Glass bottles fizzed as Jimin prized their metal caps off with his teeth - one for him and one for his new housemate. 

Taking the seat across from Jungkook, they both ignored the rain that had begun to spit into the air.

It was the early hours of the morning, but neither of them could sleep. They'd both headed to the decking outside of the kitchen for a little bit of clarity, hoping that the sea air could settle their stomachs.

"Cheers," Jungkook thanked him, holding the cold glass against his bottom lip, ready to take a swig.

A snow-white full moon reflected on the calm sea, illuminating the otherwise dark night. Constellations flickered in the midnight sky, and Jungkook wondered what astrologers would have predicted for him. Had his horoscopes come true? Is this the path he was fated to be on?

"What's eating you?" Jimin pried, not wanting to be too intrusive, but clearly seeing that Jungkook needed to talk.

Light rain dappled the tranquil ocean, obscuring the moon's crystal decalcomania.

"Shoulder's keeping me up," Jungkook spoke sincerely, swallowing his ice-cold brew down his throat.

It had been nearly a week and a half since he'd been hurt, but it still wasn't showing any sign of healing. His skin was hot to touch, his blood cells working overtime to fight any possible infection. He'd started waking up in cold sweats, feeling faint from the pain. He wouldn't admit to that, though. He wasn't feeble.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Jimin asked, not wanting to give him unsolicited advice. It had been abundantly clear that Hana trying to force help upon him wasn't working, so Jimin endeavoured a different tactic.

Jungkook shrugged his more durable shoulder. "I might call Hoseok, see how things are on the ground before heading back to the mainland. Get it looked at over there."

His biggest fear was arriving into Donghae Harbour, only to be welcomed by Hae Pa street dogs sent to do Saffy's dirty work. The beauty of being shielded by Yuseong Logistics meant that a protective belt lay around the islands - it was a contractual obligation for the city Pa's: No unauthorised encroachment on Yuseong Logistics territory.

They weren't a Pa, no, but sometimes it served well to play them at their own games. By enacting treaty laws in exchange for good business, it was a win-win: protection and profits.

"You trust him? Hoseok?" Jimin pressed, knowing very little about this Hoseok guy. He'd been the one to fuck with their cartel, so naturally, he wasn't an enthusiast.

"He's one of the good ones," Jungkook responded, before amending his statement. "The only good one."

As the two men sat in silence, soft paws trundled up the garden path. Not adverse to the rain, Bill had been helplessly chasing tiny bugs for the last few hours, without catching a single one. He didn't hesitate to hop up onto Jungkook's lap, finding comfort in the feverish warmth of his body. "Hey little fella," he cooed, scratching at his ear.

"You are too," Jimin corrected him with a pleasant smile, watching the kitten curl up. "One of the good ones, I mean. At least Billy boy seems to think so."

"I hope so," Jungkook said after a moment. The tips of his fingers nestled in Bill's abundant fur, providing both of them with an arcane form of therapy. Not wanting to dwell on himself, Jungkook steered the conversation towards Jimin. "What's keeping you up?"

There was silence again as Jimin washed the bitterness in his mouth down with more alcohol. It was times like these that he wished he hadn't gone clean. If he was back in Seoul, he would have dragged Hana to the nearest dive bar and spent the night forgetting his faux pas.

But they weren't in Seoul. And this wasn't something he could just forget.

"The girl I've been seeing over on the main island, the barmaid," Jimin sighed, making reference to the girl he had met a few months ago. She had moved over from the mainland to 'escape' and there was something Jimin found compelling about her. Like him, she'd gotten lost in an attempt to be free. He'd flirt with her at the bar until her shift ended and then they'd sink a few more drinks back at hers until one thing led to another - and then he'd do the same again the next week. "She, uh... She thinks she pregnant."

"Well, shit," Jungkook choked on his beer. He hadn't been expecting that.

Nor had Jimin, which is what had drawn him outside that night. He needed to breathe in clean air and process it all.

"What are you gonna do?" Jungkook asked, curiously. Jimin didn't seem the type to take such matters lightly, but he also didn't seem to be at a stage in his life where kids were on the agenda.

"Fuck knows," he sighed, almost laughing at the absurdity of it all. "It's her choice, isn't it? I just have to live with it."

Keeping the kid would change everything; he'd have to move over to Ulleungdo, change his work schedule, learn how to be nurturing. He didn't want to be a deadbeat dad, but he also didn't want to have to give everything he loved up for the sake of a girl he barely knew. He didn't love her and had certainly never thought about starting a family with her - yet here he was, contemplating it.

"Are you gonna tell Hana?" Jungkook asked. His mind couldn't help but wander back to her, especially not when it came to topics like this.

"He doesn't have to."

Both men glanced behind them to find Hana walking in their direction. She had been woken by Jungkook's old burner phone buzzing in the nightstand.

"Hobi," she held out the phone for him. It took Jungkook a second to understand what she meant, his face furrowing and softening upon the realisation. He took the phone from her and held it up to his ear, passing Hana the sleepy kitten from his lap. They swapped positions, him heading into the house, her taking his seat.

"So," Hana stared at Jimin, slightly bewildered. "What the fuck?"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Talk to me," Jungkook spoke into the receiver as he collapsed down into one of the leather armchairs in the lounge, propping his feet up on the coffee table.

He hadn't spoken with Hoseok since he had left. It had been intentional, to prevent anyone from tracking him.

Hoseok was relieved to hear his voice after so long. Since the day that Jungkook had moved into 32b, they'd seen each other nearly daily, except for the occasional business trip here and there.

"Made it alright then?"

"Yeah, yeah, all good. Shoulder's still being a bitch, but everything's grand other than that," he admitted. Somehow, it felt easy opening up to Hoseok.

"Did you get it stitched up?"

"Nah," Jungkook scrunched his nose up, knowing that he really should have done.

"You're not doing yourself any favours," Hoseok warned him sternly. Back in Seoul, he was pacing his apartment. Fresh from a late-night meeting with Saffy, he had a lot on his mind. "Look, I can't talk for long," his voice was a little jittery, anxious of the line being bugged. "You gotta stay offshore for a while."

Jungkook hadn't planned on going to the mainland any time soon, but hearing Hoseok make it a demand was worrying. Jungkook held the bridge of his nose between his fingers, eyes sealed shut in frustration. "Why?"

"Tae's back in town. He's got into Saffy's head. Reckons she's making herself look weak by letting you abandon the Pa," He paraphrased as Jungkook scoffed. "She thinks you're down South, 'cause I paid some Dal Pa runner to drive your business car to Busan. He gave the keys and your wallet to a couple of rough sleepers to run up a paper trail. Dunno what happened to it all, but it seems to have worked."

"Smart," Jungkook mused. It had been something they had discussed, but only briefly, as it was a lot of extra leg work for little reward. He was secretly glad Hoseok had gone through with it anyway. "So what's the issue?"

Jungkook could hear the heels of Hoseok's trademark brogues tapping against his marble flooring.

"Tae's taken your spot, Kook. There's a hit out for you down on the South coast, a price on your head," Hoseok sputtered, trying to be as coherent as possible. "Dead or alive."

It took Jungkook a good few moments to digest this new information.

"If she can't have me..." Jungkook said quietly, his voice trailing off as Hana came in through the french doors to shelter from the rain that had started pouring down a little too swiftly for her liking. With Bill at her feet, one of Jungkook's large shirts, now saturated from the skies, draped over her tired body gratifyingly.

Just looking at her caused his chest to swell with emotion.

"Then no one else can," Hoseok finished gravely, culling the line.

Jungkook let the empty static ring out in his ear for a moment, before pressing the phone to his lips. His eyes were unfocused, even as Bill came bundling up to him for attention. There was a numbness to the suffocating weight in his chest.

Drizzle continued to pour outside, trickling down the windows like cars racing out of control on the freeway. Droplets crashed into one another, converging and forcing themselves further down, down, down, until they came to a tragic, halting, stop.

Hana sat across the room from him, wordlessly observing. With each blink of his midnight eyes, the cogs in his meticulous brain were turning, deciphering whatever Hoseok had just told him.

Like the moon that shone through the window panes, Jungkook had gone through phases of darkness only to shine brightly again.

The cyclic disposition of Mother Nature meant that the moon could never stay full for too long - and apparently, nor could he.