Jimin scrambled up off of the floor and shakily grasped for the cold knob of the door. While he was ready to open the door, he looked around first. Jimin hadn’t had any time to look around the house for himself and see if there was anything that Jongin and Baekhyun left for him or anything of utter importance that were for his eyes only. Significant to the completion and success of this mission. He hadn’t even gotten to see what was in the locked room because as soon as he’d entered the home, he had crumbled into bits and pieces.

Hating the fact that Jungkook was about to see him at his worse when they’d only ‘met’ three hours prior to this, Jimin sighed and pressed his head against the cold door. “Is there something that you need, Jungkook?” He called softly through the thickness of the door, his small hand still gripping the knob tightly.

“We came to talk to you about something, but we heard you…Yeah…” Jungkook trailed off. Jimin wanted to bang his head up against the door for being so careless.

“Okay… I’m going to open the door but… I need you to take off your shoes and leave them there and hurry in. Please. The air outside isn’t very clean,” he sniffed, releasing a long huff of breath afterwards in attempt to pick up the scarce pieces of confidence he had left.

“Got it.” That voice wasn’t smooth like Jungkook’s, instead it was quite deep. Yet it wasn’t rough. It was more of a comforting deepness to this voice. He hadn’t recognized the voice but he still assumed it was Taehyung. Even though Jimin had only been around them for less than thirty minutes in total, it was more than obvious that the two of them were close. Whether that be as best friends or lovers, Jimin didn’t know.

“They’re off. Now open the door, Jimin.”

He obliged immediately, twisting the lock before pulling open the door just enough for the two of them to slip in quickly. Jimin had only caught a quick glimpse of the outside world but he was still able to notice that the sky had darkened significantly and subconsciously wondered what time it was now and how long he’d been crying. Yet again, Jimin scolded himself.

Jungkook and Taehyung rushed into the house seeing that Jimin’s mask was off, knowing that Seokjin would probably beat the two of them to death if they allowed Jimin to get sick. Shutting and locking the door once again, Jimin turned around to find both men looking around the small house. No doubt feeling a bit claustrophobic from everything being just a few steps away from the front door.

“Why’re you here again?” Jimin asked, his voice low and sore because of his constant dry heaving just minutes before. He used the backs of his hands to roughly rub at his reddened eyes, both to clear his vision and for effect.

It was no secret to Jimin that all of them- especially Seokjin- saw him as a child. Someone that needed intense caring for and constant reassurance. But they weren’t caring for Jimin because they truly cared about him and his wellbeing . Jimin wasn’t even a someone to them. He was a something. Something they were going to shape and mold into something so perfect and dangerous for the wellbeing of the 7 Point Syndicate.

He knew this and was only playing into this role because it made the job easier to do. But even though Jimin knew this very well, he still felt his heart soften a bit when there was a slight, barely noticeable crack in their demeanor when they took witness to Jimin’s tear stricken cheeks, reddened eyes, and roughened voice.

Sometimes Jimin wondered if this was even a role he was playing. Or was this really who he was and how he was feeling?

“We came over here to talk to you about some important business,” Taehyung answered, stuffing his hands a bit roughly into his jeans pockets, juxtaposing Jungkook’s more professional attire. Jimin’s throat grew dry as Taehyung grabbed for Jungkook’s arm, pulling him towards the black leather sofa in the middle of the small living room space. Jimin hated that sofa. He loathed leather in particular. Cushion was what he prefered.

“I know this is incredibly unprecedented considering the fact that we haven’t even officially met yet,” Jungkook added quickly, seeing Jimin’s face twist in perplexity at Taehyung’s use of the phrase ‘important business.’ “But we’re asking you to come on a mission with us.” Jungkook stayed standing, supporting his weight on the back of the sofa while Taehyung slowly sat on the sofa. He pat the spot next to him, beckoning Jimin to sit next to him. He slowly obliged, moving from his spot next to the door to sit next to Taehyung on the sofa.

The feeling of having Jungkook behind him was enough to have Jimin’s palms sweating. Even if Jungkook was the softer one at first glance, he knew not to underestimate the boy and his abilities. He’d already witnessed what happened to people who underestimated his brothers so he knew Jungkook would most likely react in the same manner as his brothers.

“You’re coming on a mission with us,” Taehyung corrected. “We aren’t asking, we’re telling.”

“Taehyung.” Jungkook’s voice was threatening and low as a warning, clearly disapproving with Taehyung’s delivery of the situation. Taehyung only shrugged nonchalantly. Jimin easily took note of the fact that Jungkook was the more empathetic of the two of them and possibly the younger too. He stored that information in the back of his mind for possible use later.

“Why are you choosing me? How do you know if you could even trust me?” Jimin questioned in a hushed voice. While Jimin would’ve much rather been looking into Jungkook’s eyes, for he had a natural comfort deep within his eyes similar to Seokjin, he ended up looking into Taehyung’s hooded eyes as the next best thing.

“We don’t know if we could trust you. And we don’t trust you. Which is why you’re coming on this mission with us in a few days,” Jungkook answered. Jimin could’ve sworn that he felt Jungkook’s breath tickle the hairs on the back of his neck.

“We could just put you under the watch of someone who has been loyal to the 7 Point for some time now. Yeah? It would be much easier that way. We’ll let them report to us how loyal you are, your progress, and much more while you are working for them. But there’s a harsh reality that we have to take into consideration. You’re young, innocent, talented, and disabled. They may use you, exploit you, possibly you to make you fear them, and even might sell you for a profit as if you’re some toy soldier for their entertainment. Simply because that is what you’ll be to them. A pretty toy for their enjoyment.”

Taehyung’s voice was more than just intimidating. That intimidation only heightened when Jimin felt Taehyung lean a little closer. Now the warm breaths that left his mouth with each words tickled Jimin’s cheek.

Jimin closed his eyes.

“But we need you, Jimin.” Jungkook reached to gently yet firmly rest his hands on Jimin’s shoulders. “You’re young like the two of us. All of the older men are loyal to our daddy, not Namjoon. So we need someone with your talents and potential that’s loyal to us. Equal to us. That is why we want you to come on missions with us. So we can trust you and you can trust us. I mean… what’s a family, if there is no trust? Right Jimin?”

Jungkook was similar to Chanyeol in several ways. He was good with words, always knowing the right words to say and even the correct tone of voice to get the outcome he wanted in a situation. Maybe it was because he was the youngest of the three brothers and was most likely spoiled beyond anyone’s understanding that he had such a skill. The use of the word ‘family’ in such an endearing way was an obvious attempt to target Jimin’s weakness. His heart and emotions. Jungkook knew that Jimin wanted a family and would play on that desire as much as he needed.

Jimin noted that Jungkook was also very touchy just like Chanyeol. As Jungkook spoke, his hands never left Jimin’s body. Whether it be caressing at his shoulders, scratching ‘lovingly’ at his neck and scalp, and he even nuzzled his nose into Jimin’s silver strands of hair at one point. The gesture made him shiver. The touches served both as comfort and something close to a threat.

“Yes, Jungkook. You’re right” Jimin opened his eyes again. “I want to trust you both… So what type of mission will this be?”

“Something very simple. A simple poisoning at a strip club and gathering some info for blackmail,” Taehyung supplied, leaning back fully onto the couch, seemingly carefree now that he had Jimin’s confirmation. “You’ll be with us so you won’t have to worry about not knowing what to do. We’ll be there to guide you.”

“Jimin… if you don’t mind me asking, what’s in that room over there? It seems like you need a key to get in there.” Jimin turned around to face Jungkook who was staring off in the direction of the door. His eyebrows were furrowed in a way Jimin couldn’t quite read, but it could mean trouble.

“That’s my office,” Jimin uttered, saying the first thing that came to mind. He knew there was some truth to that, but he didn’t know to what extent. It was most likely decorated to look like a normal home office with a few traits of Jimin to make it looked used for the last few years. But what bothered Jimin was that Jongin and Baekhyun had probably left something for him somewhere. No. Not probably. There was an 100% chance that they had left something for Jimin as encouragement because they knew Jimin best. From back to front, inside and out.

“Would you mind letting us in there to look around a bit?” Taehyung suggested. Jimin knew it was coming. The curiosity. The desire to know Jimin. Inside. And out. Starting with his ‘house.’ One of the best ways to know a person was the condition of one’s home, right?

“Um…” He hesitated, averting his eyes to the single white and purple vase in the middle of the coffee table. He blinked slowly. “Sure… Let me go get the key.” As Jimin moved to stand, both men watched him closely. Watching for any weird habits or idiosyncrasies of his because according to Namjoon everyone had one. Taehyung could keep a straight face but his fingers and hands would always become jittery when he was uncertain. Jungkook tended to tap his feet repeatedly. Seokjin and Namjoon usually ran their hands through their hair constantly. Yoongi and Hoseok were scratchers, discreetly scratching at whatever was in front of them, even themselves, when they were anxious.

Jimin. They noticed he seemed to twitch and shiver . Well specifically his hands twitched. As they watched Jimin walk towards a door they assumed was his bedroom, Taehyung noticed Jimin’s fingers seemed to jerk and twitch periodically. He nodded, pleased that Jimin’s idiosyncrasy wasn’t something that would be too much of a hindrance to jobs to come.

When Jimin returned, his right hand balled around the small silver key, he motioned for the two men to follow him to the locked door. Jimin tried to ignore their looming presence over him and suddenly hated how short he was compared to them. He pressed the key into the lock and turned it abruptly. The loudness of the lock opening startled him a bit, but he paid no mind to his anxiousness and opened the door. He blindly searched for the light switch. With just a few pats to the wall, he flicked on the lights.

To say the least, Jimin was relieved.

It was a simple yet small office that consisted of a dark wooden spacious desk with a state of the art computer with three monitors sitting on top with a large cushioned rolling chair sitting in the middle of the quaint room as if someone had been sitting in it recently. There was a black, metal file cabinet in the far corner of the room that Jimin made a mental note to look through later.

“So this is where you do the hacking, I see,” Jungkook said.

“Yeah,” Jimin answered shortly.

Jungkook and Taehyung roamed around the small room until they ended up behind the desk while Jimin stayed standing next to the doorway, letting them search the room and hoping that nothing was out of place. When Taehyung knit his eyebrows together and reached for something on the desk, Jimin almost stopped breathing.

“There’s a note here. What is it?” Taehyung questioned, waving it at Jimin.

Jimin had basically ran over to join the two men behind the desk to retrieve the note. It had to be from Jongin and Baekhyun, no doubt. It scared Jimin even more when the two of them scowled at the contents of the note.

“What the hell does that even say?”

Taking the note into his hand, Jimin realized that the note was written in English. Purposefully.

The file cabinet is locked and the key is in the kitchen under your coffee machine. Everything you need to know to get in contact with us is in there. Remember that we believe in you, Jiminie. We love you.

Jimin recognized Jongin’s slanted writing anywhere but knew that Baekhyun configured the note because Baekhyun knew English, not Jongin.

“It’s a note that a client of mine left for me to remind me of everything she needed changed in the police’s database.” The lie rolled off of his tongue so smoothly and naturally that he almost believed the lie himself.

“You hack police databases?”

“Y-yeah.”

Jungkook nodded, looking impressed. Even the silent praise made Jimin keen a little.

Taehyung noticed Jimin twitch so harshly that his entire body jerked and his face twisted up for a second. The suddenness of it bothered, concerned, and annoyed Taehyung all at once.

“Why’re you still so nervous? We’ve been here long enough for you to have calmed down by now, right?” Taehyung questioned taking a seat in the rolling chair. Another thing that Jimin could add to things that he knew about Taehyung from just that day of knowing him was that he didn’t like to stand for very long and would take a seat wherever and whenever he could.

“I usually don’t let anyone into my home. Let alone my office,” Jimin averted his eyes away towards the blank walls. But just as he had turned his head to look away, there was a pair of hands cradling his cheeks and turning his face to look forward again. The grip on his face wasn’t rough or threatening but was firm enough to let Jimin know that the owner of these hands were serious.

Jungkook was staring at Jimin with a benign smile. This boy was so similar to Seokjin, sharing even that seemingly gentle, endearing smile that meant something completely different or much more than they were letting on. The similarities between Jungkook and Seokjin were almost frightening.

This smile was nothing new to Jimin. This same smirk ran through Jimin’s family it seemed. His mother, Asami, had that smile. Baekhyun. Even Jongin. Jimin wondered if he had the ability to scare and intimidate someone with just a simple, wide eyed smile.

“There’s no need to be nervous around us anymore. We approve of you. And if you prove that we can trust and rely on you, we’ll be a family. Brothers. And brothers aren’t nervous around one another. Right Jiminie?”

“Yes, Jungkook. Brothers are comfortable around each other.”

 

There were two little toy soldiers in each of Yoongi’s hands. They were clad in camouflage from head to toe with a bright smile on their faces, a symbol of past achievements on their part. Usually Yoongi would smile, even if only briefly, at the thought of how much he used to love these things. As a child, he’d carry them in his backpack at school, sit them on the table when he was having dinner, and even take them in the bath with him. The little soldiers meant so much to him that he had even taken them along with him when he had ‘destroyed’ his old life and entered his new one. He remembers clutching the two fun sized men in his blood stained hands as he followed the gravel path into the glowing, central part of Seoul.

But looking at them now after so many years of being stored away in his end table, Yoongi suddenly hated them. He tightened his grip on the old hunks of plastic, desperately wanting to burn them until they were nothing at all. Just ashes. Soldiers reminded him of the police. Law enforcement. How many times had he relied on the law enforcement and instead of saving him, they’d left him all alone? Shutting that metaphorical door in his face. At one point in his life, Yoongi could barely look in the mirror after a shower because of the several ugly scars and burns inhabiting his body. A constant reminder of the beatings and the tears that followed them.

A constant reminder that the police allowed it to happen to him. And possibly many other kids like him. No doubt that there was.

Soldiers were no different from the police and when Yoongi thought about it deeply enough, soldiers were worse. They were praised for their supposed efforts to serve and protect their country at the expense of the lives of the innocent. To Yoongi, soldiers were murderers that were falsely and unfairly put on a pedestal for, so called, “protecting their country and its citizens.” That was complete bull to Yoongi. They dropped bombs, invaded entire counties, and murdered families just to come back and be given medals. Soldiers disgusted him.

The sound of his bedroom door being opened caught his attention and he loosened his grip on the toys, savoring the light burn of his palms from squeezing the plastic so tightly. Hoping it would somehow burn away from the heat of his rage. Yoongi was sitting in his favorite, cushioned chair in front of his large window, staring out at the skyline of Seoul just like he did every night. The faint glow of central city Seoul below the window never failed to comfort Yoongi.

“You still do this every night?” The question was more rhetorical than anything and filled with a rare hint of amusement. This fact alone let Yoongi know that Namjoon was in a good mood and had fully unwinded from the stress that the day usually brought.

“Yup. It’s how I destress,” Yoongi chuckled. “Looking out at the night sky. I can see some of the lights too.” Namjoon’s tall figure finally came into view as he sat in the chair next to Yoongi that was also facing the large window. There was only the dim light of the floor lamp in the corner as lighting which made the atmosphere even more comforting. Namjoon was in plaid pajama pants and a simple white tee and when he sank into the cushioned chair, he sighed loudly in satisfaction. His process of relaxation was finally complete.

“You know, I still remember when me and Daddy saw you sleeping on that bench that day,” Namjoon reminisced quietly. “I was going to convince him to call the cops for you but then I saw blood splatter. I didn’t know what happened, but I figured that you probably didn’t want to talk to the police if you hadn’t went straight there in the first place. So I begged Daddy to take you with us, at least for a day.”

“I was scared,” Yoongi admitted, glancing down at those soldiers in his palm again. “And infuriated. And so… sad.”

“Of course. I mean, you’d just escaped from a jail cell, of sorts, on your birthday. A day that’s supposed to be filled with happiness and getting everything you want.”

“All I wanted was a ing cake, Joon.” Namjoon noticed the hurt in Yoongi’s voice but didn’t mention it, knowing he’d only get denied and possibly kicked out of his room for annoying his younger brother.

“Really?” Namjoon had sat up and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees to look at Yoongi more closely. Still, Yoongi had his attention focused strictly on the dark sky on the other side of that window. Despite not being able to look him in the eye, Namjoon could see the inexplicable amount of anger and rage written on his face.

“Yeah… I liked cake a lot when I was young because when I went to school, kids would bring cake for the entire class. It used to be so ing delicious to me. I mostly liked how they were so happy that it was their birthday cake. And I wanted that.” Yoongi chuckled bitterly at the memory. He was quite surprised at how hard his heart clenched while thinking about it. Remembering the yearning in his heart for a cake. The stupid disappointment when there was nothing on the table when he’d awaken that morning. The feelings felt so fresh almost as if it had happened yesterday instead of ten years ago. It shocked him because he was so sure that he’d gotten over it. He was over that stupid ing cake…

“I thought you hated cake. You literally pitched a piece at the wall once.” There was cheerful lilt to Namjoon’s voice in attempt to lighten the tone of the conversation but that failed.

“I hate the thought of cake,” Yoongi admitted.

Finally, Yoongi looked over at Namjoon who was looking back at him with a blank expression. While a normal person wouldn’t think much of it, Yoongi knew that it meant that Namjoon was actually thinking.

“Those soldiers.” Namjoon motioned at Yoongi’s fisted hands, the heads of the toys peeking out just above Yoongi’s fingers as his own fingers rubbed at his chin. “I remember you had them when we found you. Why do you still have them? I was sure you would’ve thrown them away a long time ago.”

Yoongi hesitated. He didn’t really have an answer. The soldiers were just parts of his past that he claimed he wanted to stay connected to. But, in reality, he knew that wasn’t true. He hated these soldiers with a passion. Even if they were just toys, he felt like they were mocking him. Looking down at the soldiers again, his heart clenched once more. “I’m not sure why I still have them.”

“You wanna burn ‘em?” Namjoon raised an eyebrow, with a knowing tilt of his lips. He even reached down to pat his pajama pants pocket, tapping the heavy, cold lighter through the fabric, just for added effect. Even though it wasn’t needed. This was Yoongi he was talking to after all.

“Hell yeah, I wanna burn these es,” Yoongi laughed tossing the pieces of plastic onto the table in front of them both. “It’ll be nice to start a fire right now and watch these stupid toys burn away.”

“I know, I know. But, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow though. It’s late and Seokjin would be even more upset if I left tonight to burn some toys.”

“Where’s Seokjin anyway?”

“He’s taking a shower. He refused to let me take one with him because he’s still upset that I didn’t agree with him earlier. I swear he has me wrapped his pinky finger.” Yoongi found it peculiar that Namjoon was aware of how whipped he was for Seokjin and had never done anything to try to change it.

“About Jimin?”

“Yeah. However, I see exactly what all of you were trying to say, now. The boy has potential. And quoting Jin, it’s much easier to make art on a blank canvas than it is to make art on an used canvas. Which is true. He already has skills, we just need to work on his confidence and social skills. Mainly, at least. I’ve decided to keep him around Hoseok instead of one of Daddy’s men. I’m pretty sure they’ll chew him up and swallow him whole.”

The mentioning of Jimin made Yoongi slip into his thoughts again. If he was being completely honest, Jimin annoyed him. He hated the sheer weakness that oozed from Jimin’s demeanor as the boy twitched and shivered constantly in that chair.. But Yoongi could deal with fear, what pissed him off the most about the boy was the fact that, like everyone was saying, he had so much potential. Jimin could be so much but he just didn’t realize it. And that alone, made Yoongi all the more interested in Jimin despite his weakness.

“You’ve taken a liking to him, haven’t you?” Namjoon inquired quite suddenly.

“What?”

“Don’t play coy. I haven’t seen you look at anyone like that since Hoseok started working with you.”

“Hoseok is the closest I’ll ever get to having a friend. That’s different. Plus, I’ve been trying to give Hoseok some space, he’s had his eye on Jokwon from that strip club.”

“Not surprised. He’s cute and pliable. Perfect for Hoseok,” Namjoon commented. In his peripheral, he watched Yoongi closely. Yoongi didn’t make a sound of acknowledgement nor did he move a muscle. Namjoon quickly took notice to that, realizing yet another thing about his brother. Yoongi cared about Hoseok, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

“Well, you can have Jimin if you want. But, and I’m quoting Seokjin again, don’t scare the boy and take care of him if you do decide you want him.”

“I do what I want,” Yoongi answered defiantly.

“Then you deal with the wrath of Seokjin by yourself. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” After that, the two of them chuckled. The next twenty minutes were silent as they both stared out of the window.

Seoul was even more beautiful because of the sheer fact that he had control over it. And as he’d come to learn, control and power made everything better. And owning it with his two brothers made him feel unstoppable.

 

As soon as the clock at the bottom corner of his computer screen said 9:30, Jaebum had practically jumped up from his rolling chair and rushed for the door of his office. He was hoping that his predictions had been correct and Jinyoung’s shift did end at 9:30 just like his did. Locking his door behind him just in case, Jaebum made his way down the hall as fast as he could without fully sprinting.

He’d caught a glimpse of Youngjae leaving his own tiny office, who had shot him a wide grin and beckoned Jaebum over with a sweet tilt of his head, but he, unfortunately, had to quickly dismiss the rookie with a quick wave. Jaebum definitely noticed the way Youngjae’s smile melted into a frown but convinced himself that Youngjae would just have to wait a few minutes. No matter how much he wanted to kiss that pout away.

Making it to Jinyoung’s office, relieved that the door was still opened, Jaebum entered and quickly shut the door behind him with a bit of stumble. Jinyoung was actually in the middle of gathering a few files to take home for the night when Jaebum came in. The fact that Jaebum had rushed in with such urgency concerned him and the usual scowl on Jinyoung’s face deepened. This had to be something of great importance if Jaebum of all people was rushing into his office about it.

“What is it? You got an urgent case just now?” Jinyoung asked, moving to sit back in his chair and disregarding his process of packing up his things.

“No… I know you’re probably gonna hate me for asking you this when you’re about to leave and all-”

“Well I was supposed to be going to Jackson’s apartment right after I left here but he could wait. What’s the question, Jaebum? You can pull that chair up over here if you want.”

“Choi Jae-Wook,” Jaebum said, suddenly completely out of breath as he pulled the chair from the corner. As Jaebum sat himself down on the other side of Jinyoung’s desk, Jinyoung smirked and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “I see you finally wanna know the connection between Youngjae’s dad and the 7 Point Syndicate, yeah? Finally. I was waiting for you to wake up.”

Jaebum didn’t like Jinyoung’s mocking tone by far, but he had to admit that after Jinyoung had dropped this bomb on him in the parking lot a month ago, not to mention him leaving without another word, Jaebum couldn’t get it out of his mind. It seemed as if that had halted his ability to get closer to Youngjae. The two had gone on a few dates since that night and it was safe to say that the two were exclusively dating after a particular heated make out session between the two right against Youngjae’s apartment door. Despite how much he’d wanted to go further, Jaebum couldn’t help but feel like his relationship with the rookie was just a ticking time bomb as he remembered Jinyoung’s words. He didn’t even know if it would deteriorate when the timer went off but just the thought of having to deal directly with the 7 Point Syndicate was enough for Jaebum to stop Youngjae from unbuckling his pants that night.

Jaebum had came up with the lame, overused excuse that he didn’t want to rush their relationship. While the explanation clearly annoyed Youngjae, the rookie simply said he understood and insisted Jaebum stay the night anyway.

While the two conversed over Youngjae’s special tea, both dressed in Youngjae’s pajamas again, they’d gotten on the topic of family traditions. Jaebum told Youngjae about how his mother hated cooking when he was a child and left that duty to his father which he found really ironic. That led Youngjae to tell a story about his own father and what the man did for Youngjae and his brother every Christmas. Just the mentioning of this man, knowing his possible connection to that empire, made Jaebum’s blood run cold and his mind go blank. If he were asked to repeat what Youngjae had been speaking about, Jaebum wouldn’t be able to tell you absolutely anything at all.

That had happened about two weeks ago and now Jaebum needed answers.

“Look, I just need to know what you know. I can’t get any closer to Youngjae when I keep thinking that he has some type of connection to the 7 Point Syndicate that he’s not telling me about.” Jaebum hated to sound so frantic and emotional but this meant something to him. A lot. “What the hell do you know about Choi Jae-Wook?”

Jinyoung stared at him for a second longer, challenging Jaebum it seemed. But that didn’t last long as Jinyoung bent down in his chair to presumably look through the file cabinet that Jaebum knew was under his desk. “Did you hear that Jae-Wook was supposed to receive a medal this year for his service to this station for so many years?” Jinyoung asked smoothly as he yanked a file cabinet open and shuffled through it.

“Yeah. I was supposed to be presenting him with the award but I was told that it was postponed until further notice.”

“It was postponed because there were some interesting files dropped on Jackson’s desk about a week ago.” Jinyoung hummed approvingly as he pulled out a manilla folder and placed it a bit too forcibly on his desk between him and Jaebum. The word “INVESTIGATE” written in big bold letters across the front of the folder. It was a little intimidating, only worsening his anxiety. If Jaebum wasn’t in such a bad mood, he probably would’ve laughed at himself for being so vulnerable and protective. All over this rookie.

“Go on look through it,” Jinyoung pushed, straightening up in his chair once again. Jaebum obeyed, beginning to flip through the folder, unconsciously holding his breath.

“Jinyoung…” Jaebum uttered, cocking one of his thick eyebrows. First, there were pictures of Jae-Wook. Some of these pictures weren’t recent judging by the fact that the man looked a lot younger than he did now. Instead of thin, mostly gray hair, Jae-Wook had a thick head of jet black hair. Other pictures were more recent. He noted that in some photographs he was talking to suited men. To anyone else, it would look like the two men were just having a conversation but Jaebum knew better and just by their posture, he could tell something was off. Jaebum simply flipped past the pictures of the officer casually speaking to men and women because he hadn’t seen any importance in them.

After closely examining the pictures, he’d put them aside, now looking over the financial records of Jae-Wook. The only thing that had been out of the ordinary was that multiple checks that were deposited into Jae-Wook’s account from the same person. The person went by the name Min Beomsoo.

“Wait… How? This is saying that Jae-Wook accepted bribes from several different foster families and even some from a few street gangs. How do you we even know if this information is true. You said it was mysteriously dropped on Jackson’s desk. This could easily be someone who just wants revenge on Jae-Wook.”

“Correct. Which is why I asked Mark to do some more digging to ensure that this evidence was something that was in fact true.” Jinyoung maneuvered his chair closer, resting his elbows on the desk. “When you flip past those financial records, you’ll see some database records from about ten years ago. It shows all of the homes he was dispatched to and the name of the caller that the 911 dispatcher recorded… Tell me whose name you see the most on there?”

Jaebum didn’t finish looking over the financial records and immediately looked at the spreadsheet listing the date, house address, and the name of the caller. Jaebum had only looked at the paper for a split second. Barely that. “Min Yoongi…”Jaebum didn’t even know if Yoongi’s name was listed the most; he had only said it out of shock that the boy’s name was on the paper in the first place. “Jae-Wook was dispatched to Min Yoongi’s house…” As he scanned the paper, he had confirmed that Yoongi’s name was listed the most on the paper as the caller. “Multiple times…”

“Nine times to be exact,” Jinyoung informed with a firm, hard voice. Jaebum glanced up for a second to see if Jinyoung was clenching his jaw because it sounded like so. And indeed, Jinyoung was. “Over the course of just one and a half months, Yoongi called for help nine times. Yet nothing ever came of it.”

“Why not though?”

“Yoongi’s uncle bribed him. Min Beomsoo bribed Jae-Wook every time Yoongi called so no reports were ever made back then.”

Jaebum was quiet as he looked over the paper again. Another name stuck out to him. “Oh Sehun… Jae Wook was dispatched to him too?”

‘Yes. Oh Sehun also called several times but, surprisingly, nothing came from that either. In fact, all of these callers are children that called the police but nothing ever came from the case. The date that Jae-Wook was dispatched matches up with the days that checks were deposited into his account. The had been taking bribes to stay quiet.” Jinyoung’s voice was dripping with passive aggressive sarcasm and anger that caught Jaebum’s attention. He wondered if Jinyoung felt a personal connection to all of this.

The office was quiet for a few minutes. The atmosphere getting colder and more uncomfortable by the second. Jaebum was struggling to absorb all of this new information and, more importantly, make an acceptable conclusion. No. He could easily make a conclusion. Choi Jae-Wook was a corrupted officer that allowed several, possibly hundreds, of children to stay in abusive households for a few hundred dollars. But he didn’t want to believe this. Because he was Youngjae's father.

“Do you think that those pictures and financial records were from Min Yoongi?”

“Of-ing-course they were. I’m surprised he didn’t target Jae-Wook earlier but then I came across a note that was left at the back of the folder that made it all make sense.” Jinyoung reached for his desktop computer keyboard before moving it out of the way and pulling a yellow sticky note from under it. He slid it towards Jaebum slowly, locking eyes with him expectantly. Jaebum averted his attention from the folder to the sticky note written in precise handwriting.

Soldiers are rewarded for murder and invasion of the innocent. It’s truly unfair and misleading. So, I’m taking it upon myself to ensure that this soldier in particular is not rewarded but punished for his murder and invasion of so many children’s childhood.

Jaebum fiddled with the note. “Yoongi’s the only one who hates law enforcement like this. He waited until he was about to receive a reward before he took it upon himself to destroy his career and reputation.” Jaebum frowned as he reread the note several times. The note was oozing with pure anger and sheer rage. But mostly, a desire for revenge. “What are we going to do? Are we going to put Jae-Wook into witness protection or something?”

“I’m not doing anything,” Jinyoung stated simply. The tenseness of his face was suddenly replaced by an expression of nonchalance and mocking amusement. “Why should I? My job is to protect the innocent. Mostly the children. I work day and night to put an end to the Lotus Syndicate and the 7 Point Syndicate for the protection of children.” Jinyoung’s voice was getting louder. His face becoming tense and hardened again as he clenched and gritted his teeth. “I’m not going to worry myself for a cop that couldn’t give two s about what happens to children. He took bribes from abusive families. He picked money over their wellbeing. If he would’ve done his job, Min Yoongi wouldn’t be like this. Oh Sehun wouldn’t either. Who knows what happened to the rest of em?  I refuse to help this sorry excuse for a cop. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that he doesn’t receive that award…”

Jaebum was silent. Not knowing what else to say. He didn’t want to agree because, again, this was Youngjae’s dad. But he did agree. Wholeheartedly and without a doubt, he agreed.

Jinyoung scoffed. “Choi Jae-Wook made his bed on the blood, sweat, and tears of those kids and now he’s laying in it. And I’m going to let him lie there believing that he has it all and wait for Yoongi to get the redemption on behalf of all of those kids Jae-Wook has ed over. And in all honesty… I look forward to it.”