A ROSE’S SEVEN THORNS

CHAPTER 12

“The Cat’s Out of the Bag”

Earlier

Jangmi turned to glare at the little boy, who ducked under the table to avoid her gaze. Then she spun her gaze to Sehun. He smirked widely at her while Suho shook his head. Her eye twitched in anger as she fumed silently.

Yeah, easier said than done.

•••

“Can you—?”

“No.”

“You don’t even know—”

“Don’t care.”

Jangmi made a loud noise of frustration and her fingers curled tightly. She was so close to hitting him. Now she didn’t like to use violence. (Yeah okay.) But something about Sehun made her so angry. She just figured if she jammed her fist in his face he’d finally shush.

“Look,” She spoke through gritted teeth as she tried to calm herself. She couldn’t get mad at him when she wanted to ask him a favor. “I’m just worried about Namjoon, okay?”

“Why? He’s a grown man,” Sehun told her. “You should be worried about my health after spending an entire day with someone such as yourself.”

At least, he didn’t shoot her down right away. This was a step forward from him cutting her off rudely like before. She’d just ignore that jab at her and focus on the situation at hand then she’d remember what he said later. She was a marvelous grudge holder.

“He hasn’t answered his texts.” She lied easily.

Jangmi hadn’t texted Namjoon at all. She just really wanted to go see what was so important that he ditched her. She knows he told her to stay out of his gang stuff, but come on. What could he possibly be doing?

Some graffiti, a rumble maybe? Jangmi thought as she recalled little things she had seen in movies and books. She was avoiding the terrible, huge things she had seen because well – Joonie wouldn’t do anything like that.

Little did she know.

“First off,” Sehun held a finger up. “Out of all the people to ask, you ask me?” He put another finger up. “Second of all, did it ever occur to you that he may be ignoring you?” His voice turned into a snarky mutter. “I know I would.”

Jangmi's eyes twitched as she held in her frustration. Keep cool, keep cool. “And thankfully he's nothing like you.” …oops. Well that was tamer than I thought.

He simply smirked as he flicked his hair out of his face. “You can't mess with the original.”

Don’t snap, Jangmi. You need him for now. She took a deep breath before she met his eyes. “Look, I really need to go see him and I need—”

“—a babysitter,” Sehun cut in with a smirk.

She sent him a glare before she continued with gritted teeth, “Someone to walk me there. After all, a woman, such as myself, shouldn't walk alone you know.”

Sehun gave her a judgmental once over. “Such as yourself? Didn't your mother ever teach you not to tell lies?” As opened to retort something, he held a finger up. “Uh-uh. This conversation is over. I'm not taking you – end of story.”

Jangmi was not pleased whatsoever.

No way in hell she was going to let it end like this. For two reasons – one, she needed someone to take her and two, Sehun was not winning today's round. He drove her insane all day and she was not about to let him do this to her.

He was gonna take her home anyway! Why couldn't he just bypass that and take her to BigHit and 13th? He didn’t even have to take her all the way (she doubted Namjoon would appreciate another gang member knowing their location, ally or not).

She needed to think. Jangmi needed to find a reason for him to take her. And knowing Sehun, it would have to be something that benefitted him. Something where he could do what he’s best at – cause misery.

A smirk appeared on her lips as an idea surfaced in her mind.

“It's a shame,” She said casually as he continued to walk to the door of the break room. “Namjoon just threw me on you.”

“Amen,” Sehun fully agreed, still moving.

Jangmi twirled a strand of hair with her finger and continued, willing herself to ignore his words. “And you're not even getting any compensation, right? Mm.”

Sehun stopped and turned around with narrowed eyes, suspicion swirling around in them. “What are you getting at, Lee?”

She shrugged, appearing innocent but he knew better. “I'm just saying… wouldn't it be nice to return the favor?”

An eyebrow rose as he spoke, “Are you suggesting that I throw you on him?”

“It'd be a win-win situation,” Jangmi told him. “You'd get back at Namjoon and I'd get to go see him. If that doesn't appeal to you, just think of the annoyance I'll be to him after you leave.”

Sehun hummed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Alright, I get it. I drop the annoyance, aka you, into his hands.” He pursed his lips before he nodded. “As much as it pains me to give you what you want,” Her eye began to twitch and she breathed sharply through her nose, “I'll do it. Be ready in five, I'll tell ahjumma.” With that, he left the break room.

Jangmi grinned and ed her fist up in victory. She didn't think it would really work. She had just hoped he would hear her out and it worked!

There was a downfall though.

“Hey, get a move on,” Sehun’s voice came from outside the door. “Really, how much of a burden can you be?”

She made a face as her eyes closed and she pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew what she was getting herself into and this is what she endured for Namjoon. Honestly, he should admire her but she knew her presence would bother him. Either way, she'd be satisfied.

“Yah,” She glanced at the door and Sehun's head peeked in. “I know you're slow in everything you do, but I don't have all day.”

His smirk made her fingers curl into a fist. The things she did to get to Namjoon and be nosy. She had to suffer with the downfall. She'd hoped they wouldn't kill each other. But luckily, there was always a silver lining.

“Sehun-ah, be nice,” A voice Jangmi grew to love sounded. She grinned widely and stuck her tongue out at Sehun. “Yeah, do as your hyung says.” The boy simply gave her a look before rolling his eyes and leaving.

Suho, her silver lining.

•••

Bangtan Headquarters

By the time all the boys got home, they were exhausted. Their job was a success and they were prepared to relax until the next job. They'd give it months before the next one.

Around the same time Namjoon returned with Jin, J-Hope, Jungkook and V pulled up. They took the money out before carrying it inside the house. When they reached the living room, Suga and Jimin were lounging on the couch. Seeing them, Jimin sat up and Suga peeled his eyes open.

Jungkook and V were carrying the large bag and Jimin stood. He moved towards them and whistled, “That's a lot. Let me try to hold it.”

“Ah hyung, we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself,” Jungkook told him as he and V placed the bag on the coffee table. His hyungs, bar Suga who simply gave a half smirk, snorted and chuckled. Jimin made a face but gave in and began chuckling.

“After all, you're so small and delicate,” He cooed at his hyung and moved away when Jimin moved closer.

He had a smile on his face, making his eye smile appear, but he was trying to intimidate their maknae. Jimin was the hyung here! It's a good thing their maknae had a special place in his heart.

“Suga-hyung,” Rap Monster said as he moved further in the room, pulling the second eldest’s attention. “Where did you want to count the money?”

Suga thought about moving, but the idea sounded unappealing. So he answered, “Here is fine.”

Namjoon nodded and the two youngest picked up the money and placed it closer to Suga.

Yoongi intertwined his fingers before turning them and pushing out, making a few crack. He stretched his neck and typed in his password. On the couch, beside him, was BTS’s money counter. During jobs, they had a rough estimate of what they took but they didn’t know exactly how much.

The money counter did its job and after that, one of the members would get one-hundred bills and tie them off. They were just as organized with this process as they were for the job earlier. After they tied all the money, they would put it in a hidden safe and lock it. In fact, only one member knew the passcode to unlock it.

It wasn’t because Namjoon didn’t trust all the members. Hell, he would take a bullet for every single of them; they were his family. He just felt it were safer if only one knew it and preferably one who didn’t go out much. That’s right. The passcode holder wasn’t Namjoon; it was Suga.

He was rarely involved in the action, so the chances of him getting picked up by the police or perhaps another gang were very unlikely. This meant he was the last person anyone would get to (Suga was quite known for bullting his way out of anything). This also meant the other members couldn’t be burdened with such information.

Namjoon would have gladly taken the burden, but Suga was the one to suggest only one member knowing. Originally, they chose Jin but because of his position as cleaner, it wouldn’t work. Jin had a handsome face, but after seeing so many people a day, you begin to misplace faces. This meant Jin was sort of invisible while he completed his job. While this was good, it was also bad because Jin had a higher chance of being recognized than Suga, who never goes out much.

Suga leaned over and ped the bag. Many piles of cash sat there in the large bag and just by looking at it, the boys knew that was a lot of money. If the struggle to carry it wasn’t enough. They couldn’t even guess how much they took because there was a variety of bills in there. They’d have to wait for the money counter to do its job.

Right when Suga reached for some cash, Taehyung made a loud noise to stop him. Suga, along with every other member, looked at the young boy. “Wait hyung!” He moved closer to the bag and gestured to it with huge eyes. “Can I?”

Suga only continued to stare at him before he let out a sigh. Then he consented with a nod.

Taehyung grinned and grabbed some bills in his hands. Then with a gleeful cheer, he tossed it up in the air and began to dance as it floated down around him. Jungkook and Jimin were quick to join and they even threw a few bills themselves.

Namjoon shook his head with a large, dimpled smile on his face. Jin was full on grinning as he stared at the maknae line. J-Hope began to laugh loudly and joined the three. Except he laid down on the floor and started rolling over the money. Suga let out a snort, but even his small gummy smile made an appearance.

“I don’t understand why they do this every time,” Namjoon said to Jin, who only laughed quietly. “It’s not the first time we’ve done it.”

Jin gave him a look and said, “You know the rush of the job. We do all this planning then we do the job and rush to get back home. Everything is done so fast that our adrenaline is saved until after.”  He leaned closer and said lowly, “I’m positive Suga’s adrenaline gets pumped too, but he’s just so…well, Suga that he won’t use it for physical activity.”

Namjoon chuckled with a nod, “Suga-hyung’s adrenaline goes to his fingers.”

The eldest grinned, small laughs escaping him. “I wouldn’t doubt that.” Then he glanced back at the four members playing in the money. “Besides Hoseok, at the end of the day, they’re just kids.”

As he said this, Jimin and J-Hope continued to dance. In fact, they were dancing to Sistar’s Touch My Body again. Meanwhile, Jungkook and Taehyung began picking up the money and placing it on the palm of their hands in nice and neat pile. Then they started to swipe their free hand over the money, making it begin to shower over J-Hope and Jimin.

In other words, they were—

“Making it rain, man!” Taehyung whooped loudly.

Jungkook grinned and when J-Hope began twerking, he said, “Oh man, holy !”

Rap Monster snorted before he turned towards Jin with a raised eyebrow. “They’re just kids, huh?”

Jin placed his hands on his hips before he gave his dongsaeng a look with both eyebrows raised. Then he questioned, tone extremely reprimanding, “And just who taught them that?”

Namjoon’s face fell and he dodged the open palm that was aiming for his chest. He moved away from his second-in-command and began to chuckle. He didn’t think he taught them this directly, but he was proud his boys had learned well. Now if only it was done to girls.

Soon, Taehyung became distracted and went over to Suga. Then he started to fan him with the money. Suga glanced at him before tossing his feet on the coffee table and laying back into the couch. “Ah yes, thank you, my servant.”

The atmosphere was light and carefree. Although they had just committed a crime, they didn’t act like it. But after so many times of doing it, they already became used to it. They’d joke and like Namjoon said, the maknae line did this every time. Jin was right, but there was one thing he missed. They needed this goofiness after a job like that.

When a high-pitched beeping sounded throughout the room is when that light atmosphere cracked in half. Almost immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing.

J-Hope and Jimin stopped dancing as Jungkook stood still. Taehyung stopped fanning Suga and placed the money in the bag. Suga kicked his feet down and sat up. Jin looked at Namjoon, who already grabbed Suga’s laptop and began connecting to their cameras outside their headquarters.

When the password was prompted, Namjoon quickly typed it in and located the entrance camera. That beeping earlier was to notify them that someone was approaching the base. After a job, the last thing they needed was an altercation with another gang. Of course, if they had to, they’d be able to handle it.

As he did this, the rest of BTS gathered behind him. They watched the screen as Rap Monster scrolled through the camera monitors, looking for the right one.

They couldn’t go out guns blazing because there was a chance that whoever was outside was a random person or was someone from another gang. If it was someone from another gang, then they really couldn’t go out because they could compromise their location.

Finally, he found the correct monitor and enlarged it. At first, they couldn’t see the person’s face because of where they were standing. It was a bad blind spot of the cameras. They all tensed when they saw the person begin to turn their way.

Was their location found? Would they have to fight their way out of this one?

Suga was the first to identify the person because he recognized the jacket around the person’s waist. He sighed loudly, curling further into the couch. With a sigh, he averted his eyes away from the screen.

The rest didn’t seem to realize who it was until the person faced the camera. Then they instantly relaxed except Namjoon, who deadpanned and covered his face.

Jangmi was standing there looking around. She’d knock on the door a couple of times before glancing above. She was looking for cameras, but Suga made sure they were practically invisible so it would be no use. In the camera, she huffed and began moving, but the mic wasn’t on so they couldn’t hear her.

Suga saw this and quickly clicked the mic on. Almost instantly, he regretted it.

“Hello? Yoo-hoo! You guys in there?” She asked still glancing around for some place to look at. After giving up, she simply stared at the door. “I know one of you has to be home.” She knocked loudly again. “Yahhh!”

“Rosie!” V cheered with a large grin. Then he started to move towards the door, but Namjoon caught his eye. “No, don’t let her in.”

“Then what are we going to do?” J-Hope asked, chuckling when Jangmi began making a terrible beat as she knocked on the door.

Rap Monster’s eyes never left the screen as he muted it. “Just let her stay out there. Eventually, she’ll leave.”

Jungkook blinked then he looked at his leader. “But hyung, isn’t that what you told me last time? You know, when she was lurking around BigHit and 13th?”

“She left, didn’t she?” Namjoon replied.

Jimin nodded, “Yeah but she was almost taken later on.”

“She’s alone,” Taehyung pointed out, a slight frown on his lips. “That means if she leaves, she may be in trouble again.”

“That’s all this girl is,” Namjoon and Suga’s voices intertwined. Rap Monster looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Suga simply shrugged and Namjoon couldn’t complain. It seemed Suga realized how much trouble she brought unknowingly.

Jin frowned as he crossed his arms. “We’re supposed to be watching over her. If we let her leave, who knows what might happen?”

Namjoon saw the point everyone was making, but still. He had an idea of how and why Jangmi got over here. Knowing her for so long, Namjoon knew she was dying to know why they hadn’t been able to watch her. This meant she probably bargained with Sehun to bring her close enough, so she could drop by.

She was like a child. Instead of waiting until he came to her, she had to come to him.

His attention went to Suga when he sat up. “If she’s out there yelling and knocking, there’s more of a chance she’ll bring attention to herself. If a gang sees her, they’ll know where our base is at.”

Namjoon looked at him with a raised eyebrow. It was strange seeing Suga find a reason to bring her in. Yeah, his reason was to prevent them from being caught and not her safety, but he was trying. By the smile on V’s face, Namjoon realized he noticed it too.

Suga didn’t like her, but this was his indirect way of helping her.

With a sigh, Namjoon agreed. “Alright, someone bring her in.”

V was the first one out of the room and J-Hope followed. When Jimin began to go, Jin called out to him. “Ah Jimin, clean up the mess please.”

Namjoon nodded, “Before Jangmi sees.”

Jimin gave them a frown with a tiny pout. “But hyung, it’s not my mess.”

“I didn’t ask if it was yours,” Jin retorted as he placed his hands on his hips, coming off as a mother. “I asked you to clean it.”

One-half of the 95z sighed loudly, but began to do as his hyung said. Jin smiled before he clapped Jungkook on the shoulder. The maknae nodded. Jin and Jungkook then joined Jimin in cleaning up. It was a nice moment until quick, thundering footsteps were heard.

The five members jumped