching out to touch his jaw, tilting his head up a little. Taehyung blinked and his eyes snapped up to meet Jungkook's, hand seemingly instinctively raising to cover Jungkook's own, holding it in place.
"Everything alright?" Jungkook asked quietly and Taehyung smiled easily, closing his eyes a little and leaning in to Jungkook's touch, like he was savouring the feeling and committing it to memory.
"Yeah. Just nerves, I guess. I mean, it's not every day we play against both the Blank Card and the Grand Dragon, right?" Taehyung smiled but Jungkook caught it faltering for just a fraction of a second and frowned, leaning forward to kiss Taehyung softly, slowly. Taehyung exhaled against his lips, wrapping his arms around the back of Jungkook's neck almost possessively, like he was making sure to assert that Jungkook was his. When Jungkook pulled away, Taehyung's eyes remained closed for a second, like he was still holding on to the feeling before he opened them and smiled, a lot easier and brighter than before.
"Are you worried about losing big? It's okay, I beat both of them before, and I'll be extra careful. I'll watch them the entire game to make sure I don't miss any tricks. I'll treat you to wine in Vegas once I've won." Jungkook smiled hopefully reassuringly, and Taehyung laughed at that.
"Confident? Well I wouldn't expect anything less. I'll hold you to that." Taehyung replied lightly and Jungkook grinned, turning back to the doors.
"Red Ace! Have a seat, have a seat." Namjoon waved Jungkook in as he pushed the doors open wide to enter the room. Jungkook waved in greeting, nodding to the rest of the players in the room. All people he'd played before, Seokjin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Namjoon and...
"Jimin?" Jungkook stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening as he saw Jimin sitting comfortably beside Yoongi. Jimin gave him a bright, welcoming smile, relaxed and friendly as if he hadn't gone MIA since that one night he'd met Jungkook's father. The last time he'd talked to him was that one accidental phone call before Christmas. How many months had it been since Jungkook had last seen him? Jimin didn't look any different, like nothing had changed since then, but it had, of course it had, otherwise why would Jimin be sitting here now? Jungkook thought he'd quit gambling.
"Jungkook! How've you been?" Jimin greeted effortlessly naturally, and Jungkook narrowed his eyes, not moving an inch, nor replying, and he saw Taehyung step forward in his peripheral vision.
"...Jimin? Where've you been? I haven't heard from you in so long, what happened?" Taehyung spoke up almost distantly, little tremors fluctuating in his voice, and Yoongi stared at him strangely.
"Come on sit down guys, I'll explain everything and tell you what I've been up to after this game." Jimin grinned brightly, tone dismissive and Jungkook didn't budge, expression stone cold as he stared at Jimin. His eyebrows lowered a little as he noticed a faint spot of purple peeking above the neckline of Jimin's shirt, and a bluish tinge to his cheek. Looks like Yoongi hadn't let up on the violence since Jungkook had found out about it. It procured a twinge of pain in Jungkook's chest, seeing the evidence with his own eyes and knowing his former best friend, the person he used to care about the most was being abused by his own boyfriend.
Yoongi frowned, pinning Jungkook with a distasteful stare, although Jungkook was plenty used to that. Jungkook decided it wasn't worth having Yoongi start a fight with him before they'd even started playing, and quietly took a seat, flicking his gaze away from Jimin and taking in his surroundings instead. The room was spacious, bigger than Jungkook would've expected. The round table was centred in the middle, and directly beneath a small chandelier, the only light source in the room. The corners of the room were drawn in shadow, and the sofas and pictures lining the walls were difficult to make out. The furthest corners was completely dark and Jungkook had a strange, chilling feeling of being watched. Added to the heavy velvet curtains hanging here and there, the room gave off a somewhat macabre, eerie vibe. Jungkook wasn't too bothered by it. He was here to play cards.
"Uh... Alright, let's get started! Any beers or anything? No? Good because I can't be bothered going all the way back up to the bars to fetch some." Hoseok grinned and Jungkook felt himself relaxing some, avoiding looking at Jimin altogether. He'd ask him about everything later. For now, his senses were tuned into the game. "Alright, so since we got quite a few big shots here, we were just talking about some additions to the rules before you guys came. Wanna explain, Grand Dragon?"
"We'll play Texas Hold 'Em but we'll add some rules to do with how much money you can win with different cards. Times the amount of money each person's betted by two if you win with a nine of clubs in your hand. Times by four if you have all of the suits in your hand. Times by two if you win with a two in your hand. Times by two if you win with an ace of spades in your hand. Times by three if you have a flush of spades. All good?" Namjoon fired off and Jungkook quickly ran over the additions in his mind, memorising them and nodding.
Jimin piped up. "What if you have more than one two?"
"If you have one two, times by two. Two twos, times by four, three twos, times by six, four twos, times by eight." Seokjin spoke and Jungkook quickly redid the maths in his mind, trying to figure out the best hand. Now with these new rules he'd have to reconsider what cards to swap out. Of course, the ranking hadn't changed, if he had a three of a kind and his hand had all four suits, his winnings would be multiplied by four, but it wouldn't matter, it'd be useless if someone else had something like a flush and beat him.
"Okay let's play!" Hoseok declared and the game started.
Yoongi won the first round, with a flush of hearts. Jungkook, Seokjin and Hoseok had folded early, so didn't lose any money. But everything was mild to start off with anyway, well, for millionaires like themselves. Jungkook hadn't known Jimin was one, until he saw the shit ton of money he'd brought. The tacky sofas were put to good use as they held the piles and piles of cash everyone had brought with them.
Jungkook lost the next five rounds, losing roughly 300,000 dollars worth in chips, quickly getting reacquainted with the insanely good hands and impeccable poker faces of the other players of the room. They were the only people that Jungkook couldn't see through, the only people good enough that Jungkook actually had to play fairly with, or there was a high chance of getting called out on a cheat, and losing big money because of it. Though his eyes moved non stop, flicking from one person to the next, gauging their reactions when they picked up cards, studying their expressions through the betting rounds, taking note of what cards each person won from, he could not pick up on the slightest hint of well, anything. It was sharply thrilling, but also quite worrying. There came a certain point when such a thing would no longer be a challenge, but could become dangerous, especially with what seemed like a serious game.
Seokjin was the worst. He certainly lived up to his name. Staring at him was like staring at a brick wall. No, bricks had far more variety and colour than Seokjin's expression. His face was a white canvas. It was infuriating, but Jungkook had to begrudgingly admire it, like he had since he first lost against him. Even when Seokjin won the third round, his face didn't break character for one millisecond, even as he was sweeping away the chips he'd won.
Yoongi just looked pissed like always, but remained remarkably one shade of pissed. Even displaying such colourful emotion in a room of blank, masked expressions and controlled faces, it was still impossible to find a chip anywhere and peek into his thoughts.
Hoseok was similar, although he wasn't angry. He laughed and smiled and cracked a few jokes that Jungkook had to admit made him laugh, setting a more pleasant, easygoing feeling to the otherwise tense atmosphere. But still, Jungkook couldn't tell what he was thinking at all. Even when he made jokes his eyes that were lit up in mirth betrayed nothing towards the cards in his hand.
Namjoon, Jimin and Taehyung were all about the same, Namjoon's expression on the more serious side, Taehyung's expression on the more blank side, Jimin's expression somewhere in between. Whatever it was, they were all impenetrable, and Jungkook had to say, it was quite frustrating.
Taehyung had been extremely quiet since the game had started, occasionally chewing at his lip or fiddling with his hair. He hadn't looked Jungkook's way once and though his expression was blank as usual, there was a certain... distant look to his somewhat glassy eyes. Jungkook shrugged internally. Taehyung always went really quiet during poker.
"Raise you by 10,000."
"Match that and raise by 30,000."
"Match."
"Full house."
"Flush."
"Straight."
"Two pair."
"Three of a kind."
"I fold."
"Fold."
Jungkook chewed his lip, affecting an idle, laid back air but he was nervous. Rounds and rounds had passed and he hadn't won a single one. Taehyung wasn't much better off. He was nervous and he hated it, hated how his eyes started to dart around faster, less steady and his breathing less settled, entire body wound up tight, nerves tingling. He couldn't be sure any of the players were cheating, hell, he'd been watching every one of them so closely his eyes were starting to hurt, but he hadn't seen anything. Luck was just not on his side today. Usually he wouldn't have to worry about little things like luck, but he'd already lost plenty, it wasn't safe to risk being caught cheating. The shadows gripping the room seemed a lot more intimidating now, like dark claws curled towards the table in the centre of the room. Now that Jungkook thought about it the room seemed abnormally cold, but he was still sweating, beads of it lining his neck and tracing the hairline at his temple. Nervousness was building up in his stomach, his chest tight and he wondered whether the others could see the tension wafting off of him. Maybe he'd sit out a few rounds, get himself back together.
Jungkook was the big blind the next round though, so he gritted his teeth and decided to play one more. Seokjin dealt the cards, and Jungkook picked up his to see a king and jack of spades. What was it again? Flush of spades... times by three wasn't it. Jungkook felt his heartbeat quicken. There was a chance to win back all that money. He kept his expression impossibly neutral even as his thoughts were frantic and ceaseless, tumbling around his chaotic mind. He hadn't won since the game started, if he raised by a huge amount would that set off alarm bells for the other players? Maybe they'd fold right away and Jungkook would lose this opportunity. But if he didn't raise too much he'd also lose this opportunity to win back all his losses at once. Who was currently winning? Jungkook swept his gaze over the piles of chips. Namjoon. That was bad. Maybe he should just risk it if he got a flush.
"Red Ace? You playing?" Hoseok interrupted his thoughts and Jungkook offered a humourless smile, pushing forward double the minimum amount to play. Jimin shot him a look. All the other players matched and Seokjin laid out three cards. Six of diamonds, queen of spades and ten of spades. Jungkook blinked and pushed forward 50,000 without missing a beat. He leant back and scratched his hair, the picture of calm, casual. Inside was an entirely different matter. Seriously? He now had a ten, jack, queen and king. All he needed now was an ace to get a straight of royals. Even if he got a nine or something lower, as long as it was spades, he'd get a flush of spades. But... If he got an ace of spades... Wouldn't he have gotten a... a...
"Fold." Seokjin spoke, bringing Jungkook back to the present, and Jungkook snuck a glance at the others. He'd already lost one potential pocket of money. As usual, Jungkook couldn't fucking tell what was going on with their cards, but at least no one else seemed to be folding, at least not at this point. Nobody spoke, and Jungkook glanced at Taehyung. He still seemed lost in thought, running a fingertip over the edge of one of his cards. Jungkook frowned. Maybe he'd ask to take a break after this round and see what's up.
Seokjin put out an eight of clubs as the next card after everyone matched, and Jungkook continued to raise, feeling excitement start to thrum through his veins. Maybe the next card. Maybe. Taehyung, Jimin and Hoseok folded. So just Yoongi, Namjoon and Jungkook left. Jungkook could barely sit still, antsy with anticipation. Surely, this time...
An ace of spades.
Jungkook was sure his poker face failed him in that moment, as his disbelieving eyes took in the lovely sight of his favourite card. Jungkook quickly reined his expression back in, checking over the cards to make sure. He had a ten, jack, queen, king and ace - all of spades. A Royal Flush. Of spades. Jungkook felt his heart stop for a solid second or two. Jungkook hadn't thought it would ever happen to him, at least not without him cheating a little. Jungkook raised with trembling fingers, and quickly drew them back, hoping no one had noticed. He was now betting 120,000 dollars. Namjoon raised by 30,000 and Yoongi and Jungkook matched. Jungkook was almost bursting with excitement at this point, breaths coming in short spurts. His skin itched with anticipation and his pupils were almost shaking.
"Well, Red Ace? Show us what you've got." Hoseok smiled genially, as if he didn't really expect Jungkook to win. Jungkook savoured the moment before he showed his cards, taking in the looks on everyone's faces before he turned over his king and jack of spades. It took a moment, but finally, finally everyone's poker faces cracked. Even Seokjin's eyes widened. Jungkook swallowed.
"Royal Flush."
Hoseok let out a low whistle.
"Shit. Haven't seen one of those in a long time." Yoongi laughed a little flatly, just missing the note of humour, and Jungkook felt the rush of glee, of crazed triumph surge through him. Ah yes, here it was. The feeling Jungkook had been chasing after, the high of hearing the bitter acceptance in his opponents' voices, of seeing their eyes widen in incredulity and feeling the weight of the chips he'd won in his palms. Taehyung's wide eyes seemed to monitor Jungkook's expression, before he glanced seemingly randomly at the other players. Jungkook wondered what he was thinking. Was he relieved that he'd folded? Wasn't necessary, Jungkook wouldn't take money from Taehyung. He'd just give it back to him after, wasn't it obvious?
"A Royal Flush with spades. Damn. Well we better all pay up. 150,000 times by three... 450,000, then times by two because of the ace... 900,000 each. Holy shit." Namjoon exclaimed lowly, and Jungkook could feel the confidence, the thrill rushing back all at once as he took their chips. 1,800,000 at once. This was what he lived for.
A few rounds later, Jungkook and Seokjin were in the lead, and Taehyung had won the past three so he came in a close third. Jungkook had no idea why he looked less happy than before. It was almost as if he was counting down to something, waiting for something inevitable. Jungkook studied Taehyung's downcast eyes, finding nothing within the usual bright, warm brown orbs. There was definitely something wrong. Screeches and shouting erupted from the next room down and Taehyung's eyes snapped up, as Hoseok sighed and stood, making his way over to the doors left ajar.
"So noisy. Let's shut these, shall we? Hoseok announced to nobody in particular and everyone else took that as a break in the tense game, stretching and shifting from their positions, Jimin murmuring something to Yoongi. Jungkook still kept an eye on them, just to see whether their faces would give anything away now.
"Jungkook." Taehyung's low voice cut through Jungkook's thoughts and he turned to face Taehyung, eyebrow raised. Taehyung tilted his head towards him and smiled, a little tiredly. "I love you."
Jungkook blinked in surprise, breath hitching, heart fluttering a little in his chest at the unexpected, soft statement. Why now? It didn't make Jungkook feel any less warm inside, and Jungkook felt like his face was dangerously close to breaking into a smile, but he was a little confused at the timing. He stared at Taehyung's half closed but steady eyes, the small curve of his lips and was about to reply, but the moment passed, Hoseok sat back down and everyone's attention was back on the game. Jungkook glanced at Taehyung again, whose eyes were now fixed forward, a new, purposeful air about him. His spine was straight, and his gaze strong. Jungkook had no clue what was going on.
Namjoon was dealing, and he put out a two of spades, a four of clubs and an ace of hearts. Jungkook's cards were an ace of clubs and a nine of hearts. He wasn't sure at this point what he could get, but at least he had a pair of aces. Jimin and Hoseok had folded at the beginning, and Jungkook checked along with everyone else, not confident to start raising yet.
The next card was a two of diamonds. Jungkook now had a two pair. Jungkook flicked his gaze around habitually, and he almost blanched in shock at actually seeing a tiny, tiny, almost imperceptible sliver of emotion on the players' faces. Was this because of how thrown off they'd been from the Royal Flush? Or had Jungkook managed to draw himself back together, and the hints had been there all along, he'd just been too anxious and jittery to spot them? So far things were looking good for Seokjin, Yoongi, Taehyung and Jungkook. The other three... They were going to fold, weren't they? Jungkook felt a thrill snake down his spine, at finally being able to predict something. Surely enough, once Seokjin raised and Yoongi matched, Jimin and Hoseok folded. Jungkook raised a little, Taehyung matched, and Namjoon folded. Seokjin and Yoongi matched and Jungkook bore his gaze as subtly as he could into their eyes. He still couldn't tell what cards they had or what sort of hand they were after, damnit.
Jungkook held his breath, making his entire body go still in anticipation as he waited for the last card. Namjoon put out the ace of spades. Jungkook felt his heart jump, and he quickly checked over his cards. A pair of twos out on the board and a pair of aces... plus Jungkook's ace made a full house. Not bad at all. Jungkook raised and Taehyung matched then raised, choosing a really oddly specific total amount of 140,625 dollars worth in chips. Seokjin and Yoongi folded and suddenly it was a showdown between Jungkook and Taehyung. Nobody had been speaking before, but the room seemed to quiet down even further, a blanket of tense, analysing silence shrouded over them, as the very room seemed to hold its breath. Jungkook lifted his gaze up to Taehyung, arching an eyebrow and trying to pick apart Taehyung's expression that he could normally read so well. Taehyung didn't seem too nervous or tense, but his expression was utterly, utterly blank, eyes steady and unflinching and Jungkook found that he couldn't relax for some reason, even though this was Taehyung. Even if Taehyung beat him, what did it matter? Taehyung wouldn't actually take his money. Jungkook took a breath, hushing suddenly chattery nerves and turned his cards over, showing his full house.
"Oh, full house." Hoseok commented, and Jungkook offered a grin at Taehyung, wondering if Taehyung was going to show his cards or not. Had Jungkook won?
Then Jungkook's blood froze, as Taehyung gave him the coldest, most frighteningly distant smile Jungkook had ever seen directed his way.
Taehyung flipped over his cards, a two of clubs and a two of hearts.
"Four of a kind." Taehyung announced softly, tonelessly, and Jungkook blinked, repeating that in his mind. Okay, so, Taehyung had four twos and an ace, so yes, a four of a kind. He'd beat Jungkook and won 140,625 off him. But... wait... Jungkook eyes slowly widened in horror until his eyes felt like they were going to pop out, the chilled air stinging the whites of his eyes, his pupils reduced to slits as he realised what a horrible mistake he'd made. It was like a slap to the face, as Taehyung began speaking.
"I have an ace of spades, so 140,625 times two is 281,250 dollars. I have all four suits so 281,250 times four is 1,125,000. And since I have four twos... That's 1,125,000 times eight. You owe me nine million dollars exactly, Jeon Jungkook." Taehyung explained flatly, briskly, professionally, his words clipped and terse, tone brittle and unfeeling, nothing like the warm, low voice Jungkook loved to listen to. He steepled his fingers and rested his chin against his fingertips, like he was in the middle of a business transaction, nothing like the fun, laid back, spontaneous boy Jungkook had fallen in love with. His eyes were depthless shards of ice, nothing like the warm, bright gaze Jungkook could lose himself in for hours on end. And it hurt, as Jungkook began to realise, that he'd made a very, very big horrible mistake.
"You're serious." Jungkook asked softly, needing to make sure, needing to fucking make sure Taehyung, his lovely, wonderful, precious Taehyung was asking- no, demanding Jungkook to pay him nine million dollars. Of course, by that point, Jungkook had already realised, deep down, below the layers of sheer disbelief and baseless, desperate and ugly remnants, fragments of hope, that Taehyung had been demanding the money of him since the very first night they'd met. But desperate as Jungkook was, he clung onto that hope, that it wasn't like that, somehow.
"Dead serious." Taehyung replied steadily, tone stone hard and unyielding, handsome features drawn in a serious, emotionless expression, the face that Jungkook had fallen in love with morphing into something almost grotesquely foreign, like Jungkook was staring at a stranger. Jungkook could feel his breathing start to stop and start irregularly. His vision was shaking, just a little along the sides. His thoughts started to stretch and crash and merge into each other, creating an incomprehensible tangled mess. He felt his fingers trembling a little. His tongue was lead in his mouth.
"The first time I saw you, I thought you'd be easy. Looks like I wasn't wrong." Taehyung remarked, voice dismissive, abnormally loud, oppressing in the silence of the shadows of the room. There was a cruel neutrality to the way he said it, like he was observing something small and unimportant, commentating on a documentary. Jungkook said nothing because he didn't trust his voice, not when Taehyung's words were like a knife slicing into the base of his throat.
"Have you realised that there are seven of us here?" Taehyung asked quietly and Jungkook began shaking his head slowly, denying the truth, the blaringly, painfully obvious reality that had been parading in front of his unseeing eyes this whole time. Taehyung, as well as Jimin, Yoongi and Hoseok were part of the seven big players of BigHit. Taehyung worked here. He worked together with the other five excluding Jungkook to set people up. His job was to cheat people out of their money.
Jungkook was just a task number.
Jungkook felt his lips twitching upwards in a phantom smile, still shaking his head almost compulsively. Taehyung's warm, gentle gaze when he first told Jungkook that he loved him swam through Jungkook's mind carpeted in a dazed layer of incomprehension. Taehyung's lovely small, seemingly instinctive smile as Jungkook would lace their fingers together flashed behind Jungkook's eyes, like it was mocking him. The sincerity circling Taehyung's low voice when he'd told Jungkook that he was the best thing that had ever happened to him rang out in his ears, seeming to laugh at him.
"What does that mean?" Jungkook breathed, but he understood what it meant. He just didn't want to.
"I think you know." Taehyung murmured after a moment's hesitation, gazing Jungkook in an unreadable way, the tiniest dash of emotion slipping into his tone, a little tremor and Jungkook felt like he was going to be sick. Icy claws gripped at his insides, piercing deep through him, carving out their marks and numbing his body, freezing it so he could barely move properly. His mind was starting to spin, his vision going in and out of focus, and the shadows of the room seemed to lengthen and lunge towards him as he half rose from his chair and stumbled backwards, only to feel two faceless men appear out of nowhere and grab hold of his arms and force them behind his back. One of them grabbed a fistful of his hair and shoved his head down against the table with an audible, painful thunk that Jungkook barely registered. It was nothing compared to the mind numbing, agonising pain of watching Taehyung regarding Jungkook in a cold, unfathomable way from above. The disbelief, pain and betrayal stayed Jungkook's tongue, allowing him only to stare helplessly, wide eyed up at him. He could only focus on Taehyung. The rest of the world around him moved sluggishly, images distorting as if he was underwater, sensations plastic and unreal.
"Taehyung, you..." Jungkook murmured, not knowing how the sentence was going to end, how it was supposed to end. Taehyung said nothing, and the simple pause of silence was enough to make pain burst and erupt in flames in his chest. Jungkook felt like he was swaying with the force of it, dizzy and disoriented even though he was quite firmly being held in place.
Namjoon was saying something. Something about his debt, and how the money was to go to BigHit, and not to Taehyung directly, as Taehyung was a worker. Something about BigHit being an underground mob gang. Namjoon was leader apparently. Jungkook couldn't hear anything properly, wasn't paying attention at all to whatever insignificant shit Namjoon was spewing out right now, all he could see, all he could focus on and torture himself over was the sight of Taehyung glancing away from him as if it was that easy, then getting up from his seat.
"Taehyung." Jungkook whispered as Taehyung pushed back his chair.
"Taehyung." Jungkook called out louder this time as Taehyung turned without a second glance, walking towards the doors. An ugly black and red swirl of emotion rose to the surface, rearing up as violent blotches over his swimming vision. Jungkook snapped, attempting to lunge forward, to reach Taehyung and force him to stop and look at him. He was stopped by the heavy hands holding him down as he stared at Taehyung's retreating back.
"Taehyung! Are you for fucking real? Are you fucking kidding me? You've been stringing me along to set me up in one shitty round of cards for half a fucking year? You've been playing me for half a fucking year?! None of it was real? You were lying to me the entire fucking time? You told me you loved me to get money off me? Give me a fucking answer Taehyung. Taehyung!" Jungkook shouted at the top of his lungs, anger blazing through his entire body, unbelievable pain at the betrayal completely overtaken by the rage. He gritted his teeth until the pain in his jaw rivalled the tight knot of pain in his chest, before spitting and yelling out again. "Answer me!"
Taehyung responded by shutting the doors behind him. Taehyung's bright, wide, beautiful smile flashed in his mind's eye and Jungkook tried to lash out and struggle to his feet again but one of the men landed a heavy punch to the centre of his back. Jungkook felt the air in his lungs shoot out all at once, feeling pain crack across his torso and crying out, drawing in a sharp, raw breath.
He kept his eyes fixed on the closed doors, clenching his teeth and ignoring the searing pain over his right shoulder blade.
Was it right that Jungkook felt as though the pain of Taehyung's cold gaze resting on him hurt more than the thought of losing nine million dollars?
~
"Have you watched the news recently?" Namjoon was speaking, but Jungkook couldn't really hear his words. After they'd deemed him calm enough to be treated civilly, he'd been dumped in his vacated chair, the two lackeys standing on either side of him. For what, Jungkook had no idea. Did they think Jungkook was going to make a run for it? Did they really think he had the strength and energy for that?
Taehyung had closed his eyes and held Jungkook tight, like he didn't want to let go, right before they'd entered the room. Was he pretending even up till then? What was he thinking right now? Was he relieved that he finally didn't have to put up an act? A damn good, realistic one. He had Jungkook fooled from day one. Was Jungkook like a weight on his shoulders that he could finally shrug off today? Jungkook knew he must look wretched, not even trying to conceal or alter his hollow, desolate expression. His stomach had squeezed itself tight, mouth dry and his head throbbed with jabs of pain every now and then. He could barely feel it. The pain that had spread from his chest and encroached on the rest of his body, down to the very last nerve ending had numbed, somewhat, and Jungkook's mind couldn't focus even if he tried. He did try to listen to Namjoon, he really did. After all, nine million was no small sum. He was royally fucked.
Luckily, Yoongi helped him out with that.
Yoongi got up from his seat and punched Jungkook in the face, not holding back whatsoever, knuckles cutting into Jungkook's cheekbone. Jungkook's face snapped to the side, feeling the bone give just a little, just shy of fracturing, and heat explode in his mouth as his teeth dug into the soft skin of his cheek. Jungkook clenched his teeth, eyes closed against the pain, expression contorted, giving himself a moment before he pushed around the blood gathering in his mouth, spitting it out on to the table and lifting his head, eyes boring into Yoongi murderously, though he said nothing. His face burned and throbbed, the inside of his cheek stung and the punch had driven a sharp shard of pain directly into his head and if nothing else, at least now Jungkook could concentrate. His mind hadn't... cleared as such, but all thoughts of Taehyung had been shoved to one side from the force of the blow.
Although the chandelier lit up the entire table, Jungkook felt like he was placed under a spotlight in the otherwise dark, broody room, with the five pairs of keen, hostile eyes fixed on him. With the current scene, Jungkook thought it was rather like an action movie set. The main character got caught by the gang of " bad guy" antagonists and was about to be interrogated, threatened, or killed in the dark lighting, and had to find a way to escape so he could live another day to get rid of the gang and put an end to their evil ways - It was funny in a way, Jungkook thought. Now that he was experiencing it himself, the situation was nowhere near as exciting and bad-ass and dramatic as the action comics and movies he watched as a kid. Especially since he, the main character, wasn't trying to find a way to escape. He felt hollowed out, distant, disconnected, as if the pain in his cheek was his imagination, as if the pain in his chest was someone else's. He felt like he was watching the scene outside of his body.
"So what's the deal, Grand Dragon? Why am I suddenly a captive? You gonna try rip the money off of my body? Sorry but I'm not wearing anything expensive today. There's the 1.8 million I won and the money I brought but that's about it." Jungkook heard his voice saying those words but it was like they came out on their own. Yoongi punched him again and Jungkook felt hot, burning pain burst in his jaw and streak across his face, gritting his teeth again and swearing audibly, head spinning. The simmering anger was back, and Jungkook slit Yoongi a glare. His face was going to be black and blue for much longer than he'd like.
"When we're not playing cards you don't call him Grand Dragon. Refer to him as 'boss' from now on, you asshole." Yoongi growled and Jungkook bared his teeth up at him, feeling anger starting to course through him. He was going to just accept the shitty hand he'd been dealt but he wasn't passive, he wasn't a pushover, it wasn't in his nature. Now that the tone of superiority and disdain had sparked the fire of anger inside of him, Jungkook wasn't going to take this defeat and humiliation quietly.
"We're talking cards because those five cards are the reason I'm still here, and I'm gonna keep calling Mr Mafia over there Grand Dragon. He's not my fucking boss, and why the fuck does it matter to you what I say to him?" Jungkook spat and Yoongi punched him again, right over the newly forming bruise, and Jungkook snapped and sprung to his feet, throwing a punch of his own, fist just narrowly missing Yoongi's nose as the two nameless men quickly grabbed ahold of him, yanking him backwards and Jungkook yelled out in frustration, fingers itching to make brutal contact. He lashed out with his leg instead, planting his foot in the centre of Yoongi's chest and kicking him a good metre or two away, putting all the force of his swirling anger behind it. Yoongi staggered backwards, face twisting in pain, eyes screwed tightly shut and he coughed once, violently, clutching a hand to his chest. It brought Jungkook sharp sense of vindictive satisfaction.
"Stop fucking punching me! Do you punch a person every time they say something you don't like? You must be good at shutting people up! You look so used to it as well, I'll bet you get plenty of practice using your boyfriend's body as a punching bag, right?" Jungkook snarled viciously, any sense of tact crushed beneath the black wave of rage, and Jimin blanched, his entire face going shockingly white as it drained of colour, eyes flying wide open. It looked like Jungkook had hit right where it hurt, if Yoongi's expression was anything to go by.
"...Oh? You can't own up to it? Jimin, if I didn't want to tell you to go fuck yourself, I'd suggest you find yourself a nicer person." Jungkook felt his expression twist and contort, his lips stretching into a sharp, sardonic smile, and perhaps if he was in the right state of mind he'd have been concerned at himself. But it was like some switch had been broken inside of him, broken then stamped on, flattened out, cut into pieces and flung out the window to shatter against the pavement. Jimin flinched visibly even from where Jungkook was standing, turning his head away, jaw locked tight, entire form rigid and frozen in place. He looked like he was going to be sick. Good, that made two of them.
Yoongi lunged at him like he was going to beat the living daylights out of him, and Jungkook gave him an obnoxious jeering grin, goading him to do just that. His head was killing him anyway. Passing out was an appealing option right now.
"Stop." Namjoon's voice cut across, firm and brittle, and Jungkook kept his eyes fixed on Yoongi, lips still stretched in a dangerous lopsided smile, mouth hanging open a little to draw in air, his chest heaving and arms straining against the fuckers holding him back. Yoongi halted, visibly grinding his teeth together, eyes blazing, but he turned on his heel and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Jungkook shrugged the hands off of him none too gently, shooting them both glares before plonking himself back down in his seat. His blood was boiling, racing through him and his fists were trembling with the urge to fight, but he settled for fuming and directing his murderous stare at Namjoon instead. Who, considering everything, was very calm and collected. As if absolutely nothing had happened. Seokjin and Hoseok were staring surreptitiously at Jimin, and Jungkook guessed the nature of Jimin and Yoongi's relationship had been an unpleasant revelation for all of them. Perhaps not Taehyung.
Taehyung.
Jungkook dug his nails into his thigh, using the stinging pain and sheer willpower to drive his thoughts away from Taehyung.
"Anyway, you haven't seen the news, have you?" Namjoon continued almost conversationally and Jungkook responded by gathering the blood that had pooled in his mouth again on his tongue and spitting it out.
"What if I haven't?" Jungkook growled and Namjoon made a gesture with his hand and a guy seemed to materialise from the shadows of on the corners of the room, handing Namjoon a newspaper. Yesterday's issue, a quick glance told Jungkook. Ha. So he was right, he was being watched from the darkest part of the shadows.
"Take a look. It's front page news, exciting stuff." Hoseok made a jerking motion of his head, angling his chin to point towards the newspaper Namjoon slid across the table to Jungkook. Jungkook cracked his neck, taking his time, before picking it up and smoothing it out, stretching it flat.
He almost dropped the newspaper.
"My father's in prison?"
~
Notes:
Ah this chapter has finally come :D
10000 words yikes
This is not proofread and there are probably tons of mistakes sorry! I wrote some of the stuff at the end ages ago like when I'd only just posted chapter 8 so if there are inconsistencies or things that don't make sense with the rest of the story please tell me!
Man card games are so hard to write :// I feel like maybe I should have come to this realisation a while ago considering the fact that my entire fic is based around card games oops... All in all I'm not the happiest about this chapter considering the whole turning point plot twist thing, I feel like this could've been executed a lot better but.... Anyway ignore me lmao
And so yes! The big seven are, you guessed it, the BTS members :) I've dropped hints throughout the story as to who is who, so it shouldn't be too hard to guess~
(I sort of want to take a break from this fic just maybe for a few weeks and start posting my vampire!au! Obviously there's going to be kinky shit and since the author is me, it will be a dumpster of unnecessary angst sooo is anyone keen on reading lmao)
Thanks for reading! :)