“Update me on Jimin,” Asami ordered as soon as she entered Baekhyun’s office, shutting the door behind her. She dropped her purse onto the hardwood floor before pulling a chair up in front of Baekhyun’s desk.

“Good evening to you too, Mama,” Baekhyun sighed with a hint of sarcasm to his voice at his mom’s sour attitude. He lowered his laptop screen and leaned back in his cushioned chair as he focused all of his attention solely on his mother.

Asami pompously sat in the chair she pulled up and delicately crossed one of her legs over the other, slipping her signature diamond studded sunglasses off of her face. Baekhyun laughed quietly at his mother’s heightened sense of self importance today. She wore a new diamond studded watch and matching studded sunglasses along with the expensive black pantsuit and tie that hugged her body. Asami was always quite imperious, presumptuous, and- dare Baekhyun say it- conceited, but all of this was a bit over the top, even for her.

Today must be a special day.

“Sorry, honey,” Asami giggled, giving a flip of her hair. Yeah, today was definitely meaningful in some way. “I have to hurry because me and your dad are going to have a really fantastic night since tonight is our 25th anniversary.”

“Congratulations, mama,” Baekhyun smiled. Asami gave an identical smile in return. A few years ago, Baekhyun probably wouldn’t have admitted that he looked a lot like his mother. But looking at her now as they both shared a smile, Baekhyun felt like he was looking at the female version of himself. They were both small in stature with really soft facial features and bright eyes.

“Thank you.” The sweet smile of his mother soon turned cold as she stared Baekhyun straight in the eye. “However… I couldn’t bring myself to leave to go on some date without at least checking on my son. The son that’s literally in the middle of an incredibly dangerous mission that can end horribly with just one slip up.”

Oh. She was still bitter about that. While he would like to roll his eyes at it, Baekhyun could understand her worry because he vividly recalls being just as bitter about sending the situation before Jimin called that day when he and Jongin were in the car that day and ensured that he was okay. Gosh, he was more like this woman than he’d previously thought. He wondered what parts of Kang-Dae he had inherited. Jongin was more like Kang-Dae though. Not in looks and physical features but rather in traits and habits.

“He called about a week ago. He’s in and works closely with Seokjin and Hoseok,” Baekhyun informed.

“The heir’s little play toy and their hacker?”

“Yeah. He also seems to have caught the attention of the youngest son and his friend, Jungkook and Taehyung.”

“Caught their attention in what way?” Asami leaned in with furrowed brows. “Elaborate further, Baekhyun.”

“I don’t have any specifics just yet. All he said was that they seem to have interest in him. Wanting him to be a part of their ‘family’ or brotherhood of sorts. I recall him saying that they all treat him as if he’s some fragile child. However, I-”

Asami’s deep huff of breath interrupted him. “Is there a problem, Mama?”

“Baekhyun…” Asami said quietly though a hint of irritation was still present. “Jimin is fragile. As fragile as a child even. He hasn’t left the house for nearly all of his life with limited knowledge on how this business works. He’s like a ball of clay. Soft, pliable, and waiting to be molded.”

“That’s what gives us an advantage here. Jimin was able to get up the ranks so quickly and given an opportunity to gain trust because of his innocence. That was the whole point of sending Jimin in the first place… right?” Baekhyun usually didn’t question his actions because he never had the reason to. There was never a time where Baekhyun didn’t think everything through with strict eyes and determined accuracy. The decisions he made were usually the right ones too.

But now that Asami- his mother that taught him almost everything he knows- was questioning him and now he couldn’t help but do the same.

“...Think about it Baekhyun. I taught you and Jongin to assess the situation before making a decision, right?”

“Yeah. That’s your number one rule,” Baekhyun uttered, racking his brain for what his mother could possibly be talking about. To Baekhyun, this plan was almost perfect. Sure, Jimin would probably come back with a few skeletons in the closet and maybe even a bit of PTSD, but that’s nothing that can’t be solved with some therapy. There was nothing wrong with this plan in his mind.

“When I say assess the situation, Baekhyun, I mean from both sides. There’s two sides to every situation.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened as he had a sudden epiphany.

With that, his mother put her shades back over her eyes and looked down at the sparkling watch on her wrist. “I have to go now. Your father is waiting in the car.” And with that, his mother picked up her purse and was walking out of Baekhyun’s office, leaving him in silence.

What had he done? How could he have been so stupid?

He blinked several times trying to think this through again. Because there was simply no way that he and Jongin would miss such an obvious flaw in their plan. In Jimin’s innocence.

“Master Baekhyun, I just escorted your mother outside and-” Chanyeol entered the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Upon seeing Baekhyun seemingly in shock as the aforementioned stayed frozen in the same spot, Chanyeol whipped his gun from its holster on his hip. “Is there anyone I need to take care of? Is there a problem?” Chanyeol was always on high alert and Baekhyun appreciated that.

“, , , ” Baekhyun repeated as he slammed his laptop closed and stood. Chanyeol’s eyes followed his movements. “Where’s Jongin?”

“He’s currently having a small meeting with Minseok, Jongdae, and Junmyeon in the living room before they leave for the night.”

Baekhyun was rushing from behind his desk without another word, Chanyeol following close behind him without questioning the situation at all. Baekhyun was thankful for that because he honestly didn’t want to spend time explaining when he could be spending time trying to figure out some sort of solution to this problem.

If there was one.

Since they were in the penthouse, Baekhyun was free to run like his brain so desperately wanted to.

“Jongin!” Baekhyun called as he descended the staircase into the living room. Indeed, Minseok, Junmyeon, and Jongdae were standing up from the couches when Baekhyun’s voice echoed throughout the room. Jongin and Kyungsoo stayed sitting on the couch.

“What’s the problem, Baek?” Jongin questioned.

“I need to talk to you,” Baekhyun said. “Now. It’s urgent.”

“Well since Baekhyun seems to have an important matter to discuss, we will take our leave now,” Junmyeon said, giving a slight bow in both of the heirs direction. Minseok followed while Jongdae, being one of the newest members, bowed deeply to Jongin, thanking him for his time.

“Chanyeol and I will also leave for the night. We will see you tomorrow,” Kyungsoo supplied. Receiving a nod of confirmation from both Jongin and Baekhyun to leave, the two assistants headed for the door too.

When the door shut, Jongin turned towards his younger brother. “So? What’s so urgent?”

“It’s Jimin. I think we might have made a mistake with sending him so early,” Baekhyun said, attempting to keep his nerves under control because he hated losing his composure in front of Jongin. “I just talked to Mama and I realized something that we so stupidly missed.”

Jongin motioned for him to continue, a hard look to his eyes.

“We know that Jimin’s innocence aided him in being trusted by them there. Unlike we originally thought, his innocence is a hindrance. It’s a two way street, Jongin. He gains trust but his naivety can also give them a clear opportunity to take advantage of Jimin in several ways. That includes ually, psychologically, and mentally. They can exploit him in ways that we both know and don’t want to happen. I honestly feel like a for not considering that fact sooner.”

While Baekhyun ranted, spewing all of his worries through excessive wording like he usually did, Jongin just stared. The initial look of concern was long ago replaced with one of indifference as he let Baekhyun finish ranting.

“How can you be so calm about this, Jongin?” Baekhyun sighed exasperatedly. “Don’t you feel at least a bit of ing remorse? It’s almost like you just don’t care or-” Baekhyun voice came to a sudden stop as he looked at Jongin closely. Jongin raised a brow at him in questioning at the accusatory look Baekhyun was giving him.

“What?”

“You… You ing knew this didn’t you?” Baekhyun uttered, narrowing his eyes dangerously at his older brother. “That’s why you’re standing here. You knew the risks that we were throwing Jimin into, don’t you?” His fists curled subconsciously as the anger in his chest rose.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. That’s why you were so adamant about sending him into the 7 Point so early. You wanted to send him in there with limited knowledge of what the hell was going on. You knew he would get used in every sense of the word. Used. Exploited.”

Jongin looked at Baekhyun for a few seconds more without saying anything. The few seconds of silence only made Baekhyun angrier, though. He was seconds from raising his fist and smashing it right against Jongin’s jaw. Yeah, he was smaller, but that fact was one of the last things that Baekhyun was worried about.

“Why is it such a big deal?”

“He’s our brother!” Baekhyun yelled, instantly losing his grip on his anger when those words came out of Jongin’s mouth. The audacity of Jongin to say those words. And with such calmness to his voice as if Jimin wasn’t a big deal A huge deal. Baekhyun was ready to explode. “We agreed that we would send Jimin in there with a formidable amount of knowledge to get this mission done as accurately as possible. You shortened his period of training and I was stupid enough to let you, thinking that you would truly care about what the hell we were sending Jimin into! But I guess I was wrong!”

“The less he knows, the less likely he is to overthink things, Baekhyun. We both know how Jimin is under pressure and he will choke up and possibly get himself killed. So it was no use in cramming all of that information in his mind anyway,” Jongin scoffed, his tone still smooth and calm compared to Baekhyun’s yelling. “Yes, I knew that Jimin would get used, exploited, manipulated in every possible way. Even moreso, since he doesn’t have all of the knowledge he needs.”

“Then why send him knowing these things?” Baekhyun gritted.

“For success. For the Lotus Syndicate,” Jongin said as if it was the most obvious thing.

Baekhyun couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly at that. “You sacrificed Jimin for some ing mission, Jongin. You’re lucky that I don’t slap the piss out of you right here and right now.”

“It’ll all be worth it when Jimin comes back. You’ll see.”

“What if he doesn’t come back, Jongin? You ever think about that?”

“He will,” Jongin sighed, like this conversation was boring him now and he just wanted Baekhyun to drop it. He even turned around to walk towards the staircase, already slipping his phone from his pocket to tell Kyungsoo to return for the night.

But no. Baekhyun wasn’t going to just drop it and leave it alone.

“How do you know that? What if he falls in love with one of them? You think he’s gonna wanna come back after that?” Baekhyun questioned. The edge and irritation was returning to his voice.

Time seemed to freeze for a second. Jongin’s breath hitched and he stopped in his path towards the door. His mind going completely blank. He felt like his throat had closed a bit. “What?” was all he could manage to say as the question ran through his mind a few times.

“You heard me, Jongin.,” Baekhyun snarled. “What if Jimin falls in love? There’s no doubt that they are going to find every single weakness that you sent him there with and every weakness that he just naturally has. We both know just how much Jimin loves praise. Just one, simple compliment has him swooning and keening. They will manipulate that. Jimin’s in there all by himself and he will definitely seek comfort, even if it’s subconscious. He’s gonna look for comfort. The 7 Point will notice this. And manipulate that too. We know how this works. Manipulation. Power play. Giving him a ed up idea of what ‘family’ means. Jimin’s most likely gonna fall in love. And he might not want to come back.”

“You think he’d do that to us?” Jongin muttered quietly, his mind still attempting to catch up.

“Love makes you do some ed up things.”

“We’re his family,” Jongin insisted, turning around to face Baekhyun again with a new sense of fierceness to his gaze. But Baekhyun saw through that facade. That fierceness was just worry, guilt, and regret. “He wouldn't do that to us.” It sounded a bit more like a question than a statement.

“We never know. But I’m sure when they’re done with Jimin, he’ll see them as some sort of family too. They will make sure of that because that’s where loyalty comes from. Loyalty requires trust. Trust requires a connection. A strong one,” Baekhyun said.

Jongin didn’t say anything. Just looked. Suddenly, everything came crashing down as Jongin’s mind finally caught up and he was hit harshly by the sudden realization of what he’d done. And it hit him hard.

Normally, Baekhyun would’ve felt a bit remorseful for Jongin making such a stupid mistake but he couldn’t. Not when he sent Jimin into this mission with little preparation. Purposefully.

Baekhyun felt a small wave of anguish wash over him at the thought.

Jimin must be so terrified.

Baekhyun ran a hand through his hair before heading for the staircase in place of Jongin. “Oh!” Baekhyun said before grabbing the gold railing of the staircase. “If Jimin doesn’t come back. We know how Mama will react. She’ll probably want to murder everyone involved in this mission… Starting with you.” Baekhyun narrowed his eyes at Jongin even though he was facing the other way.

“Good night,” Baekhyun said before ascending the staircase without looking back.

 

“-min. Jimin. Jimin!”

Hearing his name being yelled at him, Jimin was rudely forced out of his thoughts. But he couldn’t say he wasn’t grateful for that because he so close to becoming engulfed in them that he’d probably need to vomit again.

“Y-yes, Taehyung?”

Taehyung glanced at him for a split second before looking back at the road. He needed all of his attention focused on driving because it was already a difficult task because of the wound in his side. It was painful but Taehyung could handle it. Besides, he couldn’t let Jimin drive because the boy was constantly sinking in and out of his thoughts and would probably forget that he was behind the wheel.

Matter of fact, he doubted Jimin even knew how to drive.

“Under your seat, there should be a metal box. In there should be me and Jungkook’s phones. Hurry and give them to me,” Taehyung advised.

It was like Jimin’s body was moving on his own now because his mind was definitely short circuiting and was focused on nothing else but the fact that he had just taken someone’s life. And their body was still laid, forgotten, in that alleyway.

Jimin leaned forward and blindly felt under the seat before his fingers touched cold metal. Sliding it from under the seat, he straightened up and put the box on his lap before opening it.

“The wider one is mine. Call Namjoon for me and connect it to the car’s bluetooth. The password is 12307.”

Without a word, Jimin followed his instructions, almost robot-like. He pulled the wider of the two phones from from the box and typed in the password. “Are you alright?” Taehyung asked, a hint of concern in his voice, as he took notice to the stoic look in Jimin’s eyes and his stiff movements. If half of his face wasn’t covered by the anti-pollution mask, Taehyung was sure that his bottom lip would probably by wobbling right now.

“I don’t know,” Jimin found himself answering before seeing that there was about eight missed calls from Namjoon. He pressed the green button next to the missed call notifications to call back. Taehyung had opened his mouth to ask Jimin what he meant by that but the ringing of the phone echoing throughout the space of the car stopped him.

Namjoon answered on the second ring. Must have been waiting for his call.

“Where are you? Where’s Jin and Jungkook? Are they with you? What about Jimin?” Namjoon interrogated, questions spewing from his lips like he just couldn’t wait to get them from his mind. Jimin couldn’t deny the fact that he was rather surprised that Namjoon asked about him. Was he worried about him too? Jimin pondered while looking at the glowing lights of the night life as they entered central Seoul again.

“I’m not far from the hotel actually. I only have Jimin with me. The mission went completely awry. I’ll tell you the rest of the details when I get there. As for the whereabouts of Jin and Jungkook, they stayed at the club. I don’t have any updates on them so far,” Taehyung informed. He gave a slight hiss when he had to make a sharp turn left and had to whip the wheel left. He never knew just how many muscles he used to do something as simple as driving.

“Why did they stay?”

“I don’t know why Jin stayed but Jungkook refused to leave Seokjin at the club alone and insisted that he go back and look for him.”

Namjoon sighed. Jimin could imagine him face-palming. “Typical Jungkook.”

There was a moment of silence in the car and over the line. Taehyung most likely waiting to be asked something else or dismissed. But Namjoon’s rough, low voice resounded again.

“Is the call connected to the car?” Namjoon asked after a moment.

“Yes, sir.”

“Jimin…?”

Jimin’s eyes widened as he shifted his gaze to look down at the radio like Namjoon could see that. It was a silly move so Jimin hurriedly said, “yes?” It was muffled behind the tight mask but loud enough for Namjoon to hear clearly.

“Are you okay? I’m sure tonight was pretty god damn hectic.”

“...I’m not sure, Master Namjoon,” Jimin answered shakily. Not really wanting to be asked anything further, Jimin was grateful when Taehyung turned into a garage that led underground. Taehyung lowered the car window and leaned out of the window- with a much louder groan from the pain- to punch in a code.

“We are here, sir. I will see you upstairs,” Taehyung said.

“Okay, hurry up.” Soon after, the call ended with a loud ‘beep.’ While Jimin pocketed the phone, the garage door ascended allowing Taehyung to drive in.

 

The elevator ride up to the top floor was quiet. And while usually, Taehyung would try to make small conversation, he simply refused to bother himself with that when he had to lean against the walls of the elevator because he was so ing light headed from the blood loss. Jimin would be fine for now.

The elevator doors opened right into a small room of sorts that led to another door that was made of glass. Presumably this small room was where guests left their shoes, coats, and other things before actually entering the penthouse. Deeming that he himself was a guest, Jimin absentmindedly began to toe off his shoes.

“Help me out,” Taehyung groaned, slightly elevating one of his feet. Jimin chuckled lightly and shortly under his mask at that before kneeling to untie Taehyung’s shoes and slip them off his feet.

The laugh was slight but Taehyung was glad that Jimin was still somewhere in that mind of his and that he wasn’t still absent from the shock. It was good because Namjoon would most likely beat Taehyung if he let Jimin experience that type of shock on the first mission. And Taehyung was already in enough pain.

After removing both shoes, Jimin straightened and allowed Taehyung to use a key to open the door to the penthouse suite. As soon as the door opened, Jimin wanted to leave right away. Just the luxury of the home reminded Jimin of his own family penthouse.

The thought of his family had Jimin sighing audibly.

“Taehyung? Is that you?”

It was Yoongi’s voice instead of Namjoon’s voice.

Yoongi’s small frame was clad in a pair of pajama pants and a robe while he sipped leisurely from a mug. Jimin wondered if Yoongi knew that there was even a problem in the first place, judging by the fact that Yoongi came in looking like he was just lounging about.

“Namjoon should be down in a minute,” Yoongi’s calm expression turned cold as his eyes laid upon Jimin and Taehyung. Specifically Taehyung’s state.

“Tae, what the hell? You alright?”

Turning to see what the problem was, Jimin gasped. Taehyung looked like he’d been through hell and seemed like he would pass out any given moment. His skin was much paler than usual, the blood from his wound had soaked through most of his clothes and the cuts and bruises on his face wasn’t helping the situation much either.

Jimin felt sick just looking at him. He felt somewhat guilty that he hadn’t noticed just how bad of a state Taehyung was in before.

Jimin concluded that he really needed to pull his together. Right there. And right now.

“Hoseok!” Yoongi called out, setting his mug down on a nearby corner table.

“I’m fine, Yoongi. I just got a small wound in my side. I just need to sit down,” Taehyung reassured with a weak, wavering voice. Despite this reassurance, Yoongi was still by his side in seconds, slinging Taehyung’s arm around his shoulder. “All that blood doesn’t look like it’s from a small wound.”

When Hoseok and Namjoon came running down the stairs, they reacted the same way.

“Damn, Tae,” Namjoon sighed. “Hobi, take him upstairs and clean him up and stitch up whatever wound he has.”

“Sir, I still have to relay the information about tonight,” Taehyung insisted, weakly refusing to accept Hoseok’s help.

“Go with Hoseok. We can’t have you die or Jungkook will explode in anguish and we don’t need that. Plus, we have Jimin here to tell us the information.”

Jimin’s eyes widened and his body became rigid at his words. Jimin really didn’t want to talk to Yoongi. It was no secret that Yoongi was not fond of Jimin at all. He would much rather talk to Namjoon alone. But he didn’t have a choice. He’d half to deal with Yoongi one day.

And today, Jimin decided that he would get Yoongi to like him or at least tolerate him just like everyone else. If this mission was going to be a success, he would need all of them to trust and like him enough.

Taehyung gave another reluctant glance at Yoongi and Namjoon before allowing himself to lean on Hoseok as the latter practically carried him towards stairs because Taehyung was literally half conscious. Jimin was sure that by the time Hoseok laid him down to tend to his wounds, Taehyung would pass out.

“If he needs more severe help, call the physician and tell them to get their asses here asap,” Namjoon called after them as they slowly began their ascendance up the rounded staircase.

“Will do,” Hoseok said back.

Yoongi and Namjoon then turned their attention to Jimin who was still standing in the same place next to the door. “So, Jimin.” Namjoon was the first to speak. “Give me the details of what happened tonight. Just the facts, I don’t need anything more.”

Jimin knew what he was talking about when he said he needed only the facts. Jongin frequently used to rant to him and Baekhyun about how long meetings went on simply because the men and women wanted to sound intelligent and literally drawl on and on about something that can easily be explained in about two sentences.  

Jimin cleared his throat and stood up straighter, attempting to get rid of the stiffness in his body. He remembered Jongin’s words when they were practicing the day before he was sent here. You can’t hesitate. Don’t think too much. Because when you think, you doubt yourself,  you end up like this. Stuck and frozen. Something like this could have you dead in a matter of seconds.

So Jimin didn’t think too much. Just told them exactly what came to mind because this time, he wasn’t hiding anything. Sure he was here undercover but the mission tonight included no foul-play on his part.

He cleared his throat and spoke loud enough to be heard past his mask. It really was becoming a nuisance.

“I was told by Taehyung and Jungkook that we would be doing a simple poisoning and gathering any blackmail, if there was any. A man by the name of Luhan informed me to carry around drinks as a cover. I came across a tucked away space where all of the men were sitting. One of the men were incredibly drunk and mentioned Taehyung’s and Jungkook’s name. That’s how I knew that the men knew about the mission tonight-”

“What men?” Yoongi asked. His mug was back in his hands but he wasn’t drinking from it but seemed to be basking in the warmth of its contents.

Jimin initially had tried to remember all of the names from the top of his head but recalled that he had written everything on his arm. So he wrenched the thin fabric of his left sleeve up to his elbow to show the two.

“I wrote them all down here,” Jimin said. Namjoon looked impressed while Yoongi just set his mug down once again to get a closer look at Jimin’s arm.

“I don’t know half of these names,” Yoongi muttered to himself more than anyone else. “... Jae-Wook? Do you think that it’s really him? Because-”

Jimin was forgetting something. He stopped listening to Namjoon and Yoongi’s conversation to think about what the hell he was forgetting to tell them. He couldn’t afford to forget now. Did it have to do with Taehyung? Jungkook?... Seokjin…Yes... Seokjin said something… He said something about a…

“Code blue,” Jimin blurted. “Seokjin said to tell you about a code blue. I don’t know what that means though. But Seokjin told me to tell you.”

Namjoon looked to Yoongi with a look Jimin couldn’t read and didn’t even try to read honestly. “Is this really worthy of a code blue?” Yoongi said skeptically, his hand still skimming across the skin of Jimin’s forearm, raising goosebumps in their wake.

“If Seokjin thinks so, it probably is. I’m gonna call Hyuna.” Namjoon was already walking away before he finished. Jimin didn’t miss the warning look that Namjoon threw at Yoongi and definitely didn’t miss the annoyed eye roll Yoongi gave in return as Namjoon ran up the stairs.

“Yoongi…” Jimin said, softly. Yoongi turned to Jimin with a raised eyebrow. Jimin’s heart kicked in his chest from Yoongi’s intense stare and instantly regretted calling his name in the first place. But he tried not to let it show through his eyes. He was suddenly grateful for this mask.

“What?”

“Do you know that man named Jae-Wook?” Jimin questioned. “While I was looking for Taehyung and Jungkook, I walked past a room on the third floor of the club. I overheard your name. Jae-Wook was talking about you to someone else. He seemed to be acquainted with you.”

“I’m not acquainted with that er,” Yoongi snapped with a dangerous glint to his stare. “And you say he was talking about me?”

“Y-yes,” Jimin nodded.

“What did he say about me, Jimin?” The way he said Jimin’s name. Jimin blinked slowly and exhaled a breath he had been holding.

“Based off of what I heard, you seem to have some files of his in your possession. He seems to know you personally as he was talking about the power you lack and how this mafia is your own way of making up for your shortcomings.”

Yoongi narrowed his eyes. His entire body became tense and rigid at Jimin’s words as he balled his fists and visibly gritted his teeth. “Really?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t call me that,” Yoongi snapped.” It’s just Yoongi. I don’t need you to kiss up to me. That makes you even more annoying than you already are,” Yoongi finished with a grimace. Jimin tried not to take the statement personally. Yoongi was just upset and, of course, he was going to hear a lot more insults and worse while he was here.

But it hurt his feelings a bit. Maybe a lot.

But he ignored the dull ache in his chest nonetheless. He didn’t need to be liked, he told himself, he needed to be tolerated. And Yoongi was tolerating him right now.  

“Sorry, Yoongi,” Jimin uttered to which Yoongi only grunted in acknowledgement.

“...so it really is Jae-Wook?” Yoongi asked himself quietly. “And he was working with some of these unknown men? He’s had to get some connections from somewhere to set this up. He probably contacted the Lotus in some way.”

Jimin frowned at the mentioning of the Lotus. From what he knew, Jimin had never heard the name Jae-Wook while with his brothers. This had to be some mistake. “What?”

“The Lotus Syndicate is another mafia that we compete with. We’ve kept the peace for a while, Jimin. But you see, the new heir over there, Kai, thinks that our little agreement doesn’t matter. A lot of has been going on lately and who else could it possibly be? One of those petty street gangs? Ha! Please,” Yoongi explained, scoffing as he rolled his eyes.

It was almost like Yoongi dismissed him, and he most likely did since Yoongi had turned around and started walking away from him, but Jimin had to know more.

Jimin hadn’t recognized any of the men tonight but he never thought about the idea that these men could be from the Lotus. But the last time he had checked, he was here to gather information of what the 7 Point Syndicate was planning.

Had Jongin and Baekhyun started sabotaging the 7 Point Syndicate already? No. They couldn’t have. That’s why he was here. To gather information so they can figure out if they should begin this full on war with the 7 Point Syndicate. Because they all knew, whether they admitted it or not, that the termination of this agreement would only end in war.

Jimin followed after Yoongi closely as they entered the kitchen. Very contemporary and clean. He expected nothing less of Namjoon.

“Sir- I mean Yoongi. If you don’t mind me asking, why would you think that this is the Lotus Syndicate? Especially if there was an agreement to keep the peace. While this is just an opinion of mine, I do not think the Lotus Syndicate would simply annihilate a treaty without good reasoning. It simply doesn’t seem to be the logical thing to do.”

Yoongi reached into one of the cupboards and pulled out a wine glass and a bottle of expensive looking wine. He looked as if he was ignoring Jimin completely as he poured the wine in the glass without responding or even looking Jimin’s way. But Jimin didn’t budge, he stood there and waited persistently until Yoongi caught onto the message.

“I just have a hunch,” Yoongi said curtly as he sipped from the glass. “This business is full of snakes. You’ll learn one day.”

“I just… I hope you can reconsider-”

“Jimin, shut up,” Yoongi groaned. “You sound like Jungkook and God knows I don’t need another one of him.”

Yet again, Jimin felt his words gather in his throat at the demand and the way he looked at him like he had disgusted him in the worst possible way. It hurt his feelings. But Jimin stayed quiet, obeying Yoongi’s words.

For the next few moments, Yoongi sipped at the rest of the purplish wine while Jimin stayed standing there with his hands pressed against the small of his back. With a slight pout to his lips that the mask hid, Jimin stood there awaiting further instruction. It was quiet. So quiet that the small gulps of wine Yoongi was drinking sounded ten times louder.

“Yoongi? Jimin?” Namjoon’s voice echoed throughout the first floor.

“We’ll meet in the living room,” Yoongi said nonchalantly, downing the rest of the wine.

“Go,” Yoongi ordered Jimin. He gestured toward the archway that led to the living room. Jimin almost gave a deep bow but suddenly remembered the Yoongi hated the formalities, so he gave a slight bow instead before hurrying off in the direction Yoongi motioned towards.

As Jimin entered the contemporary decorated living room, Namjoon was also entering from another direction. He stopped upon seeing Namjoon and waited for the older to continue.

“Hyuna is on her way,” Namjoon said. Jimin raised an eyebrow and almost responded but realized that he was talking to Yoongi when the latter came walking into the living room with a newly filled glass of wine.

“Alright,” Yoongi grunted.

“I also just got a phone call from Seokjin,” Namjoon said. The statement wasn’t filled with any type of malice or intimidation to cause Jimin any apprehension but Namjoon’s gaze definitely was as he slowly shifted his gaze from Yoongi to Jimin.

“He and Jungkook are on their way at the moment. But he told me some things about you, Jimin. Saying that your performance and ability to think on your feet was close to impeccable. Jungkook even said that he could’ve died if it weren’t for the fact that you shot a man straight in the head before he could strangle Kook to death. That’s quite loyal of you for just your second week here.”

There it was again. Replaying in his mind again. The aiming of the gun, the pulling of the trigger, and the falling of the man’s body. It all happened so quickly yet his mind was slowing it all down. Jimin’s expression went stoic again as he visibly tensed all over, focusing everything he had on not vomiting again. His mind filled once again with the terrifying fact that he’d killed someone tonight.

“That’s my favorite method of murder,” Yoongi sighed reminiscently as he took a seat on the velvety couch. “That was how I killed my first person, you know. A bullet in the head. Fantastic. I never thought you had that in you, Jimin.”

Yoongi actually looked impressed with Jimin, as did Namjoon. “Good job,” Namjoon marveled smoothly. Jimin’s brain was screaming at him to reply, say thank you and that he’d do it a million times if it meant saving Jungkook and being loyal to the 7 Point, but he couldn't. He just stood there with his mouth slightly agape. Tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, ready to say something but no words actually forming.

“I see,” Namjoon chuckled after a few seconds of watching Jimin stand there motionlessly. “We all react like this after killing our first person. Commiting a murder is a lot to bear… I mean unless you’re Yoongi.” Namjoon’s voice had taken on an amused tone that Jimin found anything but humorous. But Yoongi obviously did as he broke out into a full on laugh.

It was a nice laugh, Jimin thought. Would be better if they weren’t laughing at something so sinister though. “My first murder had personal meaning to me. I’m sure deep down, there was remorse. I mean, I’m human. But I didn’t feel it because I was too excited to get out of there.”

“Well since I’m not Yoongi,” Namjoon shifted his attention to Jimin again. “I had a hard time accepting the fact that I had killed a person too. I was about… sixteen? Yes, sixteen. But my dad ensured me that I did the right thing. That the man I killed deserved what he got. You know what else helped me get over it?” Namjoon questioned. Jimin hadn’t even noticed that Namjoon was moving until he was right in front of him, looking down at him.

“What?” Jimin croaked. The word was said so low that Jimin was surprised Namjoon heard it underneath the mask.

“I got a reward. My dad gave me anything I wanted as a reward. And now , you get a reward. What do you want, Jimin? Anything at all? It will be yours because you did so good tonight. You deserve this.”

Jimin slowly blinked, internalizing the praise. Thriving off of it in a way.

What did he want? He wanted to go home and be with his brothers. But what could he have right now? What would appease him for now?

“Sleep…” Jimin sighed. “I want sleep.”

 

Jaebum exited the bathroom of his apartment expecting to find Youngjae still peacefully sleeping but instead the rookie was sitting upright in his bed with bed hair, a content smile on his face and his eyes still halfway closed. Youngjae was a sight to behold and the post- glow to his skin only made Youngjae seem that much more irresistible to Jaebum.

“You’re awake,” Jaebum chuckled, sleep still laced in his tone too, as he sauntered back to the bed to place kisses on Youngjae’s shoulders.

“I woke up literally five seconds ago,” Youngjae croaked. “But you weren’t next to me, so I was about to come looking for you.”

Jaebum laughed and bit Youngjae’s neck playfully. “You’re clingy after , you know?”

“Shut up.”

“It’s cute,” Jaebum reassured. Youngjae only groaned and weakly shrugged Jaebum away. “I love you,” Jaebum whispered to which the younger smiled.

“I love you too.” Youngjae turned to lay a lingering kiss on his lover’s lips that quickly morphed into something more as Jaebum weaved his hand in Youngjae’s hair and the latter trailed a hand down Jaebum’s torso to grab at his already hardening .

“We’re gonna be late for work if you start this,” Jaebum warned softly against Youngjae’s lips, groaning softly when his hand wrapped around his , tugging it softly and thumbing the tip.

“We can make it quick, right?” Youngjae inquired with a bite of his lip. But the lust in his tone was short lived as he attempted to climb on top of Jaebum but was met with a sudden aching in his back side.

“,” Youngjae pouted, withdrawing his hand from Jaebum’s to massage his lower back. Jaebum could only laugh.

“Was Daddy to hard on you last night? You asked for it, sweetheart,” Jaebum chuckled, moving to sit upright again to help satisfy the pain in a way.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry about that,” Youngjae groaned. His cheeks were already flaring red in embarrassment. “We should have talked about that before I just started calling you Daddy and . I was just so caught up in the moment that I said whatever came to my mind.”

“It was new but it was hot, so don’t worry. I’m always up for trying new things,” Jaebum chuckled, applying a firm amount of pressure to Youngjae’s lower back making him hiss. “You wanna stay in bed today. I mean you can always tell your boss that you won’t be able to come in today. I’m sure he won’t mind,” Jaebum laughed, referring to himself.

Youngjae shot him a glare. “Well, no, boss. I’m a cop that deals with mafia business. I’ve seen some gruesome just like you have, I think I can handle a little soreness. I’ll be okay.”

“You were literally crying after I pulled out last night,” Jaebum said without thinking. It only earned his a hard shove that almost had him flying off of the bed.

“Shut the hell up,” Youngjae growled, but Jaebum continued to laugh.

While Youngjae was standing to get up out of the bed, it dawned on him that he was forgetting something. “Oh, Jaebum! You said you had something to tell me about my father last night,” Youngjae said, his voice wavering a bit from the dull ache that seemed to persist when he was standing.

Jaebum’s smile diminished as he remembered. With a sigh, he stood  off of the bed too. Noticing his hesitation, Youngjae frowned. “Is it bad? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. But some files turned up on Jackson’s desk a few weeks ago. And there’s a lot that I need to tell you about. Your dad… he’s been hiding a lot and I think you deserve to know about it before anything happens to him. And I’m sure it will.”