♪ - panic room | au/ra

Yoongi had never really been one for wasting his weekends in clubs, or getting shit-faced to the extent where he couldn't walk straight. The appeal of living fast and dying young was lost on him - yet every weekend, he found himself trapped in a maze of strobe lights, artificial smoke and hard liquor.

Tequila, usually, or sometimes just a few Jägers to loosen him up. They served to help him come to terms with the fact that this was his life now - and it probably would be until he died.

The weeknights weren't all that different. Yoongi still found himself crawling back to the same old haunts, finding punters to do business with, until he'd made enough dirty cash to balance the books.

Navigating his way through the city's filthiest cesspit, The Zoo, had become second nature to Yoongi. He had grown accustomed to drowning out the bludgeoning thuds of shitty EDM and the cheap perfume that attacked his nostrils.

Sure, he could just not come to such a shit hole, but it was good for business. Notoriety surrounded The Zoo. Every evening, the walls were lined with desperate souls looking to obliterate their own consciousness. He couldn't blame them. Why anyone would want to spend time there sober was beyond Yoongi.

The irony of himself being there, however, completely sober on a Wednesday evening, was not lost on him.

Set flush against the back wall was a bar, stocked to the brim with more alcohol than Yoongi had known existed. Bar stools ran from end to end, inviting punters to settle down and order a cocktail or seven. It was mainly businessmen in tonight, celebrating wins and commiserating losses.

On the opposite side of the room were four pole-adorned stages. Though they were empty tonight, Yoongi had lost count of how many bills he had spunked on their scantily-clad workers. It was usually just bravado, a way for him to entice other club-goers to cough up their cash. The pole dancers weren't the only workers there - and good business for The Zoo meant good business for Yoongi.

Down a short flight of stairs, a small crowd gathered on the dance floor. Women in sequin mini-dresses lit up underneath the strobes, while desirous men tried helplessly to convince them into a late-night rendezvous.

A slight smirk graced Yoongi's lips at the pathetic nature of it all. He could feel eyes on him; the women, mainly, pleased to see a man below the age of thirty and without a receding hairline. A few of the men were looking too, nostrils flared and ready to fight for the objects of their affection.

His tongue flicked over his lips, no doubt enticing the women even more, but he didn't care for them. There was only once place he wanted to be.

Taking a sharp left behind the pole-laced stages, he continued until he reached a heavy fire door that looked inconspicuous to most. The luxuries that laid beyond it were reserved for a select few; those who paid a premium, or those who were owed a premium.

Yoongi fell into neither of those categories, but thankfully for him, he had his hands on the distribution line of the finest narcotics in the city.

The man in charge of the money maker that Yoongi was visiting, Hoseok, would charge him half-rate, as long as Yoongi made up for it in substances Hoseok could abuse.

It was mutually beneficial.

"You're not on the books tonight," Hoseok's thin lips couldn't help but automatically smile as Yoongi pushed the door open.

That being said, there was always a free slot for Yoongi - and if there wasn't, Hoseok would just make one.

Half-rate payment from Yoongi was always infinitely more worthwhile for Hoseok than some fat old sweaty man, who would only put his girls in a bad mood.

Standing behind a slightly out of place concierge desk, Hoseok was the tall, dark and handsome that women warned their daughters about. The playful glint behind his tinted glasses was a con. Most thought he was mischievous, but Yoongi knew the truth:

Hoseok was a menace.

He was a curious man, with a pert little button nose that was never too far from a line of coke, or somebody else's business.

Yoongi didn't think he had ever seen him without a pair of tinted glasses on. He had come to learn that Hoseok teamed his lense shade with whichever business he was doing that day. Yellow was the current choice, which let Yoongi know that he would be balancing books and settling bills.

It was his least favourite of all the shades, as it meant that Hoseok's lurking ears would never be too far from the services that Yoongi would be paying for.

"What have you got for me today?" Hoseok's tongue traced his bottom lip. He was eager for a dusting of sour powder to sink into his taste buds.

Reaching into his blazer, Yoongi smiled, as his fingers rummaged around in the silk lining.

"Benzos," Yoongi stated flippantly, chucking a packet onto the counter, knowing that it made no difference. Hoseok would take them regardless.

"Roofies?" He inquired, holding the foil sheet up to the light and flipping it over to study the red pills that were just begging to be taken.

Each of the pills were stamped with Yoongi's trademark, a little honeycomb pattern. It was a nod to his moniker. Though Hoseok knew him by name, others simply knew Yoongi as Honey. After all, he was responsible for the sweetest delicacies on the black market.

Yoongi shook his head, pulling his wallet out and plucking some notes to make up the difference in what he owed the sinister man in front of him. "Valium. New recipe we're trying out, more potent," Yoongi asserted.

In all actuality, Hoseok was their guinea pig, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him - hopefully.

"Better be," Hoseok discarded them to the side of the desk and counted the cash quickly, not really caring for what Yoongi would pay. It was all just formalities. The two men had known each other since they were both street rats, fending for themselves. It was admirable, almost, how they had managed to leverage themselves to somewhat 'respectable' positions in a less than respectable industry. "She's in her usual booth."

With that, their conversation was over, and Yoongi made his way down the deep navy corridor.

A/N: Making some changes (aka splitting the chapters into three because I thought 3k words was far too long and it's easier for me to edit this way lol, sorry if you get a notif) x