After finally reaching the destined wagon, Jungkook barged in announced, and to the utter stupefaction of his brothers.

"Helloooo, gents!" he exclaimed loudly before Yoongi could stop him.

It surely captured their attention when the group of men playing cards, turned their heads startled and one of them drew a revolver out of his inside pocket and fired a shot that was only millimeters away from Jungkook's face. The boy kept smirking unbothered, not even blinking as though nothing was out of the ordinary, and stepped into the cabin. Hoseok and Yoongi froze in terror behind him.

"Hey, hey, hey! Relax! We came to join the party!" he said ironically to a dumbfounded audience, grabbing a glass of unknown beverage and chugging it all down.

Hoseok and Yoongi grimaced with displeasure, but they knew that there was no stopping his fearless and reckless attitude that kept him alive in the underworld all this time. If Jungkook was calm, then they probably should follow his lead.

The train was clearly highjacked from the Winslow Royal Railways, whose stamp was on every object other than the bounty hunters' belongings. Judging by the sumptuous red interior this particular restaurant/bar wagon served as a replacement for the regular sleeping quarters of the former workers, with red leather coverings on chairs and walls, silk curtains, a rich carpet, and gilded decorations. Greed was seemingly at work here.

On one of the dining tables, Hoseok noticed the flier of the bounty on Y/N, himself, and his brothers. The number five hundred thousand was stamped in bold red italics, and the "Gold Currency of the Eastern Empire" under it, so they could stand out over every other information. Not that anyone cared about anything else except for those five consecutive zeros, and the gold of course.

Hoseok clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, his hate for the Emperor and all of the bounty hunters ignited in his mind, and the idea that he had to pretend that he also craved for it, simply revolted him.

"Who the hell are you, bloody wankers? Gave me a start!" cried one of the men, his face as red as a tomato from the intoxication.

Jungkook scoffed as Yoongi sat at a table next to the trio of bounty hunters, with his calm demeanor always serving him loyally, observing them with his narrow cat eyes.

"How the hell did you get on board?" shouted the other with genuine agitation.

"We knocked on the door like civilized people," joked Jungkook sarcastically, while sitting next to his brother, "How do you think we got in? We're criminals, like you, we don't knock on doors, we barge in."

"But the train is moving!" said the red hunter stupidly, too lazy to process it.

"We hopped up, dah!"

Hoseok moved carefully and sat alone opposite his brothers. His gaze instantly landed on the moving landscape. The thin veil of the morning mist gently floating above the ground, the sun rays stretching from behind the hills and mountains, announcing the melody of a rare sunny winter morning. The beauty of traveling by train which was so easily disregarded by their troubled minds still endured even now.

Jungkook leaned in on the middle table, with an excited look, like a dog waiting to be thrown its toy so it can chase after it.

"So what are we hunting?" he asked almost joyfully.

"Didn't you read the flier, you dimwit?" replied one of the men.

"All I read was that giant, juicy '500.000' on it," the boy said with a pout.

Hoseok and Yoongi exchanged an intent look.

He's good...they both thought.

"Hah! Me too!"

"Didn't any of you idiots read anything else?!" the third man shouted irritated, "The new Emperor offers that money to find his little princess niece, prince Jinghim and his bastard brothers! What are their names again?"

"Err...Senua...Senya...Sed...hold up," the drunk red man reached for his pockets clumsily.

"Whatever!" the second dismissed.

"Huh? Ahhh! Alright...So?" Jungkook shrugged his shoulders, acting distracted and uninterested.

"So?! So we find them, bring them to the emperor, and split the money equally among us bounty hunters."

"Riiiight...That'll be the day. And who's to say the others won't stab us in the back and take all the loot for their own?" whined Jungkook.

"Because the continent is vast and it can take years to find them. Better if we stick together...," said the third, but his confident tone was betrayed by an uncertain glance.

"If you say so, man," said the boy and sat next to Yoongi, "I'd watch my back if I were you."

The man glimpsed at him with narrow eyes, "Who the hell are you, anyway? Aren't you a wee bit too young to be bounty hunters?"

"We're the moron trio. Think of us as bounty hunters students," replied Jungkook affably, "And we can't wait to learn from a bunch of uncanny professionals such as yourselves!"

His sarcastic tone did not go unnoticed by the three men. They laid sidelong looks at them but eventually seemed to be convinced.

"Your names, fellas?" Yoongi spoke for the first time.

"I'm John Luck, this is Dereck Two Fingers, and the red-faced is Nyel McDevan the Red," replied the third man called John Luck while introducing his comrades.

Jungkook delved in his inside jacket pocket, drew a small journal, and wrote something. Yoongi craned his neck trying to read. His younger brother concluded his text and inserted the journal back into his pocket, leaving Yoongi's curiosity unsatisfied.

"And my name is Kook the Biscuit," Jungkook pointed at himself, "This is Sugar Claws...," he pointed at Yoongi, "And that there, is Solar Hope. We're pleased to meet you all," finally concluding with a bewildered Hoseok.

The trio of bounty hunters looked at each other and burst in loud guffaws, to the utter embarrassment of Hoseok and Yoongi that glared at an obnoxiously smug Jungkook.

"What kind of names are those?!" wheezed Dereck Two Fingers.

"Sugar Claws...?!" laughed Nyel McDevan The Red, holding his belly.

Yoongi elbowed Jungkook angrily, while the boy pressed his hand on his mouth and held his breath, battling to smother his laughter. Hoseok couldn't help but find it funny as a dry rasp escaped his nose.

"Well, I'm truly glad you're having a good time, fellas," Jungkook said with a faint venomous chuckle, clearly starting to get irritated himself, since their laughs lasted longer than his ego could handle, "Now I hope you will excuse us if we welcome ourselves into your little alliance and get that gold."

Out of breath, they nodded, having no clue what they were signing up for. Hoseok noticed Jungkook staring at them with a malicious smile, as though eyeing his meal. In the meantime, amidst the commotion, he slipped a hand and snatched the flier of the invitation to join the hunt. He unfolded the paper and read:

'By order of Tadashi Hisashi, head of the Hisashi Gang, his lead bounty hunter Lorence Pearce The Butcher, invites any bounty hunter and willing body to join the hunt to find princess Selenya, prince Jinghim, and his bastard brothers, and claim the reward of 500.000. Hisashi swears to share the amount equally, as well as give pardon, truce, and forgiveness to his opponents, indebted, traitors, and deserters perpetually. Good Luck and good hunting.'

After a few hours, which they passed telling jokes, and drinking, the train made a stop in the middle of a valley, boarding five more bounty hunters. All rough and chiseled, armed to the teeth and dangerous looking. Among them, there was Lorence Pearce The Butcher, a menacing and bearded man, clothed with a worn-out military special forces uniform, wrapped in bullet holsters, belts with revolvers and rifles, and a sword. He didn't pay much attention to the three brothers and ordered everyone around to take a sit.

Jungkook didn't miss the opportunity to learn all their names. A certain Connor The Black, Curtis Flamerider, Mad Hound Mickey, Domenic Gunner, and their leader, Pearce, all resembling him, covered in weapons and dirty working class rags.

The boy smiled sardonically, drew his journal once more, and wrote something down. Hoseok knitted his eyebrows, exchanging a wondering look with Yoongi.

"Welcome, gents, and thank you for joining our crew," began Pearce solemnly, with his former military training resonating from his rough voice, "My name is---"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know who you are, Butcher, now cut to the chase!" pressed Dereck Two Fingers with a bored grunt.

Pearce scowled at him and cleared his throat, "Alright then. You all know what we came here to do, so I'll get to the point. The last place that our targets were spotted was Bolasaeg, after that, our sources claim that they flew to the island of the free Kingdom of Balus. We believe that they sought refuge there. So that's where we're headed. The train will only make one stop at the abandoned Kenshin Station, where Hisashi's men have prepared supplies for our journey. So if you have any final business, I suggest you take care of them there, because this train will not stop until we arrive near the shores at the Southern tip of the continent, where a ship is waiting to take us to Balus. Orders are to bring them all back alive and unharmed, especially the princess and Yenji's son, prince Jinghim. After that, we deliver them to Hisashi in the Capital, where the exchange will be made."

"What about the WRA?" asked John Luck, "They're looking for them, too, and they're real trouble, I assure you."

"That's why the train mustn't stop, and if we run into them, shoot them on sight," replied Pearce, "That is all. Any questions?"

Pearce's eyes fell on Jungkook, who nodded with alacrity. He narrowed and blinked his eyes with a contemplative frown, making the heart in the boy's chest to churn. Did he recognize him after all these years?

His heart started to race, cold sweat already building up under his fringe. Hoseok and Yoongi noticed their staring contest, and the eldest acted forthwith.

"Oh, well, if there's nothing else I'm going to take a nice nap," he announced with a fake yawn, which distracted Pearce and the other bounty hunters.

They all sighed and let out boorish moans, lighting cigars, pouring drinks, and chatting amongst them. Fortunately, the atmosphere loosened and the journey South started.