Author's POV:

The whole night, you thought about everything you had heard. All that had happened in the past 1.5 months. You realized that maybe your uncle had something to do with this. Considering how he never once tried to save you or anything, it kind of made sense. Maybe there was something more to this.

You cried a lot. Every time you remembered the voices of your parents, it stung right in your heart. You felt so numb this morning. It was as if nothing was in your mind. You were blank. You had breakfast. They ordered breakfast from Tim Hortons and it was good. It reminded you of those breakfasts you had years ago in Canada, with your parents. 

"So.. how can I help?" You asked, chewing your doughnuts. Taehyung sipped his coffee before saying, "You just need to tell us if there is any secret corner of the house where he might've hidden the location of the gold mine. A very safe place." 
You dusted off the crumbs from your hands before sighing. You wondered if there could be any.

"Maybe... the kitchen cabinet? That's where dad always hid his secret bagels... mom never allowed him to eat those so he... always hid them there." You said. Jo chuckled and said, "Your father was sneaky... hehe."
"And my mom was murderous, thanks to that." You said. He laughed out loud as you smiled. Taehyung's lips twitched but it didn't turn into a smile which sort of... disappointed you. You had no idea why but it did.

"Let's check the kitchen well, then," Jo spoke.
"The most obvious spots are usually the most hideous ones..." Taehyung said, not sure about Jo's statement. You both frowned and looked at him who was in deep thought.
"He must've hidden it somewhere no one will expect him to. Like... an easy spot. Or maybe somewhere people will think is easy to find because that's where they always slack off. So, we need to search everywhere thoroughly." 

You were impressed. The way he thought impressed you. You couldn't help but chuckle.
"You're like my dad. Smart." You said. He looked at you and you saw his eyes crinkle a little, his lips fighting a smile. It was as if what you said had made him feel good, better than anything else. That was the vibes you gave him.

But no, you didn't want to overthink this. You shrugged off any thoughts and looked away.

The sudden flashback of last night came to your mind and you felt goosebumps on your entire body. Gulping, you said, "Then... another secret space would be dad's study. Nobody ever goes there as he always studied or did his office work there." 
"Alright. Kitchen and study first. We'll let the men search in other areas." You nodded, fiddling with the locket on your neck.
"Oh, that locket is cute." Jo commented as you said, "Oh... I... my dad gifted this to me when I was 5. I like this a lot... but I left it in Canada." You said, sighing. He smiled and said, "It's pretty."
"It suits you," Taehyung spoke. You looked at him, a feeling of warmth spreading across you once again.

You nodded and looked away, gulping. 
"Thanks..." 
He looked at the locket and looked away. 

The heart-shaped locket suited you. You were sure by now. For some reason, him saying that made you feel better. You didn't know why, it just did. 

—Time skip 

"I searched everywhere. I couldn't find anything. Only found a few pieces of paper..." 
"This is the data of his resignation from his work." Taehyung sighed. You stared at these papers quietly, looking down.
"We'll find it eventually, we have to," Taehyung spoke. You looked at Jo holding the metal detector and said, "You can search for it in every room." 
"Alright. Let's go!" Jo said as he went upstairs with the metal detector. 

"He seems to be growing hair these days." You whispered, tilting your head. 
"Does he?" You jolted up hearing a deep voice and looked to your right to see Taehyung's genuine frown. He looked so confused as if he was in deep thought about what you had said.

—Time skip

"Nothing..." Jo sighed. It had been 5 hours. You all searched every corner of the house. Nothing was found.
"Let's search the yards and the places near the house tomorrow," Taehyung spoke. You sighed and rested your head on the couch, staring at the ceiling. 

"It's almost dinner time. Let's cook together?" Jo's idea seemed like a weird one at first but you all ended up doing exactly that.

Y/N: "Hey! I know you can cook but I'm not a dumbo, okay?"
Jo: "Is she crying?"
Taehyung: "It's the onion."
Y/N: "It is... I'm not some depressed kid."
Taehyung: "You look worse than one."
Jo: "Well, do the chickens go there?"
Taehyung: "It'll be salty." 
Y/N: "Like you." 
Taehyung: "I'm not salty. I'm better than what you think of me."

You looked at him who was inches away from you, cutting vegetables. You gulped and looked away. 
"Y/N, could you check if the noodles are boiled yet?" 
"Sure." 

You walked towards the stove and absentmindedly held the hot lid, making you wince. You dropped the lid on the floor and jolted up. You immediately felt a figure stride towards you, holding your hand. 
"I..." You gulped, seeing Taehyung's deep frown. His eyes were wide and he had a sour look on his face as he examined your fingers. 
"Are you dumb?" He asked, his voice sounding annoyed. You gulped and said, "Why are you speaking like that?" 

Your voice came out a little wobbly. Your heart was aching again. It just ached the entire time you were in the kitchen and now, his tone of voice felt like a stab in your bleeding heart.
"If you're that heartbroken, just cry. Just take your time. Nobody asked you to force yourself in here." His tone was a little harsh. You let out a shaky breath in disbelief, looking at him with a frown, a hurt frown.

He looked at your face and immediately lowered his gaze. Dragging you with him towards the sink, he turned on the tap for the cold water and held your hands under the water. 
"Does it hurt or anything?" He asked. You shook your head softly, fighting back tears. He sighed and dragged you out of the kitchen with him. He wasn't being rough but he was gentle. He just had more force than you. 
Jo didn't say anything. He just continued cooking, awkward about the entire situation. 

"Sorry Y/N... take care," Jo spoke from the kitchen as you just followed Taehyung. He made you sit on the couch as you frowned a little, looking down.
"Look. You don't have to cooperate with us if you're hurting. Give yourself the time you need. We might be in a hurry but we aren't as bad as you think. We respect people's feelings." He said, his voice softening a little. You just stared at him, noticing how his raven hair was a little messed up on his forehead as the deep brown of his eyes was looking darker than usual. His lips were also not quivering this time. He looked determined, pretty desperate in some way you couldn't understand. 

"Why are you even being nice?" You asked. The question had to pop out. This wasn't how Jo treated you either. As friendly as he was, he wasn't like this. Taehyung's behaviour, his eyes, the way he talked and stared at you—everything was different. It wasn't how a kidnapper looked at his hostage. It wasn't how someone looked at a person they hated.

And it confused you, it made you wonder. It made you think weird stuff. And it made you feel a way you didn't like at all. 

He didn't know how to answer the question you asked. He stared at you for a moment before saying, "Because I hate you. I hate you too much to be mean to you."
"It doesn't make sense." You whispered, staring at him.
"It never did. We never made sense and we don't have to. It doesn't matter." He said. You looked down, an ache adding to your already aching heart. You felt a tear fall down your eyes as he crouched down, saying, "You'll be gone in 1.5 months. There's no point in being rude to you. Plus, we're in this together." He said, wiping the tear from your cheeks. You wanted to close your eyes at the feeling of his large thumb brushing against your cheek so delicately. It almost made you shudder. The feeling was so soft and delicate, that it made a part of your heart completely break. 

"We hate each other." You spoke. He looked at you, his frown deepening. 
"We do?" He asked. You nodded.
"You hate me." He nodded this time.
"And you?"
"I hate you too." 

"And that's how we're in this together. We hate each other. I hate you more than anyone else." He said.
"I hate you more." You said, a soft sigh escaping your lips. His lips twitched as he smiled and said, "We better be that. People who hate each other." 
You looked down. Somehow, this conversation wasn't convincing. You felt weird as he was saying this. The feeling of him hating you was making you mad. It saddened you. The fact that he hated you. You hated him too, so it was okay, right?

But the fact that he was nice to you and hated you didn't quite make sense to you. And you didn't like this. 

You were crying by now. 
"Hating someone is easier than forgiving them. So, you should hate anyone who hurts you. If you forgive them, it fires back at you." He said and wiped your tears again before they fell on your lap. What he was doing didn't make you feel like he hated you but it was easier to believe that he did. So you would believe exactly that. But what about the gaze that he had on you? Did he have the least bit of hatred in it? He didn't. And it made you even more confused. And angry.

—Time skip 

You all finished eating dinner and were sitting down when you said, "This mood seems like a chitchat mood."
"Right, truth or dare! Should we do it?" Jo asked. Azure meowed loudly as Taehyung just stared at you, not talking. You looked at him before looking away. 
"It's weird. We aren't close."
"People become close through truth or dare. It doesn't always have to be the close people who play this game." Jo said. He made sense though. You nodded and said, "Whatever kills this annoying time." 

"Alright," Taehyung spoke as Jo looked at him with puppy eyes. You wanted to chuckle at him but didn't. You just kept quiet. 
"Okay so the head and tail of the bottle will indicate who will ask and who will answer/perform," Jo said as you nodded.
"And after every round, we take a shot." This idea was wild. You nodded. You needed this anyway.

"So, round one," Jo said and spun the bottle. It landed on you and Jo. 
"Okay! Truth or dare?"
"Truth." You answered. 
"Tell me 10 things you like." 

"10 things?" You asked as Jo nodded. 
"Hmm... I like... Summer? Yeah, I love summer. Food... choco chip cookies... cute pastel clothes and English, it's easy!" You were counting on your fingers. 
"And... I like k-dramas, rom-com to be exact! I also like k-pop and Tzuyu's homemade cookies. I don't know what else I like." You finished. You looked at Taehyung, he seemed to be looking at the bottle. But you had a feeling that he was hearing everything you said. 

"Okay, now shot, everyone!" Jo said as you all took a shot. The burning sensation in your throat had you sighing. Taehyung glanced at you before looking at the bottle. This time it spun between you and Taehyung. 

You looked at the bottle asking, "Truth or dare?"
"Truth." He said. 

"Why are you both mafias...? I mean, is it hereditary?"