"Me?"

He's concussed.

He's got to be.

He must've gone through total and complete brain failure after smacking his head on the bad side of one of those branches as he fell to be looking at you like that. As is he's relieved to see you alive.  The rampant emotion breathed into that single word swirls around your chest in bewildering tornados.

Taehyung, AKA your human shield, leaves you to help his friend lift the injured man up, aiding him as his balance falters between the unsteady support of his legs. Between Hoseok and Taehyung, Jungkook slumps like a worn-out scarecrow. he takes a slow, shuddering step forward, then another, and another.

It seems like years ago that you thudded to the ground in a tangled heap of injuries and fear, yet, at the same time, it feels like it was only seconds ago. Recalling the look on his face, the abrupt streak of pain in his eyes seconds after he hurtled into that first tree branch flashes like a visual mantra through your mind.

He looks like that now, when he's simply taking a step.

This strong, virile young man that could lift whole people into the air days ago.

Hoseok is wincing at the snail-like pace of his movement. "Kook, I know you just came back from the dead and all, but...we have to pick up the pace."

A small exhale of air flees Jungkook's mouth at the words. You can visibly see him gather his strength up, straightening his back and lifting the slump of his shoulders. Gritting his teeth, Jungkook retracts his arms from around the necks of his older friends and stands independent, the only thing left holding him up being sheer willpower.

His eyes clash with yours. For a second, you could have sworn that a hint of a blush crossed his cheeks; but then it's gone. In its place is a familiar hard, mocking expression as he stares you down, as if trying to forget that he ever looked at you softly. "Now, Y/N. Did you really have to go and jump out of that freaking tree?"

Welp.

There goes your sympathy.

"I see the ground didn't knock any sense into you when you hit it," you sigh. "Pity. That whole leap was for nothing, then."

Hoseok intercepts your eye contact with his body and an eye roll. "You two can hash this out later. We're kind of in a situation right now."

Like it's been cued, a piercing whistle of warning rings through the air at that moment. The high-pitcher noise plays across the expressions of the men in the room with you, hardening them into masks of military-like preparedness.

Not military-like. Assassin-like.

You look at Hoseok's face, and notice with a jolt of shock that he looks ready to kill by any means necessary.

You're about to see a side of these men that you haven't seen before.

A dirty, nasty side, full of scars and pain and the determination of unfortunate souls who have nothing on this material world to lose. Desperate people, hungry for vengeance.

Those are the most dangerous kind.

Hoseok closes his eyes and stiffens a little, flashing them back open a second later. "Bathroom," he says. "First floor, under the staircase. Now."

A bathroom? You don't understand how that would be a good place to go in this situation.

However, Taehyung and Jungkook move without argument, Taehyung taking your arm and pushing you toward the door.

"We might need cover," says Jungkook.

With a flourish, Hoseok withdraws a handgun from a holster that you didn't notice, strapped like a tourniquet around the top of his thigh. "I'll take care of it. Now go."

"Why a bathroom?" you whisper to Taehyung off to the side, both of you following behind Jungkook and Hoseok as they creep outside.

You're promptly hushed by a hiss from somewhere in front of you, clamping your mouth closed around another question. Ducking his head down, Hoseok paces down the hall on silent feet, beautiful eyes creased in deadly concentration.

He gets to the gaping mouth of the hallway, where the spiral staircase connects to the hall before plummeting to the ground. Gun first, Hoseok edges around the corner of the hallway with the awareness of a sharp-eyed hawk.

The first couple of steps down the staircase send chills down your spine.

This isn't anything like you would have expected, after seeing crime shows and movies. There isn't a chaotic blur of activity, no bullets pinging off the sideboards or bodies flying through the air.

No.

It's eerily silent.

You can see that, at the bottom of the entryway, the front door is cracked open to reveal a hint of the car hood you had parked there. No soul appears to you.

Where are they?

You almost voice the question out loud, but you're interrupted by the soft pattering if footsteps somewhere down below.

"Move," Hoseok spits, urging your group of four faster down the vulnerable expanse of the staircase. The footsteps down below have turned into voices; soft and calm, a distant, unintelligible murmur of human communication.

Just as you breach the bottom of the staircase, the kitchen door swings open, freezing Hoseok in his tracks.

Out steps Namjoon, tense and clad in head-to-toe black. His serene face is held in an expression of utter blankness, no sparks of amusement or mischief in his eyes.

This is business Namjoon, serious Namjoon.

You bite your lip as something settles in; the realization of just how generous and merciful these men have been to you. They haven't treated you like a parcel to be delivered back to your father. It would have been so easy for them to be like Namjoon is now; cold and impersonal, prepared to do whatever necessary to get the job done.

The whole time, you've been a person; someone with a story and a reason for life.

And, as Seoungmin, the man you've been forcefully engaged to marry, emerges behind Namjoon, you realize just how much trouble they've gotten themselves into to give you a chance.

Your heart drops to the depths of the earth, mouth going dry with fear and disgust at the sight of the cold, expressionless man who stands beside Namjoon. The contrast between them is almost laughable now that you've seen Namjoon in his true form, smiling warmly with those sweet dimples.

You don't think Seoungmin is capable of a genuine smile.

"Ah, there's little Y/N." Seoungmin smiles a plastic smile that you know only too well.

"Yes, she's here. Safe and sound," affirms Namjoon. "Is that all you needed to see?"

The question startles Seoungmin into raising a single eyebrow. "Well, we've come to retrieve her after all. You lot have obviously failed to do what we hired your for. You only got half of the job done."

Through the kitchen doorway behind the two men, a dozen more faces stare back at you. Seoungmin brought a lot of men, almost twice the number of your group.

You gulp.

How is it that simply wanting a tattoo brought you all the way to this point? Said ink almost burns on your thigh, a mocking reminder of the hilarity of the twists and turns that your life has taken.

"If you just give her to us now, we'll pay the first half of the money, plus a five percent bonus for keeping her safe." Seoungmin seems to think that his deal is very fair. His cold, dead eyes peer at Namjoon with expectation. There's also a warning ringing in his eyes, and voice. "You'll give her to us as us due. Right?"

Right?

Because they should.

After all the chasing and fighting you've put them through, they really should just throw you to your father's men and not look back. You're probably the most problematic captive that they've ever had.

But, with a glance at Taehyung to your left and Jungkook to your right, with Hoseok standing defensively in front of you, you understand that they won't let you go.

They're protecting you, because in you, they see themselves.

Scared and lost and young, trapped in a world with no mercy, where you're only a gain or a loss to whoever is using you. Striving for freedom.

They're putting themselves on the line for you, and this whole time you've been throwing it back into their faces.

"I don't think that's going to work for us," says Namjoon in a quiet voice like steel.

For a slight moment, Seoungmin simply stares down the younger man. The harsh lines of his face are unaffected, unreadable.

"Namjoon...you've done good business for us in the past. Don't lose that over something so insignificant."

You.

You're the thing- the something that's so insignificant.

You want to fight and thrash against even the thought of returning to the restraints of your old life, but at the same time...

You look at Namjoon's face, at his calm but determined demeanor.

You look at Hoseok's fierce stance, using his body as a barrier between you and the men.

You look at Taehyung and Jungkook, weaponless but still flanking you, prepared to fight tooth a nail for you.

Even Jungkook.

Even Jungkook, as he says quietly, "She is not insignificant."

The words crash through you.

They care. They care about you and what happens to you, and after holding you here for only a couple days, they're already prepared to come to your defense. All the chasing and holding and retraining was an attempt to keep you safe after hearing your story.

They care about you.

But, sadly, you care about them too.

You touch the wrist of the man beside you, gently. Jungkook looks at you with black eyes lit from within, glowing with the fire of war.

You say, "Just let me go."

It took too long, but you understand now. They were never out to harm you, no matter how many empty threats the youngest made against you. The proof is in the way he's standing here now, defending you.

If you let them do this, then everything they've built here will go crashing to the ground under the weight of your father's will and fury.

You have to go with Seoungmin.

"What are you doing?" Jungkook reverses your grip, grabbing your wrist in turn when you start to move away from him. "We're protecting you, idiot. Let us."

You yank out of his hold and stride forward, approaching Namjoon. Hoseok also tries to grab you as you dart by, but you avoid his hand and scamper up to Namjoon.

You place a hand on the leader's shoulder. "It's okay. I'll go with them." Leaning up on your tiptoes, you whisper in his ear, "They won't stop coming after me. Thank you for watching after me, Namjoon. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that you were trying to help."

You start to lean away, but Namjoon grasps your shoulders. "Listen to me, Y/N," he says so softly that no one but you can hear him. "I know you don't want to go back. Don't go all self-sacrificing on us now."

You blink, and Namjoon subtly directs his finger to point down, indicating the area where your jeans cover up Jungkook's design etched into your thigh.

"I meant it when I said you're one of us now," he says quietly. "Don't push us away in some sad attempt to protect us. Because now? We'll only come after you."

We'll only come after you.

Your throat swells and thickens with emotion.

Nobody's ever offered that before. No one's ever tried to save you.

They won't let you go.

And if they won't let you go, then your only choice is to fight alongside the Bangtan Boys.

You're one of them now.

When you let your eyes move up, and go back, and see Hoseok releasing a tiny smile of reassurance, Taehyung's soft glance, and the hard protectiveness raging like a storm in the eyes of the man you though hated your guts...

"What do I do?" you ask Namjoon.

A secret smile spreads on his face. "We've got a plan. Don't worry." Namjoon gently pushes you behind him, facing your father's plethora of men with icy resolve. "Sorry to say this, but I don't think Ms. Song is quite ready to go back."

The men that came with Seoungmin shift uncomfortably, glaring at Namjoon's refusal of their leader's requests.

A scornful laugh drips out of you fiancé. "If you insist. You're only forcing our hand here."

And just as Seoungmin lifts his hand, flicking a single finger forward, solid arms wrap around your waist and drag you backwards into the unknown.

[A/N]
Unedited
Dear Lilpockets,
I don't use curse words due to my personal beliefs, and it seems unfair to criticize someone for that. When I use phrases such as "what the heck", "crap", and "freaking", and especially " frickity frack" (which seemed to irritate some of you for whatever reason), you're welcome to say in your head whatever you want. My use of these phrases is not an attempt to tell you that cursing is wrong, or a try to change the way you speak.
I hope y'all have a great day.
❤️PB