"Ple-.... -wer..."

First, came sound over darkness.

"It-.... -a little..."

Then, the corners of his vision slowly began to sink back in, and all he saw was white.

"-down..."

Taehyung found himself gazing at the wall, and through repeated blinks he looked around him to see the familiar sight of his apartment's living room. Then, he lowered his head and saw pale shoulders in front of him. Immediately his brows gathered closer. This felt all too familiar.

Once again, he was naked behind someone who was bent over the couch, their ass up in the air while Taehyung penetrated them. Or rather, V had been the one to land him in this position; but this time he recognized those delicate, whiny moans straight away. He'd know them from anywhere by now.

"H-Hyu-uung..." Jeongguk dragged the word out, and Taehyung suddenly came to a halt, eyeing the hand he had placed above the boy's tailbone.

"Yes, darling," Taehyung responded with a lowered voice.

Jeongguk let out a pained grunt and buried his face against the couch cushion. "F-Finally..." his voice was muffled, "I was asking you to s-slow down for a while now... T-Thought you were ignoring me or something.."

Taehyung swallowed his saliva and gently pulled out from the boy, watched how his hole throbbed. And then, a voice presented itself in his head.

"Keep fucking him."

The thought was not his own.

Taehyung merely ignored it and lowered himself over Jeongguk's body, pressing his clothed chest against the boy's naked back. Then he secured his arms over Jeongguk's waist and gently guided them both down onto the couch.

"Did I hurt you...?" he whispered over his ear, brushing the boy's bangs back with his long fingers. Seeing the boy tremble like this only meant that V had been rough with him, and as always he'd have something to apologize for, even though he wasn't quite sure what it was that he'd done wrong. Or rather, what V had done wrong.

It was stressful. Made his heart sink into his stomach. Just thinking about the ways he could've hurt someone he cared about without even knowing would keep him up at night, at times. So naturally, he anticipated the boy's answer with a nervous gaze, and watched as Jeongguk raised his head to look up at him.

"N-Not really.." The boy smiled gently, starry eyes shining back at him. Taehyung's lips parted. Something seemed different about Jeongguk today, since he last saw him. He wasn't sure what it was, but he could tell by his eyes. The way they seemed to give doting sparkles, lips curled in a subtly fond smile. "It only really hurt for like a second. You're just big.."

No, it wasn't like he was in subspace again. Jeongguk wasn't overly obedient or clinging to him but rather, the tone of his voice seemed that little bit more affectionate towards him.

Odd.

But more importantly, Taehyung's eyes quickly fixated upon Jeongguk's lip, the corner of it a bright red.

"You're bleeding.." he reached to wipe gently at the bit of blood that had accumulated, brows lowering in a frown. He knew very well, the way V liked to leave his mark on others. He had a bad habit of biting hard enough to draw blood, although Taehyung himself would feel too bad for hurting anyone in such a way.

He leaned forward and pecked the younger's nose. "I'm sorry..." Taehyung whispered, "Really sorry, bun."

Jeongguk gave a soft giggle when Taehyung kissed his nose again. "It's okay, really..." he reassured, although the older couldn't help but notice the way his voice sounded. Hoarse. A bit tired, maybe. Perhaps from all the moaning he'd been shouting. "I'm okay now, so... You can finish."

He made a movement to try and kneel up on the couch again, but Taehyung was quick to stop him.

"It's alright.." He urged the boy to sit back down. "We can stop here."

Jeongguk raised a brow, a pout forming on his lips. "But... You haven't cum yet..."

Taehyung scoffed out a laugh at the words he was used to hearing every time he would return to these odd scenarios V seemed to get a kick out of leaving them in. He glanced to the side and saw bits of white spills over the couch.

"But you did, so... It's alright." He hummed, released his grip on the boy's dainty wrist. Jeongguk blinked twice and, without warning, suddenly reached to take hold of Taehyung's erection. The older lowered his gaze down to the boy's hand over his cock, and then back up at Jeongguk's eyes that now held determination.

"I'm going to make you cum," Jeongguk huffed out. "Is that okay with you?"

Taehyung bit down on his bottom lip, holding back the urge to chuckle at how adorably odd this situation was to him. His eyes scanned over Jeongguk's for a moment longer before he finally gave his reply.

"Yes, pretty baby." He leaned forward and landed yet another kiss over the boy's nose. "Of course it is."

And each time Taehyung kissed the tip of his nose, Jeongguk felt like a year was added to his life.

"Good." Jeongguk's cheeks felt warm, but he tried his best to ignore it while he began to slide his hand up and down the man's large erection, watching him with intricate focus. Taehyung's eyes were fixed on the boy's lips, his own slowly parting the longer the seconds rolled by. With each stroke of the younger's hand, Taehyung felt a delicious pleasure shoot up his veins.

He grunted out quietly, eyes falling shut the minute Jeongguk pried his other hand over to fondle Taehyung's balls.

He leaned closer. "How does that feel, hyung..?"

Taehyung's head fell forward until the two men's foreheads collided gently, and Jeongguk could feel rumbles from the older's deep voice when he spoke up.

"Yeah..." Taehyung moaned quietly, inhaling in a gasp. "Really good, baby."

Jeongguk felt his hole pulse at those words, at the way the older sounded just now. Because, fuck, he sounded so sexy trying to fight back how good he felt.

And Jeongguk, himself, was the reason for the man's current state.

He bit his lip, internally thanking Taehyung for still having his eyes closed so that he wouldn't have to see just how red his face must be right then. But Jeongguk kept up his pace, occasionally speeding up and rubbing across Taehyung's tip, and other times he'd slow down to make sure the man anticipated his next movements. To keep him on his toes, which he was sure were curling each time Taehyung let out a rumbling grunt.

At one point the older's brows rose quickly, and his massive hand came to wrap over Jeongguk's wrist in one sudden movement. The boy halted his movements immediately, pulled his hand back and looked up at Taehyung, whose eyes slowly fluttered open.

"I-I'm sorry.." Jeongguk opened his palm. "Are you okay..?"

Taehyung shook his head sideways and gently released his grip on the other. "No, that's... I'm fine. You're alright." He hummed lowly, hand coming to touch the boy's chin before a short chuckle left him. "It just felt so good I was getting overwhelmed... Fuck."

Jeongguk blushed, gaze lowering to watch beads of semen begin to gather at Taehyung's slit. "You're close, huh..?" The boy whispered. "I'll go slow."

Taehyung nodded in silence, his stare directly on Jeongguk while the boy resumed his pumping movements over the man's cock. Taehyung's fingers traveled from Jeongguk's chin, back around his neck, then up to clasp over strands of his hair. And Jeongguk returned eye contact, watched as the older began closing in on him, more and more, until their lips finally clashed, and Taehyung's moan went by muffled over Jeongguk's mouth.

The two shared a sluggish kiss, as though they meant to savor every single second they had to taste each other. As though they were tasting each other for the first time. Jeongguk whined quietly, thumb coming to brush over Taehyung's tip, flicking away the precum that had remained there and using it as some sort of lubricant to continue stroking his erection.

After Taehyung's somewhat shaky groan, Jeongguk slid his free hand underneath the other's shirt, reaching up to caress his abdomen and chest area. And that was when he came into contact with a smooth texture, one that made him stop for a moment and pull back.

He let his hand lift up, raising the hem of the older's shirt to reveal a layer of tattoo film over a black tiger inked across his torso.

Jeongguk's brow rose. "You got a tattoo..? When?"

Taehyung bit his lip, lowering his gaze to look at it. "Ah well, um.. Two days ago or so.."

"Two days ago?" Jeongguk narrowed his eyes while observing the inked shape. "But we were together pretty much all day... When did you have the time to go get a tattoo?"

Taehyung looked away, head a bit fuzzy. "Oh right, I meant... Yesterday..."

Truthfully he wasn't sure what day of the week it was nor how long it's been since he was himself around Jeongguk, nor did he really know which one of his alters had been fronting even before V; so he tried his best coming up with some believable story over what he's been up to the past few days. And each time, he could only hope that he didn't sound like some lunatic.

Yet, the younger in front of him seemed to eye him with a confused gaze, blinking slowly as if to process this information.

"Ah..." the younger hummed. "Well it-... It looks good, that's for sure."

"Hm." Taehyung bit his lip. "Thank you."

Jeongguk gave a half smile and resumed his stroking motions over the older's cock; not quite having been prepared for the way Taehyung gave a ragged grunt, cumming not soon after, his abundance of semen staining random spots over Jeongguk's naked body, from head to toe.

※ ※

"And there! That's it!" Jimin piped up while he leaned back against the cushioned couch in his apartment; back curving, arms stretched out. "We're done with our project!"

A small smile curled over Yoongi's lips from where he sat beside the boy. "Now all we have to do is present it," he stretched his arms out as well, only forward instead of up, and mirrored the blond's actions by leaning back. There was a short pause, and the older spoke again. "You know, I'm actually kind of sad we finished already."

Jimin cocked a brow up. "What? Who'd wanna keep doing all this tedious work?" he snorted, head turning to face the other.

"I didn't mind it," Yoongi responded simply. "I got to spend all that time with you, after all."

Jimin slowly pressed his lips to a thin line, hand moving to close the laptop that remained over his thighs. "That's-..." he looked away, cheeks becoming warm, "So cheesy."

"But it's true."

The blond boy stole a glance at the other and faced forward again. "Well don't be so dramatic," he huffed, "Now that we know each other we can just, make plans to see each other again. No project to work on this time. Isn't it better this way?"

Yoongi remained silent, fingers tapping over his lap in rhythmic touches. With a lowered head, he stared mindlessly at the carpet.

"You'd... see me again?" His question was quiet, a bit more timid than Jimin had been expecting, which had only made the older seem that much more adorable in his eyes.

"Of course, dumbass," Jimin grinned, head now rested fully against the couch top, gaze fixated on the ceiling. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

The blond heard a short chuckle, and then silence came over the two again. A comfortable one. One that Jimin felt he could remain in, close his eyes, feel at ease in. His cheeky grin slowly faded into somewhat of a relaxed expression, and when he turned his head, he took quick notice of how Yoongi had scooted closer to him. Jimin gently lifted his head, returning the eye contact the older was giving him, those eyes distracting him from thoughts of anything else.

And before he knew it, firm hands were at his chin, and Yoongi's face was closing in on him.

It was all so sudden; Jimin let out a quiet breath in shock, eyes widening while Yoongi's lowered shut. It only took a matter of seconds and the two men's lips brushed up against each other's in a gentle embrace. The blond boy hesitantly closed his eyes, returned the kiss that the older had locked him in because, truthfully, Yoongi's lips were sweet. They were soft, unlike anything Jimin had really expected.

Then again, Yoongi himself was someone who kept surprising him.

He was a vicious gang captain, but also studious. Could be rude and dismissive to others, but nice and gentle to him. Truly, unlike anything Jimin could've expected.

And there he was again, surprising him by pulling him into an adoring kiss. One unrushed, free from ill intent.

It was lovely. But once again, these weren't the pair of lips Jimin wanted so desperately to kiss.

He laid a hand over Yoongi's shoulder, lightly prying him away and breaking the kiss that had left them both breathless.

The older fluttered his eyes open to look at him, his usually calm expression hinted at a bit of dismay.

"I'm sorry..." Jimin whispered under his breath, head down, unable to look the other man in the eyes. He felt his body tremble, a guilt rushing him as he prepared himself to speak the words he wished he wouldn't have to say. "I'm... in love with someone else.."

Yoongi blinked once, then scoffed out a short breath. Much to Jimin's surprise, he was quick to give his reply.

"Why?"

Jimin's brow rose, heart beat accelerated. "Huh..?"

"Why?" Yoongi repeated, face remained stagnant. "The guy you're in love with has no interest in you."

Jimin's lips parted, a quiet exhale leaving him at those words. "W-What are you talking about...?" he uttered. "You don't even know who the guy is."

Yoongi gave a dry laugh. "Of course I do. It's obvious. Jung Hoseok, no? I mean, the man's in Bangtan, too, so... I would know. Plus I see the way you look at him at school."

The blond fumbled his fingers together, lips quivering. When he didn't say anything, Yoongi continued.

"Don't you think it's time to move on and give someone else a chance...?"

Jimin squeezed his sweaty palms together and lifted his head, turned to look at the wall. "I..."

The older watched him in scrutinizing focus, eyes settled over the blond's cute, flushed cheeks. Despite how distressed the boy seemed, something about it was endearing; it showed how big his heart was, and knowing such a thing only made Yoongi want to hold him in his embrace more and more.

But soon enough, came Jimin's answer, leaving the older man at a loss for words.

"I-I just..." Jimin sniffled. "I can't..."

※ ※

Jeongguk stood near the food court, hands together, eyes skimming the crowds of people who walked from left to right strolling through the mall area. He slumped his shoulders against the wall and reached to move his scarf further around his neck, ensuring he was covered properly. Not only because it was rather cold out, but because there were clear markings on his skin that a certain handsome man had left on him.

Speaking of said handsome man, Jeongguk wondered when it was that Taehyung would arrive. He had received his text message during his class earlier asking to meet up at the nearby mall, and despite the rather sudden request, Jeongguk would jump at any chance to be around him regardless.

So now, he waited.

Standing against the side of a wall of some colourful store, he decided to do some people watching. Began to count how many adults walked by with children, how many teenagers were fooling around at the prime time of their youth.

Jeongguk used to be just like that.

As a kid, his mother would surprise him by taking him to the mall after school. He vividly remembered holding her hand the entire time, window shopping, occasionally entering in and out of stores that his mother would need to buy things from, and then after they would sit down at the food court and call his father, when he'd go on his lunch break. Times used to be so simple back then. His biggest worries would be when mama would arrive to pick him up from school, and when papa would return from work. His biggest pains would be dumb injuries he'd get from falling off his bike, or running through the playground so fast after eating.

Watching the rowdy teenagers skip on by reminded him of those times, too. How happy he'd been to have his best friend still be in the same classes as him. He and Jimin had managed to stay inseparable, even through making it to college.

And then there was Seojun.

Seojun was quickly enamoured by the doe eyed boy, and Jeongguk remembered that giddy feeling of being pursued. How Seojun would make him blush with random compliments, or holding his hand and making bold confessions reminding him that he liked him.

Innocent, youthful love.

But Jeongguk, himself, wasn't sure how to pursue someone. Seojun had been the one to confess his feelings, the one who fell in love first, who took action in making sure Jeongguk would learn to love him back. And yet, now that Jeongguk was the one who'd fallen first, for the first time in his life, he had no idea how to take action. Didn't know much about chasing after the one you love.

The fear of rejection loomed behind him like a permanent shadow.

"Did I keep you waiting?"

A thunderous voice made Jeongguk jump up like a bunny found by its predator, a quiet squeal leaving him as he flung his head to the side to see Kim Taehyung staring back at him.

"O-Oh! N-No, not-... Not really, I w-was just a little early..." Jeongguk replied, hand placed over his chest to calm his pulsing heart beat. A wild grin appeared over Taehyung's lips.

"Did I startle you? My apologies," he said in amusement, hand digging to his pocket while he began to stroll past the store Jeongguk had waited beside, assuming the younger would follow after him; which he did.

"It's alright, I'm just easily startled.." Jeongguk laughed nervously, a light flush on his cheeks.

"You seemed deep in thought about something," Taehyung spoke, the depth of his voice making the young one shudder. "Almost called out to you from afar but it didn't seem like you'd hear me."

Jeongguk swallowed. "I was just spacing out.."

"Over what?"

The boy sped up to reach Taehyung's side as they walked, eyes curiously scanning over each store they passed.

"Just... life, I guess.." Jeongguk mumbled, then cleared his throat. "W-Where are we going anyway..?"

Taehyung gave off a hum and then turned to look at the boy beside him. "We'll, I'd like you to do me a little favor..."

Jeongguk swiveled his head to return the man's gaze, lips pressing firmly together as he watched Taehyung's dark eyes piercing back at him.

"A favor?"

"Yes." Taehyung faced forward. "Concerning one of my exes."

Jeongguk blinked repeatedly. What? he thought, His ex?

"Yerin...?" He let out softly.

Taehyung's eye twitched, voice seemingly darker. "No."

The boy nervously nodded, anxious thoughts swarming his head. "Oh."

He thought Taehyung didn't like relationships. Didn't pursue them. Perhaps he felt more free not being tied down to anyone. Jeongguk could understand that, and yet it frightened him because there would really be no point in confessing to someone who didn't seek love.

For some strange reason, the memory of Taehyung seamlessly approaching that red haired woman a few days ago, asking her for a lighter; it was all too calculated. Taehyung knew how to charm his way through any situation, Jeongguk was sure of that. But he didn't quite like the strong feeling of jealousy that would rise up his veins whenever he'd think about Taehyung with anybody else.

"Hyung..?" Jeongguk let out.

"Yeah."

The words left the younger's mouth before he could even begin to process them, let along restrict them from leaving him. "Do you still sleep around...?" His voice wavered. "Y-You know, with o-other people?"

There was a pause in which Jeongguk didn't dare turn to look at him.

"Besides you?"

"Yeah.. Besides me..."

Another pause. Though it lasted only a moment before Taehyung gave a clear response.

"Of course I do."

Jeongguk nearly stopped in his tracks, but the jolt that had shot down his stomach gave him the push he needed to keep up with the man walking beside him.

"O-Oh..."

"Why do you ask?"

He gnawed at his bottom lip. "No, I just-... I thought —"

"That we were together?" Taehyung belched out a loud laugh, hand digging into Jeongguk's hair to ruffle on it. "That what you thought? Aw, that's adorable."

Jeongguk's hands trembled, so he grabbed at his bag strap tightly in seek for some stability.

"You just got out of some bullshit relationship," Taehyung continued, his wide grin now long gone. "And I refuse to be your rebound, Jeon."

The boy's eyes enlarged. "Wha— rebound? N-No, it's not like that, I-"

The older cut him off. "We're here."

Jeongguk stopped and looked up from where they stood at the corner of a turn, facing a large Veronica's Secret store. He timidly watched as two girls stood out front, smoking cigarettes and giggling over something Jeongguk couldn't quite hear from this distance. He gulped quietly and suddenly Taehyung was holding up a small delicate bag, that read 'happy birthday' on the side, towards him; something he hadn't even realized the man was carrying with him until just now.

"The girl with the brown jacket." Taehyung's voice beside him made the younger shiver. "Can you give this to her?"

Jeongguk glanced between the older's void eyes, down to the birthday bag, and finally the two girls a few feet away from them. "W-Why can't you g-give it to her..?"

Taehyung straightened his shoulders and gave a deep sigh. "She's... got a new man and all, you know.." He looked away. "One that wouldn't be too happy to hear we've met up, or something along the sort. So I just want to give her a birthday gift and call it a day."

Jeongguk's lips slowly parted.

"Will you do me the favor or not? She and her friends don't know you, so it should be fine if you do it."

The boy looked down at the bag again, a compressed feeling in his chest. He anxiously reached to grab the dainty strings, and Taehyung let him take hold of the bag.

"W-What do I tell her?"

Taehyung cracked a small grin and patted the boy's head. "Mm... you go tell her your name. Introduce yourself, tell her that Kim Taehyung sent you. Give her a polite bow. A good 'have a nice day' and return back here."

"That's it...?" Jeongguk looked up with hesitant eyes.

Taehyung's smirk only widened. "That's it."

The boy gave a nervous exhale and nodded, turning on his toes and stepping out from the corner they had been loitering at. He inhaled a long breath and gave careful steps towards the two girls who seemed to be carrying quite a bit of shopping bags from their time at any given store they could have shopped at. Jeongguk approached them at a quick speed, only to slow down once he was at close proximity.

The two girls noticed his presence and quieted their giggles, turned their heads and watched him arrive at a five feet distance, flashing a timid smile.

"U-Uhm.. Hello..." he gave a small wave. "Hi, um... I'm Jeon Jeongguk... Uh, K-Kim Taehyung sent me..."

The two girl's confused expressions were suddenly wiped over with excitement at the mention of the handsome man's name.

"Ah, Taehyungie did?" The woman with the brown coat, Taehyung's ex, piped up.

"Y-Yes..." Jeongguk raised the small birthday bag for her to see. "He wishes you a happy birthday. Here you go.." He held it out towards her with a bow, and the woman grabbed it with a light giggle.

"You're so cute," she smiled. "Are you new, perhaps?"

Jeongguk raised his head. "New? Um, like in Seoul..?" He cleared his throat. "Well, not so much anymore but yes."

He watched as the two girls exchanged glances and burst into sudden, soft laughter. "Ha! Seoul, right, right! I see. Well, good luck out there, Jeonggukie!"

The boy blinked in slight bewilderment, his small smile lingered on his lips. "T-Thank you. See you around.." He bowed again, then waved them off and turned to rush back towards the corner that Taehyung was waiting for him at.

He could feel his heart rate begin to slow down now that the exchange was over, and was relieved to see Taehyung standing right where he'd left him, a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, good job, Jeon! Thanks for the help." The man snickered softly, slapping a hand repeatedly at the younger's back. Jeongguk smiled sheepishly and corrected his posture while adjusting his school bag over his shoulder.

"N-No problem..." He chuckled. "It wasn't as scary as I thought..." Jeongguk then began walking beside the older again once Taehyung resumed his stroll back down the path they came from. "What was in the bag anyway?"

"Ah, her gift?" Taehyung hummed, and Jeongguk gave a short nod. "Oh, it was..." The air went still for a moment. Jeongguk waited patiently for the other to finish his sentence, the sound of distinct chatter all around them fading into the background. "It was only some drugs I owed her."

Jeongguk's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, his walking speed beginning to slow down. "Wh—... What...?"

He heard the older cackle softly in front of him. "She's not my ex, nor is it her birthday.." Taehyung stuffed his hands into his large pockets as he walked in leisure. "I guess you could say she's one of Bangtan's customers, and you..." He turned to face Jeongguk. "You just did your first drug dealing mission, sweetheart."

The younger's jaw dropped, feet now coming to a complete halt as he stared back at Taehyung's cheeky grin that had only seemed to get more and more wide the longer he gazed at Jeongguk's stunned expression, who was just slowly coming to realize he had just committed a very illegal crime.

Taehyung gutted out another roaring laugh.

"Welcome to the underground world, Jeon Jeongguk."

※ ※

Seokjin poured a fresh cup of coffee over a fancy mug, on a table where Namjoon sat beside. They were currently at the biggest staff room located deep in Abyss Karaoke where, of course, only captains were allowed in. A room where most of the captains' secret gang meetings took place.

Currently, it was only the two of them. The men were going about their business in comfortable silence while waiting for other captains to show. A softcover book was propped upon Namjoon's hand, while Seokjin remained busy cleaning up beside the coffee machine.

Soon enough there was a rattling of keys, and the door swung open. Min Yoongi stepped inside with a wine glass in one hand, the other returning the keys to his pocket while he let the door shut.

"Shit, I'm the first one here?" The man mumbled, moving to take a seat at the couch near the wall.

Namjoon hummed without looking up from his book.

"Misun's waiting for me outside at the lobby, by the way," Yoongi looked up at Seokjin. "I just started my little babysitting job."

The eldest gave a short laugh. "Don't go insane now. We'll need you for these upcoming missions."

"I'll try not to. Any news on her baby daddy?"

Seokjin shook his head. "Not yet."

Then suddenly, with a banging noise, the door swinging back open had interrupted the lagged conversation; and Taehyung burst into the room before letting the door slam shut.

All pairs of three eyes were on him as he went straight towards the table Seokjin stood beside, and began to pour himself a bit of coffee.

"Well hello to you too," Yoongi spoke up with a raised brow, which Taehyung only responded to by laughing loudly.

"Fuck... Fuck, you guys would not believe the shit I just pulled today."

The three men all eyed each other in silence.

"What happened?" Seokjin then spoke up.

Taehyung messily returned the coffee carafe to its place and reached to slip in sugar, a string of quiet chuckles leaving his lips. "You know that girl, who paid in advance for her drug delivery?"

"Sure," the eldest nodded. "That was due today and you said you'd delivery it to her."

"Mhm. Well, I did the discreet birthday bag shit as to not look suspicious in such a public place, except..." He began to stir his coffee. "I made Jeon Jeongguk do the actual delivering."

The three men were eyeing each other again, and Namjoon slowly lowered the book from his face.

"Can you believe that shit?!" Taehyung cackled. "I made the son of a fucking policeman do some illegal drug dealer shit. I mean— pfff!!! Fuck, that's genius. I'm a genius."

Namjoon slipped his bookmark over the page he was on and shut the book. "But, he's not even in Bangtan." The man's voice was firm. "Did you make him say his real name?"

Taehyung turned around to look at him, a crooked smirk evident on his lips. "Sure did. Now a buyer knows his name.. And soon, so will every gang in the area."

Namjoon abruptly stood up, scooted his chair back against the wall, his fiery gaze settling over Taehyung. "What the fuck, V?! Why on earth would you do that shit? You just dragged that poor innocent boy into unnecessary danger!"

Taehyung's wild grin quickly faded, a dark look replacing it while he let the small spoon he'd used to stir his coffee cling down over the mug.

"Who the fuck cares?" he scoffed. "He's already been around me for a while now. Isn't he practically affiliated with Bangtan?"

"No," Namjoon cut in. "As far as the underground world was concerned he was just some boy you've been around because he goes to your school. Now you've made sure people start learning his name as some kind of official member of Bangtan. You're dragging him into the gang world. Giving them reasons to be mindful of him. He wasn't a threat to anyone before, and now they're gonna start treating him as one."

Taehyung gazed at him, unimpressed. "You're really... fucking overreacting, Kim Namjoon."

"You know I'm not. That's not some shit you should've done. His affiliation with us is gonna make him a target," Namjoon grunted. "And with all that shit rising up with the Acre gang, you chose a real bad timing to drag him into all this —"

Before Namjoon could complete his sentence, there was a loud crashing sound, and he watched as Seokjin flinched at the corner of the room. He pressed his lips into a thin line, quick to realize that what had caused that piercing noise was Taehyung, who had swung his mug of coffee at the wall, causing it to shatter to pieces, and the floor to stain with the hot liquid.

The room fell silent while the leader of the gang and his top ranking captain stared each other down with rage in their eyes.

"Shut the fuck up," Taehyung seethed under his breath. "You really don't know shit."

Namjoon blinked back at him with a blank stare, seemingly as if trying to process his words. He blinked again, fists clenched, refusing to let himself get provoked by the man in front of him. Then, Namjoon calmly moved to the side where there was a pack of water bottles on the floor. He reached to grab one, unscrewed the cap and without warning he flung the bottle towards Taehyung's face, splashing him with all its water contents.

"Don't speak to me like that."

Taehyung brought his hands up a bit, eyes shut, jaw dropped, feeling himself become drenched from head to toe from the water attack.

Seokjin and Yoongi watched in bewilderment, not daring to interfere between the two men in front of them, neither verbally nor physically.

There was a chilling stillness that fell upon the room for a long few seconds, Namjoon's commanding gaze fixated on Taehyung, watching while drops of water slipped to the ground beneath him. Taehyung then slowly looked up, lifted his head to return eye contact again, an eerie darkness inside the pupils seeping through his wet bangs.

"What the... fuck did you do that for...?" Taehyung's voice chilled the bones of the other two witnessing the events unfolding in front of them, yet Namjoon kept his calm demeanor.

And when the older showed no intent on giving him a response, Taehyung suddenly dashed forward, grabbed Namjoon by his shirt's collar, and swung a punch directly across his face. Just as he did so, Taehyung simultaneously released his hold on him and let the impact of the blow carry the older backwards until Namjoon was hitting the wall behind them harshly, swiftly slipping down to the floor.

"I'll speak to you however the fuck I want, asshole," Taehyung spat, landed one last kick over the gang leader's chest, then turned around to stomp directly towards the door and exit the room with one loud bang.

Yoongi and Seokjin's heads went from the door towards Namjoon, who grunted while he sat up against the wall, and the eldest of the three dashed towards the gang leader and leaned down beside him.

"Holy shit, Joonie, are you alright?" Seokjin spoke hastily, running a gentle hand across the man's face.

Namjoon gave a curt laugh. "This is nothing," he huffed. "More importantly, are you okay?" He moved to grab the older's hand gently.

Seokjin lowered his brows. "Of course, why wouldn't I be..? You're the one who got —"

"Your arm's bleeding," Namjoon whispered, padding his thumb over a small spot on the male's arm oozing a light stream of blood. Seokjin gasped softly as he came to realize his own injury. "I saw one of the broken pieces of ceramic hit you.."

Seokjin swallowed in a gulp and shook his head, reaching to secure Namjoon's arm around his shoulders to help him stand up. "It's only a scratch. I'm more worried about you."

"Yeah.." Yoongi spoke up, slowly rising from the couch with a concerned expression on his face. "I don't understand why you don't discipline that kid. He'll only get more rebellious against you. You should've fought back or... put him in his place."

Namjoon inaudibly thanked the elder for the help, then patted down his shirt, a complex look in his eyes. "No, I..." he sighed. "I've never disciplined Taehyung, or any of his alters, using violence. Never even raised a finger against them outside of training. And I refuse to start now."

"Why not?" Yoongi huffed. "I really don't think he'll listen to reason here. At least V certainly won't."

Namjoon kept quiet, and then the three began to hear footsteps reapproach the room again. They all glanced at each other, and then towards the door, watching as it burst back open and Taehyung returned striding past it.

He made a beeline directly toward Namjoon, and the other two witnesses tensed up before coming to realize the man wasn't back here looking to fight again.

Instead Taehyung gripped at Namjoon's shoulders, bowed his head forward and pressed his forehead against the man's chest. Namjoon blinked down at him, noting how the other male's body seemed to tremble a little.

"I-I'm so s-sorry, hyung..." Taehyung let out in a weak voice, fingers squeezing down on him. "I'm r-really sorry... I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm r-really sorry..."

A gentle smile formed over Namjoon's lips while he wrapped his large arms over the younger and pulled him into an embrace, chin propping upon the top of Taehyung's head. "Shh.. It's alright, kid. I know you didn't mean it."

"It was him, not me..." Taehyung's voice wavered, the guilt of having hurt someone incredibly important to him began to consume him. "It was him..."

"I know."

"I really didn't mean to, hyung. Really."

"Hey, hey, hey, I know, Tae, I know. But I'm fine, see?" Namjoon pulled back to show the male a wide grin, "You think a kid like you can overpower me? Please." He leaned down to peck the younger's forehead once. "So relax." Then twice, "I'm as bulletproof as they come." Three times. "Okay?"

Taehyung gave a quiet sniffle and nodded. Namjoon merely laughed under his breath, a fond look on his face while he pulled the younger back into the hug, eyeing Yoongi and Seokjin who stood in the distance with relieved expressions.

"Now," the gang leader cleared his throat, fingers lightly brushing over Taehyung's hair. "There's some shit we need to discuss."

✱ ✱ ✱

{ A / N : }

yes, i censored Victoria with Veronica 🙄 we don't stan

also, happy 2022 everyone :) the world's still really shitty right now but i hope this year will be better for all of us.

on another note, i believe i mentioned planning for around 30 chapters for PART 2, since i didn't want to make the book too long... but there's so much i want to cover and i really don't want to limit myself. so i hope you guys don't mind a long book... 😳

i'm still predicting the epilogue (which would be PART 3) to be around the same length as the prologue (PART 1), and i'll try not to make PART 2 reach over 50 chapters. if it does, i'm sorry in advance (ha ha ha)

that being said, i'm curious to hear how you all are enjoying the story so far. i've been getting more and more busy lately so i haven't had time to refine my chapters as much as i'd like to. it's making me hate my writing a little >:( i'm hoping plot-wise the book is fine, though.

once again, happy new year and please take care of yourselves! you're all amazing and strong, even if you don't feel like it. TRUST me.

thank u so much for reading this far 🥺💜💜