Jeongguk was a raging storm as he thundered through his complex, he crashed into the gym and immediately set his sights on Jimin. But Yoongi was there with a hand on his chest, then Namjoon replaced him and Yoongi moved to Jimin's side. Jimin stared at Yoongi's profile.

"Tell me everything," Jeongguk seethed and Seokjin stepped forward with a sleek black tablet.

"V escaped out the bathroom window, he still had his tracker on, but the signal went dark ten minutes ago,"

"How long has he been gone?"

"Just over an hour," Jimin piped up.

Jeongguk could barely look at his best friend, his teeth ground and fingers flexed. How did that happen? Of all people how did Jimin let V escape? The person he trusted most. Jimin was staring at him sheepishly, body half-hidden behind Yoongi. Jeongguk never even dreamed of hurting Jimin before, but he'd come closer than Jeongguk would like to admit. Jeongguk silently left the room.

Wisely, Jimin didn't follow.

Seokjin entered the lift beside him, "I've already got someone trying to get V's band back online. We never got the alert that he removed it, but we can only hope,"

"I'm scared, hyung," Jeongguk whispered,

Seokjin gasped quietly, he cautiously moved in front of Jeongguk and brought a hand to his nape. When the younger didn't move, Jeongguk was pulled into the crook of Seokjin's neck. He breathed deeply, his fear only just hitting him now that his anger towards Jimin wasn't there to distract him.

"We'll find him," Seokjin soothed although it was slightly awkward like he wasn't sure how to react in that situation,

"What if somebody else finds him first?"

"We'll kill them,"

It was harsh but served to calm Jeongguk's heart somewhat, he trusted Seokjin wholeheartedly. "Hoseok already has a team assembled should the worst happen," Finally Jeongguk was able to breathe a sigh of relief, his hyungs always thought of everything.

The lift dinged and the pair pulled away from each other, Seokjin sent him off to wash up and promised to cook dinner for everyone ("Yes, I'm including Jimin in that,"), he also assured Jeongguk that he would be the first to know of any updates.

~

Taehyung ran and ran and ran, uncaring of the direction, all that mattered was putting as much distance between himself and Jeongguk as possible. The high-rise buildings loomed over him like eager spectators waiting for him to fall, their windows like leering eyes leaving Taehyung exposed to the world around him. The stripper belatedly realised that he'd found his way onto some sort of high street. Designer brands flocked the street, bouncers manning every door and lots and lots of people. It was perfect.

Taehyung slowed to an ambling pace, weaving in and out of upper-class shoppers while he caught his breath. Every so often someone turned to stare at him, but the stripper was gone before they could blink. Years of having eyes trained on every inch of his body had made it easy to detect them. He stopped outside a Gucci store briefly, gazing in at the displays.

Taehyung needed a plan, he couldn't hide in the crowd forever but with little experience making choices for himself, the sensation was overwhelming. For the first time since he was seventeen, Taehyung could decide where he went. The feeling of child-like glee rushed through him and caused him to rock forward, banging his head on the window. Taehyung didn't know the city, didn't know its layout or its ordinary people.

Exploration. That was first on the agenda, Taehyung decided. There was a grand smile on his face as he turned around, ready to enter the world. He turned to find a very familiar face. One that sent chills through his body and fear into his blood.

~

The table was silent as they waited to be served, Seokjin bustled around the kitchen humming to himself. Jeongguk sat at the head of the table (from his position he had a clear view of most of the main apartment floor), a part of him ached to know that V wouldn't appear at the top of his stairs. Jeongguk's eyes continuously flicked over out of habit.

Seokjin had pushed Jimin into the seat on Jeongguk's right, neither looked at each other since. Jeongguk looking in every other direction and Jimin with his gaze firmly planted in his lap. Yoongi took the seat next to Jimin while Namjoon was opposite him. The space directly to Jeongguk's left open for Seokjin.

A loud knock broke the tension and Jeongguk rocketed out of his seat like a canon. "Jeongguk-ssi," the man with bright red hair nodded when the door opened. "Hoseok-hyung," Jeongguk sighed, disappointed. He was hoping for news on V's whereabouts. "Sorry to disappoint, Sir. Just wanted to let you know I've assembled the extraction team with our best recruits," It never ceased to confuse Jeongguk why Hoseok clung to formality so tightly but he long since stopped trying to correct him. "Hobi-ah! You're lucky I've made so much food, come in!" Seokjin yelled from the kitchen, Hoseok shuffled uncomfortably but Jeongguk didn't let him escape.

Ignoring how stiff Hoseok was, Jeongguk wrapped an arm around his shoulders and guided the man to sit next to Yoongi. Everyone welcomed the distraction when Seokjin brought the copious amount of food over, he'd made enough to feed the entire complex. All seven ate their fill, even Jeongguk after some encouragement from Namjoon. With the food on the table, there was no need for conversation, but the food only lasted so long. As did the drinks that came after.

They moved to the sofas around the fireplace on the other side of the apartment, the sky surrounding them slowly beginning to lose its light. "I'm sorry, Jeongguk," Jimin whispered, he'd glued himself to Hoseok's side, mirroring Jeongguk's position next to Namjoon. The anger brewed again, Jeongguk seething at the thought of his best friend losing something so precious to him. But then love swelled harder, Jimin was his best friend, always had been, always will be. They'd had rough patches before, and this was no different. V would have escaped regardless of who was with him, they'd all grown too comfortable with the dancer's obedience.

Jeongguk stood on wobbly legs and walked over to Jimin, he extended a hand and pulled the other up before embracing him. Jimin clung to him desperately and began to weep, "I love you, Jimin, this doesn't change that," Jeongguk whispered for only Jimin to hear. They separated from each other and Jimin gave him a shaky smile before they returned to their seats. Now that he'd dealt with the anger and betrayal, the hurt Jeongguk faced bubbled to the surface. He didn't cry but his body crumpled as he leant into Namjoon, "I thought he was happy here, hyungs. I gave him everything, I respected him, I held him and protected him. So why would he leave?"

"You didn't give him everything, Jeongguk," Yoongi said softly and ignored the harsh look from Seokjin. Jeongguk looked at him with wide eyes, "you never gave him his freedom, Guk,"

Namjoon sighed, "He's right, Guk, in V's head he was only ever your stripper. You own him, he never chose to live here. Yes, what you've given him is better than what he had, but you can't expect him to be happy. He fears you; your father murdered his siblings in cold blood. He's witnessed horrors while being by your side and you've pushed him into horrible situations. I don't need to remind you what you did the night before your birthday,"

Jeongguk looked at the sofa opposite him guiltily.

Hoseok cleared his throat, "I've never met V, but I do know you Jeongguk. You're not a bad kid, your heart is good but you're a product of your upbringing. You were raised to be the perfect leader of Geom-Eun Neugdae, your concept of other people's worth is flawed, and you seem to have forgotten how V came into your life. He was a purchase. Whether you see him like that anymore is irrelevant because that is what V sees himself as and it will take a lot of work and sacrifice on your half to change that,"

"So what? I should let him go?" Jeongguk snapped, Hoseok had no idea what he was talking about. How dare he challenge Jeongguk-

"Stop being a brat," Seokjin quipped, his fingers dancing over the back of Namjoon's shoulders. His face was hard and his eyes disappointed, "You're the heir to Geom-Eun Neugdae, you have the authority here but don't abuse it. We're your hyungs, don't talk down to us. We find V this time to make sure he's safe, but you need to really think about what happens after this, Jeongguk. "

Jeongguk mumbled an apology and sank back into Namjoon's side. It was going to be a long night.

~

"Hello, V," Song said jovially, he was dressed in a crisp grey business suit. A golden watch teased Taehyung where it sat on his wrist, hands concealed in his trouser pockets. Taehyung stumbled back but only found the window once again. "You shouldn't be out here alone, should you?"

Taehyung was trembling viciously now, despite only a brief interaction with Song in the past, he somehow instilled absolute terror into Taehyung's body. Much more than Jeongguk ever did. Song reached out stumpy fingers and Taehyung swore he could see blood under his nails. Those fingers brushed over Taehyung's cheekbone, and it took everything in him not to flinch. Song's hand travelled down his neck then over his shoulder and down his arm. They circled his wrist just above the silver bracelet there.

The silver bracelet.

In his haste, Taehyung had completely forgotten about the tracker. He thanked his negligence now, hoping that despite Jeongguk's inevitable anger, he would still come and get him. That morsel of hope was the only thing that kept Taehyung together as he was tugged forward into Song's chest. "I think I'll keep you, you'd make a pretty addition to my collection," Song whispered in his ear.

A gun was pushed into Taehyung's stomach, and he could almost hear the sneer on Song's lips. The stripper kept his face blank as he was guided down the streets to a silver car. It didn't look as nice as Jeongguk's, and he found the seats nowhere near as comfortable when he was pushed inside. Memories of the night he was taken threatened to surface when Song sat next to him, one hand possessively on his thigh, the other keeping the gun trained on him.

By no means was Song's residence unimpressive, a large home in Yangpyeong. But, after living with Jeongguk for so long and drowning in the opulence he existed in, nothing about the abode enticed the stripper. Taehyung's mind was a mess as he was led into the home. Where was Jeongguk? Jimin would have noticed pretty quickly that he'd disappeared so why hadn't they found him yet?

Two young women greeted them at the bottom of the staircase that welcomed Taehyung on entry. They bowed to Song but didn't smile and Taehyung spotted the red marks around their wrists. They took Taehyung upstairs, leaving Song behind, and took him into a large bathroom where he was stripped down and bathed in silence. Then he was paraded naked down the hall, thankfully no one else was there at the time, and guided him to a bedroom.

It didn't take a genius to realise this was the master bedroom and therefore Song's. A young male entered behind them dressed only in black lacy lingerie and a thick collar around his pale neck. Still, no one spoke as they dressed Taehyung in a similar get-up only his was an ugly shade of hot pink. A matching collar was tightened around his neck but then a lead was hooked to it, and he was tied to the bottom of the bed, made to kneel, and then left alone.