That day was a normal day for Jungkook as he rode his scooter across the road, trying to get his delivery done on time. His job doesn’t require him to talk to customers with a smile, be it a fake one or not. He only need to ring their bells, hand them their order on time and make sure he gets it all right before he can get his payment. 

 

If he’s lucky, he will get the tips for himself. To him it’s so much better than having to fake a smile and merry voice at the restaurant. He’s not really fond of strangers and the restaurant owner already said that Jungkook is at his last now. One more complaint from the customer about him and he’ll be jobless again, for the nth time.

 

He made his way through the backdoor of the restaurant in the evening and his co-worker, Jung Hoseok greeted him with a bright smile that can replace a broken bulb to light up the whole room.

 

“You're back!” his merry voice was heard. 

 

“Hmm,” Jungkook answered shortly. “Do you still have my lunch? I’m starving.” He ruffled his hair lightly as he took off his helmet. Hoseok chuckled softly as he realized how Jungkook probably did not realize that his hair was actually sticking in different directions. It actually looks cute on him, contrasting his current pokerface.

 

“Wait up. I’ll need to re-heat this again.” The older moved towards the microwave at the corner of the kitchen with a plate of meatballs in his hand.

 

“Thanks.” Jungkook muttered softly as he leaned towards the kitchen counter, his eyes intently following Hoseok’s light movement.

 

“Say, did anything good happened today? You look brighter than usual.” The younger who had his arms crossed against his chest asked as he saw Hoseok tapping his feet lightly while waiting for Jungkook's food in the microwave.

 

“Ah Kook, do you know how peaceful it is in the kitchen today?”

 

“Because Yoongi is absent?”

 

“Bingo.” He snapped his fingers with an obvious relieved smile on his face. Hoseok should feel bad for the chef since his fever went too high that he had to be admitted to the hospital but no, he’s enjoying every bit of his absence.

 

Jungkook's small chuckle was heard. He knows how much his co-worker hates Yoongi’s perfectionist side when he’s cooking. Not even a small mistake is allowed in the kitchen and every single time that happens, his nagging would last for a week. Non-stop.

 

After a while, Hoseok served the delivery boy his late lunch and he settled quietly at the worker’s corner. The restaurant was closed early that day since their main chef was absent. The older out of the two eventually excused himself to clean the kitchen and Jungkook quickly downed his drink before he started eating.

 

His routine had never changed ever since he started working at the restaurant two months ago. He never gets to settle at a workplace for this long (most of the times, it’s because of his temper, rudeness and unfriendliness) but thanks to a certain sunshine hyung named Jung Hoseok, he made it without any major problems.

 

Little did he know that the peace he had been enjoying for the last 3 months would change the very next day.

 

***

 

It was 3AM when Jin knocked on his door like a madman. Jungkook knew it was him just from that impatient and continuous knocking. Nobody else would ever visit the old motel room he’s living in at this time apart from that hyung anyway.

 

“Hyung, what’s the occasion?” Jungkook yawned as he opened the door, his eyes looked like it would disappear the bigger he opened his mouth. Jin's face showed a totally unusual panicked expression and as he shoved Jungkook inside, it fully woke the younger up.

 

“Jungkook I’m- oh god I’m glad you’re okay.”

 

“Whoa, are you checking on me to see if I’m dead or alive?"

 

“Literally, yes.” Jin's voice sounded serious as he answered that, his eyes busily scanning every inch of the room the younger’s staying in.

 

“How long have it been?” he asked.

 

“A week or so.” Jungkook answered simply, knowing that the older wanted to know how long he had been staying at the same place. He grabbed a can of beer from the mini fridge and tossed it to Jin who caught it without even having to look at it.

 

“You’re the pro after all.” Jungkook nodded once with a clearly unamused face as he grabbed a can for himself, downing it in a gulp.

 

“You gotta move tonight. They had this motel on their radar.” Jin stared at Jungkook whose face looked tired as he sipped on his beer.

 

“They?”

 

“Your copycat.”

 

“Ah. Those noobs you told me about?”

 

“Jungkook this is serious. Those people you called noobs—they’re not to be taken lightly,” There’s a deep sigh that followed the sentence before Jin shook his head. “They’re crazy.”

 

“You’re telling a crazy guy to be aware of another crazy guy, huh.” Jungkook nodded twice with a slight confident smirk in which resulted with Jin shaking his head quickly.

 

“They literally rule this place, Kook. There’s a lot that you don’t know after you retire—“

 

“I’m not interested in updates.” The younger cut in and Jin let out a soft sigh.

 

“Listen, I know what’s in your mind right now. You think you can handle them by yourself but no, you haven’t met them yet.”

 

“And I won’t. JK is dead the moment I retired.” He said his sniper codename with a light nonchalant shrug as he calmly sipped on his beer.

 

“Not to them.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“They’re obsessed over you, Kook. They’re trying to track you down, to eliminate you and to take that ‘10 seconds’ title from you.”

 

“’10 seconds’ title huh…” Jungkook let out a scoff as the memory played in his mind.

 

‘10 seconds’ used to be his title and though he’s not really interested in it, (it doesn’t sound glamorous at all) it seemed like the other snipers totally don’t think so. It was because of his ability to eliminate the person he’s assigned to in 10 seconds. He was the legend among the other snipers for hire at that time despite joining the group at such a young age. 

 

However, looking at how a bunch of new people are trying so hard to copy his perfect work and eliminate him, he might still be a legend even when he’s now fully retired.

 

“Pack up now. I’ll take you to another place out of their radar.” Jin's voice dragged him back to reality and with that, he grinned at his own sudden thoughts.

 

“Let me just do one last thing before that.”

 

“Let me guess, you’re gonna take them out personally then disappear again don’t you?”

 

“Obviously,” Jungkook let out a snort before crushing the empty beer can in his hand. “It’s not like me to be running away from someone.”

 

“Huh, yet here you are, moving from one place to another literally every week.”

 

“Hey, who said houses in Seoul are cheap?”

 

“I won’t stop you if that’s what you want. Just be careful okay and if you need anything, I’m just a call away.” Jin winked at him grossly and he made his usual annoyed face before throwing his crushed beer can right at his handsome face. Of course, he dodged it skillfully.

 

“Drop the cheesiness, you ain’t Charlie Puth.”

 

“Duh,” The older rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. “At least let a man dream.”

 

***

 

It was late at night when Taehyung suddenly felt hungry. Studying the anatomy of a human body always made him sleepy and since he had an early dinner that night, he decided to cook himself something edible.

 

He yawned and stretched a bit as he finally walked out of his room after what feels like an eternity (3 hours of studying, actually) and made his way towards the fridge. He grabbed an opened carton of orange juice and gulped it directly, not even bothering to reach out for a cup.

 

He blinked a few times as he realized that the windows were wide opened and it was raining heavily outside. He shook his head as he remembered that he forgot to lock the windows again, nothing out of the usual.

 

The thing that happened next was the only thing out of the usual. He could hear the windows creaking sound as if someone’s opening them wider. Taehyung's jaw almost dropped on the floor along with the orange juice carton in his hand.

 

“Who’s that?” He asked timidly to the stranger who was trying to enter his house through the opened window. His black hair was totally soaked in the rain along with his black outfit. He struggled to get both his legs inside and Taehyung could clearly hear his soft moan in pain.

 

He stood still like a statue as he watched the figure in black trying to release his foot which was probably stuck at the windows sill. There were many thoughts in his head; him reaching out for his phone and calling the cops, him reaching out for the knife on the kitchen counter and even him screaming on top of his lungs to wake up the neighbours but he did none of those. Instead, he just blinked and his legs went frozen as soon as he realized that the stranger finally landed on his couch.

 

“Hey Cupcake, will you give me a hand here?”

 

Taehyung was snatched back to reality from hearing that alluring voice. It sounded familiar but at the same time he didn’t think he ever heard of that voice at all. The only familiar word was him saying ‘cupcake’ and that was because of the pizza delivery boy who often calls him that.

 

He hesitated on whether or not to approach the figure on his couch but as soon as he saw blood staining his couch, he ran towards him with his panicked expression.

 

“Holy you’re bleeding!”

 

“No one asked you to state the obvious but thanks.”

 

“For the love of everything holy I—“ there was a long pause before Jungkook heard the boy gasped so dramatically. “Wait is that a gun?”

 

“Specifically, it’s a Fort Crimson sniper rifle but well. Whatever you call it.”

 

He gulped as he stared at the wet sniper rifle at the edge of his couch. He contemplated if he should take it far away from the stranger’s reach but then, a veiny hand coated with blood that grabbed him by his collar made his mind went blank again.

 

“Hey. Tell me you at least know how to handle a gunshot wound.” Jungkook's chest heaved up and down from the pain he felt and he can literally feel Taehyung trembling just from his voice.

 

“I—I’m not sure—“

 

“Okay good. Do it now.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Now. Do it.”

 

Taehyung blinked a few times as he stared at the eyes that looked at him behind his damp hair. He learnt about the procedures, of course and he performed it on a corpse before but never on a living masked man with a rifle next to him. 

 

He bit his lips and contemplated on calling for an ambulance but as the stranger suddenly lifted up his shirt to reveal a deep gunshot wound on his abdomen, he instinctively ran towards his storage room to get the first aid kit.

 

***

 

Their first meeting was considered a usual one. At least for Taehyung, as far as he remembered.

 

Taehyung was hungry that night and he decided to order his favorite pizza; pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. He was a bit drunk that time after testing out a new brand of soju his friends recommended him to try. The pizza delivery boy rang his bell after approximately 10 minutes he called and he brought with him a normal pepperoni pizza, in which Taehyung was already too drunk to even realize.

 

The delivery boy was totally not amused when Taehyung opened the pizza box right in front of his door to check if they got his order right. The next action from him was the one that made him raise an eyebrow in total disbelief.

 

Taehyung handed the boy some money and dragged him inside his house, saying he’s suddenly too full for pizza. The boy who was still in his red uniform was taken aback when Taehyung shoved the pizza box to him and urged him to sit on his couch.

 

“It’s Kingsman!”

 

“Huh?”

 

The drunk boy pointed to his TV and grinned widely. “It’s showing on TV now.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Just like that, they ended up watching Kingsman together with their feet up Taehyung's coffee table and a red pizza box in between them on the couch.

 

Their second meeting was totally normal.

 

It was Valentine’s Day and Taehyung received at least 10 boxes of handmade cupcakes and chocolates from his colleagues. He would usually eat something with his friends for dinner after their study session but apparently, he was the only singles in his group. The meeting was eventually cancelled and Taehyung decided he would order his favorite pizza for dinner.

 

In approximately 10 minutes, the delivery boy was already standing in front of his door and Taehyung who was holding a cutely decorated cupcake in his hand ran towards the door like a child. It was the same delivery boy and he had this usual unamused look on his face as he handed Taehyung his pizza.

 

Just as Taehyung was about to take out his money from his back pocket, the boy waved his hand in front of his face. Taehyung blinked a few times as he watched the boy poking his cheeks a few times, looking like he was attempting an aegyo out of nowhere. His face was blank without any emotion but his finger was constantly poking his cheeks and that confused Taehyung.

 

What is his motive? What is he trying to do? Ah, is this some kind of special service on Valentine’s day for their lonely customers?

 

After a long pause, Taehyung finally smiled. He then reached out his hand to pat the boy’s head gently and nodded a few times. The boy raised an eyebrow at that action from his customer.

 

“I get it, you tried. It was cute.”

 

The boy’s face stayed blank even after Taehyung pinched his cheeks and chanted ‘cute’ a few times. He then paid for the pizza and brought it inside, still smiling from that aegyo attempt from the pizza delivery boy.

 

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that he realized what happened. The boy was trying to point out the cupcake icing that was smeared all over his cheeks earlier. He was beyond embarrassed but he immediately forgot it before their third meeting.

 

During their third meeting, Taehyung learnt that the boy is called Jungkook and that he is younger by two years. Taehyung also somehow found out that he is a regular customer at their pizza place by now and Jungkook always call him by his nickname before they get to know each other (it was originally Icing but then he changed it to Cupcake, simply because Jungkook thinks that’s cuter).

 

He started making random conversations with the pizza delivery boy and they get along well. Taehyung never invited Jungkook inside his house apart from the times when he’s drunk; and it was only because of his drinking habit but their balcony talk is always good enough for both of them.

 

However, it never occurred to Taehyung that their next meeting would be inside his house with a bleeding Jungkook on his couch, wearing black all over with a mask covering his face and his damp hair almost covering his eyes.

 

“Seriously, what happened? What’s with the rifle—god, I almost called the cops! Do you even know how scared I was?”

 

Jungkook coughed as he heard the younger talking about his rifle. “You should lock your windows. It’s raining.”

 

“Ha. Thanks for your concern, how sweet of you.” Taehyung rolled his eyes as he handed a towel for Jungkook to dry his hair. The older took the towel with a look on his face.

 

“What?” Taehyung asked with a pure innocent look and that made Jungkook scoffed.

 

“Do I look like someone who can dry his hair all by himself?” he pointed towards the cast Taehyung made for his injured right arm and the boy bit his lips.

 

“Right. How did I not see that,” He said as he took the towel from Jungkook's hand and moved behind the sofa. He then cleared his throat as he felt a bit awkward and he finally realized that he never tried drying someone else’s hair like this before.

 

“So, what are you gonna do now? You can’t possibly drive with your injuries. Should I drive you home?”

 

“I don’t have one,” he sighed and Taehyung's busy hands paused for a while hearing that. “At least not anymore.”

 

“What happened?”

 

There was a long silence when Jungkook truly contemplated on telling the truth to the older. He admitted that he actually told a lot about his true self to the boy when they started talking lately. It was something he swore he would never do, moreover with a stranger but that actually made his life bearable. All this while he felt like a fugitive having to move from place to place and not being able to settle down but with Taehyung, he felt his life slowly becoming normal.

 

He then blinked a few times and shook his head. “You don’t wanna know.”

 

“Oh please, I literally just asked you.” From the boy’s intonation, Jungkook didn’t even have to turn to look to know that Taehyung just rolled his eyes when he said that.

 

“I’ll give you hints. It involves explosion.”

 

The towel in Taehyung's hands dramatically fell on the ground upon hearing that. His mouth formed an ‘o’ shape and his eyes widened as he practically leapt over the couch just to look at Jungkook's face to see if he’s lying.

 

“Seriously? Explosions like what you see in movies?”

 

“Mmhm.” He answered shortly before he moved to lie properly on the couch, placing his left arms over his eyes. Taehyung stared at him with his pitiful looks from the side.

 

Jungkook never felt sad whenever he moved from place to place. It was his routine after 3 to 4 days and for him, it was such a short period for him to even fall in love with the place he’s living in. This time around though, the warm couple who owned the building treated him very well. It was so unlike the other places he stayed in before and it made him feel comfy.

 

For the first time, the cheap motel felt like it was really home. For the first time, he felt as if he’s living a normal life of a person with a place called home.

 

“You wanna tell me what happened?” Taehyung's careful voice was heard and that made Jungkook chuckled bitterly.

 

Jin was right.

 

The copycats got the motel under their radar and they were very determined to eliminate him that night before he runs away. Jungkook thought he was already well prepared for the attack. He took his position on the rooftop of the building and he had a clear view of a group of masked men gathered on the rooftop of the building across him. He could easily eliminate them first but he clearly underestimated the group.

 

Jin was right, yet again. They’re crazy.

 

They had a handmade bomb ready in the building. Heaven knows when or how they set that up but it blew up even before Jungkook get to pull the trigger. He fell from the impact and his fingers accidentally pulled the trigger during his fall, resulting in the deep wound on his abdomen and his right arm injury.

 

Jungkook considered himself lucky even after the injuries. He had a canopy downstairs breaking his fall and that made the impact less serious that what it was supposed to be. The happy couple and the other people inside were less lucky. The building quickly caught on fire and it took everything for the badly injured Jungkook to run across the public phone on the other side of the road to call for help.

 

He didn’t know who made it out alive but the next explosion that comes after he fled from the scene was too big he was so sure nobody could survive. It made him feel bad about himself the moment he finally thought about it.

 

The people inside the building were innocent. Jungkook is the one they’re looking for. Why would they destroy the whole building just because he’s staying in it for a week?

 

“I understand if you don’t want to talk.” Taehyung said after a while drowning in silence. Jungkook stayed silent even when he heard the sound of Taehyung cleaning the equipment he used to treat him earlier. 

 

If only the older didn’t get up so quickly to fetch a blanket and pillow for him, he would realize that Jungkook was crying in thought of the innocent lives in the building.

 

***

 

A week passed after the explosion at the cheap motel that Jungkook last stayed in. He watched the news covering the incident and it was very saddening to know that at least 3 families did not survive the explosion, including the lovely couple who owned the building.

 

Jungkook was quickly recovering after the incident. He still couldn’t move around much due to his deep wound in the abdomen but he will be able to take off his cast after a few more days. But that surely did not stop him from nagging a certain Kim Taehyung, who is no longer living alone in his quiet house on the rooftop.

 

At first, Taehyung volunteered to help Jungkook recover in which resulted with the boy staying with him for a week. However, that quickly changed yesterday right before the week ended.

 

It was right after dinner when they were unintentionally gathered in front of the TV. Jungkook usually would just leave Taehyung alone watching his favorite drama, saying he needed rest more than entertainment. That night, the older could feel that he had something to discuss about considering how according to what they talked a week ago, his stay would end the very next day.

 

Taehyung pretended as if he did not get the hint when Jungkook faked a cough behind him. He silently enjoyed annoying the younger in that way.

 

“Really?” Jungkook finally said after realizing how Taehyung was ignoring his subtle hint.

 

“What?”

 

“Whatever,” Jungkook rolled his eyes and leaned forward with his serious expression. “We need to talk.”

 

“Mmm.” Taehyung answered without removing his eyes on the screen. He didn’t even realize how Jungkook was getting slightly nervous behind him as he was trying to tell the younger his thoughts.

 

“Uh.. so like… you know—“

 

“I know what?”

 

“Oh. Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

 

“Seriously?” Taehyung rolled his eyes as he turned his head only to see Jungkook shrugging with a poker face.

 

“So yeah, let me stay with you a bit longer. There’s something I need to do, one last thing before this thing is over and I can finally fly out of this country.” The younger male said, his slight frown already showing how he is very troubled by what happened to him recently.

 

“Of course, take your time. But—what is it? The one last thing you need to do?” the older tilted his head curiously, resulting in a smirk on Jungkook's face.

 

“Investigation and confrontation. I will find those freaks who started the explosion. They can run but they can’t hide.”

 

Taehyung gulped upon hearing that. Boy, that really doesn’t sound so good.

 

***

 

“Okay so… what are we doing here?”

 

“Step 1, searching for clues.”

 

“Okay but… why the heck am I here?”

 

Jungkook raised an eyebrow as he stared at Taehyung by his side, rolling his eyes as he patted the older by his shoulder halfheartedly.

 

“I will need all the help I can get.”

 

“I don’t even know if I can be any help for you..” he muttered softly as he watched Jungkook who was already walking ahead of him towards a building, which was not exactly a building anymore. It was the old motel Jungkook lives in.

 

Ignoring the yellow police line, Jungkook stepped over it and walked inside, gesturing for Taehyung to come over. The older blinked a few times as he bit his lower lips, releasing it and then he repeated the action again.

 

He was hesitating.

 

Jungkook needed all the help he can get but by crossing over the police line like this? It was something he had never done in his whole life. There was a reason why they placed the line there, it just implied that nobody can enter the crime scene. But there he was, finally stepping over the police line after seeing Jungkook's eye roll.

 

“Really. Even that took you 5 minutes? We could’ve been caught instead, dummy.” He shook his head in disapproval as he his torchlight, tossing one to Taehyung. 

 

"Rude." The younger pouted and he continued mumbling something about it being dark at night and it might be dangerous for them to go inside but Jungkook obviously wasn’t listening to a single thing he said.

 

The older tailed behind Jungkook who was being drawn to every single pile he could see, for the building contained a whole lot of mountains of ruined stuffs. Meanwhile, Taehyung had been coughing literally every second ever since he entered the building.

 

“Seriously. This place is totally ruined there’s just no way we can find anything useful.” He mumbled softly as he starts sniffing and finally stopped following the energetic Jungkook and just looked around the remaining ruins of the building, wondering how it looked like before the explosion.

 

“You are a lot more pessimistic than what I thought you would be, Cupcake.” The younger let out a snort as he turned around just to click his tongue as he saw Taehyung frowning as he tried to dodge a burnt cupboard that fell down right behind him.

 

“I don’t feel good about this at all. Let’s go home already, Kook!” the boy started whining in his nasal voice and Jungkook had a hard time trying to focus. Heck, he was listening to a grown up boy whining why the heck was he thinking that it sounds cute instead of annoying?

 

Just as he looked around some more silently with Taehyung's eyes on his back, his eyes caught the sight of something sparkling under the moonlight. He slowly moved to the sparkly thing that was supposed to be a watch and picked it up in his hand. 

 

The leather was ruined and Jungkook would just threw it away thinking that it’s nothing important if not for the glowing numbers encrypted in gold on the watch. That was when he finally realized that it is not simply a watch. It was supposed to be an accessory in the form of imitating a watch, which is why the numbers are totally unlike the normal watch.

 

“What is it?” Taehyung peeked from over Jungkook's shoulder. The younger who was concentrating on deciphering the numbers on the watch almost cursed out loud in surprise.

 

“The heck—don’t creep up on me like that, geez."

 

"You're not cool at all, tch." Taehyung huffed before he quickly came back to his curious state. “But seriously what is that thing? Let me see!”

 

Jungkook rolled his eyes as he heard the boy before he handed Taehyung the watch and pointed towards the numbers. He didn’t need to point out anything, actually. The older was surprisingly quick-witted as he pointed it out.

 

“The numbers—it’s binary code.”

 

“Huh, who the heck in this modern world uses binary anymore?” Jungkook scrunched up his nose.

 

“Obviously, these people. It doesn’t look like something ordinary people would wear though. It seems like the numbers are encrypted with pure gold.”

 

“Can you translate it?” Jungkook turned to look at Taehyung by his side with a slight frown on his face.

 

“Well I don’t exactly learn it but we can always type it out online. There’s this thing called binary translator.”

 

Jungkook nodded and briefly mouthed ‘good’ as he took the watch from Taehyung's grip and stuffed it into his pocket. “That would be enough for us. Let’s go home, Cupcake.”

 

Taehyung's face lighted up so brightly hearing that and it was as if it could replace the moonlight to shine the whole building. That unconsciously made Jungkook smile. A genuine smile.

 

***

 

Taehyung yawned for the nth time during the seminar he was attending. It was a forum and talented doctors from the entire globe were invited to expose the medical students on the current issues on hospital management and newly found viruses and diseases. It was really interesting until they passed the microphone to the old guy who talks as if he’s whispering lullabies in your ears, coaxing you into deep sleep.

 

Okay, Taehyung admitted that he’s just blaming it on the professor when he just didn’t get enough sleep he deserved from the late night talk with Jungkook last night.

 

The talk ended late in the evening at almost 6pm, to Taehyung's disappointment. By the time he got out of Myeongwoo Hospital’s seminar hall he was utterly worn out and tired. He then decided that he can never reach home safely if he drives in that condition. He stared at his phone on the dash box and he was suddenly reminded that he successfully coaxed Jungkook into giving him his phone number.

 

He smiled as soon as he remembered how stubborn the younger was when it comes to giving out his phone number. It was understandable, thinking how he is basically doing illegal stuffs and from the movies he watched, this is the kind of stuffs the criminals do to lay low and not being caught. In the end he gave up just after Taehyung threatened him with his favorite kimchi stew (basically just Taehyung yelling “I’m never going to cook this again for you and nope, I never keep a recipe or a note on the fridge telling you how to cook it hmmph!”) and the slight pout on Jungkook's face is probably the cutest thing that Taehyung could ever witness.

 

His finger accidentally pressed the call button as he was reminiscing and he jolted up in surprise as the younger picked up in literally just 3 rings. It was almost as if he was waiting for it but Taehyung just shook his head before he cleared his throat uselessly.

 

“Ah, hey! What are you doing?”

 

“Laying down, sleeping, eating… why?” 

 

Jungkook's voice was heard on the other line and Taehyung just gets ridiculously happy upon hearing it. It’s as if they haven’t met for 84 years when in fact Jungkook just said he already got tired of seeing each other every day.

 

“It’s nothing, just—“ his own sentence was left hanging there as he suddenly thought that what he was trying to request is just ridiculous. Why is he trying to make Jungkook come over to him when the younger obviously still need more rest? “Ah, never mind.“

 

“If you’re adding a ‘just’ there that doesn’t mean it’s nothing, Cupcake. What is it?”

 

“Um. Would you mind coming to where I am right now?”

 

“Myeongwoo Hospital? Why?”

 

“Just—um, I’m not really in the state to drive.”

 

“Huh, you sound extremely okay for someone who said something that sounds so serious.”

 

“This kid and his sarcasm, seriously…” Taehyung muttered under his breath and gritted his teeth before he scoffed and shook his head quickly, as if Jungkook is there to see it. “Never mind, you go back to sleep I’ll find a way to go home.”

 

“I’ll be there in 10. You don’t even move an inch from there.”

 

The call ended right there without even a proper goodbye, but Taehyung was already smiling like a maniac. Right at that moment, a knock on his window that snapped him back from his daydream.

 

“Hey, student! I just saw you coming out of the hall, am I right?” the gentleman pointed to the seminar hall and Taehyung nodded cluelessly in disbelief.

 

This is not a dream.

 

It’s really the famous Kim Hyunjin, the youngest son of Chairman Kim Myeongwoo who was standing in front of him. He is the owner of the hospital Taehyung admire so much for helping his dad recover from his eye cancer a few years ago.

 

“Can you please move your car? It’s in my way, you see?” Taehyung's head followed Hyunjin's eyes and he let out a soft gasp as he realized that he was indeed parking his car in the middle of the other exit to the parking lot.

 

“Oh my, I’m sorry sir. I’ll move in a bit, sorry for the inconvenience!” he bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect but the gentleman just let out a polite laugh as he waved his hands dismissively.

 

“It’s fine. I was about to pick a fight but then I realized that it’s you, one of the students who came here to learn today.” He chuckled softly at his own lame joke but then he immediately stopped and rubbed his nape awkwardly as he realized that Taehyung's face literally turned pale just after a few seconds. “I’m… just kidding, you know?”

 

Taehyung blinked a few times before he finally let out a soft sigh in relieve and they both erupted into warm laughter.

 

“Ah anyways, I’m already running late so I guess I’ll see you around soon, Student.” He bid Taehyung a goodbye before heading towards his car. The younger immediately moved his car and as he watched the black sedan drove away past his car, he saw Hyunjin's hand waving at him.

 

“Your crush?” a sudden familiar voice was heard and Taehyung almost had a whiplash from turning his head to the side faster than the speed of light.

 

“Whoa—what the heck, Jungkook? When did you even—“

 

“Well of course you won’t notice me next to you when you’re so busy staring at that handsome guy. Congrats, it’s not a one sided love. That guy waved back at you!” Jungkook said with his faked cheery tone and Taehyung rolled his eyes in annoyance.

 

“Do you even know who that guy is? I won’t even dream of it.” The older shook his head a few times with a soft chuckle before he set his eyes on the road again.

 

“And why is that?”

 

“That guy is Kim Hyunjin, you see. His father is the one and only Chairman Kim Myeongwoo.”

 

“Hm, I see. I didn’t find him to look that special though? He’s kinda… I don’t know how to explain but he looks weirdly familiar to me.”

 

Taehyung's eyes widened as he unconsciously leaned towards Jungkook in the passenger seat, making the younger leaned back with an eyebrow raised and the usual skeptical look on his face.

 

“Yah you… you know him personally?”

 

“If I say yes will you just quietly drive us back home?”

 

“Yes of course—“

 

“No. Now get us home already. I’m hungry.” He pushed Taehyung by his forehead using his two fingers, making the older pouted and he childishly sent a glare in Jungkook's direction before he drove them back home.

 

Jungkook felt uneasy during the whole journey back home. It wasn’t as if it was so important but the fact that he felt like he had seen the chairman’s son a few times before suddenly just bothered him a lot. He turned his head to stare at Taehyung who was focusing on the road and a thought just came up to him.

 

“Hey Cupcake, about that guy, the Hyunjin guy… what else do you know about him?”

 

“Huh, what’s with the sudden interest?”

 

“I’m just trying to figure out where I possibly bumped into him.”

 

“I see,” Taehyung nodded twice before he cleared his throat, as if he was going to tell an interesting story to a kindergartener. 

 

"So, Chairman Myeongwoo has three sons, Kim Seokjin, Kim Sangjin and Kim Hyunjin. The Chairman once collapsed from his sickness and he was advised to choose someone to temporarily take over the hospital management. Seokjin volunteered since Sangjin is already well known to be in a band and he totally has zero interest in taking over the hospital. Meanwhile, Hyunjin was working in United Kingdom at that time for a research team. Everyone thought Seokjin, the eldest son, would replace his father, but President Kim actually refused his help. Instead, he called for Hyunjin to come back to Korea to take his position. Seokjin had all the reason in the world to be mad since he was humiliated by his own father in front of everyone but no, he was really being cool about it. He actually congratulated his younger brother and was seen picking him up at the airport all by himself.”

 

“And just how did you know this?” Jungkook raised a brow while Taehyung just grinned innocently.

 

“I’m always updated on them. Chairman Kim is like… my hero.”

 

Jungkook remembered the stories about how the chairman offered help to Taehyung's family when they were in need and the brown haired boy admitted that it was one of the main reasons as to why he aspired to be a doctor in Myeongwoo Hospital one day. He wishes to repay the chairman’s kindness to his family back then.

 

“Their rivalry was such a hot topic too at that time. Seokjin's cool attitude made the other staffs favor him even more than they already have. Though I still wonder why the chairman didn’t pass his position to the eldest son. Isn’t that what they always do?”

 

Jungkook shrugged as an answer, despite feeling uncomfortable about the fact that he knows another person named Jin and the coincidence is just too weird for him to ignore. Taehyung stayed silent after that along the drive, letting them both drown in the comfortable silence.

 

***

 

Taehyung leaned towards the balcony, a bottle of soju in his hands with his eyes closed, enjoying the cool night breeze that gushed towards him.

 

“It’ll rain tonight. What are you doing out here?” Jungkook's lazy voice was heard and he went out of the house to join Taehyung by the balcony with a small towel on his head, his hand busily trying to dry his own hair.

 

“Looks like someone’s healing very well. You no longer need my help to dry your hair, huh?”

 

“Hmm, I guess I’m healing very well.” He answered before he joined Taehyung who already sat at the edge of the balcony, his feet dangling from the three-storey building’s balcony.

 

“You know, sometimes I remember my sister when I sit here, right at this place. We used to sit together like this too, sharing drinks and sometimes we even exchanged stories until late at night. We would ridiculously talk about the stars, what it would feel like to be an astronaut and just… stupid stuffs. I used to miss all that when I‘m lonely.” He let out a soft sigh as he leaned back slightly to stare up in the dark sky, his gaze untranslatable as he looked at Jungkook next to him with a meaningful smile. “But I no longer feel lonely, now that you’re here.”

 

There was a long pause before Jungkook opened his mouth to ask Taehyung by his side. “What happened to your sister?”

 

“She’s dead. People said that she was killed by only a single bullet on her head. They say it was the perfect work of a sniper. But I don’t care about any of that. I only care about the fact that I wasn’t here to protect her when she had been protecting me since I was a kid.”

 

Jungkook bit his lips as he realized that the boy shed a single tear as he turned his head to the side, not letting anyone else knows that he was crying. The younger stayed silent despite him wanting to come up with a decent attempt to comfort Taehyung. His own sister died because of a sniper attack and look at how they are now. He is sitting next to a sniper and the worst part is how Jungkook could not find any difference between him and the bastard who made the older boy cry.

 

“Okay enough about me. How about you?"

 

“I’m just as awesome as usual—“

 

“Are you as lonely as I am too?” Taehyung blurted out the question as if he was possessed, not even noticing how much it affected Jungkook. He ended up snatching the boy’s glass of soju in his hand, gulping it down before Taehyung could even say another word.

 

“I used to think that it’s normal to feel lonely. People might have friends and family around them but you just can’t afford to not feel lonely. I believed that I was okay. I’m doing good.” Jungkook brought his head down as he let out a scoff, shaking his head before he continued. “Or that was so I believed until a hyung came into my life, offering me a work with a crazily high pay that just doesn’t require anything except skills. I accepted his offer and it turned out that I’m being recruited as a sniper for The Boss.”

 

“The Boss?”

 

“Hmm. The one I worked for. Weirdly, no one ever had seen him, how he looked like. Can you believe such a person exists in this modern century?” Jungkook snorted before he gulped down another glass of soju, blowing on his hair that fell onto his forehead. 

 

“This hyung said that The Boss' identity stays a secret. No one said anything about that when they’re being so well paid for such job. And I didn’t say anything though I think it was ridiculous. Why? Because this hyung is a sweetheart. He never forced anyone into killing someone they are not willing to. He would then pass the snipers their money; cash or cheque, he would handle it in just any form, basically anything you want it to be. He is also a very calm person, though he would lose it every time his squads are faced with troubles. I also once refused to kill someone and he only nodded once. He came back the next day with his usual boxy smile and a different assignment for me.”

 

“I enjoyed his company and I’ve only ever let him so deep into my life. I simply appreciate his existence in this ed up life of mine, honestly.” He looked up in the sky as his mind replayed the memories he shared with Jin, not even noticing Taehyung fond stare on him. 

 

“That look—It’s the first time.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“It’s my first time seeing you talk with such an adoring look on your face.” Taehyung chuckled softy as he saw Jungkook's signature eye roll before he continued with a softer tone. “This hyung must be really precious for you huh?”

 

“Well, I never had anyone I cared for, until I met this hyung and you.”

 

“Eh?”

 

“Don’t even dare to ask me to repeat that.”

 

Taehyung laughed as he realized how the younger's face turned just as red as the shirt he was wearing. He playfully flicked Jungkook's red ears and he huffed as he dodged the older's touch.

 

“The hyung you’re talking about sounds like an angel, honestly.”

 

“Not really. The other day when I told him I was gonna retire was the first time he ever snapped and I swear, I never want there to be a second time for him to be that mad at me.”

 

“Why would he do that though, you’re basically just trying to live a normal life out here.” Taehyung scrunched up his nose but Jungkook quickly shook his head.

 

“He had all the right in the world to get mad at me back then. He was the one to bring me back to his house when I was just a homeless kid he bumped to in the streets. Of course he’s just frustrated that the best sniper he ever had is leaving. But you know, even in that state he handled my retirement properly with The Boss and he continuously kept me in check, just to make sure that I’m safe. It was a miracle for me, actually. I never knew there would be an escape to this whole sniper world.”

 

“I’m just very surprised to know there’s such thing as retiring in that world. No offence, but I’ve always thought that every sniper just love to kill and they would kill even until they die.”

 

“It was never easy for me though. I keep on being discovered by the damned new group of assassins who just wanted me dead. Too bad for them, I lack the patience so I would just blow up their heads while they’re in the middle of operating on their mission. From then onwards, I was free for at least 3 months before the whole tranny Tuesday thingy happened.”

 

Their talk ended there, for Jungkook purposely let it hanging by changing to another topic about Taehyung's life in the past. They finally went inside when it started to rain heavily and the older nagged Taehyung to sleep early so he won’t ask Jungkook to accompany him to drive home like the other day.

 

***

 

Later that night, at approximately 4am…

 

“Who’s that?” Jungkook's sleepy voice was heard and he frowned as soon as Taehyung the lights in his room.

 

“K-Kook…” his voice sounded so soft and fragile Jungkook almost couldn’t hear him. His eyes were red and—why were his eyes all red?

 

“Yo Cupcake, is there anything—“ his sentence were left hanging there as Taehyung suddenly jumped on the bed and his arms just instinctively wrapped around the older's figure, patting his back comfortingly. 

 

"Whoa easy there. What wrong?”

 

“I had a nightmare… it was so scary I just—ah thank God you're alive."

 

“What happened in the dream?”

 

Taehyung looked up to stare at Jungkook from his messy bed hair to his soft features before he brought up his hand to caress the younger by his cheeks gently. 

 

"I dreamt of you. You wore a mask but I am so sure it is you. There were a lot of people running around but you stood still and… that was how you got shot. Then I saw you fell down, blood flowing out from the wound yet I cannot move to help you I just—“

 

“Shush it’s okay now. I’m right here.”

 

"You'll come back safely, right? No matter what you planned to do, everything will be fine right?"

 

Jungkook stayed silent as he patted Taehyung's back soothingly, and that made the older look up with his damp eyes.

 

"Answer me, Kook. You'll come back to me after everything's over right?"

 

"I don't make a promise that I can't keep." he said sternly but as he looked into Taehyung's eyes, he let out a soft sigh. "I don't know what will happen either. I can't guarantee you anything."

 

"Then promise me you'll at least try. Try to come back alive. Try not to get hurt."

 

Jungkook's feature softens as he hears the older, whose voice sounded way too adorable in his opinion. He ruffled Taehyung's hair affectionately, a smile on his face as he nods. 

 

"Silly, I wouldn't start anything if I were to really let them hurt me."

 

"Cocky." Taehyung muttered, finally smiling as he lean to rest his head against Jungkook's chest and as if it's a normal thing, Jungkook just hugged the older close to him. Taehyung couldn't help but to smile as he just snuggles closer for the younger's warmth and Jungkook's soft hum just makes him feel comfortable in his arms.

 

"Hey Kook isn't it weird?" Taehyung suddenly asked.

 

"What is?"

 

"We talked to each other about ourselves so seriously every single time, yet we don't even know the trivial things."

 

"Trivial things?"

 

"Yeah! Like, what's your favorite colour? Or... I don't know, your favorite food?" 

 

"Well, my favorite food is literally everything consumable and favorite colour, huh." Jungkook snickered as he looked down to stare at Taehyung, leaning in to whisper. "Red, like your heart that have me inside it."

 

"Y-Yah..." Taehyung mumbled as he felt his own cheeks heating up before they both burst out laughing and Jungkook cringed. 

 

"That's the worst thing you've ever said to me, Jeon Jungkook. Stop yourself!"

 

"Hey I didn't know it'll turn out to be that cringy! I'm stopping now alright, geez."

 

"Shut up and just cuddle me again." Taehyung said with a pout and Jungkook just gave in effortlessly. 

 

***

 

There's a violent knock on the door that woke Jungkook up that morning. He frowned as he realized that he was alone on the bed before smiling. He remembered Taehyung's complaints since he woke up late for his class this morning. 

 

The continuous knock started to annoy Jungkook. He finally jump off the bed with his bed hair and opened the door while yawning, only to blink at the unexpected guest.

 

"Jin hyung?"

 

As if it's a dejavu, Jin pushed him inside the house and he swiftly turned around to close the door. Jungkook was still stunned by his sudden appearance and Jin's urgent voice can be heard as he started talking.

 

"Kook, what are you doing? I have been looking you everywhere- God. You're safe."

 

"Of course I am, what do you expect?" 

 

"I was worried you might die!" Jin paced around the Taehyung's cozy living room and Jungkook just let out a chuckle. 

 

"It's alright now, hyung stop pacing around already."

 

"You're taking everything so lightly I am so mad at you." Jin huffed as he ran his fingers through his perfectly styled hair. "Whose house is this? How long have you been here?"

 

"It's- a friend of mine's. I've been here for quite a while but don't worry. No one will ever know I am here-"

 

"But I know. That is not 'no one', Kook."

 

Jungkook was rendered speechless for a bit before Jin sighed heavily. He reached out to pat the younger's shoulder. 

 

"I'm just warning you. They won't give up until they know you're dead. Stop running around and involve innocent people, Kook. I'm just worried for your friend, the future doctor. He will get caught in between all of this mess." Jin said and Jungkook managed a slight smile as he held onto Jin's hand briefly.

 

"I'll protect him, don't you worry about that."

 

Jin nodded as he took out his sunglasses and put it on. He head towards the door with Jungkook watching over him.

 

"If you ever need anything you know you can call me. It's just that you never did." Jin said, his voice sounding a bit disappointed.

 

"I will surely remember that, hyung." that's all Jungkook said but it already assured Jin that the younger will be alright. He just watched Jin walking along the corridor, a weird feeling in his chest as he recalled the recent thing Jin have said to him.

 

"Wait did he really just said... future doctor when he's referring to Taehyung? How did he know when I never really said anything?"

 

***

 

Taehyung felt like a madman as he drove back to his home. He kept on smiling so widely he just can't help himself. All this while, all he ever think of all the way back home is how he'll be all alone again but today? Everything has changed.

 

He whistled mindlessly as he parked his car at his usual spot and as he was locking his car, he saw a black limousin parked outside of his building. He squinted as he caught a glimpse of the man wearing a sunglasses at the back seat through his windows as he was talking to someone outside the limo. 

 

"Holy -" Taehyung gasped out loud before cupping his own mouth, muffling the noise. He immediately ran up the stairs and impatiently unlocked the door with his own key.

 

"Jungkook ah! Jeon Jungkook!" 

 

"Aish, slow down will you? It's not like I'm deaf or anything." Jungkook huffed as he came out of the kitchen, his hand holding onto his cereal bowl.

 

"What the heck is that person doing here? Did he come to meet you? Is that why you said you might have seen the chairman's son before?"

 

Jungkook raised a brow before he frowned deeply, frustrating Taehyung further.

 

"Ugh, You're just clueless aren't you?" Taehyung groaned. "Kim Seokjin, the eldest son of President Kim! What is he doing here?"

 

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

 

"I saw him leaving in his limousin when I reached home. You did say you've seen Han Hyunjin before."

 

Jungkook bit on his lower lips, uneasy as he connected the missing puzzle little by little in his own head. He dashed towards his bedroom, reaching out for his phone to search up Kim Seokjin's name. He was still aware of Taehyung's curious eyes on him but the shock that comes after that almost made him forget.

 

". How did I not know, all this time-" Jungkook ran his fingers up his own hair, messing it up slightly.

 

"What is it, Kook? What's wrong?" Taehyung asked as he approached the troubled younger.

 

"This-" he started as he flashed the older his phone with Kim Seokjin's image search result. "This guy is Jin hyung. The one I had been talking about with you all these time."

 

"Is it supposed to be such a bad thing...?" Taehyung trailed off.

 

"It is a bad thing. I know why I feel like that face looked familiar."

 

"That face?"

 

"President Kim's son, Kim Hyunjin." he said, his own fists balled by his side. "I saw his face in a picture Jin hyung gave me."

 

"That can happen too you know, maybe he was introducing his family to you?"

 

"But he wasn't. He told me to kill the guy in the picture, his own brother."