The number of cigarettes he hammered these days would kill him, but times were tough, and Min Yoongi never really cared for society's condemnation of taboos.

He was perched on the bonnet of his car, the aluminium warming his backside as he glanced up at the apartment and watched shadows move behind the netted window. Tae awaited his arrival, but he needed a minute to process his thoughts, unsure of how to broach what had happened tonight.

Suga's recent encounter with Little-Miss-Yunhee had left him not only baffled, but somewhat alarmed, and no matter how many times he rewound the chain of events in his head, he couldn't for the life of him fathom it out.

It'd started four hours ago when he'd received a communication from a contact in Goyang. Sungho had informed him that a woman fitting Yunhee's description had been spotted again, this time driving south towards Gimpo.

As soon as he'd read the message, Suga had grabbed his keys and left the apartment before Tae could blink. His friend's persistence was admirable, but he had a strange inkling that his presence may aggravate the situation should they locate Yunhee.

He'd been right.

Suga had discovered the woman snooping around the warehouse where it had all begun.

Intrigued and rather mystified, he'd hung back, his feet nailed to the cracked concrete when she hurried into the deserted building. There were no other cars in sight, not a trace of sound escaping the structure, which begged the question: what the hell was Yunhee doing, and why was she alone?

Suga had waited for her to emerge, flicking his headlights off, and trailing her until she'd pulled into a gas station. He'd remained calm throughout his entire trip, but when he saw her carefree expression under the pit stop lights and the bounce in her step, an unimaginable storm brewed in his chest.

Two weeks of believing her to be dead. One week of her being home, alive and well, and not a single word to her friends?

Suga was out of the car before he could stop himself, collecting his ferocity and tucking it away when she skipped in his direction. He'd waited for her to spot him first, but when Yunhee's eyes met his and widened in unmistakable panic, he couldn't help but falter.

He thought he understood her plight; Yunhee was under duress, that was why she'd asked him to leave. That was why she'd declined his invitation to get in the car with him.

But her reaction. Her undeniable fear when she looked at him.

Drawing his cig between his dry lips, Suga cocked his head and stared blankly at the brickwork of the building.

He was no angel, his resting bitch face was enough to frighten puppies, but since the night Tae had swooped in and asked for her number, Hahm Yunhee had never been intimidated by him.

She was one of the few people in his life that knew Suga for what he truly was. She saw past the facade, peeking around the cold bastard exterior he'd built after his shit-infested childhood to see a vulnerable man who wore his heart on his sleeve.

They were friends.

So, what in the actual fuck was all that about?

The terrified glaze in Yunhee's eyes, the way she'd recoiled when he'd touched her. The whole picture was disjointed, horribly amiss, leading him to believe that something else was at play.

Extinguishing his cigarette, Suga locked his car and trundled up the steps of the apartment.

It was time to bite the Kim Taehyung bullet. He'd allowed Yunhee to leave because she'd asked him to, but there was no way on Earth he was giving her a week.

Keeping the latest news from his friend would not only be criminal, but unjust after weeks of torture.

Tae was waiting for an update. And he was going to get one.

*

Jeon Jungkook was a buffoon.

Like Jimin, he'd never taken to technology and could barely work the mouse, but unlike his old friend, Tae appreciated the man and everything he'd done to help.

Patting Jungkook on the back, Tae sifted out his phone and left the raven-haired man to browse the tracking website he'd had trouble logging into. 

There were no missed calls or text messages from Suga in the last five minutes, and he began to wonder when his elusive mate would return after being gone for two hours.

Yunhee had been seen in Goyang tonight, but that was all he caught wind of before Suga rushed out and left them hanging. He hoped the snippet of information would lead to her whereabouts, but the concept of her being out there - alone - did not sit too well with him.

If Yunhee was home, why hadn't she tried to contact him? Was she still in trouble, despite her newfound freedom?

Perhaps the sighting was a mistake?

A heavy sigh left Hobi's mouth and Tae glanced at his beanpole form slumped on the sofa.

The typically enthusiastic fella had been immersed in his phone since he'd arrived, his brow wrinkled and the depths of his irises troubled. He wanted to ask Hobi why he'd barely spoken a word all night, but all concerns for the man were lost when the apartment door flew open and Suga strolled in.

Jungkook spun in his seat, and Hobi lowered his phone while Tae waited for him to shrug off his jacket and remove his shoes. When Suga brushed past him into the kitchenette, he frowned and cast a confused look at his two friends who were equally perplexed.

'Let me guess,' Tae muttered as Suga pulled a beer from the fridge, 'another dead end?'

Grabbing a bottle opener, the quiet man popped the cap on his drink, downed half the contents and then looked at him with bloodshot eyes.

His black clothing was rumpled, his hair sticking out in several directions, and Tae wasn't sure if it was the fizz of the beer making his eyes red or pure exhaustion. He didn't care. All he could think about was the woman matching Yunhee's description that had been spotted twice in the last week.

'Well?' Tae pressed as Suga meandered into the living room and threw himself next to Hobi. 'Did you find anything?'

'Oh,' Suga drawled, taking another swig of his beer, 'I found something, alright. I found Yunhee.'

Jungkook's chair crashed to the floor when he sprang to his feet. 'What?'

'What do you mean you found Yunhee?' Tae choked. 'You're telling me that that was her? Where is she? Was that her at the club last week, too? Is Jin holding her? Is she okay?'

Suga had the audacity to roll his eyes. 'Chill-'

'Why didn't you bring her back with you, Yoongi?' Tae barked.

Jungkook's eyes expanded and Hobi blinked fast, his stunned gaze darting between Suga and the phone clutched in his hand.

'She was at a gas station-'

'A gas station?'

'Will you shut the fuck up for five seconds and let me speak?' Suga spat as he gripped the neck of his bottle.

It took everything within Tae not to grab his friend by the lapels and demand to know what he'd seen. Instead, he pressed his lips together, held his hands up in surrender, and then planted them resolutely on his hips.

'Sungho's report was right; the woman driving through Goyang was Yunhee.' Suga climbed to his feet as Tae opened his mouth to respond, but he didn't get the chance. 'She was heading to Gimpo.'

'Gimpo?' Jungkook stuttered. 'Isn't that where...?'

'Yes,' Suga confirmed, his steely eyes not leaving Tae. 'I followed her to a warehouse to see what she was up to. She was alone, Tae. There was no one with her. I've no idea what she was doing inside, but after a time, she left, got back into her car, and drove away. I followed her again until she pulled over to take a piss. That's when I approached.'

'Wait a minute,' Tae said, pinching the top of his nose as he tried to process Suga's story, 'you said warehouse. You mean the warehouse?'

'Yup,' Suga nodded as he cleared his beer and tossed it into the bin, 'the exact same one.'

'Why would Yunhee go back there?' Jungkook asked, his pitch rising two octaves.

'Beats me,' Suga shrugged as Tae dropped his arm and dug his fingernails into his palms.

'Are you sure Jimin wasn't with her? What about Jin?'

'She was alone, Tae,' Suga repeated impatiently before his face crinkled with uncertainty. 'She was also...something was wrong. When I finally spoke to her, she seemed...'

'She seemed what?' Tae urged, his visage darkening at the prospect of Yunhee being harmed. 'Was she hurt?'

'I...yeah,' Suga uttered as he ran his fingers through his messy hair. 'There were signs of physical abuse. Bruises on her arms and neck.'

A bout of rage fired through Tae like a bullet. He was right; those bastards had hurt her. Taking a deep breath - more to control the urge to punch his fist through a wall - he settled on the arm of the sofa and stared portentously at Suga.

'Tell me everything she said.'

'That's just it,' Suga scoffed as he climbed to his feet and scratched his cheek, 'she wouldn't tell me a Goddamned thing.'

Tae waited - the whole room waited - watching the disturbed man gather his thoughts.

'I swear to God, when Yunhee left the gas station and walked back to her car, she looked absolutely fine. It was only when she saw me that she freaked out. She wasn't herself, Tae. She was rattled to the bone and I've never seen her act that way before.

'I tried to get her to come with me, I assured her that she would be okay, that we would help her get out of whatever mess she was in, but she outright refused.'

Tae got up from the sofa, pressing his clenched fist against his lips as he strode to the window to blow off some steam.

It was obvious what was happening. Yunhee was under duress, too afraid to speak to Suga in fear of what Jimin and his men would do in retaliation.

'Taehyung,' Suga approached from behind, his voice filled with an unease he did not care to hear, 'I know what you're thinking, but I don't think she's under duress.'

'Of course, she is!' Tae yelled as he pivoted to face his aghast friends. 'That's why she was so fucking scared! She refused to get in the car with you because they're holding something over her head! What else would it be?'

'I...' Suga cut himself off, his cautious gaze flipping between his friends as Tae's heart pounded. 'I tried to comfort her, but when I did, she flinched like she'd been burned. I think...I think she was scared of me.'

'Huh?' Jungkook gasped.

'Exactly,' Suga said sardonically as he kept his eyes trained on a flabbergasted Tae, 'that was my initial reaction.'

A tight weight crushed Tae's lungs and for a moment he forgot how to breathe. Had Yunhee run back to the House of Cards because she was avoiding him? Did she fear him, too?

There were no words, only a pucker on his cracked lips and a subtle head shake as he rejected the notion. Tae understood Yunhee's fear after what she'd been through, but recoiling away from one of her closest friends when he was there to help felt hideously off-kilter.

'Why did she go back to the club? Why the warehouse?' Tae mused aloud as he rubbed at his stubbly chin.

'There's something else,' Suga said carefully as his suspicious gaze swept to the silent man sitting on the sofa. Hobi had not spoken a word throughout the entire debate, and it hadn't escaped Tae's notice that he was as stiff as a board. 'She asked if Hobi sent me.'

All eyes flew to the guy now under the microscope, his remorseful face lowering to the text message he'd been rewriting for the past hour.

'Who are you texting, Hobi?' Tae questioned as he slowly walked over.

Hobi was never any good at keeping secrets; his expressive features gave everything he was feeling away. Even now, as he shamefully glanced at his phone and then at his friends with sorry eyes, Tae knew.

'Jesus Christ, is it her?'

There was no response, only a pale faced gawp which left Tae wanting to wallop the idiotic man.

'Hoseok!' Suga bellowed. 'Answer him!'

'Y-yes, it's Yunhee,' Hobi said meekly as he defeatedly slumped in his seat.

'For fuck's sake.' Tae leaned over and snatched the phone from his shaking hands. 'What is wrong with you?'

'You received a message from Yunhee and didn't tell us?' Jungkook stammered in disbelief. 'After everything we've done to try and find her?'

'I only heard from her today, I swear!' Hobi defended as Tae slipped on his glasses.

His face dropped when he read her words, the short text the equivalent of a sharp blade slicing through his heart.

I'm back. Let's meet. And PLEASE, you can't tell Tae yet. I'll explain later x

You can't tell Tae yet?

'She asked me not to say anything,' Hobi explained, his voice more self-assured as he rose to his feet, 'and based on your recent breakup, I thought it best to respect her wishes.'

'You kept this from me because we broke up?' Tae blustered. 'Did you forget the part where she was kidnapped?'

'I wanted to tell you!' Hobi's cheeks were puce as he swiped his phone back and stuffed it away. 'I've been torn between listening to her and mentioning it to you all day!'

'She said the same to me,' Suga threw in, 'asked me not to tell you I'd seen her.'

'Not helping,' Tae seethed as he looked indignantly between them all.

Truth be told, he was not only outraged, but inwardly bruised.

Tae was not foolish enough to forget the hurt he'd caused Yunhee over the months. He was not foolish enough to forget that she'd walked out on him the morning Jimin had taken her. But that didn't erase the pain, nor the heartache and confusion of what was going on right now.

You can't tell Tae yet...you can't tell Tae...

'I don't understand any of this, nothing makes sense.'

Tae whipped off his reading glasses, pacing the window while fisting his auburn hair.

'Yunhee is kidnapped by Park Jimin. I try to save her, but they vanish into thin air right before my eyes. Then, she doesn't show up for a further two weeks! There's still no sign of Jimin, but now Yunhee is back and avoiding me like the plague because she's scared?'

'Listen, mate,' Hobi started as he took a vigilant step towards him, 'I know you and Yunhee had your issues, but is there something you're not telling us? I mean...would there be another reason why she wouldn't want to see you, besides lying to her throughout your entire relationship?'

'Excuse me?' Tae scowled saltily.

He wasn't having it.

Any of it.

'You listen to me now, all of you. Jimin - wherever the fuck he is - is holding something over Yunhee. If any of you are questioning this, if any of you are doubting me, then feel free to get the fuck out of this apartment.'

No one spoke against him, the room painfully silent as Suga held his hands up in a truce, and Jungkook and Hobi nodded promptly in accord.

'Thank you,' Tae enunciated before moving to the window to douse his anger.

He released a guilty sigh as he stared at the dirtied netting, knowing that he wasn't being entirely honest. Not just with his companions, but with himself.

Tae remembered what he'd witnessed that night at the warehouse, but there had to be an explanation. People didn't just disappear.

For weeks he'd put it down to panic mixed with adrenaline and a lack of sleep, concluding that Jimin and his men had cultivated a plan to whisk her away before he could retaliate.

But none of it added up.

No calls to Jimin's phone since that day, not a sign of the Mafia King himself. And now a petrified Yunhee rebuffing the chance to come home despite roaming the city of her own free will.

Would he benefit from being honest with the boys? Would telling them about the blinding light that had burst from the floor aid their cause?

What would he even say to them? That in the middle of a gunfight, the biggest crime boss in Seoul and his ex-girlfriend of only a few hours had vanished into thin air when lightning struck?

No, it was only going to raise more questions and suspicion. He needed to talk to Yunhee. She was the only one that could provide answers to the inexplicable incident.

Tae's biggest obstacle now was getting her here without freaking her out.

Turning from the window, he was not surprised to discover Hobi and Jungkook bickering in the kitchenette with an irritated Suga trying to mediate from the table. They stopped talking when he joined them, three sets of anxious eyes glued to him as he pulled out a chair and collapsed into the seat.

Rubbing his bottom lip with his thumb, Tae kept his eyes downcast and pondered over everything Suga had told him.

One thing stood out above all.

'Yunhee isn't just avoiding me, she's avoiding everyone,' he murmured before homing in on the one man who was key to their next step. 'Everyone except you.'

Hobi didn't argue this time, he merely sucked in a deep breath and nodded.

'You've haven't replied to her text yet?' asked Tae as he leaned back in his chair.

'No,' Hobi mumbled dejectedly, 'not yet.'

'Do you think you can get her here?'

'I can try.'

That was all he needed to hear.

Slapping his hand on the tabletop, Tae leapt to his feet, his countenance resolute as he jabbed a finger at Hobi's chest.

'Arrange it.'

***

Wow, even I got goosebumps at the end of this. Our Tae, like Taehyung, means BUSINESS.

So, come on then; what are your thoughts? Do you agree with Hobi keeping the text message from Tae? And what about Tae knowing he saw something that night and still keeping it from his friends?

Ah, the plot is yet to thicken.  MUAHAHHA.

3rd August 2020