Were Dripping In It

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 21: Butterfly

Jungkook woke up with his face pressed against Namjoon’s back, his leg thrown over his hip, and his arms curled around his chest. He sighed and pressed himself closer till the inch of space between them was gone. He absentmindedly traced his fingers over Namjoon’s stomach as he slowly began to feel more awake.

Jungkook just enjoys this quiet moment of holding Namjoon while he sleeps. Wishing that this moment in time could just be frozen and that there was no outside world for them to face.

Namjoon groans and shoves his face into his pillow as a light beam from the widow hits his eyelids. Jungkook chuckles as he shifts himself further up Namjoon’s body to cradle his head into his arms. Namjoon sighs as Jungkook starts running his hands through his hair.

Jungkook places a kiss on Namjoon’s neck as his eyes flutter open, continuing to run his fingers through his long dark hair.

“Is this the longest you’ve ever grown it?” Jungkook asks softly, watching as the dark strands of hair curl slightly at the ends as they rest against Namjoon’s honeyed skin.

Namjoon hums deeply in his chest, “I think this is the longest I’ve let it go, haven’t had time to go to our barber.”

“I like it,” Jungkook says, pushing the thick hair away from Namjoon’s forehead, chuckling when it bounces straight back without his hand holding it in place. “I think you just need to have it styled a bit.”

“Is that what we’re doing today? Taking me to the barber to fix my hair.” Namjoon asks tilting his head to look over at Jungkook, who leans his head into the palm of his hand to look down at Namjoon.

Jungkook hums in thought as he runs his thumb across Namjoon’s brow, cradling the side of his face in his hand. “That can be one thing we can do today, I honestly didn’t have much of a plan.”

“Well, as promised, I’m yours for today.” Namjoon says with a grin, Jungkook leans down and places a kiss against his forehead. “So, we really could just stay in bed all day.”

Jungkook grins as he continues to place kisses down Namjoon’s face until he captures his plush lips in a gentle kiss, once, twice, before pulling away. “I think we should take it easy, we’ve earned it.”

“I like the sound of that,” Namjoon hums, leaning himself more into Jungkook’s arms as they settle into the bed more comfortably. “Is there anything off the table for today?”

“No more serious talks,” Jungkook says at once, shifting his leg to be more comfortable over Namjoon’s hip. “I don’t have enough emotional energy for them.”

Namjoon chuckles, taking one of Jungkook’s hands in his to place a kiss on the palm. “I don’t think you can really plan some of those, what do you want to talk about then?”

Jungkook thinks over it for a moment, watching as Namjoon sighs and intertwines their ringed fingers together. The metal between them connects creating an endless circle of red between their fingers. “I want to hear more about you. I feel like you know so much about my life, but I don’t know much about yours.”

Namjoon tightens his fingers around Jungkook’s, “That, I believe, would count as an emotional talk, baby. My life hasn’t exactly been the smoothest.”

“I’ll allow it, I want to hear about you Namjoon. I want to know everything about you, even the parts that are ugly.” Jungkook says gently, leaning his head down against the side of Namjoon’s neck. “But you don’t have to tell me anything if you’re not ready to.”

“I can’t even think of where to start,” Namjoon says with a sigh, his thumb fiddling with their rings.

“What was your childhood like?” Jungkook asks, placing a kiss against the mole on his lower neck when Namjoon sighs again.

“I started training early, not nearly as early as Taehyung did, but by the age of ten I could assemble and disassemble any weapon put in front of me. I could take down a grown man twice my size and tell you the fastest way to have someone bleeding out on the ground. The way my father ran the company is vastly different to how I do. He valued the power of fists over words, it nearly got him killed several times.” Namjoon explained, staring out the window as he spoke. “He was tough on me, he wanted me to lead the company like he did and would get angry when I’d hesitate. Mindless violence has never appealed to me, it can be a tool like anything else but I never resort to using my fists if my words can have a faster result.”

“What about your mother? Did she agree with your father?” Jungkook asks, lifting his head to view Namjoon’s expressions better.

Namjoon shook his head, “No, she wanted him to change his methods for years but he never did. She wrote his retirement papers herself, she was a lawyer before she met my father. When it came time for him to step down, she wanted to make sure there would be no way for him to take the company back. She knew how I would change things and knew how angry my father would be about it.”

Namjoon glances over at Jungkook’s confused face and smiles, “You have to understand, Jungkook. The Bulletproof Company was started by my forefathers, the methods my father had were passed down for years. It’s how he learned from his father, he didn’t know any different and my grandfather was much crueler in correcting his son. Part of the reason I think my father is so angry with me at the moment is because I’ve succeeded where he failed. I’ve broken the family traditions and come out stronger for it.”

“I think he’ll come around then,” Jungkook muses, returning his hand to Namjoon’s hair. “He just needs to set aside his pride and see how well his son is doing.”

Namjoon chuckles, a wide smile coming over his face. “You and my mother are going to get along very well, she’s been telling him that for years.”

“Lucky you for not having any parents of mine to meet,” Jungkook grimaces, already feeling the butterflies fluttering in his stomach at the thought of meeting Namjoon’s parents.

“You have Yoongi-hyung and Tae now and personally they are scarier than my parents,” Namjoon says with a slight shiver. “Especially Taehyung, I never want to piss that man off. If we ever have a falling out, it’s all your fault. He’ll kill me before I can explain.”

Jungkook laughs as he moves his arms around Namjoon’s broad shoulders, “Why are all of you so scared of Tae? He’s harmless.”

Namjoon snorts, “He’s harmless to you, there’s a reason we call him the Tiger of Seoul. Just ask him about the day we rescued Yoongi from the Seoul Empire and you’ll understand.”

“Who’s the Seoul Empire? I thought you controlled Seoul,” Jungkook asked, making a mental note to ask his hyung about that day.

“We do, the Seoul Empire was the company that controlled it before us. It’s the company that your father’s murderer came from, during our hunt for him we inadvertently took them down. They were the leading company in all of South Korea, there was a big power change when we took their place.” Namjoon explained, placing one of his hands on Jungkook’s wrist and running his thumb over his skin. “So, you can blame Tae for my workload. He’s the one that started the chain that led us to where we are today.”

Jungkook whistled, “Damn, I need to hear this story from my hyung.”

Namjoon chuckled and rolled into Jungkook’s arms to face him properly, wrapping his arms around his waist as he placed a kiss on his cheek. “Do you want some breakfast, baby?”

“I just have one more question,” Jungkook hums, placing his arms around Namjoon’s neck. “How many relationships have you been in? Because it’s becoming increasingly obvious how little you know about dating life.”

Namjoon blinks at him and wrinkles his nose, “I don’t think dating should be something you become a master of. Every person is different, there's not an exact formula to please everyone. But since you asked, I’ve only been in two relationships before you.”

Jungkook shrugs, “I’m not judging you Namjoon, I don’t have much room to talk either, since I’ve only been in one before you. I guess I just expected something different, considering how suave you acted when we met.”

Namjoon tuts his tongue, “Suave you say, are you saying I’m not actually like that?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes playfully at Namjoon’s teasing, “No, you’ve just lost some of the mystery you had. Now that I know you snore in your sleep.”

“You snore too!” Namjoon protests, ignoring Jungkook’s yelp of protest as he rolls them over to lay on his back and have Jungkook on top of him. “You’re like a little lawnmower in my ear.”

Jungkook snorted with laughter at the imagery, “I make a cute lawnmower though.”

“The cutest,” Namjoon agreed with a nod, grinning as Jungkook settled himself over his chest. “I hate to break this light conversation, but can I ask about your ex?”

Jungkook hums as he smirks at Namjoon, “There really isn’t much to tell, I didn’t see him for very long. Despite what Jimin-hyung said, I didn't really move in with him. I was going back and forth between his apartment and my hyungs’. It was during the first year I lived with them, I didn’t want to impose on their hospitality too much.”

Namjoon nods as his brow scrunches, “I guess I fail to understand why anyone would cheat on you.”

“Ah,” Jungkook mutters, biting down on his lip ring. “That… ah I kinda understand why he did.”

“Nothing excuses cheating,” Namjoon starts to say but stops as he watches Jungkook’s face glow bright red, he scrunches his brow in confusion as Jungkook fiddles with his t-shirt. “What is it, baby?”

“It’s just… ah… he cheated on me because I wouldn't… I wouldn’t have sex with him.” Jungkook says quietly, unable to look at Namjoon’s face. “We only dated for a few weeks and it takes me some time to… want that with someone. He would have been my first and I felt like he was pressuring me into something I wasn’t ready for. He cheated on me with his best friend, it didn’t really surprise me when I caught them but it still hurt.”

“I’d never do that, Jungkook.” Namjoon says, running a hand through Jungkook’s hair before lifting his chin to have their eyes meet. “I’d never pressure you into anything, it takes me time too. To trust someone with that level of intimacy is a lot for me, there’s nothing wrong with us just taking it slow.”

Jungkook breathed a sigh of relief and dropped his head down onto Namjoon’s chest, “Thank goodness.”

Namjoon chuckled as he brushed his fingers through Jungkook’s hair, “How long has that been worrying you, baby?”

Jungkook shrugged as he ran his hands up and down Namjoon’s sides, “Not long honestly, there’s kinda been a lot going on recently that put it on the back burner.”

Namjoon hums in agreement, “Not to… ah… bring it up too much, but how inexperienced are you exactly?”

Jungkook peeks his eyes up at Namjoon’s blushing red face and snickers, “I’ve sucked dick before if that's what you’re asking, babe.”

Namjoon chokes and covers his face with his hands, “You can’t just say things like that!”

Jungkook cackles and lifts himself up to sit on Namjoon’s stomach, keeping himself raised a bit on his knees so as to not put too much weight on his boyfriend. “You’re very easy to fluster, should I be worried about that?”

Namjoon’s reply is muffled by his palms, making Jungkook laugh and tug at his wrists to pull them away from his face. Namjoon’s face is still bright red but there’s mirth shining in his eyes as he looks up at Jungkook.

“You are the only person that can fluster me so easily.” He assures Jungkook, tapping the tip of his nose with his finger. “I’d be out of a job if anyone else could.”

“What a nice way to say someone would shoot your pretty face,” Jungkook huffed, moving off Namjoon’s body. “Come on, babe, I’m hungry.”

Namjoon laughed and followed him out of the room. The pair blinked in shock as they looked over the balcony to see Taehyung and Jin sparring in the living room. Jimin, Yoongi, and Hobi all sat on the long couch that was pushed back to give them space, sharing a bowl of popcorn between the three of them.

“Do I not have a sparring ring seven floors down?” Namjoon asked incredulously as they came down the stairs. Dodging a pillow that was thrown at his head by Jimin.

“There’s no good seats down there to watch!” Jimin counters, cheering when Taehyung flips Jin over his shoulder down to the ground. Jimin jumps down from the couch as Taehyung pins Jin to the floor, counts to three while pounding his fist down before declaring Taehyung the winner.

Hobi huffs and hands Yoongi a wad of wons over to him from his pocket, Yoongi smirks as he stuffs it into his wallet. Taehyung laughs as he jumps off Jin’s groaning body, high fiving Jimin’s raised hand before offering one to Jin.

“You’ve gotten faster,” Jin grunts as he takes the offered hand, he pats Taehyung’s shoulder as he walks towards the kitchen. “Are you two hungry?”

“Shouldn’t you be resting, hyung?” Jungkook asked, following after his brother while Namjoon went to scold Jimin for rearranging his living room. “Your wrist is still in a cast.”

Jin scoffs and ruffles Jungkook’s bed head, “I’ve had to work with much more serious injuries before, Kook. This cast is nothing.”

Jungkook eyes his brother as he starts pulling ingredients out of the fridge, “Do I even want to know what your worst injury was?”

Jin shrugs as Hobi joins his side to start prepping their breakfast, the cast not even hindering his movements. But Jungkook figured that Hobi liked helping Jin in the kitchen.

“Wouldn’t it have been the time when you got your leg broken?” Hobi asked, cracking some eggs in a bowl and whisking them together.

Jin hums in thought as he slices some parsley, “That may have been, I still think getting shot is worse than broken bones. Start some rice, Hoba, we finished the last of it last night.”

Hobi moves over to the rice cooker and starts filling it from the large bag on the counter, he then moves over to the sink and starts washing the rice under the faucet. “Hand injuries are the worst though, they take forever to heal and you can never move your fingers right for a while.”

Jungkook glances at the pair as they nod in agreement to each other, he feels Namjoon slide up behind him, placing his arms around his waist and his chin on his shoulder. He rests a hand on Namjoon’s arm, “My family is weird, babe, they’re bonding over healing injuries.”

Namjoon chuckles, “I agree with you, Hobi-hyung, hand injuries suck.”

Jungkook smacks the back of Namjoon’s head, “Don’t encourage them!”

Hobi snickers as Namjoon whines and buries his head into Jungkook’s neck. He shares a look with Jin as they continue to cook side by side and watch the couple in front of them bicker while holding tight to each other.

“Does your barber live around here?” Jungkook asks as they settle around the dining room table with their breakfast. Namjoon looks over at him with scrunched brows.

“He goes to whatever base we’re at, but I was joking, baby. We don’t have to get my hair done today.” Namjoon says, running a hand through his dark hair making it more of a mess then it already was. Jungkook eyes it as it sticks out at odd ends.

“Well I wasn’t, you’re going to him today while I hunt through your closet for some jeans.” He points his chopsticks at his boyfriend’s face. “No suits today, I forbid it.”

Namjoon chuckles, “Alright baby, whatever you want.”

Jungkook grunts in satisfaction as he turns back to his plate of food, ignoring Jimin’s gag next to him.

Jungkook shoos Namjoon to the elevator before making his way back to the man’s bedroom and into his closet. He rolls his eyes at the rows and rows of black suit jackets, black pants, and white button ups. There are a few splashes of color here and there, but Jungkook doesn’t find the faded blue jeans until he’s crawling on the floor.

He pulls them out with a triumphant ‘ah-ha’ before filtering through the rows of shirts until he finds a simple white t-shirt. He hums to himself as he looks at Namjoon’s rows of jackets and spots a dark blue jean one at the very end, he compares the jeans to the jacket and nods to himself when they match.

He sets the clothes down on the bed before digging through his own small row of clothes that Taehyung had placed in Namjoon’s closet. Namjoon comes into the room, his hair looking less like a mop on top of his head, as Jungkook is tucking a white t-shirt into his black jeans then buckling the black belt around his waist.

“Much better,” Jungkook approves, smiling as Namjoon’s dark hair frames his face. “I was about to have a fit if your barber took off too much.”

Namjoon snorts, “I won’t let Yoongi-hyung show you my buzzcut days then.” He steps over to the bed and looks over at the outfit Jungkook laid out, a soft smile growing on his face. “So, where exactly are we going, baby?”

Jungkook hums in thought as he pulls on a pair of white sneakers and starts tying the laces over the little CK logo. “I had a few ideas come to mind, how much traveling have you done around Korea?”

“I’ve probably seen more than most have, but it’s never been for sightseeing.” Namjoon answers as he strips himself of his clothes and pulls on the ones from the bed. “It’s also the middle of winter Jungkook-ah, where would we even go in the biting cold?”

Jungkook huffs and goes into the closet again, pulling out two puffy jackets from the racks. “We can bundle up, I’ve always wanted to see Camellia Hill in the winter time.”

Namjoon takes the fluffy jacket from Jungkook, quirking an eyebrow at him, “That’s all the way in Jeju Island, baby. How exactly are you planning on getting us there?”

Jungkook grins devilishly at him, “A little birdie told me that you own a private jet and that you have a secure base that’s only any hour away from Camellia Hill. We can take a car from there.”

“I guess that’s one benefit of spending the millions of won it takes to upkeep that jet,” Namjoon mutters as he follows Jungkook out of the room and down the stairs. “Do I need to have a car take us to our airport base?”

Jungkook shakes his head and waves to his hyungs on the couch as they enter the elevator. He presses the button for the underground garage, pulling out a key to show Namjoon. “Yoongi-hyung gave me his key to his Porsche Boxster, since apparently you don’t own any cars.”

Namjoon eyes the little dangling key in Jungkook’s hand, “I can’t exactly drive any of them, what’s the point of owning any?”

“Good to know you are also very practical when it comes to your money, babe.” Jungkook teases and guides them over to the small black sports car as they exit the elevator.

“Yoongi-hyung controls our finances, of course I am.” Namjoon scoffs as they slide into the leather seats, Jungkook just chuckles as he starts the engine and plugs his phone in with the directions that Jimin had given him.

“Does it bother you that you have to drive me everywhere?” Namjoon asks as they’re speeding down the highway. Jungkook glances over at him briefly, taking note of the flex in Namjoon’s hand before returning his gaze to the road.

“Of course not, I’ve seen your eye prescription Namjoon. I don’t want you driving anymore than Yoongi-hyung does.” Jungkook teases, holding his hand out for Namjoon and smiling when the man intertwines their fingers. “Plus I like doing things for you, it makes me feel like I’m not just following you around all the time. There’s things that we both have strengths in, it’s nice how we can balance each other in those ways.”

Namjoon hums in agreement, “I’m glad you don’t tease me about it though, it’s one of my biggest insecurities. That and cooking, I’ve never been able to not burn something while at the stove. Other than the coffee machine, Yoongi-hyung doesn’t let me operate anything. Not even the microwave.”

“I’m terrified of microwaves, I’m always worried they’ll blow up in my face.” Jungkook shivers exaggeratedly, making Namjoon laugh which was his goal. Even if his fear of microwaves was very real. “I’d never tease you about anything that you don’t want me to, Namjoon. But you are going to have to tell me if I ever step over a line. I can’t know where it is without you telling me.”

Namjoon squeezes his hand, “I know, baby. I’m just not used to someone wanting to take care of me, other than our hyungs.”

Jungkook hums as he turns the wheel one handed into the guard tower gate of the small airport, the gate opens automatically as he rolls slowly forward and the guard on post nods to them as they pass. Jungkook drives straight towards the airplane hangar with the number seven across the side of it, parking in the little lot just outside the wide door.

Namjoon steps out and greets the small crew that waits for them at the plane before ushering Jungkook up the steps inside. They sit across from each other next to a window as the plane begins to move out of the hangar and down the tarmac.

“I am trying very hard not to get used to this, but you are making it very tough for me, babe.” Jungkook scolds as Namjoon hands him a flute of champagne.

Namjoon chuckles as he sips on the bubbly liquid and stretches his long legs to tap playfully at Jungkook’s, “Why shouldn’t you get used to this? I’m sure your hyungs have been holding back for years on how much they can spoil you, now they’ll have no reservations.”

Jungkook huffed as he took a sip from his glass, “I know, you should have seen the number of outfits Tae sent me last night. I’m starting to feel like a sugar baby.”

“Maybe for me, but to them you’re just their baby, even if you did come to them at the age of seventeen.” Namjoon chuckled as Jungkook shot him a look. “You’ll tell me though, if it really does bother you, right? And not just because you feel like you’re taking advantage of everything we have.”

Jungkook sniffed indignantly, eyeing him as he set his champagne glass down on the table ledge next to his arm. “I’m not sure when I’ll feel like I’m not taking advantage of everyone, I haven’t done anything to earn it.”

“Yes you have,” Namjoon contradicts, placing his own glass down and leans forward to take Jungkook’s hands in his. “I won’t be cliche by saying that you simply existing is enough for us, but it’s true. You told me once that I was like a breath of fresh air for you, you have no idea how true that is for us. For me. You’ve made us appreciate the things we’ve taken advantage of over the years.”

Jungkook looks into Namjoon’s very serious face, trying very hard not to cry at the touching words.

“I told you we weren’t having any emotional talks today.” He pouts, making Namjoon smile softly at him.

“And I told you, that we can’t always plan those talks. I feel like we’re going to be having a lot of them for a while.” Namjoon says, wiping the stray tears from Jungkook’s face.

Jungkook huffs as he moves from his seat to the one next to Namjoon, intertwining their fingers over the arm rests between them. “Yoongi-hyung and Tae alway make it seem like they have everything together, did you ever see them have this many emotional talks?”

Namjoon chuckles as he runs his thumb across Jungkook’s knuckles, “You have to remember, baby, that Tae came from this life. Some of our talks are hard because all of this is new for you, but yes, I’ve seen hyung and Tae fight about things. Especially before they got married, Yoongi-hyung was very hesitant about making that move for them. He thought Taehyung was too young and hadn’t seen enough of the world to make the choice to be with him forever.”

“I feel like you guys are skirting around how Tae came to be with you all the time, was it really that bad?” Jungkook asks cautiously, looking at Namjoon’s tense face.

“It’s not that we don’t want to tell you,” Namjoon assures him. “But I don’t think it’s my place to tell you, it’s not my story. When you do ask Tae about it though, you need to have hyung in the room with him. It makes him very emotional to talk about it and Yoongi-hyung is the only one that’s been able to calm him down.”

Jungkook nods in understanding, “I’ll remember that, is it safe for me to even ask though. Since he’ll react so strongly about it.”

Namjoon nods his head, smiling softly at him. “I know Taehyung-ah wants to tell you, it’s just hard for him to relive those memories. You’ll only be the second person he’s had to tell his past to, as hyung, Hobi, and I had witnessed some of it for ourselves. He’s probably told Yoongi-hyung more than anyone, but he wanted Jiminie to know. It helped the two of them bond more, since Jimin-ah came from a rough past as well.”

Jungkook sighs sadly as he leans back against the plane chair, “All of you have such rough pasts, I feel like my own issues are nothing in comparison.”

“Don’t compare them,” Namjoon says softly, squeezing Jungkook’s hand. “Your life and ours are different, because we’re different people. If you had gone through what some of us have, you’d be a very different person. But your pain is not less than ours and our pain isn’t greater than yours, they’re just different.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Jungkook murmurs, squeezing Namjoon’s hand in reassurance. “It’s just hard to see you guys in pain. When my hyungs hurt, I hurt. Your pain becomes mine and I wish I could just take it all away.”

Namjoon chuckles, placing a kiss against Jungkook’s forehead, “You already do, little one. You have no idea how much pain you’ve taken out of my life. I was an absolute wreck for a few years after we took down the Seoul Empire. I’ve only just begun to sleep better since meeting you.”

“I’m glad I can help you sleep then,” Jungkook whispers, placing a kiss against his lips, rubbing their noses lightly as they part. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask, should I be calling you hyung? Since you’re older than me. Jimin-hyung keeps giving me weird looks when I just call you by your name.”

Namjoon blinks, wrinkling his nose in thought. “It doesn’t bother me that you don’t, Jiminie really is pushing his luck by mentioning all these things to you.”

“He’s my best friend, he’s supposed to bring up things like that, it’s kinda in the job description.” Jungkook tilts his head at him, a teasing smile coming on his lips, “So, you don’t want me to call you Namjoonie-hyung?”

A blush grows on Namjoon’s face, he looks away from Jungkook’s teasing face shaking his head at himself, “That’s not allowed to be that sexy, fuck.”

Jungkook snickers at him, “I better not see you blush like that when Jimin-ah calls you that.”

Namjoon shivers in disgust at the thought, “I’d rather not come between whatever is going on between him, my brother, and you brother. That seems like a recipe for disaster.”

“I didn’t realize our brothers were close like that, did it start when Jin-hyung came to you guys the first time?” Jungkook asked, pulling Namjoon’s hand into his lap to play with his fingers.

Namjoon hums in thought, “I don’t think Jin and Hobi really started anything then, there was attraction on both their sides but Jin was even more vengeful then. Even more than when we confronted him in the Voyage House, he said some very harsh words that day but it was tame compared to when he was with us. He did have a tendency to control himself more around Hobi though, they bonded during their training together.”

“I thought you trained Jin-hyung?” Jungkook says, tracing the lines on Namjoon’s palm.

“I did, but Hobi trained him first. Yoongi-hyung also played a part in training him, we all had to get him ready to face his father’s murderer.” Namjoon explained, leaning his head into his hand as he looked over at Jungkook.

“I bet Yoongi-hyung loved doing that,” Jungkook snickers at Namjoon’s snort of laughter. “Why did you make such an effort to include Jin-hyung in the first place? If he didn’t know anything when he came to you, he must not have been very useful.”

“I wanted him to be the one to take down Jang-ssi’s killer, I felt like it was my way of making up for getting him killed.” Namjoon says softly, smiling when Jungkook laces their hands together and squeezes it in reassurance. “It’s only been since meeting you that I feel that I’ve truly healed from that.”

Jungkook squeezed his hand tightly, smiling softly at him as he placed a kiss on his cheek. “I don’t care what anyone says, I know my father would be proud of you Namjoon. Even if I’m wrong about that, I’ll always be proud of you.”

Namjoon captured his lips in a soft kiss, placing a hand on the side of his face as they slid against each other. Jungkook smiles as Namjoon chases after his lips as he pulls away to take a small breath. He pecks him and pulls away to rub their noses together, giggling as Namjoon starts placing gentle kisses on his cheeks and eyelids.

We Started It

Chapter 8: Dawn

Taehyung wakes up to the gentle murmur of voices around him and the feeling of hand gently running though his hair. He grunts as he turns his head away from the harsh light, burying his head deeper into the soft pillow his head is laid on.

“Aw hyungie, you’ve gone soft,” Hobi’s voice coos, a laugh bubbling from his mouth as he speaks.

“Shut up Hoseok, before I throw something at your sunshine face.” Yoongi grumbles, the hand in Taehyung’s hair tugs a slight knot out as it brushes through.

“With what hand,” Hobi scoffs. “Both of yours are occupied.”

Taehyung lifts his head and pouts at Hobi, “Can’t you be quiet, I’m trying to sleep.”

Hobi rolls his eyes as he stares down at him with his arms crossed over his chest, “Are you done using hyung’s thigh as a pillow, Taehyungie? We need to get to work on those computers Joon brought back from the base.”

Taehyung groans and sits back in his chair, yawning widely as he scrubs his face. “How are you even awake so early?”

“It's the middle of the afternoon, Taehyung.” Hobi corrects, chuckling at his confused expression. “Even hyung woke up before you and he’s the one in the hospital bed.”

Taehyung blinks, a frown forming on his face as he glances over at Yoongi, “I’ve never slept that long before.”

Yoongi’s one eye looks at him sympathetically, “I don’t think you had any nightmares either.” He says softly, a smile creeping up on his face.

Taehyung barely has a moment to process this before Namjoon bursts through the door. They stare at him as he pants from running, clutching the side of the door to stay standing up.

“Who died?” Yoongi asks dryly, staring as Namjoon huffs labored breaths as he sinks into a nearby chair.

“Nobody,” Namjoon pants, taking a cup of water from Hobi and downs it in one gulp. “I just got off the phone with my father. Wouldn’t even let me get a word in until my mother took the phone from him. She sends her well wishes to Yoongi-hyung and hopes you make a fast recovery.”

“Send her my love,” Yoongi says with a nod, then glares his one eye at Namjoon. “Why the hell were you running here then? That’s no reason to be running across the house.”

Namjoon blinked at him then smiled widely, his dimples popping out in his cheeks, “I just missed you hyung.”

“You literally saw me this morning,” Yoongi grumbled, but Taehyung could see the pleased smile growing on his face.

Hobi chuckled, “Did mama ask after me, Joonie?”

“Of course, she still expects her Saturday call every week even if we do take over all of Korea.” Namjoon scoffed teasingly, lightly punching Hobi’s side.

Taehyung chuckled as he watched the brothers tease each other, a wistful pang ached in his chest at the easy family bond they had. He looked over at Yoongi who watched the brothers with a fond eye, before turning over to Taehyung.

“Hobi tells me that I have you to thank for getting me and Seokjin out of there,” Yoongi says with a soft smile, reaching over to take Taehyung’s hand into his. “So thank you.”

Taehyung squeezed Yoongi’s hand, “I couldn’t exactly leave you there, who would make my morning tea for me?”

Yoongi’s smile turned wide and gummy as he laughed, “You’re going to have to wait a little while longer, I need two eyes to make your Jasmine brew the way you like.”

“It’ll be worth the wait,” Taehyung whispered and reached a hand to touch delicately at the gauze on Yoongi’s cheek. “Who knows, maybe you’ll get a sexy facial scar out of this.”

Yoongi raised a brow at him, “Body horror kink, noted.”

“If you two are done flirting,” Hobi cut in, smiling wide with his heart shaped mouth at Taehyung and Yoongi’s twin glares. “I really do need Taehyung to come and get started on the computers. We still have that assassin to find.”

Taehyung sighed and rose from his chair, gently pulling his hand out from Yoongi’s and followed Hobi out of the room.

Taehyung spent the next few days within the Voyage House going between hacking into the encrypted computers they took from the Seoul Empire and Yoongi’s hospital room. Though Yoongi staying in the hospital room for more than three days was out of the question.

“It’s just my face that needs to heal! My body is fine! Now let me go back to work Namjoon!” Yoongi had shouted, while throwing one of his many pillows at Namjoon’s face as he yelled for him to get Doctor Wook to release him.

Hobi had taken a video of the scene and would send random gifs of it to Taheyung when he was bored in a meeting. It never failed to send Taehyung into a laughing fit when he saw them.

“What have you done to keep Seokjin in place this time?” Taehyung asked, chuckling as Hobi grumbled into his new office, throwing himself onto a chair next to Taheyung to complain about Seokjin’s daily escape attempt.

“You’d think after the man got kidnapped and has his leg in a full cast, he’d stay still. But nope,” Hobi whined, slouching in his chair. “I’ve changed five different locks on his door, chained him to the bed three times and if I hear the word kinky come out of his mouth one more time I’m going to give him a concussion.”

Taehyung giggled as he typed away on his keyboard, before sliding down to another one. “How many times has he escaped the dungeons now? Thirteen? Twenty?”

“Far too many, I will give him this though. At least I’m learning this damn house like the back of my hand. I’ve found so many new spots to put cameras in, it’s crazy.” Hobi mused, always one to try and find something positive about an awful situation. “How’s things on your end going?”

“I think I’ll have their systems cracked soon, I just need to make sure to avoid the failsafes they have in place. Otherwise we’ll lose everything.” Taehyung said, sliding back to his first screen. “I also got Yoongi-hyung to take his antibiotic this morning.”

“Oh, what did you threaten this time?” Hobi asked, giving Taehyung an impressed look.

“That he’d have to go an extra week without his coffee.” Taehyung stated, smiling at Hobi’s low whistle.

“That’s cold, Tae.” He chuckles as Taehyung hums happily in reply. “How’s the manhunt going?”

Taehyung sighed and glanced over at the facial recognition scanner at the corner of the desk, a picture of a smirking man sits in the corner of the screen. They had found him in the list of files that weren’t encrypted on the Seoul Empire’s computers. Finally they were able to put a face to the man they had been searching for this whole time.

“It still hasn’t found him, I’ve adjusted it I don’t know how many times. I’ve moved it all over Seoul, but it still hasn’t found the bastard.” Taehyung muttered, watching as the scanner flickered over the faces of men on the streets of Seoul.

“We’ll get him though,” Hobi assured him, glaring at the picture of the man. “We have his face. We’ll get him eventually.”

“By the time we do, Peakboy won’t be letting me out of his sight for a long time.” Taehyung muttered with a sigh.

“I wish you didn’t have to go back to him,” Hobi muttered quietly, looking at Taehyung with sad eyes. “I wish you could stay with us, you fit in so well it’s like you’ve always been with us.”

“Thanks for saying that Hobi, it means a lot.” Taehyung says softly, looking over at the man with a small smile. “I wish I didn’t have to leave either.”

Yoongi cleared his throat behind them, breaking the somber air around them as they turned to look at him. The gauze over his right eye was still present, but the paleness of his skin had returned to a healthy color.

“Need something hyungie?” Hobi asks sweetly, but is already standing from his seat as he heads for the door. “You don’t even have to tell me, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.”

Yoongi scoffed as Hobi cackled out of the room and he sat down in his vacated seat.

“Has Doctor Wook checked your stitches today?” Taehyung asks, glancing briefly as Yoongi rolls his one eye before fiddling with one of his instruments.

“Yes,” Yoongi grumbled, leaning back in his chair. “He says they’re healing well and that I’ll probably be able to take the gauze off in a few days to let the skin breathe. I’ll still need to be on antibiotics until the stitches can come out and he says I can have my coffee back.”

Taehyung hums doubtfully, “We’ll see.”

Yoongi grumbled under his breath as he crossed his arms over his chest. Taehyung heard something of ‘I’m a grown ass man, I can have my damn coffee’ in his muttering but chose not to comment as he continued to work on the line of code that would eventually gain him access to the encrypted computers. The work was a bit slower than he liked, having only one hand, but he kept his arm in a sling so he wasn't bumping into the table all the time.

If Yoongi could take his antibiotics everyday, then Taehyung could keep his arm in the sling.

“Joon says his men have taken down another one of the outposts in Seoul,” Yoongi says after a moment. “That’s thirteen already and that’s just in the inner city alone, how many more could there be?”

Taehyung shrugged, “When I finally get into this damn computer system of theirs, I’ll be able to find them all. Then we’ll take them out all at once.”

“Do we even have enough men for that?” Yoongi questions incredulously.

“I was thinking we’d send a mass message to them, surrender now or you’ll face the same fate as your other bases.” Taehyung states easily. “Namjoonie-hyung sure does love his bonfires.”

“He says the clean up is easier,” Yoongi scoffs, moving to scratch at his gauze only for his hand to be smacked away by Taehyung. “He’s starting to make a new name for himself in Seoul, calling himself RM. I guess he’ll add that to his list of titles.”

Taehyung hums, “It suits him. It’ll work well when the Bulletproof Company takes the Seoul Empire’s place.”

Yoongi nods, “I never thought we’d end up here. And all because we were looking for an assassin.”

“Funny how somethings just fall into your lap like that,” Taehyung chuckles as Yoongi hums in agreement. They sit in comfortable silence as Taehyung continues to type away on his keyboard and Yoongi leans against his chair with his eye closed.

“How did Joon and Hobi end up following you to that house? I don’t think I asked that.” Yoongi drawls after a moment.

“I had a tracker in my shoes,” Taehyung admits with a chuckle. “They never remove the shoes when they pat someone down in the Hwarang Boys. I figured it would be a safe bet for them not to either, it paid off.”

Yoongi hummed in interest, “I’ll have to add that as a protocol then, that’s useful to know.”

“I don't think most people will think like I do, there’s not much you can hide inside your shoes.” Taehyung tries to dismiss.

“It only takes one bastard to do it to us and we’ll end up just like the Seoul Empire. We need to be smarter than them.” Yoongi says gruffly, kicking Taehyung’s shin lightly. “Don’t dismiss good ideas like that, it could save us a lot of trouble in the future.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, hyung.” Taehyung promises, smiling widely at Yoongi as he kicks back at Yoongi’s shin playfully.

A beeping cuts off any remark Yoongi was about to make, the pair glance over to see the facial recognition scanner blinking green as it tracks a man through a crowded street. Taehyung slides over to it and quickly focuses some cameras in the area. As soon as he has a precise location he sends it to Namjoon.

“He’s sending Hobi to bring him here,” he whispers to Yoongi before refocusing on the coding screens again.

“Taehyung,” Yoongi says softly, placing a hand to stop Taehyung’s frantic fingers on the keyboard.

Taehyung takes a shaky breath as he pulls away from the desk, Yoongi’s hand clutching his. “I don’t want to go back, hyung. I don’t want to go back to him.”

“You have no idea how much I wish I could ask you to stay, but our hands are tied on this.” Yoongi whispers, squeezing Taehyung’s shaking fingers.

Taehyung nods as his head hangs, staring down at their connected fingers as the tears threaten to wreck through his shoulders. Yoongi tugs him forward to have Taehyung lean against his chest, his arms going around his shoulders. Taehyung wraps his arm around Yoongi’s waist.

In Yoongi’s arms, Taehyung allows himself to cry quietly until the tears stop falling and the lonely ache in his chest grows.

We Hid In the Shadows

Chapter 1: Pandora’s Box

Warning ⚠️: Blood, Dead Body, Death of side character, Mourning, Grief

The day Kim Hoseok's world crumbled to pieces, he had been blind sided by it. Everything about the day had been normal business, nothing had tipped him off that it was going to be anything but an ordinary day.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you, Joonie? I can move my meetings around to make time.” He said, following closely behind Namjoon and Jang-ssi as they headed out the door for their meeting with the Seoul Empire.

“It’s okay hyung, I’ve got Jang-ssi with me.” Namjoon assured him, patting his shoulder as the car pulled up for them. “And the correspondent was very specific in who they invited to this meeting.”

“I know that, that’s why I’m worried.” Hoseok admits, scrunching his brow. “It was almost too specific.”

Jang-ssi pats his shoulder as he passes to slide into the car, “Don’t worry about your brother, Hoseok. I’ll make sure he gets home safe, this is my last mission before retiring. Gotta make it a good one.”

“You come back in one piece too, Jang-ssi. You’ve earned that retirement, gotta be in one piece to enjoy it.” Hoseok scolds lightly, the two men chuckle as they settle into their seats and look over at him from inside. “If anything happens, I’ll find you.”

“I know hyung, you always do.” Namjoon murmurs, smiling his dimpled smile before the door closes and the car rolls down the driveway.

Hoseok crosses his arms and watches as it disappears down the long driveway, his phone buzzes in his pocket. He sighed as he saw the flashing alert of his 9AM meeting. With one last glance down the empty driveway, he heads back into the house for his negotiation with the Bad Omens Circle.

He’s in the middle of a meeting with Yoongi about their shipments from the Red Velvet Ring when the door bursts open. They look up from their paperwork and stare at the huffing man at the door.

“What is it, Lee?” Yoongi drawls, dropping his pen onto the table. “We’re in the middle of…”

“The Boss is back and he has Jang-ssi in his arms. He’s dead.” Lee huffs, clutching the wall with white knuckles.

Hoseok and Yoongi are out of their chairs without another word, running out the room. Hoseok’s heart pounds in his ears as he runs down the stairs and down the halls towards the crowds of men and women huddled at the foyer. The sea of bodies parts for them revealing Namjoon kneeling on the Bulletproof Company crest engraved on the floor.

His brother’s face is splattered with blood, his clothes are in tatters around his broad shoulders, and a body lays on the ground in front of him, covered in a white sheet. Hoseok kneels next to his brother, Namjoon raises his tear streaked eyes to his.

“They shot him,” Namjoon whispers, his lip wobbling as he speaks. “It’s my fault… he jumped in front of me.”

Hoseok reaches forward and places both of his hands on Namjoon’s shoulders, tears running down his own face. “He did what he had to, he promised to bring you home safe. And he did, he didn’t die in vain Namjoon.”

Namjoon drops his head, sobs wracking his body as it hits Hoseok’s shoulder, “He got away Hobi. The man that killed him got away before I could get him.”

“We’ll find him,” Hoseok promises, wrapping his arms tightly around his little brother. “We’ll find him, he won’t get far. I promise, he’ll die screaming.”

Hoseok looked over at Yoongi as he held his sobbing brother in his arms, Yoongi placed a hand on Namjoon’s head while signaling for the men and women around them to leave and take Jang-ssi’s body away. The two men stare at each other over the shaking form of their leader, silent tears running down both of their faces as Namjoon’s sobs echo through the empty room.

They buried Jeon Jang Hyuk in the family memorial, Namjoon and Hoseok stood solemnly next to their parents as the coffin was lowered into the grave. Hoseok stood as a barrier between his father and Namjoon, the conversation before the ceremony still ringing in his ears.

“I leave you in charge for one day and you go and get my Second in Command killed,” his father had growled, getting right into Namjoon’s steel face. “If your mother hadn’t written the retirement papers I signed, you’d be out before the ink dried on your banishment papers, boy.”

Namjoon had held himself together for the entirety of the scolding, his jaw clenching at the harsh words but no other outward emotion to betray the hurt he must have felt. He stood impassively next to Hoseok, staring down at the ground as the coffin was covered in dirt.

Hoseok placed a gentle hand on his brother’s arm and guided him back to their waiting car before their parents could try to speak to them further.

“Do you think he’s right?” Namjoon asked hoarsely, as the car drove them away from the gravesite and towards their apartment in Gangneung. Hoseok looked over at his brother’s bowed face, silent tears streaking down it. “I shouldn’t be the leader of the Bulletproof Company, I should just step down.”

“I don’t think father is right,” Hoseok says after a minute, Namjoon looks over to him. “Mistakes happen, Namjoon. Jang-ssi knew that going into the mission, just like the thousands he’s gone to before. You leading that mission or not wouldn’t have changed the outcome of that day. What matters now is what we do in response, we need to find his killer and bring him to justice.”

Namjoon nods, his face turning cold at the memory of the man that killed his mentor. “They were all wearing masks at the meeting, I didn’t see that bastard’s face. But I’d recognize him if he spoke, he never once shut up while I was speaking to the correspondent.”

“Were there any cameras there?” Hoseok asked, pulling out his phone to start messaging Yoongi to start sweeping the warehouse for evidence before burning it to the ground.

Namjoon shrugged, “They didn’t allow us to do our own sweep of the building before the meeting started.”

“That’s not too unusual, was the man declared at the meeting?” Hoseok groaned when Namjoon shook his head in response. “So, important enough to be there but not enough to be declared, fantastic. This will be a real manhunt for sure.”

We Started It

Chapter 5: Rainy Day

WARNING ⚠️: Graphic Fight scene, Blood, Broken Bones

Two Months Later

Taehyung grimpes at the bitter taste of the dandelion brew and smacks his tongue in disgust, “Ew, never again, bleh.”

Yoongi chuckles deeply at Taehyung’s shivers of disgust, snorting as Taehyung gulps down some water to chase the taste away.

“Give me some of your coffee, I need another taste in my mouth.” Taehyung pleads, making grabby hands at Yoongi’s steaming mug. Yoongi holds his precious liquid far away from Taehyung’s hands, his smile wide and gummy as he looks at Taehyung.

“You’ll hate the combination even more, two bitter tastes don’t make a sweet one.” Yoongi counters, smacking Taehyung’s hands away.

Taehyung pouts as he backs away from Yoongi’s personal space, “My morning is ruined now, because I chose a horrible tea to try.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his coffee, “Tough shit, let me enjoy my coffee goodness in peace.”

“So mean,” Taehyung pouts, making Yoongi chuckle some more. He sighs and leans back in his chair, enjoying the peaceful moment as he watches the sun rise between the skyscrapers.

“Taehyung-ssi,” Yoongi murmurs quietly, Taehyung hums in question as Yoongi pauses. “What’s keeping you from sleeping? I’m sorry if I'm prying into something personal, but you’ve been here for a while and I don’t think you’ve slept past 5AM. Even if you end the night at 1AM.”

Taehyung lowers his head as he thinks of how to answer, he glances over at Yoongi and only sees kindness in the man’s eyes. He sighs and decides to be honest, “I don’t sleep well, I have nightmares. I’ve had them since I was a kid, doctors have given me pills to help me sleep but they don’t. Nothing works, nothing stops the nightmares from coming. I haven’t bothered taking my pills while I’ve been here, Peakboy forces me to take them.”

“If they aren’t working, then you shouldn’t take them.” Yoongi agreed quietly, he bites his lip and looks at Taehyung cautiously.

Taehyung sighs slouching in his chair, “You can ask. You can ask what I have nightmares about.”

Yoongi turns in his chair to face Taehyung completely, “What haunts your dreams?”

“Everything,” Taehyung answers hoarsely. “My parents left me on the doorstep of the Hwarang Boys, because they wanted their daughter more. I’ve been training under Peakboy’s hand since I was five years old. The first blood I ever shed was at seven years old.”

Taehyung clenched his fists as the memories assaulted his mind, Yoongi reached a hand out and placed it on top of one, bringing him back to the present. He took a shuddering breath and twisted his hand under Yoongi’s until they were palm to palm. Yoongi spread his fingers and interlaced their hands together, Taehyung squeezed it as he found his voice again.

“Peakboy has made it his mission to make me into the ultimate weapon for him. To give him an edge over the other companies in Daegu.” Taehyung scoffed. “He has a tendency to forget that his precious weapon is a person too. I’m not a tool. I’m not a weapon. I hate being the Vante of Daegu, it’s brought me nothing but pain.”

“Who do you want to be?” Yoongi asked, squeezing Taehyung’s hand.

“Just Taehyung, I just want to be Taehyung. I want to abandon my family name, like they abandoned me.” Taehyung said with a sigh, a tear straying down his cheek. “I want to stop feeling so… lonely.”

Yoongi gave no words of comfort and Taehyung was grateful, he didn’t want empty pity words. The solidarity of Yoongi’s hand and his presence next to him in the morning light was enough.

When Namjoon steps into the kitchen for his morning coffee, he breaks the invisible bubble between the two men. Yoongi gently drops Taehyng’s hand and leaves the room to get dressed, Namjoon raises his brow but makes no comment as Taehyung gets up to place their mugs into the sink.

“If we offered you a more permanent contract when your contract is under review next year, would you sign it?” Namjoon asks, crossing his arms while he waits for his coffee to drip into his mug while Taehyung rinses the mugs in the sink.

Taehyung glances over at him, “If it was my choice, Namjoon-ssi, I’d sign it in a heartbeat.”

Namjoon looks over at him in confusion, “Why wouldn’t it be your choice? And call me hyung, I’ve tasted enough of your cooking, we don't need any formalities between us.”

Taehyung smiles softly at him, “Peakboy bought me, hyung. I’m under a soul binding contract with him, I can’t leave without his consent. The only exception is short term contracts like yours.”

“That’s barbaric.” Namjoon sneers, picking up his coffee from the machine. “How do you even break something like that?”

Taehyung shrugs, “Either Peakboy dies by natural causes, or I get married and take someone else’s name.”

“Let me guess, Peakboy has to approve of the marriage before he allows it.” Namjoon muses with a sneer.

“Got it in one, Namjoon-hyung.” Taehyung says, tapping the tip of his nose with a sarcastic wink.

Namjoon looks at him sadly, “I hope our contract lasts as long as it can, Peakboy can’t demand your return until it is.”

Taehyung hummed in agreement and patted Namjoon’s shoulder, “Don’t worry about me, hyung. The man has to die some day, he can’t live forever.”

Namjoon chuckled and patted Taehyung’s shoulder in return before walking out of the kitchen towards his office. Taehyung sighs as he makes his way towards his workstation, trying to will the pang in his heart away. He blinks when he sees Seokjin already in the room sitting at his chair and Hobi nowhere in sight. He’s learned in his time here that Seokjin was much better behaved around that man.

“Where’s your babysitter? I thought you weren’t allowed in here alone since you almost erased all of our hard work with your clumsiness.” Taehyung drawled, dragging his chair away from the table ignoring Seokjin’s yelp inside it. “You’re in my chair.”

Seokjin scoffed as Taehyung leaned over him, “You don’t intimidate me, you’re all talk and no bite.”

Taehyung narrowed his eyes, in no mood to entertain Seokjin’s banter, he grips the man’s shirt collar and tosses him out of the chair. Seokjin grunts as he hits the floor and kicks out at Taehyung’s legs. Taehyung grunts in pain in his shin and sends a swift kick to Seokjin’s side.

“You really don’t want to piss me off today,” Taehyung growls as Seokjin curls up in pain. “I’m not in the mood to hold back.”

“Good,” Seokjin grunts, aiming a kick straight for Taehyung’s crotch that he catches with deft hands. With a firm grip on the man’s ankle, he lifts Seokjin off the ground and tosses him against the doors, causing them to be thrown open.

Taehyung stalks over to Seokjin’s shaking body and yanks him up to hold him by the neck against a nearby wall.

“What fucking death wish do you have?” Taehyung growls, tightening his grip on the man’s neck as he lifts him in the air.

Seokjin choked, his lips bursting red, he kicked at Taheyung’s chest, sending him flying against the wall and dropping his hold on his neck. Before Taehyung can collect himself, Seokjin grabs his left wrist and twists it until the sound of bone breaking sounds in the room. The pain fuels Taehyung to surge forward and headbutt Seokjin straight in the face.

Seokjin pulls back screaming in pain as Taehyung gets to his feet, his left hand cradled against his chest. He stalks over to Seokjin’s whimpering body clutching onto his face and roundhouse kicks him straight in the chest, sending him flying into the living room straight into a glass table, it breaks under his weight. Seokjin lays panting in pain across the broken glass, blood pouring out of his nose, as Taehyung comes over to stand over his head.

“You got lucky with my wrist,” he tells the whimpering man as he hears footsteps pound into the room. “I’ll repay you for it one day.”

Taehyung backs away from Seokjin as two of Namjoon’s guards move to lift him out of the pile of glass. He looks up to see Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hobi in the doorway of Namjoon’s office staring impassively.

“Sorry about your table, I can replace it.” Taehyung apologizes, cupping his broken wrist with his other hand. Yoongi’s eyes bounce down to it and he moves out of the doorway over to him.

“Let’s get that into a cast,” Yoongi says softly, guiding Taehyung out of the room and onto the elevator down to their medical floor.

Yoongi presses the button for the eighteenth floor as Taehyung clutches his wrist in pain, trying to keep his whimpers quiet and stop the flow of tears down his face. Yoongi places a hand on his lower back as the doors open and leads him down the bare hospital walls, he calls a nurse over to them.

Yoongi leans against the wall while Taehyung’s wrist is x-rayed before it starts being placed in a stiff cast after seeing the clean break in his scaphoid.

“At least we taught that bastard how to break bones properly, he could’ve cost you that hand.” Yoongi grumbles, looking over the x-ray as Taehyung’s wrist is being wrapped.

Taehyung sniffs, wincing as the bandages are tightened around his swollen wrist. “I hope I broke his fucking nose.”

Yoongi chuckles, handing Taehyung a tissue to wipe his face, making no comment on the stream of tears across his cheeks and eyelashes. “He’s lucky you didn’t do much worse to him, you were holding back.”

Taehyung scowls at him, “I wasn’t going to kill him! He’s not that much of a bastard.”

“Debatable,” Yoongi counters with a shrug, placing a hand on the back of Taehyung’s neck and rubbing it soothingly. “Now I have an excuse to replace that table, I hated that thing. It was a tripping hazard.”

Taehyung laughs wetly as his wrist is being plastered. Yoongi runs his hand through Taehyung’s hair, keeping some of his mind off of the pain. “I’m surprised Namjoon-hyung hadn’t broken it yet, after seeing how many mugs he breaks.”

Yoongi hums in agreement, “You should see the number of glasses we’ve had to buy for him, I’ve stopped buying him sunglasses altogether.”

Taehyung snickers before breathing a sigh of relief when the nurse stops moving his arm to let the plaster set. “At least it wasn’t my right hand, I’d be completely useless then.”

“What did Seokjin even do? You usually don’t resort to physical violence with him, other than the time he ate your last chocolate bar.” Yoongi teases, pulling Taehyung’s bangs away from his face as he scowls at the memory.

“I was looking forward to that all day and he ate it! Bastard deserved that slap.” Taehyung pouted, “He was sitting in my chair, he knows he’s not allowed to be in my room.”

“He must have escaped Hobi’s eye again, I wish he wasn’t so good at evading us.” Yoongi sighs, catching a stray tear with his thumb from the corner of Taehyung’s eye. “We’ll have to try and put another ankle monitor on him.”

“Maybe I should design one he can’t get out of,” Taehyung muses, as the nurse comes back into the room and starts wrapping his solid cast in a blue waterproof bandage.

“You do that and I’ll kill Peakboy myself to keep you with us,” Yoongi says, smiling softly at Taehyung’s hopeful eyes.

“Save me his head, I want to bowl it down the hallway and watch it splatter against the wall.” Taehyung says cheerily as the nurse slides his arm into a sling and places it over his neck to dangle against his chest.

“Not any of my hallways,” Yoongi grumbles, leading Taehyung out of the room after thanking the nurse. “I’d rather not have a dent in my wall.”

Taehyung giggles as they enter the elevator and rise back up to the penthouse, as the doors slid open they hear the sounds of cooking in the kitchen. They turn the corner to see Hobi at work in the kitchen with pots across the stove.

He glances over at Taehyung and looks sternly at him, “I hope you know that I’m extremely angry at you.”

Taehyung blinks and opens his mouth to apologize but Hobi cuts him off.

“Couldn’t you have waited one more day! It was your turn to make dinner tonight and now I have to make it! Tomorrow is take out night, it would have been perfectly timed!” Hobi screeches, waving his chef knife as he speaks.

Taehyung bursts out into hysterical laughter and clutches his stomach at the force of it. Hobi only keeps his stern face for all of five seconds before he’s joining in Taehyung’s laughter. Yoongi shakes his head as he passes the pair and starts helping Hobi in the kitchen.

“Hyung, it’s not your night!” Hobi protests, trying to shoo Yoongi out of the kitchen while Taehyung sits down at the counter still chuckling.

“We’re a man down, we’ll both do it tonight.” Yoongi dismisses, swatting Hobi away as he rolls his sleeves up. “Maybe now Seokjin will think twice before running his smart mouth.”

Taehyung scoffed and rolled his eyes, “I doubt it.”

“One can dream,” Hobi commented with a roll of his eyes, joining Yoongi’s side and moving to help him finish the dinner he started.

Namjoon wandered into the kitchen and sat down next to Taehyung at the barstools, having been forbidden from helping in the kitchen since he set the microwave on fire. They watched in silence as Hobi and Yoongi moved between the pots and the smells of their cooking filled the air.

We Started It

Chapter 9: For Us

Warning ⚠️: Depictions of Graphic Violence, Murder, Dead bodies, Blood, Arson

It was the most anticlimactic ending to a contract Taehyung had ever experienced. The man, Park Hae Jin, had given Hobi a fight as he had been brought in. He came to the Voyage House with a broken nose and his kneecaps bleeding on the carpets.

Seokjin had stood in front of the man that had killed his father, Hobi supporting him to stand in his leg cast, and raised his pistol to shoot him once in the forehead. Cutting off any pleads the man had spilling out of his mouth, his body hit the floor in a crumpled heap, blood dripping down the bridge of his nose.

The body was unceremoniously buried in an unmarked grave on the property and Seokjin disappeared the very next day. Leaving only a note behind telling them not to find him, for real this time, and that he’d be taking care of the only family he had left.

Taehyung was only able to stretch his stay with the Bulletproof Company for the next few days it took him to crack the encrypted computers. He left them to handle the information from it, desperately trying to put back on his mask of Vante of Daegu as he was driven to the Hwarang Boys base.

Peakboy was less than pleased when Taehyung finally showed up on his doorstep but only muttered something about ‘not letting him take such a long contract again, no matter how good the money was’ as he sent him to his room. Taehyung dragged his suitcases into his bare room, already missing the warm hues of Namjoon’s guest rooms.

There was a list of assignments sitting on his desk, but he didn’t even bother looking them over as he curled up on his hard mattress. Taehyung allowed none of the tears behind his eyes to fall down his face as he tried to fall asleep. The ache in his chest growing to the steady loneliness that had consumed him since he left the Bulletproof Company.

Peakboy didn’t allow him another day of rest after he arrived, he was back to hounding Taehyung to complete the piles of contracts on his desk by the end of the month. Taehyung didn’t utter a word of complaint, the nonstop work kept him occupied through the listless days. The cold, biting words of the Hwarang Boy’s crew was a far cry from the Bulletproof Company’s laughter and teasing. Taehyung was finding himself missing it every single day more and more.

Two months later

“Boss wants you in the contract room,” Kang informs Taehyung as he stands at his office door.

Taehyung nods, drops the file he was working on, and follows wordlessly behind the guard. Thankful for not having the cast around his wirst anymore, if someone wanted to contract him again they might think twice at seeing it.

Peakboy sits at the head of the table, an angry look on his face as he stares at Yoongi sitting across from him. Taehyung feels a jolt through his stomach as he stares at the side profile of the blonde man, the scar over his eye fully visible as he glares back at Peakboy.

“I don’t know what kind of game you think you’re playing, Agust-D.” Peakboy sneers, taking no notice of Taehyung standing in the doorway. “But you can’t have him, I don’t approve.”

“I don’t really give a shit if you do,” Yoongi growls, tossing a file across the table to the other man. “Your contract has no standing anymore, it’s been void since he turned eighteen yesterday. You have no say in where he goes anymore.”

Taehyung surges forward and snatches the contract out of Peakboy’s hands before he can throw them into the fire. He desperately reads the pages of the contract that had controlled his whole life. The contract that he had desperately tried to find for the last eight years.

“How did you even find that blasted contract?” Peakboy growls standing to his feet in anger. “I had all the copies burned!”

“But the Seoul Empire didn’t,” Yoongi states, standing to his feet as well. “It was from them that Taehyung came to you, they created the contract with you. And unfortunately for you, they kept many, many copies to make sure you kept the end of the deal with them.”

“I’ve heard that the Seoul Empire is all but ashes now, that contract has no standing now that they’re gone.” Peakboy shouts, pounding his fist onto the table.

“Glad we’re in agreement.” Yoongi says coldly, smirking at Peakboy’s confused face. “That contract is void, Taehyung is free to make his own choices. And the Bulletproof Company has an offer to give him.”

Taehyung looks over at Yoongi with hopeful eyes as the man turns to him, his expression softening minutely as he stares at Taehyung.

“The leader of the Bulletproof Company, RM of Seoul, extends a welcome to Vante of Daegu to join his crew and take the mantle of Tiger of Seoul as he joins the Inner Circle. No soul binding contract entailed.” Yoongi states all business like, but there’s a smirk in the corner of his mouth.

“I accept.” Taehyung says at once, tossing his soul binding contract into the flames himself. “And my first order of business is the dismantling of the Hwarang Boys as the lead company in Daegu.”

“You have no right to…” Peakboy barks, choking on his words as Taehyung holds a knife to his throat.

“I am going to burn this house to the ground,” Taehyung growls into his tormentor’s face. “And you are going to be bleeding inside it as it does.”

Taehyung stares as the flames consume the homebase of the Hwarang Boys, tossing the title of Vante of Daegu into it as he does. He breathes in the ashes as he feels Yoongi slide up next to him, they stand beside each other for a moment just watching the flames flicker over the wood structure.

Yoongi holds out a hand to Taehyung, his palm up to him to hold. Taehyung smiles down at it before sliding his hand into Yoongi’s and intertwining their fingers. Yoongi gently tugs him away from the burning building and guides him to their waiting car. Taehyung walks with sure steps to his new life, already giddy with excitement to see Hobi and Namjoon again.