Chapter 6

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"What do you think of me, Taehyung?" They were both once again sitting by the glass. They had just had a conversation about what it had been like for Jungkook to hide his identity from his roommate.

"What do I think of you?"

Jungkook nodded. "We're always talking about me. You never share anything about yourself at all. I don't even know if you work anywhere else when you aren't here. I know... you're my therapist and it wouldn't be good for you to disclose any personal information so I'm asking you about your opinion of me right now. Not as a therapist. As a person. As... a friend." Taehyung didn't know what to say. This was the first time Jungkook had called him a friend. Or had clearly stated anything about liking Taehyung.

He couldn't help but smile. "So we're friends now? You get to decide that?"

Jungkook grinned. "I do. So what's your honest answer? What do you think of me?"

Taehyung thought about it. Half a year ago he would have said Jungkook was cold and scary. That he couldn't read him at all and that he felt threatened by him sometimes.

Now... Taehyung's opinion was a little split. "First off I like you as a human. Talking to you is fun and I honestly think we'd be friends under different circumstances, but..." He hesitated. "...you're still scary. Knowing what you have done and what you could do to me... is quite scary. Even after all this time we have spent in here together, I still have no idea what you even are. All the information I did get was that you're not human. That's it."

Jungkook chuckled. "Because that's about as much information as they have on me. I-" Jungkook seemed to be contemplating something. "I can't tell you much more... not right now. Not here."

Taehyung didn't know how to feel about that statement. What it indicated. Jungkook was assuming he'd get out of here. With quite a bit of confidence. Taehyung really wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Jungkook seemed to notice. "Hey, you've turned as pale as a ghost. Don't worry, I'm not out to get you." He chuckled, getting up and stretching his body. Today he seemed to be in a pretty good shape, unlike the last few times. Maybe Taehyung was just imagining things but he felt like the experiments were getting worse and worse.

"I have to get out of here soon... it's..." Jungkook hesitated. "...do they usually listen to these recordings?"

Taehyung's heart rate sped up. What was Jungkook considering to say?

"They don't unless I tell them something interesting is on there." Taehyung wasn't lying. Over the last year, they had pretty much given up getting anything out of Jungkook through Taehyung. Taehyung was just here to humor Jungkook in their eyes.

"Will you say something?" Jungkook's gaze bored into him.

For a second Taehyung hesitated. "Is it about you escaping this place?"

Jungkook shook his head. "It's not."

Taehyung nodded. A weight lifted off his shoulders... if Jungkook would share something like that with him he wouldn't know what to do. If he snitched on Jungkook he'd be the one keeping Jungkook here, causing the boy who had made himself a place in Taehyung's heart, no matter how much he was in denial about that, a lot of pain. If he didn't snitch and Jungkook did escape any death caused by Jungkook would be Taehyung's fault too. He would have been the one releasing a cold-blooded killer back into the world.

Taehyung wouldn't have been able to deal with that responsibility.

"Then I won't. As long as it's not about you escaping here I won't tell anyone."

Jungkook smiled, his gaze a lot softer than Taehyung was used to. Grateful.

"This might be a little weird to explain, but you know how cats have nine lives, right?" Jungkook asked, sitting back down, close by the window. If it hadn't been for that glass, they would have been able to reach out and touch each other now.

Taehyung nodded, curious about what Jungkook was about to tell him.

"It's pretty similar for me. But it's not limited to a certain number. In a way I steal other people's lives. When I kill someone it gets added to my lifespan. One life translates to around five years of life... unless I get a fatal wound. The moment I would die from those wounds my body switches onto the next life."

Taehyung had no idea what to say to that. At one hand that was really cool, but on the other hand... how many people had Jungkook killed before? Just how many lives did he have?

"So, your body can die from the same things a human dies from?"

Jungkook shook his head, readjusting his posture. "No, it doesn't. I'm a lot more durable than a human. If I wasn't I'd die every time they use that tranquilizer on me. I regenerate a lot quicker than a human and it takes more to take one of my lives, but it's a completely possible thing."

Jungkook grinned. "See, now you know something about me!"

Taehyung sighed exasperatedly. "Really not sure what to do with that information. I still can't believe you're not human either. Like, you seem so human when I'm talking to you... my head can't wrap around it properly."

"It's probably better that way. Stops you from thinking that it was a bad idea to come here without any payment." Jungkook dropped down onto his back. "You made me notice you. Before I'd probably just have forgotten about you if I ever got out, but right now... I think I'd search for you."

Taehyung felt oddly cold at the thought. There was no clear indicator of whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Whether Jungkook was going to seek him out to kill him or if it was because he wanted to see Taehyung again.

After all that had happened over the last half year Taehyung hoped it was the second.

Because there was no denying that he cared about Jungkook... more than he should have.

A/N

Surprise update for my babies💜

Love this story so much... like damn🤧💕