Goohee was a man that most certainly did not break his promises. Two days before the scheduled week of action was finished Jungkook received a series of photographs stored within an envelope in the mail, delivered up to the penthouse suite by one of his men personally. It had been unmarked with no address or names on it save for a single ink stamp in the corner, one that the other man always used: a small sloop with a solo mast that was the insignia of the Bae family. The contents of the envelope were glossy and professionally printed shots of the absolutely destroyed remains of Kim Jintae. Opening them and seeing the photographs, it was almost like opening a Christmas present for him; tearing the paper as if it was a ribbon and pulling the printed images out to stare at them gleefully.

The contents of the envelope were most certainly not for the fainthearted.

Strangely enough Jintae had no upper head left on the photographs. There was literally nothing discernable left, the sight of which was quite simply astounding to look at. Jungkook had seen a great deal of gunshot wounds to the head but this was something else. This wasn't a concave section that the bullet had punched through, this was a fucking explosion . Goohee's joke about his skull fragments being stuck in the ceiling could have very much been true for he could see blood and brain matter all over the walls in a rather magnificent fan pattern. The man had likely been sitting up in the bed when he had been hit, the shot resulting in such a mess. It looked like one of the men might just have shoved the rifle right into his mouth before pulling the trigger judging from the intensity. A long distance shot couldn't have caused such a glorious level of mess, it just had to have been close-range and maybe even a fragmenting bullet just for maximum damage.

Jimin had taken one look at the photograph of his head when he had passed the kitchen table and had backed away rapidly, clearly not wanting to see it ever again. Jungkook had to admit that it was very unpleasant to look at. It made the photographs of what had happened to Woo and the other men look child-friendly. Jintae was lying in bed and his head should have been on the pillow as if he were sleeping except there was nothing more substantial than his lower jaw left of it. Jungkook found it absolutely fascinating to stare at his undisturbed, white and straight lower teeth and then lift his gaze up to the disgusting mass of pulp and bone that was all over the pillows. It wasn't like looking at a real human at all, rather like something out of a film. A bad film at that, one with rather unrealistic violence and gore in it. But looking at the photographs showed that such horrors were rather fitting and not at all exaggerated.

It was actually a rather fun game trying to locate his eyeballs, yet after quite a deep study Jungkook found that he sadly couldn't. Maybe they had been blown across the room for the forensic crews to find? Maybe they had quite simply ruptured like the rest of his head when the bullet had exploded, he wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. Staring at the mess of meat on the pillow Jungkook occasionally located a gleam of white that could have been a tooth or a fragment of skull but no eyes sadly. That was rather unfortunate, for he had wanted to look him in the eyes. Even if it was just on the photograph and not in reality, he would have liked to have been able to look deeply into his glazed over eyes and know that he had beaten him, that he had won this first campaign and that there were more victories to be had. But sadly at the expense of having the man murdered it meant that he didn't get to enjoy that private joy.

Goohee hadn't lied when he had told him that the AK 47 was a strong rifle. There was no way of identifying him from his face only because of the damage. But the other man had been sure to get his men to photograph several other recognisable features as backup to ensure that he knew that it was him. His golden class ring that was exactly the same as his father's save for the engraving inside; his Haedogje Pa tattoo on his upper arm right above an old burn scar; and the most obvious feature was the stoma tube in the base of his throat. That was good, that was proof that the corpse was actually that of Kim Jintae but he really hadn't needed the reassurance. Jungkook trusted Goohee to hire men that would do their job and not lie to him. When he had told him that he would kill Kim Jintae then he knew that the other man would do exactly that, and he even did so within the exact time frame.

"Kim Jintae is dead," Jungkook said as looked up from the fanned out pile of photographs down on the kitchen table. He couldn't help but smile at Jimin, who was standing behind the counter in the midst of preparing orange juice.

"That's wonderful news, darling. Just Kim Jintae?" he asked as he grabbed another half and pressed it down against the juicer, twisting it hard. "Or were any of his traitorous men present?"

"Whoever was in the building with him," Jungkook explained as he looked up from the panned bedroom shot. "Jintae required many carers: nurses, maids, chefs. Whoever got in the way were gunned down too, Haedogje Pa or not." Jimin's lips turned down at this, fingers stopping in the act of grinding the orange down. Clearly he had found hearing this particular fact displeasing, which was of no surprise to him. Jimin could be so very naïve at times, particularly in regards to innocence. "Babe, you know why that had to happen."

"I know it's just..."

"Collateral damage," Jungkook spoke over him. "When Kim Jintae decided to try and assist in my murder he signed himself and those around him up for such retaliation. It might not have been their faults that he acted in such a manner but, what's done is done, yes?"

Jimin made a soft noise in agreement at this, continuing to juice the oranges without looking up at him. Was Jimin upset about something? Was there perhaps something other than Kim's death that was making him look so glum? He was uncertain but he felt that it might just be. He didn't have a clue why he would be however, for there wasn't a single thought that came to mind that he could think of. Jungkook studied him for a moment before looking down at the photographs again, finding this temporary befuddlement rather strange.

Across the suite Taehyung turned in his sleep, making a soft noise as he did and the sheets rustling at his movements. After perhaps a minute of silence he must have woken up for Jungkook heard a rather loud yawn. When he turned to glance over at him he saw Taehyung sitting upright in bed, right arm stretching high above his head and left still down by his side. The other man shifted to climb out of bed, rubbing his eyes roughly as he got to his feet. He stumbled across the suite in the direction of the bathroom and as he passed the kitchen table Jungkook reached out to grab hold of his wrist.

"I've noticed that you're not moving your shoulder," he said as he stood up and reached over to take hold of his upper arm. Jungkook held it out from his body with one hand, pressing the other down on his shoulder joint. He eyed the fresh tattoo for a moment before concentrating on his shoulder, seeing that his skin didn't look irritated but it was dry of ointment so he would need another application.

"It hurts when I try moving it," Taehyung explained, wincing when he applied some slight pressure and tried to roll his shoulder for him. "Feels kinda...tight." Hopefully that was just the result of him not flexing his muscles for over a week rather than something too serious, like the rotator cuff damage that Kang had mentioned that night. "When I'm doped up it doesn't hurt but I still can't move it so good."

"I'm sure it's nothing serious, Tae," Jimin said with something close to cautious optimism. "As soon as you're fully healed it'll be fine, yes?"

"I hope so," Taehyung mumbled, voice still sounding rather heavy with sleep. "After my shot I can try and exercise it, I guess? Try and loosen the muscle and- what?" Jungkook glanced between them both to see that the other man was looking at Taehyung with a rather disagreeable expression. "What's wrong, Jimin?"

"Nothing's wrong, Tae, you're just...not getting a shot right now," Jimin said in a quiet voice. "There's none left. I checked the vial this morning and it's all been used up, it was only a small supply and went a lot quicker than it should have... but it's all gone now. You don't need that junk anymore, the course is finished, mmm?"

"But, Jimin, I need-"

"Shower and food now ," Jimin argued as he grabbed his elbow and pulled him across the suite. "No more drugs, you need to clean yourself up. I'm serious." The noises coming out of Taehyung's mouth were both pathetic but also worrying. To Jungkook's ears they sounded hungry and needy: desperate. "No."

"Give him OxyContin," Jungkook said over the rim of his glass. "A single pill, that should curb him over for a few hours."

"If I give him OxyContin then I'm not giving him any more morphine, darling," Jimin argued. Standing beside him Taehyung just carried on mumbling under his breath as he rubbed at his eyes. The other man was like a pet, perhaps even a child, that they were having a disagreement over. Stuck in the middle, in other words. "You heard what Yoongi said, I'm not giving him any more even if you get another vial. Tae has already had enough."

"Just give him the pill," Jungkook retorted as he put the glass down and got to his feet. "Now isn't the time to discuss such matters."

Jimin seemed like he was going to disagree with this order but after a few seconds he pulled Taehyung into the bathroom without a word. Good, now was not the time for a disagreement. Taehyung could have OxyContin just to appease him for several hours, to fight off the cravings for the stronger morphine. Jimin was not one to talk, after all he knocked back several Valium and glasses of champagne every single day. If Taehyung's increasing dependency was starting to look bad then what did that say about Jimin's? He knew that he would need to contact Yoongi at some point to sort this issue out, find something safe to wean them both off the hardcore shit with, but right now he was much too busy to even attempt it.

They could both get doped up on methadone for a few days and cleanse their systems just as soon as he had sorted out this current Haedogje Pa clusterfuck.

Jungkook went up the stairs to get up onto the first floor, crossing the landing to enter his office. As soon as he was inside he unlocked his phone, pressing it to his ear and moving to sit in his chair. As he settled down into it he listened to the dial tone and after a few seconds his father answered his call.

"Daddy," Jungkook almost crooned, "Bae kept his promise and Kim Jintae is dead. I have the photographs, he's finally been dealt with."

" It is disheartening that such news about Jintae is now a blessing, " his father said in a low voice. " Not too long ago this would have been terrible news, but Jintae overstayed his welcome and he caused his own demise. Good, Bae did well. "

"Mmm, today is a very good day," Jungkook said with a nod. "I doubt that it can get much better. Any updates on Lee?"

" Yes, as expected the man was indeed in Sapporo and Lee is now in our possession, " his father explained down the line. " He's being held in a den in Seongbuk-gu, get your men to collect him and take him wherever you want him. " Jungkook shifted in his seat, leaning back so that the chair groaned from the movement. Oh this was good, this was too good. He could hardly believe how perfect this was all going. " With Jintae dead, you're closing the net around Master Kim. "

"Yes, he's getting so entangled now he won't be able to escape," Jungkook remarked with a wide grin as he stared up at the ceiling. "This is all working so very well, I can hardly believe it."

" Yes it is, so don't take advantage of such luck, Jungkook, " his father intoned and that was enough to bring him back down from his short-lived elation. This always happened with the man, he always dragged him down just as things were starting to get exciting. " Get Lee, do what you need to do and report back with whatever information you can find out. "

"OK, daddy," Jungkook said as he sat back upright in his chair. "What are you doing today?"

" I'm meeting with several government officials in the morning, in Gangnam-gu, a police informant in the early afternoon that should hopefully yield more information on planned customs raids in Incheon, in Mapo-gu. Then, by the evening, I should hopefully have information on Master Kim from several men. "

"Let's hope so, and let's also hope that I get information from Lee," he said before saying his goodbyes and ending the call. From the open doorway he could hear the sound of the shower running and Jungkook dropped his gaze to study the tattoo on his knuckles. His skin was still a little sensitive but it was nothing in comparison to what the lotus tattoo had felt like. Then he turned his attention back to his phone, dialling another familiar number and holding the device against his ear.

"Daewoo, you have an item to collect for me from Seongbuk-gu," Jungkook explained. "Deliver it to Gwangjin-gu; you remember the warehouse addresses, yes?"

" Yeah, boss, " Daewoo said down the line. " We'll have the item ready for you by...1pm. "

"Bring the project with you, I think it's time that we checked its...effectiveness." Jungkook ended the call and sat back in his chair again to stare up at the ceiling. When he heard the sound of running water cutting off several minutes later he got out of the chair and left the office.

It took Taehyung a little longer than usual to get ready but considering how well everything was currently going Jungkook didn't care. They still had to wait a couple of hours before leaving to ensure that Lee was moved across the districts. So he left Jimin to give him a nice dosage of OxyContin even when the other man told them it wasn't enough, that it was too weak, and then he got dressed and ate the food that Jimin placed on the table in front of him. It seemed that he really didn't want to but Taehyung forced himself to do so under Jimin's near constant gaze from across the suite. As soon as he was finished Taehyung shifted to place his head down on the table in a rather resigned fashion and so Jimin moved to sit down on the bed and start grooming Wangbi.

"Ah, Wangbi," he almost sang at the cat, happy smile on his face. "If only my hair was as soft as your fur, princess." Wangbi's tail gave a soft twitch at the praise and she carried on purring as he carefully preened her fur with the comb. The metal teeth disappeared into the golden speckled lengths and gently tugged out any possible knots. "I should enter you in pageants, hmm? You would win all of the ribbons."

"What would be the point?" Jungkook retorted. "She would obviously win and besides; who would possibly look at her when you're in the room?" Jimin laughed softly at this, switching the metal toothed comb for the bristle brush instead. "You would win all of the ribbons."

"You could tie me up with ribbons," he agreed with a nod, the brush smoothing down the cat's fur and leaving it glossy and silken soft. He quickly brushed her from head to tail and Jungkook glanced over to look at Taehyung. The other man was still lying slumped over on the table. Whether he wasn't feeling well or he was sulking from the fact he hadn't been given any morphine it was hard to tell. "And speaking of ribbons, time to change your collar, princess."

Jimin put the brush down and he got to his feet, hastily wiping away stray fur that might have landed on his thighs free. Then he was crossing the floor to head in the direction of the stairs. He disappeared into the bedroom and barely a second later Jungkook heard movement from across the suite. He turned his head just in time to see Taehyung getting upright and going around the kitchen counter. The other man hunkered down out of sight and he heard a series of plastic snapping sounds, that of box clasps being opened. When he straightened up again there was something in his hand.

Taehyung had just snatched the case out of the medical box, the one that contained the empty vial according to Jimin. If the vial was even still inside of it and hadn't been tossed down the disposal chute at some point this morning. Jungkook watched him intently, wondering what the hell he was even attempting. Taehyung looked up and held his gaze, freezing for perhaps a second before shoving the case inside his jacket, right into the inner pocket. The other man gave him a look that almost seemed to tell him that it was their little secret, and so Jungkook returned it with a nod.

Let Taehyung steal the case. If Jimin had told him that there was no morphine than Jungkook knew that there was no morphine. Either it really had ran out or Jimin had decided to toss it whilst they had been asleep. Whatever the outcome Jimin was telling the truth, so Taehyung should have grabbed the bottle of OxyContin instead. At least he could get doped up on those pills.

When Jimin bounded down the stairs a moment later, pink diamante collar in hand, Taehyung was already sitting at the table again. It was as if nothing had even happened and judging from the oblivious expression on his face Jimin had no clue that he had went into the medical box to collect it. He just sat back down on the bed, unfastened the soft blue collar around Wangbi's throat and fastened the new one in place instead. Then he hunkered forward to press a kiss on the flat plane of her skull between her ears; the final touch.

"All finished~"

The drive to Gwangjin-gu seemed to take much longer than it should have, making Jungkook almost wriggle on the seat in anticipation. Beside him Taehyung didn't even blink but rather stayed still, staring out of the front window with a rather blank expression on his face. It was no doubt the result of the medication, numbing him to everything. Or at least Jungkook hoped that it was numbing him to everything. The last thing that he needed was the other man starting to get withdrawal symptoms in the middle of this interrogation, for it would most certainly cause trouble. So long as the cravings were gone it didn't really matter if Taehyung was high or not, all that he needed to be was in control and able to think straight without vomiting all over himself and pitching a fit in the warehouse.

"Taehyung," Jungkook said to break the silence. At the mention of his name Taehyung turned his head to look at him. "Is Jimin upset with me?"

"...What'd you mean, Jungkook?" Taehyung asked as he studied him. Judging from his expression he was confused by his question. Was it strange for him to ask such a thing?

"I just get the feeling that I've upset him somehow," Jungkook retorted as he shifted on his seat, crossing one leg over the other. "His demeanour this morning came across to me as...upset, or maybe sad."

"Have you asked him how he feels, like, have you spoken to Jimin at all about this?"

"...No."

"Jungkook, d'you ever talk to Jimin about things?" Taehyung asked in a rather soft voice. So he told him that he did, of course he did. "I mean, other than business and that kinda shit. D'you ever just talk to him about his day, ask how he's feeling, share things like that?"

Jungkook stared at the passenger-seat headrest in complete silence whilst Taehyung spoke. He could hear what he was saying and yet he seemed to find his words hard to follow. Was he supposed to do things like that; talk to the other man as if he was his fucking wife? But Jimin had never said anything to him like that before either; had never mentioned feeling sad or angry with him. Jungkook had just assumed that Jimin hadn't been feeling such things because he had never mentioned such things. Was that also something he was supposed to know? This was rather strange to him because he had never seen his parents act in such a fashion. There has been no such discussions, no sitting around talking about their days and how they were feeling. Just...business. His mother and father had always been discussing business whenever he had been present; over meals, in the evening hours when he had been playing with his latest batch of imported toys.

Jungkook turned his head to look at him, studying the other man intently. It seemed that Taehyung was talking about a very normal occurrence, one that apparently everyone else knew about. Some strange code of agreed behaviour that Jungkook had never witnessed before. Had his parents done such things? Had his mother and father acted in such a fashion just like everyone seemed to do and he had just simply missed it?

"Jungkook, you're good at reading people, good at reading motives and all of that shit. But you don't have a fucking clue about emotions, d'you?"

"...Should I buy him something?" Jungkook asked after a moment of thought. When he spared a quick glance over at Taehyung he could tell from his expression that that wasn't the question that he was supposed to have asked. But once again he found himself confused. His father had always brought gifts upon visiting the family home, appeasing him of any tantrums and always bringing a smile to his mother's face. Some days Jungkook had heard her screeching down the phone at people, snapping at the slightest thing and almost pulling her hair out at the roots, but when his father had appeared with a designer necklace there had been nothing but smiles and sweetness.

"I think you should just talk to him, Jungkook," Taehyung suggested in that same soft voice.

Yang finally stopped the car in the empty lot after most of an hour on the road, killing the engine and plunging the vehicle into silence. A quick glance out of the window showed the warehouse and no sign of human life for quite some distance. So Jungkook reached into his jacket pocket to collect his gloves and then he got out of the jacket, folding it up neatly to go on the seat.

"The focus of today is to get information first," he said as he pulled one of the gloves on. It rubbed against his tattoo rather annoyingly but he ignored the itchiness. The other man copied him and retrieved his own pair of gloves from inside his suit jacket. "Any method used is suitable, so long as the information is collected. After that point, Lee is a dead man and nothing matters."

Taehyung shrugged his jacket off, wincing ever so slightly as it fell onto the backseat. Then he grabbed his gloves off his knee and got them on, pulling hard. The leather almost creaked as he wrenched the second one on. Jungkook watched him do so and then the other man turned his attention back to his jacket to collect his penknife. Taehyung had been carrying that around for quite some time now, just like the gun. It seemed that he no longer needed to be told when to bring weapons with him for he was already fully prepared for anything.

"You won't need that," he explained as he reached over to pull his hand away. "There are different plans for Lee, you won't need a knife." Taehyung looked confused for a moment before slipping his cigarettes free from the pocket and then he shifted to pop the back door open so he could step out. Jungkook climbed out of the vehicle, slamming the door shut and glancing over the lot. It was empty save for one other vehicle, a black SUV. In the open back there was a bundle of blue tarpaulin, a large red plastic container of gasoline, and various other industrial items.

Jungkook took a deep breath of air, holding it in his lungs. The taste of brine was strong and made the air salty and dry. It would have been a pleasing scent had there not been the underlying tension in the air that screamed 'danger', that made it taste almost sour on his tongue. Beside him Taehyung slipped a stick out of the box with his teeth and shoved the packet into his trouser pocket. His hand wasn't at all shaking as he did it, a drastic change from that first night with Nam when he had been a breathless, shivering mess. As he lit the end Taehyung eyed the gasoline container and then he took a deep drag and breathed the smoke out.

"Lee's probably gonna lie to us," he remarked. "What'd we do if he just keeps lying and denying?"

"That's what torture was invented for," Jungkook retorted as he crossed the lot, the sound of the other man's shoes crunching on the tarmac as he followed him over to the warehouse building.

Jungkook ducked low to grab the metal shutter, wrenching it up to allow them both inside. As soon as Taehyung was inside he let go of the shutter and it hit the flooring with a series of metallic bangs. The warehouse interior was massive but completely bare of machinery save for a rather old-looking but fully functional water pump. There was just one other thing in the room, close to the centre, which was the main focus. On the ceiling there were harsh lights, currently turned on to flood the inside with bright white light because all of the windows were boarded up. Daewoo and Siwoo were present, as was the most important person of the day.

Lee Yoochun was currently strapped to a board, a homemade board with leather restraints nailed in place in various places. Jungkook had had the twins construct it specifically for this purpose, and judging from the visuals alone they had built it perfectly. The large wooden board was several inches thick and it was connected to a pulley system. It looked like a table to most eyes but as soon as one of the levers were pulled it would start lowering down so that Yoochun's head was angled lower than the rest of him: perfect for what he had planned. Sitting right by Siwoo's feet there was a metal watering can, currently empty but ready for use.

"It looks fantastic," Jungkook said as he reached over to run his fingers along the wooden board, completely ignoring Yoochun as he did. "Does it work?"

"Tried and tested," Siwoo explained in his gravelly voice. "It can hold a lot more weight than him, everything works just fine, boss."

"Good," Jungkook finally decided to give Yoochun some attention and what he saw was something close to sheer terror on his face. How welcoming. He briefly wondered if the man had any clue what was going to happen before deciding that the answer was very much: no. Lee Yoochun was clearly an idiot judging from the past decisions that had lead to this current predicament. Smart men didn't end up in his situation. "Good afternoon, Lee, what a lovely afternoon it is too."

"Master Jeon-"

"Oh! You're talking much quicker than I expected," Jungkook remarked as he ran his fingers along one of the restraints, leather against leather. "Are you going to cooperate nice and easy unlike Ahn?"

"Master Jeon, I told your father everything but-"

"But?"

"I don't think you understand," Yoochun said rapidly, talking very quickly. "I don't know anything! I just did what Master Kim told me too because of his threats."

"Threats?" Jungkook glanced over his shoulder at Taehyung's voice, seeing one eyebrow raising under his hair. The end of his cigarette was still smouldering away, smoke floating up into the air. "What'd you mean by threats ?"

"Master Kim, he-he threatened my family," Yoochun stammered, holding his gaze very steady even when it was clear that he was terrified. "My wife, Jaekyung, our three children: Yooyoung, Yoobin, Jaehyo." Jungkook listened to him blabbering with very little interest as he moved away from him to stand back beside Taehyung. Ah yes, the family. What a great way to try and evoke sympathy from him. As if he didn't have a mistress across the East Sea and he treasured his wife, as if he was a loving and caring father to the kids he likely never even saw. No, this evoked nothing from him and he wondered if the other man even had a clue; if he saw the hollow look in his eyes. "He threatened to have them harmed if I didn't do anything. "Just send money to these accounts", that's what he told me. I didn't know what the bastard was using the money for, I swear I didn't. If I had known I'd have told him to shoot me in the fucking head and get it all over with instead."

Jungkook turned his head slightly to study Taehyung. The other man was still smoking, the cigarette rapidly shrinking between his pouted lips. He too seemed to feel nothing close to sympathy judging from his expression. That was of no surprise to him, seen as Yoochun was partly responsible for the fact he had taken a bullet to the shoulder. It was hard to feel sympathy for a man that could been responsible in their deaths by providing funding. No, Taehyung looked to be far too distracted trying to figure out what the contraption Yoochun was strapped to was for. He would find out soon enough. In fact, he really wanted to get on with it because this was getting rather tiring.

"...I don't believe you," Jungkook said after a moment of thought. At his words the warehouse fell silent, deathly silent, and he could see the man staring at him rather dumbly. As if his words had confused him. After perhaps five seconds of silence he must have figured out his reply for the older man unleashed on them.

"I'm telling you the truth!" Yoochun shouted at them both, booming voice echoing around the warehouse. It should have caused them to flinch yet none of them did. Jungkook didn't blink and out of the corner of his eye Taehyung just looked bored. He had his hands shoved into his trouser pockets and he was leaning back on his heels: bored and mellowed out from the OxyContin. A dab of ash fell off the end of his cigarette to land on the concrete by his feet. "I told your father, I told you just then!"

"Run the truth over us, one more time," Taehyung asked, reaching up to pull his cigarette free so that he could breathe the smoke out hard. "Three times the charm, yeah?"

"Fuck you, I don't even know who the fuck you are!" Yoochun hollered, struggling against the restraints as he did. "How many times do you need to hear the truth before you realise that it's the fucking truth?"

"Yeah I mean, it could be the truth," Taehyung argued, "but even if it is...all you've fucking done is admit that you betrayed Master Jeon." He held the cigarette in front of his lips for a second, tight between his fingers, before taking another deep drag off the end. After holding it in his lungs for a few seconds he breathed it out again. "So, now what?"

"What...what do you mean?"

"You said that Kim, Kim Jinwoo not the dead old fuck, threatened your family if you didn't slide a little cash his way, yeah?" At Taehyung's words both Siwoo and Daewoo snorted. "No bad shit, no murder, just a little bit of the cash. So you did, you did what he said 'cos he allegedly threatened your family and here you are, right now in front of us. You betrayed Master Jeon by sliding that cash around those accounts-"

"I-"

"you've got blood on your hands, I'm talking dozens of deaths and countless fucking injuries," Taehyung continued over him, talking loud and fast. He was talking so fast in fact that Jungkook thought that he sounded a little like an enthusiastic Methodist preacher; barely stopping to take breath as he testified and rectified.

"I didn't-"

"And you used Haedogje Pa's fucking cash, you dumb fuck!" Taehyung tossed the remains of the cigarette across the warehouse without even bothering to stub it out first. "That cash you transferred into all of those accounts, that wasn't even your own cash! You stabbed Master Jeon in the back and you fucking swindled his father in the process!"

This was why his heart had picked Taehyung to be his partner. This was the kind of thing his father would never see in action, but Jungkook was privileged enough to get to witness it. When Taehyung really got going, when he caught scent of something, he was like a fucking foxhound. He followed that scent until his nose found its target and then he started tearing it up; ripped it to shreds with little more than his tongue and his gesturing hands. This was the kind of man he needed, not Woo. Taehyung could make guts spill literally and figuratively, and Jungkook knew that he would never get bored watching him work.

"I had no choice! He gave me no choice!" Yoochun argued as he continued wriggling against the board he was strapped to.

"Every man has a choice, Lee," Jungkook disagreed with a curt head shake. "You just picked the wrong one."

"I told you, he didn't tell me what the money was for, he just demanded it. Threatened for it," Yoochun explained, talking at a much lower and slower rate. As if he was explaining a rather simple concept to a pair of fucking idiots. "I thought that crazy son of a bitch was stealing Jeon's money so he could do a moonlight and disappear off the fucking face of the earth. Lay low on some island somewhere so you wouldn't cut his head off. I didn't know he would try and kill you, Master Jeon."

"You didn't know what the money was being wired for...but you sent it anyway?" Jungkook cocked his head at him, almost at a loss for words. Did Lee realise how stupid he sounded right now? All of his possibly valid excuses were still complete shit; were still evidence that he had fucked up. Yet the man seemed so very unaware of it.

"I...I know how it sounds," Yoochun said in a low voice. "I know."

"Sounds like you're either a complete idiot or you're lying," Jungkook agreed with a curt nod. "My father doesn't hire idiots Lee, he has men of a high caliber. Are you an idiot, Lee?" The other man didn't reply, gaze finally dropping to stare at the floor for the first time instead. "Are you a fucking idiot, Lee?"

"No, no I'm not, Master Jeon."

"Are you a fucking liar?"

"No, Master Jeon."

Jungkook turned to look at Taehyung, holding his gaze and trying to gauge his thoughts. The other man was giving nothing away but when their gazes locked for a moment he saw what he wanted. He wanted answers, right now. He wanted to cut the bullshit and just figure out what the hell was going on. Jungkook could empathise, he too was sick of hearing Lee whining and lying. After all, Taehyung had been shot because of the man's antics, because he had wired money around accounts that had armed the men that had attacked them in the casino. Had Jungkook taken a bullet because of him Yoochun would have been minus most of his teeth by now, and the fact that Taehyung had yet to injure the man in any way showed great resolve.

"I want names," Jungkook said to break the silence. "I want names, locations, I want everything that you know about this revolt and I want it now, Lee."

"I've already told you, Master Jeon, I don't know anything," Yoochun argued. "I wasn't told anything, Kim used me and then let me take the fucking fall. I don't know shit."

"That's what Ahn Kangho said," Taehyung remarked as he slipped his hand free from his pocket. "Right before he spilled his guts and," he held his hand up, fore and middle finger pointed out to stab against his temple, "I shot him in the fucking head."

"Mmm, I'm sure you heard about what happened to Ahn, he was mutilated first." Jungkook scuffed his shoe on the flooring without a care. "Do you want to be mutilated before giving us answers, or would you prefer to just get it over with and save yourself the pain?"

"I don't know anything," Yoochun stated in a flat voice. The warehouse plunged into silence again, save for the dripping sound of the pump across the wide area. Jungkook let the heaviness settle for a few minutes, giving the other man plenty of time to think his options over. He could cave and spill something if the pressure got too much, got too heavy, and yet Yoochun just held his tongue.

"...OK," Jungkook shifted and gestured to the twins with a roll of his wrist. "OK, we will have to see about that. Lower him, maybe ten degrees?"

"Jungkook?" Taehyung looked between him and Yoochun, no doubt trying to figure out what was going to happen next.

"We're going to get answers out of Lee and I know the perfect method: waterboarding," Jungkook replied as he watched the twins lowering the board onto the desired angle. "Surely you have heard of it, Taehyung? A favoured torture technique of the CIA- I mean, information extraction technique, " he corrected with a sardonic smile. "If you call it that then it's not torture, not even close. It's called necessary evil then. So we're going to engage in some necessary evil today, Taehyung."

"As opposed to the unnecessary," Taehyung retorted. It was enough to make him laugh under his breath as the sound of the metal hinges creaked.

"Master Jeon, this is too much, surely this is too much-"

"Then give me the information!" Jungkook demanded as he twisted to look back at him. At his sudden movement and the volume of his shout Yoochun actually flinched, the back of his head slamming against the board with a dull thud .

"I told you, I don't know anything!" Yoochun shouted back at him. Hadn't he heard that one a dozen times already? That was all that the man had said since they had entered the warehouse, over and over like a broken record. Jungkook crossed the area to get closer to him, holding a hand out to Daewoo. The man pulled a piece of cloth free from his jacket, a thick grey bundle, and held it out to him.

"Taehyung, there's a pump over there. Please fill up the can with water, we will need quite the amount." Jungkook hunkered down to grab the can, holding it out to the other man. Taehyung accepted it from him, turning the metal watering pail over in his hands to examine it. Then he went over to the pump and with several hard pulls on the valve water was exploding out the metal tap head in a loud gush. Most of it went into the can but quite a lot splashed out over the floor. The dusty concrete darkened to near black in the harsh floodlights. Taehyung carried it back over, droplets pattering down and leaving a trail behind him as he did.

"You still have time to talk," Jungkook said as he hunkered down beside Yoochun's head and pulled his glasses free to drop them on the floor without a care. The man was now lying back on an angle, head lower than the rest of his body and feet up in the air. "Just talk, Lee, talk about all of it and we don't have to do this."

"Master Jeon, I don't know anything, I swear I don't," Yoochun almost sobbed, voice bobbing up and down unevenly. "Kim didn't tell me anything, I swear that he didn't."

Jungkook sorted the cloth out between his hands, bundling it into a thick fold to place it over his eyes first. Just the weight of it on his face was enough to have the man cry out in horror and they hadn't even started yet. He instructed Taehyung to start pouring water onto the cloth, to wet it through. Taehyung looked confused by this but he lifted the pail up and tipped it from his standing height. The freezing cold water spilled down like a waterfall, splashing onto the cloth, and there was a strong metallic scent coming from it. Jungkook waited until the cloth was soaked through before grabbing hold and wrenching the ends over Yoochun's lower face. The damp cloth clung to his skin, covering his nose and jaw and causing him to jerk against the restraints instinctively. Yoochun almost bucked off the board and the worst was still yet to come.

"Keep pouring, don't stop until I say so," Jungkook ordered, and so Taehyung kept the can angled so that water poured down onto the cloth, so that it simulated drowning on the other man. He counted to five in his head before telling him to stop, wrenching back on the damp cloth to allow Yoochun just three pitiful gasping breaths. "Again." The cloth was pulled down and more water was poured over his face for a few seconds before he was allowed another few gasps of air. After the third soaking Jungkook wrenched the cloth back up over his eyes and allowed him to breathe fully without risking the sensation of drowning again.

"Going to talk yet, Lee?" Jungkook asked as he looked down at him. The grey cloth had turned almost black from the water and his hair was glistening wet. The water was so cold that he wouldn't at all be surprised if his lips turned blue after a little more exposure.

"Tuh-told you, I dunno-" Yoochun managed to choke out, water spilling out of his mouth and puddling onto the board before dripping down onto the floor. "Kuh-Kim didn't tuh-tell me any-fucking-thing." Across the warehouse Taehyung had hunkered down to fill the can up again from the pump without him asking him to do so. "Just asked fuh-for the muh-money, didn't tuh-tell muh-me."

Jungkook glanced up at Taehyung to see that he was still pumping water into the can. The other man was hunkered down, trousers and shirt wrinkled deeply. Taehyung glanced back over at him as he pulled down hard on the pump, expression unreadable. Yoochun had handled fifteen seconds of this already and Jungkook had read that most men caved after less than twenty and started talking. After a second attempt Lee might just start revealing what he wanted, so he lifted a hand and gestured with a curl of his fingers for Taehyung to come back over.

"Nothing?"

"Nuh-nothing, I swear," Yoochun hiccuped, chest hitching spasmodically.

"Let's continue," Jungkook said as he pulled the cloth back over his face again, muffling the protests that came out of his mouth. Taehyung didn't even need telling, he just tipped the pail and poured more water down onto his face. Jungkook was just about to tell him to stop when he did so, allowing him to pull the cloth back. Yoochun started choking and it was hard to tell if he was trying to talk or breathe. "Talk."

Yoochun just continued choking, twisting against the restraints as he coughed and spluttered loudly. Jungkook gave him a few seconds longer to wait and see if he had anything to say, yet he just forced out another denial. This was starting to get highly irritating, he had expected this to be over by now, that Yoochun would be blabbering so much shit. Yet he wasn't and that was very, very irritating. He could only stare at him in anger, not even pulling the cloth back over his face.

"Jungkook," Taehyung said in a low voice, leaning close to speak down his ear. "I think we need to talk outside."

"...Enjoy a small reprieve," Jungkook said as he tossed the soaked cloth at his chest. "Think about it, really think about it. Maybe there's something you forgot about, mmm?" Yoochun just spluttered as Siwoo wrenched on the pulley to get him to a more elevated angle, head higher than the rest of his body. Jungkook followed Taehyung out of the warehouse, the other man lifting the shutter to let them both outside.

"Cigarette," he said as he held his hand. Taehyung pulled the packet out, retrieving a stick and leaning over to place it between his lips for him. He collected the lighter, lit the end, and then shoved it both items back into his trousers. "You said that you wanted to talk," Jungkook said as he took a deep drag and breathed the smoke out, "so talk."

"Maybe he doesn't actually know anything?" Taehyung suggested in a quiet voice, leaning closer to him just so he could whisper. He breathed in just as he exhaled the last wisps of cigarette smoke, pulling it into his lungs before exhaling it too. "There's a good chance that Lee wasn't told about it if his story's true."

"Do you think his story is true?" Jungkook asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Taehyung's gaze shifted to track the smoke trailing of the end of the stick. "About his family being threatened?"

"No, I don't think the story about his family is true. That's complete shit, Lee's a fucking shark. He works in embezzlement, swindling cash, lying through his teeth to people. Ain't no way in hell that claim about Jinwoo threatening his family is true. That ain't Jinwoo's style at all." Jungkook offered him a drag on the stick still held between his fingers, and Taehyung took a deep pull. "That ain't that righteous justice bullshit he preaches, yeah?"

"I highly doubt that he would threaten children," Jungkook muttered in agreement as he breathed the smoke out of nose hard. "So why do you think he doesn't know anything?"

"D'you think Jinwoo would be stupid enough to tell anyone his grand plans?" Taehyung asked in reply. "Ahn knew nothing, just Lee Yoochun and a guy called Kim. That's all he knew and Ahn was a powerful man, arguably more powerful than Lee. I think they're all linked up together like a chain and they're all just following what the link to their left tells 'em to do."

Jungkook took another pull on the cigarette, holding the smoke in his lungs as he did. Taehyung was more than likely correct. Despite there being links: evidence of money being forwarded into accounts, photographs of Lee in Jinwoo's territory, there was still a very high chance he was just following orders blindly without any knowledge. But that wouldn't do. Jungkook couldn't just kill him without something, any thing, that could be useful. His death was a benefit alone but sadly not enough. If his father found out that he had murdered him for nothing more than fun and revenge it would not look good. Like Taehyung had said, they needed something to spill free just like it had with Ahn.

"D'you think we can get an answer outta him?"

"Taehyung, the one thing I know about waterboarding is that he will give us an answer soon enough. Most trained men can't last more than twenty seconds, Lee will break soon and when he does we will see what he has to say. If he's lying then..." Jungkook held the cigarette out to him and Taehyung leaned forward to take another drag without accepting it from him. The other man didn't look away once, gaze burning into him. "We start snapping fingers until he stops."

"I dunno if he's lying about the situation, about not knowing what the cash was for," Taehyung said in a quiet voice as he leaned back against the wall of the building. So Jungkook asked him what his gut feeling was. "My gut-fucking-feeling's that he's telling the truth. The dumb fuck stole your daddy's cash but I dunno if his intent was to help murder you, Jungkook. It just doesn't feel right to me."

"Any other gut feelings that you want to share?"

"Nah, nah just that one but it doesn't really matter," Taehyung stuck his tongue out to wet his lips. "Knowing about the cash or not, it doesn't matter. Lee stabbed you in the fucking back, Jungkook, that's a death sentence right there."

"Do you think that we should kill him?" Jungkook asked, reaching behind himself to stub the cigarette out of the brick wall. He dropped it to the ground without a care, littering the already butt-strewn area.

"Yeah, I think we should kill him. If he's got nothing useful to tell us then what's the point or keeping him alive?"

"I'm glad that we agree on this decision so..." Jungkook reached over to place a hand on his good shoulder, leaning close so that he could whisper down his ear, "intimately."

As soon as they were back inside Jungkook asked Yoochun if he had thought of something yet, but once again he was told that the other man knew nothing. Of course he didn't. So he grabbed the cloth and dropped it onto his face, wrenching it down so that Taehyung could pour more water onto him.

They were on the second drenching when Yoochun started convulsing.

"Lift him up, he's choking," Jungkook lifted his own arm for emphasis, waving it rapidly just as Siwoo pulled on the switch and the platform tilted upright with a hard jerk and a loud screeching sound. He pulled the cloth off his face just in time and Yoochun retched and vomited all down the front of his shirt. That was perfectly timed for the man could have choked on it. Jungkook had read that vomiting was a possibility, after all his gag reflex was working at full power. Except Yoochun seemed to be doing much more than vomiting. The man was literally convulsing against his bonds, chest jerking in a way that seemed to say that he wasn't able to breathe properly.

"Shit," Taehyung cursed loudly. "Is he drowning?"

"No, his lungs might have gotten paralysed. That can apparently happen," Jungkook said as he held the sopping water cloth in his hand. "We have to give him a minute or two, he might die though."

Taehyung dropped the watering can and it hit the floor with a clattering noise, spilling the water all over the concrete. He started pacing up and down beside him but Jungkook didn't even look at him because he was much too focused on watching Yoochun trying to breathe. There was no cloth, no freezing cold water, but his lungs had started constricting because of the waterboarding. It crossed his mind that Yoochun should have blabbered by now but he hadn't, which meant that he really must not have known anything. There was no way that Yoochun could have resisted this much duress. He was a fucking loan shark not an SAS officer.

It took Yoochun several horrible seconds to manage to pull in air, and when he did it rasped rather disgustingly. At the sound Taehyung stopped pacing at least, head swivelling to look back at him. Jungkook let him breathe for a full thirty seconds without speaking, watching the way he shuddered against the restraints rather weakly. He wrung the cloth out of water, twisting it tightly between his gloved hands.

"Well done, Lee," Jungkook announced. "I thought for sure that you had gone and fucking died on me, and that just wouldn't have done. I need information you see, and your death without it would really fuck up my day. It's been going well so far." Yoochun couldn't seem to reply beyond his fluttering eyelids. "But right now...right now you're starting to piss me off."

"Duh...dunno names," Yoochun slurred, the syllables coming out like hiccups. "I juh...know Kuh-m cuh...called the muh...ney suh-step one."

"Step one?" Jungkook asked as he cocked his head. This wasn't exactly information, not the kind he was after, but it was something. It might not be important but if Yoochun knew nothing else then... "What do you mean by step one?"

"You wuh...were step one," Yoochun replied, eyes rolling up under his lids as he fought to stay conscious. "I tuh-think the ah...attack wuh step one."

"So what's step two?" Taehyung asked, shifting to stand right at the bottom of the table. He even placed his hands down to hunker forward over his legs. "Or who's step two?"

But there was no reply because Yoochun had finally succumbed to the exertion they had put him through. The man's head lolled forward with a breathy sound as he fell unconscious. Jungkook tossed the cloth aside with an irritated huff and he rolled his head back to stare up at the ceiling. He could feel anger starting to take over, starting to dull his senses and make his pulse pound in his head. No, he had not went through all of this to get nothing. Step one? That was not an answer, was not a fact. He could do nothing with that and the trail back to Kim Jinwoo couldn't just die like this. Without something from Yoochun there were no connections.

But Yoochun literally knew nothing.

What the fuck was supposed to happen next?

"Taehyung, go get the gasoline out the truck," Jungkook ordered as he closed his eyes. "I'm done here."

It was not long after Jungkook and Taehyung left the penthouse and he had finished cleaning aside all of the mess that Jimin decided to get dressed. Today he wasn't going to repeat yesterday's events and lie around and get drunk, today he was going to go out with Wangbi and see Yoongi whilst the other two men were busy working. Jimin estimated that he might have a few hours to spend in Yoongi's company if he wasn't busy working, and in those few hours there would be no champagne, no crying. He would even avoid the offer of joints should that arise. Jimin had just simply decided that he was done with wasting his entire day feeling sad and lonely. He wanted a little shot at happiness, even if it was just temporary.

Just sitting in the den with Yoongi, talking about 'stupid shit' that he didn't tell anyone else, that was something that he needed; that he craved. Talking to the other man seemed to help purge the bad feelings that he usually bottled up and then drowned with a bottle of champagne, and Jimin wanted to see him again.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to see a...a friend again, right? Oh, just the thought that he might just have a friend was both exciting and a little frightening for him. Jimin actually held onto the bannister rail as he ascended the staircase to go into the bedroom, legs shaking a little. How long had it been since he had had a friend? A proper friend and not a fellow worker under Nam? He couldn't seem to recall and as he stepped into the walk-in wardrobe he could feel the corners of his lips lifting rather giddily. Yoongi wasn't like Jungkook or Taehyung. Yoongi was something different, something that seemed to make him feel nervous but also happy at the same time. He was able to keep his interest with his words and his gestures, even when he wasn't really talking about anything interesting, and Jimin could listen to him talk regardless. But he supposed that the most important difference was the fact that Yoongi would listen to him talk too, and watch him so much more intently than the two other men.

Yoongi wasn't doing it because he knew that the end result would be some form of sexual reward. Being in his company Jimin had discovered that the other man gave him something else instead an... emotional reward.

That funny little feeling in his stomach was so much better than arousal, Jimin was certain of it.

When leaving the apartment block Jimin usually dressed rather conservatively: white or black shirts hidden away under his coat, fitted trousers and smart dress shoes. He had to look neat because everyone that knew him knew him because of Jungkook. That meant looking presentable for the younger man. But Jimin wasn't going to a store opening or a catwalk show, wasn't standing at a soirée glaring at the taller, thinner men present and feeling like the outdated model on the assembly line; he was going to the drugs den for a few hours to just talk to Yoongi. Did he need to look so...conservative when meeting with a friend?

"What do you think, Wangbi?" Jimin leaned around the wall to look at the cat, seeing that she was lounged out on the bed. "Boring and stiff or casual and...friendly?" She just twitched her ears in reply. He turned back to his wardrobe, pushing the clothing aside until his fingers brushed against something soft; woolen and soft. Jimin pulled out the hanger to see a soft mink pink pullover. Judging from the feeling against his fingers he had never worn it and he was at a loss trying to figure out where he had bought it, or who had gifted him it. He studied it for a moment before recalling how Yoongi seemed to live in them whilst he was working and that was what caused him to pull it free and shrug it on without a care.

"Well, at least I can match to your collar," he remarked to Wangbi.

Several minutes later, pullover paired up with a pair of black jeans and pumps, Wangbi fitted with her diamante collar and leash, Jimin was seated on the chaise lounge applying a light layer of coverage to his skin. After last night's rather silly misadventure with Valium and champagne he looked rather dead. Well, he had been experiencing quite a few days of misadventures actually. That was why he was already almost out of the pills, and was probably a sign to stop taking them.

"But I can't stop taking them can I, princess?" Jimin remarked as he batted at his nose with a powder brush. "Because daddy's addicted to them, oops. Because daddy's dependent on them, ha~ Just like Tae and his fucking morphine. Daddy's happy pills."

They didn't make him happy, not even remotely, just...calm. Passive almost. Perfectly agreeable, not at all neurotic.

Jimin put the brush down on the low table and he caught sight of his knuckles. He eyed the tattoo for a few seconds, seeing that it was unmissable from close up and likely also from a distance. He couldn't wear gloves today, it wasn't cold enough and would look rather strange. But the thought of Yoongi seeing the tattoo made him feel something close to a sense of discomfort. The thought of anyone seeing it, even complete strangers, wasn't exactly nice but Yoongi in particular was...

Jimin shifted on the chaise lounge uncomfortably, placing the hand mirror down as he did. He could always cover it with makeup, he supposed. So he grabbed the tube off the table again and got a thick blob of the foundation onto his fingers, which he then dabbed on each knuckle. The liquid made his knuckles sting as he grabbed the sponge and pressed down to spread it over the black letters. Then he collected a brush and lightly applied a coating of powder. He knew that it wouldn't hold forever but it was better than nothing. So long as he was careful than it should stay in place. It might not be ideal, might irritate his sensitive skin, but he didn't really care at this point.

He hadn't even liked the fucking tattoo to begin with but of course he had given in to the looks Jungkook had given him just to please him. It was so much more easier giving into his whims than arguing with him, but being stoned and drunk last night had certainly helped contribute to his lack of caring. At least the blowjob had lessened his annoyance yesterday, but now it was back once again and heavily mixed with regret for not stopping them from inking him up.

"Mmm, since when has saying 'no' worked for me in the past?" he muttered under his breath, not even addressing Wangbi with the question.

Before leaving the suite Jimin caved and knocked back a single Valium just to get his nerves to go away and let him breathe properly. As soon as he felt himself mellowing out he collected Wangbi's leash and left the penthouse to ride down to the ground floor. Just like always he knew that he was going to have an escort and it turned out to be Woosang. So they left the building together and it was after perhaps ten seconds of walking that he decided to try his act on the man.

"Woosang, I know that it's supposed to be a walk for Wangbi today but I'm tired," Jimin said, urging a little whine into his voice as he did. "Master Jeon really worked me over last night, I don't want to go for a walk."

"...Do you want to go back to the apartment?" the man asked awkwardly avoiding eye-contact.

"No, I want to go to Yongsan-gu, to the den," he argued, still whining and even pouting a little for effect.

"You're not supposed to go to Yongsan-gu today."

"If you take me there, I'll make sure you get a free acupuncture session," Jimin said, sidling up close to him. "Instead of taking us for a walk for an hour you could just be drinking soju and seeing those pretty workers..."

Unsurprisingly Jimin ended up in the back of one of the apartment block vehicles with Wangbi draped across the lap just like he had been hoping for. It took half an hour to reach the den in Yongsan-gu from Gangnam-gu. Like always he was let in with no trouble after securing Woosang a session at the check-in, and then he was going down to the basement to get to Yoongi's office, his cat sniffing at absolutely everything she passed and sitting at the door obediently after he knocked.

"Master Jeon's out again, yeah?" Yoongi remarked as he stared at him through the gap in the doorway. He dropped his gaze down to look at the cat before looking back up at him again. "No weed for you today."

"It's OK," Jimin said with a soft head shake. "I'm not here for the drugs I'm...well, I'm already stoned." The other man stared at him for a few seconds, the air falling awkward and tense as if he had said something wrong. Was it? Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned being stoned so lightly but it was the truth. At least it was just a single Valium, that was practically nothing.

"Pills?" Yoongi asked in a quiet voice and so Jimin nodded in agreement. "You're popping those Valium I gave you like fucking candy, Jimin. Might wanna lower the dosage, y'know?"

"Mmm, well I tried lowering Tae's dosage too but that didn't work. I think he's a junkie- can I come in, sweetie?"

"...What'd you mean by 'junkie', Jimin?" Yoongi asked as he stepped back and pulled the door open. Jimin stepped inside, letting his breath out in a heavy sigh and then he let go of Wangbi's leash. The cat padded over to the battered settee, jumping up and taking up most of the cushions. "I told you about the dosages, how did-"

"I don't know," Jimin spoke over him as he moved to sit on the settee beside his cat. "I just know that the morphine went down at a much quicker rate than it's supposed to and I think he or Jungkook took it out of the suite when I wasn't looking. The bottle is empty, Yoongi, completely empty."

"...Shit."

"I injected him with less than half, so where did the other half go? Right into Tae's fucking veins." Jimin shifted and was about to pull his feet up on the cushion when he decided that that was rude. So instead he hunkered forward to remove his pumps, leaving them on the floor so he could sit more comfortably. The leather was cold and dry against the soles of his feet. "I had one job and I can't even do that, one job. I don't even have my actual job right now."

"Oh yeah, the website's down," Yoongi remarked. Jimin stared at him for a moment in confusion and then he shifted awkwardly on the spot. "I, uh, Master Jeon told me. Y'know?"

"My job was to care for Tae and stop him from getting hooked on morphine like you told me, and I couldn't even do that. Yoongi, am I really that useless?"

"Whoa, hang on a sec," Yoongi threw a hand up at him, white pullover sleeve flopping as he did. "If Master Jeon's been slipping that shit outta the block with him, what're you supposed to do, huh?" Jimin dropped his gaze to look at the table in front of him, studying the starburst burn marks from age-old stubbed out joints. "Stop him? Look, Kim ain't your responsibility. He's a grown-ass man and he's a fucking mobster. You ain't his old man, Jimin, and he ain't your kid."

"I feel like a kid sometimes," Jimin said in a whisper-soft voice. "Like a fucking baby." He didn't lift his gaze up from the table to look at the other man but he could feel Yoongi looking down at him.

A fucking baby, wasn't that the truth? Jimin couldn't cope outside of his little sandbox. There was the apartment block, his safe base that he could go running back to the second that the world got too scary and hard for him to accept, and a couple of blocks around Gangnam-gu were his playpen. He could go out with Wangbi for walks, buy more toys to keep his restless mind satisfied and every now and again he could mingle with other humans he would never see again except for on catwalks or TV screens whilst he was trapped behind that of computer monitors, laptop and tablet and mobile screens.

Jimin felt like he was crawling most days rather than walking, maybe finding enough strength to get upright and toddle a few steps before he ended up on his hands and knees and was back to crawling again. Just like a baby. How could he try and stand on his own two feet when he had always been crawling? How could he call himself an adult when he hadn't stepped into the outside world on his own without an ankle tag on or a bodyguard since he had been seven years old? His world had revolved around concrete buildings and massive bedroom suites for as long as he could remember and it wasn't set to change any time soon. Jimin didn't want it to, because at least that was familiar and safe.

Just thinking about it was enough to make him want to curl up into a tight ball and not have to move for the entire day. Just like always. He could lie there and stare off into oblivion, until his eyes stopped seeing and he fell into an almost waking nap, and just wait for Jungkook to come back home. Jungkook could always make him feel like he was something , that he was important. But Jungkook was too busy doing actual business to tend to him like a baby. So instead he brought his knees up so he could balance his chin on them and hug his arms around his legs.

"It ain't your fault if Kim's addicted," Yoongi reiterated. "You told me that you tried, that you did what I told you so whatever happened, that ain't your fault. Master Jeon'll have to deal with the consequences and there will be consequences."

"Yoongi, what's withdrawal like?" he asked in a quiet voice, and only after he had asked it did it hit him. The full gravity of his question. Jimin almost bit down on his lower lip but it was too late because he had already asked him the question and there was no taking it back now.

Yoongi fell silent at his words, very still for once rather than fidgeting like always. It looked almost like he had seized up on the spot and Jimin felt the most pressing urge to explain. He hadn't meant him of course, what he had went through, but rather his father. Yet he managed to curb himself because that sounded even worse. After what Yoongi had told him about the man that was not the kind of scar that he needed to reopen on him, but the question had just slipped out by accident.

"The...uh, well heroin addiction's really really bad," Yoongi finally replied, fingers going to his pullover cuffs again. "Morphine's basically the same. When Kim gets a craving for it he's gonna loose control. He'll get desperate, will throw himself at the first person to offer him a hit. Might even get violent. If he goes a few hours over his dosage he'll start jerking and sweating, then he'll start puking and shitting himself." Jimin stared at him whilst he spoke, feeling his skin go cold at his words. "That lasts for days, he'll be sick for days. A lot of users die in that period 'cos they get dehydrated or shoot up whatever they can get their hands on and overdosed or poison 'emselves. Right now...Kim's gonna need to be pumped with the shit if Master Jeon wants him stable, and he's gonna need it upping more and more when he starts getting numb to it."

Jimin could only sigh at this and drop his eyes to the table again. Well, wasn't that fucking great? Taehyung was going to turn into a full-blown junkie and it hadn't been his choice in the first place. He had been pumped with morphine for saving Jungkook's life and now that very act was probably going to destroy his.

"I...I can remember it a lot actually," Yoongi added. "The Fentanyl withdrawal, it was hell. Thought I was gonna die myself at one point there, uh, there ain't really any words to describe what it feels like. It's the kinda pain that sticks with you forever so you can just remember it sometimes and those times it's a good time to get stoned."

"Yoongi, why did you start using that shit?" Jimin asked him, voice soft and sympathetic. He wanted to know why someone would turn to such a toxic substance, why it would be preferable over alcohol and cheap prescription medication like his poison of choice.

"'Cos of my old man," Yoongi replied in a quiet voice as he reached up and started scratching at his inner elbow through the pullover sleeve. "I told you that he got hooked on the shit after getting shot, just like Kim, but then he moved onto China White 'cos it was stronger; that's a mixture of Fentanyl and heroin. It's like the most fucking scariest drug ever, Jimin, trust me. That shit is just insane. And I, uh, I shot up one night 'cos I just needed to know why he wanted that shit so much, why he was always putting me through hell for it, and that was it." He paused for a moment before adding. "Master Jeon'll clean Kim soon, I'm sure of it. He'll wait until it's calm on the home-front and send him to a clinic for a week or two to flush that shit outta his system."

"I like Tae, I don't want him being fucked up too. He's already..." Jimin paused rather than finish this chain of thought, not wanting to go into the specifics of how the Taehyung that he had met those few months ago had been a softer, sweeter Taehyung that had still blushed and showed fear every now and again. Not like the Taehyung now, that tore his panties off and ran his tongue along his inner thighs without even breaking eye-contact, that shot up every single morning and seemed to not react to anything anymore. It was terrifying how quickly a person could change under the influences of violence and drugs. "Tae doesn't deserve it," he managed to finish in a quiet voice.

"Yeah?" Yoongi asked with an eyebrow raise. "Pretty sure no one deserves to get fucked up, Jimin."

Like us, Jimin was almost certain he was going to say and yet he didn't.

"Are we going to talk about sad shit all day? 'Cos I gotta say that sounds like a fucking terrible way to spend the afternoon," Yoongi said as he rolled back on his heels and sighed heavily. "Food?"

"All you do is eat," Jimin remarked but he felt the corners of his lips lifting up at the corners. "Yet you look like that..." When he dropped his gaze down to his thighs Yoongi let out an embarrassed laugh and tugged down on the ends of his pullover.

"Blame my chronic past addiction to Fentanyl," he retorted, "if you wanna lose weight fast fuck heroin, take that shit and have fun trying to put weight back on."

"Food." Jimin nodded at him, reaching over to stroke Wangbi. "Why not?"

"A Japanese place opened up down the block a week ago. They don't do takeaway but I supply the owner with cheap medication to send to his parents back in Osaka so," Yoongi fiddled with his hair for a moment, "I get special treatment: the benefits of being a drug dealer...and producer. Yeah?"

He nodded at him again and so Yoongi crossed the room to sit down at his desk, grabbing hold of the landline phone and placing it in the crook of his shoulder. Jimin noted that he stuck his tongue out as he hit various buttons and after a moment he was talking down the line in rather broken but passable Japanese. He hadn't even been aware of the fact that Yoongi could speak Japanese. When he was finished he put the receiver back down and only then did he seem to notice that he was staring at him.

"What?" Yoongi asked, eyebrows lifting rather high as he did.

"Nothing, I just didn't know that you could speak Japanese," Jimin explained as he stroked at Wangbi's head. "I was surprised."

"Oh yeah? I can do a great many things," Yoongi retorted as he turned his attention to one of the monitors. "Actually...that's a lie I can't."

"I bet you can."

"Yeah, well I bet that you can do many things too." The other man smiled slightly, clicking something several times with his mouse and then hitting a few buttons. Jimin spent a moment trying to think of what exactly he had a talent in other than sex. The fact that he found he couldn't really think of something without a lot of thought was a rather disheartening.

"...I can tie a tie," Jimin said.

"What a coincidence, so can I," Yoongi remarked as he carried on typing at the speed of light. "See, we're both talented."

In the time that it took for the food to arrive Yoongi stayed seated at his desk, presumably working away on his computer for the sound of him hitting keys was almost constant. Every now and again he would groan something under his breath, rub at his eyes roughly or shift on the chair. Jimin found it rather strange that he felt so very comfortable in this place: in Yoongi's office. He was sitting in a drugs den several districts away from the apartment block and yet he felt very comfortable. A part of him supposed that he shouldn't get used to such a sensation but he couldn't help himself.

Jimin felt so much better chilling on the battered settee in silence than being stuck in the perfect penthouse suite all day long.

After half an hour or so there were a series of knocks on the door and so Yoongi got to his feet and bumbled over to answer it. As with the phone call earlier he mumbled something in Japanese at whoever was on the other side of the door. Jimin caught sight of a rather young-looking man, perhaps young enough to be in high school or university and then he caught sight of him too. From under his uniform cap Jimin saw his eyes go wide and then he said something to Yoongi, something that sounded surprised and ended in a laugh. The blond male replied and then he was closing the door over.

"What did he say?" Jimin asked, more curious than anything else.

"Uh, Yoshi thought I bought this all myself," he said as he leaned back against the door until it clicked shut. "He saw you through the doorway and was surprised. Usually I just order for myself. Like a lot of food." Yoongi shifted to place the bags down on the table, the weight of them thumping rather loud and the rustling plastic making Wangbi's ears twitch. "I think I've eaten everything on their menu already..."

The low table rapidly filled up as he started placing boxes down, opening them up to reveal the contents. There were two appetisers of choice: seared beef nigiri and golden vegetable gyoza; their main meal; chicken and beef yakisoba mixed into big cardboard food boxes. Lastly there was a rather large container of chicken katsu. Jimin didn't think there was a chance in hell that they could eat all of that food together but; what the hell, why not give it a shot? Even Wangbi's interest was piqued, lifting her head to sniff at the air and the overpowering scent of meat.

"I'm going to get fat," Jimin remarked as he stabbed at the contents. The chicken yakisoba was almost spilling out of the box, fragrant steam floating up to hit him in the face. "Do you think that Jungkook would still want me if I got fat?"

"Uh," Yoongi cheeked the soy sauce soaked gyoza and stared at him rather dumbly. Jimin saw that he didn't even chew the mouthful for several seconds. "Sure, yeah sure he would." The absolute lack of belief in his tone made Jimin snort laughter and Yoongi just chewed the appetiser rather than speak.

"Would you still like me if I got fat?" Jimin asked as he grabbed a thick mouthful of noodles between the chopsticks.

"Yeah, Jimin," Yoongi replied without even a hint of hesitation. "Yeah, I'd still fucking like you."

The office room fell silent for a moment, the both of them chewing mouthfuls of food rather than attempt to start a conversation. Jimin once again found that the silence didn't actually feel that bad, not like it did when he was left alone in the penthouse suite. Just knowing that there was another warm, breathing human body in the room with him was enough to make him feel strangely at ease; content almost. If there was another person in the room then there was attention to be had and if there was one thing Jimin craved over anything else it was attention.

Not even the kind filled with praises, with gentle touches and adoration. Just knowing that someone was looking at him, was keeping an eye on him so he wasn't alone, that was enough.

Validation was a hell of a drug.

"Oh man, try one of these before I eat 'em all," Yoongi declared as he grabbed hold of one of the nigiri. Wangbi tracked the movement like a hawk as he held it out to him. So Jimin accepted it, leaning forward slightly to take it from his chopsticks. It reminded him of how he had fed Taehyung a few days ago, how he had jokingly treated him like a baby. He chewed the nigiri, finding that it was very pleasing because the seared beef was tender enough to almost melt on his tongue. "What about you huh, Wangbi?"

Yoongi pulled the slab of beef off the top of the rice so that he could hold it out to the cat. Wangbi didn't even hesitate and darted forward to grab at the chunk of meat. The quickness caused him to flinch slightly before laughing and then Yoongi turned back to his beef yakisoba. Jimin accidentally dribbled some soy sauce from his own gyoza out of the corner of his mouth and so he reached up to rub at it with his free hand. Seeing him out of the corner of his eye, trying to wipe his chin clean, Yoongi grabbed a handful of the napkins and handed them to him. So Jimin cleaned himself up, wiping at his chin and sticky fingers before dropping it onto the table.

"Is that..." Yoongi reached over to grab hold of his wrist. His grip wasn't tight but rather loose, fingers just locking around enough so that he could twist his hand and look at it. "Is that a tattoo, Jimin?"

In his rather thoughtless attempt at cleaning the sauce free the stupid napkin had wiped some of the makeup free of his fingers, carefully applied just this morning to cover it all up even when it had made his tender skin itch and sting.

"Yes, uh, yes it's a tattoo," Jimin said as he dropped his eyes to the noodle box in front of him. Yoongi eyed the obscured 'o' before grabbing the napkin and wiping at his fingers.

"Why'd you hide it, huh?" Yoongi asked before letting out that same guffaw of his. "Is it embarrassing? Oh man, the artist didn't fuck it up did they? I know a guy called Yongjun and-"

"No, it's not that it's-"

"he wanted a tattoo, yeah?" Yoongi continued over him, still rubbing at his fingers. "A dragon 'cos his old man was called Yonghwa, right?" Jimin noted that the other man had a habit of turning every sentence into a near question, those upwards inflections and words always spilling free unconsciously. "But my god, Jimin, it looked like a fucking lizard and it's mean to laugh but hey, that fucker owes me so much fucking cash and I..."

Jimin didn't need to look down at his hand to know that Yoongi had finally managed to smear the foundation free from his skin. He had been watching him whilst he had been speaking, watching the animated way that he spoke; shoulders always shrugging in some way, eyes seemingly unable to really focus and constantly moving, and so he had seen the exact moment that he had seen the tattoo. Yoongi's mouth had opened to carry on speaking but his words had trailed away to silence, his eyes finally locking onto something.

Yoongi was staring at his 'Doll' tattoo with an expression that he couldn't read at all. Was it shock, confusion, disgust, pity or...disappointment? The longer he studied him the harder it was to figure out and Jimin had suddenly thought 'dejected' when the other man let go of his wrist.

"Uh I'm...shit, I shouldn't have done that," Yoongi muttered under his breath. His fingers carried on fiddling with the soiled napkin, pulling and twisting it until the soft cotton was in danger of being torn apart. "That was fucking rude honestly, Jimin, I'm sorry I-"

"It's OK, please stop saying sorry," Jimin spoke over him. "You don't need to say sorry, it was kind of stupid hiding it like that. Like makeup can really hide it." He let out a soft laugh at this, moving his hand back onto his lap just so Yoongi wouldn't steal glances at it.

"Did you, uh, did you actually ask for that tattoo?" Yoongi asked as he dropped the napkin and collected his noodle box instead. He grabbed the chopsticks and awkwardly stabbed at the contents for a few seconds rather than attempt to eat the contents. "Did Master Jeon ask you?"

"No," Jimin replied as he leaned forward to prod at the contents of the katsu. "I didn't want it, Jungkook didn't really ask my permission and I ended up with it anyway."

"...Y'know, I've got a tattoo too," Yoongi said in a quiet voice, still playing with the noodles rather than eating them. Jimin turned his head to look at him, a chunk of curry-covered chicken held between his chopsticks. "A Haedogje Pa one, I kinda had to get it too but-"

There was a sudden noise from a few feet away and they both turned their heads just in time to see Wangbi trying to scoff the last nigiri, rice and all. She was caught in the act by the pair of them before she could drop down out of sight beside the table however. The cat looked at them both, the treat snagged between her teeth and a rather guilty expression in her emerald eyes, and then Yoongi started laughing under his breath; that same wheezy guffaw just like always.

"Wangbi!" Jimin scolded and she dropped back to the floor with her treasure still firmly held in her mouth. "That's naughty, you know you're not allowed to eat food off daddies' plates like that."

"Hey, does she ever reply when you talk to her like that?" the other man asked with a smirk on his face.

"No, I wish that she would though. I would have someone to talk to instead of myself."

"...You've got me, Jimin," Yoongi said after a moment of silence, still amused smile on his face. "But I guess it's not the same."

"No, I like talking to you. I like it a lot," Jimin disagreed with a head shake. "It's just that...we can't talk often with you working so much for Jungkook." He paused for a few seconds, a sudden thought coming to mind. "Yoongi, you talk about him sometimes like you know him, like you talk to him. Is that from...from when you were both young or is it something you still do now?"

"He's been here a few times in the past," Yoongi explained slowly as he stared at the remains of the food on the table. "To collect info on guys, y'know, like to check if I've got dirt on addictions or whatever. We talk sometimes, nothing heavy or whatever, just talking for talking's sake."

"What does he say?" Jimin asked, twisted on the seat cushion to look right at him. He couldn't help but stare at his profile as he spoke, all of his attention zeroing in on his mouth. "Does he speak about me? What does he say? Please, Yoongi, please just tell me the truth?"

"...Shit, Jimin, he brags about you," Yoongi said in the most softest voice. "He talks about you so fucking much, has all kinds of photos on his phone that he shows off to me 'cos he can't show anyone else. He's...he's in love with you, Jimin. You should see the look on his face it's just-" the other man paused and dropped his chopsticks on the table, lips twitching down at the corners as he did, "fucking love." Yoongi reached up to squeeze at the bridge of his nose for a moment. "That's all he ever talks to me about if it ain't business: you."

"He...?"

"He loves you, Jimin."

Why did hearing those words coming out of Yoongi's lips make him feel cold all over? Why did he find it hard to swallow because it felt like there was a lump in his throat choking him? Jimin studied his profile for a few seconds before dropping his gaze down to the chopsticks in his hands. The sight of the tattoo on his knuckles seemed to jar him back to reality for a moment. Was Yoongi mistaken? Was it really love or was Jungkook just bragging about owning him? Could Jungkook really love someone like him: a prostitute, a Valium addicted prostitute with no status to his name beyond a now dead internet domain? Was he really just a kind of trophy that would be shown off that would soon be put back on a shelf until a new one came along? The worst part was that Jimin himself didn't even know.

"Why does he talk to you about me?" he asked, fingers still bending at the chopsticks. They might just snap if he kept applying so much pressure. Yoongi didn't reply to his question and instead got off the settee to go over to his desk. When he looked up to track his movement he wasn't at all surprised to see that he was going over to collect his usual baggie and pull a joint free. "Yoongi?"

"Dunno, does it matter?" Yoongi retorted rather brusquely as sat down in the desk chair with the unlit joint between his lips. That was unexpected, was enough to make Jimin feel rather taken aback. The other man was never so brusque with him, maybe little blunt when he needed to be but never...cold. Yoongi started searching his desk to try and find the lighter, moving aside papers and random shit. Before he could possibly locate it the door swung open across the room and a man that Jimin didn't recognise stuck his head into the office.

"Yo, boss! Check out the news, right now!"

"The news? What'd you mean check the news, Hyungjoon?" Yoongi asked the other man, furrowing his brow severely so that he was squinting at him.

"Just check the news, some shit's gone down!" Hyungjoon said in that same frantic tone before slamming the door shut and leaving them both staring at it in dumb confusion. Yoongi sighed and stopped his search for the lighter, turning to his keyboard instead and presumably opening something news related on it. Jimin watched him from his position on the settee, still more concerned about the fact the other man had been rather cold to him. So when Yoongi saw what Hyungjoon had been hollering about on his screen Jimin saw his lips go slack and the unlit joint fell out to land on the desk.

"Juh... Shit, Jimin, come look at this," he ordered as he dragged his eyes away from the monitor. So Jimin got to his feet, dropping his rather bent chopsticks on the table, and crossed the office to get to his desk. "This is bad shit, real bad shit."

Jimin felt his chin brushing against his shoulder as he bent forward to look at his monitors, the warm cotton pullover fragrant with the faded scent of marijuana and something powdery. Perhaps detergent. Yoongi didn't even move, barely even blinked and so he turned his attention to the computer screens. One still had a database of some kind open, lines and lines of text and numbers that he couldn't possibly decipher yet the other man clearly could. Funny, he was very much like Taehyung in that regard; learning all of those names and facts. How he could store that all away when his brain was so often clouded over from the effects of constant joint smoking Jimin didn't know.

The second monitor had a news page on it and there was currently a running video feed right in the centre of the screen. For a few seconds he thought that he was looking at a crash, a car pile up of some kind, for there were a mess of cars on the video. But then it hit him that he wasn't looking at a traffic accident exactly, but rather the resulting accident that had occurred for another reason.

The bold black headline declared: Horrific Drive-by Shooting in Mapo-gu Results in Multiple Collisions.

"Fullscreen, get it on fullscreen, Yoongi," he demanded as he almost shook his shoulder to get him to move. So the other man moved the mouse and clicked so that the video stretched to fit the entire screen. Jimin stared at the car that seemed to be central to the chaos, the long and black car that now looked rather warped beyond recognition. He saw shattered glass, caved in metal; the vehicle was destroyed.

"...Those are bullet holes," Yoongi said as he reached out to point at the screen, finger making a lazy circle in the air. Of course they were bullet holes, after all the headline had been about a drive-by shooting. "Jesus H. Christ, a fucking drive-by? In Mapo-gu ? This ain't L.A. I don't-"

"...I know that car," Jimin said as he shifted, head knocking against his rather hard. Yoongi jerked with a surprised noise and then reached up to rub at the tender spot, fingers disturbing his top lengths of bleached hair. Jimin turned his head to look at him, catching sight of the tiniest tattoo behind his ear that his fingers had revealed: the Jeon family lotus that he had mentioned. "Yoongi, I know that car, I know it."

"I heard you the first ten times, Jimin-"

"Shit I know it, I-"

"you don't have to keep saying that 'cos-"

"no, no you don't understand, Yoongi!" he almost shouted at him. Yoongi flinched in his seat, head jerking back as he blinked hard and Jimin felt a horrible surge of disgust for scaring him like that. But he had been unable to stop himself. He knew that car as well as he knew the sensation of Wangbi's fur and the little freckles on Jungkook's inner thigh that he loved planting kisses between. There was no way of mistaking the vehicle and Jimin was almost convinced that he was hallucinating.

This wasn't happening, there was no way that this was happening in reality.

"You don't understand, I know it, I know it and-and-"

"Whoa hey, hey, Jimin," Yoongi stammered as he reached over to grab hold of one of his hands, squeezing it tightly between both of his. "You need to calm down, you're getting hysterical."

"Yuh-Yoongi, I can't buh-"

"It's OK."

"breathe I can't-" Jimin felt his legs shaking so badly that he staggered forward and almost collapsed on him. He could feel everything spinning inside his head, as if the walls were going round and round and the floor might just be pulled out from under his feet. Yoongi let go of his hand and instead reached up to grab hold of his upper arms, grip tight as he gently pushed him back upright. Jimin was momentarily surprised by the fact he had been able to do so, that he hadn't been too weak to stop him from collapsing on top of him. "Uh-I cuh-"

"Jimin, stop talking," Yoongi instructed in a stern tone. "Stop talking and take deep breaths, alright? You've having a fucking, I dunno, panic attack or something."

Jimin's chest was aching so badly that a part of him was almost certain that he was having a heart attack. It felt like someone had cinched a belt tight around his ribs and had pulled hard, squeezing him so tightly that his ribs were starting to cave inwards and crush his lungs. He had never felt anything like this before. This was nothing like the anxiety that he had had waiting to hear about Jungkook and Taehyung that day; frozen to the spot in fear and unable to do anything other than think about them both. This was something so absolutely terrifying that he couldn't seem to process, to understand what was happening. All he could do was wheeze for breath and feel his entire body shaking.

"Yuh-Yoongi, I-" Jimin gasped and tried to hold his breath, willing for the palpitations to stop long enough for him to breathe properly. "I told him this was buh-bad, I told him and-" Yoongi still had his hands tight around his upper arms, mostly supporting his weight, "I can't buh-believe this is happening."

"Jimin, what if you're wrong, huh?" the other man suggested. "What if you just think it's that car? How many other cars must be in the capital that are the exact same, yeah?" Jimin studied his face to see that Yoongi was trying to be optimistic, trying to look like he wasn't as scared as he was right now.

"No no, Yoongi, it's his car, it's his car I can feel it," Jimin said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, chest still aching. "I can feel it."

Taehyung hated the scent of gasoline. He knew that some people loved it, found it a pleasing scent like mown grass and old book pages. But the kind of people that found gasoline a pleasant scent had clearly only ever enjoyed it at gas stations; had never had to upend a container of the pungent and greasy liquid all over an unconscious man as if he were a bonfire and nothing more than that. They had obviously not detected the scent in the air and had been hit with the knowledge that the scent was a sign of danger, but Taehyung had and that was why the scent was enough to almost turn his stomach. Just like Jungkook had requested he had collected the container from the back of the other vehicle in the lot. The SUV that he was pretty certain belonged to the twins which had been packed full with random shit that just screamed 'homicide'. Taehyung had had to unlock the bumper cover to reach inside and pull it free, the plastic container so heavy that he had needed to carry it between both of his hands to get it into the warehouse. Even then the scent had been wafting from it and when he had uncapped it and started sloshing the contents all over Yoochun the scent had been even worse.

Taehyung decided to not think about what he was doing and just concentrated on emptying the container instead, throwing his arm back to help expel the gasoline out in a stream to splash all over the man and the board that he was still strapped to. It had served its purpose once but Jungkook had clearly gotten bored of it now and so it was going to be burnt up too. Just like Yoochun. It didn't really cross Taehyung's mind that he was using his left shoulder whilst he tossed the gasoline everywhere for he was too numb to really notice. As soon as there was just a slight amount left he dribbled it in a light trail away from the board and then tossed the empty container aside.

"Taehyung," Jungkook held his hand out to him and so he reached inside his pocket to pull his lighter free. The gasoline on his gloves got on his trousers as he did, wetting the fabric so that the scent would cling to him. Then he placed it in his hand for him and the younger man flicked it open.

Jungkook sparked the lighter by running his thumb over the wheel, holding it just a bare inch from his nose as he did. The flame danced from his soft breath, reflected back on the glossy surfaces of his near black irises. Even with the warm orange light Jungkook's eyes still looked hollow to him: dead. He was once again back to the young man he had once seen him as, cold and sociopathic rather than loving and human. It was strange just how quickly he could switch between both things the second that business was involved. The mask was back in place once again and Taehyung had managed to get that rare glimpse of what lay underneath it.

He didn't really know if he had even wanted to have seen it in the first place.

Taehyung turned to look at Yoochun to see that he was still unconscious, lolling forward against the restraints and barely moving if not for the occasional spasm of his chest or hands as he breathed. There was a mixture of water and gasoline dripping from his damp hair and his white shirt was stained a caramel brown from the liquid. Yoochun was unconscious and therefore unaware of what was going to happen, but he wouldn't be when Jungkook tossed the lighter. No, that would bring him back to consciousness in the most hideous way possible.

Jungkook let go of the wheel before it could heat up too much and then he moved over to grab Yoochun's wet hair with the same hand holding the lighter. He brought his free hand up to slap him hard across the face once with his palm, and then again with the back of his hand when the man jerked from the impact, the crisp slapping sound incredibly loud in the silence of the warehouse.

"Wakey wakey, Lee, we're still not done here exactly," Jungkook said as he stepped backwards to study him. Taehyung could see two pink marks on his cheeks shaped like Jungkook's splayed fingers, standing out in sharp contrast to his pale skin. It wasn't exactly clear if Yoochun was even with them fully but his eyes were wide and alert. "You mentioned steps, I want more about this. I also want details on everything that Kim Jinwoo asked of you."

"I-I tuh-told you-"

"The money yes, yes the fucking money," Jungkook groaned over him, "tell me about the fucking money, Lee. I want to hear it from your mouth right now."

"I didn't know wuh-what it was for I just-"

When Jungkook lifted the lighter and sparked the light again only then did it seem to hit Yoochun that the scent of gasoline was in the air. Was all over him, in fact. The man jerked and let out a cry of surprise.

"I wired him uh-uh-a billion won," Yoochun stammered as he wriggled against the board. "A buh-billion is a lot of fuh-fucking cash! I don't tuh-think it was all fuh-for you, Master Jeon!" At this Taehyung shifted, moving from one foot to the other as he thought his words over. There was something in his words that had stood out to him and after a moment he leaned over to talk to Jungkook in a low voice.

"Wouldn't need a billion to invest in weapons seen as Kim Jintae already sorted that issue out. That's too much for a hit, surely?" Taehyung remarked, eyes not leaving Yoochun once as he did.

"That is too much for a hit, even one as tricky as me," Jungkook agreed with a soft nod as he let go of the wheel. "If I had to place a value on my head it would be less than five-hundred million, especially with a team as large as the one that tried to kill us. That's not even half of the money, so where's the rest of it?"

Taehyung glanced over at him and he tried to figure out where it could have possibly have gone. Had Jinwoo used it yet or was he planning on doing so? Was that maybe what Yoochun had meant by steps? First Jungkook and then...then something else. Jungkook held his gaze unblinkingly, waiting for him to speak but suddenly Taehyung found that he couldn't seem to do so.

"I'm step one," Jungkook finally said to break the silence. "So what's step two?" Yoochun could only sob that he didn't know between his tightly clenched teeth. "Is step two his ascension as an heir, to take over after my death as the only surviving benefactor of the Jeon and Kim family?" Taehyung thought this over but felt that it didn't really sound right to him. He no longer got a sense from Jinwoo that the other young man wanted Haedogje Pa. He just wanted Jungkook dead.

"I dunno, I dunno, Master Jeon, I-"

"Jungkook, I think that-" but before he could finish speaking Jungkook sparked the lighter again and tossed it at the floor.

Taehyung heard a rather strange sound, a loud fumph as the gasoline ignited instantly and started eating up the trail that led to the board. Within mere seconds the flames had spread enough to lick up up onto the angled board and Yoochun's trouser legs caught alight first. The man had been completely drenched in gasoline and so it took just a few seconds before all of his clothing was alight too. He stared at the other man in absolute horror; the sight of Yoochun completely obscured under the roaring flames that had been nothing more than an inch just a moment ago. And the noises... Yoochun bucked against the board and he just screamed in a way that seemed much too loud, too shrill to be real. Just hearing it made him scrunch his face up and turn away from the heat that was baking his skin from their close distance.

Taehyung hadn't even known that a human could make such a noise.

"When he's done call in the clean-up crew," Jungkook called over the roaring sound of the flames and Yoochun's screaming. "Sort this fucking mess out."

"Yeah, boss," the twins said in perfect unison as they both turned to leave the warehouse.

Taehyung could still hear the sound of him screaming coming through the thin shutter, it was just considerably more muted by the thick brick walls and metal. He almost ran after Jungkook just so they could get into the car and he wouldn't have to listen to Yoochun screaming any more. All thoughts about steps and money had completely disappeared from his mind and he found that he was wonderfully blank of absolutely everything as he climbed into the backseat.

"I've got practically nothing to report to daddy," Jungkook groaned as he sank back against the seat. He starting removed his gloves, pulling at the fingers with his teeth to get them off quicker whilst Yang started the engine and pulled out of the lot. "Money? We already knew about the fucking money."

Taehyung was about to shrug his jacket on when his phone fell out of the inner pocket and landed on his lap. So he picked it up, pressing down on the centre button with his thumb accidentally as he did. Jimin's number was on his screen, near a dozen missed calls that were a very unsettling and confusing sight to see.

"Jungkook, Jimin's tried calling me like fifteen times," Taehyung said as he eyed the missed calls icon on his lockscreen. "Why the fuck would he call me so many times?"

Jungkook collected his own phone out of his jacket pocket, one glove still held tightly between his teeth by a finger. He eyed his own phone with something that looked like confusion too, staring at his screen because his device was also flooded with messages. As if the fact Jimin had called him over a dozen times wasn't strange enough, Taehyung could see even more calls on Jungkook's phone and not all of them were from Jimin.

"Jungkook...?" Taehyung lifted his gaze from the phone screen to look at him. "What the fuck's going on?" The younger man didn't reply and instead started hitting his screen with his thumb, typing quickly before holding the device against his ear.

"Bae, I saw your missed messages and- yes, I've been dealing with Lee Yoochun all morning. Yes, yes I am. Why would I...what do you mean sit down, I am sitting, Bae." Jungkook stopped talking on the seat beside him, device still held up to his ear. He was clearly listening to the other man speaking and his face was a hard mask whilst he did. Taehyung could only watch him and wait, gaze shifting from his eyes to his mouth every few seconds. It took perhaps thirty seconds before he saw the corners of his lips twitching, turning down at first and then going neutral again. "Yes...yes he did, he did. In Mapo-gu, yes. Why are you asking, Bae, is..." Jungkook stopped talking to listen and Taehyung heard the creaking sound of leather as he reached down with his free hand to grab hold of the seat.

The phone slipped free with a twitch of his fingers to land on the seat between their thighs.

Taehyung stared at Jungkook for what felt like an eternity, waiting for him to speak, to blink or do anything. But the younger man didn't. Jungkook just stayed still on the seat beside him and he barely even seemed to breathe. Taehyung reached over to get his phone and end the call for him, the sound of static voices still sounding from it. He had only just hit the screen when Jungkook's hand grabbed hold of his wrist, fingers clamping down tight enough to hurt.

"Jungkook?" Taehyung asked, trying to not wince at the death grip on his wrist. "Jungkook, are you OK? What the fuck is going on?" Jungkook didn't let go of his wrist or even look at him, rather he just blinked rapidly as he blinked away tears. Not a single one managed to spill free and roll down his cheek. After another dreadful period of silence he finally said something to him, something in a whisper-soft voice.

"Step two."

In the time that it took Yang to get them back to the apartment block in Gangnam-gu Jungkook didn't speak and just kept tight hold of his wrist instead. Taehyung could only sit there in a mixture of confusion and fear as he waited for answers. But he didn't get any. Their driver drove up to the curb and he reached over to pop the door open. Only then did the younger man let go of his wrist.

"Go," Jungkook demanded as he roughly shoved him out of the car. "Get in the fucking apartment room and stay there."

Taehyung stumbled on the curb in surprise, pedalling backwards as he tried to not fall on his ass like an idiot in front of the other man. Not that it really mattered for Jungkook slammed the door shut and Yang pulled away from the curb so hard that he heard the tires treads almost screeching as the Mitsubishi shot back into the road. He watched the vehicle go as he reached up to touch his aching shoulder. Taehyung let his breath out in an uneven sigh as he turned to cross the sidewalk and enter the apartment block. The men in the entrance area all stared at him but he didn't ask them any questions and rather just went into the elevator instead.

Taehyung unlocked his phone as the carriage ascended, hastily typing up a message to Jimin even when his fingers were shaking again, asking him where he was. He had only hit send when the carriage doors open so he crossed the hallway and hastily unlocked the door to get into the penthouse suite. The sight he was greeted by was that of Jimin sitting on the bed across the suite, phone in hand as he likely typed a reply to send to him. Jimin looked up at the sound of the door opening and the phone dropped from his fingers to fall on the bed.

"Tae..." Jimin said in a voice barely above a whisper as he got to his feet. Just hearing it was enough to make Taehyung's skin crawl and he was more than certain that the liquid in his body plummeted enough degrees to turn into ice. There was something wrong, something horribly wrong and he could tell just by looking at his face. Jimin's usual golden cast had paled to a rather worrying shade, almost grey to his eyes. He looked like he was going to collapse and so Taehyung actually raced across the suite to grab hold of him, hands wrapping around his lower upper arms tightly lest he actually drop.

"Jimin, what's wrong are you OK?" Taehyung asked, and from up close it was even worst. Jimin's eyes were barely focused, clouded over with something he knew for certain was absolute shock.

"No, no it's not that it's-"

"Jimin?"

"Jeon, it's Jeon," Jimin said as his eyes seemed to focus again, growing startlingly clear as his gaze locked right onto his. Taehyung stared down at him in a mixture of confusion and fear.

"Jeon's dead."