Third Person’s P.O.V.

“How is he? How did he react to it? Was he happy to know?” Jin was expectantly following around Hoseok from the minute he had walked through the doors, discarding Jungkook and Yoongi’s several trials to calm him down.

“Calm down will you! The man just got the letter Jin, give him some time to at least go through the whole thing” Hoseok huffed grabbing his mug of coffee as he plopped down on the couch.

“Don’t tell me to calm down...you don’t know how hard this is!” Jin burst at them, fuming with a red face and effectively shutting them up as they realized it was gonna be yet another spill of frustrated emotions. And the very next moment they could hear him sniffling as he plopped on a lone seat, avoiding all of them as he fought to hold on to his raging concerns.

Jungkook glared at Hoseok who ran a hand down his face, realizing he had to be softer with Jin for now, couldn’t really blame him for being such an emotional mess, things really had been hard for him. So he walked to him, crouching to meet his eyes as he caressed his head “I’m so sorry for being insensitive...Taehyung is well”.

Jin picked his eyes from his lap and looked at him, the very mention of Taehyung’s name distracting him from the hurt.

“And I’m sure he is delighted to get the news” Jin watched Hoseok smile at him softly, still gently caressing his head “I never thought I’d ever say this because I once warned him from coming anywhere near you but guess fate had other plans for the two of you...he loves you Jin and this is probably the best gift you could give him, he’s very lucky to have you” 

Jin hugged him out of the blue, intending to hide his tears as he pushed his head to his best friends’ shoulder. He didn’t like feeling so weak, especially now, when he knew he had to be strong for both Taehyung and their baby girl but sometimes he just couldn’t help it.

These were the times when the soft patting hand on his back and the gentle assuring caresses on his head helped him through. He couldn’t wait for the next hearing, hoping that the Judge would lessen Tae’s sentence when he pleads to reconsider his case. He wanted Tae out of that godforsaken place, he wanted him here, caressing him instead and telling him that things were just fine...the difficult days were finally over.

The next hearing was still a couple weeks away, and Jin was overjoyed when Taehyung’s attorney had assured them that they could put up a plausible plea for his case which might lessen his jail time. He had even told them that he was going to see Taehyung soon in order to discuss the plan and Namjoon wanted to join him. 

    
Taehyung, on the other hand, was simply delighted and nothing seemed to be able to affect his happiness. However, troubles were lurking around him.

Jin-Young had been sent to the same prison and joined hands with Byun for obvious reasons, relaying to them the info about Taehyung getting only a years’ confinement as his sentence while being infuriated since he had been given fifteen years. His blood boiled to see the traitor be completely aloof and happily submerged in his own little world.

Neither the usual scuffles and tantrums in the prison, nor bad food or being locked up in  his cell because of some prank those mutts had wanted to play on him, not even Jin-Young and Byun’s minions acting up against him when they shoved him around and tried to bully him affected him. Taehyung simply brushed by all of it.  

“You planned this didn’t you?” Jin-Young intercepted his path as he tried to sidle by to walk towards the laundry room for his shift “you put Jungkook up to threaten me huh?”

Taehyung had simply chosen not to pay any attention, enjoying how this pissed them off more but he was more than curious to know how Jungkook had actually managed to get Jin-Young to confess.

“You know you deserved it” he spoke with a cold stare intending to rile the other up some more and it worked when he was grabbed by the throat and pushed into a wall. A horde had gathered around them, greedy to take part in the fight, they had been waiting patiently for a chance to get their revenge against the traitor who had put them behind bars. 

Taehyung did not even react to their ploys to threaten him, and just when Jin-Young raised a fist against him Byun’s voice cut them off.

“Stop your childish antics Jin-Young and go back to your work all of you”

Taehyung heard the chilling voice pass them by and almost instantly the grip on his throat was gone. He only stared at Byun’s back while rubbing at the pain in his throat being concerned and still completely unaware as to why the man was trying to protect him. This was what troubled him the most, Kai and Sumni were easier to read but Byun…..Byun was an unwholesome conundrum.

However, he cared little about anything anymore focusing wholly on his newfound delight.

His attorney and Namjoon had come to inform him on how they were planning to shift him to the military prison soon and about the plan to plead for his case, making him feel indomitably hopeful. 

“Is he still upset?” He asked right before Namjoon was about to put down the receiver, remembering the words of the other about Jin falling into bouts of anger and sadness ever-so-often.  

“He’s just worried” Namjoon replied “and rightly so at that…I’d suggest you to be careful too” he huffed knowing how dangerous were the circumstances for Taehyung right now being surrounded by enemies all around.

Taehyung fell silent but was taken by surprise to hear Namjoon’s next words, “he sent something for you, collect it from the warden” a loud smile and twinkling happy eyes instantly changing his demeanour.

And that was another night Taehyung couldn’t sleep at all, being completely enthralled with the letter Jin sent him, telling him about regular stuff, his new project at work which was becoming a bit hectic to keep up with along with the fatigue and aches that would take over him in sudden flashes but gave him the happy news that he could manage to get his appetite back and how glad he was that the morning sickness was slowly going away. He told him how Jimin had taken up the duty to give him a million advice a day to help him through the pregnancy, and Hobi and Kook had kind of taken up the duty of being his ‘maid-in-waiting’ giving in to all his demands and profusely pampering him. He confessed that he often felt guilty for being a nagger and an emotional mess and Yoongi would simply sit and carefully listen to all his complaints. 

The letter ended with Jin telling him that he was doing well and so was their baby,  and that it was because of him he often had the worst mood swings and accused him for leaving him in this situation.

‘I wish I could curse you for leaving me in this state….but I can’t, you’re lucky I love you so much’

Taehyung felt a tear slip from the corner of his eye as he stared at the page as he read Jin telling him he was worried about him and imploring him again and again to take care of himself. He smiled pressing the letter to his face hoping to catch a whiff of Jin’s calming scent, knowing how pitiful it was that for now this was as close as he could get to touch him. The ache in him was just too great and he decided that once he is shifted to the military prison he’d ask Namjoon or Hoseok to bring Jin to see him. His mind created pretty images of how adorably plump and soft Jin had looked the last time he had seen him, he craved to see how beautifully he glowed. 

He simply  couldn’t wait to see him and his delight seemed to ooze out of him and made many an eye there question, especially Byun, who didn’t need a second glance to know that something had terribly changed in Taehyung. He was no longer the angry man always ready for a fight.

“Jin-Young…” Byun’s calm cold voice made the other lean nearer as they sat together in a corner in the open compound watching the others spend time conversing, dealing cards, playing about or simply idling under the sun “I got some work for you”.

The other smiled hearing the words as he followed Byun’s eyes to where Taehyung was immersed in playing basketball with a group of other inmates.

Taehyung decided to have a shower before dinner, it had been a good game and he remained impassive while he got rid of his sweaty uniform and entered a stall, letting the cold water run down him. He could hear a few more voices in the long washroom, believing it was possibly the others wanting to cool down after a game as well. But the moment he stepped out of the stall he saw the others moving out of there, almost running away. 

He decided to pay no heed, almost like all the other times he had tried to look over their mindless games. However, that was until he returned to his cell only to find the place completely dishevelled and the first thing he looked for were the letters and the photo.

Unbridled rage took over him when he realized that those were the only things missing and he burst out of there heading straight for the cafeteria with murder in his eyes.

He didn’t care who it was, but whoever it was would die by his hands tonight. 

Lucky for him since he didn’t even have to look for the culprit as Jin-Young waved it right at him before passing the papers around the table and sharing a laugh.

“He’s got a little slut waiting at home…oh my, pregnant too! And such a sweet talker…wonder how good he’s in bed” he could hear them titter as they read the letter “fifteenth week huh? You sure it’s yours? Bitches can be crafty Tae...trust me I know” Jin-Young grinned and mocked at him as he neared where they sat joking about the letters.

Unbothered about the cameras and the wardens, Taehyung simply grabbed at his nape and dragged him off of his seat to throw him down on the floor, pummelling him with a series of kicks to the gut in the very next second.

“Don’t even talk about him with your filthy mouth” he roared as his fury rose to illimitable levels and he completely lost himself to his anger.

An uproar broke out, and all of Jin-Young’s ‘pals’ broke upon Taehyung, hitting him in a flurry of rage making the other charge at them like a madman.

He pushed them off, focusing his attention back on a groaning and bleeding Jin-Young on the floor as he let his fist strike his jaw repeatedly.

“You just don’t learn when to stop, do you??” He growled and snatched the paper which the other still weakly clutched onto but before he could ensure its safety, several fists broke upon him again, arm coiling around his neck to drag him off of an unconscious Jin-Young. He fought against them, kicking and punching at them as best as he could, his wild eyes searching for the other letter amongst the crowd who tried to hold him down.

Suddenly he felt his legs wobble and teeth dug into his tongue when he felt a taser jabbed into the back of his neck, his vision instantly became blurry and he caught a group of wardens taking charge of the situation. But the crowd of inmates weren’t done with him just yet and he felt himself pushed into a wall as he took several hits to the gut, his throat choking up making him gasp for breath.

Amongst all of this there was only one face who still calmly sat at a distance, his cold yet intimidating eyes as unaffected as ever and Taehyung was sure that he had seen Byun smirk at him when he felt another wave of current pass through his muscles as the wardens encircled him just before he lost his strength and fell to the ground.

He was in pain and barely awake when he felt that he was being dragged to the very edge of the long hallway, he wasn’t sure where he was being taken but this side of the prison felt way too empty. They pulled him inside a little empty cell and that was when he realized how badly he had fucked things up for himself. 

“A month in solitary will teach you to keep that anger in check” a heavy voice announced and Taehyung almost felt his heart jump out in utter dejection.

“Please n-no...don’t p-put me in soli-t-tary, I’ll m-miss the hea-rring..p-please..” he was shamelessly pleading but he couldn’t care less about pride right now, there was no way he could miss the hearing! It’s gonna ruin everything he had been hoping for “a-anything el-se...not this..please not th-this…” 

“Huh...you think you can do just about anything and then make excuses? I’ll send someone to check on your wounds” the door closed with a groan and he lay there unmoving and heaving as the pain in his ribs got worse. His rage had yet again ruined his luck, Byun had known this and had masterfully planned it all out and he being the ignorant fool had stupidly stepped into the trap.

He felt like killing himself for being this stupid...why hadn’t he seen the truth behind it?

Byun had won again.

The others had been a bit concerned when Namjoon got the message that the official date of shifting Taehyung to the other prison had been postponed by a month, but when they received the mail from their attorney that the next hearing had been cancelled everyone got alarmed.

Namjoon was quick to realize that something must have happened and requested to visit the other as soon as possible.

Jungkook had accompanied him this time and when they were told by a warden that Taehyung would not be able to visit them, they demanded an explanation.

“What do you mean he went crazy on the inmates? Something must have obviously happened for him to do that” Namjoon was getting enraged now, catching a hint of what must have happened when he heard the name of Jin-Young being mentioned “and you can’t just put him in solitary-” “He broke Jin-Young’s jaw and his nose, cracked three ribs and left the guy half dead...it’s been two weeks and he’s still in the infirmary! And you think we just put him there for fun?!”

Jungkook, having had a taste of how outrageous the Major could become in his fury, shared a glance with Namjoon since that definitely sounded like an enraged and out of control Taehyung, no doubt about that. 
 
The warden told him about what he had heard from some of the inmates who had seen Byun’s minions secretly entering Taehyung’s cell while the Major wasn’t there and it was after that when the fight had broken out in the cafeteria. The Colonel sighed rubbing at his temples, trying to find a way out of this fix but he knew this would cost them the hearing. Not only that but this blotch on his conduct could even make the Judge forego the decision about Taehyung’s sentence. 

“Fine, I understand your point but that doesn’t change the fact that someone had riled him up, nonetheless raked his cell and stole something...don’t tell me you can’t see what had actually happened!” Namjoon jibed “And there’s always a chance this could happen again, and who knows if he’d even survive it the next time!”

“I think it’s only right that he is shifted to the military prison...clearly he has enemies here who want to hurt him, and undoubtedly ya’ll aren’t alert enough” Jungkook spoke matter -of-factly, earning a glare from the warden and a nod from Namjoon, who demanded that they take back the decision to postpone the shifting.

“They cancelled the hearing, I couldn’t do anything about it” Namjoon spoke gritting his teeth to the agitation building within, they had managed to get him moved to the military prison “you should have been smarter about this”

“I know…its’ my fault” he sighed “I messed it all up.” Taehyung sat slumped in his seat on the other side of the table, a warden keeping a close eye on them.

He couldn’t help but curse at his own stupidity for losing his temper like that, especially after hearing from Namjoon how the news of him being hurt and put in ‘solitary’ for a month had made Jin cry. But at that time he couldn’t help it, those letters and those words were the closest things he had to feel that Jin and their hopeful future was safe, and seeing those filthy criminals toy with those and speak about him like that wrecked his composure as he fell into a fit of rage which he had been trying to snub down all the time. Jin had not written to him today and Taehyung knew he was angry with him.

“Well, never mind” Namjoon got up intending to head out now that he was assured that Taehyung was safer here, the purple and blue bruises had significantly lessened as well except a few “the case is closed. Byun’s sentence is yet to be decided, which I’m guessing will be either a death sentence or a lifetime imprisonment but Jin-Young and the rest of Axel who could be captured were given fifteen years. So, you can finally rejoice on getting it all done...you’ve successfully brought them down Taehyung, avenged all the lives that had been sacrificed. Be proud.”

Taehyung picked his head up and saw Namjoon give him a smile.

“No, we did it” Taehyung spoke, reminiscing Namjoon’s ever-constant support and faith in him “wars cannot be fought alone, and never without a leader. It’s an achievement for all of us” he smiled back at him and Namjoon patted at his shoulder acknowledging the compliment “I bet General Lee would be proud of us too” he added.

The warden came to accompany Taehyung back to his cell and just before Namjoon was about to take his leave he was stopped by a soft but ardent plea.

“I have put Jin’s name in the visitation list, you can tell him I’ll be waiting to see him” and Namjoon could trace the need in that glossy eyed request “I need to apologize to him for my foolishness.”    

There was also something gnawing at the back of his mind and no matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t get the words out of his head.

Day two of his time in solitary he had struggled to open his eyes when he heard the door groan to open and gotten severely concerned when he watched the warden leave and Byun step inside the little cell instead. For a moment he had believed Byun was going to kill him and effectively make it look like an accident but the other just crouched down to peer at his bruised and beaten up state and smiled.

"Just one year? That’s too easy a sentence if you ask me, you must really have someone praying hard for you to come home eh?” His voice was flat but one could sense the chilling cold daggers “it’s amazing how they even got Jin-Young to confess. I see that pretty boy of yours kind of managed to rub off on the Judge as well" 

Taehyung tried to turn away, not wanting to be a part of this conversation session. He was aware that Byun has been trying to pry into his life and piss him off for a while now, each time trying something new to bring in a word about Jin, knowing very well how it pushed the other to the brink of losing his cool, smartly deducing his weakness towards the boy.

“Guess you can finally get rid of all of this, you’ve been searching for that forever, right? I’ll tell you something today…there’s only two ways to love someone” he had leaned closer as Taehyung tried to push away, huffing heavily in pain from even the slightest movement.

“Either you get to cherish all of him or you ruin him completely, but you ensure that they have no existence without you, that is how you love someone. To love is to claim…to love is to be selfish”

He had sounded just as much like a sick psychopath that he was in reality and Taehyung had grimaced turning away as an unknown fear slowly crept up his spine, feeling his blood boil at those words realizing that there was a part within him that was terribly selfish in its need to claim Jin as his own, it made him angry to even think that he was anything like his psychopathic father and denied the hint, telling himself that there was no way that was true rather if he could he’d make sure to break his jaw as well.

“That’s the reason I had to kill your mother…she wouldn’t let me cherish her and threw away what we had the moment she learned about who I was…she even threatened me from going anywhere near you!” He spoke so casually about the way he murdered her that Taehyung couldn’t believe his ears “so I had to erase her, she wasn’t allowed to hate me.”

And those last few words put nerve-wracking fear in Taehyung as he heard him speak the same words he had once told to Jin when Jin had tried to push him away, calling him ‘disgusting’.

Taehyung hadn’t been able to sleep properly since that day, the fear, the guilt and the shame keeping him up through nights. He needed to see Jin’s trusting eyes, needed to feel assured that he was loved by him and told that he wasn’t a criminal, not a psychopath like his father…Jin would never hate him or try to run away from him. Never!

But he also knew that if such a day ever came, he’ll probably lose his mind and selfishly hold him to himself…for there was no one else who ever saw his pain and stayed to make it better, Jin was the only one who saw all the terrible things he had done and loved him anyway.

á na márië

[A\N] hope you are doing well 💜