──  ❝ 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑹𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑵𝑬」

❝ スコアを確定する;
.SETTLE THE SCORE ❞

IT COULD BE argued that progress was being made. Very very tiny, almost microscopic baby steps were being made, but at least Yoongi was getting somewhere, and for that, he could be proud of himself...maybe, probably. He wasn't entirely sure yet.

It took him a while to finally figure out how much he should cut his intake each week. Too much and he would relapse and start at square one, too little and his painful withdrawals would return to make his existence a living hell to which he would relapse to make the pain stop. Either way, he found his ass back to where he started.

But with a little help from Kehlani and Hoseok, he knew just how much to reduce his cocaine intake by. For one, he removed the PCP from it which, all in all didn't make much of a difference. Cocaine was his poison of choice, Angel Dust was just a little sprinkle of arsenic with his cyanide, with or without it, he was dying.

Hey, I need you to drop by later today

A completely isolated text from Hoseok was what made Yoongi crawl out of his cave for the first time in 2 weeks. He hasn't seen the light of day in what feels like forever. It was unhealthy, undoubtedly so, but certain symptoms of his withdrawal still remained, one of them being his sensitive, light-induced headaches.

For the first time in weeks, he finally got dressed into actual clothes, begrudgingly pulling on his shoes as he made his way towards the front door. Yoongi's gotten used to the unending silence of the small apartment. It was something that Yoongi had learned to appreciate, but something he could only enjoy in small intervals. Like in the morning, just after he wakes up. The golden rays of the early morning create a moment of serenity, only amplified by the silence that comes with rest.

But being in silence at all moments of the day makes the special silence of the morning lose all meaning.

Yoongi decided to only leave the house at night. He was already accustomed to roaming the back alleys of Daerim, dwelling amongst the other nightcrawlers who he's learned to call his brothers and sisters. Sure, the neon lights that seem to light the night in fire irritated his eyes, but the sight was undoubtedly one of his favorite in the world, the sight of the city at night.

With his head turned low, and his hands shoved into his pockets, Yoongi walked through the rain down to Hoseok's butchery. He didn't mind the way his hair stuck to his paled skin, even if it was in the way because it had grown out. He was simply asking to get catch a cold or get sick in some other way.

Yoongi always hated the little bell above the door of Hoseok's butchery. It was broken, didn't ring right, and he could only think "what's even the fucking point of having it there", be he digresses. All he wants to do is figure out what the fuck Hoseok wanted and take his ass back home.

He weaved around the counter and made his way into the back, past the freezer, and towards Hoseok's workshop where you can nearly always find him if he wasn't manning the front counter.

Hoseok demands that Yoongi knock, even if he didn't, the man has 4 deadbolts on the door and the frame was reinforced, there was no way anyone was just strolling in. He has so much illegal shit in there, Hoseok couldn't spare any expense making sure he wasn't busted. If the police ever came by, he'd give them a pretty smile and an innocent, "well I'm just a lowly butcher". Usually, that and the background knowledge that he knows how to chop animals up into pieces was enough to get them to temporarily back off.

"Yo, it's me! Open up!" Yoongi slammed his fist against the door, hoping Hoseok was here to open up for him. After a few seconds of silence, Yoongi pounded against the thin metal once more, prompting the many locks behind the door to one by one with a heavy shift and click.

The door flung open to reveal a not-so-happy Hoseok. "The fuck you knocking on my door like that for? Got me thinking the police were here to raid me." His anger wasn't unwarranted, but in Yoongi's opinion, unnecessary. He wasn't in the mood to be cursed at. It was written all across his face, from his dull eyes to his downturned lips. Yoongi was not having it. "I can leave if that's what you want."

Hoseok rolled his eyes dramatically and flung open the door to let Yoongi in. "Shut the door, lock the deadbolts and pull down the second door." Yes, there was a second door, a garage-style door that you pull down from above made out of steel. Normally, he only used it after he locked up and left for the day or if the police decided to stroll on in.

Yoongi did as told, questioning why he wanted to take such precautions measures when he never previously had to before. "I'm knocking like the police? Dude, you're acting like they're gonna blast through your door any second now. What's all this for?" A sense of dreaded fear seemed to wash over Yoongi. Whatever bullshit Hoseok had gotten himself into had nothing to do with him. He knew the moment Hoseok told him shit about it, Yoongi would now be guilty by association.

But a friend's a friend. Fuck. Why did he choose an illegal dealer to be associated with?

Hoseok walked over and pulled open a drawer to his desk to pull out a small box that fit neatly in the palm of his hand. "This is what all this is for." He walks over to Yoongi, boots creaking against the old floorboards. Pulling open the top of the box, Hoseok reveals a glittering red gem. Yoongi could only guess that it was a diamond. "...What am I supposed to be looking at?" It meant nothing to him. It was just a tiny thing, like the diamond of a wedding ring.

"This, my friend, is the diamond that belongs to your old buddy, The King. The Blood Diamond." He hooked his arm around Yoongi's neck and offered for the pale man to take such a priceless jewel.

Yoongi knew of this diamond. A family heirloom. He's only ever heard Taehyung talking about it, he's never seen it before. For being the biggest red diamond in history, it was quite small, yet gorgeous. It's been passed on from father to son for generations since it was first found and delivered to the Emperor. There was a reason they were called Kings. They had royal blood coursing through their veins.

Yoongi's eyes shot to Hoseok. "How the fuck did you get this?" It was supposed to be heavily guarded, how was it sitting in some velvet box right in his hand? If it was missing, that meant not only his life was in danger, but so was Karmas. If Taehyung found out she knew he had it, he'd execute her.

That's why she couldn't know under any circumstances

"Eh, I pulled a few stings here and there. This thing is fucking priceless. Supposedly, it goes for nearly a billion won just for a single carat." All Hoseok saw was dollar signs, any chance to make bank was a chance that he would take, especially for a once in a lifetime opportunity like this one. "24 carats so that means 24 billion won, potentially even higher. This could have it so we don't have to work another day of our lives." Yoongi could hear the sheer excitement in his voice at the thought, living in luxury without having to lift a single finger ever again. The dream. And it was all possible with this tiny diamond.

"We?"

Hoseok released Yoongi from his hold and sighed. "Well, I may need a bit of help. I have someone willing to buy it in Japan, but the meeting isn't officially set yet. I can't keep it here, it's too obvious. This isn't some playground shit, we're playing with the big dogs here. If they find it here, I'll be killed. So I need you to hide it for me. Keep it in the safest place you know." And therein was the catch. He planned on roping Yoongi into his bullshit, risking his life for, admittedly, a shit load of cash. "Of course, you wouldn't be doing it for free. I'll give you...10 billion, how does that sound?"

10 billion won was certainly a lot, more than Yoongi and Karma have ever made combined. She was with Taehyung for money, right? So if her need for his money was to suddenly become useless, with a little bit of work, she would come back, right? It was a chance to win Karma back and screw Taehyung over just as he did to Yoongi years ago. He could finally settle the score and leave their nearly decade-long rivalry to rest. He could flee the country with Karma. They could do anything, go anywhere she wanted. She would want for nothing, satisfied to her heart's content.

They could live out their dreams together.

And ultimately, if this failed, Yoongi would die with nothing to lose. He would die at the hands of the man he once called his brother, who had taken everything from him.

"Bump it up to 12 billion and we have a deal. I'm not risking my life to get paid less than you." This all rested on so much more than just selling a diamond. This rested upon the fate of his very life. He needed to make from this as much as he possibly could.

Hoseok figured he could spare just an extra two billion. He's heard about what's been happening to the others. They were both risking their lives by doing this after all. The King would hunt them down to the very ends of the Earth if he had to. He personally planned on fleeing the continent as a whole the moment he got his money, maybe adopting a new identity as well.

"Fine, you have a deal, partner."

"Don't call me that."

*.✧ Kᴀʏs Eɴᴅɪɴɢ Nᴏᴛᴇs

Yep, Hobi was behind all of this. Idk if you guys expected a supper grand reveal but...I wrote this chapter in a day, can't be too mad. Not Yoongi's involved. I can't wait to see where this goes.

The next few chapters will be about Taehgung and Karma, building their relationship a bit more, y'know. I have so many ideas for this book so I have no idea how long it'll take to finish. I think this is my longest on running book so far since I wait a few days between uploading which is something I feel I should start doing more often.

Anyways- thank you all for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed and I wish you all a wonderful day/night.

사랑해

~Kay くコ:彡