"So let me get this straight. The reason you boneheads decided to hold up a coffee shop in broad daylight was because you wanted to impress our boss."

The man who was a sticky mess now because of the coffee Taehyung had thrown on him vigorously nodded his head at the statement whilst his partner - mister brooding biker - scowled at the ground. The brooding biker had to look up though when he felt the muzzle of a gun being placed under his chin, lifting it so he locked eyes with the smirking man in front of him; a red eyed wolf tattoo displayed prominently on the man's muscular right forearm.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," said the man. "That sort of thing isn't impressive to our boss. That's messy. Our boss hates messy."

"We promise we will be more careful next time!" spluttered the coffee-soaked buffoon.

"We have a way to make it up to our boss," muttered the brooding biker finally, capturing the attention of the man in front of him.

"And how do you propose doing that? Holding up another coffee shop and needing to be bailed out?"

"There's a tiger roaming the streets right now," started the brooding biker.

"Yes. It's all over the news. So what?"

"What if I was to tell you that tiger can also turn into a man?"

A gleam of intrigue flickered in the man's eyes as he looked at the brooding biker before him, looking over the wounds he still sported from the tiger attack.

"I don't believe you," said the man.

"Well good," said the brooding biker.

"Good?"

"Yes. That just means I can have the glory and you can't."

The smirk toyed on the man's lips again as he undid the safety on the gun, pointing it right at the center of the brooding biker's forehead.

"That would be true if it wasn't for the fact that I still have a mess to clean up."

The brooding biker realized too late what the man meant; a shot firing and causing his body to splay backwards in a pool of his own blood. His coffee covered partner left life seconds behind him; another shot ringing out to kill him.

"What was that noise?! Don't tell me..."

A man with spiked honey blonde hair rushed into the abandoned warehouse, frowning at the sight of the two dead men before him.

"Jungkook, what did you do?" asked the spiky haired newcomer, watching Jungkook take care of his gun as he stood up.

"I was cleaning up the mess, Hobi. Duh."

"Are you sure about that? It looks like you just made a bigger one," argued Hobi as Jungkook looked over his way with a scowl.

"Don't argue with Jungkook, Hobi," said a man with silver colored hair as he entered the warehouse. "Otherwise, you might join this..."

"Don't say mess," growled Jungkook, kicking at the limp leg of one of the men as he walked over to the two of them. "Jimin, clean this up."

"Why me?" squeaked Jimin as he watched Jungkook walk past them to where the motorcycles were.

"Because Hobi will get sick again if he has to do it by himself and I have somewhere to be. Duh."

'Duh' was something that Jimin was used to hearing from the younger. Jimin sometimes fantasized what the roles would be if Jungkook weren't the boss' favorite. Jimin watched as Jungkook sped off his motorcycle out into the rain, leaving him and Hobi behind. As Jimin turned back to look at the mess they had to clean up, he noticed that Hobi was already in a corner throwing up all over the floor.

"Dude, seriously?!"

- - -

The good news was that they got Dal to the hospital while he was still alive, but the bad news was that he was barely hanging on to life. The doctors grimly told the four of them that Dal had mere hours left if that. Taehyung couldn't help but to feel guilty for Dal's current state. He knew that Dal was starting to fail health wise, but if Taehyung felt that - if he hadn't been selfish and tried to figure out how to break his curse - Dal wouldn't be fighting for his life. Dal wouldn't have had a need to run out into the storm and die quicker.

Taehyung sat in a chair alongside Dal's hospital bed decked out in clothing that Namjoon had bought for him at a nearby gift shop to replace his shredded ones. Taehyung looked at Dal's pale, unresponsive face; the machines beeping and acting like life's metronome. Gemini stood a few feet away, watching Taehyung holding one of Dal's hands while Namjoon and Yoongi stood by the door.

"I'm sorry, Dal..." whispered Taehyung as he rubbed his thumb over Dal's knuckles. "This is all my fault..."

Gemini looked sadly Taehyung's way. To say she had a rough day was an understatement. The robbery at the coffee shop brought her back to a dark place in her life she hadn't been in a while. She could feel the fear towards life creeping in again, especially more so when Taehyung turned into a tiger right in front of her. But then - even though Taehyung was a beast - he hadn't acted like one. He made sure everyone in the coffee shop was safe before running off with the injuries that had been inflicted on him. The fear that she desperately wanted to feel was dispelled by his actions. Gemini turned to look towards the door where Namjoon and Yoongi stood.

"Can you guys leave us for a bit?" asked Gemini.

Yoongi opened his mouth in an attempt to protest as Namjoon nodded his head, quickly grabbing Yoongi by the shoulders and directing him out into the hallway.

"Come on, Yoongi. Lets go try to find where we can get some coffee."

"Why do you automatically assume I like coffee?" Yoongi grumbled as he and Namjoon's bickering disappeared down the hospital hallway.

Gemini shut the door after them before slowly walking over to where Taehyung was. He had his head bent down now; his forehead resting on Dal's hand as he still held it tightly. Gemini grabbed a chair and moved to sit down next to Taehyung, reaching out a hand to gently put it on his shoulder.

"Tae..."

Taehyung lifted his head when he heard Gemini's soft tone, looking over at her with glassy, tear-filled eyes.

"This isn't your fault," said Gemini.

"But it is..."

"It's not," argued Gemini softly, reaching out her free hand to brush away a tear that rolled down his cheek. "Dal made the choice to go look for you. You didn't make him."

"I just...I can't help but to feel guilty. I...I don't want him to die...Dal's family to me," said Taehyung as he turned from Gemini to look back at Dal in the bed.

"Tell me about it," said Gemini. "Tell me how you two met."

"To do that, I'd have to start from the beginning of all this, and I'm not sure if you'll look at me the same after."

"Try me," she said as she moved the hand she had on his shoulder to rest on his knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Taehyung took a deep breath as he proceeded to tell Gemini everything. He started with telling her about the man he used to be. Then he told her about the curse and about how Dal had found him when he had first become a tiger to take him in. Taehyung told Gemini how Dal had taken care of him through the decades; the two of them becoming a family.

"I would have died without him," whispered Taehyung, "and here he is about to die before realizing how grateful I am for what he did. He's going to die thinking he failed me when the opposite is true."

"He knows, Tae," said Gemini. "You two...you have a special bond. Trust me. He knows how grateful you are for him."

Taehyung nodded; his eyes lifting when he saw a glowing near the rain-streaked hospital window. Chan-mi appeared in the room before him, gliding across the floor to Dal's bedside.

"Please don't say it's his time," whispered Taehyung as he looked at Chan-mi. It was obvious that Gemini couldn't see who he was talking to as she looked about the room confused.

Taehyung tightened his hold on Dal's hand as the heart monitor in the room started to slow down.

"Taehyung..."

"Can't you heal him like you did me? If one of the two of us deserves to die, it's me. It's not him."

Chan-mi looked at the way Taehyung was clutching tightly to Dal's hand, begging for his life.

"His body can't handle the strain anymore, Taehyung. What you're asking for is a miracle."

Chan-mi fell silent for a moment as she looked at him; the heart monitor display getting ever closer to showing a flat line.

"However, you are helping me with my brother," continued Chan-mi. "I can't perform a miracle for your situation, but I will do it for your friend. I will save his life as advance payment for your help."

Taehyung couldn't believe what Chan-mi was saying, blinking back his tears as he looked at her.

"You're serious?"

Chan-mi merely nodded her head as she looked at Dal's still body in the hospital bed. She moved to place her hand on his forehead; a brilliant dazzling glow radiating from her hand.

"As I said, I can't save this body," said Chan-mi. "It's too weak, but his soul is strong. I will save him through his beautiful soul."

Taehyung watched as the light radiating from Chan-mi's palm soon swept down the length of Dal's body. Just as Taehyung thought the light would consume him as well, it and Chan-mi vanished into thin air.

"Who were you talking to, Taehyung?" asked Gemini when she saw he was looking around the room frantically.

"Chan-mi," responded Taehyung. "She's the woman that died because of me. She promised to save Dal's life because I had promised to help her save her brother from the darkness that has consumed his soul."

Taehyung turned to look back at Dal with a tearful frown to see that he looked the same; the heart monitor suddenly flat-lining.

"No...no! She promised!" Taehyung screamed out.

Namjoon and Yoongi could hear Taehyung screaming from where they stood in the hallway, rushing in on the heels of the doctors that had been alerted when the monitor flatlined. Taehyung fell from the chair he'd been sitting on and onto his knees, gripping Dal's limp hand. It took several nurses to get him away from Dal so the doctors could try life-saving measures.

"Dal," whispered Taehyung as Gemini followed after him to make sure he stayed human.

Namjoon, Taehyung, Yoongi and Gemini all stood by the door and watched the doctors try to get Dal's heart started again. The doctors worked for a couple of minutes before lifesaving measures were stopped.

"Time of death..."

The rest of the words the doctor was saying were drowned out as Taehyung fell down onto his knees in the doorway amongst Namjoon, Yoongi, and Gemini, sobbing his heart out. Namjoon and Gemini were quick to kneel beside him, hugging him on either side as his body violently shuddered from the sudden outpouring of emotions.

The doctors and nurses soon left the room, deciding to give the bereaved man a moment with Dal's body before they took it down to the morgue. Namjoon and Gemini helped Taehyung to his feet and over to Dal's lifeless body.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Taehyung as he reached out a hand to touch Dal's. "Thank you for saving my life. I just...I wish I could have saved yours."

"Lets go get you some coffee," suggested Namjoon, knowing it would be hard on Taehyung to be in the room when Dal was taken to the morgue.

Taehyung didn't want to leave Dal's side, but it hurt to stand next to him knowing that he was gone. Namjoon and Gemini walked with Taehyung towards the door; Yoongi volunteering to stay with Dal's body until the doctors came back.

Even though Taehyung was upset that Chan-mi hadn't been able to save Dal, he wasn't mad at her. She at least tried and that was more than he could have hoped for. Namjoon was just getting done pouring Taehyung some coffee into a Styrofoam cup when Yoongi came rushing down the hall towards them.

"Guys! You need to come back to the room like now!"

Gemini - who wasn't used to seeing Yoongi run for anything - knew that something serious must have happened. The three of them quickly followed Yoongi back down the hall to Dal's room.

Sitting up on the bed when they arrived was a young man with tawny hair; his deep chestnut brown eyes looking over at the doorway at the four of them. He just stared at them for a moment, confused as to where he was and who they were. His eyes looked them all over before landing on Namjoon.

"Namjoon, did you find him?" asked the young man. "Did you find my tiger?"

Dal. Even though none of them could believe their eyes, this young man that was sitting up in the bed where Dal's dead body once had been was really him. Taehyung moved to take a step forward; the man's eyes flicking to look at him. Dal had died and yet he was still more worried about him.

"Your tiger is fine," said Taehyung.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment; both of their eyes glassy. A tear fell free from the Dal's eye as he recognized Taehyung's eyes despite not recognizing his human form.

"Ember..." he whispered as Taehyung gave him a faint smile; a tear rolling down his own cheek to mirror Dal's.

- - -

AN: Whew! This was quite the chapter to write to say the least. 😂

I used the above gif to illustrate what Dal now looks like since being saved by Chan-mi. Dal now looks like none other than Kim Seokjin! Surprise!

I'm sorry for the emotional rollercoaster, but as my bestie has said to me before, I'm good at making my readers scream in all caps at least once.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and I'd love to hear what your predictions are for what is going to happen next!

Until the next update! 💜💜💜

(I don't own the gif used in this chapter).