Suga may have been a heartless gangster but that didn't mean he was a completely inhumane bastard.

He called Jungkook over to help with an errand and they wound their way through the dark streets, long memorized from countless midnight treks. They walked in silence for many minutes until a loud shriek broke through.

"Help! Help! Someone help me!"

Jungkook glanced uneasily in the direction of the voice but hesitated to go. He wasn't sure how volatile Suga was now that J-Hope had left and he didn't want to anger him. But at the same time...

Suga noticed Jungkook's fidgeting and said gruffly, "What, you're not gonna help?"

Jungkook looked at the older boy in surprise.

"Don't you always jump at being a knight in shining armor?" Suga grumbled. "Go do your thing, I can do this job myself."

"Hyung—"

Suga waved him off and Jungkook quickly slipped away. Suga waited a few seconds before silently following.

"Hey. What do you fools think you're doing?"

Suga rolled his eyes at Jungkook's theatrics. The boy could have simply jumped in and beaten up the idiots, but he liked calling attention to himself. Showy brat.

“This is none of your business, little boy,” one of the idiots sneered. “Just go home to your mommy and we won’t hurt you.”

“Let me consider that,” Jungkook drawled mockingly. “Uh, no.”

Suga smirked as Jungkook unleashed his fighting prowess on the two unsuspecting souls who were scrambling away with their proverbial tails between their legs. Jungkook dusted his clothes off before turning to the girl.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly, not wanting to alarm her further.

She was motionless on the ground, disheveled and staring at Jungkook in shock and disbelief and a little fear and…gratitude? Suga thought it was gratitude. He refused to analyze how endearing that emotion looked on her.

Jungkook frowned before clapping. “You go to my school, don’t you? You’re in the same year as Suga-hyung!”

At the mention of Suga, the girl snapped to attention and frowned. “Don’t mention him to me,” she muttered. She got up, dusted herself off, and retrieved her belongings, checking that nothing was missing. When she was satisfied, she turned back to Jungkook who had his eyebrow raised at her statement. She bowed slightly and smiled. It was the most genuine smile Suga had seen on anyone in years.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said, still smiling. “If you hadn’t come—thank you. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jungkook said with a shy smile as he scratched the back of his head. Suga rolled his eyes. That ladykiller.

“But, uh, did Suga-hyung do something to you?” Jungkook asked curiously.

The girl’s face turned dark and she sighed. “No. Which is exactly the problem.”

Jungkook frowned in confusion.

The girl continued, “We ride the same subway to and from school and on the way home today, I…missed my stop.” She flushed in embarrassment. “I panicked and ended up following Suga here. When I asked him for help, he just said no and left me alone. And, well, you know the rest.”

Jungkook nodded in understanding and sighed as well. “So that’s what happened. I apologize on behalf of Suga-hyung.”

Suga had to physically restrain himself from stepping out and yelling, “Who asked you?!”

“He’s—had a really difficult life. He’s been hurt by a lot of people so it’s hard for him to trust anyone.”

“I didn’t ask him to trust me,” she grumbled. “I just asked for directions, sheesh.”

Jungkook chuckled. “He’s kind of bad at socializing and he has a really bad temper. But when you get to know him, he’s a really loyal and caring guy.”

The girl half-smiled. “Why are you telling me this? It’s not like I’ll ever get to know him.”

“You never know. If you guys are always riding the same subway, you’ll be spending a lot of time with each other,” Jungkook smirked.

“There are more than two seats in the subway, you know,” she said dryly. “No one sits next to him anyway because he gives off such a scary vibe.”

Jungkook laughed and the girl smiled, slightly blushing. “You’re really nice for a gangster,” she observed.

The smile slid off of Jungkook’s face and he shrugged. Suga held his breath in anticipation of what Jungkook would say next. Would he reveal how he really felt about being in the gang? Would he say that he actually wanted to leave, like V and J-Hope?

“Gangsters have such a bad image. We don’t all fit into the stereotype,” was all Jungkook said.

The girl nodded slowly but didn’t reply.

The two of them stood in contemplative silence for a second too long. As if on cue, Suga strolled in with his customary scowl and barked, “Jungkook. What are you still doing here?”

“Hyung!” Jungkook said in surprise. “You finished your errand?”

Suga nodded sharply. “So let’s go.” His eyes slid over to the girl, who was now cowering behind Jungkook. It looked like Jungkook’s words didn’t have any effect.

“Let me just take her home first,” Jungkook said, almost asking permission.

Suga grunted. “Fine.” He glared at her before turning and leaving.

The images of her smiling face and her frightened look were juxtaposed in his mind’s eye. He had caused that drastic change in expression and that realization struck him harder than waking up from his bloodlust stupor with someone else’s blood on his hands.

© Copyright 2014 by skyblaze208