Soo Jung fell back to the floor, her legs unable to hold her up any longer as she stared at the photographs. “W-What…” she mumbled as she checked the sender. “Namjoon, but… how? Did someone steal his phone and take these photos? Is Namjoon hurt too? But then why are there only photos of Jungkook?” a million thoughts and scenarios ran through her mind. “There’s no way… Namjoon… is he one of them?” her grip tightened around her phone. Rage filled her at thinking about Namjoon betraying her and hurting Jungkook… just to get to her.

She jumped to her feet, her mind made up. She quickly grabbed her laptop and wrote an email to Yoongi. She briefly considered texting him, but she didn’t want him to know what she was going to do just yet. Her chest tightened painfully as she wrote the email. Telling him all of the things she had never been able to say out loud. She wrote that she was thankful to him for taking her in after the Institute shut down. That she could never thank him enough for raising her with such kindness and love, that even if she had another hundred years, that she would never be able to repay him for his kindness. Finally, she apologised for making the decision without telling him. She knew that if she told him, that he would try to come up with a plan to save Jungkook and to stop her from doing what she was about to do, but she knew it was too dangerous. She couldn’t wait around and make plans when Jungkook was being hurt because of her. And she couldn’t risk Yoongi getting hurt.

She scheduled the email to send after one hour, knowing that by the time he read it, it would be too late for him to do anything. She felt so guilty, knowing that he would be furious with her, but she didn’t want to risk him getting hurt because of her. She closed her laptop and pulled on her shoes before taking one last look around her dorm room. She had so many good memories here, the many photographs she had taken with Jungkook and the other boys, the hoodie that Jungkook had given to her a few nights ago when she had forgotten hers was still draped over her chair… she only hoped that she could hold onto those memories until the end.

She ran out of her dorm building, heading directly for the sports hall. She knew that the university’s football coach was there and that he would be busy with practice until later that night. She snuck into his office and rummaged through his pockets until she found his car keys, thankful that he didn’t keep them in his tracksuit trouser pocket. She peeked through the windows leading out to the football field, checking to make sure no one was looking in her direction and she slipped out of the office and headed directly for the car park. She spotted his car in the corner of the car park. She rushed up to it, unlocking as she ran. She slipped into the driver’s seat and quickly adjusted the seat. She set up her GPS to guide her to the location Namjoon had sent her before she streaked out of the car park, not caring about her speed. She wouldn’t be the one dealing with a ticket if it came through.

Her grip was painfully tight on the steering wheel as she sped through the quiet streets. “Please be ok, Jungkook. Please. I’m on my way.” she begged to herself as she bit her lip almost hard enough to draw blood, adrenaline pumping through her system as she drove.

Jungkook was on his knees, his legs had long since cramped up but he didn’t dare attempt to change his position. He risked raising his head up a little to look at Namjoon, the man he had considered a friend over the past couple of months. He couldn’t work out what was happening. He had agreed to meet Namjoon for dinner, the older man telling him that he would drive. He had gotten into the car then he had felt a prick at his neck and then nothing. Nothing until he woke up on the floor of some dusty warehouse, his hands bound behind his back.

“What the hell?” he muttered, his face pressed into the dirty ground below him. Feet appeared in his vision as a pair of rough hands pulled him to his knees, he looked up in shock at the older man. “Namjoon hyung? What’s going on?” he asked, feeling completely bewildered, and just a bit frightened. Namjoon smirked at him. “Sorry Jungkookie, but it was easier to knock you out to get you here.” Jungkook frowned as he tried to free his hands. “What the is going on here?” Jungkook spat as she struggled against his restraints. Namjoon cuffed him upside the head. “Is that any way to speak to your elders?” he asked with a click of his tongue.

Jungkook scoffed, “Do you think who is older is important in a situation like this? Tell me what the is going on right now!” he yelled. Namjoon's eyebrows furrowed as he curled his fist and punched Jungkook, catching him on the eyebrow and sending him crashing to the floor. Jungkook grunted from the impact of the punch of the hard ground beneath him while Namjoon narrowed his eyes at him.  “The short version is, I’m using you as bait. So, you can either sit there quietly and I won't need to hit you again, or you can keep mouthing off and I can’t guarantee what kind of state Soo Jung is going to find you in.” he said as he reached down and pulled Jungkook into a kneeling position again.

Jungkook twisted out of his grip. “What does Soo Jung have to do with any of this?” he asked, temporarily forgetting about his own situation. Namjoon grinned at him. “It’s actually Soo Jung that you have to thank for you being here.” He said as he picked at his fingernails. Jungkook gave him a curious look. “What do you mean?” he asked. Namjoon barely spared him a glance. “We tried to get her back by asking nicely, but she didn’t listen, so we had to use… alternative methods. It’s no secret that you two have feelings for each other. It was so easy to play on that. Do you know that you get jealous really easily?” he taunted, a wicked smirk on his face.

Jungkook huffed, once again trying to pull his hands free from his restraints. Namjoon chuckled. “Once I found out her weakness, it was easy to come up with this plan. Oh, that reminds me.” He said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. Jungkook looked away from the device, anger welling up inside of him. Namjoon took a few photos and sent them to Soo Jung. “There. Now as soon as she gets these, I’m sure she’ll race over here to save you.”

“Why do you want her?” Jungkook asked, worry filling him at what Namjoon had planned for her. “Personally? Nothing. It’s my employer who wants her. He wants her back to be precise.”

“Employer? What are you talking about?” Jungkook asked, momentarily forgetting to try and loosen his restraints. Namjoon sighed, giving Jungkook a pitying look, like he was a child. “You think you know Soo Jung, but you know nothing about her. She told you that she grew up with her dad who was in the military right?” Namjoon asked. Jungkook gave a hesitant nod in return. Namjoon laughed, “While it’s no lie that Yoongi is ex-military, but he isn’t her father. They're not related at all.” Jungkook's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “But…”

“I know she calls him dad, but it’s just a cover, there’s no way they would want their real story getting out. No one would accept them if they did.” Dread coursed through Jungkook at Namjoon’s words. “What are you talking about?” he asked quietly, dreading Namjoon's answer. “He isn’t the only one that’s ex-military. She is too.” Jungkook's eyes widened. “What? But she’s only twenty…” Namjoon scoffed. “That makes her old in my employer’s eyes. Most of the people in her particular programme started there from birth.” Jungkook shook his head. “What are you talking about? How can babies be in the military?”

Namjoon crouched down in front of the younger man. “Babies with no mothers to protect them are the perfect experiments.” Jungkook looked at him in horror. “No one cares if they die. They're expendable and the potential is almost limitless at that age. So much untapped potential. With the correct modifications made at such an early age, it’s easy to adjust things like healing rate, amongst other traits. Some scientists prefer working with embryos, but babies work just as well.” He said, completely ignoring the look of horror on Jungkook's face. “I don’t know how Soo Jung came to enter the Institute, but she was one of these test subjects. She was raised with one purpose in mind.”

“What purpose?” Jungkook asked, half of him dreading the answer, his own answer forming in the back of his mind, but he didn’t want to believe it. Namjoon smiled, obviously enjoying tormenting the younger man. “She was created to kill people.”

Soo Jung’s heartbeat started to pick up speed as the warehouse that held Jungkook came into view. She pulled up outside, not caring if she made any noise. She killed the engine and took a deep breath before getting out of the car. She didn’t bother with the keys, she had no intention of returning to the car. She squared her shoulders and marched directly up to the warehouse door. She pushed the heavy door open with both hands, the hinges screaming in protest from disuse. She coughed a couple of times from the dust that was kicked up by the door.

The warehouse was brightly lit in the centre. Her heart was thudding in her chest as she made her way around the towering boxes and machinery, her mind only focused on one thing…

Jungkook.

He was on his knees, Namjoon casually sitting on a box behind him. Namjoon smiled at her as she appeared. “Look who finally decided to join us.” He said, nudging Jungkook to get his attention. Jungkook lifted his head and it took every ounce of self-control she had to not run to his side. His eyes looked so pained as he looked at her. She tried to tell him that everything would be ok with her expression, but he lowered his gaze again and her heart lurched painfully.

She shook her head and looked back to Namjoon, her gaze and tone ice cold. “I’m here. You can let Jungkook go and I’ll go without a fight.” She said, pushing her concern for Jungkook down, letting the cold numbness that she was used to take over. She wouldn’t be able to focus if she was worried about Jungkook. Namjoon chuckled as he pushed himself off of the box and moved to stand beside Jungkook, resting one of his large hands on the black-haired boys shoulder. Jungkook tried to shake off his hand, but Namjoon only held on tighter. “I didn’t think you were coming for a while there.” he taunted. “I thought that I'd brought Jungkookie here for nothing.” He teased ruffling Jungkook’s hair in an almost affectionate manner.

Her hands curled into fists, wanting nothing more than to rip Namjoon's hand off Jungkook's shoulder. “I’m here now, so there's no more reason for you to keep Jungkook here. Let him go.” Namjoon chuckled. “And here I thought that you weren’t supposed to have any emotions? I thought they taught you not to get attached to anyone? It was exactly for this reason. Look at you. You're here ready to give yourself up for some guy that you barely know.”

Jungkook's head lifted at Namjoon's words. “Give yourself up?” he mumbled. Namjoon laughed. “That’s right, Kookie. Thanks to you, Soo Jung is going to go back to her old life.” Panic passed through her at his words. “What did you tell him?” she asked, desperately wishing… praying that Namjoon hadn’t exposed her dirty past to Jungkook. Namjoon smirked, “Everything. That you were raised and trained to kill. That you have killed.”

Soo Jung felt like all the air had been from the room as she looked at Jungkook. He held her gaze for only a second before he looked away from her. It felt like a physical blow to her. He knew her secret. He knew what she had been raised to do. He knew her shameful past. And simply by knowing she had tainted him. Put him in danger.

She completely forgot about Namjoon as she took a step forward. “Jungkook…” she said, the one word making her voice break. Namjoon's laugh forced her to look up at him. “You’re pathetic. I think you need some time on the third floor to get your back to your senses.” She froze in place at his words. Memories of the torture she had endured in the third floor flashing in front of her eyes. Jungkook looked up at her, concern flicking over his face. Soo Jung steeled herself. “I don’t care. Just let Jungkook go and I’ll go with you without a fight.”

Realization finally hit Jungkook. “Soo Jung. What are you talking about? You’ll go back without a fight? Didn’t these people torture you?” he shouted, his voice gaining strength with each word. Namjoon's hand landed on his shoulder again, “She's doing it to protect you.” He whispered in his ear before straightening up and clicking his fingers. Three soldiers appeared from behind Namjoon, the three of them rushing forward to Soo Jung who didn’t put up a fight. Two of them grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her back, the third holding a gun up to her temple.

At the sight of the gun, Jungkook panicked. “Soo Jung! What the hell are you doing?! You can’t go back with these people!” he roared as he struggled against Namjoon's grip and the restraints around his wrists. Namjoon kicked him to the ground. “Shut up before I put a bullet in-between your eyes.” He threatened, his hand landing on a gun which was holstered at his side. Soo Jung tensed, anger flooding her system. “Let Jungkook go. That’s our deal. He goes free, unharmed and you get me without a fight.” Jungkook whipped around to face her. “NO! You can’t!” he roared. Namjoon cursed and swung a well-placed kick into Jungkook's abdomen. The younger boy heaved from the blow.

Soo Jung froze, everything slowing down as she levelled her gaze with Namjoon. “You just made a huge mistake.”