Taehyung and Yoongi stood close to the cell’s bars, restlessly listening to the three guards talk after San Joon revealed the police’s presence at the mansion.

“Guys, what if the police catch Jin Mo?” San Joon asked, on the verge of an anxious delirium.

“Stop saying bullshit,” Byeo San spat out. “That won’t happen.”

“But what if it does?” Se Nyu put in quietly, his gaze traveling to Byeo San’s warped face. “We’ll go to jail, hyung. I don’t want to go to jail.”

“He’s right,” San Joon said. “Shouldn’t we be looking for ways to get the hell out of here before the police catch us all?”

Byeo San’s head dropped, his jaw set tight as he considered the situation. A few moments of stillness flowed before he slid the keys out of his pocket and placed them on the table. “Let’s go.”

“Wait!” spewed from Taehyung’s mouth as he clutched the bars, round eyes filled with apprehension staring at them. “San Joon-ah. Please. Let us out.” 

Byeo San observed the other guard with a harsh frown as he seemed to think about it. “Yah.” He nudged his shoulder. “Get your shit together. We can’t let them out. Jin Mo’s orders.”

“We’re about to get caught by the fucking police,” San Joon muttered. “Maybe we should let them out.”

“No. Come on.”

“Wait, wait!” Taehyung exclaimed. “You won’t be able to leave from this place if the police are everywhere. They will be guarding the entrance. I can help you get out with no one seeing you.”

Byeo San aimed a narrowed scrutiny at him. “How?”

“There’s a tunnel you can use that leads to the back of the mansion.”

“Where is it?”

“Let us out first.”

Byeo San took the keys and approached them slowly. He halted outside of the cell, fixing Taehyung with another penetrating stare. “If you’re lying, I’ll kill you.”

Taehyung shook his head at once. “I’m not lying.” 

Byeo San unlocked the cell and stepped back as he drew out his gun to point it at Taehyung. “Where is it?”

“It’s in my room, behind the mirror. Don’t even think about getting a car. They’ll catch you. Just run.”

Byeo San swiveled without a word to catch up with the others and tossed the keys onto the table again. 

San Joon stood still for a moment, smiling from afar at Taehyung. “Thank you, Taehyung.”

He returned the genuine smile. “Thank you too, San Joon-ah.”

The three guards rushed upstairs, and Taehyung trod out of the cell with Yoongi. 

“Are you sure you’re okay, Tae?”

“For now, yes. It hurts when I walk, but I can handle it.” 

The two ascended the stairs and paused at the end to check the hallway. “Why aren’t the police here yet?” Yoongi asked in a whisper as they continued their way. 

“I don’t know what the hell is going on.” Taehyung felt a trickle of feebleness sprawl through every inch of his being the more they proceeded, hampering his steps. 

“We need guns,” Yoongi breathed out as he viewed the second hallway, finding only a few of Jin Mo’s men sauntering around carefree. He glanced behind him to check on Taehyung, and his eyes bristled with worry as he saw him come up the stairs with ponderous, shaky steps. He hastened to his side and passed Taehyung’s arm over his shoulders. “Tae, I’ll take you to my room. Hide there. You’re not okay.”

“No,” he dissented right away, his heaving chest burning with his rapid breathing. “I need to find Jungkook. Go take your gun. I’ll wait here.”

“Your body is weakened—”

“I’m fine,” Taehyung gritted out. “Go.”

Yoongi puffed out a frustrated sigh, but he knew that fighting with a stubborn Taehyung wouldn’t get him anywhere. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He dashed towards his room, dismissing the curious glances of the men he encountered on his way.

Turning right at the end of the hallway, he sped up a notch and soon flung the door open. He always kept a loaded gun in the gun locker in case of emergency, and he swiftly grabbed it. He took extra ammunition, which he stuffed into his back pocket, and he was dashing back to Taehyung again. 

He found him at the same spot, bracing himself against the wall. “Are you sure you can—”

“I’m sure. Let’s go.” Taehyung pushed through his exhaustion and headed for the next stairway. 

Yoongi shifted in front of him to lead the way, casting subtle glances behind him to make sure Taehyung was okay. He stopped at the last stair and stuck his head out slowly, but he lurched back in an instant. “Ah In just went into Jin Mo’s office with a gun.”

Cold terror numbed Taehyung’s body, but for only a second. The next, he was running towards the office with owlish eyes and staggering steps. 

Yoongi blazed past him, sprinting with all his might down the long hallway. He cut speed as he reached the door and surged inside with his gun leveled. Without contemplation or hesitation, he fired at Ah In’s side diagonally in case the bullet pierced through his body and injured Jungkook as well. 

Taehyung jolted at the gunshot and used every trace of his strength to get to the office, with his heart rampaging like a wild animal in a frenzy. Finally swerving into the office, he flinched once more when Jungkook shot Jin Mo’s leg. Moon-eyed, he watched Jungkook wrench Jin Mo to a sitting position and press his gun on his forehead. 

“What the fuck is the Umbra?”

“Jungkook, stop! Calm down,” Taehyung’s panic-stricken voice released as he limped closer. He saw the cruelty in Jungkook’s eyes melt into relief when he met his gaze, something that brought a stinging dampness to his own. 

“Tae.”

In a second, every semblance of shared relief vanished and blind horror sprang anew within Taehyung as he registered that Jin Mo snatched the gun out of Jungkook’s grip and aimed at him.

Pain and feebleness forgotten at the gut-wrenching, conquering emotion, Taehyung plunged between them and protectively extended his arms backwards. He felt Jungkook rise to his full height a few moments later and retreated until his back collided with his chest. 

“Get out of the way, Taehyung!” Jin Mo’s voice burst from him with an atrocious roar that echoed in a turbulent wave. 

“No.” Taehyung repeatedly shook his head. “Please, Jin Mo-ssi. It’s over. Don’t do this.”

“I will kill you both if you don’t move!”

“Jin Mo!” Taehyung growled so loudly his lungs ached. Through his frantic haze, he caught movement at his left with the corner of his eye and inspected it with a rapid glance. A group of geared up men crept closer, and he held an impeding hand at them. “Don’t shoot! Stand back.” 

Taehyung gulped as he gazed at Jin Mo’s vicious countenance, not failing to identify the slight tremor of his extended hand. “It’s over, Jin Mo-ssi. The moment you shoot, you’ll die. Remember what you had said. If they ever caught you, you wanted them to catch you alive so you can tell the whole world what you achieved. Please, lower the gun. I don’t want you to die like this.”

The line of Jin Mo’s mouth tightened more as he ground his teeth. “Fuck, Taehyung.”

A newfound wave of shock swept across Taehyung’s face upon noticing a wetness in Jin Mo’s eyes, one he had never seen before. 

“How can you not hate me?” The quiver of Jin Mo’s hand intensified as he strained to contain his emotions — emotions he experienced for the first time in his life. 

“You helped me when I needed it the most,” Taehyung let out shakily. “You protected me. You were like a father to me. You had told me you have your reasons for whatever you do. I know it wasn’t your call to order them to beat me and lock me up. I know you care for me. I know you didn’t want me to get hurt. Right now, I’m asking you for one last thing as the son you never had. Please. Please don’t kill Jungkook.”

Jin Mo sensed the wetness in his eyes trickle down his cruelly contorted face. Why was he doing this anymore? He would end up dead either way. He only wished he could tell his story before they killed him. 

Jin Mo’s hand lost all its strength and dropped to his side. He slid the gun towards Jungkook and hung his head. 

“Wait!” Taehyung screamed when he detected the police spurted towards them, and he collapsed to his knees. Relief messily mixed with sadness wandered in his gaze, expression, and every fiber of his skin as he set his hands on each of Jin Mo’s shoulders. “Thank you, Jin Mo-ssi.” He curled his arms around him and clutched him to his body. “For everything. But mostly for not killing the man I’m in love with,” he whispered in his ear, meant for only him to hear. 

Jin Mo rubbed a gentle circle on his back, tapped it twice, and withdrew. “You’re right. Everything is over. For me, at least. Thank you for being my best for so many years.” He lifted his gaze to Jungkook, finding him staring at the two intently. “Jeon Jungkook. You owe your life to Taehyung. If you want my cooperation, you have to promise me of full protection in jail. They’ll come for me the moment I open my mouth.”

Jungkook brushed past Taehyung and clawed at the neck of Jin Mo’s dress shirt. “I won’t promise you shit if you don’t tell me what you know about Kang Ho first,” he spat out ruthlessly. “What the fuck is the Umbra?”

“Jungkook,” Taehyung whispered as he cradled his shoulder with a delicate hand, but heartbreak showered down his frame when Jungkook shook his touch off him with a fling of his arm.

“Shut up,” Jungkook released in a sudden blaze of rage, which stemmed from Taehyung’s reckless action of jumping in front of a gun for him, and redirected his steely eyes to Jin Mo. 

“I’ll tell you everything you want,” Jin Mo said before Jungkook could even make a sound. “But watch how you talk to Taehyung.”

The blaze of rage drifted into pure hatred towards Jin Mo that cut across Jungkook’s face as he convulsed him. “How can you say that after what you did to him, you motherfucker?” His arm swung back and his fist came crashing onto his cheek in a ferocious punch. 

Taehyung searched for a member of his team, and when his eyes landed on Namjoon, he gave him the most pleading look Namjoon had ever seen. He instantly pitched forward and hauled Jungkook away from Jin Mo with all his force. “Get. Your shit. Together,” he warned in a low growl, and the flare of aggravation that smoldered in his chest quieted as Jungkook’s struggle toned down.

“You had freaked out when Taehyung had disappeared. Now he’s in front of you and you tell him to shut up?” Namjoon released his grip with a shove that sent Jungkook stumbling back and turned to the paramedic team that stood at the door. “Please treat the injured men. Check this guy too and his friend.” He pointed with his chin to Taehyung and then Yoongi. 

A young doctor rushed to the unmoving body that was laid on the floor and checked his pulse, but found none. He shifted to the other body and pressed two fingers to the side of his neck. “He’s alive! Let’s move him now.” 

Jin Mo gazed at Ah In with something close to gloom as the paramedic turned him to his back and moved him to a stretcher. 

Yoongi noticed a doctor approaching him and waved his hand dismissively. “I’m fine. But Taehyung needs to go to the hospital as soon as possible.”

Agitation swirled in Jungkook’s eyes as he jerked forward, wanting to get close to Taehyung and check on him, but Namjoon beat him to it. 

“What is it, Tae?” Namjoon gently led him towards the couch and helped him sit. 

“I’m just tired.” Taehyung’s gaze continuously traveled towards Jungkook, who had his head bowed, shoulders curved forward, and body stiff, as if he were throughout lost in the mayhem of his emotions and thoughts. 

God, the only thing he wanted — needed — was to nestle inside his embrace and never leave again. His whole body itched with this urge to just run to him and hold him and soothe whatever torture was raging inside him. 

“Jungkook?” The call of his name came out with a quiver of anxiety about his reaction. He seemed mad and hurt and frustrated and relieved all at the same time. He still refused to look at him. Instead, Taehyung perceived that his body grew even more rigid and his fingers curled into taut fists at his sides. 

“He has an internal bleeding,” Yoongi informed the paramedic who neared Taehyung. “He has been injected with vitamin K and morphine. He was barely able to walk up the stairs. Please take him to the hospital. I need to find Jimin.”

“Oh my God, Taehyung,” Namjoon breathed out in intensified worry. “Lie down.”

“I’m not in pain, I’m really—”

“Lie down,” Namjoon repeated in an authoritative tone Taehyung had never heard him using before. 

Taehyung slowly reclined and outstretched his legs. “Is Jimin okay?” 

“He’s fine. I met with the backup team when they came inside, and we found Jimin and the rest of our team tied up, but they were unharmed. We told him to wait outside for his safety.”

“He was a little hysterical,” Hoseok put in. “We almost had to tie him up again because he wanted to come with us to see you and Yoongi.”

A soft smile carved its way to Taehyung’s lips. “That’s my angel. Same as always.”

“He needs to go to the hospital,” the paramedic, who was treating Jin Mo, said. “He needs an extended checkup to see if there’s damage to the muscles or tendons.”

Namjoon twisted his head back, examining Jungkook with a quick glance. He sighed as he found him still lost in his thoughts. “Hoseok, Seung Ho, go with him and take five officers with you. I want constant surveillance of him. Find out the names of the nurses and doctors who will treat him and don’t let anyone else get into his room.” He turned to the rest of the officers. “Arrest everyone when the paramedics finish.”

Jungkook jolted out of his trance at his command. “You mean Taehyung too?”

Namjoon turned to face him. “If you didn’t hear,” he started, something derisive cloaking his tone, “he needs to go to the hospital first. But yes, he’s under arrest too because he’s Jin Mo’s man. He needs to be interrogated, as everyone else. And you should be the one saying this, team leader Jeon Jungkook.”

Everything moved in a blur before Jungkook’s eyes again. He was so excruciatingly worried about Taehyung’s condition and what would happen to him he forgot his role. He was a detective. He was a team leader. Not some ordinary man in love. His emotions messed with his rationality, and it was the least terrifying that he let it happen — that he couldn’t help but let it happen. It was as if he had no mastery over them. 

“We should move him now,” the paramedic said when his partner brought the stretcher. 

“I’m okay, though. I’m just tired as I said,” Taehyung uttered. 

“If you don’t get treated properly, the bleeding can worsen. And you don’t feel the pain because of the medication. We need to take you to the hospital.”

Taehyung’s eyes flew to Jungkook once again, and his heart sank a bit more as he still didn’t even glance his way. “Okay, I guess.” He attempted to stand up, though the paramedic held him in place with a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

“You should not tire yourself. We’ll move you with a stretcher.”

“But I can—”

“God, can you listen to someone for once?” Jungkook suddenly blurted out in a seething murmur. “Let them treat you. Go to the hospital. I’ll come with you.”

Namjoon’s head snapped in his direction. “Jungkook, a word?”

The said man looked at Namjoon quizzically before he followed him to the side of the room. “What?”

“We have so many men to interrogate. And you want to go to the hospital with Taehyung?”

“I’m just—”

“Let me rephrase it,” Namjoon cut him off strictly. “Do you want to be a detective or be there for that man?”

Jungkook didn’t feel even a grain of guilt with the answer his brain conceived in a mere second. Maybe he was mad at Taehyung because he could have died because of him. Maybe he was mad at himself too and filled with remorse at the way he treated him. But he needed to be with him. 

He needed to be with Taehyung and never part from him again. 

“I want to be there for Taehyung. For the first time since I joined the force, I don’t want to be a detective and want to be there for someone. Is it so wrong?”

The harshness in Namjoon’s face dissipated with the warm smile that slowly sprawled over it. “That’s what I wanted to hear, Kook. You should be there for him. For the man you’re in love with.” He petted his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you.”

Jungkook copied his smile. “Thank you, Joon.”

“And look, I know you’re mad. Taehyung jumped between you and Jin Mo, didn’t he?”

Jungkook remained still for a moment, then nodded slowly. 

“That’s how much he’s in love with you. And wouldn’t you have done the same for him?”

Another nod from Jungkook, immediate this time and firmer. 

“So stop being mad. Thank him and apologize. Be happy that he’s okay. And be there for him. He’s injured. And he needs you.”

Jungkook’s chest fluttered to a dragging plod. “I need him too.”

“Exactly. So go.”

With another pat from Namjoon to his biceps, Jungkook shuffled off towards Taehyung, who was sitting on the couch and staring at him with little creases between his brows and doe eyes. 

“Can we take him now, sir? He kept telling us to wait,” the paramedic said. 

“No.” Jungkook’s vision was locked on Taehyung in a tender gaze as he squatted in front of him. So many things he wanted to say, to ask. They blustered in his mind until they became a tangle and got lodged in his throat. So many things, yet nothing could come out of his mouth as he peered deep into Taehyung’s eyes. 

So he instead slid an arm underneath his knees and the other around his back and lifted him into his embrace. 

A deluge of warmth cartwheeled down Taehyung’s form as he clung to him. He craved for this hug so much he didn’t care in the slightest about all the people in the room. 

And Jungkook didn’t seem to care either.

All of Taehyung’s senses were fastened on him, the homely feel of his embrace, and the unadulterated safety that poured from Jungkook. He latched onto that safety the most. After all the ordeals he went through, finally he felt well placed in the world. In his arms.

The bottled-up anxiety, sorrow, and consternation broke free from their cage of containment and took form in a vehement tide that crested so much it flooded his existence, surging throughout his core and limbs. It pushed tears out of him, fast-flowing tears he couldn’t control. It rocked inside him, like his body did against Jungkook’s robust chest with the choked sobs he strove to subdue, as he didn’t want to worry him again. Didn’t want to sadden him, didn’t want to make him cry ever again. 

Jungkook sensed the vibrations of his frame and picked up on his faint, weeping sounds when he shuffled away enough from the surrounding chatters. He glanced down at him with melancholic fondness, wishing he could draw soothing patterns on his back. Instead, he dipped his face and planted a row of delicate kisses on the top of his head. “You’ll be okay,” he whispered against his ebony hair. “I got you now.”

The sobs grew harder to confine at his soul-calming words, and Taehyung dug his face deeper into his chest. “Fuck, I-I feel so many—so many t-things right now. I c-can’t—”

“Shh.” Jungkook showered his head with slow, palliative kisses. “How about you help me get out of here because I don’t know where I’m going, hmm?”

His soft voice, combined with his sugary kisses, was like a blanket of comfort that enfolded Taehyung’s spate of tears — like a caress to his overwhelmed heart. He unwrapped an arm from his nape and wiped his messy face with his sleeve. He took in the place through his blurry vision, sniffing repeatedly. “We’re still underground,” he croaked out and cleared his throat. “We have to go upstairs.”

The fondest of smiles touched Jungkook’s lips as he stole glances at his cute face with his reddened nose and pouty lips. His heart fluttered with content since he managed to soothe his crying with his innocent lie. He had studied the blueprint of the mansion, and he knew the exit was on the main floor. 

Again, so many things to say twirled in his mind, but he couldn’t utter a single word of them. He trod in silence upstairs as Taehyung curled into him, resting the side of his head against his chest. 

“The exit is towards the left, after the living room,” Taehyung said once they reached the main floor. He noted the lack of Jungkook’s reaction to his words, though he knew he heard him since he headed that way. The silence stretched between them. It added a sullen sense to the whirlwind of feelings that roared inside him. “Jungkook?”

“Hm?”

“Are you mad at me?”

Jungkook processed his feelings, but his were also convoluted in a tight tangle, which he couldn’t unfurl. “Yes.”

A muted sigh passed through Taehyung’s lips, his already sunken features glooming even more. “But you’re still carrying me to the ambulance.”

“And I won’t leave your side until I know you’re okay.”

Taehyung untucked his face and glimpsed at him, finding a mannered calmness in his countenance. “And then? You’ll leave?”

Jungkook wordlessly exited the mansion and continued walking on the granite path. “I have to.”

“Why?”

“Because I have to interrogate your beloved boss, who put his men to beat you and lock you up.”

There was an underlying, bitter scorn in his tone that stung Taehyung’s chest. He didn’t expect him to understand his affection towards Jin Mo after everything that happened. But it still hurt that he didn’t even try. “Jin Mo didn’t order it. I’m sure of that.”

A frantic Jimin rushed to them and impeded Jungkook from responding. Not that he would. He had no clue what to respond, since even if Jin Mo didn’t order it, he still obeyed to the one who did. 

“Tae! Oh my God, are you okay?” Jimin caressed the side of his head as he peered at him with vast worry. 

“Yes. I need to go to the hospital for a checkup, but I’ll be fine.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“You can’t,” Jungkook said. “You have to go to the station like everyone else.”

Jimin’s brows clumped together. “You’ll arrest us? We helped you!” he whisper-yelled. 

“That doesn’t make you less of an accomplice. You need to be interrogated too. But don’t worry. The three of you won’t go to jail.”

Jimin’s features mellowed, and an incredulous look surfaced. “Why?” 

“Because you cooperated with us and helped us catch the boss of the biggest crime organization. They’ll see you’re not a danger to society and let you off with probation.”

Jimin expelled a deep sigh as he gazed at Taehyung. “What are we going to do now, Tae? Everything we had...”

“Talk about that later,” Jungkook interrupted calmly. “He has to go to the hospital.”

Jimin carded his fingers through Taehyung’s hair and redirected his gaze at Jungkook. “Thank you, Jungkook. You saved my friends.”

“And your friends saved me. Thanks for your help.” Jungkook trudged past Jimin, heading to the available ambulance he spotted. He climbed inside and set him on the stretcher, but Taehyung’s grip around him didn’t loosen. “Taehyung. You have to lie down.”

Taehyung clutched him harder. “Don’t wanna.”

“Taehyung.”

The said man released a stubborn whine in expostulation, shaking his head against his chest. 

“Don’t act like a baby.” Jungkook, struggling to maintain his crouched position with a dogged Taehyung clinging onto him, sighed as he brought a hand to his forearm to tug it away. 

Taehyung swatted his hand weakly and wrapped it around him again. “You’ll leave when I let go.”

Jungkook snapped his head to the side upon hearing someone clear their throat, finding the paramedic who checked Taehyung before standing in front of them. 

“Um, we have to put you on an IV, so...”

Jungkook turned to Taehyung again, positioning his mouth to his ear. “I told you I won’t leave until I make sure you’re okay, Tae,” he uttered. “Lie down and let the man do his job. I’ll be right here.”

Taehyung pulled back enough to look at him, a deep pout engraved on his lips. “You’ll really come with me to the hospital?” 

Jungkook nodded with a tiny, reassuring smile. “Of course.”

Taehyung’s arms lost their tenacious strength, and he reclined with Jungkook supporting his weight until his back touched the stretcher. 

Jungkook retreated and sank down on the seat across from him, as the paramedic entered and prepared the IV. “I’m Chae Soon,” he said. “If you feel any kind of discomfort, let me know, Taehyung-ssi.”

“Okay.”

With everything set a few minutes later, Chae Soon informed the driver they were ready, and they drove off. 

A fragile hush flowed around the limited space that bore down on Taehyung’s chest. He kept his regard locked on Jungkook, who was also gazing at him and tinkering with his hands. “Jungkook. Can you tell me something? Anything.” 

Jungkook shot a subtle glance at his right where the paramedic was sitting. “Let’s talk later.”

“Do you expect me to stay silent for fifty-five minutes while I have no idea what you’re thinking?”

Jungkook’s eyes became a fraction rounder. “That’s how far the nearest hospital is?”

“Yes.”

Jungkook glimpsed at the paramedic again and lowered his head. “We’re not alone, so...”

Chae Soon’s eyes seesawed between the two. “Oh, don’t mind me,” he said, waving a dismissive hand. “Pretend I’m not here. And I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”

“Thank you, Chae Soon-ssi,” Taehyung said smilingly, and laid his dismal eyes on Jungkook again. “Do you want to tell me why you’re mad?”

The muscles along Jungkook’s forearm flexed as his fingers folded into a fist. Something vaguely harsher seeped into his eyes, though he maintained them on his lap. “You really don’t know?”

“I think I do,” he muttered. An itching need to reach out and stroke his clenched muscles floated around his senses, but he was too far to do that. “I almost died because of you. That’s what you’re thinking, right? But you almost died because of me too.”

“It’s my job to save people. You had no business jumping in front of a gun for me.” Jungkook’s mind traveled back to Namjoon’s words that salved an immense part of his fury. His vision crawled to him, gloomy eyes sparking with an inkling of warmth. “But thank you. For what you did. It was my fault you ended up in that situation because I...” he faltered. He filled his lungs with fortifying air and blew out slowly. “I got distracted when I saw you. I lost it. Like a damn newbie who can’t control his emotions.”

A thin moisture quickly cloaked Taehyung’s sight. That need to touch him festered, growling throughout his insides, until he couldn’t bear it anymore. “Chae Soon-ssi, do you mind if you change seats with Jungkook?”

“Oh. Sure.” The paramedic unfastened his seatbelt and rose to his feet. 

Jungkook copied his moves and switched sides with him, then sat and secured his seatbelt. He immediately offered his hand to him as he slanted forward a notch, and Taehyung clasped it. 

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung whispered. “I lost it too when I saw Jin Mo point his gun at you. I couldn’t just let him kill you. Can you try to understand me? And just... And not be mad at me anymore?”

Jungkook cupped his hand and smoothed it with tender caresses. He folded in half and pressed his lips on the back of his hand, then cradled it again. “I understand because I would have done the same.” His incessant stare on him caught the mounting wetness in Taehyung’s eyes and watched it spill down. “Don’t cry, Tae. I can’t reach you to wipe your tears.”

Taehyung squeezed his hand as a little smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I’m just... so relieved you’re okay.”

“Me too,” Jungkook breathed out. “I’m relieved both of us are okay.” He alternated between giving slow, gentle taps on his hand and soothing rubs with his thumb. “What happened? Why did he do this to you?”

Taehyung blinked his tears away and scrubbed his nose with his sleeve. “Jin Mo called me to his office to give me a mission. And I refused to do it.”

Jungkook noticed his brief avoidance of eye contact. “What was the mission?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Tae.”

Taehyung’s eyes jumped to him at the delicate hue of his voice. And he realized. It was written in his heavy, crestfallen look. “You already know.”

Jungkook’s chest swelled with a long inhalation before it flattened. “I can only assume.”

Taehyung twisted his head and riveted his gaze on the roof of the ambulance. “He asked me to call you to our hang-out place. The moment he said this, I knew he wanted to kill you. I said no. I said... I would kill him if he hurt you.”

Surprise came about Jungkook in a headlong stream that widened his eyes. “Would you? Really?”

The appalled disbelief in his voice reeled in Taehyung’s gaze again, and he observed him long and fixedly with traces of saddened affection. “I would kill anyone to keep you safe.”

“Don’t,” Jungkook said, smiling slightly. “I don’t want you to ruin your life for me.”

Taehyung mulled over his quiet words as his vision shifted yet again, now roaming over their joined hands. “My life is already ruined. It always was. And without you... I really don’t care about what will happen to me. I’m sorry, Jungkook.” He felt a tingling around his nose that foreboded a new deluge of tears, though he did his utmost not to break down again.

“I want to show you the real me, but I don’t know who I am. I spent my life searching for answers I wasn’t supposed to know. Answers that it would be better if I never found. I always pretended. I changed through identities and personalities for my missions. And at the end of the day, I always felt empty.” Taehyung paused and swiftly brushed away the tears that ran down his face despite his efforts to restrain them. He peeked at him, finding Jungkook’s gloomy gaze and all his attention fixed on him. 

“When we started getting closer, I didn’t feel so empty. Like, even just the thought of you filled most of the void. But then, you found out the truth, and I hated myself. I still do. For the lies I told you. But also because I’m nothing worthy. I’m too much of a scumbag to deserve y—”

“Taehyung—”

“Shh. Let me ramble first,” Taehyung murmured. He swallowed past his dry throat. “It’s true. I don’t deserve you. Not after how I hurt you. But... I’m so desperate, Kook. I’m so desperate to be something worthy for you. And I hate myself more because I don’t know if I can.”

Several seconds of a tense silence crept by before Taehyung’s eyes ascended to him. Unlike before, he met a disapproving hardness in his countenance that was punctuated by fierce creases over his forehead. 

“Are you done?” Jungkook asked, his voice a cross between vexation and sadness. 

Taehyung looked away from the grim glint of his gaze. “Yes.”

“You don’t know who’s the real you, but I had seen him that night. In my eyes, the real you is someone gorgeous. Powerful but sensitive. Emotional. Smart. Someone who gets lost in his thoughts often. Someone who puts the people he loves over himself to protect them or make sure they’re okay. Caring, with so much love to give. Hard-headed at times. Funny and cute.”

Taehyung’s doe eyes, that were sparkling with surprise, made Jungkook’s lips twitch in a fond sort of smile. “Tell me, Taehyung. Did you pretend to care about me?”

“No,” he said at once, voice nothing more than a whisper.

“Everything you said when you asked to stop being my informant was a lie. Right?”

“Yes.”

“Then despite the lies,” Jungkook said through warmly smiling lips, “you showed me the real you. I see him in your eyes right now. He’s beautiful.”

A delicate silence vibrated in the atmosphere as they got immersed in each other’s gaze, allowing their eyes to convey their overwhelming feelings that neither had the courage to vocalize. 

“God, just kiss already.” 

Chae Soon’s voice came across in a hushed, trembling tone that drew in their attention. They caught him in a droopy stance, hugging his belly with one arm and holding his chin in his palm with the other. They stared with amused surprise at the wistful frown adorning his face and his watery eyes. 

The realization that he had said that out loud added shock to Chae Soon’s frown, and he immediately snapped his head away from the two. “Sorry.”

A honeyed giggle slipped through Taehyung, mixed with a snort that sounded from Jungkook.

Their eyes met again. The thought of kissing preponderated anything else until it became a stifling need. But neither dared to express it or act on it. Both for different and same reasons. They simply gazed at each other as they held hands, smiling gently. They assimilated as much as they could from the other. They saw everything they couldn’t articulate in their eyes again. And it was enough for now. 

───⭒───༺🌑༻───⭒───

Taekook met again, yay! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it💜