"Why are you so giddy?" Jiah asked, walking into the hospital cafeteria, sitting across from Jungkook. He had been staring at the water bottle on the table, tracing the lines around it with the most idiotic smile plastered across his face. 

Cheeks burning with the dust of Mars and eyes glowing with a brightness she had never seen before, Jungkook handed Jiah the water bottle.

"Didn't you say you were thirsty?"

"Yeah," nodding, she continued to stare at him with a bewildered expression on her face, "You still haven't answered my question."

"I might tell him," Jungkook's eyes danced from the table and met her gaze, "I might tell Jimin."

"What?" she narrowed her eyes, trying not to grin at her best friend's words, "What are you going to tell him?"

"Are you really going to make me say it out loud?"

"Yeah," she smirked a little, "What was it again?"

"You know what I mean, I'm not saying it," he huffed, getting up from his seat and she jumped up as well.

"Where are you going?" a small laugh escaped her lips, "Wait for me!"

Crossing his arms over his chest, he stopped until she caught up. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"So when?"

"When what?"

"When are you going to tell him?"

He sighed as they reached the elevator, ready to go back to Taehyung's room on the highest floor, "When all this is over."

"What?"

"When we're done with whatever it is we're doing, and we can finally be free from this stupid life. The moment we stop what Kkangpae is doing then I'll tell him, when I'm free of these fucking chains."

Jiah was silent then, the words he spoke hanging in the air before them, staring at them, haunting them.

"Will that time ever come?" she whispered, gaze falling to the floor.

The war raging in her head constantly wasn't something she had learnt to tolerate, nor did she think she could ever come to terms with it.

She had been living all her life holding her breath, and while she had never killed anyone, she might as well have done so.

She's shot people, purposefully missing. She's fought people until they were bloodied and hospitalised for weeks. She's been part of countless drug deals as if they were nothing.

Her life was riddled with regret and guilt.

Why did Taehyung love her the way he did? Why did she feel a deep cosmic pull toward him from the day they met?

Jiah didn't believe in the idea that people lived more than one life. She's only ever thought this was the single chance she was getting in life, these were the only people she'd ever meet and these were the only experiences she could ever have.

But meeting Taehyung made her believe in so much more.

Meeting Taehyung felt like she knew him for eternities before, made her feel like she'd loved him tirelessly. She knew she loved him from the moment she lay her eyes on him and there was no other explanation for that apart from the idea that they'd met time and time before.

Oh how she wished she remembered what that life was like.

In that moment she could only hope her other lives weren't manifested with the bad decisions she'd made in this one.

"Hey, Jiah?" Jungkook's quiet voice interrupted her thoughts and she lifted her eyes from the ground, finding they were at the VIP ward.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled, stepping out of the elevator, "Ready to face your prince?"

Rolling his eyes, he swung the door to Taehyung's room open, "Hey guys!"

Jimin spun in the seat next to Taehyung's bed, eyes lighting up in a matter of seconds when they walked in. Jiah's heart swelled.

She then turned her gaze to Taehyung, finding he was already smiling at her.

There he was, her forever love.

No wonder he looked like the universe personally sculpted every part of his body - right down to his eyes. In a way that was so endearing it would make sense to call him a celestial being.

And here he was, staring at her like she was his world.

The noise in the room started to cease and Jungkook let out a low cough.

"Yeah I think Jimin and I were just about to leave."

"Yeah, I reckon we were-"

Taehyung smiled and waved a goodbye before they walked out, Jimin trying his best to drape his arm over Jungkook's shoulder without hurting his dignity too much as he stood on his tip-toes.

As soon as the door closed, Taehyung covered his mouth with one hand, waving Jiah closer to the bed with the other.

She furrowed her eyebrows at the immediate change in manner, following anyway.

Sitting on the seat previously occupied by Jimin, she saw that Taehyung was hiding that box smile that he only ever wore when he was incredibly happy.

The rose in his cheeks, too, were a surprising addition to his appearance. He was gushing like a school boy.

"Jimin likes Jungkook," he whispered, still covering his mouth and she had to look around the room to check that they weren't there. Why was he whispering?

But she paid no mind to the idea that he was acting quite peculiarly for a man of his age - instead she found it adorable. 

"Really?" she asked lowly, "Jungkook likes Jimin!"

"My God- we really are the best matchmakers, don't you think?"

Taking a deep breath, she felt her gaze change. She just knew the playful eyes she had on would have been replaced with a different, dreamy pair.

"You okay sweetheart?"

Forcing a smile, she nodded. Slipping her shoes away and pulling her jacket off, she rested them both by the table next to the bed.

Climbing onto the bed next to Taehyung, she waited for him to adjust himself so he was now lying instead of sitting.

No words were spoken between them; she knew they didn't need that.

His eyes searched for hers and for a while he couldn't find them, but he said nothing. He waited.

Soon after, she started to unbutton his hospital gown, starting from the bottom and Taehyung yelped.

"Sweet- Jiah, what are you doing?"

She still said nothing, but when she was done, her hands flew to his abdomen, fingers sketching the side of the bandages taped to his skin.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, finding tears flood her eyes, "I'm so sorry."

He didn't say anything as a reply, knowing nothing he could say would make her feel better.

Instead, he pulled her head into his shoulder, stroking her hair.

"Taehyung, do you believe in having more than one life?" her voice vibrated through his body and he leaned away a little.

"What?"

"Do you think we might have lived a life before this one?"

"I do," a sad smile graced his lips then, "I believe we did, and I believe we loved each other then, too."

"You reckon?"

"I think our souls are intertwined, sweetheart. Ever since day one you've felt like home to me and I knew from the beginning that I would do anything for you. I think that's my fate."

"Wait what?" there was something ominous about his words, and he seemed to be caught off guard by her question. But he shook his head.

"What do you mean you'd do anything for me? Your fate? Taehyung what do you know that I don't?"

The sad smile persisted, despite him shaking his head, "My fate is to love you, no matter who you are. No matter how we end up."

"Taehyung, you definitely know something I don't-"

"I don't," he chuckled, leaning down and kissing away the few escaped tears on her cheeks. "Man, I miss you."

"I literally haven't left for the last three days."

Shaking his head, he started to peel the neck of her blouse back, his hand leaving her waist.

"I missed this."

"Well I'm sorry but you're going to have to miss it a little longer," she felt his lips travel to the base of her neck, "I have to go meet the director soon."

Instantly, he drew back, "I thought I said I'm coming as well?"

"Oh yeah, you thought."

"Sweetheart, I'm coming."

"Not after what just happened you're not."

"I'm fine!" he burst, "I didn't die! Listen to me, I won't be able to live with myself knowing you're out there risking your lif-"

"Taehyung..."

"At least let me come to the meeting? And we can decide from there what's going to happen?"

He seemed to have decided she was going to let him, because he resumed his little journey of kisses up her throat then, not stopping as he met her mouth.

"Please?"

When his lips were on hers, she lost sense of space; she lost sense of time.

And she found herself nodding obliviously.

--

"I'm sorry for changing the location last minute," Jiah said when the director walked in.

"It's fine, I-" when his eyes lay on Taehyung they widened, "Fuck, what happened to you?"

"If Kkangpae didn't know about me and Taehyung, they definitely know now," Jiah answered his question, frowning.

"What? What do you mean 'about me and Taehyung'? What about you guys?"

"Oh boy," Jungkook muttered under his breath and Jimin shook his head.

"We don't have time for that right now, can we talk about what we're going to do? I want to get this whole thing over with as soon as possible."

Sitting down in front of Jungkook, he started, "I don't think they have a proper process at the moment. As this is a new business I think they're just testing the waters. I did notice they stole a whole bunch of medical equipment using your access code, Jiah."

"How did I not catch that?" Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, turning to him.

"Because I hid it," he shrugged, "I've been doing it for years. I just didn't know you knew about all this."

"You don't seem to be worried about losing your job right now," said Jimin.

"I'm not, because I'm quitting after we're done. When I'm through with Kkangpae, I'll have no more reason to be working at World."

"Ouch," Taehyung joked from his bed, "That hurt."

"Anyway, I'm still trying to work out which of their three warehouses they'll be using to store the girls. But honestly I'm thinking I try find out the day they're trying to move forward with their plans, and we just crash their party."

"How are you going to find out?"

"While they don't tell me anything anymore, I do have some old friends I can contact. I'll get the intel as soon as possible. Now, when we find out the date and time, I'm thinking someone distracts while someone else actually frees the girls. It's simple but we need to make sure we do it clean. Now, I don't think they'll have high security when it comes to the actual day because Boss probably doesn't think he has any threat so I reckon us three will be enough for the job."

"What do you mean three? There's four of us," Jimin interjected.

"Five," Taehyung lifted his head from the bed, "Five of us."

"You're not coming," Jiah, Jimin and Jungkook all said simultaneously and exchanged glances.

"Guys, no, I'll be fine in a couple days and then I'll join you."

"Tae, if you think I'm going to let you do anything but rest for the next month, you're crazy."

"Month?" he sat up now, "I'm not on crutches Jimin!"

Jiah didn't want to admit it but she was glad someone else was there to tell Taehyung no as well.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, guys," the Director said quietly, looking carefully between Jimin and Taehyung, "Thinking back again, we might need all the help we can get."

"See now that's where you're wrong," Jimin told him, "He's not going anywhere when he can get hurt again."

"I'll do the distracting! I won't have to put myself in danger, I'll be good!"

"This isn't like us letting you go play with your friends at the playground after scraping your knee, this is you going out to fight after you almost died."

"If I don't help you, who will?"

"We're good with four of us, right?"

"Uhm, I don't know - we might need him-"

"The doctor said I'm healing faster than he expected, anyway," he pleaded, "I need to come guys."

"He doesn't go alone," Jungkook muttered, hating to see the conflict storm in Jimin's eyes, "He needs a partner then."

"Taehyung and I will distract, you three can free the girls."

"Seems like we're getting there," Jungkook said softly, looking at Jimin for a mere second before focusing back on the ground, "It'll be over soon."

"I'll try get as much info as possible from my contacts, hopefully by tomorrow I can get back to you guys."

Getting up, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and nodded to Jungkook, "It was nice meeting you, comrade."

"Nice meeting you."

"And I'll see you at work?" he turned to Jimin.

"Yep! See you there," and before leaving he waved a little goodbye to Taehyung.

Soon, it was just the four of them left in the room, all facing Taehyung's bed with a pregnant silence hanging over their heads.

"Are we really going to do this?" Jungkook was the first one to speak, hands balling into fists as he scanned the rest of them, eyes resting on Jimin a lot longer than the other two, "Are you all sure you want to?"

"You guys do crazy things all the time, why are you so unsure this time? It shouldn't be any different-"

"It is," Jiah insisted, crossing her arms over her chest when she looked over at Taehyung, "You guys are involved this time; it's different."

"Let's just hope it goes smoothly," Jungkook muttered, "We're doing this for Hoseok."

"Hoseok?" Jimin turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Who's that?"

"An old friend," Jiah said softly, a whisper of a smile brushed past her lips.

"The world is at a loss now that he's gone," Jungkook continued, guilt filling his stomach. And, although it was a split second, the rest of them saw a tiny tear spill from his eye before he wiped it away.

Pushing a smile through grit teeth, he rested his hands on his waist, "So, we getting pizza or Chinese tonight?"

Jiah shrugged, turning to the other men in the room, finding her heart pang at the sight of Jimin. He was just watching Jungkook with sorry eyes, he looked as if he wanted to prod further.

But he wasn't going to.

"I want Chinese," Taehyung coughed a little, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Me too," Jiah agreed and the other two nodded, Jungkook walking to the door.

"I'll get something for us from the takeaway across the street. I'll be right back."

"Wait up," Jimin rushed to put on his coat, "I'll come with you."

"It's ok-" before Jungkook could finish, he was already by his side.

And soon enough, it was just Jiah and Taehyung again.

"If they don't start dating soon, I swear I'm gonna riot," Taehyung shook his head as the two men left the room.

"I think we'll have to wait a bit," Jiah took a set next to his bed, "Jungkook said something about asking Jimin out after we're all done with this... stuff."

"Really?" she expected disappointment, but his eyes lit up in excitement. "So he's going to ask Jimin out? Thank-fucking-goodness."

"Why?"

"Jimin - the idiot - doesn't think Jungkook likes him, and I honestly don't know what will make him believe it. Waiting for Jimin to make the first move is not a good idea."

Watching the way Taehyung's expression would turn into an instant grin when he spoke about Jimin - about Jimin's happiness - was something Jiah could never get over.

Giggling, she leaned forward, cupping his face in her hands. And like a magnet, with his eyes as the north pole and her eyes the south, they found each other in nanoseconds.

"What?" he bit his lip, looking down at her own.

"You know, I'm starting to buy into this our-souls-are-intertwined thing."

"Good, because they are."

Hi beautifuls!!

I hope you're all well!

The story is coming to an end guys, there's only a handful of chapters left :(

Do you guys have any expectations for the future chapters? 

It's a stressful time but please make sure you're looking after yourselves and your family! Take some time to love yourself today! Read a book, give yourself a hug, do all the things you can to make yourself smile :)

I freakin' love you all so much!

I hope you rest well tonight, beautiful