"Kim Taehyung. Stop there and don't move."

When the hooded man had said that, Jeongguk could feel himself freezing where he stood. Taehyung's arm was placed out protectively over his chest, and the younger boy could only gulp at the intense eye contact the other two males were making.

Choi Woosik... A member of the Acre gang? Meaning, those guys that had beaten Taehyung? On one hand, Jeongguk's blood was boiling. He remembered how fast his heart had been beating that day while he watched from afar, Hoseok and Jimin beside him, and Taehyung on the ground taking punches from these guys. These Acre assholes.

But Jeongguk didn't know how to fight. Of course, he exercised on the regular and wasn't quite lacking in the muscles department. Still he didn't know the first thing about gang activity. He could really fuck this up for Taehyung, who seemed strangely calm for a man who had a concealed gun aimed at him. At the very least his relaxed demeanor held Jeongguk back from freaking the fuck out right then and there. Though admittedly, the boy still felt a bit nauseous.

"You know my full name, hm? I'm so flattered~" Taehyung cracked a side grin, arm lowering back to his side.

The man's eye twitched.

"Fucking asshole... You still have the guts to talk like an idiot even when your life's being threatened?" The man, Woosik, spat out. Jeongguk held his breath. He didn't seem like the type of guy who'd hesitate to shoot, even at such a public location.

Taehyung, for the love of god... he thought. Don't piss him off.

"My life? Being threatened..?" Taehyung's smirk widened. "Please. You're the one who's got some fucking nerve pointing that thing out in broad daylight. This may be a secluded area but people still live here, moron. Someone might be watching, or come out at any point and call the cops. All they have to do is hear us."

"I'll shoot if you make any loud noises," Woosik's eyes narrowed. "Don't test me. I'll even shoot the boy."

Jeongguk squeaked in fear, earning a glance from Taehyung, and the younger could feel the blood suddenly rush his veins.

Me...? He'd shoot me...? Jeongguk let out a shaky breath, trying to stabilize the fright quickly rising inside of him.

Taehyung's face became deadpanned, a cold ice in his glare. He slowly raised both his hands up into the air for the Acre man to see, to confirm they were empty, and for a second Jeongguk thought he had surrendered.

"Lighter," he spoke, deep voice ringing smoothly in Jeongguk's ears. Taehyung then proceeded to dig one hand into his pocket, and Woosik flinched for a moment before he understood. He watched Taehyung fish out a lighter from the pocket of his jeans and then wave his left hand that had remained in the air. "Cigarette."

Taehyung then grabbed a cigarette from his left pocket, placed it to his lips, lit the stub, then tucked the lighter back into his pocket.

"So.." he exhaled a draft of smoke, "This how Acre's doing shit now, hm? Threatening innocent lives?"

Woosik nearly grunted, chest puffing, back straightening, snarly pupils that were locking Taehyung straight into the center of his bullseye. Jeongguk was convinced that a part of him would be shot any second now.

How badly would it hurt, he wondered. But he wasn't quite keen on ever finding out.

"Oh, that's just rich coming from a Bangtan boy!" Woosik's words seeped out like venom, and Jeongguk fought his instincts to start running because, surely, he wouldn't make it out unscathed if he did. "Are you forgetting what you fucking did to my sister, asshole?!"

Taehyung's brow rose, cigarette between his lips, facial features remaining unbothered.

"Sister?"

"Choi Eunha. Or did you forget her already?" Woosik scoffed. "Wouldn't be surprising coming from scum like you—"

"Ah—! Eunha, Eunha. Yes, I remember her," Taehyung looked up at the sky, more smoke emitting from his lips as he chuckled. "She was fucking hot. Nice lips. Amazing tits."

"...You're a sick fuck, you know that? That's someone's sister. My family. How dare you talk about her like that right to my face."

Taehyung shrugged in one curt motion. "M'just sayin'."

"Does it amuse you, huh? Ruining young women's lives like that?" Woosik continued with his seething tone. "When alone with a woman, what part of no means no don't you understand?"

Taehyung dug his large hand into his hair, scratching at his scalp a little before lowering it again. "Hm?" He spoke his next words slowly. Excruciatingly so. "Why would I have stopped, when she was just enjoying herself soo much...?"

A pause. And then—

Bang!!!

Birds scurried, wings lifting into the air as they fled at the sound of the sudden noise. Of a gun going off.

Jeongguk yelped in surprise, hopping in place as he closed his eyes in an instant, heart leaping from his chest.

Was he shot? Was Taehyung shot? What had happened?

He slowed down his exasperated breaths, and noticed that there was sudden silence. The air was still, unscratched from sounds such as screaming or yelling or anything to signal someone had been shot. Jeongguk opened his eyes, peeking up to see Woosik aiming up towards the sky. And Taehyung, taking a drag from his cigarette as if nothing had happened.

"You missed," Taehyung smirked.

"That..." Woosik gritted his teeth with fury, "...Was my only warning. Next word you speak, there'll be a bullet going straight through your heart."

Jeongguk's eyes widened. Both from fright, and the shock of the sudden gunshot. He felt his legs tremble, and he was too scared to move even a centimeter.

"T-Tae..." he whimpered quietly, tears welling up in his eyes almost as if to beg him with his wavering voice to obey the other man's orders. The man had a gun, for fuck's sake. Whether they liked it or not, Woosik was in control.

Taehyung stared in silence, and the hooded man cleared his throat.

"I'm only here to deliver a message to Bangtan. Although I would love to bend a few rules and just kill you right here and now."

Taehyung merely blinked.

"Your comrade—Min Yoongi, owes us money for drugs he sold from our inventory. You Bangtan jerks stole from us, so if you don't show any means to fix this disagreement between our gangs a war could break out. Our leader's already seeking out yours, so I suggest you do whatever you can to cooperate. That's my advice to you crazy fuckers. You really shouldn't mess with us."

Jeongguk gulped, letting the breeze cool his skin as Woosik turned to the side. In the distance the three men started to hear a blaring noise, like one from an ambulance alarm or a police car. And then they all realized; the cops must've heard the gunshot. Jeongguk felt the tiniest wave of relief because, if Woosik was sane, he'd understand that this confrontation was over.

And thankfully, the hooded man wasn't entirely out of his mind. Because with a look that seemed to challenge Taehyung and warn him that their beef wasn't quite over, he then proceeded to move quickly to the corner of the street and quietly fled.

Taehyung lowered his cigarette and looked back at Jeongguk, signaling ahead with a flick of his head.

"Let's take you home."

※ ※

Jeongguk had been too scared to go home. Instead of continuing toward the bus stop, he accompanied Taehyung back to his apartment instead. The older had said it was for the best, in case Woosik followed him home and Taehyung wasn't there to protect him. Jeongguk knew, technically, with all those words and promises he'd spouted before, that this was the world he had signed up for by involving himself with Bangtan members.

He was warned and yet, he persisted and persisted.

But it turned out, everyone was right. This new world was scary, dangerous, life threatening. He had said he'd protect Taehyung. Now he was just realizing how childish that promise should've sounded back then.

"C-Can I have some water...?" he choked out, voice small. The apartment had somewhat of an orange glow to it, the sun outside progressing slowly down the horizon.

Taehyung slipped off his jacket and landed himself down on the couch, reaching to turn the television on. "Kitchen."

Jeongguk nodded and moved to put on the guest house slippers before padding his way toward the kitchen area. He poured himself a glass of water and tried to swallow all that had happened earlier.

The Acre guy... Of course, the two gangs were enemies, but Woosik seemed to have a personal grudge on Taehyung with whatever it was that had happened with his sister. Yet...

"What part of no means no don't you understand?"

"She was just enjoying herself soo much."

Jeongguk gulped, a nauseating feeling churning inside him because, yes, those words had bothered him. He had no idea when this whole situation had happened, nor was it really any of his business. But how... How could he just ignore it?

"Tae..." His voice was small as he reached the living room area and hesitated before sitting down on a cushioned chair across from the older. "I-... Can I... ask you something?"

Taehyung looked up, and suddenly Jeongguk felt himself getting sucked into those black holes of his, the ones that devoured everything that crossed its path.

"The... The Acre man. Well, h-his sister... Did you-... I mean, um... D-Did you have sex with her...?"

Taehyung's head tilted slightly to the left as he seemed to process the question for a moment. Then came his answer, with no room for hesitation. "Yes. I did."

Jeongguk looked down at the cup of water in his hands, thumbs rubbing together gently. "Oh." He rubbed his front teeth against his bottom lip, inhaled a breath, and spoke again. "And was it.. Was it consensual...?"

When he lifted his head to look at him, Jeongguk noticed that Taehyung hadn't seemed to stop staring at him for even a second.

"Are you asking me if I raped Choi Eunha?"

Jeongguk's eyes widened, and he quickly lowered his head down to watch the floor. He could feel sweat forming at his forehead from the sheer anxiety that rushed him all at once.

"Well just-... I mean, y-you don't have to say it that way, i-it's just..."

Taehyung clicked his tongue, then shifted from the lazy laying position he was spread out in across the couch, and into a more proper sitting posture with his legs crossed.

"Relax." His musky voice filled the room. "I didn't. But you wouldn't believe me even if I told you that, would you? It's funny how the truth can be a malleable thing."

Jeongguk breathed out. "What... do you mean by that?"

Silence.

Jeongguk forced himself to look back up at the man, only to find Taehyung staring solemnly out the glass window. Eventually, he spoke again.

"There's two sides to every story... I mean, that shit's just inevitable," he said, gaze faltering. "But if you're perceived as the villain, there's not much you can do to get people to listen. There's no such thing as defending yourself. People need someone to blame for their pain, after all."

Their eyes met.

"I've accepted it all already. The fact that I'm the villain of my own story."

Jeongguk huffed out a breath, lips parting as he was caged into Taehyung's piercing gaze. When he'd processed his words for a moment, he found he was somewhat understanding Taehyung's words a bit more. Although there were things, things he wished he could've asked. Things he wished he'd understood better.

"Well, there-... There doesn't... always have to be a villain in a story, you know...?" Jeongguk spoke slowly. "The story I told you earlier, about Hyacinth and Apollo—it ended in Hyacinth's death, but there was no one to blame for it. It wasn't neither of their faults but rather... an unfortunate result of what should've been a good day..."

"So?"

"And so..." Jeongguk took a sip of water and wiped his lips. "So, there- there's actually another version. A version where Hyacinth dies because of the god of the west wind. His name was Zephyrus, and... Well, he was angry that Hyacinth loved Apollo and not him, which is why he made sure the discus went off course and recoil back to Hyacinth, killing him instantly..."

Taehyung pushed his feet out and sat back against the couch. "Then, what are you saying?"

Jeongguk gently placed the now empty glass down on the table beside him. "What I'm saying is... People created a version of the story that now had someone to blame, a reason to direct our anger for Hyacinth's death, even though the story worked perfectly fine before, without a villain. Personally, I... I find that his death has a much bigger impact when it's no one's fault, and you realize what could've been, had fate not been so cruel..."

With Jeongguk's hefty words, came a silence in the room. Though the two males allowed the distinct noises coming from the television to fill the otherwise quiet atmosphere, Taehyung sat there a while, and Jeongguk was unsure what it was he was thinking about. Was his mind lingering on the words he'd just spoken? Or was there something else weighing down on him? He wanted to know, wanted to understand the man sitting across from him.

"Come here." Taehyung whispered in a raspy grunt, but it seemed Jeongguk had heard him loud and clear.

The younger moved from the love seat, and onto the spot beside Taehyung on the couch. He looked into those dark eyes he'd grown accustomed to, and yet still made him feel shivers from time to time.

With a slow exhale Taehyung raised a hand and placed it carefully to Jeongguk's cheek, his thumb moving swiftly to caress the pale skin.

"You really are... something else..." Taehyung's voice seeped into Jeongguk slowly, like molasses, but tender, like a gentle embrace. The hand on his face guided him closer, Taehyung's body shifting, closing in on him, ever so steady, almost as if to ease the boy into what would happen next.

That being, Taehyung's lips clasping over Jeongguk's, seizing them into his hold, his custody. For a few seconds, Jeongguk's lips were his. His possession, his desire. The shaky breath that escaped Jeongguk emitted into the air as a light moan, and he soon felt a strong hand secure at his hip.

Having the older so close to him like this let him feel warmth all over his body; the taste consuming him, their breaths enchanting him.

It seemed that maybe, just maybe, the seeds that Taehyung had sowed deep within him, at his very core, were finally beginning to sprout. Little by little.

✱