Infiltrating a random gang in Seoul was surprisingly easier and more boring than Jimin imagined it would be. Min Yoongi had swept Jimin right under his wing, glad to have found someone who already knew how to use a gun. Jimin quickly discovered that Seoul was a lot more trusting than Busan in that sense. There was no interrogation of him, no testing of loyalty or tattoo he needed to ink into his skin. Jimin's small ocean-town simply bred a higher desire for control.

The longer he stayed with The Jeons and the more 'strays' - as Yoongi liked to call the lost kids of Seoul - filtered through the training gym, the more Jimin began to understand. Most of them were desperate for a place to eat, their ribs showing through their stomachs, while others fought sloppily as a way to survival or combat their rage. Seoul wasn't like Busan where mafia families raised their kids into each rank; the city was far too large and the kids far more helpless.

Even so, the lax attitude put Jimin on edge. He couldn't understand why bring kids who flinched when they shot a gun or vomited at the sight of blood into the gang. Yoongi didn't seem to have much faith in them either, assigning the hopeless to Seokjin's intel teams or the drug labs or as runners instead of to his own. To Jimin, the whole thing seemed like a massive waste of resources, but Yoongi hadn't turned a single stray away yet. Never explained why, either, though Jimin also never bothered to ask.

Additionally, in the weeks he'd been with The Jeons, it shocked Jimin how casually people filtered in and out of their main building. It was a massive skyscraper in the heart of their territory. Yoongi's men guarded each elevator and the higher up the floors climbed the more armed the men got, but for the most part the muscle was just for show. Men and women with little ID cards dangling from lanyards easily walked in with suits and briefcases, working on drug deals or debt gathering or intel trade like it was a casual Tuesday at a major corporation. Everyone walked with a hurried pace, like storm clouds were casting overhead and they were waiting for the first drop of rain.

On the days that Yoongi didn't call for him, Jimin ran to the training gym on the other side of the Jeon territory. It was the one place that was almost always empty and the silence inside reminded him of Busan's ocean; he missed the salt and the waves and he even missed Taehyung.

Jimin hadn't mulled over his emotions from the last time he saw The Kim. In fact, Jimin had done nothing but push any thought of that argument away. Taehyung was Jimin's survival in Busan. The blood or pain was worth it because there was someone to soothe it all away at night. The longer Jimin spent away from Busan, the more his anger at Taehyung equally diluted. It was like he was forgetting why he had been so angry in the first place. Taehyung was familiar, The Kims were too, whereas this city and its people felt as foreign as a different country and the more Seoul shocked him, the more he longed for home.

The training helped clear his mind about Jungkook, too. The Jeon Don was a constant buzz in the back of Jimin's head since they first met a couple weeks back. A buzz Jimin was desperately trying to kill. Why had Jungkook been kind? He still couldn't understand it.

Today marked the first break of routine in the weeks Jimin had lived in Seoul. It had started out normally: Jimin checking his windows for any sign from the Kims and finding none. Yoongi took him to a shooting range and a long patrol after - apparently a group of Parks were missing after getting high on Drive and The Jeons were worried the addicts somehow snuck onto their territory searching for more. He'd come back to his apartment after the patrol was a bust only to find a fancy black car waiting for him at the front door.

Jimin's heart raced at the idea that it could be Hoseok or a Kim runner, but what happened next was somehow more bewildering. The driver walked out with a long blue suit cover. The clothing hanger was popping out from the top and he handed it wordlessly to Jimin. With a raised brow, Jimin had taken it inside and changed into a black suit that hugged his proportions perfectly.

He glanced at a shirt made of a deep maroon silk in the bag and a pang hit his chest. Longing mixed with an overcast of confusion. The maroon room had been the only place Jimin could show any real emotion in front of The Kims that wasn't a performance. He didn't have to grin seductively at large scale events to keep up their ruse, Taehyung's hand going up and down Jimin's thigh in front of dozens of people to get the message across. Didn't have to swallow mocking names or hungry eyes. That room had been the one place Jimin didn't have to be anyone other than himself - not a whore or an assassin or a tool. The color felt cold, now.

Jimin left the shirt behind.

Walking back outside, the breeze washed Busan from his mind. Jimin's slow blink was his only tell of surprise when the door opened to the van and the Jeon leader himself sat in the back seat. Jungkook was incredibly well dressed, sitting in an ashy gray suit with a dark silk button up shirt underneath. His equally dark hair was a messy storm on top of his head, silver piercing dangling from his ears and long thin silver necklaces decorated his neck.

"I remember you having a shirt the last time we talked." Jungkook said with a child-like playfulness in his sharp face.

"I remember imagining you without one." Jimin said back, enjoying watching the leader's ears turn red. Jimin hopped in, and the door shut behind him. The car turned Seoul's tall buildings into a blur of light as they drove, the maroon shirt growing further and further behind them.

Jimin looked out at the view instead of Jungkook. Counter to his teasing, he tried not to think of Jungkook at all since their first encounter. The entire conversation with Jungkook had rattled him. Jimin had kept trying slights - calling out Jungkook's slip ups, critiquing his technique, or even outright challenging his position - only to be met with bewildered eyes and a genuine delight. Jimin had kept pushing, waiting for Jungkook's rings to pierce Jimin's cheek, and instead he got jokes and the fact that Jungkook loves banana milk.

It made Jimin's scars itch. The long one on his hip screamed where his Don had cut him in The Office after Jimin had failed his first mission, barely pushing fifteen at the time. Or the smaller scars across his chest where Hoseok was ordered to beat Jimin for giving Taehyung information about a kill before giving it directly to The Don a year after. So many nights had Taehyung iced his bruises - and so many times had Taehyung never stepped in to stop the punishments in the first place.

Jimin clenched his jaw. The memories of Busan were acting up more than usual today.

"You haven't asked where we're going yet." Jungkook said, snapping Jimin back to attention.

"You're not the first person to dress me up all pretty and not tell me where we're going." Jimin said.

Jungkook snorted as the car pulled up to a tall glass building. The light was golden against the night sky. Immediately, servers ran out to open the front doors of the place and the staff bowed to Jungkook as they filtered out the car. Jungkook didn't so much as bat an eye, nudging Jimin to follow him in with his chin.

"Yoongi's got nothing but praise for you, you know." Jungkook said as they walked inside.

"So this is what, a reward?"

"More like a surprise." Jungkook said as they were escorted by a staff member into an open-concept bar. Jimin wouldn't lie, he was surprised. The place was filled with a scattered array of modern black love couches with circular glass tables that were low to the floor. Electric fireplaces were installed every so often and a beautiful gold marbled bar rested in the center with martini glasses hanging from the ceiling.

Every single person in the bar stood up when they entered. The pleasant chatter within the space harshly stopped and the chairs scraped as they were pushed back. Even the pianist in the corner stopped playing, getting to his feet to join the beautifully dressed customers and the servers in suits as they bowed to Jungkook.

"Did you hold a rehearsal for this?" Jimin teased and Jungkook just laughed. The sound was so bright, so filled with genuine, unburdened glee, that Jimin nearly stumbled back.

"Come on, our table's over there." Jungkook said, shaking his head. He waved at the owner who broke into a doting smile, and it was it was like a spell broke. Sound flooded back into the place as the music started again while the fancy dressed men and women went back to their gossip.

Jimin stared at all of it, trying to keep the shock off his face as he followed Jungkook to a set of love couches that faced each other. They were lightly separated from the crowd on a raised platform next to massive windows, but in no way was the spot hidden.

Jimin took a martini menu from the table and raised his brows at Jungkook. The last time he'd gone somewhere so nice, Taehyung had thrown every other customer out first. It never bothered Jimin before, having to save their moments for closed doors or having to kill anyone who happened to see, because it meant that their relationship got to be just theirs to keep. But as he opened the menu and listened to the background of couples and friends laughing with one another in the incredibly packed bar, Jimin wondered if maybe they'd missed out on something in protecting the secret of him being the Kim's Assassin so fiercely.

"Is this the part where you tell me what's going on?" Jimin said, clearing his throat to scrape off the strange new bitter taste to his memories. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been in such a lively space just to spend time with somebody. It made him feel strangely giddy: like a kid going to an amusement park for the first time.

"This," Jungkook said, his dark eyes glimmering at the rush of color on Jimin's cheeks. "Is the part where we order a drink."

Jimin shot his brows up. "Smooth."

"Thanks, it was part of that rehearsal we held before you walked in. That lady with the hoops over there told me to use it. Said it would make any shirtless boy fall for me."

"Wow. Pretty and he can joke? Guess I'm not the only one who has it all."

Jungkook grinned at the call back, mischief dancing across his features. Jungkook really did look different in a suit, Jimin thought. His shoulders seemed wider, his legs more powerful. He carried himself differently too, like a man who had the world at his feet instead of the stressed kid Jimin initially met in the training room.

Jimin looked around the bar and crossed his legs, leaning an elbow on the couch behind him. "If you brought me here to fuck me, you didn't need all the theatrics. You could have just asked."

Jungkook immediately started choking.

"What? That's not what this is." Jungkook clarified. Jimin cracked a real smile at that and which caused Jungkook to blink in surprise. There was something endearing about how easily Jimin could fluster him.

"I have a proposal for you." Jungkook explained, moving past the blush on his cheek.

"Oh, I see. So you're the sex after marriage type."

Jungkook blushed even further and Jimin smiled again which caused The Don's eyes to go wide, making his sharp face and square jaw suddenly resemble a bunny's. Again, Jimin caught himself finding him cute. In Busan, he would have been beaten if he'd made any of those jokes to The Don's son in public. Let alone The Don himself. Then again, in Busan he wouldn't have joked at all.

"A work proposal." Jungkook said

"I work for you, you don't need my say on anything." Jimin explained as their drinks came and were placed on the table. Jungkook reached for his glass, sighing with relief the second the alcohol hit his system. Jimin tilted his own martini glass up without any liquid actually passing through in case it was poisoned.

"You work with me." Jungkook said. "I didn't want to talk in that training gym you refuse to leave."

"So you kidnap me to a bar instead?" Jimin's smile stretched. Jungkook blinked.

"I usually just kick Yoongi awake when I need to talk to him and Seokjin's just a call. It's been a while since I've tried talking to someone...new. I wanted to do it right. I want you to feel like a part of our team, Jimin. Ordering you around didn't feel right and I don't have your phone number to warn you I was coming. Plus I was worried you would get the wrong impression if I asked you to come to a bar with me to talk."

Jimin laughed - actually laughed. God, how long has it been since he'd done that? It felt foreign to his lungs and so, so good.

"What? What's so funny? Jimin I'm doing a really cool thing here. Did you see how they all bowed? This place is crazy expensive. It's cool! I'm cool!"

That made Jimin laugh harder, having to put the glass down on the table. Jungkook's eyes went wide in shock at the sound of Jimin's giggles.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Jimin laughed, finally having the sound die down in his chest. He wanted to cradle the feeling, carving it into his lungs so he could hold onto it forever. "It's just - you didn't want me to get the wrong idea, so you show up and throw a suit at me and say 'get in?' Jungkook, that's like, the easiest way to give someone the wrong idea."

Jungkook gaped and Jimin felt a blush of his own grow - the endearment he was feeling must have started to show on his face.

Jimin cleared his throat and Jungkook did the same.

"So. This offer." Jimin said, wanting to get Jungkook talking again. It wasn't because he felt uncomfortable in the sudden silence. If he could have it his way, Jimin wanted to sit in it with Jungkook even longer and just marvel at all the other sounds going on in the bar. The servers sharing orders, the couples flirting, the friends sharing secrets over drinks. He was shocked by how desperately he wanted to share all of it with someone.

How much of the world had Taehyung shut out?

"I uh." Jungkook said, blushing again. "Well, to preface, I'm not asking you on a date."

"Good. Covering all the bases."

Jungkook snorted, taking another sip of his drink and Jimin saw a slight shake of nerves in Jungkook's hand.

"My dad, he has a gala he hosts every year. It keeps my name clear in the media and he gets publicity for parading his CEO son as an ex-criminal turned amazing father. I want you to come with me to it. It's not for another couple of months, but I wanted to see what you think in case I need to pivot. Yoongi would scare everyone off and Seokjin would somehow end up on a magazine cover by the end of the night. So I thought maybe you'd want come instead?"

"You kidnapped me to ask me to a dance?" Jimin asked, bringing his drink to his lips again but not drinking any of it. "I thought making a poster was required for that."

Jungkook draped his arm around the back of his couch and Jimin noted the muscle popping through his forearm at the movement or how small his waist was now that the suit jacket had shifted. "I want you to be part of my team in the future, Jimin. We're looking for skilled people right now and you just seem ... fearless. We could use someone like that. The gala would be a way to test you out."

"What do I get in return?" Jimin said. "For going as an arm piece?" He could tell Jungkook was hiding information about this 'gala' and hiding his real reason for wanting Jimin to come with: Jungkook worked too hard to look disinterested when he spoke. His focus added a slight clench to his jaw and a too present look to his eyes. Jimin smiled, feeling proud. Good. Jungkook was keeping secrets - he didn't fully trust Jimin which meant he was smarter than he looked.

"I thought you worked for me." Jungkook said.

"I thought I worked with you." Jimin countered.

A slow, dangerous grin spread across Jungkook's lips. Jimin raised his brows, the look caused a rush to kiss down his spine.

"Name your price." Jungkook said. "I unfortunately forgot the prom poster at home, but maybe we can settle on something else."

"I want unlimited martinis every time I come here. Always on the house until the day I die. Not the day you die, but the day I do."

"Done." Jungkook laughed and Jimin added it to the sounds he loved about this bar. He wanted to bottle it up along with the music and the life of this place.

"And. I want another story." Jimin added.

"The martinis pay for the gala, the stories we can trade." Jungkook said, finishing his drink and waved a waiter over to order himself another. He glanced at Jimin's nearly full drink. "That's what friends do, Jimin. They share for free."

Jimin went very still. He said it. He said the word.

"Why this bar?" Jimin started. "That's the story I want." Jimin settled into the couch, uncrossing then crossing his other leg. He didn't miss the way Jungkook's eyes dipped to his thigh before blinking away as if he was embarrassed.

"Really?" Jungkook said. "Okay. Easy enough. It's the bar my mom met my dad in. He was a bartender stealing alcohol from the place to clean his men's wounds with. Thirty years ago Seoul was way less peaceful and the gangs were a hell of a lot poorer. We didn't own everything like we do now. My mom came in, trying to con the bar owner into signing over his lease, threatening their alcohol license while masquerading as a Health Inspector. My dad wasn't about to lose the only high grade alcohol link he had and my mom wasn't about to let the con go, wanting to turn the place into a gambling den. My dad brought her over a drink one night, said it was on the house, and slipped her a dagger underneath the cup. They hit it off from there, I guess. The game ended with them married instead of killing each other."

Jungkook ran a hand through his hair and Jimin noted how soft it looked. For a mob boss, it was a marvel Jungkook had the time to keep it looking so soft and healthy.

"My dad won, obviously," Jungkook said, waving his arm to the still existing martini bar and not a casino. "I think she secretly didn't want to see the bar go, but couldn't give the con up right away because she needed an excuse to see my dad."

Jimin tilted his head slightly, wondering if the old owner survived being chased by two separate gang leaders. "So you're a romantic."

"It was just the first place that came to mind." Jungkook said. "How about you? Story for a story."

"What's your question?" Jimin asked.

"Did you have anyone in Busan? Before everything went down and you ran. Were you with anyone?" Jungkook asked.

"You're trading a story of your parents for gossip on my love life?"

Jungkook shrugged. "I'm a romantic, remember?"

Jimin bit his lip, watching Jungkook take another long sip of his drink.

"Yes." Jimin finally answered. "I had someone."

"What happened?"

Jimin swallowed. "I think when you're with the same person for so many years, you stop trying to look for warning signs against being with them." He looked down at his glass and brushed the side with his thumb.

Jimin looked up to see Jungkook gaping. "What? Surprised I had a love-life?"

"No, I've just never heard you say something honest." Jungkook said.

"I'm going to throw this olive at you." Jimin said, pointing at the tiny green thing on a toothpick stuck in his drink.

"I'll throw one back." Jungkook replied, that dangerous grin back on his lips.

"How about you?" Jimin pivoted. Jungkook was objectively gorgeous. High cheek bones and wide eyes. People had to throw themselves at him.

"I've never dated, actually. I was a shy kid and even now I still haven't branched out from Yoongi or Seokjin. Which is why I literally don't know how normal people even go about making friends. Like do you have to declare it? Can I just show up and grab them in my car to go drink at a bar or was I supposed to build up to that?"

Jimin cracked a smile. "I'm new to the friends thing too. But I like the idea of it, being friends."

"Me too." Jungkook said and a wide smile across his bunny teeth.

Jungkook started to tell some new story and as Jimin listened, he finally brought his drink to his lips and let the harsh liquid pass. It tasted wonderful: perfectly balanced of bitter and sweet notes. There was no filter left on his tongue or strange metallic taste to it, no indication of poison at all. Jimin stopped when he realized what he'd done.

At some point, he had stopped mapping exits, stopped watching which guest put what in their pockets, stopped counting steps to knives on different tables. He was just ... enjoying himself. He had felt something shift in him, then. Something so foreign and so strange that it took a minute to name the emotion. He was happy.

It was too much. The bar, the warmth, the longing. The glass walls felt suddenly constricting, the high rise suddenly too far from the ground. The emotion felt violent, intrusive even. Jimin needed to get out of here. He had been happy in Busan, too. He had been. But if that was true then why did it hurt so much to feel it now?

________
A/N:
Hey guys! What do we think so far? We're like 12,000 words deep so I know it's been a bit of a sprint to get to this point! I hope it's still interesting 🫶

No other updates really from me other than death from V's music videos. Who allowed that man to be so gorgeous? Like, sir, put that paint covered baguette down before I pass out.

- Violette