When night fell, Jimin staked out every bar by Bangtan Park. It'd taken him forever to find one that matched the wooden interior that Jungkook described sleepily after he had fallen asleep cuddled into Jimin's side. Jimin asked him, hoping his words wouldn't bleed Jungkook's dreams into nightmares, but he had to know where to find Jieun.

Jungkook had been hesitant to answer - understandably - as Jimin trailed his finger down the top of Jungkook's shirt, gently brushing it around the healing bruise on his shoulder. He wanted to kiss it away, he wanted to kiss all of Jungkook's pain away. Jungkook's eyes were closed as he talked, almost like his lips were moving while his mind wondered deep in a dream.

Jungkook started to tell him of a bar by the park that Jieun would often call him to meet. She liked public things, making him suffer while people watched. It was a small bar, only built to hold about twenty people. The interior was made of dark wood, a sleek bar table made from individual pieces of tree bark jaggedly put together, the wood glossed over in a coating as clear as the one Jieun used on her nails. At the back wall of the club were three individual booths, Jieun always chose the one hugged by two walls, neatly tucked into a half lit corner.

Jungkook's eyes darted underneath his lids as he murmured the words and Jimin pulled up the Kylo Ren blanket so that it covered more of Jungkook's body. With Jungkook's arm around Jimin's shoulder, Jimin drew small reassured circles on the boy's upper arm. Jungkook told him how she'd have two shots of a liquid the color of blue acid ready for him, ordering him to drink. He'd do so with little push back, not wanting those close to him harmed instead, and the night would become a blur of skin and laughter - laughter at him. He wouldn't come to work for days after, both from the hangover and the dread.

Jimin pulled Jungkook into his chest and kissed the top of his head softly. It pained him to ask, the words leaving his mouth felt like knives stabbing and twisting themselves in his chest, but he needed to know - he needed to do something to help. His heart became caged in steel at the mention of Jieun, of the torture she put Jungkook through. He pitied her, pitied the child who's life was gambled away, but no longer would it excuse the suffering she put Jungkook through.

And so when Jungkook fell asleep, Jimin kissed his forehead one more time before weaving out of his arms. Jungkook mentioned that often she'd call him to the bar on weekends, when the sky was only starting to turn dark. Jimin swallowed, taking a deep breath as he left the apartment, dark blue blooming in the sky above him like tendrils poisoning the sky. He wasn't sure how many times it'd take, but he'd find that bar, find her, and see if he could score a new deal.

* * *

"Well isn't this a surprise." Jieun's pretty voice flooded as she walked into the dark bar, Jimin sitting on a stool near the front door. After asking the bartender some questions, he realized Jieun didn't always call for Jungkook's company and usually she'd enjoy a couple drinks before leashing him to her anyway. It gave Jimin the confidence to wait, while the stars tore their way through the dark cloak of the night sky and the city began to buzz with life.

He also quickly realized just what type of bar this was after the third pair of customers were dressed in from fitting dark clothes, each ordering a single drink, smelling of smoke, before settling into the table booths with a deck of cards on their hands. It made Jimin want to physically vomit, seeing how Jungkook was forced into an environment that tore his dad apart.

Jieun wasn't just clever, she was cruel too - and Jimin would end it, all of it. The night with Jungkook was so warm, so easy, that Jimin wanted to give that to Jungkook everyday. He wanted him to understand just how worth a happy life he was. Wether or not they stayed together, Jimin wanted to at least try and free him from her shackles.

He'd been waiting for hours until she finally sauntered in, two golden haired twins flanking her side. They were both tall and boney, their cheeks so sunken in that their bright green eyes seemed to bulge out like a bird's. Jimin tried to hide the slight tremor in his hand as he slid off the stool. Jieun cocked her head to the side, the silver silk of her thick hair falling from it's knotted bound on top of her hair. Her dark lashes brushed against her cheek as she seized up Jimin, a sneer on her lips - a wolf sizing up her prey.

"What brings a pretty boy like you to a place like this?" She asked, her lips twitching upwards as she took a step forward, the gold silk of her short dress rippling with the movement. Smoke from a near by man's cigar veiled her sharp features so that only her round grey eyes could be seen.

"I want to play a game." Jimin managed to choke out. "With you."

"Oh?" Jieun smiled, the twins behind her cocked their heads to the side. She nodded at one of them and they lept to secure a booth. Jieun turned back to Jimin, an amused fire crackling across her gaze.

"And I was just going to call our Jungkookie, though he's ignored every text I've sent today. You wouldn't know anything about that though, would you?" Jieun asked, giving Jimin a knowing look from their encounter earlier that day before trailing her gaze down to his jeans. She flicked her eyes back up with a smirk, "Does he kiss you where your neck meets your ear, right underneath the jaw?" Jimin blushed and a victorious gleam danced into her gaze. "I taught him that. Nasty little trick."

"I meant cards, not mind games."

"Oh?"

"If I win, Jungkook is free of his debt to you. All of it. You don't own any part of him, you can't force him into anything anymore. He's completely free." Jimin huffed out, his hands forming little fists. He felt guilty for leaving Jungkook while he slept, but this was too important.

Jieun was silent for a while, staring. Then, her eyes narrowed.

"You really care about him, huh?"

"No one deserves what you're doing, Jieun. It's not about...." Jimin trialed off and Jieun looked like she might laugh. After a long moment, she outstretched her slim arm. The twins were finishing setting up a game of cards using their own deck on the booth behind them.

"Fine. I agree." Jieun said, her hand still outstretched. Their was something dark and cold in her gaze, causing Jimin's entire spine shiver. "But, I want something if I win."

"Fine. Let's hear it." Jimin answered, knowing full well she'd throw in her own conditions. Still, nothing could have prepared him for what she demanded, it was shocking enough that Jimin almost took back his offer.

"If I win, I want you to take Jungkook out on a date by the end of the week. I want it to be the most natural and easy time for him. Make him happy, happier than he's ever felt. And then, at night, when you two are holding each other and he gets that look in his eyes, the one where he looks at you like you're a stray star that's fallen into his lap, I want you to tell him that you can't love him. That you tried, but he is too broken, has too much baggage, to ever be loved. Those are my conditions." Jieun stated and Jimin was so shocked that he actually staggered back, the jagged bark of the bar table scrapping into his legs.

"And if I win, he's free. Forever."

"It's a promise." Jieun shrugged, a hungry gleam in her eyes, her mouth practically salivating. "So what do you say Jimin, what shall we play? Since mind games are off the table?" She asked and slowly Jimin brought his hand to clasp around her slim own. He thought of the fear in Jungkook's eyes when he spoke of her, he thought of the blood pouring out of him on Jimin's carpet while he attempted to bandage his wounds, he thought of the grief in his voice when he spoke of his father - he would free Jungkook, he would win, if it meant allowing Jungkook the freedom to heal.

Jieun's smile was like a snake's, stretching and contorting around it's prey: choking it until it died trapped.

______
A/N: I AM SO EXCITED
FOR BE!!!!

- Violette