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To me, you're the man who deserves all the love in the world. And... I'll be that world for you!

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It was pounding, throbbing with blinding pain, his head ached as if being sawed into two. Jimin groaned as the beats pulsating in his brain became intense, his consciousness knocked on the door of his senses.

Overdosed again! Shit, Father's not gonna like this!

Holding his head in both hands, he rolled and forced his body to sit up. His vision was still slowly adjusting, but surely he could feel he wasn't at home. Jimin had a bad habit of heavy drinking and smoking and it wasn't appreciated when he had to join the family dinners every Saturday. And, today again he would face a grimace on his father's face. He absolutely could feel it already. But, being the favorite, he did know he would slip by after the so taunting tsk he had grown used to!

"Fuck~" A curse slipped past his puckered lips as he tried to get off the surface, more of a couch than a bed was what he felt. His head spun and his body gave out pushing the man back into the same sofa seat. Jimin sat back and exhaled closing his sleep-kissed eyes trying to get a grip. It was a bad hangover!

The surface of the couch felt raw against his bare skin. With his senses slowly fading in, he felt it all!

His body was deprived of any clothing, his head was throbbing, and... Ouch! Why does it sting? Winching slightly, his eyes traveled down to his arms, where he spotted faint scratches—nail marks, unmistakably. Thin, jagged lines with dried flecks of blood. The same sharp sting prickled across his back, and he didn't need to see it to know the reason.

His gaze wandered around the room, taking in the surroundings. The walls were painted deep red, with heavy black curtains draped across. Black couches lined the space, and a small sidebar overflowed with empty bottles and glasses. Scattered across the floor were his clothes, tangled with the remains of a torn female dress, old and ragged by the look of it and a dead body in the middle- his eyes froze.

A body!

Small, lifeless female figure lay sprawled in the middle of the room on a once-pristine white fur carpet, now soaked and stained crimson with dried blood.

Wait—what!?

He blinked rapidly, his mind reeling as he stared at the limp, nude form before him. The scene didn't make sense. Had there been an execution last night? No, he couldn't recall scheduling one. In fact, he had cancelled them all after... Abigail.

Ah, of course. Abigail. That scheming slut was why he was in this mess to begin with.

The tension in his jaw built again and Jimin felt them aching, rubbing his palms on his face aggressively, he sighed. A deep seated pain engulfed his heart.

Everything felt maddeningly unreal yet painfully real at the same time. How could she so easily deceive him after all those promises? All those confessions now turned into confusions, he was frustrated.

It wasn't even the betrayal itself that cut the deepest—it was the weight of all those sweet, honeyed words and candy-coated promises she had wrapped him in. She had made him believe in something he didn't know he was capable of: a raw, vulnerable part of himself he hadn't even realized existed.

And now, she was gone, leaving him shattered. A complete mess, sprawled in the middle of a chaos that mirrored the wreckage inside him.

Reaching his hand to his cell phone whilst his mind flooded with thoughts of hers, Jimin ran his fingers over the screen waking it up to illuminate his grief kissed features. The home screen wallpaper caught his eye—a simple screenshot of a message, it read:

Even the coldest nights birth twinkling stars on inky nights and end with the warmth of dawns, yet you are a beautiful human, no matter how hard you try to make me believe otherwise, I will wait for your sunrise. To me, you're the man who deserves all the love in the world. And... I'll be that world for you!

The corner of his lips twitched in a scowl, those words that always brought warmth to his soul now felt like fate laughed mocking him in the face. His hand tightening against the phone case hurt as if he had punched a hard surface with it many times before. With a sigh, he swiped to unlock the screen, revealing the message thread left open, the one he had been re-reading all this time, suffering from the pain of betrayal.

I know things feel heavy right now, dealing with shitty parents, it's a mutual feeling trust me but Jimin, you don't have to carry it alone. I'm here, even if you can't see me right now, you can feel me so let me chase your worries away but you know I don't do nothing for free, so how 'bout you give me a sweet smile first!

Ah! You have dad issues and I have daddy issues, haha~ Darling, It's okay to take a breath, to let go, even if just for a moment. You deserve to rest too. The "things" can wait okay! Now go take a nap for me!

I understand you more than you think, honey~ It's okay to feel vulnerable. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Whenever you're ready, I'll be here to listen like the many nights before. No judgment, no pressure. Just me, and you, okay?

A soft whimper escaped her, the faint sound barely reaching his ears, causing his attention to snap upward. His glazed eyes widened as he caught the slight movement in the body lying motionless in the center of the room. His breath caught in his throat. The corpse he had thought was lifeless stirred, twitching slightly.

Jimin straightened, wincing as the scratches on his back stung with an intensity that made him hiss through clenched teeth. His gaze dropped to her, scanning her form carefully. The once pale skin now marred with bruises, bluish and purple blotches scattered across her body. Her bare legs were on display, his gaze ran across it towards her thighs, up to the curve of her hips, the subtle dip of her spine that lay exposed on the carpet. She lay face down, vulnerable in her unconsciousness.

The sight sent a jolt of something he couldn't quite place through him. Slowly, he got to his feet, steadying himself as the effects of his hangover sent the room spinning.

Each movement felt labored, heavy. He staggered toward her, his steps unsure as his mind tried to make sense of the situation. His heart raced, his instincts telling him something was terribly wrong.

Kneeling beside her, he reached out slowly, his fingers brushing against the edge of her limp body, unsure of whether he should touch her at all. The room was thick with tension, his thoughts chaotic, his chest tightening with a mixture of concern and dread.

Up close, the scene unfolded in ways that made his stomach turn. His eyes traced the marks, hickeys and love bites, dotting her back and shoulders, bruises and dried blood kissing the lower half was evidence of something far more intimate and far more painful than he had imagined.

Especially the dried blood clinging to her inner thighs, it hit him like a cold wave. His stomach churned as the sight sank deeper, each detail more damning than the last.

A deep frown twisted his face as he stared what lay infront of him. His thoughts spun wildly—Did I do this?

His mind fought the horrifying possibility, the confusion clouding his judgment. Sure, he had indulged in his own desires before, had his fill of fleeting pleasures, but this? This wasn't like him. He had never, not once, crossed that line.

This was not the Park Jimin he knew, the man he believed himself to be.

He had been ruthless in business, cold in matters of the heart, but never, never had he committed something like this—something so savage, so utterly monstrous. His heart began to race in panic as guilt gnawed at him, the weight of the scene before him pressing down harder with every second. He had always prided himself on control, on being able to navigate through chaos with clarity, but now, there was nothing but uncertainty.

Who did this to her? he thought, desperation clawing at him as he stared down at her helplessly. This was not something the man he was—or at least, thought he was—would ever do.

Sliding his hand through the mess of raven hair, Jimin pushed it aside, his fingers hesitant to reveal the face of the victim. The sight of her brutalized features made his stomach turn, a sickening knot tightening in his chest. His mind recoiled in disbelief. The thought that he—he—could have done this, that he might have sexually assaulted this woman, filled him with disgust.

He was a master at playing the game of power and control. He knew how to manipulate, how to be cold and calculating when it came to business, but he had dignity. He had respect—for his enemies, for his position, and for the people around him. He was lethal when dealing with threats, but he never, never had he raised a gun to an innocent.

This wasn't me. This isn't who I am, he thought, his pulse quickening. His mind went back to Abigail—the woman who had left him shattered, the one whose absence had changed everything.

This wasn't Park Jimin, this wasn't me, he realized, his breath shallow as the weight of it all pressed down on him. This was the broken man she left behind.

He wanted to deny losing his calm, to push the idea far from his thoughts, but deep down, the seed of fear had already been planted.

What have you done, Abby? he thought bitterly. What have you made me become?

In his mind, the pieces began to click together in a horrifying picture—a broken man, a man undone by loss and pain. The more he stared at the woman, her bruised body lying before him, the more the thought gnawed at him. Have you really made me a rapist now, Abby?

Jimin sighed, rubbing his hands aggressively over his face, trying to shake off the weight of the situation. What the hell was he supposed to do now? The thought of what could happen if anyone found out about this made him agitated. It would be a big disappointment, an absolute nightmare. And he couldn't afford that right now—not after everything else he had done to annoy his father.

This would make Vincenzo's disappointment feel like a slap in the face, and worse yet, it would ignite his father's growing annoyance with him.

Jimin had worked too hard to stay on top, to maintain his position as Vincenzo's favorite. Jungkook, always lurking in the shadows, was constantly looking for a way to push him out, to prove that Jimin wasn't worthy of the title. This? This would be the golden opportunity for Jungkook, the jackpot he'd been waiting for to finally get what he wanted. Jimin couldn't let that happen. Not after everything he'd sacrificed, everything he'd done to stay in control.

His mind raced as he sat there, unable to focus on anything but the potential fallout from what he'd done. How could he fix this? How could he make sure this didn't ruin everything?

Then, the buzzing of his cell phone broke his concentration, the ringtone blaring too loudly in the stillness of the room. It made him flinch, a sharp, unwelcome interruption to the already unbearable tension.

For a moment, he just stared at the screen, his thoughts scattered as the device vibrated in his hand. Whoever it was, whatever it was, couldn't be more important than what was happening right now—but he had no choice but to answer.

The screen flashed with what read like "Disowned Brother", it took everything in Jimin not to swipe his thumb towards the flashy red button of decline, he accepted the call with a hard eye roll and flinched again as soon as that deep voice struck his hearing.

"If your highness is done mourning over Cinderella, could you perhaps bless us with your presence?" Taehyung's voice practically oozed sarcasm, wrapped in the same refined tone that could make anyone want to strangle him.

Jimin exhaled heavily, throwing his head back, he ran his fingers through them. "I fucked up bad, Taehyung."

"Tell me something new," Taehyung replied, uninterested, his voice dripping with that signature nonchalance.

"Come on, now's not the time to be my dead mother." Jimin snapped, frustration creeping into his voice.

"Ew, gross. No thanks. I'd rather not give birth to someone like you in a million years."

"Kim Taehyung" Jimin warned, tone sharpening.

"Alright, alright. Calm down. Where do I need to be?" Taehyung's voice shifted, finally acknowledging the gravity in Jimin's words, but it still carried that edge of mockery, like he couldn't help himself.

A few many moments ago~

"I have no clue how... why this happened-" Jimin tried to explain and it sucked, he knew very well. he tried to make sense of the situation, but the words felt hollow, even to him. His gaze flickered back to the VIP court, where the girl lay on the couch, his jacket draped over her body to cover his sins of assault.

He ran a shaky hand through his hair, pacing the room like a caged animal. "I didn't... I don't remember bringing anyone here."

She was too young to be let into such a place, definitely not a worker neither a lady of the night, then how come she ended up with him. He doesn't remember bringing any girl along, let alone someone so out of his taste. Her clothes, far too simple, her skin unmarked by perfume, her face devoid of the makeup that usually defined the women he entertained, she was unrecognizable with how it was beaten brutally, he couldn't pinpoint who she could possibly be?

His gaze shifted back to the girl, she looked impossibly out of place, like a misplaced soul in the wrong world. "She doesn't belong here, it's obvious. She's not a worker, not someone I'd... she's not my type. Hell, I don't even know her!"

"You can't even tell if you know her, look at what you've done to her face" Taehyung couldn't stop himself with the eye roll.

Jimin's voice cracked, frustration bleeding into his tone. "I don't remember anything. Nothing makes sense. I wasn't that drunk—was I? God, how did this even happen?" He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "I would never do this. You know that. It's all Abby's fault"

"She's dead, snap out of it already" Taehyung's voice cut through his frantic rambling, sharp and steady. "Jimin, it doesn't matter how or why. Right now, what matters is what you're going to do-"

Jimin turned, eyes wild with desperation, he cut Taehyung in between. "But what if I did do it? What if I lost control? What if— Oh lord, Father's not gonna like-" He stopped himself, unable to finish the thought, the weight of it suffocating.

"Look, right now all you need to focus on is how you're gonna fix this"

Jimin exhaled shakily, his chest heaving. "I can't think straight."

"You don't have time to think. You need to act. And fast." Taehyung's eyes locked onto his, unwavering. "What's it gonna be, Jimin?"

Jimin was lost in thought at that last question, his mind racing but offering no clarity.

"Are you not listening to me, Jimin? You don't have time. Not if Jungkook catches wind of this. Not if Father does. So, figure it out, Jimin. Before someone else does it for you."

Jimin's eyes narrowed. "It explains why you're here."

"You want me to clean your mess?"

"Yes," His response was fast without hesitation, steady but desperate.

The raven head scoffed, crossing his arms. "And why would I do that?"

Jimin's lips curled into a faint, bitter smile. "Reporter Lee needs to know what she's been missing out on-"

"NO! No, okay, geez," Taehyung cut him off, throwing his hands up in defeat. "You always know how to twist the knife, don't you?"

Sliding his gun out of his holster, the raven head stepped forward toward the room where they had left the girl. Before he could take another step, the former's hand shot out, grabbing his arm and pulling him back with surprising force.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't just kill the girl," Jimin hissed.

The latter's gaze remained cold, his grip tightening on the weapon. "You have a better option?"

Jimin's jaw tensed, his mind racing. "We don't even know who she is or why she was here. Killing her solves nothing."

"It solves the problem of her talking or bringing dogs sniffing your way. Isn't that enough?"

"No," Jimin snapped, his voice low but fierce. "She's not on our kill list, it'll come back on us. On me. I need a solution, not a cover-up."

Taehyung paused, studying Jimin closely. "You're not thinking straight. This isn't like you. Maybe you are still high-"

"And this isn't like us. We don't kill unless we have to, you know that!" Jimin shot back. "So, we find out who she is, how she got here and... Then we decide." He walked forth into the room followed by Taehyung who sighed.

"She will become a threat Jimin... You shouldn't hesitate-" He stopped watching his brother stop before him and slowly his gaze converged on what made Jimin halt in his steps.

The girl they didn't expect to wake up any sooner, was now standing in front of them, she managed to rise to her feet despite her fragile state. She was trembling, her knuckles white as they gripped the couch's headrest for support. The oversized jacket draped over her unconscious form now hung loosely around her, her fingers clutching it tightly against her chest as if it were her only shield.

Taehyung cursed under his breath, his grip tightened around his gun as he leaned in to whisper to his brother. "Jimin, she's awake. This complicates things."

The girl's lips quivered, her eyes burned with a strange mix of fear and rebelliousness and it irked Jimin. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out, just a sharp breath, she tried to steady her stumbling existence.

Jimin stepped forward cautiously, raising a hand in an attempt to try to connect but he couldn't get any words to say to his victim. Taehyung shifted uncomfortably behind him, his eyes darting between Jimin and the girl. "We need to end this now before she remembers anything."

The girl's gaze flicked between the two, and though she was barely standing, her voice, raspy and weak, finally broke through the tension. "I... I remember everything."

It sent Jimin's blood cold in his veins, he wasn't expecting or maybe he was running from it but she confessed to be the proof of his sins. Taehyung pulled the gun in front of him, his thumb clicking the magazine in place while his finger secured around the trigger. It was a booming shot and the bullet had burned through the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Jimin's heart pounded violently in his chest, his hand still gripping Taehyung's wrist, forcing the gun away from its deadly target. His eyes burned with a mix of panic and defiance, locking onto Taehyung's cold, calculating gaze.

"She's not dying tonight," Jimin growled, his voice low but firm.

Taehyung's jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing. "She's a loose end, Jimin. Loose ends get us killed. You know that."

The room fell into a tense silence, the air felt heavy. She was shaking, watching the two men just attempt a failed murder of hers after all the chaos she had faced. Her chest heaved as panic set in, her instincts screamed at her to escape.

Jimin noticed it too late.

With a sharp intake of breath, she spun around stumbling, her bare feet slipping against the polished floor as she made a desperate dash toward the window behind her. Her fingers fumbled with the curtains, she wanted to get away as fast as possible.

"Hey!" Jimin shouted, lunging forward, but she was already falling out. The screams cutting through the morning breeze left the two rushing further to watch. Leaning over just in time, they saw her land with a heavy thud onto the thick bushes below. The sharp crack of branches echoed in the garden, muffled only by the soft groan that followed.

Jimin's breath hitched. "She's still alive," he muttered.

Taehyung straightened, wiping his hands on his pants with an annoyed scowl. "For now." He pulled his gun up again to shoot.

The former grabbed the raven head's arm, shoving it away forcefully, his eyes blazed with intensity. "I said no! She's not dying tonight!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You're risking everything for someone we don't even know. She's a liability! You wanted your mess to be sorted out now let me do it, can't stop being a pussy then get out of my way"

"Fuck you Taehyung! She's not a target. There's something else here, I- you know what I have done. Now, I can't just kill her and call it a day!"

Taehyung snarled under his breath. "If this blows up in our faces, it's on you."

For a moment, she lay still, breathless, Jimin watched her. She staggered forward, stumbling through the garden, her bare feet sinking into the soft soil as she tried to flee. And Jimin still watched her.

Taehyung followed his gaze narrowing his eyes on the struggling figure, he jumped in his place. "She's getting away," he growled, turning to Jimin. "Shoot her. Now!" Tossing the gun int the former's hand he yelled with desperation.

The man raised his gun, but his grip faltered. He locked eyes with the girl for a brief second as she glanced back over her shoulder, terror etched across her face.

"Do it!" The former barked, his voice cutting through the night. "You know what's at stake. If she escapes, we're finished!"

Jimin's finger hovered over the trigger, his breath shallow. He knew she wasn't just some enemy to be silenced—there was more to this, and he couldn't shake the feeling that pulling the trigger would mean killing her as his unannounced victim, and he will be tagged as a rapist in his own court of justice. There would be no fixing this!

"Jimin!" The raven head's voice was sharp, commanding. "You're risking everything for what? Guilt? This isn't the time for that!"

The girl stumbled again but kept moving, disappearing deeper into the shadows of the garden. His heart pounded, but his gun remained lowered. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't announce himself to be the man he was last night.

"She's gone," Taehyung muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You just let her go."

Jimin's gaze remained fixed on the darkness where she had vanished, his jaw clenched. "I'll handle it... my way."

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ℑ𝔶𝔞𝔫𝔨𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔳𝔬𝔱𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔡𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔰.
𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯
𝕍𝕍

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