Jungkook can tell you many things about what he’s been through.

He can speak almost a hundred tales in which he got beat up by his own father or when he had to protect his mother or when he had to see her weep in silence with bruises along her neck. He can speak about how the feeling of safety has been robbed form him in a young age, he can also tell you about how he had to wait up for his brother to get home so he can make sure he’s gone into his room safely and locked the door, just in case his father’s drinking go out of hand. He can tell you how he and his brother had to meet up after any occasion to go home together because Jaehyun had bullies and his older brother had to have his back. God, he can tell you so many things.

But he won’t. His suffering was only for himself and no one else. If he tells you about those tales, he will have to tell you about the tales in which he dreamt about getting his baseball bat and crashing his father’s skull, how he wishes for blood to drip from the bat and how he wanted to see it painting the walls a violent shade of red, he had to tell you about the time he intentionally walked in to buy and gun, and actually bought one but his mother confiscated it from him as if she knew that he fantasized about emptying the bullets in his head, and chest and whole body. Jungkook dreamt about that a lot, he imagined, while fighting with his father if he just took a knife from the kitchen and plunged it into his father’s heart, watched the blood ooze and watched bleed to death. So many dangerous tales to tell, but he won’t.

After the feeling of safety has been robbed, all that was there now; was fear, survival tactics, calculations, lies, shaking hidden hands and the idea that everyone is out to get him, because people were bad. People were untrustworthy and most importantly they were cruel when they were in a position of power. That’s why Jungkook always needs to have to upper hand. He refuses to let anyone – anyone at all, overpower him.

Jungkook refuses to be weak again, never again, not in his last household, where he had to be strong because his little brother didn’t know how to fight to save his life and his mother, who sometimes couldn’t take the beatings on her own and stopped trying to keep him out of it, and ran to him, hid behind him and clutched his arms, and cried. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, she would repeat, whether to calm his father down or it was for Jungkook because she’s dragged him into this, she’s dragged him into a mess in which he had no hand in creating. 

Jungkook refused to be weak in his boarding school;

He mostly tried to keep out of that wasn’t his business, being a hero wasn’t going to help anyone. One should always look out for himself and those he loves, and only those people. But when he first arrived – and he was fresh meat, a couple of pricks came looking for trouble, he had to protect himself. He didn’t throw a punch, nor did he resist. He waited it out; he let them hit him, because he knew he wasn’t ready to fight both of these boys all on his own. But then after that incident, he trained, and trained some more and that’s when he cornered their leader in the bathroom and got his revenge. And ever since then, no one was ever able to lay a hand on him.
And since then, Jungkook didn’t stop training. And when he returned home for holidays his mother would tell his father that she missed him so much and she spent the holiday nights in his room. Jungkook realized on the first night she spent in his room that she did not only miss him, she was taking cover in his broad form. And Jungkook decided to keep training and pulling on muscle so that when he comes back in the summer, he can stand before his father and protect his brother and mother.

Jungkook refuses to be weak in his biological father’s household too, if he has to do bad things to survive, he will.

Because Jungkook was a lot of things – honestly, he knew he was a real piece of work – but he wasn’t weak.

So sitting in the car with his father and without his brother, he knew he had to be strong. Be on the same level as his father, because anything below meant being under his thumb, right where he wants him to be.

“I won’t scold you,” He said, looking out the window, and Jungkook doing the same, his voice was calm, even though he expected him to be furious. “I won’t ask you if you’re okay or if this incident was caused by trauma or grief.”

Jungkook stayed silent, looking at the pretty lights as they drove past them all on their way to prison.
“Because you have to be okay and I know you will be.” He says, with a lot more confidence than Jungkook would like to be expected of him. “But I will warn you, next time this sort of thing happens, I will punish your brother. Not you.”

That sentence had Jung kook’s head snapping towards his father’s direction while he remained looking out the window, twisting and turning the ring in his left hand. “What does my brother have to do with this? I told you, I planned all this.” The defensive tone, made him weaker, he knew that – it meant that his father had figured out his weak spot, and now he had a hidden card to threaten him with – but Jungkook couldn’t help it.

“I know you did.” His father acknowledged, turning his head and looking him in the eye. “But the minute you were announced as my sons, you’re walking around with a target on your back.”

“Still, Jaehyun –“

“And we both know that you can survive anything and you can smell danger a mile away. I don’t worry about you.” He said, “But your brother isn’t like that and you put him in danger when you pull off these plans.”

“I can protect him.” Jungkook sounded like he was convincing himself more than his father.

“Not from me, you can’t.” it was a sharp statement – a threat even or maybe it was a declaration of power.

Jungkook was silenced but the words, locking his jaw and leaning back. It was a direct threat, Phoenix was telling him if something like this attempt to escape happens again, then the one who will pay is his brother and when that happens, Jungkook won’t be able to save him. And for the first time in a long time, a very long time, Jungkook felt overpowered. Control wasn’t in his hands, he didn’t have a choice anymore. No choices, no calculation, the only resolution was to bend a knee in front of the man he was supposed to obey.

Suddenly, Jungkook didn’t have the upper hand anymore.

“Stop the car.” He said, talking to the driver in the front seat. When he only got a weird glance, and his father glanced at him, “Stop the car. Stop the ing car!” he hit the front seat in front of him and they slightly swerved from their lane because Sehun was taken aback by Jungkook’s sudden outburst. “Let me out! Stop the car, dammit!” he turned to his father; “Stop the car or I will jump out, I swear by my mother I will jump out and you will never ing see me again.”

“Stop the car.” Pheonix commanded, “Let him out.” Sehun did as told, parking at the side of the road somewhere in the city. Just before Jungkook reached for the door, his father began, his voice loud and clear; “For the last time, I will tell you, I will never force this life onto you. If you are not home by midnight, I will understand you’ve made your choice and ii will lock the gate.”

“And then you’re gonna send one of your men after me.”

“You’re my son.” Chanyeol said, it was the closest thing to sincere that he’s ever heard the man utter. He spoke as if Jungkook didn’t understand the weight of the statement. He didn’t understand that Chanyeol would never hurt him. But if he’s decided that he wanted nothing to do with this, then he won’t be family, he’ll just be related by blood and only that.

He pulled his hood up, shoving his hands in his pocket and exited the vehicle. Chaneyol gestured Kai to go behind him and the man nodded, exiting the vehicle and put his gun in the back of his belt, right under his waist. He’s gotten used to the feeling so much that he doesn’t feel safe without it there.
Jungkook walked down the street, checking his watch, 8:09, it read. Four hours, he had four hours to decide what will define his life for the rest of it. No pressure. The street where he walked, was luxorious, he was clearly close to home, though he doesn’t know. He walked along the tall walls of an estate, it looked like a prison wall. And it awfully reminded him o fhis old school.

The thoughts flew out of his head, noticing footsteps behind, slowly he turned around, rage coming onto him. Launching towards Kai, he grabbed his coller, cornering him to the wall, in aggressive fast movements. “The , man?” Kai questioned.

“if you’re going to kill me, then just do it already. Don’t follow me around, and shoot me in the back.” Jungkook meant every word. He knew that Phoenix sent him to shoot him the moment it rings midnight and he’s not home, pledging his allegiance and loyalty to the mighty Phoenix.

“I’m here to look after you, bro.” He said, “Come on, let go.”

“Give me your gun.” Jungkook said.

“What?” Kai asked, confused.

“Give me your gun. Now.” The tone was authoritive, but Kai answered to Phoenix not his bastard son.

“No.”

“I can’t think while you’re walking behind me with a gun.”

“Then I’ll just walk in front of you!” Kai frustratingly threw his arms in the air.

“Hand over the gun.” He said, and with some sort of finality.

Kai cursed Phoenix and his son to hell as he reached behind him and grabbed the gun, giving it to Jungkook, who stood back the moment the gun was in his hand. He turned it around in his hand, observing it throughout-ly. “Don’t hurt yourself, kid.” He warned, perhaps a hint of mockery in his voice. The same tone of mockery the bullies from his school used with him.

He cocked the gun, put his finger on the trigger and aimed it towards Kai. The thug raising his arms up casually, “I went to military school, .” His hands had a firm grip on the gun and his arms stretched out, showing his muscles and biceps, he turned the aim to the wall next to Kai and pressed his trigger. Kai didn’t flinch because Jungkook wasn’t trying to hurt him, he was just making sure he doesn’t undermine or underestimate him. Dominance was established and that’s when Kai saw how much this boy resembled his father.

He put the gun in his belt an began to walk once again. “You know, he’s not as bad as you think he is.” Kai said, not moving from his place against the wall. Jungkkook paused in his stride.

“He is a criminal, a and psychopath.” He said, and continued walking.

“Yeha, right, he’s the psychopath.” Kai muttered under his breath, before he began catching up with Jungkook. “Your dad is a criminal, check, a psychopath, I guess a little yeah.” He agreed. “But a ? Nah, man your dad has a rule for us. No women, no children.”

“My mother did not have me on her own.”

“Your mother and Phoenix loved each other.”

“Is that why he has a wife and a mistress?” He asked harshly.

“First of all, Jessica and Phoenix can’t stand each other, it was a business deal. And Tiffany came along after Phoenix was left alone for like five years.” He explained, studying jungkook’s locked jaw.

Jungkook stayed silent, he refuses to let this get to him, even though a part of him wished to believed that these words were true but his hate for his father fuelled his desire to stay away from him. You see, Jungkook like holding guns, he liked their power, he liked having authority and he liked the idea where he never has to be in a position of weakness. Jungkook wanted to make it home by midnight. but two things stopped him, his fear of dissapointing his mother and his hatred for his father.
What’s gonna happen to his brother though, what will they do to him if he’s not there to protect him, will he learn to survive on his own or will he loathe his older brother for leaving him in a inadaptable situation where Jungkook knew he would not survive? Jaehyun would never hold a gun, nor will he ever throw a punch, nothing was wrong with him, he was a good boy, he just wasn’t born violent.

“You should go back to Phoenix.” Kai said, as an advice but Jungkook couldn’t take it, Kai was too biased because he’s been one of the bad guys for a while now, he won’t understand it from his point of view.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” He confessed honestly. He really didn’t, he’s spent his teenage years that he spent at home physiccslly restraining himself from harming his father intentionally.

“When the time comes, it’ll be self-defense.” Kai said, as if he was comforting him. Jungkook realized, that the way he was leading too him back to Phoenix’s estate, so he took a sharp turn to the right. “Cigarette?”

“I don’t smoke.”

“I won’t tell.” Kai assured, reaching the packet for him.

He smoked before in his school, some kids knew how to smuggle cigarettes inside and Jungkook had a friend there who was one of them, who always got him some. But everything had a price, his friend would say, yet he got him these cigarette at the lowest price possible. People were not what they seemed, that was one of the lessons he learned in there.
“Sure,” He said, putting the thin stick between his lips, Kai lit it for him and they just stood there, with their backs against the wall, smoking. “Why do you defend him?”

“Because Phoenix isn’t a bad man.”

“He’s a criminal –“

“You said that already, but you know what? Your father is better than cops, bankers and doctors.” He said, frustration and sincerity were laced with him tone. “your dad protects us, okay? If we need money he gives it to us, if we need help, he helps us and if we’re hurt he takes revenge and makes a scene because we’re his own. And no one touches his ing own. Okay? So stop being so judgmental.”

“Its called being realistic.” He said, “And you think this way because he manipulates you into thinking he’s looking out for you when he probably doesn’t.” He shouldn't be speaking defensively but he is anyway. But what was he defending? His morals? He himself, didn’t completely believe in those because Jungkook believed that everything and anything is allowed if he had to protect himself and those around him.

“Would you stop thinking you’re better than everyone else and open your eyes for a second? Your father runs territory just like a business man run a company.” He spoke aggressively, Jungkook’s words getting to him. Kai hated people like this, self entitled spoiled brats who thought they were better than people like him because they’ve never held a gun.

“I'm not even going to answer that, man,’’ He said, scoffing. “What happens when you have to kill someone in his name, huh? What happens then?”

“Then I pull the trigger. That’s what happens.”

“Who has blood on his hands?”

“Both of us.”

“No. No. just you. Only you have to deal with the trauma, only you have to deal with the nightmares, okay? In the end, you have to deal with it alone.”

“When you pull the trigger on a motherer who kills because he can, there isn’t any trauma. Just pride.” Kai exclaimed, looking him in the eye, challenging him to tell him he’s wrong.

“You’re not one to judge whether or not someone deserves to die – Dammit, you all are not God!” He yelled.

“No, we’re just men.” Kai admitted, calming down, his voice clear of any anger. “We just men who weren’t born in suburbs. We just men who are trying to live.”

“And I’m just a boy who is trying to protect his baby brother.”

They were quiet after their statements, Jungkook threw his cigarette on the ground, stomped it. He gulped before he began, “I don’t know your name.”

“Its Kai.”

“I meant your real one.”

Kai looked surprised, slightly taken aback, as if usually people don’t ask this sort of question. “… Jongin, my name is Jongin.”

“Okay, Jongin,” Jungkook sighed. “You think we can get a cab around here?”

The man smiled, “I’ll call a car for us.”

“We’re not going home,” Jungkook informed. “Not yet at least.’’

+

Jungkook hated hospitals, they were white, sickly white not pure white – but Jungkook hated the color white either way. He never had white clothes because they stain too fast, and just the color overall reminded him of the purity he didn’t have.

“What are we doing here?” Kai asked, looking around, feeling very out of place with his dark clothes, and blond hair slicked back. Kai knew he looked like a thug, so the glances directed his way while they were entering the hospital didn’t bother him like they used to. “You’ve been sitting there for almost an hour. It’s almost midnight, kid.”

Jungkook sat on an uncomfortable armchair, looking at his step-father for a while now. The man was connected to respiration devices that monitored his barely living state. The device beeped rhythmically, with a steady heartbeat. The doctors told him when he was here a while ago, that his father was in a vegetal state and while Jungkook didn’t completely understand the term but he understood that he will never wake up. He will never wake up to take custody of them again, he will never get to hurt any of them ever again – unless a miracle occurs and that itself would mean a lot worse that staying with his real father. His father was all wrapped in white cloth, to try to heal his deathly burns.

He looked pathetic and a twisted part of Jungkook took pleasure in simply watching him be so helpless and broken.

When he didn’t answer, Kai put a hand against his shoulder and Jungkook recoiled, sighing when Kai pulled his hand back feeling that he’s scared the kid. “What’s wrong?”

Jungkook wanted to laugh, but he only chuckled humorlessly. His mother – the only person in the world that looked out for him was dead and his step father was not. His real father ran a mob syndicate and his little brother was threatened if he tried to run away again. And that’s just saying the least of it.
“You know…” Jungkook began, not knowing how it will end. “A couple of years ago, he and mom had this huge fight, and he… he grabbed her and just threw her against the staircase so I,” He gulped, before continuing. “I ran up to my room and I grabbed my baseball bat and I went downstairs and I – I was really just going to hit him on the head until we can all live in peace. I was really going to do it and I didn’t feel bad at all.” He spoke and Kai listened, maybe Jongin had his tragic backstory too and it might be a lot worse than his but he still listened to him diligently. “But my mom, she – uh – she grabbed it from my hand, and when I said no, she just shook her head and took it away.”

“You had every right to be angry, kid.” Kai assured, feeling as if Jungkook blames himself for these actions.

“Do you know why she stopped me?” He asked, his voice just above a whisper. Kai shook his head, “Because she knew I was capable of it.”

“Jungkook –“

“And to this day I regret not bashing his head with my bat…” He then trailed off, staring at his step-father. “Imagine how different everything would have been.”

Kai realized that perhaps he was the one who judged Phoenix’s son too early, maybe there was more to his refusal to join them than being spoiled or judgmental. “It’s not your fault.”

“Maybe it is.” He spoke softly, maybe he was even close to tears, maybe he was drowning in self pity. “Maybe I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

Jungkook paused, his eyes remaining on the body lying on the bed. Awful memories playing in his head, memories of that one night when he was at boarding school, just before spring break, he has told his brother to get his mother, stay in his room and lock the door or leave the house all together if his father gets drunk. His brother obeyed, and he told him that he hid and his mother in Jungkook’s room until there was no sound outside and the night passed peacefully.
Jungkook was relieved but then the next morning, while Jungkook had classes, his father was sober and had realized the new strategy his kid developed and he beat Jaehyun so badly – so horribly that he managed to land him in a hospital bed. When Jungkook tried calling him at night, while everyone was asleep with a smuggled in phone, no body answered. No answered for four nights in the row, but then Jaehyun answered and apologized, and begged his brother to forgive him, because he couldn’t protect his mother or himself and that he was so useless.

Maybe he really should’ve killed him when he had the chance. Well, he’s not making the same mistake again.

“Kai, can you lock the door?” He asked, standing up, going to stand at the foot of the bed. Kai obeyed and carefully stood next him, watching the man on the bed breathe shallowly.

Taking the gun from his belt and holding it in his hands, Kai panicked, “What are you doing?”

“It’s too loud…” Jungkook titled his head, “Even with a silencer, it’s way too loud.”

“Jungkook…” He called, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. “Don’t do anything you’re going to regret.”

Jungkook paused, handing Kai the gun, “I’m only doing what I should’ve done a long time ago,” He walked towards the side table, opening the drawer, looking for something – Kai didn’t know what exactly. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, his eyes darted around the room, and then settled on the trash can at his feet. He quickly crouched down in front of it, opening it, he seemed to find what h was looking for. Kai curiously peeked, trying to see what he found. He was sure it was weapon, and when Jungkook came to stand next to him he found out that the weapon was a… a syringe?

“What are you gonna do with that?” Kai asked, curious but uneasy.

“If you insert a syringe without emptying the air, it mimics a heart attack.” Jungkook explained as he pulled the syringe’s arm, filling it up with air. “I told you the gun was too loud.”

“, man, you’re smart as .” Kai confessed honestly, impressed.

“Can you get us a car at the parking lot underground?”

“No but I can take care of the security cameras and we can walk out.” He said, taking out his phone.

“Too risky, what if someone saw us?” Jungkook asked, as much as he wanted to kill him, as much as he didn’t want to do time for it.

“If there are no security footage to verify we were here at the time all they have is circumstantial.” Kai said, and he seemed confident, so Jungkook nodded and he dialed a number, putting his phone to his ear.

Just as Jungkook was about to insert the syringe in his step-father did Kai stop him. “Are you sure? No going back.”

“No going back.” Jungkook repeated as he plunged the syringe in the man’s foot, in his pinky toe.

Someone answered on the other line and Kai spoke into the phone, but all Jungkook was focused on was his father’s from and how it shook, he didn’t trash as he wasn’t technically already unconscious, hell, he was technically dead but Jungkook still had to do it. For his mother. The device monitoring the state beeped violently, and the it stilled on a thin line visualized on the device. He has killed someone. He was a murderer.

It shouldn’t be as easy as it was. “I killed someone.” He said out-loud, just to see if he felt something, guilt, anger, fear, anything. But he felt nothing.

Kai got off the phone, “Yeah, I know, I was there.” He said, “We should go, kid.”

One last look at the thin line and they were both gone.

+

Jaehyun sat quietly, not only of fear, but also shame.
for the fifth time, he reached out a hand to his cheek, touched the area that had been injured, it was probably black and blue by now and it was only going to get worse before it gets better.

When Phoenix had come back, without his brother, he had demanded to know here he was. His father didn’t answer, only avoided him and gone up the stairs to his office. Jaehyun followed him, throwing questions his way, but he still didn’t answer. And then, “What did you do to him?” Jaehyun asked, Phoenix only shrugged off his suit jacket and slowly poured himself a drink. Jaehyun stood at the door, tightly clenching his fists, his mouth dry and the words suddenly caught in his throat. He hesitated, his eyes almost tearing up at the assumption.

“Did you…” Jaehyun trailed off, not knowing how he could say the words out-loud. He his lips and clutched his hands together, “Did you kill him?”

His father only glanced at him, “Go to your room, Jaehyun.” But his son wouldn’t, he stood his ground, believing his assumption was true, grief suddenly giving him courage he didn’t have. “Did you?” Jaehyun repeated.

“Answer me! Did you kill Jungkook?!” Jaehyun walked towards his father, his eyes burning, b with tears. The size difference was terrifying – hilarious even, though his father still had his back to him, his father towered over him as if he was merely a child in front of him and he was, he knew he was, that’s why he’s made it a habit in their short stay to avoid the man. “Answer me!” Jaehyun repeated and that’s when his father turn to him.

“No.” Chanyeol answered. “I didn’t kill my own son.”

Jaehyun flinched back at the sudden answer after silence, it didn’t help that his father was glaring at him, like he’s angry. Which was not reassuring. But Jaehyun had to stand his ground, his brother would do the same for him. “Where is he? Huh? Where is my brother?” Jaehyun continued, refusing to be terrorized into submission. “Did you hurt him? –“

“Your brother chose this.” Phoenix said, not wanting to tell the boy that his brother might not be coming back at all. But it wasn’t because he had hurt him, but because Jungkook will most likely choose himself over his brother, and that he will convince himself that he can get Jaehyun out of this life if he, himself was out. How is supposed to tell that to the little boy who feigned courage and strength in front of him to know where his brother was. “And I don’t know where he is.”

Jaehyun shook his head, this man was lying to him. He probably beat Jungkook to the pulp and threw him on the streets to die alone in the cold. But Jahyun won’t let that happened, if he was the one that was missing, his Jungkook would have gotten in a fistfight with his father to know where he was. And while Jaehyun wasn’t that courageous, he can do something.
He turned around, giving his father his back, fished out his phone, dialing an emergency number. “Hello, 119, what’s your emergency?” The woman on the line spoke robotically.

“My brother – my brother, he’s missing –“ Suddenly his wrist was grabbed, and the phone was snatched away from him. Jaehyun turned around to his father and yelled as his father swung the phone to the nearby wall, where it crashed and fell into pieces. His father glared at him, anger and frustration directed where it shouldn’t be.

“I have two rules,” He spoke, his grip on his son’s wrist tightening, Jaehyun winced of pain. “Never do anything behind my back and never, ever talk to the cops.”

Jaheyun trashed in his hold, Jungkook was right about this man, they should’ve ran when they had the chance. He tried to get away from the hold, “Am I clear?”

“Let go!” Jaehyun demanded loudly, making a ruckus to be let go. “let me go! Jungkook was right about you, you bastard –“

Jaehyun would like to tell you that he was not afraid, or that he didn’t want to cry. But as soon as the man’s backhand made contact with his cheek, he fell to the ground. He didn’t fall of the hit as the man didn’t use all his strength but from the surprise. He held his cheek as he blinked furiously, he didn’t want tears to fall. His tears can not fall. “Oh .” Sehun spoke, Jaehyun didn’t even notice him, standing at the door.

Sehun strode inside the wide office, not bothering to hold back Phoenix because he knew he wasn’t going to hit him again. The man seemed to already have guilt eating him up as he stood back, massaging the bridge of his nose. He immediately grabbed Jaehyun, pulling him up forcefully, whispering to him; “You can’t cry, kid, you can’t.” Jaehyun understood what the man was trying to say as he dragged him to the couch. Sehun gulped, “Tiffany is on her plane, she will arrive at the morning.” He delivered the massage he was here to deliver, but having walked in on such a heated conversation, he wanted to know what will happen. Now he regrets not interfering.

“Tell them to lock the gate at twelve.” Chanyeol ordered Sehun, and the man nodded, leaving to obey.

So that’s how Jaehyun ended up sitting there quietly, shamefully. When he got up to leave, his father told him to sit down.
His father stood at his office window, hands in his pockets. “Your brother has a choice to make, that’s why I have let him go. If he chooses not to lead this life, I will not stop him, though it will hunt him either way. But if he does choose to leave, he will leave you too because you’re still a minor under my custody.”

“My brother would never leave me…” Jaehyun answered proudly, confidently. He knew the man was probably was trying to make him hate his brother because he may have killed him or maybe he was trying to drive them away from each other so they wouldn’t be as strong because alone, they can be controlled.

“I hope you’re right.” His father exclaimed honestly, checking his watch, 11:55, it read. Five minutes, if he is not back , then Chanyeol will have a big problem. But still, he had to let him go, being forceful wasn’t going to help anyone. The kid was his carbon copy, he was too smart for his own good. He was too smart to be be kept locked in, because in the near future, he was going to find a way to escape, and will probably drag himself into bad . Chanyeol had to give him the choice, even if he knew that the decision might not be in his favor.

But Jungkook was a smart kid, he knew he will make the right choice.

The car entered the estate, and Chanyeol knew it could just be Kai, coming to deliver the bad news. But as the car stopped and his son exited, he wastched as his son put the gun – that he didn’t know where it came from, in his belt. His son already looked like he was all ready for the throne. “He’s here.” Phoenix said, and Jaehyun perked up at the statement but as he tried to move, his father once again gestured him to sit down and he fearfully obeyed.

His father turned to the door when his son walked in, Jungkook walked confidently, eyes glancing at his brother who stood up on his presence, and walked towards him. Jungkook stared at his little brother’s messy appearance and the bruise proudly forming at his cheek. He must have put up a fight, to be all roughed up like this. It was unlike Jaehyun but Jungkook knew it was for him and that made the shame in Jaehyun’s eyes look ridiculous. Jungkook was proud of him, and his brother shouldn’t be ashamed of anything.

Leaving him behind, he walked to his father’s desk, Jaehyun noticing the gun tucked in his older brother’s belt in plain sight, his brother wasn’t trying to hide it. “Phoenix,”

“Son.” He acknowledged.

“I will be loyal to you.” Jungkook began, “I will obey you. I will never betray you.” His voice was clear and he meant it, taking the gun from his belt, he laid on the man’s office desk. "But if you touch my brother again, I will kill you."
He’s killed before, so it really wouldn’t matter. 
his father nodded, respecting that the threat was very serious.

“Welcome home, Son.”

+