"We need noodles for Japchae, more banana Melona Bars, some sugar-" Jimin lowers his voice so that Hoseok doesn't hear him. "And ten milk chocolate dipped graham bars."

Jinyoung blinks at his friend, then at Hobi who's sifting in the cereal aisle. He stares down at the list in Jimin's hand, doubtful of the last object in the series. "Chocolate graham bars? Is Hoseok not supposed to know about this or something?" No shit Sherlock.

"Of course not. He doesn't like me getting too much of that...white powder stuff, if you know what I mean." Jimin lifts a conspiring eyebrow. The law intern isn't catching the memo.

"White powder? That sounds awfully unlawful."

Jimin groans, shoving the shopping list in his pocket. A disappointed hand sifts through his purple hair. "Ugh, never mind. I'll just have to sneak the bars myself since you're too lawful."

The duo make their way into different aisles with the shopping list fluttering in the AC of the shopping store. Jinyoung helps him pick out the stuff he needs, filling the green basket that swings between them. Since Jimin couldn't meet with Jinyoung in Radon or at his house, they decided on the grocery store. Hoseok suggested it, after Jimin whined about not having enough sugar in the bag left to spoon out. 'Let's just go shopping then, Thick Stuff. Jinyoung can come with and update us on his case.'

"Here are the Melona bars." Jinyoung places the box into the basket. "Also, I got the wafer things you wanted. They're hidden under the box."

Blinking down at the box of banana ice cream, Jimin spots the plastic edges of the chocolate bars he's been craving recently. "Oh, thank God! You do have a heart!"

Jinyoung scoffs, crossing the Melona bars off of the list. "Yes, I do. Anyway, I think this is everything. Should we regroup with Hoseok? I have news from my father to share today."

Ooooh...what does that mean? Is that a sign that the investigation into Gyuri is looking hopeful? "Yep. He's over by the produce now I think."

The two gays stroll to the greenest section in the store, their faces giving nothing of the sweets away. But before they can make it to the ball of sunshine that is currently comparing red and green apples, Jinyoung harshly snatches Jimin's wrist and yanks him back. Jimin yelps out, whipping around to face Jinyoung with a bitch! What's got your panties in a knot? in his mouth, but cuts himself short when he catches the intern's expression. 

"Shit. Shit!" Jinyoung pulls them into the nearest aisle, pushing them next to different pasta sauces. His eyes are wide--as if he's seen a double-trouble poodle from Perilation in the flesh. Jimin's back lightly hits the glass containers. He frowns.

"What? What did you see?" Jimin's heart rate pumps at a building rate, not liking Jinyoung's fogged eyes. The lawyer pauses, staring at the ground. While he ponders something, Jimin is tempted to peek out from the aisle, look for whatever made the other so worried. 

"Stop. Wait. Don't look out there." Jinyoung holds up a hand, as if reading Jimin's mind. "Shit...shit, you left your bubblegum phone at home, right?"

"Yes..." Jimin is starting to understand now...and he isn't liking it. "She isn't here...is she? Fuck, Jinyoung. IS SHE?"

"Shh! Lower your voice. And no, she isn't here. One of her spies is here, in place of her. I almost didn't catch the guy, but he was obviously following Hoseok around the produce area. He had a mask on, and when Hobi wasn't watching, he was raising his eyes from the fruit and just staring at him. Fucking creepy." Jinyoung licks his lips, deep in thought. His eyes bounce around the canisters of pasta sauces like torpedoes. "Uh...hang on...is Hoseok carrying his phone? Shit, Gyuri hacked into his phone to get his location. Whatever malware she got onto your phone by texting you...hmm...how would she get into Hobi's phone? Unless...no, that would take too many resources. That would require lots of understanding about hacking-"

"Jinyoung, what are you talking about?" Jimin's fingers scrape at the skin around his stomach anxiously. There's a fucking spy inside this shopping store with us. Another fucking Pluto Room to beat. "Are you saying that Gyuri got into Hoseok's phone through mine? How is that possible."

The law intern shakes his head, a minute movement denouncing a greater power. It clearly expresses his distaste for hacking. "Gyuri's father has connections to hackers, I'm sure...but if he's helping her out in monitoring you...then Jesus fuck, Jimin. We aren't just challenging the devil anymore, we're challenging the whole fucking underworld."

A bout of dizziness makes Jimin grab onto the closest shelf. "Satan's quarters...and all because she found out I was in Busan at Mingyu's...I swear I'm going to kick a soccer ball into that boy's face. Mingyu even told me he was better off sticking with sports and then he goes and hacks like an amateur...getting himself caught, and...oh no, Jinyoung...what do we do?"

The law intern taps aggressively at his chin. "I need to get out of this shopping store. That's for sure. If Gyuri finds out that a lawyer is helping you...then she'll...well, we don't want to find out."

Jimin shudders.

"And if she finds out my father is helping me on the case...the whole world is going to explode. So I guess I'll just have to leave you with a condensed version of what I was going to talk about and you can tell Hoseok after." Jinyoung bites his lip, shuffles them closer into the center of the aisle. The basket bumps against Jimin's tight black pants. "I'll leave out the side entrance, with my hood up. Her spy can't draw any connections just by seeing me here. It could be a coincidence that we're just shopping at the same time."

Jimin nods, distancing himself from the other. "Okay, just pretend to shop in case Gyuri's spy starts looking through the aisles. Stay close enough so that I can hear you though, but don't look at me."

With a curt nod, Jinyoung separates himself from Jimin's space. He steps over to the spices, sifting through paprika like he's actually interested in it. "Okay. You listening?"

"My ears are on." Jimin stares at a few sauces, pretending to read the labels. "What did your father find?"

Jinyoung shakes a few spice packets around, nonchalantly peering at the aisle entry every few seconds. "He went through the court database and found that a few other investigations into Mr. Yoon's company have actually taken place before."

"What!" Jimin shouts a little loudly. A woman enters the aisle at that exact moment. "...they have alfredo pasta sauce here? What a great deal!" Nice save, Melonboy. Those 'acting classes' have paid off. Haha!

The woman regards him strangely, but moves on. Jimin folds his lip in to prevent himself from laughing at how stupid that was. Wow! Pasta sauce! Jimin wishes he could get so excited for something as trivial as pasta sauce, but Gyuri has a warrant out for his head. So until the threat is subdued, sauce means nothing to him. Unless it's Jungkook's sauce.

Jinyoung closes both eyes, a signal that says that acting performance deserved an Oscar. He quickly collects himself, biting back his giggle to regard the spices with full seriousness. "Yes, my father has tried to dig deeper, but for some reason the most important data from those cases have been wiped from the system. Completely gone. Even when my father tried to get in touch with the investigators of those cases, they wouldn't tell him anything. They pledged that Yoon & Affiliates was entirely innocent of all fraud charges, and not to press the matter anymore. One of the investigators even said to give up now while you have your wits about you. Isn't that fucked? They basically affirmed that something horrible is going on in the company, and that they were probably threatened out of investigating."

Jimin frowns deeply, pushing the alfredo sauce back to the darkest portion of the shelf. Hidden in the shadows. Where no shopper will ever find it before it expires. "That's...troubling. And disheartening. And anxiety-inducing. And forfeit-worthy. And bothersome. And-"

"Synonyms are great and all, but I don't think it helps to think that way." Jinyoung accidentally drops a spice packet on the floor. He picks it up, eyeing the rest of the aisle on the down low. Nobody is there. Gyuri's spy must still be watching Hobi dutifully choose between Red Delicious and Gala apples. "We have to be positive about this, Jimin. Now that Hoseok, Mingyu, Junghyun, and my father are fighting this--we can all team up and fight back. My father told me already that he's hiring a team of five PI's to look into this."

"Pee eyes?" Jimin pushes three more sauce bottles backwards into the depths of shopper's despair. It's kinda fun, to hide stuff from others. It's not like he isn't good at doing it already. "What do you--oh!! Private Investigators! Five of them?!"

Jinyoung swats angrily at a few sauce packets, his way of telling Jimin to keep his voice down. "Yes. He's going to. Not only is he willing to help you in this, but he's willing to try and take down a huge corporation in the process. And if we all win the lawsuit against the Mr. Yoon, wouldn't that make the news!"

Woah...that would be...fucking crazy. "I can't believe that, Jinyoung. How can your father afford that? I know you come from money, and like, your father's a business guy...but isn't that super risky? What if he gets blackmailed?"

"Unlikely. My dad runs a giant tech company, and although he isn't half as powerful as Yoon, he has a great standing among the other tech giants. Didn't I tell you before? He has a good team of lawyers, and he trusts them to protect his own company...wouldn't it make sense to use them against the Yoon's?"

"Yes...yes it does." Jimin's finger traces the lids of the sauce cans for a while, thinking about how fast everything is happening around him. If he knew that meeting Jinyoung would be his biggest weapon against his mortal enemy, maybe he would've treated the law intern a bit better. But the past is the past! "This is all just so fucking crazy. So now we're leaving it to the big dogs now? A company versus company...galactic interspace battle? Maybe we should go to the other aisle to buy some popcorn..."Pluto would love watching a dramatic movie like this. Pluto versus the Sun. Fucking crazy!!

Jinyoung chuckles, but his laughs stop short in his throat. Jimin frowns, turning to see why. A masked man is slowly heading towards them across the linoleum floor, his head low. He doesn't see them yet, but Jinyoung instantly starts moving.

"Wait. Jinyoung."

The law intern briefly pauses, pretending to sift through boxes of macaroni noodles. He bounces on his feet impatiently. "Be quick. What is it?"

Jimin quickly fires his questions. "Before you leave, should I tell Hobi to get a new phone? And also, what company does your father run? Maybe we could meet at the company building once a week, because grocery stores are too open."

"Good idea. Hoseok gets a new phone, and you meet me every Wednesday morning at my father's company building in Gangnam. I'll text you the address on your new phone."

The spy boredly shuffles his feet, doing a horrible job at paying attention to them. Gyuri needs to get better spies, but I'm not complaining. His ditsy behavior is advantageous to us. "Okay, sounds good Jinyoung. Thank you so much--and, wait. Which company does your dad run?"

Jinyoung starts walking away, but Jimin can't miss the company name as it's casually thrown over the intern's shoulder. 

"Sperosity."

.

"Okay...okay, what am I looking at here. A drawing of an angry guy on tan paper?"

"He's not angry." Jimin struggles to hold the phone up for the video call with Jungkook. "His mouth is a straight line. That's not angry."

"Suuuurreee...but why aren't you showing your face, Melonboy? Why do I care about two marker dots and a line?"

Jimin snickers to himself, biting down on his lower lip. Jungkook's going to love this. "Only the dots are made from a marker. The line of the mouth is au naturel."

"What? Oh...wait! It's moving...you drew a face on your skin?" Jungkook snorts, bringing his confused eyes up to the camera. Jimin leans against his bed for support with his free hand, back starting to ache. "Is this one of those pranks where you draw two dots above the crack in your elbow and I'm supposed to think it's your butt because of the optical illusion? That's clever, Melonheart, but I got you. That face's mouth isn't really your butt crack. Can't fool me."

A sharp laugh is drawn out of Jimin's chest, his back screaming at him in the twisted position he is in. "What if I told you that you are the fool?"

"I'm not a fool--WWWOOAAAAHH!!!"

Jimin slowly moves the camera back from its close position to his backside just enough for Jungkook to see the zoomed out face he drew on his butt cheek. Only half of one cheek is shown through the video call, yet Jungkook is cheering energetically. Whoops and hollers fill Jimin's room and he almost drops the phone at his boyfriend's crazy reaction. 

"Yes you ARE a fool! The line for the mouth was my butt crack!!! GOT YOU!!" Jimin shows a little more of his quite round ass before cutting the camera to pull his pants up. Jungkook's whines come instantly.

"WHAT! NOOOO!! BACK UP BACK UP!! I DIDN'T GET TO SEEEEE!! YOU HARDLY MOONED ME JIMIN, YOU BARELY EVEN SHOWED ME HALF OF THE TREASURE CHEEEESSST!! THICK STUUUUFF! NOOOO! WHERE'S MY MELONASS...AWWWW COME ON!!"

Stomach filling with pleasure at his boyfriend's worship of his ass, Jimin reconnects the camera to his real face. His cheeks are tinted red from the thrill-seeking he just did for the prank, but Jungkook's reaction was so worth it. "Nope. You don't get to see the real deal until I see you in person next."

"You're such a meany, Melonass!" Jungkook sticks his tongue out through the screen, and Jimin returns the sassiness. "But at least I got one screenshot! I'll have to sketch that beautiful object later, after our level today...speaking of--it's our 9-week Perilation anniversary! After today's level, we'll only have one week left before we make it to the Winner's Circle!!"

Jimin blinks at his new iPhone, suddenly reminded of the grocery store today. Of Jinyoung--the man who he originally trashed as being boring. The son of the CEO at Sperosity--the gaming company that produced Perilation.

After leaving the store dazed with this new information, Jimin wondered if the law intern even knew about the game. Does Jinyoung know that his father helped produce such a FUCKED UP game? Is Melonaju in one of his father's game databases? That's so...so weird. This whole time I was ripping on both Perilation and the head game maker's son...only to find out that they're connected. Now I don't know what to feel. Should I be glad? I mean, Perilation has helped me out in ways I can't even comprehend. Without Perilation, I wouldn't have Jungkook, I probably wouldn't be standing up to Gyuri now, and I wouldn't be as Jimintastic. And without Jinyoung, I wouldn't have access to the law without having to tear off an arm and a leg to afford it. God, the world works in strange ways...

"You know, I don't even care about the Winner's Circle anymore." Jimin is honest, sitting down on his bed with a slight bounce. "I'm just playing cause of you, Kook. And...the game is kinda fun once you get the hang of it."

Jungkook sighs in relief. His brown hair gets tossed off of his forehead. "I'm so glad we're on the same page!! OH EM GEE!! I think we're soulmates! I only play that game for you too! Oh, and because I love to shoot puppies."

This guy, I swear. "Like I said before, don't shoot puppies."

"Says the guy who falls asleep in his headset in the middle of a level. After killing like a dozen innocent kids."

"I was sleep deprived, lay off!" Jimin chuckles, licking his purple lip gloss. "I would kiss you right now if I could, as punishment for being rude."

"Maybe I should be rude more often." Jungkook waggles his eyebrows, bringing his lips up to the camera. His lips smack the air loudly, and Jimin follows suit with his own glossy smooch. "But I think if I was nice, mean--or somewhere in between--I'd still get your kisses, Melonheart. Am I wrong?"

"As wrong as an innocent puppy can be." Jimin admits, studying the younger's tilted jaw and thoughtful eyes. "But I think you'd get much more from me than just kisses-"

"Hang on with the suggestives, Melonsexy--I actually have something serious to ask. Would you be willing to speak with my mom today? For some reason, she wants to talk to you. She asked me before we video called if she could, and I told her I would ask you. I honestly have no idea why she wants to-"

"Of course." Jimin interrupts, suddenly growing uneasy. "I like talking to Eunmi anyway."

Jungkook grins, rolling off of his bed and into his wheelchair fluidly. "You're my kind of guy, you know that? When am I going to get to meet your parents?"

"Whenever we can. But I'm telling you, they aren't as nice as your mother. Sure, they're friendly...but they're kind of quirky. Flighty...as in, they'll speak to you one moment about the weather, getting to know all about your sunshine luminance preferences...and the next they'll be asking you to dinner, but they won't remember your name even after you tell them five times."

"Haha!! Sounds like I'll get along with them. Do you think they'll like me?"

Jimin pictures his mother side-hugging Jungkook in a cheesy family Christmas card. His father he can picture discussing aerobics all day with the younger, or arguing about the contents of soup broth. "Yes. They'll absolutely adore you, Kook."

On the other line, Jungkook grins, wheeling down a ramp to the living room. Soon, Eunmi is on the screen, her face a mixture of relief and tension. Jimin smiles shyly through the phone screen (thank God she doesn't know the camera was just pressed to my ass a few seconds ago) and Jungkook bids him farewell as he hands off the phone. 

"Don't be long talking to him, Mom! I'll be in my art studio...drawing something speeeciaaal...haha!!" Jimin hears in the distance. He knows exactly what Jungkook is referring to, although without the screenshot, the younger will have to draw his ass from memory. I can't wait to see how much he exaggerates my cheek.

"So..." Jimin starts, suddenly at a loss for words. "What did...you want to talk to me about, Eunmi?"

The woman blinks a few times, her mouth pressing into a thin line. When the distant sound of a door closing bangs out, Eunmi melts back into the couch. She brings the phone close to her face. Her voice lowers to little more than a whisper. "Jimin...I know...I know you spoke with Junghyun."

Jimin can't hide his surprise. "You know? Did he tell you?"

Eunmi sighs, her eyes constantly flashing to the upstairs ramp. Probably checking to make sure Jungkook isn't coming back down anytime soon. "He didn't tell me everything...but when we met up a few days ago at a café, he said he met Jungkook's boyfriend...and that he was happy that Kook landed such a good guy. I was appalled when he told me, Jimin...I didn't know how you even knew him in the first place. I didn't think Jungkook would tell you where he lived since...well, they haven't been on speaking terms since the accident."

Jimin nods slowly, his hands starting to sweat. "Right...and actually, I didn't mean to seek out Junghyun...he just kinda showed up. I was looking for his roommate, an old friend of mine." Not that far off from the truth. "And I only knew it was Jungkook's brother after he said Satan's quarters. Then I realized the similarities between them, and we starting talking. Junghyun's a really nice guy."

Eunmi, who has been silently watching him this entire time with attentive eyes, averts her gaze. "Yes...he's a sweetheart under all the crazy, both of my sons are...but..."

Jimin holds his breath. Is Eunmi going to call me out for lying? Is she going to mention Gyuri? Has Junghyun told her about that bitch? I told him not to...

"Is everything okay?" Jimin asks after she says nothing for a long time. 

"I don't know." Eunmi stares seriously into the camera now, her dark eyes steady on his face. "Junghyun didn't answer my calls after failing to show up to brunch today...and when I went over to his apartment, he wasn't there. Neither was his roommate, Mingyu. But there was a yellow slip on the door. When I turned it over, I realized it was an eviction notice."

The air is forced from Jimin's lungs, his mouth contorting in horror. No...no! Gyuri got to them too? FUCK!

"Wh-where is he now? You said he wasn't answering your calls? Were his or Mingyu's cars still at the apartment complex?" 

Jimin's mouth feels dry as he struggles to grasp at what's happening.'We aren't just challenging the devil anymore, we're challenging the whole fucking underworld.' Jinyoung had told him.

Eunmi shakes her head. "N-nope. All gone. No trace. And I'm scared, Jimin. What the hell happened? You just were in there a few days ago, right? Did they mention anything about moving? Going on vacation? Junghyun always lets me know when he's going to miss one of our meetings."

"No--no, nothing suggested that they wanted to move or leave or...fuck, I'll try to contact him. For the moment, just keep your ears and your eyes peeled...and don't panic. I'm sure he'll turn up with Mingyu." Jimin tries to stay positive despite the anxiety running through him. He was literally just at their apartment last Saturday, speaking with them casually. And now for them to be gone...after Gyuri found the address of the hack that tried to get a stupid drunken twerking video...it's no coincidence.

"Okay, Jimin. Please...please let me know if he texts you anything. I tried to bring Junghyun up to Jungkook today, but he wasn't having it, and it's not like his brother even texts him anyway...so I'm hoping maybe Junghyun will reach out to you if he's too embarrassed to tell his mother about whatever problem he's having. I just hope whatever happened, he's okay." Eunmi's gentle eyes study him with clear confusion. Jimin feels his guts rolling around in hatred and fear.

"Okay, Eunmi. I'll have to end this video call to try and contact him, but I'll get back to you if I hear anything. Will you let Jungkook know that I'll just meet him later in the game today?"

Eunmi nods. "Of course, Jimin...goodbye."

After the call ends, Jimin dials Junghyun's number. As expected, Jungkook's brother doesn't answer. He tries Mingyu, and the same thing happens. Nothing. Jimin scratches at his face, growing more antsy by the second. He checks the time on his phone, and figures that he has just enough time before the daily Perilation level for a brief trip to Gangnam.

Tossing on his Converse, Jimin storms from the duplex and hops into the Camry. 

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A/N~

Greetings friends and readers picked from the beautiful tree of my gratefulness-

I hope you're having a splendid day--wherever you are and whatever time it is. I hope you are staying hydrated and receiving enough vitamins in your diet, because (did you know?) your hair and nails need those vitamins! Your body needs Vitamin D to function properly, and lots of people are deficient in Vitamin D. So get some sun or drink more milk, people. I care about your health.

LMAO ANYWAY sorry for the doctor's rant, what in Satan's quarters is that about...?

Was it surprising to find out that I work alongside Jinyoung's father at Sperosity?! Yeah, I'm his second in command. He rakes in the money that my level designs generate. What a tycoon! How lame of him to profit off of Perilation--a game his employee designed! :)

Once more, thank you for being the best Gyuri/Yoon Family haters out there. I'm honored by the amount of threats the bitch has received thus far, and expect to see many more in the future.

Yours Truly--(or falsely, if you're superstitious)

I z z y