Yoongi was feeling on top of the world.
The cases he had just traded for seventy five million had taken him longer than usual to score, but it was also his best haul yet. And in addition to the cash currently secured at his den, he was minutes away from meeting a new, big-money client.
Today was his day.
If only Jungkook were here so he could rub it in his face.
"You're in a good mood," Jin observed from where he was now perched on Namjoon's lap.
Yoongi flashed him a rare smile. "Why shouldn't I be?"
Namjoon shrugged, leaning back against the alley wall, adjusting his grip around Jin's waist. He seemed to only be half paying attention, the majority of his focus set aside for the boy balanced on his lap. "Usually you're off brooding. We don't know what to do with happy Yoongi."
Scowling, he turned away from his soldiers, blocking them out. So what if today he was in an uncharacteristically good mood? Didn't that just speak to the unbelievable heaps of shit he'd been dealing with for the past few years? Jungkook had everything Yoongi had ever wanted. That's the way it had always been. But now... Now things would finally change.
Jin jumped to attention at the scuttle of loose pebbles skidding over asphalt, his hand flying to the large knife he kept strapped to his side at all times. A lock of dark hair fell in front of his eyes but he made no move to brush it away, focused intensely on the approaching figure.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Jungkook demanded harshly, coming to a stop a good distance away from the other group. His midnight eyes glittered dangerously as they locked with Yoongi's.
"If you must know, I have business here," Yoongi threw back sharply. His fingers slipped around the trigger of the gun stashed in his belt. The metal sang to him, urging him to release the tension building up in it. One shot was all it would take to silence Jungkook once and for all.
At Jungkook's side, the silver-haired boy - Reaper - shifted uneasily, casting a sideways glance at his leader. Yoongi had to admit he was rather beautiful, despite the fact that he was working with the person he hated the most in the world.
"So do we," he said. His high voice came out sounding more intimidating than the worried look in his eyes.
"Well, we were here first," Jin snapped. He pulled himself up to his full height, daring someone to challenge him.
The boy with the bright face, nicknamed Roulette, simply rolled his eyes.
"We can always remove you," Jungkook said with a wicked grin. The hesitation Yoongi had picked up on the last time they'd met was gone. Whatever had happened between now and then, he had erased every doubt from his mind.
Yoongi offered a Chesire cat smile in return. Two could play at this game. "Bring it, Vice. I'm not afraid of a little boy."
A muscle feathered in Jungkook's jaw at his offhanded dismissal but he kept his cool. This wasn't the first time Yoongi had prodded for his weaknesses and it certainly wouldn't be the last. But this was his turn to strike and he wasn't about to pass it up. He'd had enough of the elder's constant competition. If it were up to Jungkook, this rivalry wouldn't even exist.
The slender boy half-hidden behind Jungkook stretched a hand out to touch the boss's shoulder. Yoongi watched closely as the fire in Jungkook's eyes dimmed slightly as he turned to face the boy.
Jungkook was expecting Tae to tug on his shirt and suggest that they just return back to the den. He certainly didn't expect him to gently brush past him, stepping up to Yoongi with serene confidence. His sightless eyes focused on the Arsonist with uncanny accuracy and when he spoke, it was deadly quiet. "Maybe you should be."
Yoongi's smirk turned into a scowl. "And I should take warnings from a blind boy?"
Just as Yoongi was hoping for, Jungkook's expression twisted in rage and he started forward purposefully, but Taehyung, without turning, held out an arm and brought him to an abrupt stop. Jungkook looked at the older boy in shock as Tae offered a cool half-smile to Yoongi. "I may be blind, but I'm not useless."
Jin shoved past Namjoon, his knives glinting at his sides. "Enough of all the talking, why don't we just prove to these little-"
"Finish that sentence, I dare you," Hoseok snapped, his sunny deposition vanishing in an instant.
Jimin didn't even bother to step between the two boys, his own irritation growing. He was tired of Jungkook wrecking himself over this pointless feud of Yoongi. This had dragged on long enough. They didn't need to drag Taehyung into it as well.
"Why don't we just-" he started, but he was cut off.
"Good, I see you're all here."
The two gangs whirled at the sudden approach, jumping to attention.
A man silhouetted by the diagonal light cast into the alleyway offered them a loaded smile as he came to a stop in front of them. "I do love when people are on time," he said brightly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit.
The gang members exchanged respective glances.
"Who the hell are you?" Jungkook demanded.
"My name is Geun." The man glanced between all of them, his good mood not ruffled by the various weapons clutched by the members. In fact, he seemed completely unfazed. "I called you all here. I believe we have a deal to strike."
Yoongi shoved past his soldiers to get a better look. He'd be damned if he let Jungkook take control of the situation. He had already taken so much. "Us or the Purgatory?" he demanded.
Geun smiled. "Both of you."
The alley erupted.
"Oh HELL no!" Hoseok shouted while Jin scoffed, "For fuck's sake" and raised his knife like he was going to run it through the nearest enemy.
Namjoon rushed over to attempt to calm down Jin but Jimin simply stared at Yoongi with such a dark intensity that the elder almost took a step back. He looked like he wanted to set him on fire with just his gaze. And Yoongi wasn't so sure he couldn't.
But Taehyung and Jungkook remained eerily silent.
"We don't do business with the Cobras," Jungkook said an ice cold voice. Yoongi hated the shiver creeping down his spine at the pure menace packed into the simple sentence.
Geun shrugged nonchalantly. "Then I guess I have to find someone else to hire. It's too bad, really. They won't be nearly as worthy of the thirty billion won."
Jimin tore his gaze away from Yoongi. "What did you say?" he choked out.
"I have to find someone else to hire?"
"After that."
"Oh, you mean the thirty billion won?"
Jungkook exchanged a loaded glance with Yoongi, his dark eyes almost bright with hatred. "I'd rather die from a thousand shallow cuts than work with him," he growled.
Yoongi gave the younger boy a stiff smile. "Me too."
Geun's unbothered smile disappeared into the edges of a sharp frown. The abrupt shift set Yoongi on his guard. "The offer is for both groups. You'll need at least seven people to get this done, and with your combined strengths, it shouldn't be much of a hassle."
"Do the Purgatory even have strengths?" Yoongi muttered.
Jungkook started toward him, fed up with politics, but Taehyung grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and held him back. Yoongi didn't miss the fact that Jungkook could have ripped from the blind boy's grasp if he really wanted to.
"We'll do it," Taehyung said softly.
"What-" Jungkook began but Tae spoke over top of him before he could finish.
"And I'm sure the Cobras would be more than happy to work with us for their share of the money," he continued. Jimin genuinely worried for his friend's safety once he glimpsed the look playing across Yoongi's face.
"Wonderful," Geun said.
Removing his hand from his pocket, he tossed a small rectangular object in Hoseok's direction. Hobi caught it smoothly, curiously examining the thumb drive resting on his open palm.
"There's a shipment of drugs coming in from Gwangju in one week. It will be closely watched and protected. That thumb drive has everything you'll need to know."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Jimin challenged, tearing his attention away from the drive.
Geun flashed him a quicksilver smile. "You have nothing to lose."
"Oh and one more thing," he added as he turned on his heel. "I'd work quickly. You're not the only ones going after that shipment."
He didn't offer any other words of warning as the outlines of his figure faded, sinking silently into the shadows' embrace.
"What," Namjoon said slowly, "the fuck."