To say that Jungkook wasn’t interested in V would be a lie.

It was fascinating, that such a being, human or not, would be able to trust so readily when he wasn’t even able to communicate with the others. How quickly V trusted Jungkook was astonishing. If it were him, Jungkook wouldn't trust anyone for at least a year.

Which is why it made Jungkook feel even guiltier that he was doing this.

But he had to, right? It’s his job to communicate with V, and he needed to know as much as possible about him to help move the job along.

It still felt like an invasion of privacy, though.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Jungkook hugged his pillow closer to his chest. Sitting on his bed cross-legged, Jungkook stared at the earpiece Mr. Choi had given him. To look through the files on V or to not look through them?

…V wouldn’t know, right? It couldn’t hurt, right?

It’s nothing personal like a diary, Jungkook. Think of it… Think of it like a biology class or something. Just for aliens instead of frogs.

Ignoring the clenching in his chest, Jungkook pressed a button along the side of the earpiece. Several holographic files appeared, flickering in an eerie blue in the dark room. Readying himself mentally, Jungkook picked a file randomly and started to read.

Subject V: Day 001

   Subject V is very subdued. It sits in a corner for the majority of the day. No vocal activity has been recorded; all that has occured through interactions with human boy Jeon Jungkook. It appears to be made up of several gases, including hydrogen, helium, and large amounts of BT5. Known capability is the ability to change between a gaseous and solid form. Rest is unknown.

Okay, not too bad so far. Jungkook pretty much knew all this.

More data is needed. Physical testing will begin after further contact with Jeon Jungkook.

Pausing, Jungkook let out a sharp breath. Physical testing. He should’ve known.

“Please, please let it just be something simple, like speed…”

As he read further on, a sinking feeling began to form in the pit of his gut. They’d already run some tests on V. How else would they know what he was made of?

Oh my god, I did this to him… This was all because of me. I let him get caught. And now they’re practically dissecting him like a frog.

Already beginning to breathe shallowly, Jungkook felt the beginnings of a panic attack coming on. “Oh my god. Oh my GOD.” However, before it could escalate, a small light flashing insistently in the corner of his eye pulled him out of it.

Staring at it curiously, Jungkook tapped the small, flashing icon. What appeared before him made him wish he never did.

There, on the screen in front of him, was V. He sat dejectedly in a corner, just like the log had said, as a dozen scientists bustled around on the other side of the glass. V stared in front of him, head lolling to the side. An older woman, her hair pulled back into a tight bun and thin black glasses perched on her nose, walked up to the wall. Placing her hand over the scanner there, a small portion of glass slid back to form a doorway. Walking through, the glass closed behind the woman.

Jungkook could only watch as she slapped something onto him, covering him in the little white pads before exiting once more. “Turn it on,” she called. “The monitors will pick up the signals at this range.”

And Jungkook wished more than ever that he had never clicked on the icon when V let out the first shriek of pain.

“Fascinating,” one of the scientists breathed. “It’s not turning into gas to escape like it did with our other tests.”

Other tests.

“Then I think we have figured out how to keep it in a physical form for us to test. Electricity is the key, ladies and gentlemen.”

Electricity. They were electrocuting him.

Covering his ears, Jungkook couldn’t avert his eyes from V’s pained face. How could they do this?! Finally having enough, Jungkook his hand into the center of the holographic screen, dispersing the entire thing. Leaning back, Jungkook realized that he was crying.

No matter how hard he tried to forget, V’s screams echoed through his head.

Breaths coming out heavily, Jungkook wiped the tears out of his eyes and glared at the earpiece. He shouldn’t have ever run towards the crash site. What was he thinking? Was it because he was curious?

Look at what his curiosity got him.

Why am I even alive? All I do is up other people’s lives. Even if they’re aliens.

A small beep pulled him out of his self-hate momentarily. Glancing at his computer screen, he saw that Jimin was calling him.

I ed up his life, too. If he wasn’t friends with me, he and his mom could’ve left the city by now like they’ve always wanted to. They’re only here because I’m here.

Sighing, Jungkook pressed the ‘Receive’ button in hopes that Jimin could help him crush this feeling in his chest.

“Hey.”

“Yah! Jeon Jungkook! Don’t you ‘hey’ me!” Jimin’s face was comically close to the screen, the only thing really visible being his eyes. “What the hell were you thinking?! Running off towards that hunk of junk – hey that rhymed – and leaving your poor best friend all alone by himself in something that looks like a bad apocalyptic movie from the twentieth century! Really, Jungkook?! Really?!”

Leave it to Jimin to lecture, point out rhymes, and mention retro films all in one breath.

Jungkook sighed. “Sorry. I… don’t know why I did that.”

Leaning back, more of Jimin’s face filled the screen. “Hey. What even happened? You look totally out of it. Tell Jimin-hyung everything.”

Sighing once more, Jungkook debated the pros and cons of letting Jimin in on the whole… incident.

Yes, that’s what he’ll call it.

“ start talking before I get over there and slap you. I know where you sleep.”

Ah, yes. Classic Jimin line. Best way to get anyone to talk, guaranteed.

“Geez Jimin, what’s gotten you all worked up?”

Eyes widening once more, Jimin let out a strangled sound that resembled that of a dying animal as his face turned bright red. “JEON JUNGKOOK! I AM YOUR HYUNG! HYUNG! RESPECT ME, BRAT!”

Laughing, Jungkook shoved the earpiece to the side, not caring as it clattered to the ground. “Wow, you’ve really snapped, Jimin.”

Growling again in a semi-playful manner, Jimin stood and slid his screen across the room. Jungkook’s view blurred until the movement slowed to a stop, showing a fairly large tally-chart.

“Do you see this, Jungkook-ah? See this?” Aggressively grabbing a pen, Jimin harshly added two more tallies to the chart. “This is a record of how many times you’ve blatantly disrespected me. It’s at fifty-four for this month only. Jungkook! It’s only the second week of August!”

Blinking in surprise, Jungkook stared at the chart in disbelief. Then he collapsed in a fit of laughter, feeling his eyes begin to water and sides begin to ache. “Oh – oh my god you count that?!” Howling, Jungkook clutched his sides. “Ah, my sides hurt…”

Reappearing in the screen, Jimin hissed. “You think this is funny. That’s what you think. Guess what?” Pausing dramatically, Jimin flung the pen across the room. It landed somewhere with a clatter, but Jimin paid it no heed and instead slammed his hand against the chart several times. “You owe me fifty-four times for all this disrespect! You hear me?!”

On the brink of calming down, Jungkook took one more look at Jimin’s dead serious expression and lost himself into hysterical laughter again.

“Yah! Stop laughing you brat! This is serious!”

After finally calming down, Jungkook had decided that it would be best to let Jimin know just what he got himself into, albeit without confidential details and his own personal dilemmas.

Surprisingly, Jimin had taken the news that an alien crashed into Earth very well.

“Jungkook,” Jimin said. “If I cared about aliens with terrible driving skills, wouldn’t I have run after you to check it out? Honestly, I don’t care. It could’ve been a bomb that dropped out of the sky for all I care. All that matters to me is that I’m okay, that you’re okay, that umma’s okay, and that Min Yoongi” here he blushed slightly “is okay. That’s all that matters to me.

“Now, you owe me fifty-three other favours. I wonder what kind of torture I can put you through?”

Leaning back onto the headboard of his bed, Jungkook stared out at the stars. Maybe it was just him, but they looked less brilliant tonight.

Less comforting.

Sighing, Jungkook turned his gaze away from the glittering lights to the abandoned earpiece still on the ground. He knew that he needed to have it for his ‘work’, but he wasn’t sure that he wanted to pick it up and put it on anymore. Not after everything he saw.

Chewing his bottom lip worriedly, Jungkook slowly bent over to pick it up before slowly placing it on his bedside table. Glancing at it once more and ignoring the gnawing worry in his gut, Jungkook stared at the stars in an attempt to calm himself down.

Only for his silence to be interrupted by a sudden knock at the front door.

Curious, Jungkook crept off of his bed and cracked open his door, peering down the staircase to get as good of a view of the front door as possible. His father stomped towards it, slamming it open roughly.

“What do you want.”

Standing outside was a familiar head of white hair.