Another week had passed and Bangtan had yet to find a lead.
All the members had been on edge since there had been radio silence from Ganghan. Yoongi had been pushing everyone to work harder, unsettled by the quiet. Ganghan was planning something, and they needed to figure it out, fast.
Hoseok was out monitoring the streets in Ganghan's territory, confirming that it had indeed been too quiet lately. Yoongi was getting frustrated and hated how he felt like a sitting duck. They could strike at any moment and he needed to make sure they were ready, that they would be able to strike first.
"Look, they're probably just laying low," Namjoon reassured, eyes locked with the leader's. "They know we're onto them, so they need to be more cautious. They've finally realized that we're a threat, and they need to make sure to lay low so they can continue their business without our interference."
It was well past midnight, the two hashing out the details of their next steps in Yoongi's office while the rest of the house was asleep... with the exception of one member.
Taehyung had been overworking himself, staying up all hours of the night trying to find something that would get them closer to Ganghan. He spent hours coding his system to receive certain notifications when there was activity that could potentially be Ganghan. There were prominent, dark bags forming under his eyes, small red veins taking over the sclera of his eye, both a clear indication of sleep deprivation.
He was currently sitting in his tech lab, eyes locked on the various monitors in front of him as he kept scanning through the information, sifting through every little detail as he tried to find a morsel that would at least give them a bit of hope in finding something useful.
He let out a heavy sigh as he pushed his chair back, rubbing at his eyes as he tried to blink away the irritation before focusing his attention back on the screen. He pulled himself back towards his desk as he continued to try to find something, but the fatigue was taking over, his eyes fighting to stay open as he felt his head lull slightly before he finally let it fall onto his desk.
He was asleep in a few seconds, light snores emitting from his lips accompanying the sound of the low hum coming from the desktops. A few hours had passed before a knock was heard at his door, but he didn't budge since he was still in a deep sleep.
The door creaked open, revealing Charlie with a small mug in her hands. A sad smile settled on her lips as she walked towards him, noticing the drool that was pooling on his desk. She chuckled as she set the mug down, gently moving his fluffy hair out of his face before a small frown settled on her lips. She observed his features, taking note of the signs of exhaustion as she stared at his pale features.
She wished that he would take better care of himself, and couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for not checking in more often with him. She had been so distracted lately with Jungkook that she hadn't gotten much of a chance to check up on Taehyung. He had been barricading himself in his cave for the past week while the members allowed him to just do his own thing, not wanting to bother him since he was determined to get to the bottom of this.
A loud ping from one of the monitors resonated through the small room, jerking Taehyung out of his sleep while Charlie glanced at the various screens, trying to find the source of the noise.
Taehyung's eyes momentarily scanned the room, eyebrows furrowed as he noticed Charlie standing there before his eyes widened in realization as he quickly whipped his head towards the monitors, frantically trying to find the source. He moved fast as he noticed how his coding earlier had actually worked, intently staring at the screen as an ad popped up for a model from a new company that he didn't recognize.
He clicked on the ad, reading the specifics while Charlie stood close behind him, leaning in as she read it as well. We're a new business hoping to recruit new models to work with famous brand names. Requirements: must have a toned body, in good physical shape, preferably dark hair, ages 18-21, height 5'6"-5'10". If interested, please contact TG Agency at (324) 563-6798. Charlie continued to stare at the ad, perplexed by how specific the requirements were. Something's not right.
"That's strange," she muttered while Taehyung hummed in response, his fingers clacking against the keyboard as he pulled up the IP address. Something was definitely off as he stared at the code in front of him, immediately noticing that it wasn't what he would usually see in a regular IP address. Something's definitely not right.
A small tapping sound was heard from beside him, pulling his attention as he noticed Charlie on her phone.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, peering over her shoulder as he saw her typing out a message, writing that she was interested in an ad that she found online for the agency and was hoping to start her modeling career.
"And now we wait," she said, smiling at Taehyung while he shook his head, amused by her antics and quick thinking. It only took about a minute before her phone chimed, indicating an incoming text message. "Well that was quick," she muttered. "Thank you for reaching out, blah blah blah." She skimmed through the message before her eyes stopped on the location for their meeting. "Please meet me at Paradise Hotel tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. sharp, room 613."
"Isn't that Mark's hotel?" Taehyung inquired, the dreadful memory from that night coming back to him as the sound of a gunshot echoed in his mind. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to push the memory aside as he tried to focus on Charlie's words.
"You okay?" she asked, earning a nod in response. "Hey, can we check the system and see if this guy has already booked the room?" Charlie asked, watching as Taehyung nodded again, going back to the screen as he pulled up the hotel log and noticed a recent booking posted for room 613 under the name Terran Gibson.
"Fuck, it's them," Taehyung muttered.
The two rushed downstairs, bumping into Jimin on their way out of the room before barreling into Yoongi's office. Namjoon and Yoongi both stared at the two, wondering what the hell had them worked up this morning.
"It's them! It's Ganghan!" Taehyung exclaimed, trying to catch his breath while Charlie nodded in agreement next to him.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Namjoon asked, confusion evident on his face as he glances between the two younger members.
"Taehyung found a lead," Charlie explained, causing both men to sit up while Yoongi urged them to go on. "An ad for a model popped up, and after reaching out to set up an appointment, a room was booked for tomorrow at Mark's hotel under TG. It's them, it has to be."
Yoongi's gaze met Namjoon's, the both of them sharing a silent conversation before Yoongi nodded towards the younger. "Go wake the others and let them know we're having an emergency meeting. We don't have much time, but everything needs to be perfect for tomorrow," he requested. Namjoon nodded before disappearing from the office, rushing to go wake the others.
The young leader turned towards the other two members, who were still in the room with him. "Thank you," he uttered out, rising from his chair behind his desk. "We better get going, we've got a lot to talk about."
It took about ten minutes to gather everyone, especially since it was a challenge dragging the youngest member of Bangtan out of bed. Everyone stood around the table, still half asleep with hair messily sticking up in all directions, waiting for a word from their leader.
"Taehyung and Charlie have picked up a lead on Ganghan," he started. Jimin straightened his posture as his eyes locked on his leader, heart rate picking up while he waited for him to continue. "Apparently they've put out an ad for a model, so Charlie set up an appointment and is meeting with the scumbag tomorrow night. We need to make sure that there are no gaps in this plan. I know it's short notice, but we need to be prepared, there's no room for any error."
"The first thing we need to consider is how we're going to get her to slip into the hotel without getting recognized. If Mark sees her, it's going to cause a lot of trouble, which we don't need right now," Namjoon offered, other members agreeing as they turned to Charlie.
"So, a disguise?" she asked, glancing at Namjoon while he nodded in response.
"Either that or a complete make-over. We're going to need to make sure you look different," he replied while Yoongi nodded in agreement.
"Her hair still has to be dark though, that's what the ad specified," Taehyung chimed in, while both Namjoon and Yoongi nodded in understanding.
"Maybe we can get one of the girls to come over later, help you out," Yoongi stated. "Now that we've got that out of the way, we need to figure out where to set up. Taehyung, make sure to find a room on the same floor. I'm sure we're dealing with some low-level asshole who's a recruiter for this fucker, but we still need to be prepared to take him down, so the closer we are to that room, the better."
Taehyung nodded in response, listening intently for the remainder of the meeting as they continued to hash out the plan. It took almost an hour for them to come up with a somewhat decent plan. Yoongi took a final look around the room at his team before dismissing them, calling Charlie's name before she could walk away.
"Could we talk for a minute?" he requested.
She nodded in response, stepping back towards him while the others slowly cleared the room. Taehyung rushed to his cave once more to book a room at the hotel where the others would be able to set up while Jimin called Cherry to ask her about helping with Charlie's make-over.
"What's up?" she asked, offering him a small smile while a serious expression remained on his features.
"I just wanted to make sure you're okay with doing this mission," he started. "I know it's been a while since we've had you go in as the seductress-"
"I'm fine Yoongi," she interrupted. "I need to do this." Yoongi nodded in understanding, but the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach still remained as he stared at the determined young woman in front of him. "I know that if I need anything, all I have to do is say the word and the team will have my back. I've got this, so stop worrying so much...dad," she joked, earning a chuckle from him, which caused her to smile.
"Okay," he said, letting out a small sigh. "But if you need anything..."
"Room service," she replied, uttering out the code phrase that would send the team barging in through the hotel room if she needed them to. Yoongi nodded, offering her a small smile before dismissing her.
Charlie had a bounce in her step, eager for the mission tomorrow since it would bring them a step closer to catching Casper, the leader of Ganghan. As she rushed back up towards her room, she was startled when she saw Jungkook sprawled out on her bed, a huge grin on his lips as he stared at his best friend.
"Finally," he uttered, getting up from the bed as Charlie shut the door behind her. In seconds, his hands were resting on her waist, pulling her into him as his lips locked onto hers in a soft kiss. He pulled away, eyes meeting hers. "Everything okay?" he asked, referring to her meeting with Yoongi.
"Yeah, Yoongi just wanted to make sure I was good for tomorrow," she replied, her lips gently brushing up against his. In a matter of seconds, their lips were locked again, the kiss now more feverish and passionate. Her tongue ran against his bottom lip, his immediately meeting hers shortly after.
It was so easy to get lost in each other, so easy to share these intimate little moments and tune out the rest of the world. But they were still in the Bangtan house, and they still had to make sure not to get caught.
When Jungkook heard Jimin's voice faintly cursing after a crash sounded from the room across the hall, he pulled away, realizing that this couldn't go any further. "I hate how much we have to hide this," he mumbled. Charlie nodded in agreement, taking a step back before offering him a smile.
"Any plans for the rest of the day?" she asked.
Jungkook shook his head, nose scrunching up as he continued to smile at her. "What do you have in mind?"
"A workout followed by some friendly sparring?" she offered.
"You're on, just let me get changed and I'll meet you downstairs," he replied, eagerly rushing out of her room while she chuckled at his adorable demeanor.
~☾~
Charlie laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she huffed in frustration. She had been awake for almost an hour, unable to fall asleep. She grabbed her phone and considered sending a text message to Jungkook. The corners of her mouth quirked up as she read his last text message, the one he sent earlier while she was working out in the training room. A small blush painted her cheeks as she reread it, recalling the way he chuckled at her when she shot him a playful glare.
Kook! : Your ass looks great in those leggings ;)
Her fingers rested over the keyboard, but no words appeared. She let out yet another sigh, refraining from texting him since he was probably asleep. She set her phone off to the side before dragging herself out of bed.
She didn't bother to change out of her oversized t-shirt and pajama shorts as she carefully crept out of her room, trying not to wake the others as she decided to go to the training room. She stubbed her toe on the door, hissing in pain but keeping her voice down to keep from waking anyone.
Charlie held her breath, intently listening for any indication that another member had woken up, but the house remained tranquil. She slowly trudged down the halls, but she failed to realize that the sound from earlier alerted one of the younger members, the one who was already awake and still cooped up in his cave.
Upon hearing the sound coming from across the hall, Taehyung's head jerked towards it, his heart beating erratically as he slowly got out of his seat. He peeked out of his room, catching sight of the small shadow that disappeared down the stairs. He quickly took a few steps towards Charlie's open door, immediately noticing that she was no longer in her room.
He let out a small sigh, rubbing his eyes as he walked towards the stairs. He knew exactly where he would find her since he'd taken this path multiple times before, but it had been a while since they've had a midnight sparring session.
He descended the steps that led to the training room, a small smile on his lips as he watched Charlie warming up. He stopped at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the wall before he cleared his throat, earning her attention.
"Shit Taehyung, you scared me," she admitted, letting out a small chuckle when he offered her a boxy smile.
"What are you doing up?" he inquired, pushing his body off the wall as he stepped onto the mat.
"Couldn't sleep," she mumbled.
"Nervous?"
"Not really, I just couldn't sleep," she honestly replied. "Besides, we've done missions like this before, and I know you guys will always have my back."
He nodded in understanding as his smile widened. "Well we're family, that's what we do," he told her.
Charlie paused her movements, staring at Taehyung as his words lingered in her mind.
At the mention of family, she couldn't help but think of her dad, and wondered how the hell did she end up here. She cleared her throat, sitting down on the mat as Taehyung followed. He noticed the shift in her mood but didn't say anything. He stared at her, waiting for her to speak as she fumbled with her fingers.
"Hey Tae? Do you ever think about your family?"
He didn't hesitate with his response as he answered. "No. I don't. They weren't really my family anyway, you know? This is my family." Charlie's eyes met his, a small smile on her lips as she reached out for his hand, squeezing it gently while a sad smile rested on his lips. "How about you? Ever think about your parents?"
"Sometimes," she confessed. "I've always wondered why my mother left, and why my father didn't fight for me when the social worker took me away from him. For years I kept thinking that I must've done something wrong, that I must've been the problem... Why else would both my parents have just given me up so easily?"
Taehyung shook his head, pulling his hand away from hers before she felt a weight on both her shoulders. His brown eyes peered into hers, leaning closer as he captured her attention. "You and I both know that what our parents did was not our fault," he said, taking a deep breath before he continued talking.
"It took me a long time to finally realize that there was nothing I could've done to change my circumstances. Both my parents left me too, but you have to realize, adults do shit that doesn't always make sense. There's nothing wrong with you Charlie, it's not your fault they walked away," he stated. "They might be related by blood, but that doesn't make them family. Family is always there to stick up for you, to support you and have your back, always. We're your family, and I guarantee you that no one is going to leave you behind."
Charlie smiled, leaning forward before she wrapped her arms around Taehyung's waist, her head resting on his shoulder as she tightly held onto him. "Thanks Tae," she uttered out. He's right, this is my family... This is home.
A/N: I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!!
Thoughts?? ------>