Jungkook looked at the two people before him, both bound to metal chairs in the middle of the poorly lit room. The woman, who's hair was slightly disheveled, looked scared, something that Jungkook had never seen before. He had to admit that it brought a smile to his lips seeing her scared of him for once.
Next to her was a very beaten man who had blood dripping from his hairline as well as his mouth. Jungkook's bloodied knuckles tightened as he glared at the man before him. He felt disgusted as he looked at the two people in front of him, eager to inflict pain on them both for the pain they caused him and Charlie over the years. He intended to wait for Charlie, but he couldn't help himself. He needed to take out his own pain and frustration.
Jungkook was breathing heavily as he glanced over to the back corner, seeing a very stoic Yoongi leaning against the wall. He was thankful for his help and his permission in bringing the Hellhounds here.
"Jungkook?" Charlie called from upstairs, causing everyone to glance towards the stairs.
"Down here!" Jungkook shouted.
Charlie was really confused as to why Jungkook had asked her to come to the shed out back. This place was reserved for the darkest parts of their job: getting the answers they needed from their targets or eliminating threats. You didn't go to the lower part to just hang out. She followed the light coming from downstairs before she let out a heavy sigh, tired from her sparring match earlier as she walked down into the dimly lit room.
"Kook why the h-" Charlie stopped when she saw her foster parents before her. She turned to Jungkook who looked at her with a serious expression, stepping back so she could step further into the room. She noticed Yoongi in the back corner and looked at him questioningly.
"Jungkook told me that there was something the two of you needed to take care of, so I'm just here to make sure things run smoothly," Yoongi informed her as he crossed his arms. Honestly, he was surprised when Jungkook had asked for his help. The leader didn't think Jungkook or even Charlie would be able to kill anyone, which is mostly why he stayed. He wanted to see if they would go through with it, and if they actually did, how this would affect them.
Jungkook walked closer to Charlie, placing a gentle hand on her arm as he leaned in towards her, whispering in her ear. "I think it's about time they paid for what they did." He stepped back, giving her a light squeeze, reassuring her that in this moment, she was in control.
The first thing Charlie did was turn and stare at the beaten man. She felt her heart start to pound erratically as her breathing became shallow with the rage that was rising within her.
"Well, look at you all grown up," he uttered, a smirk on his lips as he then turned to spit the blood from his mouth to the floor.
Charlie looked unphased and showed no emotion as she continued to look right at him
"I have always wondered what I would say if I ever saw you again," Charlie said. The man only gave her a disgusting smile as he chuckled a little, the blood-mixed saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. Charlie slowly turned her head towards the woman when she heard a small whimper, noticing how terrified she looked.
"Charlie dear, please let us go. We are so sorry for what we did, but look at you both now! All grown up, making friends." She motioned with her head towards Yoongi in the back corner. "We won't tell anyone! We can make a deal, just like we used to," she pleaded, giving Charlie a weak smile asJungkook scoffed at her words.
"It's not a deal when only one side benefits from it," Charlie growled. "You just wanted to keep us quiet. You got what you wanted before, but this time, it doesn't work that way. I'm done with making fucking deals," she said.
Charlie looked behind her and saw a small table pushed against the wall. Walking over to it, she found a small dagger and picked it up. She examined the smooth metal and ran her finger carefully over the sharpened edge. The light reflecting from the surface caught her eye as she briefly saw her own reflection on the blade. She looked over at Jungkook who was already watching her. He nodded to her and gave her an encouraging smile while he gestured to his back, moving slightly to show her that he had his gun with him.
With the knife in hand, Charlie took a deep breath and turned around, facing the old man again. His wife started to move a little more in her chair as soon as she saw what was in Charlie's hand.
"You don't have the balls to do it!" the man snarled, jerking forward as he tried to free himself from the restraints.
"You have no idea what I'm capable of now," Charlie said calmly. The man licked his lips and looked her up and down, noticing how she was no longer a young girl but a young woman.
Jungkook noticed the look on the man's face and felt his body tense up. He was disgusted that even on the brink of death, this man still looked at Charlie as if she was just another toy for his own personal use.
"Please! Don't hurt him! Please!" the woman pleaded.
Charlie jerked her head towards her, set off by her words.
"Don't hurt him?!" she screamed, giving up her calm and collected demeanor.
"You two are disgusting!" Charlie looked back and forth between them. "You tak in children just to get some extra money and then beat them!" She turned specifically to the woman. "You put a little boy in the hospital! How can you live with yourself?" Charlie shook her head, not understanding how someone could be so cruel. Charlie watched as the woman's scared expression harded at her words.
"Oh don't act so surprised. All kids are just the same. They never listen, never obey. Something had to be done in order to make sure he would learn to listen," she said.
"He's nine!" Jungkook yelled, stepped forward to face the woman. "I was sixteen, I could take whatever you threw at me, but he's just a small, scared kid." Jungkook was livid as the memories came back to him, the memories of objects being thrown at him and of her closed fists making contact with his face. "You won't hurt him anymore," he promised, his voice dangerously low. The woman's terrified expression returned as she knew that her time was dwindling.
"And then this one..." Charlie spoke again and pointed her knife to the man. "You will never put your hands on another young girl ever again!"
"Young girl?" The woman spoke up as she glanced at her husband.
"You were so wrapped up in how terrible that boy was that you were so oblivious to what your own husband was doing to that little girl under your roof!" Charlie started screaming. "What he did to me!" Charlie willed the tears to stay in her eyes as she bit her lower lip, trying to stop it from trembling.
Yoongi shifted against the wall, standing up taller as he realized that there was more to this family reunion than he was originally told.
He remembered the scene in his office that occurred about a year ago when he asked Charlie to seduce their targets. He recalled how against it Jungkook was, and even though everything seemed to go ok, Charlie was shaken up afterwards. Yoongi couldn't believe how stupid he was for not realzing sooner, and yet, Charlie had come so far from then. She took on the role happily and had gotten pretty damn good at it. He made the decision that if Jungkook or Charlie didn't kill these two, he definitely would. This wouldn't be the first time he'd have gotten his hands dirty.
The man smirked at Charlie, looking up at her. "You were always so-"
Charlie raised the knife in her hand, and in one swift motion, slashed the man's throat. The woman started screaming as she stared at her husband choking on his own blood. Jungkook grabbed the gun from the back of his jeans and pointed it right at her forehead. He felt himself pause for a moment, but then pulled the trigger, bringing silence to the room.
Charlie glared at the man in front of her, sputtering blood from his mouth as the life slowly left him, fear evident in his eyes. She recognized that look as it was the same look she would give him whenever he pinned her down. She watched as the blood spilled onto the floor and started to pool while she relaxed her grip on the blade, letting it drop to the floor.
The ringing of the metal hitting the cold concrete rang in her ears as she tried to process what just happened. She briefly looked over to see her foster mom hunched over, restrained by the duct tape that held her lifeless body to the chair.
Charlie walked towards the stairs, slowly trudging up the steps before stepping out of the shed into the cool, night air. Her hand brushed along the concrete wall of the shed as she steadied herself, thinking she would need to take a minute to calm her breathing, but she was shocked that she actually felt... perfectly fine.
"You good?" Jungkook said from behind her as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She turned towards him and couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips.
"Yeah, I'm good." She let out a small laugh and met his eyes. "Thank you," she said, knowing that he was the one who planned this and had asked for Yoongi's help. Jungkook smiled back at her. Before he could say anything, Yoongi appeared behind him.
"Clean-up crew is on their way. Why don't we head back to the house so we are out of their way." He motioned for the two younger ones to lead the way.
The three of them slowly crept into the house, a silence settling between them as they got back in from the back door. Not a sound was heard as all the lights were cut off, everyone else already having gone to bed hours ago.
No one questioned the disappearance of the younger two members or their leader. The guys all knew that Jungkook and Charlie were out late almost every night monitoring those kids and Yoongi tended to do his own thing, so no one really stayed up waiting for their return.
Charlie was the first one to head up the steps, Jungkook and Yoongi slowly trudging in tow. Before she could disappear down her room, she halted when she heard Yoongi softly calling her name.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice soft as he looked at her worriedly, still trying to process the new information he learned about her past, a queasy feeling settling in his stomach at the thought of what she had to endure and what he asked of her when he assigned her that stupid role.
She tried her best to put on a smile in hopes of reassuring him, but he could see right through it. "I'm fine Yoongi, I just want to go shower and be alone for a bit," she admitted while he nodded, deciding it was probably best to just give her some space.
"If you need anything-" he started only to get cut off.
"I'm good Yoongi, I promise," she reassured before slipping away into her room.
Yoongi let out a heavy sigh before turning towards Jungkook, noticing the young boy standing in the hall, staring at his best friend's bedroom door. He hesitantly reached out, patting the younger boy's shoulder while Jungkook looked up at him, unsure of what to say.
"Let's talk," Yoongi insisted, ushering Jungkook into his room to make sure no one would overhear their conversation. Jungkook nervously stepped in, glancing at the neutral tones of the bedroom while Yoongi shut the door, his expression serious.
"I, uh, I don't really know what to say," he started, his eyes locked onto Jungkook's. "I didn't know how bad the situation was. Why didn't you guys tell me about this shit sooner?" he asked, feeling the guilt settle in as all the pieces started to fall into place. It all made sense now: their reaction to when he asked Charlie to be a seductress, the way she reacted after that first mission, everything. No wonder Jungkook was always so damn overprotective of her.
"It wasn't my place to say anything. Besides, Charlie doesn't like bringing up the past, for obvious reasons. She has her own way of dealing with things, and I'm not about to be the one to tell her what she should and shouldn't do," he replied while Yoongi nodded, staring admirable at the kid in front of him.
"You're a good friend Jungkook, and I know I don't do this sentimental shit a lot, but I'm proud of you kid, for always being there for her and protecting her when she needs it," he stated, causing a small smile to form on Jungkook's face as he looked up at his leader.
"Thanks," he shyly mumbled, trying to maintain eye contact.
"I'm assuming that was your first time killing someone. So, how're you feeling?" Yoongi asked, the conversation returning to a heavy mood as Jungkook paused a moment, thinking about his emotions. How did he feel?
"I think I'm fine," he confessed. "Is that fucked up? I just killed someone, but I don't feel bad about it." He found it slightly disturbing how satisfying it felt to do that and couldn't help but question his sanity as he felt no remorse for taking another life.
"No Jungkook, it's not fucked up," Yoongi said, an amused smile on his lips. "They fucking deserved it. You were just doing what you had to in order to protect those kids. I'm not saying that violence is the answer, but sometimes, the justice system doesn't always work out the way we'd like it to. Life isn't always fair, so sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands in order to make sure there's a balance. Don't overthink it, as long as you feel okay, then there's nothing to worry about," he reassured while Jungkook nodded in response.
Yoongi observed the young boy, trying to make sure he was truly okay. There was one thing still on the leader's mind that he needed to address before dismissing him for the night. "There's one more thing. Look, I just saw the both of you kill the people who had abused you for years, and I know you both claim to be fine, but I still need to make sure the expectations are clear. This was your first kill, and it definitely won't be your last, so I need to make sure that the both of you are confident in whatever you do moving forward. I know Charlie's past has never really seemed to interfere with her... work before, and I admire that about her. However, could you please make sure that what just happened doesn't change that?" Yoongi looked right at Jungkook, shifting back into his mafia boss persona. "This won't be the last time either of you kill someone kid."
"I'll talk to her," Jungkook replied, a small smile on his lips as he stared at Yoongi. Yoongi smiled back, nodding his head before dismissing him, watching intently as the younger boy walked out of his bedroom.
~☾~
Jungkook felt all the tension in his muscles loosen as the hot water cascaded down his skin, the stress from the past week finally lifted off his shoulders. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he could breathe.
After cutting off the water, he was quick to get dressed, a towel still draped over his shoulders as he lifted one side in an attempt to dry his hair, walking down the hall to Charlie's room.
He lightly knocked on her door and waited for a response, but didn't receive one. He knocked again. She has to be here. She said she was going to take a shower, so maybe she's still in the bathroom. Jungkook slowly opened the door a little to see if he could hear the sound of water, but when he only heard silence, he became worried. Opening the door further, he stepped into her room and felt a cool breeze, noticing the open window.
"Dammit," he quietly said, taking out his phone as he dialed her number.
"Hey," Charlie said on the other line.
"Where the hell did you go?" Jungkook asked, clearly concerned.
"Geez relax! I'm at Cliff Hangers enjoying a drink," she replied.
Jungkook was confused as to why she would go to their club this late at night for a drink, especially alone. They had alcohol right here at the house if she needed it, but what seemed to bug him the most was that she didn't even bother telling him.
"Why didn't you let me know?" he asked.
"Didn't know if you would go right to sleep or not. I figured I'd give you space." Jungkook could hear the hesitation in her voice, almost like she was holding back from him. In all honesty, she didn't want to bother him and needed an escape.
"I actually came to check in on you, wanted to make sure you were ok." Though he wouldn't admit it to her, he didn't really want to be alone tonight.
"I think I'm ok! Hey, why don't you come join me?" Charlie's voice sounded a bit more chipper.
"Give me about 20 minutes and I'm there. Oh and have you seen-"
"Gigi isn't working tonight. You're in the clear," Charlie replied, chuckling lightly.
"Thanks. See you soon then," he replied, rushing to his room as he quietly got his jacket before leaving the house.
Charlie sat at the bar staring at the black granite bartop and how it would shimmer in the light if you moved just right. She needed time to process everything and her shower just didn't give her the clarity that she was seeking, so she figured she would make a trip to their club.
It was a slow night and apparently Trixie was sick today, so Cherry was serving Charlie her requested mocktails. Cherry was surprised to see Charlie out this late and by herself but didn't question her, which Charlie was thankful for, so thankful that she almost unloaded everything.
Charlie couldn't understand how calm she was feeling right now. She wasn't upset or shaken, but she finally felt like she could let go of her past, of everything that happened. She thought about asking Jungkook to come with her earlier, but she didn't know how he felt either and figured she should focus on herself before bringing him with her. However, as soon as she saw his name appear on her phone, she couldn't help but to smile.
She felt a bit guilty for making him worry, but she couldn't deny the relief she felt hearing his voice. Even just being away from him for about an hour made her miss him, and she was glad that he agreed to meet her.
Sitting at the bar, her hair was still a little wet from her shower. She threw on a pair of jeans and wore the combat boots that Jimin had gifted her, one of Jungkook's sweatshirts that he had left in her room topping the whole outfit off. She loved disappearing in clothing and he always smelled so good anyway that it was a double comfort for her.
As she stared at the glass in front of her, a small commotion coming from the right caused her to look up, noticing the small group of men who had walked up to the bar to order drinks. They were quite loud, earning the attention of some of the patrons who looked up at the group and shook their head at the small disturbance.
"Fucking assholes," Charlie muttered as they kept calling for Cherry, trying to get her attention since she was on the other end. Charlie could feel her irritation grow when they started whistling at Cherry, hoping to get her attention another way. "Hey, dumbasses, she's busy at the moment so give her a sec, okay?" she finally snapped, glaring at the group who stared at her with wide eyes.
She then noticed how one of the guys brushed it off before a playful smirk appeared on his face. Great, here we go. She watched him with narrowed eyes as he walked closer towards her, now occupying the seat next to hers.
"Sorry about my friends, they can get a bit rowdy after a couple drinks," he said, his eyes glancing down at Charlie, amused by her attire for the evening.
"Yeah? Well maybe you shouldn't be ordering any more drinks then," she replied, not even bothering to spare him a glance as she turned back to her drink while he let out a light chuckle.
"Fair enough," he replied, still grinning as he continued to stare at her, eager to talk to her more. "I'm Will," he introduced, putting his hand out for her to take while she glanced down at it before looking into his eyes.
"I'm not interested," she replied before turning back towards her drink. Cherry had rushed to the other side of the bar, reaching the group of men before her eyes flitted towards Charlie, noticing the expression on her face as some guy was trying to talk to her.
She turned her attention to the group in front of her, making note of their orders as she worked on preparing their drinks, all while glancing every once in a while towards Charlie.
"How about you join my friends and I? I'll make sure to show you a good time," Will said, his hand resting on her knee as he spoke. Charlie's body froze, her head immediately snapping towards the man who wore a small smirk on his features as he waited for a response.
"Get your hand off me," she muttered, feeling her heart accelerating at his touch, wishing that he would back the fuck off.
"What's wrong?" he asked, not hearing her words as he leaned forward, his hand traveling up higher onto her thigh.
"I said get your fucking hand off of me!" she snapped, quickly standing up from her seat before glaring at him. He was taken aback by her reaction, but it didn't seem to phase him much as he thought of it as another challenge to overcome.
He started walking closer towards her again, trying to remain calm as he gave her a reassuring smile. Cherry nervously watched, her eyes immediately roaming the room in hopes of finding Raven or any potential back-up to help out.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you or anything," he said, his hand wrapping around her arm in an attempt to reassure her, but it only made matters worse.
This time, she didn't say anything but reacted instead. She moved quickly as she grabbed his arm, immediately bringing it behind his back before shoving him against the counter. His friends stared in disbelief as she leaned in closer towards the man. "I warned you, next time a girl tells you to not to fucking touch her, you listen, got it?" He quickly nodded his head, eager to get away from her.
"Everything ok here?" Charlie felt relieved at the familiar voice, immediately letting go of the guy before turning around as she saw her best friend standing there, eyes focused on her as he made sure that she was fine. He knew she was capable of handling herself, but seeing her pinning that guy down made him wonder what the hell happened before he arrived.
"Yeah, everything's good," she said, walking over towards him as he pulled her aside, making sure they were a good distance away from the bar and the other patrons.
"You want to tell me what the hell happened?" he quietly uttered as he stared down at her, his hands resting on her shoulders.
Charlie let out a light laugh as she shook her head, brushing his touch off of her before giving him a small smile. "I'm okay, I promise," she reassured while he nodded.
His conversation with Yoongi popped up into his head as he stared at his best friend. He needed to make sure that she was still good after what they had done. He cleared his throat before he leaned in closer, his voice hushed.
"About earlier... If you had to do something like that again, you'd be okay with it, right?" he asked, remembering Yoongi's words and how he'd reassured him that he would talk to Charlie about it.
"Yeah, as long as it's for the right reasons, I think I'd be able to handle it," she confessed while he nodded. "You?" Jungkook nodded and she grinned at her best friend as a thought popped into her head. "Hey, I have an idea," she stated, causing him to groan before playfully rolling his eyes at her.
"Well shit, if you have an idea, it's bound to get us into some kind of trouble," he replied, causing her to teasingly growl at him before lightly hitting his arm as he chuckled at the response. "Alright, what's your idea?"
"Let's go paint the town like we used to," she suggested.
"Paint the town?" He asked, furrowing his brows in amusement.
"It's an expression," Charlie rolled her eyes. "Let's just... go have fun." Charlie stared at him, waiting for his response. It didn't take him long to decide that he would go anywhere she wanted him to. He quickly nodded, causing her to smirk before grabbing his arm, tugging him out of the club.
Raven, who happened to see Charlie pinning the guy down at the bar, waited until both her and Jungkook left before approaching Cherry.
"Hey, where the hell were you?" Cherry asked as Raven walked up to her, letting out a sigh of relief. "I could've used your help earl-"
"With Charlie?" Raven interrupted, staring intently as Cherry nodded. "What happened anyway?" she asked, listening carefully as Cherry explained everything.
"I'm worried about her Rae. The look she had in her eyes... I'd seen that look before," Cherry whispered. "I know she can take care of herself, but for a moment, I saw it," she mumbled. "I saw the same scared expression that I'd seen in the mirror every day when I used to date that asshole."
Raven looked at her friend and closed her eyes, shaking her head.
"I was afraid of that," Raven mumbled as she felt her heart break just a little. Her suspicions of Charlie's past and her true pain finally revealing itself. "I need to make a call."
A/N: Problem solved right?? Hopefully both Jungkook and Charlie can move forward now.
Thoughts? ------------>