Jimin didn't even wait for Jin to stop the van before he had opened the door, tumbling out as Jin yelled at him for jumping out of a moving vehicle, but the younger ignored him as his quick steps headed towards the entrance to Cliff Hangers, Charlie rushing right after him.

All of the girls surrounded Jade, who had her head tilted back as Cherry was tending to her bloody nose, making sure to apply pressure to it while Jade hissed as the pain caused her eyes to well up with tears.

"Fuck, that hurts," she whined while Cherry apologized, hoping to stop the blood flow while the sound of the door opening caused all of them to tense up, frozen as they nervously glanced at the entrance. All of the women let out a sigh of relief, so glad to see Jimin and Charlie. The rest of Bangtan soon followed as well, glancing around the club to notice how some of the furniture was in disarray, chairs knocked down and broken glass strewn here and there.

Jimin took in the scene before turning to Raven, his eyes widening as he noticed the small gash on her face. "Your cheek," he uttered, voice laced with concern as he reached out for her face, fingers gently brushing against the wound while Raven gritted her teeth.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," she insisted. "I was just making sure that those bastards didn't hurt anyone else."

"What the fuck happened?" Yoongi asked. His fists were clenched at his side as he took in the scene, feeling the small guilt temporarily settling in his stomach. He knew who was behind the attack and why; Ganghan was getting too close. This was partially his fault, and he should've already done a better job at protecting the club and the girls. The small guilt was nothing compared to the rage and frustration he felt, eager to get his hands bloody again and get the fuckers who decided to mess with Bangtan.

"A few guys came in and started messing up the place, insisted on getting into the office. Jade happened to be around, so the two of us tried to hold them off, but obviously that fucking failed," Raven explained, the anger evident in her voice. She paused as the whole scene replayed in her mind and let out a heavy sigh, the anger changing into a more somber mood. "They, uhh, they got into the office and ransacked the place, took the money they could find there with them before they left. I'm so sorry Jimin," she apologized. She hung her head as she felt this aching feeling in the pit of her stomach, the guilt and frustration consuming her as she blamed herself for not doing a better job at protecting the club and the girls.

"I don't give a shit about that, I just want to make sure that you all are okay. Fuck the money and fuck everything else," Jimin reassured as Yoongi and Namjoon nodded in agreement.

"We have insurance on the place in order to cover for all this shit, so don't worry about that. All that matters is that you're all safe," Yoongi added. "I'm sorry that we didn't do a better job protecting you. I should've done better. After that last fucking mission when Blade managed to make out Charlie at the Bleeding Rose, we should've upped the security here. I'm personally going to make sure to put some of my best guys here in order to make sure this shit doesn't happen again, I promise you that," Yoongi said while Raven nodded, thanking him.

"What can you tell us about the guys that came in?" Namjoon asked, listening intently as both Raven and Jade tried to recall as much detail as possible about the two men who attacked Cliff Hangers.

~☾~

Charlie woke up early the next morning as the rays of sunlight streamed through her window and hit her eyes, causing her to shuffle slightly in bed as she glanced over her bare shoulder at the stranger that she brought home.

She let out a small groan as she got out of bed, stretching slightly before pulling the sheets along with her, causing the man to stir slightly in her bed as he watched her walk around the room, picking up his clothing before throwing it at him.

"You should really get going, my roommates can't see you," she insisted while he smirked at her.

"What, you don't want to go another round?" he teased while she rolled her eyes, offering him a playful smile.

"Not now, you've really got to go," she insisted while he sighed, clutching his heart as he pretended to be hurt by her words, causing her to let out an amused laugh before he finally gave in and got dressed. Charlie made sure to get some fresh clothes, a large black shirt and some leggings that she threw on before leading him out of her room.

She crept quietly through the halls, hoping that no one would hear them as his footsteps echoed behind hers. As they got closer to the bottom of the stairs, Charlie could hear the faint sound of cutlery from the kitchen. She cursed as she halted on the bottom step, causing the man behind her to stumble into her.

"Shit, you okay?" he asked while she quickly nodded, shushing him while she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Come join us for breakfast!" Jimin chirped while she huffed, hoping to get the man out without the others noticing since she would never hear the end of it.

"Be right there!" she said before turning towards the man. "Uhh, well, thanks for last night..." she faltered, trying to recall his name.

He let out a light chuckle as he grinned down at her. "The name's Ryder, beautiful. And the pleasure was all mine," he added, offering a flirty wink. "If you ever want to do that again sometime, you know where to find me."

She nodded, pushing him towards the door, eager to get him out. She quickly opened the door, giving him a quick wave before carefully closing it behind him, but right as she turned around, she found four young men standing at the kitchen entrance, staring at her.

"He's hot," Jimin commented, causing the other three to turn their attention to him. "So, how come you didn't introduce us to your... new friend?" he asked, a mischievous smirk on his face. This was the first time she had ever brought a guy home and he couldn't help but tease her about it.

Taehyung couldn't stop smiling as his focus remained on Charlie. "The two of you look so damn cute together! You going to see him again?" he asked while Charlie rolled her eyes.

"I hope not," Jungkook grumbled, causing her to curiously glance at him. He couldn't help but feel annoyed by her actions. He was very uncomfortable with the idea of her sleeping with random guys, but he didn't know how to address it or what the hell to even say to her. He knew one thing for sure though, he sure as hell wasn't going to hold back the fact that he was truly displeased by this whole situation.

It was then that she noticed the expression on Hoseok's face as well, the both of them clearly not amused by the whole situation, at least not as much as Jimin and Taehyung were.

"Maybe I will see him again," she fired back, as she glared at Jungkook. "You going to see Gigi again? If you do, please let us know ahead of time, I'd like to invest in noise-cancelling headphones so that I can actually get some sleep since she's quite the screamer." She winked at him, but the fire behind her gaze remained as she stared down her friend, Jimin and Taehyung both laughing at the comment while Jungkook's jaw clenched.

"Oh, grow up," he grumbled as he left the room, brushing against her shoulder as he rushed back upstairs to his room.

Hoseok turned to the three stooges, shaking his head in disappointment as Jimin and Taehyung finally stopped laughing, quickly turning away as they returned to their seats to finish up their breakfast. He lightly touched Charlie's arm as she walked towards him, causing her to stop at the kitchen entrance. "I really do hope you take this seriously and don't see him again, he gave me a weird feeling Charlie," Hoseok admitted while her eyes softened.

"Don't worry Hobi, I know what you mean. I won't be seeing him again," she reassured, patting his shoulder before heading towards the fridge, looking for something to whip up for breakfast.

Hoseok couldn't help but feel worried as he cautiously watched her. He walked over towards her, his voice hushed as he leaned against the counter. "You doing ok Charlie?" he asked, his voice hushed. He couldn't let go of the fact that she brought a guy home, something that she had never done before. Sure, she had slept with other guys before, but Hoseok knew that the only reason why she ever did it was when she was stressed out or overwhelmed. He couldn't help but feel concerned about her.

Her eyes immediately met his, a lump getting stuck in her throat as she noticed the worry reflecting in his eyes. "I'm fine Hobi, I promise," she replied.

He hesitantly nodded, accepting her answer even though he wasn't completely satisfied with it. He could sense the slight tension and decided to change the topic, clearing his throat before speaking again. "I, uhh, think I might've found another lead." Charlie perked up, standing up straight as she glanced over his shoulder at Jimin and Taehyung before meeting Hoseok's gaze again.

"Maybe we should go talk about this somewhere else," she suggested in a hushed voice while he nodded in agreement. She forgot all about her food while Hoseok left his half finished coffee on the counter. The both of them rushed out of the room, causing Taehyung and Jimin to stare at the two before sharing a look with each other, confused about their odd behavior.

~☾~

After Hoseok had gone over all the information he had on his sister's murder, along with the new information he gathered, Charlie was reluctant to ask Yoongi if they could follow the lead. Hoseok had told her that Yoongi would need to 'okay' their endeavor so that he at least knew where they were in case anything happened.

Charlie knocked on Yoongi's closed office door, and once she heard the okay to enter, she slowly opened the door and closed it behind her. Yoongi's black hair was slicked back and out of his face. Charlie knew he was working on something since he was wearing his glasses, staring at his computer screen. He didn't say anything and didn't even look at Charlie until she got closer to his desk. She could see the bags starting to form under his eyes and she was sure he was wearing that shirt yesterday.

"I know about Hana." Charlie figured she wouldn't beat around the bush and just get straight to the point. Yoongi's eyes finally met hers as he turned away from his computer. "Hoseok got a lead, and we want to-"

"No," Yoongi said without even letting her finish. He turned back to his computer and continued his work.

"No?" Charlie felt like she was being scolded and she was starting to feel annoyed.

"I can't have you two going out on your own right now," he continued.

"Seriously?" Charlie started to raise her voice and she felt herself getting angry.

"Look," Yoongi started as he faced her once more. "I get it, and I still to this day feel bad for everything that happened since I can't help but feel partially responsible for all this shit, but we can't do this right now. I wish that he had answers too, I really do, but it's just not the right time to go on a wild chase that could lead to nowhere." Yoongi knew that Charlie could be a little bit of a hot head, especially when it came to someone telling her what to do, so he kept his voice as calm as possible.

"Why the fuck won't you just help him?! He's busted his ass and made so many sacrifices for this damn team. He lost his sister and he just wants to come to peace with it, so why are you holding back?" she spat out, causing Yoongi to tense as he glared at her.

"You don't understand Charlie, so I suggest you stand down," he gritted, trying his best to remain calm but firm.

"Please, explain it to me then," she pleaded.

He let out a heavy sigh before taking his glasses off, rubbing his eyes with his finger and thumb before meeting her gaze again.

"Listen, Bangtan wasn't always as prosperous as it is now. At one point, we had hit a really low point, and all of us had to make sacrifices. Hoseok joined not long after I took over, and even though I promised to help him avenge his little sister's death, I never predicted how bad things would get." Yoongi hung his head and took a deep breath. Charlie needed to know what happened to Bangtan in the past and why he was so determined to keep it from falling again.

"When I killed my father's underboss, a lot of members, especially the older ones, left. Even though our business was small, Namjoon and I still managed to keep everything under control. I had Jin running the casino and once Hoseok joined, we had a solid foundation, but we weren't prepared for an attack from old Bangtan members. They hit the casino and a lot of other small businesses. I almost lost the loyalty of quite a few of my men, but Namjoon, being the smooth talker he is, managed to convince them to stay and promised to make it right. It's crazy because I didn't think we could do it, but he had a plan, like always," he paused, a fond smile on his lips as he thought about just how much Namjoon had done in order to help him manage everything and keep Bangtan alive.

"He recruited more men and built up our business off of a lot of smaller businesses. Managed to recruit this amazing tech nerd and made sure the kid built a better security system for all our shit and then decided to open a club for another young kid to run. With all the shit that we had going on, we had to put Hobi's personal vendetta on hold," he could feel the heaviness of his heart sink to his stomach as he recalled when he told Hoseok about the change in plans. Even though the younger man seemed to understand, Yoongi still wished he could've done more to help him.

"Trust me, you have no idea how horrible I feel, but I had so many people counting on me, so many others to take care of. Crawling back from rock bottom was our top priority at the time. I know you think I'm an insensitive ass, but we have bigger concerns at the moment. It had to be Ganghan who attacked Cliff Hangers, and with their new human trafficking business, we need to figure out what their next move is. We don't have time to lose, and I need both you and Hoseok to rest up and make sure you're ready for the next mission. Stand down," he reiterated, his eyes soft as he hoped that Charlie got the message.

She let out a sigh, avoiding his gaze as she reluctantly nodded. "Fine," she mumbled, quickly getting up before rushing out of the room. She was on the verge of tears since she didn't know how to face Hoseok and break it to him that they couldn't go.

As she trudged up the stairs, she ran into Hoseok as he was pacing in front of her door. "So? What did he say?" he inquired, a hopeful look on his face as he waited for her to respond.

Charlie's mind seemed to run on auto-pilot as she offered him a small smile. "He gave the okay," she lied, feeling this heavy weight tug against her heart as a bright smile graced Hoseok's lips.

"Okay, shit, I didn't think he would," he rushed out, trying to form coherent thoughts. "I-I guess I better get ready, we'll leave in five," he said, rushing towards his room while Charlie tried to swallow the lump in her throat, hoping that she would be able to keep this between her and Hoseok without anyone else finding out about their little outing.

~☾~

Charlie and Hoseok walked into the house, the happiest they had been in a long time. Hoseok's intel was able to land them another lead: the license plate of the car that was driving that night. Finally, he was making some headway with Hana's case. They walked into the kitchen as Charlie pulled out a couple water bottles from the fridge, tossing one to Hoseok.

"Where have you two been?" Yoongi asked from the doorframe, arms crossed. Hoseok looked at Charlie, confused, and was about to respond when she spoke quickly.

"Just went for a walk. Spending some quality time together. Is that ok?" Charlie replied, avoiding Yoongi's gaze as she hoped he would believe her.

Hoseok was nervous and was trying not to let it show. Charlie was lying and he didn't understand why. Didn't she say that Yoongi approved this?

"My office, now!" Yoongi bellowed and walked to his office with Charlie and Hoseok quickly following him. He waited until they were in, slamming the door shut behind them. Hoseok and Charlie stood still as they watched an angry Yoongi huff to his desk, leaning on it as he faced the two.

"So, do you want to tell me the truth or are you going to keep lying to me?" Yoongi glared at them, eyes darting from one to the other. If his voice didn't rattle them, his stare certainly would.

Hoseok looked over to Charlie, who was clearly avoiding Yoongi's gaze. He knew he couldn't lie to Yoongi since he always appreciated everything the leader had done for him and how honest everyone was in this house, even if they were a part of the mafia.

"We were following a lead in my sister's case," Hoseok said, turning back to Yoongi.

Yoongi nodded his head and planted his hands on his desk, slowly curling his fingers into fists.

"I know that you have been frustrated that we haven't worked a lot on finding her killer, but we need to focus on Ganghan right now. I am trying to run a business here and can't have two of my best fighters running off! I told you to sit tight and trust me, that we would solve this! Why do you insist on defying me?" Yoongi's voice was angry and the volume was slowly increasing.

"Yoongi it's-" Hoseok tried to say, but didn't even get a chance to finish.

"And now you dragged Charlie into this? This is unacceptable Hoseok. If you aren't going to listen to me then why the hell are you still even here?"

"He didn't know!" Charlie shouted. Hoseok looked at her and shook his head, trying to tell her to keep quiet. "I told him that you approved it and I was the one who pushed Hobi to follow the lead."

"Hoseok, is that true?" Yoongi glared at him and Hoseok knew that he had to tell the truth, even if he knew Charlie was going to get into a lot of trouble. He slowly nodded his head. "Leave us," Yoongi said in a much quieter tone as he looked at Charlie, but Hoseok didn't budge.

"Get out Hoseok," Yoongi yelled, and Hoseok slowly walked out the office, closing the door behind him.

"Let me make this clear to you since you have trouble understanding. My word is final. If I give you an order, you follow. If I tell you not to do something, you don't. If I say jump, you better fucking ask how high." Yoongi was seething with anger.

He was trying to build up Bangtan like it was before. They were feared, respected, and everyone wanted to work with them. However, Yoongi wanted to do things a little differently. He wanted to make sure that the bad people got hurt and the innocent were spared. How can he do that when his own members, the ones closest to him, wouldn't even follow a simple order?

Charlie scoffed and rolled her eyes at him as she crossed her arms.

"You seem to have a problem with that," Yoongi said.

"It's fucking bullshit!" Charlie shouted at him. "We had a lead and Hobi hasn't had one in a long ass time. How can you just sit by and tell him no? What kind of leader are you?" Charlie was pissed, but as soon as the last sentence left her lips, she felt almost a little regretful as she felt a bit queasy from her reckless choice of words.

"You watch your damn mouth Charlotte. Don't you forget that I gave you a fucking roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, and opportunities to make something of yourself!" Yoongi spat out as he pointed a finger at her.

"You didn't really give me a damn choice! It was either join or be killed!" Charlie yelled back.

"Be fucking thankful that I didn't kill you! You two had nobody, and it would have been easy to have you both disappear, but I saw something in you. I saw your drive, your strength." Yoongi meant every word. He wanted Charlie to understand that, in all honesty, it would have been so easy to dispose of both her and Jungkook when they found them but he didn't want that, not really. Namjoon didn't have to do much convincing to let them stay as he saw how smart the pair was and how determined they were to make something of their lives.

Charlie remained silent, still fuming and refusing to look at him.

"I have seen how exhausted and stressed you have been, and I need you to be alert. We have a lot of shit coming and it's going to get even more dangerous. I need you to jump." Yoongi's tone softened a bit as he tried to help her understand that he needed her on top of her A game for the foreseeable future. The two didn't talk much, but he could see that everything was starting to take a toll on her, on everyone.

"How high?" Charlie said feeling defeated, but she knew that Yoongi was right about everything.

"Go to bed," he responded, knowing this conversation was now over. Charlie started walking towards the door. "Charlotte?" he called. She stopped and turned towards him. "Don't defy me again."

Charlie simply nodded before walking out, but not before she slammed the door right behind her. Hoseok was standing at the foot of the stairs when he saw her approaching.

"What the hell, Charlie? Why did you fucking tell me Yoongi approved of this when he clearly didn't? What were you thinking?" he asked, bombarding her with questions as she simply pushed past him, not in the mood to talk to anyone right now. She stomped to her room and made sure to slam the door shut, raising the concerns of others.

They all heard the faint shouting coming from downstairs, both Yoongi's and Charlie's voices loud enough to carry upstairs. No one dared to leave their room to listen in or figure out what it was all about, and after hearing the door slam, they all knew to leave Charlie alone.

Namjoon, on the other hand, was in the kitchen when he heard the fight, and after seeing Charlie storm off, decided to try to figure out what had happened. He headed straight towards Yoongi's office, not even bothering to knock on the door as he barged in, crossing his arms before facing his leader.

"The whole damn house probably heard the both of you. What was that all about?" Namjoon asked as Yoongi gave him a stern look.

"I'm not in the mood to talk about this right now. I've already had one person try to defy me and go against my orders tonight, I don't need your shit right now too." Yoongi sat down and put on his glasses once more, immersing himself in his previous work.

Namjoon held his hands up in surrender, deciding it was best to just let him cool off before heading upstairs towards Charlie's room, running into Hoseok on his way there.

"Hey Hoseok," he quickly greeted, trying to hurry so he could talk to Charlie to get some answers, but he paused once he noticed how distressed he looked. "Everything ok?" he asked, turning towards Hoseok.

Hoseok shook his head before taking a seat on the steps, letting out a heavy sigh. "It's all my damn fault, I shouldn't have told her anything," he muttered while Namjoon took a seat next to him, confused about the whole situation.

"Shouldn't have told her what?" Namjoon questioned.

"Charlie knows about Hana," he replied. "That's why she got in trouble. She went to tell Yoongi about a lead that we were following, and I guess he didn't approve, but she told me he did and we went anyway. Fuck, I should've checked with him myself," he muttered while Namjoon patted his back, offering some comfort.

"You know what Charlie's like, she would've gone either way, approval or not. Don't worry about it, everything's fine. Both of you are safe and neither of you got hurt. I know Yoongi's pissed, and I'm assuming that Charlie is as well, but they both need time to cool down. Did the two of you end up finding anything?" Namjoon asked.

Hoseok nodded, a small smile on his lips. "We got the plates to the car," he breathed out. "I know it's not much, but at least it's a start."

Namjoon smiled, patting his shoulder before standing up. "I really do hope you end up finding the bastard responsible for this. I'm sorry we haven't been able to do much lately-"

Hoseok shook his head, looking up at the blonde man. "No, it's ok, I get it," he said, his voice soft as he spoke.

Namjoon nodded, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "Make sure to hold onto that info, okay? Once all this shit with Ganghan is over, you know that Yoongi will do everything in his power to help you. And, if you're up for it, we can have Tae look into it. I'm sure he'd find the car, the damn owner, and the owner's grandmother," he joked while Hoseok grinned at his words.

"Sounds like a plan," he replied. "You better go talk to Charlie, she might need some wise words from her mentor right now."

Namjoon nodded before rushing up the stairs, heading straight for the youngest member's room. He knocked on her door, but didn't receive a response. He decided to try the door, opening it to see her laying on her bed. "Hey, you ok?" he asked.

"If Yoongi sent you here to yell at me then you can just leave, I don't need another lecture," she spat out, refusing to meet his gaze.

"I'm not here to lecture you, I just want to talk," he said, cautiously sitting at the edge of her bed.

She let out a scoff, not buying it. "Well, I don't want to talk."

"Then you can listen," he offered, waiting for a response from her, but all he received was silence. He let out a sigh before resting his arms on his knees, leaning forward as he tried to figure out how best to approach her right now.

"I get that you're pissed off, I really do, but things aren't always as simple as we'd like it to be. Hana was an amazing girl and what happened to her was unforgivable. I remember meeting her once. I had gone to Hoseok's place for a meeting, and he kept trying to rush me out but wouldn't explain why. Finally, this young girl appeared and curiously stared at me. She wanted to know who I was and Hoseok avoided answering, still trying to get me out the door but she insisted I stay since she assumed I was a close friend of his," he recalled, letting out a light chuckle as he vividly remembered everything about that day.

"The entire time that I spent with her and Hoseok, she wouldn't stop talking about how great her older brother was and how much she loved him. She was quite the chatterbox, such a positive person. She brought out the best in Hoseok, and everything that he did with Bangtan was to ensure that she would have the best life," he said, a sad smile on his lips as the memory came back to him.

"No one anticipated what happened, and you have no idea how heavy of a burden that is on Yoongi, myself, and especially Hoseok. I was the one who recruited Hoseok, and it almost killed me when he told us that she died. The weight on Yoongi's shoulders is heavier. As the leader, he's supposed to take care of our family, and he felt like he failed Hoseok. You have no idea how badly we want to help him avenge her death, but if we do, it comes at a cost. You must sacrifice one thing for another in this business. If we help Hoseok, then who helps all those girls that are under Ganghan's sick business? You can't do both Charlie, you must choose."

She slowly sat up, staring at him with furrowed brows as she let his words sink in. "But Hoseok-" she insisted only to have Namjoon interrupt.

"Hoseok is a grown man," he stated. "I know he wants his answers, but he also knows how important this stuff is too. Let me ask you this, what do you think are Hoseok's priorities?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, not quite understanding the question. "What do you mean?" she inquired.

"Let me rephrase that. How did Hoseok feel after your conversation with Yoongi?" Namjoon asked. Charlie tensed up, not knowing how to answer the question. "Not sure?"

She shook her head, lowering her gaze as Namjoon watched her intently. "Right now, he's worried about you and Yoongi, that was the first thing he told me. He feels like he's to blame and wishes that he never told you about Hana. I know that you want to find her killer just as much as we do, but you need to understand our priorities. I know it's been a long fucking time since Hana's death, but Hoseok knows that we've got work to do, and in order to survive in this business, we need to work together to ensure that we stay alive. Do you understand?" he asked.

Charlie finally met his gaze, nodding in understanding. "It's just not fair," she mumbled, her heart breaking at the thought of Hoseok having to put this on hold yet again.

"I know... but at least for now, we have a small lead from the information the two of you gained tonight, and that's better than nothing. I promise you, as soon as all this shit is over with, we're going to make sure to get the fucking asshole responsible for this," Namjoon promised. He placed his hand on top of hers and gave it a small squeeze, hoping to reassure her that everything would work out. 

More tense and fights in the house, it will happen! Did you pick up on anything?

Thoughts? --------->

@GalxyDefendr just uploaded the next chapter of Save Me and I am freaking out!!! Go read it!!