"Hoseok." Jimin said, catching Jung Hoseok, right hand to The Kims, by the forearm with in a the Gala halls. Hoseok's suit was loud. He wore a brown oversized suit jacket with a deep emerald shirt underneath. It was why Jimin wasn't fully sure it was him when he'd noticed his frame earlier from the back - it was swallowed by his clothes. Seeing him now, Jimin had no ide how he could have mistaken him. Hoseok had always been the louder one between the two of them. Louder fashion, louder laugh, louder smile. Jimin pushed right past Hwasa from The Parks to get to him, his heart hammering in his chest.

"How are you here?" Jimin asked, surprised by the panic in his voice.

"Just follow me." Hoseok said under his breath, weaving through the crowd and waving off the servers with wine trays. They reached the elevator and Jimin followed him inside, staring at Hoseok as the doors closed. Jimin's head was ringing; it was impossible not to imagine the walls crushing them. Hoseok smelled like Busan. Like sand and salt and rain. The scent choked him, like his lungs were inhaling cigarette smoke that he couldn't cough up.

The doors opened and Jimin followed Hoseok towards a staff exit. They pushed the heavy steel door open and single white lamp above them flickered as they entered a half empty parking lot. Without the paparazzi screaming at them for photos, Jimin realized just how quiet it was outside.

The city felt dead around him.

"Hoseok, what's going on? I've been here for almost five months with no word from any of you. Then what, you guys send a letter and now show up here? I don't understand the play here." Jimin said, ignoring the pull to look back at the skyscraper behind him where he'd left Jungkook. He knew better than to turn his back on a Kim.

Hoseok turned around and the light flickered across his strong features. "What? What letter?" He said, brows furrowing on his long face. He looked exhausted, Jimin thought. Not different than he looked before, but it was strange to see someone so torn down after spending so many months with people who looked the opposite.

"What do you mean 'what letter?'" Jimin snapped back, still waiting for the catch. What was this? Some test?

Jimin wished he had his knives. Without really thinking about it, he searched for Hoseok's weak spots in front of him. His neck was bare but his wrists were covered by the heavy suit. If Hoseok was smart, he could use the suit to swallow any impact thrown from Jimin. Hoseok was larger and had more muscle, but Jimin was faster. His best bet wouldn't be to fight hand to hand, he'd need to either find a substitute for a knife or find a way to get that suit jacket off of Hoseok and use it to strangle him.

Hoseok frowned. He stared at Jimin's focus and Jimin blinked his instinctual thoughts away. Neither Hoseok or Taehyung had ever seen him work on the field, not directly, at least. But he knew neither had ever been analyzed by Jimin in such a way either. Jimin wasn't exactly obvious about it, but something in the air shifted between them and Hoseok seemed to take note of it.

"Jimin, we didn't send anything." Hoseok repeated. "We got reports that you infiltrated The Jeons ranks and assumed we'd find you here. It's a smarter place to meet than on Jeon territory. We needed to talk to you."

Jimin noddded, dropping the topic. He wasn't convinced The Kims didn't send the letter, just that there was a possibility Hoseok had nothing to do with it.

"Look, before anything happens, I just want to-" Jimin ran a hand through his hair "- I never got to thank you for what you did in Busan. For warning me."

"Are you out of your mind?" Hoseok cut Jimin off in a hushed voice, shoving him to the ground as he looked around to make sure nobody heard him. "The Don's here. You could get me fucking killed. Don't say anything about me so much as talking to you in Busan or he'll replace both of us. I don't know what is up with you but fix it - fast."

"The - what?" Jimin stopped. Hoseok gave him another strange look.

Jimin was about to push more when he noticed two parked black vans behind Hoseok and the words died on his lips. The Kim seal was etched into the lower right-hand corner of both. It was a bluebell flower with hands clasping over it - a symbol of loyalty above all else. Jimin went very, very, still at the sight of it. He needed to get out of here.

Hoseok moved towards the cars and then waited for Jimin to follow him. His brows flicked up when Jimin hesitated.

Jimin stretched his fingers out by his sides. God he really missed his knives.

Hoseok walked around the first van. When he pulled the door open, a wave of cigar smoke pooled out of it. Jimin's froze as a figure climbed out. He had a wide frame with angry red scars across his knuckles where heavy iron rings sat on thick fingers. Jimin scrambled to his feet, his mind instantly racing to warn Jungkook. This was impossible. His entire life he's never seen The Don so much as step out of The Kim manor.

Then, the back door of the second van opened and Kim Taehyung walked out after his father.

A complicated string of emotions hit Jimin at once, but the strangest and the strongest of them all was apathy. He'd thought that he might cry when he saw the handsome Don son again, but instead Jimin felt nothing. Taehyung's hair was dyed lighter than the last time Jimin had seen him, the chestnut color was now an ashy sort of blond and Taehyung's skin was much more kissed by the sun. His sharp jaw was clenched, the mole under his eye Jimin had traced so many times was scrunched in a frown. Taehyung was beautiful, as he always was, but Jimin was knocked back by the feeling that he was staring at a stranger, not someone he'd loved.

Jimin's eyes darted between the Don, his son, and the right hand, all standing opposite of him. He was staring at ghosts.

"Come, boy." The Don said, waving a hand over. Jimin didn't move right away. Instead, he scanned the distance between the four of them, the time it'd take them to reach the door, where their wrists and necks weren't covered by fabric, and any weapons they might be hiding, before finally moving. His body shifted like a cat's, graceful but distrusting, and he didn't bow his head as he approached. All three of The Kim men blinked in confusion. Taehyung was better at hiding it, he'd always been the best at covering his emotions, but Jimin knew him. Knew how his jaw clenched, how his ring finger tapped against his thigh when he was caught off guard.

"Hoseok." The Don said. The right-hand glanced at Taehyung before walking over and forcing Jimin to the ground with one powerful shove of his shoulder. Hoseok then pushed Jimin's head to force a bow.

Pain rocked in Jimin's knees, but he couldn't tear his eyes off of Taehyung. Was that how Taehyung had always looked at Jimin? It was so - empty. Not necessarily cold, just so, extremely, tired. Taehyung looked at Hoseok next and Jimin paused. The warmth in the look changed and his dark eyes seemed to soften.

"I'm speaking to you, boy." The Don said.

Taehyung seemed shorter than Jimin remembered him. His shoulders were tight like he was trying to appear intimidating - when really they weighed him down. For the first time, Jimin looked at Taehyung and felt an extreme sense of pity.

"Hoseok." The Don said again, waving his hand with irritation.

Hoseok tore Jimin's jacket and shirt off him. Metal rocked Jimin's bare chest as Hoseok put on a heavy set of rings and slammed his fist right between Jimin's ribs causing him to cough and fold over. The right-hand's face was stern, though his eyes stayed kind, and that pity in Jimin grew. Hoseok was only following orders, orders Taehyung wouldn't stop, and The Don would continue to give. Did Taehyung or Hoseok see how much they were being manipulated? They were tools as much as Jimin had been.

Jimin finally looked up at The Don. This was the man they were all so afraid of? He was three strands away from bald.

The Don glanced at Hoseok and Hoseok swung another powerful fist into Jimin's ribs. This time Jimin was prepared and he kept his chin up, taking the hit. He put his hands behind his back granting Hoseok total access and didn't so much as blink away from The Don's wrinkled face as the right-hand continued to rock punches into Jimin's chest for disrespecting him. Metal was tearing Jimin's skin, but Jimin started smiling with each punch, egging him on. What a life he'd been grieving all these months.

Hoseok looked confused, waiting for his Don to tell him to stop but the gang leader said nothing, his eyes burned as he waited for Jimin to heel. When Hoseok's knuckles hit the original rib he'd bruised, Jimin finally looked at the ground as he heaved in air. Blood splattered with the punch from the rings. The Don nodded and Hoseok stepped back, taking the rings off.

"Took you long enough." The Don said. He approach Jimin and Hoseok fell back. Jimin didn't miss the way Hoseok stepped directly next to Taehyung or how their fingers twitched to touch. Were those two always that close in Busan? Jimin almost laughed, knowing that even if they were, he would have refused to see it.

The Don raised his hand where an iron ring with The Kim crest was etched. It was an old heirloom, one that was polished only by the blood that splattered across it.

"Kiss it, assassin." The Don smiled. "Seems you've been away for too long and forgot who owns you." Jimin's muscles were tensing in his chest from the beating and he bit down the scream that followed being shoved. Taehyung was looking straight ahead, like he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with Jimin. It caused a slow smile to bleed across Jimin's face, amusement dancing across it to mask the disappointment he felt raging underneath. Taehyung and Hoseok exchanged another confused glance at the smirk as Jimin kissed the Don's ring.

"I heard you lost a crate of Drive for us." The Don said, pulling Jimin's chin up to face him. "I thought the whole point of you was to keep an eye out on our profits here, boy." He dropped Jimin's face and pulled a pistol out from his jacket's inner pocket. Jimin didn't so much as blink. He'd noticed its imprint earlier just like he saw the one hidden by Taehyung's hip and the one inside Hoseok's jacket. "That drug should have stayed in Busan. So should have you." He traced Jimin's chin with the gun before pushing the barrel against Jimin's lips. "But my son was so confident in this little city expandment that I thought hey, I'll bite."

When Jimin didn't open his mouth The Don kicked Jimin in the ribs causing him to gasp out in pain and swallow the barrel. The Don smirked, his hand going to Jimin's hair and pulling his head back. He got right up to Jimin's ear. "I mean, my son never shows initiative in anything. Doesn't talk in our meetings, won't shoot first either. For the first time I thought he was taking his position seriously when he came up with this stupid plan of sending our little whore to Seoul. And then I hear about twenty thousand dollars that somehow slipped through your fingers?" He pushed the gun in deeper.

"This little experiment is over. Get the money back from The Jeons that they lost us or kill one of their men for every thousand they failed to pay us back. When you're done, you're coming back to Busan to go with my initial plan for you. I'll make more money in a single day selling one night with our famous assassin than four months worth of selling Drive in this disgusting excuse of a city. And if you don't come back, I'll have my son hunt you down and kill you." The Don cocked his gun. Jimin didn't flinch, didn't look away either. The Don laughed, laughed, and looked back at his son who was staring at his dad in horror. "You can even watch them fuck him if you want."

The Don waited for Jimin to start sweating. For him to cry or widen his eyes in shock. He blinked when he realized that his threats didn't land - that Jimin wasn't afraid of him. Jimin wasn't shaking, wasn't even looking at The Don but instead at the hand holding Taehyung's wrist. The Don pulled the gun away and placed it back into his jacket.

"Make sure he gets the job done." He said to Hoseok as he walked past him, heading for his van. The door closed with an echo and after a moment, it drove away. Silence drowned the space in its absence.

Taehyung walked over to the Jimin once the car was gone, like a spell had broken and he could move his legs again. He crouched down and put a hand out to help Jimin up. Jimin refused it, standing up on his own instead. A subtle flash of hurt danced across Taehyung's face.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way." Taehyung said quickly. "Jimin you can't come back to Busan. He's lying, we're making more money off our percentage of Drive in Seoul than we ever had in Busan. I think he wants you to come back so he can kill you. He sees you as a loose end and he wants to make a point to me since this was my idea. He'll make me be the one to do it. Please, just trust me on this and run."

Hoseok stepped closer to Taehyung who seemed to breathe easier once he was near him.

"How long have you been in love with Hoseok?" Jimin asked, wiping the blood from his cheek and hugging his ribs. He reached for the wall behind him, needing to put a hand out to keep himself from falling over. Hoseok had one hell of a punch on him. "Is that why you wanted me out of Busan in the first place? Why you don't want me coming back?"

"What?" Taehyung said. Hoseok's face paled behind him. "That's what you're worried about right now? Jimin I just told you my dad wants you dead."

"I can't believe I never noticed it before." Jimin said, watching how even now Hoseok was tracking Jimin's every move. He always thought Hoseok was careful around him because he respected him - the truth was Hoseok was terrified Jimin would turn on Taehyung. Every friendship Jimin had ever started to form was cut down by Taehyung's orders, because if he'd gotten too close with anyone who saw Taehyung freely would know about him and Hoseok. Jimin laughed again but this time the pain felt good as it pushed against his bruised ribs. Maybe he should beg Hoseok to beat him further.

"Jimin, please." Taehyung said. "I'm trying to do the right thing here."

Jimin's gaze left Taehyung, going to Hoseok's kind one. That was all Hoseok's warning was originally all those months ago - kindness. Kindness and guilt. Jimin lunged at Hoseok and Taehyung immediately pulled out his gun, cocking it on Jimin. Jimin rolled his eyes, grabbing Hoseok's gun from his jacket he'd noticed earlier and trained it on the right-hand.

"You really want to play this?" Jimin asked. "I go down, so does Hoseok. Answer me. How long?"

Taehyung clenched his jaw, eyes darting between the gun and Hoseok. Jimin watched him do the math in his head if he could pull Hoseok towards him before Jimin could pull the trigger. "Jimin, you were a complete loose cannon back home. I had to come up with a way to keep you from becoming completely unpredictable."

Jimin chewed on the explanation. His finger rubbed against the trigger.

The mole under Taehyung's eye creased as he frowned in worry. "We were friends once when we were kids." He said. "Genuinely friends. Then your dad died and something in you shifted. It was like nothing mattered to you anymore. You wouldn't eat, wouldn't move out of that awful house. I don't know Jimin, I was worried you were going to do something stupid like leave The Kims or get yourself killed so making you our assassin was a way to give you purpose."

"I was just a kid." Jimin said. Fuck, fuck his head was pounding. Were those tears in his eyes? What was with all this crying lately? "I wasn't lost, I was just grieving." Jimin remembered the first couple months after his dad passed away. That empty apartment and empty kitchen and the last plate of dinner his dad cooked for him rotting because Jimin couldn't bring himself to clean it. The Kims gave him his room in their manor and forced him to move out soon after. Still, Jimin could never get that smell of jjajjangmyeon completely out of his head. "What does this have to do with Hoseok?"

Taehyung put his gun down, running a hand through his blond hair. "I thought training you to be our assassin would help you. Give you some direction. I thought I was helping my friend but instead it was like you died too."

"Do you know what those trainings were like, Taehyung? Your dad had Hoseok line his knives with salt whenever he wasn't happy with my performance so the wounds healed slower. Literally any small misstep or disrespect and my body paid the price. It wasn't like I was just having fun or doing push ups - it was torture. How was I supposed to act after going through that? Like fuck, of course I changed."

Taehyung's expression softened. "I thought I was helping; I was wrong. But no hitman has ever gotten close to your level of skill. Even your dad wasn't as clean as you. And you're smart too, you know how to make people turn on each other or frame hits in ways I could never even dream of. I mean The Dragon kill? Jimin you destroyed every gang opposing us in less than six years. It made you dangerous. I didn't know how else to keep you in line so when you started coming to my room for comfort I just - I let it happen. I'm sorry. But Jimin I've loved Hoseok since we were kids. I've always loved him. I thought about telling you so many times but whenever you came back from a kill there were times you didn't even realize there was blood still on you. Sometimes you were even smiling, wearing some of their clothes. Keeping you close was a way to make sure you didn't suddenly explode on us. I couldn't risk what you'd do if you knew about Hoseok."

Jimin's head was ringing. "So all those nights together, all the times you fucking touched me, you felt nothing that entire time? That what - it was a precaution for me to fall for you? You know Taehyung, you're talking like you had no choice in this. In any of it. Like you had to use me. I'm not some tool, I'm not an idiot either. I'm a person, Tae! A person. You could have just fucking talked to me! You never even tried!"

"I know, I know Jimin." Taehyung's voice was shaking, but it wasn't from remorse. It was fear. Fear for Hoseok under Jimin's gun. The best hitman Busan had ever seen, Taehyung called him. "That's why I pushed to send you to Seoul. I couldn't take lying to you anymore and I had no idea how to tell you I didn't feel the same without you killing me and every Kim over it. The crate going missing was never supposed to happen, my dad was supposed to forget about you and you were supposed to be given a chance to start over."

"Why the whore cover?" Jimin said, tapping Hoseok with the gun and Taehyung pursed his lips. "That's another thing I'm not wrapping my head around. Why make me your whore?"

"It started to get messy between us." Taehyung said. "When I realized the sex started meaning something to you I thought if we made the whole thing a role it would help make sure you didn't grow feelings for me. Then it spun out of control when my dad realized the whore cover helped you kill for us. I couldn't find a way out of it until the Jeon opportunity showed up."

Jimin uncocked the gun. Taehyung reached for Hoseok's arm and pulled him to his side. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to make it right. Please just listen to me this once. If you come back to Busan my dad's going to kill you. He'll make me be the one to do it."

Jimin looked at the gun in his hand, flipping it this way and that. "Could you do it?" He asked, "Shoot me? I've done your dirty work all your life, I bet you don't even know how to use a gun."

"He apologized, isn't that enough?" Hoseok said, pushing Taehyung behind him.

Jimin smiled wider. "No. It's not." He said. The weapon heavy and clunky where his usual knives were smooth and light, but it'd do. "Your dad said twenty Jeon men dead or twenty thousand dollars, right?"

"He's going to kill you either way!" Hoseok said, reaching behind him to hold Taehyung's wrist as if he had to make sure Taehyung was still there without taking his eyes off of Jimin. "It doesn't matter if you finish his order. The second you step back in Busan it's over. Just get out of Korea where he can't chase you."

"Oh, I'm coming back to Busan." Jimin said, grinning wider. His head felt so light. Was he floating? It was like he was watching his body move instead of participating within it. "Then Taehyung for fucking once will have to do something on his own. I bet it'll mess with you too, huh? You'll feel just so bad about having to shoot me after using my body and controlling my mind for years."

"Why are you doing this?" Hoseok said. Taehyung was quiet behind him. "He's trying to make it right."

"Because he didn't need to fuck me!" Jimin screamed, tears finally leaving his face. His skin itched everywhere Taehyung's hands had ever been. "If it was just a trap to control me all this time, you didn't have to fuck me on top of it! Yet you did, over and over and over again! So yea, I want you to hurt, Taehyung. I want you to feel an ounce of the pain I'm feeling now. I want you to chose to shoot me. You used me. Your whole family made me believe I wasn't worth any kindness, that I wasn't worth anything unless I killed for you! And then slept with me on top of it! You made me into a weapon and into a joke and I was in so deep I couldn't see it! So I want you to have to hold a gun while your dad orders you to pull the trigger because I know you won't refuse him and I know it will destroy you. I don't care that you'll feel bad about it, you can shove your pity up your ass. I want you to live without any forgiveness. I want it to eat you alive."

Hoseok blinked, letting go of Taehyung's wrist.

"Oh." Jimin said. "You didn't know about that, did you? What - did he tell you we just talked each other to sleep every night? So many new things we're learning today! The Kims Whore, not much of a cover title, was it?" Jimin said, waving the gun in the air as he talked.

"Jimin, just hand over the gun. I understand you're upset." Hoseok said, compressing his shock to unbox later. "But killing either of us won't make you feel any better about this."

Jimin's hair was a mess. There was blood on his lips and his chest was a storm of bruises, but those were all things he could cover up easily and fix. God knows he's done it before. One stop to the bathroom and he'll look good as new. He swiped his clothes off from the floor, biting through the pain as he put his shirt and jacket back on. He felt like he was floating so high up in the air, flying around Seoul, being anywhere expect for the parking lot of Lotte Tower.

"See you in Busan, boys." Jimin smiled, taking a bow and immediately bending the bruises on his chest caused him to cough in pain. "Oh. And I'm keeping the gun." He added as he turned on his heel back to the skyscraper. He headed back towards The Gala, back up to the gold and to the music, back to Jungkook, to the servers with wine and the violinist with her oil-slick dress, while his past stayed behind him. Both without the courage to follow.

_______
A/N:
Quick third chapter in a row update 🫶
- Violette