Jungkook whirled on Taehyung the second they entered the den, his fiery rage blazing through the cool exterior he'd assumed in front of the Cobras until it was reduced to ashes.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" he demanded, grabbing the front of Taehyung's shirt in his hand and backing him into the nearest wall. The air in Taehyung's lungs left him in a shocked breath.
Jimin didn't think he'd ever seen Jungkook so angry, especially not directed at Tae.
"Jungkook, he didn't mean-" Hoseok started worriedly, reaching a hand toward the younger boys like he was going to stop them.
Jungkook silenced him with a single look, tightening his grip on Taehyung. The elder boy flinched but he refused to cower.
"You were going to lose the biggest score you've ever received because of your goddamn pride," Taehyung snapped, finally finding his voice. His mouth twisted into a scowl. "How long are you going to let this stupid rivalry dictate everything in your life? He didn't even do anything to you!"
At that, Jungkook let out a bitter laugh, shoving away from Taehyung. He shook his head. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Just like you had no idea what you were doing when you accepted that deal."
He turned toward Hoseok, thrusting an arm toward him. "Give me the thumb drive. I'm going to show Geun just what I think of his offer."
Hoseok's hand reluctantly crept toward his pocket but Taehyung stopped him with a hand, staring at Jungkook with incredulity. "Are you really going to throw away your share of thirty billion won for this petty competition?" he asked.
Jungkook's nostrils flared but Taehyung pressed on.
"If he's taken so much from you, why let him take anything else? Show him you don't care enough to even think of him as a threat. Show him that he has no hold of you anymore. Don't feed into this."
For a second, Jimin actually thought Jungkook was going to punch the older boy.
Finally, he said in a voice like velvet over steel, "Give him the drive, then."
His impassive midnight gaze focused on Hoseok before drifting back to Taehyung, his anger growing with every second. It was a bomb ticking, inching slowly toward the end of the countdown. "If he wants to be in charge, let him be in charge."
Taehyung wanted to open his mouth and force him to see the reason behind his actions, but something held him back. He knew this wasn't a regular situation where one soft word would excuse him from all punishments. No, this time Jungkook was furious. And there was nothing he could do to calm him down.
Without another word, Jungkook swept out of the room, his footsteps like gunshots in the silence.
Taehyung swallowed hard as he heard the rattle of a door being slammed. He snapped out of his reverie when he felt Hoseok press the slim device into his palm, curving his fingers around it protectively.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Hobi said quietly.
"Me too," Taehyung murmured. He clenched his fist so that the sharp edges dug into his skin, enjoying the small burst of pain exploding across his palm. This is what he betrayed Jungkook's confidence for. He couldn't let it be for nothing.
"What the hell are you doing?" Jimin hissed as he grabbed Taehyung's arm, yanking him back around to face him.
The younger boy gently shook free of his grasp. "I'm proving my worth."
Turning his back on the concern etched across Jimin's face, concern he couldn't see even if he wanted to, Taehyung headed for the corridor he heard Jungkook disappear down, tracing his mental map as he followed the path back to his room. The thumb drive in his hand beat a second heartbeat against his skin, mirroring his fears. Every passing beat echoed as words, haunting him even as he retreated into the solitude of his mind.
Liability...
Useless...
Broken...
This was his chance to do something. His chance to prove that he was so much more than the disability that impaired his sight. He may not know what his surroundings looked like or what time had done to the face he recognized as his own, but he could do this. He could give something back to the people that had taken him in and made him one of their own. He could show them that they didn't make a mistake when they chose to save him.
His fingers brushing against the edge of his room's doorway, Taehyung paused, painfully aware of the closed door just across the corridor. Through the walls, he could hear the unchecked rage. He winced at a harsh smashing sound, straining to catch the next noise. Taehyung averted his attention as what he thought was muffled sob bled through the layers between them.
Jungkook thought he made a mistake in accepting Geun's offer. Although the other boy would never admit it, Taehyung knew it was because he didn't believe in him. He didn't trust that he could handle it on his own.
But he had to make him understand. He had to do something useful because...
Because he was tired.
He was tired of leaning on every shoulder presented to him, led down the path of life by the hand. He was tired of sitting in his room, anxiously fiddling with trinkets he couldn't see, wondering whether his friends were coming home in one piece.
He wanted to be more than the little kid they came back to at night to tuck in.
The flash drive was heavy in his hand, full of all the promises he clung to so desperately.
He had to bring them into reality. No matter the cost.
• • •
Yoongi enjoyed the pain shooting up his arm as he drove his fist into the first wall he saw. "That little blind bitch!" he screamed, startling the boys at his side. But he didn't care.
After everything he'd worked to accomplish, after all the blood, sweat and tears he'd put into building his own empire up out of the shadows, all it took was three words from an absolute nobody to ruin everything for him. All those years of hard work and now he was right back to being eclipsed by the sun that was Jungkook.
When would it be the moon's turn to shine?
"A cut of thirty billion isn't too bad-" Namjoon started helpfully but Yoongi shut him up with a deadly glare.
Jin frowned as he leaned a shoulder against the wall, absentmindedly weaving one of his daggers through his fingers, the silver flashing with every new movement. "How do we even know those Purgatory freaks are going to tell the truth about whatever information they send us? I wouldn't put Jungkook above setting a trap for us and then taking the thirty billion for himself."
Yoongi froze, scowling.
Jungkook would like that wouldn't he? To see him brought low because of his arrogance while he profited. Oh how he'd talk about him, knowing he'd finally and fully taken everything from him and demolished the game so that it could no longer tip in Yoongi's favor. In the chessboard of their lives, all the moves that had led up to this moment - ruined. And nothing would be left to prove Yoongi was ever close to winning.
"We'll take the job."
Jin and Namjoon, who had been in the middle of debating Jungkook's spotty morals, looked at him in shock.
"You can't be serious," Namjoon stammered. "After all your railing against him? I've heard you say that you were going to kill him in a million different ways, just so you could see the light leave his eyes over and over again."
Yoongi ran the tip of his finger over the metal barrel of the gun, finding comfort in its strength. "And when the job's done, who says I won't?"
"Now that's the Yoongi I know," Jin grinned.
Namjoon glanced between the other boys uneasily. He was brilliant, but his mind wasn't exactly suited for the torture his members entertained in their hearts. "How do we know he won't double cross us first? You could walk in there with a plan and find a dagger sticking out of your heart."
At that, the Arsonist smiled. It was a wicked smile, born of kindled hatred and a thirst for revenge. Namjoon flinched a little even though he knew the violence it harbored wasn't meant for him. "Then I guess we'll need leverage."
Jin frowned, halting his knife's movement through the air. "What do you have in mind?"
The wicked smile grew into a malicious grin. "A certain thorn in my side. Someone needs to teach him a lesson about who's in the charge."
His companions' brows drew together in confusion, not following his line of thought. Namjoon wasn't sure he wanted to as he drank in the vehemence in Yoongi's wildfire gaze. What sort of things went through that mind soaked in resentment?
Yoongi smiled coldly as he strode for his den's entrance. "Prepare for the worst," he called over his shoulder. "No one's walking away from this a winner."
He walked alone through the army he'd managed to claw up from the gutter to create. Instead of priding himself on his accomplishments, he only saw room for improvement. He only saw Jungkook's smirking face, sneering down at the kingdom he had built.
He wanted to put a bullet through that smirk, and he was sensing that this was his chance.
He wasn't about to let it go to waste.