Geared up and fully prepared for the most important and dangerous operation they ever had, the violent crimes unit one and two drove towards Jin Mo’s mansion with Jimin’s instructions.

Three sprinter vans with backup followed closely, but they would join the operation in the second half of the plan; only when they would make sure that Jin Mo was trapped in his office.

Their vigilance for any suspicious vehicle that could be shadowing them didn’t scale down in the slightest throughout the long ride. 

With everything going well, they entered an uphill, gravel road, and at the first left turn, they hid their vans in the blackness of the forest as Jimin instructed them. The vans with the backup stayed hidden somewhere close, where they could have a visual of the road to alarm them in case someone drove towards the mansion. 

“It’s a ten-minute walk until you see the mansion,” Jimin said. “Don’t come near the walls. I’ll come meet you.”

“Okay. Guys, move in pairs in a line and only the person ahead should use a flashlight,” Jungkook ordered quietly. 

They got into the formation the leader gave them in seconds. Jungkook and Jang Hyuk took out their flashlights and began leading the way up the hill.

They were surrounded by enormous trees and a thick greenery that lent to the remote location an eerie feel of peril. The mild wind howled between branches and bushes, and the rattling caused them to jerk their heads right and left almost continuously to check for any unwanted presence. 

The obscure lights of the mansion peeked through the leaves and branches of the trees, and they shut off their flashlights as they halted. 

“I see you,” Jimin whispered into the phone. “I’m on your right.”

Jungkook threw his gaze to the said direction and took in the vague image of his silhouette. 

“I’ll approach you now. Don’t shoot me.”

“Stay calm,” Jungkook said to his team. “It’s Jimin.”

The vague figure took clear form gradually until Jimin stood before them. “I’m Jimin, as you know. Are you ready to go inside?”

“Yes,” Jungkook replied.

“Follow me in a line and don’t break it under any circumstances. Be as quiet as possible until we get to Taehyung’s room.”

Jimin turned around and walked towards the right. He used a circular path to get behind the mansion where the entrance of the tunnel was, avoiding the CCTV. 

Soon, one by one started entering the tunnel and crawled through it on their hands and knees. The stifling, narrowed path would be plunged into darkness if it wasn’t for Jimin’s flashlight. 

A short while later, the light grew stronger and stronger, signaling them they were close to their first destination. 

Jimin hopped off the tunnel silently, landing in Taehyung’s room, and dusted his hands and knees. He waited until everyone safely got out of the tunnel and moved the large mirror over the entrance, covering it. 

“Taehyung’s needles are in here,” he whispered as he opened the bag he had placed on the bed. “I didn’t count them, but I’m guessing they’re over two hundred.”

Jungkook examined the content, but his brows drew together in concern. “These are really small.”

“I know. But you have to make it work somehow. It’s the best option. To release the substance, you have to press the base of the needle. It works faster if you strike it in their necks.”

“Okay,” Jungkook released in a murmur, suppressing the quiver of anxiety in his voice. “How will you take down whoever is in the monitor room?”

Jimin opened the second drawer of Taehyung’s desk and fished out a palm-sized grenade. “Smoke grenade with a gas that leaves you unconscious in a single breath. It’s strong, but the effect stays only for ten minutes. I think it’s better if I tie them up as well because your men maybe won’t make it on time.” 

“You’re right. I’ll still send them to help you. Take these.” Jungkook passed him a wireless earpiece and a bag. “Tell me when you’re done. There are zip ties and tape in the bag. We didn’t bring handcuffs because it would be too noisy. Once you tie them up, stay there to guide us with the help of the CCTV. Do you know everyone’s names?”

“Of course.” Jimin nodded. He remembered to take a respirator mask as well and placed it in the bag Jungkook gave him. “Split the needles while I’m gone. Remember, we’re on the main floor right now. Jin Mo’s office is one floor down from here. In order to get to the stairs, you’ll have to pass from the front side of the living room. It’s an enormous, open space, and Jin Mo’s men could be hanging out there. You don’t have anywhere to hide. There are only a few columns after the hallway and the base of the stairs. I’ll let you know if anyone is there.”

“Okay. Stay safe,” Jungkook uttered. 

“You too. And... Jungkook. I’m sorry.” Jimin directed a sad smile at Jungkook and set his eyes on Namjoon. “Don’t let him go alone to catch Jin Mo. He—”

“Yah,” Jungkook let out in a hissing whisper, a scowl taking over his face. 

“Jin Mo wants to kill him,” Jimin stated, dismissing Jungkook’s silent warning. “I’m sorry, but your team has to know. They want you to be safe. Taehyung wants that too. So don’t you dare die.” He tossed the bag over his shoulder and slipped his hands through the straps, then headed out of the room. 

“Yah.”

Jungkook didn’t venture to look at his partner. He instead drove his chin deeper into his chest at his low, grave voice. 

“Jin Mo wants to kill you, and you didn’t bother telling us?” Namjoon stared at his unmoving figure until his rage prevailed over his senses. He gripped his shoulder and wrenched him around, forcing him to face him. “You know you shouldn’t even be here, right?”

The muscles along Jungkook’s jaw grew rigid as his mouth thinned with frustration. Brows stubbornly knitted together, he let his eyes ascend to him. “Well, I am here.” He smacked Namjoon’s hold off him. “And I’m the leader. Your leader. And everyone will listen to my orders or get the fuck out of here. Does anyone have a problem with that?”

“I have a problem with you being fucking reckless,” Namjoon muttered, still scowling at him. “You are the leader, but we’re a team. We should rely on each other. There shouldn’t be secrets between us, Jungkook. You need the extra protection. I’m not leaving your side.”

The harshness behind Jungkook’s gaze softened until all that was left was a scintilla of remorse. “We’re partners, Joon,” he breathed out. “Of course you won’t leave my side.” He patted his shoulder twice. “Listen, everyone. As I said, Baek Jun and Hee Cheol will go help Jimin. Hoseok, Seung Ho, Jang Hyuk, and Ahn Jeong will go to the cell room. Namjoon and I will go to Jin Mo’s office. Our backup can listen to us through our earpieces. The medical team is already on standby. Once we get outside of Jin Mo’s office and confirm he’s there, we’ll let you know.”

With nods and whispering words of compliancy, Jungkook reached for the bag with the needles. “Tell me we have something to put them in. We can’t just carry them in our pockets.”

“Um, I have zipper bags with me,” Hoseok said. 

“It’s better than nothing,” Seung Ho chimed in. 

“Okay then.”

With Jungkook’s agreement, Hoseok distributed a normal-sized bag to each one, and they began splitting the needles. 

Once Jungkook finished, he stuffed the bag into his pocket and scanned the room, finding it rather simple. It didn’t match the style of the Taehyung he used to know; it had no color, no paintings on the walls or other ornaments, no warmth in any way. 

He edged closer to the desk and opened the first drawer. He found styling products and shut it, then slid open the second one. He located a couple of knives and two other grenades and slithered one into his left pocket, just in case. Upon revealing the contents of the last drawer, a palsy of surprise locked his muscles. 

He viewed the piled-up binders and rushed to take them out, setting them on the desk. He flipped open the first one, and at the top of the single page, the name Joon Ha Eun was written. He skimmed over the page, quickly realizing it contained information about the guy.

He aimed his attention at the next binder and saw Ha Soo Gun’s name. In the next one, it was Kim Ki Han’s name. 

On the fourth binder he opened, another palsy froze him throughout. It was his name written at the top of the page. And there was a stack of papers, unlike in the other binders. 

He flicked through the pages, briefly studying the information about him, his family, his team, the cases he was handling, and the violent crimes unit two. At the last page he flipped, he found hand-written notes on the back and examined them with wide eyes. 

—Sunday, 19/12/21
Initial planned meeting. Annoying, egoistic asshole. Have no idea how I can even approach him. 

—Friday, 24/12/21
Second planned meeting. Even worse. Insensitive jackass. Don’t really want to talk to him. 

—Friday, 31/12/21
Third planned meeting... Strange. Became his informant. He drove me home. I don’t get him. 

—Saturday, 01/01/22
Random meeting one. Still don’t get him. 

—Friday, 07/01/22
Random meeting two. Back to jackass, but kinda feel bad for the way I talked to him. We’re getting somewhere? 

—Saturday, 08/01/22
Random meeting three. Not so random since I asked him to meet me. Kinda understand his stony persona. Opened up to each other a bit. Felt nice... 

Jungkook flipped through the pages again in search of other hand-written notes, but found nothing. That was the last note he wrote. He remembered after that night, Taehyung helped him make four arrests and they often hung out at Hangang park. Why did he stop writing notes suddenly? 

“Everything is ready.” Jimin’s tremoring voice echoed in their ears. 

Jungkook hastened to press the button on his earpiece. “Everything went according to the plan?”

“Yes. I threw the grenade, and they fell unconscious in seconds. I’m tying their hands now and I’ll tie them to the column. Wait until I can guide you through the CCTV.”

“Did you see anyone in the living room?” Jungkook asked. 

“There were six men sitting there. You can’t approach them without being seen. But remember, most of his men who live here are still under training or complete newbies. If you scare them a bit, they’ll obey.”

Jungkook nodded, mostly to himself, as he conjured a plan. “We’ll threaten them with our guns to approach them and Seung Ho, Hee Cheol, and Baek Jun will put a needle into their necks.”

“What if someone screams?” Namjoon asked. 

“Then we’re screwed.”

A short silence followed Jungkook’s remark until Jimin broke it. “Yeah, that’s pretty accurate,” he said with a groan as he dragged the last man to the column and leaned him against it.

He took the biggest zip tie he could find in his hands and passed it around them. Thankfully, it was more than long enough, and he soon secured it. He swiftly taped their mouths, then scuttled to the long desk with the ten computers and the five large screens. He observed the countless boxes of the cameras, rolling his chair left and right to get visual on every single one, and his eyes narrowed in bafflement. Why are two cameras off? 

“Jimin? What’s going on?” Jungkook asked eagerly. 

“Um, nothing, just... two cameras are off. Maybe they broke down. Anyway. There are five guys in the living room now. They’re drinking beers and chatting. Are you ready?”

Jungkook’s gaze wandered over his team members. “Is everyone ready?” He received confident nods, something that boosted his determination as well. “Let’s do this then.”

“Remember, you have about ten minutes to get to Jin Mo’s office since the moment you drug the first five guys because they’ll wake up and inform Ah In about the situation.”

“Okay,” Jungkook said. He slipped his gun out and reached for the door. “Do not shoot. We need to be as quiet as possible. Jimin, is the hallway empty?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.” With that, Jungkook slid the door open and took off towards the right in a careful gait. Once he arrived at the first column, he lifted his fist, signaling his team to wait. He peeked from the big, marble column, seeing only the base of the stairs and no presence, though he could pick up on faint laughs and chatters. 

With a sharp, forward motion of his hand, Jungkook gestured his team to keep going. The indistinct chatter became clearer and more vivid to their senses as they trod in a circle towards the stairway. He instructed them to wait again when they reached the second column. He gave them a nod, and a few seconds later, Jungkook popped out of his hiding spot with his gun already aimed at the five guys. 

Everyone followed his lead, pointing their guns at them, as they closed in on them in long-legged strides. 

The first guy who noticed them threw his hands in the air at once as his eyes enlarged unnaturally. 

“Whoever moves or makes a sound dies,” Jungkook said a low, menacing voice, now standing right in front of them. “Guys.”

Seung Ho, Baek Jun, and Hee Cheol immediately struck a needle into each of their necks and pressed the base. 

“What—What are you doing?” one of the guys exclaimed, but Jungkook lunged at him, shoving the barrel of his gun against his forehead. 

“Shut your mouth.” Jungkook found Seung Ho’s gaze, and Seung Ho drove a needle into the guy’s neck seconds later. 

Groans filled the room as the last guy was taken care of by Baek Jun, and they all watched in awe how the five guys lost control over their bodies in such a short period of time, with their consciousness soon following and abandoning them. 

“We split here,” Jungkook uttered. “Go to your assigned location. Stay safe.” 

With a nod from all of them, Baek Jun and Hee Cheol headed upstairs as the other six went downstairs. 

“Jang Hyuk-ssi, you and your team have the longest way to make,” Jimin said, scanning the CCTV footage. “There is one guy approaching the stairs, Jungkook. In about a minute, he’ll be right in front of you.”

They descended the stairway faster as Jungkook took a needle in his hand, making sure to be as silent as they could. Jungkook halted at the last step and attached his back to the wall, waiting for Jimin to inform him of the guy’s location.

Jimin watched the man come closer and closer anxiously. “Now.”

Jungkook leaped straightaway and grabbed the man’s hair, then slammed the needle into the side of his neck. He changed his grip and palmed his mouth as the guy began grunting. The man’s struggle and noises diminished little by little until he slumped over Jungkook. 

Jungkook supported his weight and laid him on the floor silently. “Jang Hyuk, take your men and go.” He nodded to the stairs to his right, and the said man advanced with his team. 

“Jang Hyuk-ssi, you have three floors until the cell room,” Jimin informed. “Always check before you move to the next stairway. I have to check on Baek Jun and Hee Cheol now.”

“Okay,” Jang Hyuk said as he carefully continued his way. 

“Jungkook, Jin Mo’s office is at the end of the hallway. There is another hallway to your left in several meters that leads to a dining room. Check before passing.” Jimin then focused on finding Baek Jun and Hee Cheol as he said, but even after a whole minute of intense scrutiny, he couldn’t locate them. “Baek Jun-ssi? Hee Cheol-ssi? Can you hear me?”

Jungkook motioned Namjoon to halt before they even reached the hallway Jimin mentioned. “Jimin, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t find Baek Jun and Hee Cheol. One of the cameras that's off is on this floor. Maybe they’re within its region, that’s why I can’t see them yet. But... why aren’t they answering?” Jimin took off his respirator mask and jerked his head back at the faint, muffled groans that seeped into his ears. He found some of the guys waking up and getting agitated, and he tapped his earpiece to turn it off for now. “Sorry guys. I’ll release you. Just wait a bit.” 

Jungkook expelled a quivery sigh as he screwed his eyes shut. Something was wrong. Something felt wrong. And he was lost about what to do. 

. . .

San Joon had left from his position for his scheduled nap, leaving the other two in charge, and five hours later, he came running into the cell room. “Yah, guys!” he frantically called. “The police are here.”

Yoongi and Taehyung grew alarmed and jolted to sitting positions. 

“What are you talking about?” Byeo San asked, appalled. 

“I saw a guy attack one of our men. I ran here, but at the stairs, four of our men were hiding and almost fucking shot me with a tranquilizer gun. They just told me to continue my way. I think they’ll trap the police.”

Yoongi and Taehyung gaped at each other with pure horror widening their eyes. “Tell Jimin now!” Taehyung whispered in anxiousness.

Yoongi hastened to get the phone out of its hiding spot and texted him with trembling hands. 

Jimin eyeballed each box in pursuit of any sign of Baek Jun and Hee Cheol, though he got no luck again. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he took it out hastily. 

Yoongi: Jin Mo knows about the operation. It’s a trap. Tell Jungkook right now

Jimin sprang up from his seat in a burst of shock as his heart thumped harshly against his ribcage. He pressed the button on his earpiece. “Guys, Jin Mo kn—”

The thunderous noise of a gun going off strangled his words and made him crumble to the ground to take cover instinctively. He recoiled further under the desk, his crouched body quivering uncontrollably as he glanced towards the door. 

“Fucking rat,” Ah In spewed and shifted his gun from the floor, where he fired the warning shot, to Jimin’s body. “Throw the earpiece away. If you say another word, I’ll put a bullet through your head.”

Jungkook and Namjoon came to another stuttering halt once Jimin’s voice was cut off by the booming noise. “Jimin? Jimin?” Jungkook called in a whisper, but he received no answer. “Baek Jun? Hee Cheol? State your location.” He waited and waited in vain. “What the hell is going on?”

“Something doesn’t feel right, Kook,” Namjoon uttered, his eyes sweeping the place constantly for any presence. 

“Jang Hyuk?”

“We’re approaching our assigned location slowly. We have one floor left,” Jang Hyuk informed as they paused momentarily. 

“Okay. Joon, go check on Jimin. I have to get Jin Mo.” Jungkook advanced at a creep, but soon a grasp on his forearm immobilized him. 

“I told you I’m not leaving your side!”

“Jimin is in danger. Baek Jun and Hee Cheol aren’t responding. They didn’t make it to the monitor room. Please go check on them.”

“And what about you, huh?” Namjoon clawed at his shoulder, intense disquiet spilling from his eyes that were locked on him.

“Jin Mo’s office is just at the end of the hallway. Once I confirm he’s there, I’ll ask for the backup to come. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that, idiot.” Namjoon shook him as his reluctance to let Jungkook carry on alone effectuated a restless anger within his gut. 

“Joon.” Jungkook’s hand came to cradle the side of his neck. “The safety of my men was always the most important to me. It still is. I trust that you’ll be safe. That’s the only reason I’m letting you go alone. Trust me too.”

Namjoon shut his eyes as his head fell. Then, he tapped his shoulder and withdrew. “You better not die.”

“You too.”

After sharing a look filled with trust and determination, their ways parted. 

Jungkook crept closer to the wanted location as he slithered his gun out of its holster. He paused when he came near the hallway Jimin mentioned and peeked carefully. He found the distant dining room empty, thankfully, and he scuttled to pass the opening. He proceeded at a slower gait, throwing glances behind him. 

Reaching the end of the hallway, he realized the door to Jin Mo’s office was already open. And at that moment, he knew. 

Jin Mo was waiting for him.

He popped up in front of the entrance with his gun poised and took in the presence that was sitting at the desk. “You opened the door for me, Jin Mo? How nice of you.”

A sinister smirk tugged at the corner of Jin Mo’s lips as he viewed him. “Don’t be shy, detective Jeon Jungkook. Come inside.”

Jungkook pressed his earpiece. “Got him.”

Upon hearing their leader’s remark, Namjoon got rooted to his spot and tapped his earpiece. “Backup, proceed and break that door down right now!”

Jin Mo’s smirk intensified at Jungkook’s words. “We finally meet, Jungkook. Why do you want to end this so fast? Come inside to chat a bit.”

“How about you stand up and put your hands behind your back? I like this scenario better.”

“And if I don’t? Will you kill me? I don’t think so,” he released with a snicker, shaking his head mockingly. 

“Your life means nothing to me, so why won’t I?” 

“Because I know things no one else knows. Things that... interest you. A lot.”

“Nothing that comes out of your mouth interests me. Now cut your bullshit and stand up,” Jungkook commanded, something braising and harsher slipping into his voice. 

“Not even if I talk about Kang Ho?” 

Jungkook’s body stiffened at his hyung’s mention, but Ahn Jeong’s frantic, broken voice through the earpiece stole his full attention. 

“They got us! —trap. They shot—”

“Ahn Jeong?” A screeching noise pierced his ear that made him flinch, realizing the signal was forcefully cut off, as if someone smashed the earpiece. With a stormy scowl sprawling over every inch of his face, Jungkook glared at Jin Mo’s smirking countenance. “What the fuck did you do to my men?”

“Don’t worry. They’ll be just fine if you come inside.” As he watched Jungkook contemplate the situation, his smirk fell a fraction with the recollection of the message he received earlier. 

Two sprinter vans passed the borders of our territory. Don’t get caught or die before you kill Jeon Jungkook. He’ll come for you on his own. Trap him. You have to sacrifice yourself for the organization. If you disobey, you’ll die either way. 

Jin Mo’s fist unconsciously clenched at his side. He had to give up everything he had built for so many years. He had to part from Taehyung, who was the closest thing he had to a family. He didn’t know why he was doing this anymore. 

He caught Jungkook’s form edging closer and pressed the button on the control to shut the door right away. He wore his smirk again. “You’re so easy to manipulate, Jungkook.”

Jungkook’s grip on his gun tightened, like each one of his muscles. “Who tipped you off?” 

“That’s not important. The important thing is, I got you exactly where I wanted.”

“You said you would admit to everything and let the police catch you if we found you. What changed?”

Jin Mo’s brows lifted a tad. “Taehyung told you this, right? I only remember saying this to him. And it’s true. But I have to kill you first.”

“Why?”

“I just feel like it.” He drew up a carefree shoulder. 

Jungkook studied him, perceiving something strange hidden behind his smirk. “Did someone order you to do it?”

“I’m the boss here,” Jin Mo spat out, his smirk for a moment melting into a vicious scowl. “No one orders me.”

“Then why do you want to kill me? Taehyung said killing a detective isn’t beneficial to you in any way so you don’t bother dealing with the police.”

“Taehyung said a lot of things, apparently.” A light sigh emitted from him. “And that’s true too. But as I said, I just feel like it. Now that you came to my humble fortress and ruined everything, I don’t have another choice but to kill you.”

Jungkook’s lips twitched with the subdued snort that escaped him. “It’s funny. Because I’m the one pointing a gun at you right now.”

“Are you sure about that, detective Jeon Jungkook?”

Jungkook’s vigilance flared. He noticed Jin Mo raising his hand with his usual gruesome smirk. Then, he snapped his fingers. Jungkook sensed movement to his left and immediately jumped forward, doing a front roll behind the table. A gunshot boomed across the office when he landed. He whipped around with his gun already leveled and fired twice, hitting the man behind him in the stomach. 

When he saw him fall to the ground, he tossed his head in Jin Mo’s direction. He found him reaching for something and jerked up. “Don’t move. I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Aish, you’re so fast, Jeon Jungkook. You’re just making this even more exciting.”

“Shut your mouth and stand up.”

Jin Mo tapped another secret button on the side of his desk, and the door opened with a whoosh. 

Jungkook spun around and came across a man surging inside with a gun pointed at him. But then he heard the click of another gun’s safety being removed from behind. 

“Any last words?” Jin Mo chirped as he trod around the desk and thrust the barrel of his gun against the back of Jungkook’s head. 

Jungkook’s heart flew into a galloping frenzy. His throat closed off with fright, the same vile emotion that clasped his heart savagely. He was reckless, and he was about to die because of it. He was about to die before he could find out who killed his hyung. He was about to die before he could find Taehyung. Before he could hug him, and tell him he was in love with him too, and kiss him one more time. 

At least he could reunite with Kang Ho now. In heaven. 

“Leave my men alone,” Jungkook let out in a shaky murmur. “And let Taehyung live the life he wants. Let him be happy.”

Jin Mo erupted into cackles. “Ah, love,” he breathed. “Such a useless, disgusting thing. It ruins people. It ruined my best men. Lee Jeon. And Taehyung. Such a shame.” He shook his head, then leaned to his ear. “Say hi to Kang Ho from the Umbra.”

A gun went off right after Jin Mo’s mystifying words. Everything stilled for a few dragging moments as the deafening noise of the gunshot lingered in the atmosphere. 

Jungkook’s heart kept battering against his chest. He was alive. His eyes, that were harshly screwed shut, snapped open. The man who had his gun leveled at him was now on the floor with blood gushing out of his side. 

His body moved on its own a second later and twisted around. He knocked the gun out of Jin Mo’s hand before he could react, as Jin Mo’s equally perplexed state robbed him of his concentration. 

Jin Mo groaned at the force and chased after his gun, but a shooting pain in his thigh caused him to tumble down. A wrenching, stifled cry erupted from his mouth as his face stretched into a mask of unbearable pain at the bullet that pierced through his leg. 

Jungkook wrenched him to a sitting position and shoved his gun to his forehead. “What the fuck is the Umbra?”

“Jungkook, stop! Calm down.”

The velvet voice he had missed so much sounded muffled in his ears, with an anxious, trembling tune coating it, and it captured the entirety of his attention. Fragments of the cruelty in his eyes dispersed as he gazed at Taehyung, who limped closer. “Tae.”

Time slowed as they fixedly stared at each other. Hearts leaped and stomachs fluttered with a galaxy of emotions. 

Jungkook’s need to smash him into his arms was so consuming he didn’t have a second to react when the gun was snatched out of his hold. He was found under its aim instead. But it was okay now. He had found Taehyung. He knew Taehyung was alive. It was enough for him. He didn’t feel an ounce of fright this time. Only relief. Relief that Taehyung was alive.

Even if Jungkook wouldn’t be alive anymore.

───⭒───༺🌑༻───⭒───

What do you think about this chapter? It's the first time I'm writing something like this, and I hope it turned out well and that you enjoyed it💜