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Namjoon sighed as he finished off his last sip of wine.  That's enough for today... Namjoon thought to himself as he stood up from his seat to clean up.  Just then, he heard knocking sounds from outside his door.  Strange... it's the middle of the night...

The boy opened the door, only to feel a forceful push that sent him backward.  He stumbled, trying to keep his balance as he recognized the group of men barging into his house.  "S-seoung?  What are you doing here?"

Seoung smirked, eyes fixed at Namjoon as his men surrounding him threateningly.  They threw the boy on the chair.  "It's been a while, hasn't it old friend?"

Namjoon swallowed before bravely defending.  "We're not friends.  And how the fuck did you find me?"

"Oh, c'mon.  No need to be so hard, Joon.  Boss misses you a lot y'know." Seoung's cynical smile widened, showing his crooked teeth.

"Look, I don't know what you're here for.  But I'm definitely not going back." Namjoon's eyes pierced at the criminal as if he was ready to throw hands.  He knew he'd be outnumbered, but the boy would do all it takes to avoid this sick fellow.

"That's what I thought, buddy.  Either way, that's not what we're here for." Seoung bent low, close to Namjoon's face.  "I've heard that you're friends with Kim Taehyung.  Is that right?"

Namjoon scoffed, looking away cooly although he was internally scared.  "I'm not telling you anything."

Seoung leaned in closer to the boy, whispering to his ear. "Remember, Joon.  I'm a world-class criminal and serial killer.  I know how to hide your dead body for as long as possible.  Now tell me where he is."

"He's not gonna be home if that's what you're wondering," Namjoon replied curtly, trying his best not to give out too much information.

Seoung shook the chair, scaring Namjoon a little.  "Idiot.  Of course, I know he's not home.  I'm asking where the fuck did he wander off with his pretty side-chick of his."

"I-I dunno.  They said they were going somewhere for Christmas vacation." Namjoon stuttered, his voice beginning to quiver a little.

"So they're coming back soon, huh." Seoung murmured to himself, cynically smiling.

"Why are you doing this, Seoung?"

"I failed my revenge at the two brats once.  I'm not gonna make the same fucking mistake again.  The dick can read minds, but there are some things mind-reading can't solve."

Namjoon whipped his head around in shock.  "How did you know?"

He let out a gut-wrenching laugh.  "It's shocking how little you know about me, Joon."

In response, out of anyone's expectation, Namjoon flashed a smirk.  "It's shocking how little you know me too, Seoung."  The alcohol surged through the boy's body, his eyes glowed with fire and purpose.

Namjoon kicked the table, sending bottles of wine to tumble to the floor.  A couple of them caused the men to trip and lose balance.  Swiftly, the boy smashed one of them under his shoe.  He held up the broken bottle, slicing some of Seoung's men deeply.

Seoung and his men backed away from Namjoon in surprise.  Without any more words, they quickly left Namjoon alone in his room.  Namjoon laughed to himself drunkenly before slumping back to his chair, knocked out and fast asleep.

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Ever since Jungkook had told Taehyung's family that he had been crushing on him, the past few days have been weird.  Almost as if it never happened in Taehyung's memory.  Taehyung had been either ignoring him or telling him to do chores for him.  Jungkook found it a little disappointing, but a part of him believed it was just his nature.  He was probably just really shy and didn't wanna face Jungkook.

Jungkook peeked into the room, realizing it was Taehyung and Taneeya.

"Come on, just one last farewell lunch tomorrow before you two leave? Hm?" Taneeya pleaded.

"No." Taehyung responded coldly.

Taehyung's sister nudged her brother playfully.  "Pleaseee..."  

All Taehyung could read from her sister's head is her wish for him to respond to Jungkook's subtle confession.  That had always been in his family's heads ever since Jungkook said those words and it annoyed him so much.  "I don't know how many times I have to tell you.  I hate spending time with the family." Taehyung harshly declined.

The words finally made his sister snap as she remarked.  "You're just saying that because you don't want to upset Jungkook, right?"

Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed.  "What?  Okay, now your just jumping to conclusions.  You always assume it's about Jungkook.  Every single time."

"Well, isn't it true though?" Taeneeya raised her eyebrows daringly.

The boy looked away in a rage.  "Noona. For the last time, we're not in love.  Jungkook clearly doesn't have feelings for me."

His sister let out a bitter laugh.  "And what makes you so confident in that?  Have you two talked to each other about that?  Cause the last time I've checked, you've been ignoring him for days."

Taehyung scoffed, his eyes burning in anger as if his sister has crossed the line.  "Look. If anyone ever proclaims that they've 'fallen in love' with me, it's either because of my family's wealth or my looks. If that's what Jungkook is suggesting, then he's no different than the other bitchy friends you've hooked me up with."

A sharp pain grew in Jungkook's chest as the boy found it harder to breathe.  The raven-haired stepped away from the door in shock as he couldn't bear to hear any more.  He was in disbelief that Taehyung had said those hurtful words.  Jungkook shut his eyes. Maybe... just maybe if he stopped dreaming these impossible thoughts, this would all be over. The boy walked away, weakly, unable to feel the same way again.  Tears fell off his eyes as he quickly wiped them with his sleeves.

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The next morning Jungkook started packing away his things, including Taehyung's for some reason.  After all, the private jet is arriving in the afternoon, so it's better to be prepared for it.  While finishing off packing, he remembered he brought a comic book he never found the time to read.  Now's probably a good time to do so.  Jungkook picked it up, unconsciously reading it for some time until he heard the door swing open behind him.

"Oh, hey Tae." Jungkook looked up from his comic book to see Taehyung stare at him with deadpan eyes.

"Spaghetti." Taehyung barked.

"What?" Jungkook blinked his eyes in confusion.

The older rolled his eyes in annoyance.  "You're cooking me spaghetti for lunch."

"Why? Don't you have maids to cook in your parent's hou-?"

"You heard me, Jungkook." The older cut him harshly.

Jungkook frowned, placing the comic book down and getting up from the bed. "Whatever."  Yet, his heart sank at the heartless demand.

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"This tastes bad." Taehyung slouched back on his chair with his plate empty.

Jungkook tilted his head, baffled.  "But... you finished all the spagh-"

"It's not like I had a choice, did I?" The older cut, his eyes glaring at Jungkook.  "I mean, I do have to eat to survive.  Right?"

Tears welled up in Jungkook's eyes as he murmured quietly.  "I thought you liked my spaghetti..."  He didn't know what went wrong between the two of them.  Did he offend Taehyung somehow?  Or did he owe him something?  Why was Taehyung acting all upset at him suddenly?

Taehyung got up from his seat, emotionlessly going to his own room to get his luggage.  The boy left Jungkook to clean the plates as the poor younger felt guilt in his stomach.

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The pain grew within Jungkook as there was an awkward silence growing between him and Taehyung during the flight home. Normally, Taehyung would tease Jungkook or at least complain that the food wasn't as good as Jungkook's, but he didn't do that at all.  The younger noticed Taehyung barely said goodbye to his family as they rushed to the private jet.  Jungkook felt a little sad he didn't get a chance to say goodbye to the nicest people one last time.  Internally, he hoped he'd see them again... but that's not that likely.

On the ride back, Jungkook couldn't help but contemplate on whether he should move out of Taehyung's floor.  Perhaps it was for the best, for him to rely on himself for the living expense.  But he also knew that, if he'd tried hard enough, he was able to cook something good for Taehyung.  He was able to make him coffee that would boost his mood all day.  He didn't want to take any of that away from Taehyung... he wanted him to be happy.

Time quickly went by and their journey home was finally over.  Jungkook and Taehyung got out of the car, walking into the elevator.  The younger thought it was a good time to speak as he started.  "Taehyung..."

"From now on, you're gonna cook both lunch and dinner for me," Taehyung cut the younger with an order, the shadow of his fringe fell over his eyes.

Jungkook tilted his head, genuinely confused and a little offended by his request.  "Huh?"

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Taehyung sighed to himself.  "You're living in my house, so it's only reasonable that you do the cooking for every meal."

"B...but.." The younger rounded his eyes, looking at Taehyung.  Yet, the older barely looked back at him.  Heat grew in the boy's chest.  But it wasn't anger.  No, it was determination.  Determination to prove to Taehyung he could make him feel better.  If anyone could make him feel better, it was Jungkook.  "...Fine."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to their floor.  This was it, Jungkook.  Jungkook internally said to himself.  It's time to make Taehyung proud.

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"Welcome back." Jimin's smirking face was the first thing Taehyung saw when he opened his door.

"I don't wanna talk to you, maybe another time." Taehyung swung his door shut before opening it again.  "Actually, I never wanna talk to you.  Please leave."

Jimin jammed the door with his foot before it closed.  "Heyyy... at least let me greet Jungkook.  It's been so long since we talked."

Taehyung rolled his eyes, opening the door for Jimin to come in.

"Wait, you're actually not gonna nag me for talking to Jungkook in the middle of the night?" Jimin raised an eyebrow in surprise as he got in the door.

Taehyung pushed his specs.  "I don't care what you do to Jungkook."

"Woah.  You alright?  Did you two get into a fight or something?" Jimin flashed a concerned look at Taehyung before opening the door to Jungkook's room.  "Oh, hey.  Jungkook isn't home."

"What?"  Taehyung pushed past Jimin to get a better look at the empty room.  "It's the middle of the night.  Why on earth would he be out?"

Jimin shrugged casually.  "I dunno, shouldn't you know?"

"Fuck." Taehyung ruffled his hair in worry.  His mind started to race.  Did he upset Jungkook to the point where he left the house?

Jimin scratched his head.  "Not that I care, but do you want me to come search with you?"

"No." Taehyung quickly declined, before changing his mind.  "Ahhhh fuck you.  Let's go."

The blonde smirked following Taehyung to the elevator.

Taehyung dialed Jungkook's number as his hands trembled.  "Pick up... pick up..."  Unfortunately, the younger's phone didn't pick up.

"Either Jungkook's phone died... or he really really hates you."  Jimin savagely commented, causing Taehyung to shake in anger.

"Jimin, you're not fucking helping." Taehyung's glared at the blonde, on the brink of punching him in the face.

As much as Jimin wanted to see Taehyung lose insanity, he decided not to push it.

"Hello?  Yoongi?  Where are you?"  Taehyung called through the phone to Yoongi, his voice echoing in the elevator.  "Yeah, I'm back.  But Jungkook's missing.... okay, I'll see you."

Jimin narrowed his eyes.  "Really?  You're asking Yoongi for help?  You really don't trust me, don't you?"

"Yeah.  In case you forgot you kidnapped Jungkook once... twice." Taehyung responded.  He mumbled to himself.  "Yoongi's on his way..."

Jimin's face turned serious, his mood dropping.  "Incase YOU forgot, I also saved your ass once.  Did you not remember any of that?  And after everything we've gone through... you're still treating me like shit?"

"Not now, Jimin." Taehyung dismissed the blonde, barely making eye contact with him.

The elevator doors opened as the two got out of the lobby.

"Y'know what.  Screw you.  Go look for Jungkook yourself." Jimin stopped following Taehyung, storming away.

"Hey!  Where are you going?"

"Since when do you care?  Oh, right.  Only when you need to save Jungkook's ass."  Jimin flipped his fingers at Taehyung as he disappeared into the night.

"Screw him," Taehyung mumbled to himself as he started running around the quiet streets.  Where could Jungkook possibly be?  Did he ran away?  Or worse... was he kidnapped again? 

The boy only took a few steps out of the apartment before finding a familiar face in the distance.  Sadly, the face wasn't Jungkook.  He frowned.  "Han Seoung..."

"Surprised you still recognize me, Kim Taehyung." The man smirked as he strolled towards Taehyung with a group of men behind him.  "After all, we've only met twice...."

The boy tensed, backing away from the criminal and his men.  Yet, he kept his composure, smirking back.  "So you figured out where I live, huh.  Kudos to you.  Have a little sticker."

The man struck Taehyung in the face, throwing the boy back into the floor. "You have no idea how much I wanted to punch you."

Taehyung laughed cynically, his nose started to bleed.  "Hey, enough chit chat.  How bout you tell me where you took Jungkook?"

"The pretty boy?  I dunno.  Didya lose him?" The man mocked as his men kicked Taehyung in the stomach.

Taehyung groaned in pain.  "Geez.... could ya tell your guys to stop beating me up?"

"So that you could focus and read my mind?" Seoung's smile stretched ear to ear and Taehyung's face paled slightly in the realization that the guy knows about his powers.

"Hah... so you know?" Taehyung could barely lift up his head to Seoung before getting kicked again on his back.  The boy winced in pain but still kept his smug face.  Every time he tried to focus on Seoung's mind, he'd get punched or kicked and it would disrupt his attention.  It carried on for a while, as Taehyung panted on the floor in pain.

"Where did you take him?!" Taehyung demanded as he couldn't take it anymore.  

Seoung laughed.  "Sorry, this is the first time seeing you lose your shit like that.  You look so hilarious.  I had no idea you cared for your boyfriend that much.  Daww... this is SO heartbreaking."

Taehyung's head fell to the ground, slowly losing hope and he felt strike after strike on his body.  At some point, it felt numb.  Numb enough for him to read a slight bit...

"POLICE!" One of the men cried, running towards Seoung and the men.

"Fuck.  Let's go." Seoung cursed, backing away from Taehyung.  The rest of the men followed without any more words, as they were scared of going to prison.

"Hah..." Taehyung let out a laugh, his eyes briefly eye contacting with Seoung before the wretched enemy turned away to run from the police.

Yoongi arrived at Taehyung's limp and weak body lying on the pavement.  "Holy fuck.  What happened to you?  Are you okay?  I literally saw a bunch of guys beating you up and I had to scare them away."

Taehyung spat blood out from his mouth, acting as if it was nothing to him.  He swung his arm around Yoongi for support as he limped.  "We have to... find Jungkook."

"You literally answered none of my questions... and we need to heal you first."  Yoongi strained to keep Taehyung up, sending a worried gaze at the boy.

"But..." Taehyung panted, he wiped off the blood from his mouth with his sleeves.

"Wait, isn't that Jungkook over there?" Yoongi gestured at the figure in front of them.

Taehyung blinked from his blurry vision and indeed, he saw Jungkook.  The boy was fully clothed..... while holding bags of groceries.  

Groceries?

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Jungkook's eyes widened at Taehyung's terrible state.  Dropping the bags, he rushed to check on Taehyng's bruised and cut face.  "Taehyung?  What happened to you?"

"What the hell are you doing this late outside?" Taehyung suddenly scolded, causing the younger to freeze like a deer in headlights.

Jungkook stuttered, "Y-You said you wanted me to cook both lunch and dinner. So I went to buy ingredients for your favorite dishes; japchae, potato pancakes, ice-cream, spaghetti, and-"

"Are you stupid?" Taehyung cut, his voice trembling. "If I told you to jump off a cliff, would you actually jump off a cliff?"

Yoongi glanced at Taehyung in concern, but Taehyung ignored him.

"I-I'm sorry!" Jungkook stuttered, confused as to why he made Taehyung snap.  He didn't even know why the older got hurt.

"Stop!  You're doing it again..." Taehyung sighed, closing his eyes.  "Just stop apologizing for once, will you?"

"Are you... alright...?" Jungkook reached over to touch the older's bruised face in concern.  

Taehyung flinched, looking away.  "Just... give me a minute alone.  I need to talk to Yoongi."  He motioned Yoongi to support him into the apartment.

Jungkook opened his mouth, about to ask if he was okay, but then decided not to say anything. It was probably better he went to bed and left him alone. The younger couldn't help but feel like he made a mistake, but he wasn't sure what he did wrong and why Taehyung was behaving so differently than usual. Perhaps... it was because of the conversation he had earlier with Yoongi... Maybe he found out I have feelings for him and didn't want that between us... Oh, god... I ruined our friendship, didn't I?

The boy squeezed closed his eyes, tears rolling off his cheeks as he murmured to himself. "Taehyung hates me...."

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The commotion outside the apartment sturred Namjoon and Jin, who went to check on Taehyung.

Taehyung explained to them everything about Seoung attacking.  Namjoon guiltily apologized for leaking information to Seoung and it is later revealed that he had been threatened by the criminal a few days ago.  Jin, gasped as if he was offended Namjoon never mentioned such a thing to him.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"  Taehyung raised his eyebrows, realizing that was how Seoung figured out where he lived.

"I was planning to tell you when you came back, but it was late at night..." Namjoon bowed his head apologetically at Taehyung.  "I should've told you earlier, sorry..."

"It's okay." Taehyung quickly dismissed the older.  "But we gotta figure out how to get rid of Seoung before he strikes back again."

"That's not gonna be easy... he's a world-class criminal." Namjoon pursed his lips, shaking his head hopelessly.

Jin rolled his eyes.  "Sounds like something he'd call himself to raise his low self-esteem."

Yoongi tilted his head at Jin, raising a brow.  "Didn't you call yourself world-wide handsome?"

"HEY!  I'm actually handsome, okay!" Jin snapped, his face turning red.

Namjoon sighed, his head still thinking about his ex-friend.  "Seoung is a bigger deal than you think.  The boss he's working for is an even bigger deal."

"I mean... do you know the identity of his boss?" Taehyung asked further.

Sadly, Namjoon shook his head.  "No one knows the identity of the boss.  Not even Seoung.  And I wasn't in the gang long enough to know where their new base is."

"Well, that's just great." Yoongi crossed his arms.  "We also know nothing about this cult.  Nothing about where their base is.  And nothing about the leader."

"Then what can we do?" Jin waved his arms.  "This asshole is just gonna come back and we're all gonna get killed!"

Yoongi touched his chin in thought.  "We can at the very least figure out how to keep everyone safe.  Especially Taehyung, Jungkook, and Namjoon."

Jin whipped his head to Namjoon, placing an arm on his shoulder.  "That's it.  I'm moving in to stay with you, Joon."

"Wait... w-why and how did you come with that conclusion?" Namjoon stuttered, unable to process the sudden decision.

"Because you're living alone and it's dangerous!  What if the gangster dudes come back again to hurt you?"

"I-I'll be alright.  But you're welcome to stay if you want." Namjoon brushed his hair, flustered and touched by the offer.

Yoongi shared a look with Taehyung.  "And you stick with Jungkook as often as you can.  I don't care how bad you and Jungkook's situation is but don't let the boy out of your sight, alright?"

Taehyung hesitated before answering.  "Okay."

Yoongi nodded, yet a little concerned with Taehyung's answer.  "Good.  I'll send some men to patrol around the apartment."  The chief added, looking around at the boys.  "Oh, and also.  If Seoung threatens any of us to come alone to meet him.  You gotta let me know, okay?  The police will handle it from there."

"Think that's all we've got for defending Seoung right?"

"Yeah, all that we can do for now,"  Yoongi admitted, as he and Taehyung shared a worried glance.  "Meanwhile, I'll check the CCTV footage for additional information."

The boys murmured to each other, still shocked about what happened.  How could an attack happen just right outside Taehyung's apartment?  What kind of freak attacks their victim in plain sight?  And how powerful do you have to be to get that cocky?

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