A Party of Poison

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/23144101.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandom: | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Relationship: Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin
Character: Park Jimin (BTS), Jeon Jungkook, Min Yoongi | Suga, Kim Namjoon |
RM, Kim Taehyung | V, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Kim Seokjin | Jin,
Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Police, Police Officer Jeon Jungkook, Police
Officer Park Jimin (BTS), Kidnapping, Obsessive Behavior, Top Jeon
Jungkook, Bottom Park Jimin (BTS), Smut, Sexual Content, Angst,
Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Fluff, There's some fluffy flashbacks, This
story isn’t necessarily for the faint of hearts, so please read the chapter
notes to make sure you’re comfortable with what you’re about to read
Stats: Published: 2020-03-15 Completed: 2020-04-01 Chapters: 4/4 Words:
43052

A Party of Poison
by TheFlyingHummingbird

Summary

Jimin is undercover at a gala party to catch a serial killer who has been kidnapping and
killing rich, beautiful elites.

Everything is going according to plan until it isn’t…

Jungkook isn’t the least bit happy about his husband putting himself in danger like that,
despite the fact that they’re currently going through a nasty divorce…

Notes

DISCLAIMER! There will be no too graphic description of violence and no rape in this
story, but please read the tags before you read and please make sure you're comfortable
with the topic the story revolves around!

And pay close attention to the dates, locations, and timestamps!

 A night to forget
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

May 10th , 2020, 8:15pm.

The Lotus Hotel.

The suit feels tight around his shoulders, but he tries to not let it show just how uncomfortable he
truly is in such a fancy piece of clothing.

Every once in awhile, he’ll adjust it in an unfamiliar, awkward way that certainly makes it obvious
to everyone around him that he shouldn’t fit in.

The champagne in his hand is getting lukewarm the longer he stands by himself near the more
deserted areas of the ballroom. He hopes he doesn’t look as excluded as he feels.

If so, this mission will never succeed.

“You need to blend in,” says a voice through his well-concealed earpiece. It looks more like an
extravagant piece of jewelry than an investigation device. “You’ll never be an attractive target if
you stand like an outsider in the corner of the room and sulk.”

“I know that,” hisses Jimin discreetly through gritted teeth. “But I don’t exactly know how to
behave myself at a place like this, you dick.”

He doesn’t hear a chuckle through his earpiece the way he used to when he said something like
that. Maybe it’s because it no longer sounds like teasing the way it used to.

“Mingle, Jimin,” says the voice again. “You need to flaunt your jewelry and your arrogance and
your ass if that helps.”

He rolls his eyes at the filthy suggestion he’s hearing. It’s part of the mission, he’s well aware of
that, but selling himself to whoever desires to look at him, makes him uneasy.

“Shut up, you’re blowing my cover, Jungkook,” hisses Jimin into the tiny microphone attached to
the inside of his jacket. “Can’t I have someone else in my ear than you? Namjoon? Yoongi?
Honestly, give me anyone else at this point. Even Taehyung would do.”

“No,” comes the quick reply. “Get yourself comfortable, because I’ll be in your ear all night.”

It doesn’t sound as appealing as it used to.

Instead of making him smile, it makes the corners of his lips turn downward in displeasure.

“Can’t wait for this to be over.”

“Then hurry up and catch the unsub.”

A pair of posh-looking women walk past him and cocks his head to the side as he gives them a
wide smile and raises his champagne glass in the air. They return the gesture without a second
thought before they carry on and walk away.
Jimin’s smile fades the second they leave his sight.

He lets his eyes roam over the grand ballroom, trying to break down the guests into groups. It’s
easier figuring out who to approach that way.

They already have the profile of their suspect. They know almost everything about him except for
his face.

That’s the only thing missing.

“He should be wearing fake jewelry,” says his husband through the earpiece. “A fancy, yet cheap
suit. Probably a fake Rolex-watch as well and-”

“I know,” interrupts Jimin in annoyance. “I was there doing the briefing too, you know.”

“Maybe you weren’t paying attention.”

He wants to sneer at the man through his microphone, but he doesn’t allow himself to be carried
away like this. He needs to uphold his cover if he is to ever get a shot at catching their killer.

He can’t let his husband distract him.

Or soon to be ex-husband.

March 15th , 2016, 4:39 pm.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

It’s raining the first time Jimin meets Jungkook.

Not just a small rainfall but a chaotic storm. It isn’t supposed to rain today. It’s supposed to be
sunny with a light breeze or in the worst-case scenario, a bit cloudy.

Which is exactly why Jimin has brought no umbrella and made no plans to take the subway.

By the time he reaches the police station, he’s soaked from head to toe. His blond hair is sticking to
his forehead, his clothes are more or less unwearable and every time he takes a step, his shoe
squirts.

He is nothing less than completely embarrassed as he hurries through the station to his desk,
hoping no one will notice him.

He isn’t that lucky.

“Wow, Jimin,” chuckles his coworker, Min Yoongi, as he passes him by in the hallway. “Didn’t
you check the weather today?”

“It said it wouldn’t rain!” he yells before he speeds past his coworker further down the hallway.
He tries to adjust his hair to the best of his abilities as he sneaks through the office floor towards
his desk, but without a mirror or a blow-dryer, there isn’t much hope for him to look decent.

“Hey, Jimin, did you see- holy shit. You look like a wet rat.”

Kim Taehyung is laughing amusedly at his disastrous state and Jimin’s cheeks flush in
embarrassment. He is not yet used to his new coworker’s straightforwardness, not to mention foul
mouth.

“It- it said it wouldn’t rain,” he tries to explain, but Taehyung merely seems to find the situation
even more humorous. He laughs loudly as Jimin collapses onto his desk chair and it captures the
attention of too many of their coworkers.

They all seem to find his disastrous state amusing as well.

“Can I get everyone’s attention for a second, please,” calls a raised voice and Jimin is grateful
when all eyes leave him in favor of looking towards their chief, Jung Hoseok. “As most of you
know, we’re getting a new officer starting today.”

Hoseok’s gestures to a boy next to him and Jimin’s gaze shifts.

“This is Jeon Jungkook,” Hoseok introduces. “He just finished the academy with impressive effort
and I want all of you to give him a warm welcome.”

The boy, Jungkook, bows his head to his new collogues and it isn’t until then Jimin realizes how
young the boy is.

However, his voice tells a completely different story.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” he says politely. His voice is deep yet soothing at the same time.
“I’m looking forward to working with you.” His eyes roam over the office and Jimin feels a tingle
as their eyes meet shortly.

“We’ll be looking forward to that too,” says Hoseok. “Now that would be all. Carry on.” He
dismisses his officers’ attention and everyone goes back to their own work.

Everyone except Jimin.

His eyes stay on their newest police officer as he continues his talk with their chief. He can’t hear a
word of their conversation but he’s content enough with simply observing a little from afar.

The boy’s dark hair looks soft even from a distance and his eyes sparkle with excitement as he
speaks. There’s a freshness to him Jimin hasn’t seen in a long time.

It’s captivating.

Jimin’s momentarily awe comes to a halt as he watches his chief raise his hand and point in his
direction, making both of them turn their heads towards him.

Before he knows it, they’re both coming his way.

He’s suddenly very much aware of his messy appearance and he tries desperately to adjust his wet
hair and soaked clothes to look just a tad more decent. He's embarrassed to be caught in such a
messy state.

Times is his enemy, and long before he can ever fix more than a few stray strands of hair, Hoseok
and his new coworker stop in front of his desk.

In a frantic, awkward manner, Jimin jumps to his feet and bumps into his desk, causing some of his
belongings to fall over. Hoseok isn’t much impressed by his behavior, but the new officer next to
him seems to find it amusing as he covers his mouth with his hand to conceal his smile.

It makes Jimin’s face heat up in embarrassment.

“This is Jimin,” Hoseok says. “He will be the one getting you into how we do things here.” Jimin’s
lips part involuntarily in surprise. “He’s not a field officer, but he knows as much about our
systems and rules as anyone else.”

A few seconds of silence pass between them before Jimin frantically realizes he should probably
extend his hand to greet his new coworker. He has never before lost his manners like that in front
of strangers.

“O- oh!” he exclaims. “It’s nice to meet you.” He extends his hand towards Jungkook, who allows
his eyes to roam over it before he reaches out to grab it.

“It’s nice to meet-”

Jungkook's sentence is cut short as he accidentally knocks over Jimin’s vase, making the flowers
fly all over his desk. It’s an awkward, chaotic mess as both males try to salvage the flowers and
vase with no successful corporation between the two of them.

“I- shit, I’m so sorry,” apologizes Jungkook. “I didn’t see it.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” hurries Jimin to say. “They’re not real. They’re just plastic.”

Jungkook examines the flowers more closely before he breaks into a smile of relief. He gathers the
stray flowers and hands them over to Jimin who hurries to take them.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Jimin nods in agreement whilst he packs the plastic decors away in a hast.

“We see a lot of death on a daily basis,” he explains even though no one asked him to. “It’s nice to
have something pretty that won’t whiter away to something ugly.”

It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but Jungkook doesn’t seem to find it as silly as he had believed.
He cocks his head to the side and nods in genuine understanding.

“I get that,” he says. “And they’re very pretty.”

He doesn’t look at the flowers as he says that.

It makes Jimin feel extremely shy all of a sudden.

“You can get used to each other later,” interrupts Hoseok impatiently. “You’ll be spending a lot of
time together the next few weeks, so save the small talk for another time.” He stuffs his hands
down his pockets in an impatient manner before he turns his feet away from Jimin’s desk.

“O- of course!” stutters Jimin awkwardly. “I- I won’t hold you any longer.”

Hoseok gives him a nod in appreciation before he turns his head and makes his way across the
office towards the door. He doesn’t check to see if Jungkook follows him, he simply assumes the
new officer knows what’s expected of him.

“I think I have to go,” says Jungkook and scratches his neck in an awkward manner. He doesn’t
point his toes in Hoseok’s direction but keeps them pointed towards Jimin even as he tries to bid
his goodbyes.

“And I- I’ll be right here,” Jimin stutters. “Right here at my desk. This, uhm, this is my desk. Every
day.”

“It’s a nice desk,” says Jungkook. “I’ll be sure to remember it.”

His new collogue lets his eyes roam over his disorganized desk for a few more seconds, seemingly
to memorize it, before he nods his head in goodbye and turns on his heel.

Jimin can’t take his eyes off him as he makes his way through the office and after their chief. He
moves elegantly and athletically. It’s almost mesmerizing in a way. He feels a rush of excitement
in his stomach and before long he completely forgets all about the stormy weather outside that
plagued him just a few minutes ago.

It somehow doesn’t feel important at all anymore.

May 10th , 2020, 8:46 pm.

The Lotus Hotel.

The champagne is almost warm now and he finally decides to get another glass in an attempt to
changes things up.

Nothing out of the ordinary as happened in the last hour and no one matching their suspect's
description has been spotted. It’s beginning to feel as if he might now show up tonight.

He makes his way across the large ballroom, his eyes roaming over every well-dressed man he
spots, but none of them matches who they’re looking for.

Their suits are too nice and their motor skills are too relaxed.

Their killer isn’t half as used to a party like this despite his often participation at these types of
events. Jimin supposes it takes years of practice to blend it with a crowd like this with no
problems.

The bar comes into view and he speeds up his steps the slightest. He downs the lukewarm
champagne as he reaches the bar and places the empty glass on the counter followed by a request
for a new drink.

His body doesn’t crave the alcohol but he needs to blend in with the rest of the high elites. And he
desperately needs something to occupy his shaking, impatient hands.

He’s a lot less calm than he believed he would be in such a huge crowd. No one would dare harm
him in a place like this, but the mere thought of a serial killer breathing the same air as him, makes
his bones trembling.

“Stop drinking so much,” comes his husband’s voice through his earpiece. “You know you can’t
drink too much before you get tipsy and we need you to be sharp tonight.”

He’s about to rip his husband a new one when the bartender returns with his drink and he abandons
his anger in favor of smiling in gratitude to maintain his cover.

It feels wrong smiling so sweetly and acting so posh, when he’s used to being behind a desk,
profiling killers from afar. He’s not used to being in the field like this, let alone being the sole
factor that could make or break a mission.

Jungkook’s the one who does all the dirty work. He’s the one risking his life in the field, pulling
out his gun and showing off his batch.

While Jimin was never comfortable with the idea of Jungkook putting himself in danger every
single day, he was content enough with being behind his desk.

No criminal would be able to kill him as long as he stayed behind his desk.

“I shouldn't be doing this,” mumbles Jimin into his microphone. He discreetly covers his mouth
with his hand as he speaks to keep anyone else from seeing him talk to himself. "Why did I do
this?"

“Because you refused to listen to me when I told you not to,” says Jungkook in obvious
dissatisfaction. “But also because you’re the only one on the police force who doesn’t look like a
cop.”

There’s a cockiness to Jungkook’s voice as he speaks that clearly indicates that he finds his own
words quite amusing. He hadn’t found the situation amusing when it was suggested at the police
station, but he seems to have gotten more used to the idea now.

“Screw you,” mumbles Jimin before he looks around to make sure no one heard his curses. “I look
just as hardcore as the rest of you.”

“If you say so, my love.”

Jimin rolls his eyes at his husband’s derogatory use of a loving nickname. It used to make him
giggle, but now he just wants to kick the man where it hurts.

It’s funny how quickly things change.

The clock is ticking by faster and faster, yet nothing unusual has been spotted. Time passes as
Jimin tries to mingle with the wealthy elites with superficial small talk filled with insincere flattery
and tons of lies.

He has an entire backstory he dishes out every time a new person approaches him and by the time,
he’s told it for the seventh time, it almost feels as if it’s true. It hadn’t taken him long to memorize
the story his fellow officers had pieced together that very afternoon. After all, memorizing things is
what he does best.

Some of the guests regard him with curious eyes. Some of them regard him with hungry eyes. And
some of them simply regards him with indifference.
He likes those guests the best. They’re easier to be around because they don’t demand too much
from him, he can’t give them.

Out of the corner of his eyes, a man much older than himself approaches him. He has a sly smile
on his lips as he slides across the bar table with his right hand first, shamelessly displaying his
thick, golden ring for the world to see and droll over.

In his left hand, he holds a glass of champagne. Every now and then he’ll tap the glass with his
short nails as a sign of superiority. He likes the attention that follows his not so discreet sounds,
judging by the smirk on his lips.

“I couldn’t help but spot you from the other end of the bar,” says the man and sips on his
champagne while maintaining eye contact. He’s both bold and shamelessly direct all in one

Not at all like the killer, they’re looking for.

Jimin shakes his body ever the slightest to ready himself as he takes on the posh persona of Lee
Jimin, the son of a wealthy politician.

The smile on his lips feels odd at first, but he soon gets comfortable with his superficial
appearance.

“And I see you decided to join me,” says Jimin sweetly as he bats his eyelashes in an almost
embarrassing way. “How very sweet of you.”

The man looks nothing short of pleased with Jimin’s reaction to his approach and decides to move
even closer. It’s too closer for Jimin to feel comfortable but not close enough for him to possibly
blow his cover to get the man to move away.

“I simply thought it would be a shame for such a beautiful man to stand alone like this.”

“It would indeed be a shame,” agrees Jimin. The corners of his lips twitch slightly as he tries to
maintain his smile and he hopes the man doesn't notice his slight slip up.

It doesn’t appear that way as he chucks down his champagne without letting Jimin out of his sight
for even a second as he does so.

He finds the whole ordeal almost amusing if he had to say so himself.

“So what brings you to this place?” asks the man. “I haven’t seen you at the last few gatherings. I
would surely remember a face like yours if you had.”

The man smiles self-satisfactory as if he’s pleased with his own flatter. Jimin, however, shares
none of his satisfaction as he catches himself taking the tiniest step back.

While the man isn’t necessarily horrible to look at, he is far too old and far too lustful to come
across as attractive in any way. The man doesn’t seem to agree with that as he moves closer,
sliding his jewelry covered hand across the bar table.

“Step back.”

Jimin nearly flinches as Jungkook speaks into his ear for the first time since the man approached
him. He had momentarily forgotten his husband was following his every move.

“He’s too close to you. Move back.”

“Shut up,” hisses Jimin without a second thought and immediately regrets it as the man before him,
wrinkles his forehead in confusion.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, I mean,” begins Jimin awkwardly. “I mean, shut up, that is a beautiful ring.” He immediately
reaches out for the man’s right hand and admires the heavy, golden ring with the uttermost awe he
can muster.

The wrinkles soon fade from the man’s forehead as an arrogant spark flickers in his dark eyes. He’s
easily distracted as long as the distraction comes in the form of flattery or envy. He's easy to read.

Too easy.

He's not their killer.

“Oh, yes, indeed, isn’t it?” He regards his own ring with a high level of pleasure and Jimin nearly
gags at the smug, arrogance he’s so shamelessly displaying. “But of course, a ring like this is
nothing when I own half of Daegu and just a tad more.”

He winks at him and Jimin tries to swallow vomit as he returns it.

“Half of Daegu, you say,” giggles Jimin. It’s the right action to take as the man’s eyes lit up in
excitement. “That must be so… difficult.”

He lets his finger run up his right arm and the man follows his movements with hungry eyes.

“Stop trying to seduce him. He’s not the killer. Get away from him.” His husband sounds nothing
short of annoyed in his ear. It’s almost amusing at this point.

“It’s very difficult, uhm…”

“Jimin. Lee Jimin,” he replies and the man nods pleased.

“Jimin.” His name sounds vulgar on his lips.

He takes another sip of his champagne before he lifts his right hand and says, “I’m Jeong
Beomseok.”

Jimin recognizes the name from their folder over known attendees. If he wasn’t already sure this
man wasn’t their killer, he certainly is now.

Their killer wouldn’t be on any known lists.

He’s far too advanced for such rookie mistakes.

May 2nd, 2020, 3:46 pm.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

“Our suspect has done this many times by now. He’s skilled and he’s dangerous. We need to take
all the precautions we can before we sent one of our own into the field.”

They’ve heard the talk many times the last few days.

Since the discovery of a fourth victim, this killer has been their top priority and none of them has
been able to sleep peacefully until they catch him.

“We need someone skilled for the job. Someone he won’t suspect,” continues their chief. His voice
is loud and authoritarian, everything Jimin’s own voice always fails to be.

That is probably why he is behind a desk and not in front of criminals.

“How are we supposed to blend in at a gathering like this?” asks one of their top officers, Kim
Namjoon. “Most of the elites of this country already know our faces. We’re not exactly an
unknown police department. We solve more crimes than the average station.”

“I’m aware,” says Hoseok, annoyance clear in his voice as he regards his inferior officer. “That’s
why I have gathered you all to put together a bulletproof plan. We can’t afford to fail this time.”

The briefing room soon erupts into arguments and raised voices and Jimin tunes out as he leans
against the wall at the other end of the room.

He always stays there because he rarely has much to contribute with, in cases as big as these.

He doesn’t mind, however. Bravery isn’t his strong suit. The field wouldn’t fit him even half as
well as it does most of his fellow officers.

“Not helping make a plan,” says a voice from beside him and he turns his head to spot Jungkook
joining him. “You’re never gonna make your place in this department known if you don’t speak
up.”

“Maybe I don’t mind the place I have now,” replies Jimin in annoyance as he shuffles aimlessly
through the files in his arms he’s supposed to organize after this meeting.

“You’ve been sitting behind the same desk since I first meet you, Jimin,” says Jungkook. “Why not
try and get more?”

“I don’t need more,” he says firmly, hoping Jungkook will drop this conversation. They’ve had it
countless times by now.

“God, you’re impossible,” sighs Jungkook loudly and throws his head back against the wall to
show his displeasure with Jimin’s response despite the fact that it has always been the same.

“I am,” agrees Jimin. “Isn’t that why we’re getting a divorce?” His words are snarky, maybe even a
little too much so, but he doesn’t bother correcting them because they’re true after all.

Jungkook is looking at him with intense eyes, but Jimin doesn’t turn his head to return his gaze.
He’s been having trouble looking his husband in the eyes ever since the divorce papers arrived a
few days ago.

He hasn’t signed them yet. He doesn’t know whether Jungkook has or not either but he doesn’t
allow himself to dwell too much on it when he’s at work.
“Jimin can do it.”

He flinches at the unexpected mention of his name and raises his gaze to meet countless pairs of
eyes from everywhere in the briefing room.

Namjoon is pointing at him so he can only assume he was the one to call his name so suddenly.

“He’s not a public figure here at the agency. The public wouldn’t know he’s a cop from the look of
it,” he continues and Jimin goes speechless under the undesired attention he’s receiving from the
whole police department. “Additionally, he’s the right age to fit the victimology. Late twenties.”

“And with his pretty face, he would fit right in,” says Yoongi. He smiles sweetly as he says so, but
Jimin isn’t able to appreciate the kindness in his current state of shock.

“He would be the perfect bait,” says Namjoon as he turns to their chief once again. “He would
blend right in.”

Hoseok regards him for a few moments more before he seems to come to the same conclusion. So
many eyes are observing him at the moment and he feels strangely exposed in a place where he
used to be invisible.

“Hell, no.”

Jungkook’s sudden objection from beside him catches everyone’s attention. Jimin bends his neck
to look at him, but Jungkook is staring daggers at his fellow officers and chief.

“He’s not being any kind of bait. It’s too dangerous.” He crosses his arms over his chest and stares
down anyone who dares object. “He’s never been in the field. He wouldn’t be able to do it.”

It irks Jimin just the slightest to hear his husband talk about him like that despite the fact that he
knows there’s some truth to it. He’s not skilled in handling criminals directly. He handles their
paperwork.

“Jungkook, I know you're protective of your husband, but he’s our best shot. We can’t send a
civilian into a mission like that, it’s-”

“He’s practically a civilian,” argues Jungkook, cutting their chief off mid-sentence. “He’s not at all
trained to be in the field as the rest of us.”

“He’s been here longer than you, Jeon,” injects Taehyung. There’s a cocky smile on his lips as he
speaks to Jungkook. He has always liked to challenge him and it appears today is no exception.

“So what?” argues Jungkook in a raised voice. “He’s not trained to be in the field. He’s not trained
to handle criminals. A killer, in this case.”

“We are aware,” says Hoseok slowly with the same annoyance as earlier when Namjoon spoke
against him. “But we have a week until the annual gala party at The Lotus Hotel. We have time to
train him.”

“One week won’t make a difference!” yells Jungkook and even Jimin is startled by the loudness.
“It’ll take years of training, Chief. Not a week.”

“Well, that’s what we got, so we’ll have to make do.”

“But he can’t-”
“I’ll do it.”

The room goes silent as all eyes are directed towards Jimin once again and he shivers slightly
under the heavy attention.

“If that’s our only option, I’ll do it.”

“No, that is not our only option,” says Jungkook, completely disregarding Jimin’s corporation in
the case. “We can send someone else. Someone trained and suited for this.”

“Who?” asks Namjoon and looks around the room without pointing anyone else out. “No one here
would be able to pull it off.”

“But even still-”

“I’ll do it,” repeats Jimin. “I won’t put myself in danger. Once I lure the killer away, I’ll leave it all
to you, right?”

Namjoon nods in confirmation.

“Then I’ll do it.”

Jungkook opens his mouth to object once again, but their chief cuts him off before he can even get
a word out. It clearly irks Jungkook mercilessly to be shot down so firmly and it makes Jimin's
heart ache in his chest.

Despite everything, he doesn't want to so his husband so upset.

“Then it’s decided. Jimin will be our undercover doing the gala party. Meeting adjourned.”

The room is filled with sliding chairs and shuffling papers as all the officers get up from their seats
and slowly make their way out of the briefing room.

Jimin watches as their chief and Namjoon leave the room together, obviously deep into a serious
talk by the looks of it. However, it isn’t surprising to see those two disagreeing over almost
everything. They have been going head to head for years. It's a wonder they're both still here,
working together.

“What the fuck are you thinking, Jimin?!” sneers Jungkook from beside him and when Jimin turns
to look at him, he spots some very dark eyes. “You’re gonna get yourself hurt, for crying out loud!”

“I’m gonna be fine,” he insists. “The chief wouldn’t have given me this assignment if he didn’t
think I could do it.”

“Hoseok doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing,” sneers Jungkook again.

He doesn’t seem to back down on his stance at all and Jimin is equally annoyed and grateful for
Jungkook’s concern.

However, he has to stop being used to it in a few months.

“I thought you guys were getting a divorce,” calls Taehyung from across the room with a smug
smile on his lips. “So why are you so worked up about this?”

He’s clearly taunting Jungkook to get a reaction out of him and by the look on his husband’s face,
Taehyung is succeeding.
“Shut the hell up, Kim,” he spits out as he pushes himself off the wall. “We’ll talk about this when
we get home.” He throws Jimin a last look before he storms out of the briefing room, the door
slamming loudly behind him.

Jimin looks after him even when he can’t see him anymore and he fights back his natural instinct to
go after him like he always did when Jungkook stormed out like this. Countless times has
Jungkook's temper gotten the best of him in this very room, and countless times have Jimin
stormed after him because he knows he's the only one who can calm him down.

“Hey.”

Jimin turns his head in the direction of Taehyung’s voice and spots the boy looking at him with
less teasing eyes.

“In a few months, he won’t be your husband anymore.” He says it encouragingly, but Jimin doesn’t
feel it like that. “So don’t let him decide what you do anymore, Jimin. You can do this.” He raises
his clenched fists in support before he turns on his heel and leaves the briefing room as well.

Jimin doesn’t bother going after him to correct him.

Jungkook never decided for him. He always just… protected him.

But with only a few months left to call him his husband, he doesn’t bother explaining that to
anyone.

May 10th , 2020, 9:58 pm.

The Lotus Hotel.

Jimin doesn’t hesitate before he takes Jeong Beomseok’s hand and shakes it gently.

He tries to cock his head to the side and in a flirtatious manner, making sure to uphold his cover in
case the killer should be watching.

He needs to look attractive in the eyes of the killer.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” says Jimin sweetly and retracts his hand hastily the second Jeong
Beomseok lets go of him.

“I can only say the same,” he replies and smiles widely, crooked, yellow teeth at full display,
before he takes another sip of his champagne. “I must say, I believed this party might become a
drag, but with such a lovely creature like you here, it could never get dull.”

“Oh, you flatter too much, Mr. Jeong,” giggles Jimin and dismisses the man’s words with a wave
of his hand.

“Please do call me Beomseok.” Jimin says nothing, he merely smiles and sips on his own glass of
champagne.
“Get away from him, Jimin,” hisses Jungkook in his ear. “He’s not the killer, he’s just fucking
hitting on you. Ditch him.”

“I’m having so much fun,” says Jimin as he tucks his blond hair behind his ear and smiles at
Beomseok despite talking directly to Jungkook.

“Stop it, Jimin.”

“So much fun.”

“I said cut it out!”

The man before him seems overly pleased with his believed effect on the younger man in front of
him. He’s completely fooled and, despite the man’s desperation, Jimin can’t help but feel slightly
bad for him. He is, after all, not guilty of any wrongdoings.

He’s saved, unexpectedly, by an unknown man who approaches them both with a wide smile. He
says his greetings to Jimin before he directs his attention to Jeong Beomseok.

“I hope I’m not intruding, Mr. Jeong,” he says politely and Jimin gets the feeling he’s an employee
of the man he’s been talking to. “But Lim Jongin wants to speak with you.”

“Oh,” Beomseok says. He doesn’t look too pleased, but he doesn’t look too unhappy either. By the
way, he adjusts his suit, Jimin figures the man has been waiting for his talk with this Lim Jongin
guy all night.

He throws Jimin and apologetic smile and he hurries to dismiss it.

“Go, go,” he ushers. “Don’t mind me, I’ll be just fine.”

“I’ll hurry back to you,” the man says and Jimin smiles despite feeling rather displeased with his
words. “Wait for me, okay?”

He nods as he allows the man to grab his hand and press a kiss to the back of it. Despite the fact
that the gesture is meant to be sweet, Jimin fights back the urge to squirm. It doesn’t feel right
having another man, a stranger no less, kiss his hand so intimately.

“I’ll hurry,” says the man one last time before he turns on his heels and follows his employee
through the crowd of rich elites and eventually, he disappears from his sight.

It feels much better standing alone now than it did an hour ago.

“What the fuck where you doing?” The voice in his ear is low and irritated. “He isn’t the killer, so
don’t talk so much with him.”

“He could be,” argues Jimin in a hushed tone so no one overhears. “We wouldn’t have known that
until I dug a little deeper.”

“You didn’t dig anything; you were just flirting.”

“I was trying to maintain my cover,” hisses Jimin through gritted teeth. He smiles at a woman
walking by him for a quick second before he goes back to frowning in annoyance.

“Yes, well, try a little less then,” huffs Jungkook through his earpiece and Jimin rolls his eyes at his
husband’s childishness. He can almost see the man pouting outside in their well-concealed van just
by closing his eyes.
He has never before known someone as well as he knows Jeon Jungkook. Never before has he
been able to read someone’s voice, someone’s tone and someone’s body language as well as he can
Jungkook’s.

It used to be a gift but now it feels more like a curse.

Instead of answering he lets his eyes roam over the ballroom. After a few seconds, he decides to
change his location in the hopes of not being found by Jeong Beomseok again.

He can’t allow anything to interfere with the mission.

It’s too important.

January 14th , 2017, 9:24 am.

Hongdae, Seoul.

It’s snowing when Jimin and Jungkook move in together.

A thick layer of snow covers the grounds, making it harder for the moving truck to drive down the
new unfamiliar streets they will soon call their home.

It had been months since they picked out their apartment. Jimin wanted it to be perfect and
Jungkook wanted it to be soon, so they compromised and waited till they found the perfect one.

“It’s gonna take forever to unpack all of these boxes,” groans Jungkook as he puts down yet
another box that joins the countless others. They have used most of the afternoon carrying them all
inside their new home.

“I’m sorry,” mumbles Jimin as he searches through one of his own boxes. “I have a lot of stuff.”

“You do,” agrees Jungkook without hesitation. “You should’ve cleaned out in all of it before we
moved, my love.”

“I don’t want to get rid of anything.”

“Not even this?” questions Jungkook disbelievingly and picks up an elephant-shaped mug. “This
hideous thing.”

“It’s not hideous,” argues Jimin and rips the mug from Jungkook’s hand and hurries to pack it
away in one of the empty cabinets. “It’s… special.”

“Yeah, a special kind of hideous.”

“You twat.”

Jimin finishes another box with kitchen supplies and hastily gets started on the next one. It’s a
weird kind of excitement he feels in his gut as he takes his time decorating their new kitchen with
their old and new things.

They haven’t had much shared stuff before and it suddenly hits him that everything will now be
theirs instead of his and his.

It’s a thrill like nothing else he has ever experienced.

“Is it silly that this makes me happy?” questions Jimin with a giggle as he gets on his toes to put a
few mugs on the top shelf. “It’s nothing special but my heart is racing and my-”

He cuts himself short as he turns around to find Jungkook right behind him, holding a beautiful
bouquet of red roses in his hands. He’s looking at him with sparkling eyes and perked lips as he
patiently waits for Jimin’s reaction.

“You… you bought roses?” questions Jimin in awe as he reaches out for them, gently taking them
from Jungkook’s outstretched hands.

“I thought the new apartment needed a little gift.” Jimin raises them to his nose and inhales the
sweet scent. “And these ones are real,” continues Jungkook. “Nothing is ever going to whiter away
to something ugly here so we don’t need fake flowers. I promise you.”

“I believe you.”

There’s hardly even a single flaw on the dozens of roses in his hands. It must have taken a long
time, not to mention a lot of money, to find roses this perfect.

However, it doesn’t surprise him. Jungkook never does anything half-assed. Whether it’s catching
criminals or buying flowers, Jungkook never stops until everything is perfect.

Everything is always perfect.

“And no,” says Jungkook and leans closer. “It’s not silly.” He reaches out to touch Jimin’s face in
the gentlest way possible. “I’m really excited too.”

He inhales the sweet scent of roses but keeps his eyes on Jimin’s. He looks goofy and juvenile, just
like he did when they met no more than a year ago.

He hasn’t changed much from the boy who accidentally knocked over his flowers.

“Aren’t we silly?” asks Jimin amused. “We’re just unpacking and we’re acting as though liquid
gold will come out of the walls.”

“Maybe there will.”

“No, there won’t.”

“How can you be sure?”

“If that was the case, we wouldn’t have gotten this place so cheap.”

Jungkook seems to agree as he carefully pushes the roses out of the way so he can lean in and press
his lips to Jimin’s. He doesn’t kiss him for long, but he kisses him just like he wants him to.

“Besides,” mumbles Jimin against his boyfriend’s lips. “Your heart of gold is all I need anyway.”

He presses his palm against Jungkook’s firm chest and tickles the boy’s chin with his nose. A
sound a pure bliss and amusement escapes Jungkook’s soft lips and Jimin relishes in the sweet
melody.

“God, you’re so silly,” chuckles Jungkook. “So stupidly silly it takes my breath away.” He sneaks
his arm around Jimin’s waist to pull him closer. “I must be out of my mind for loving someone so
silly.”

“You must be,” agrees Jimin. “But you must be absolutely idiotic to move in with him as well.”

Jungkook merely shrugs uncaringly as he slides his fingers under the edge of Jimin’s shirt to feel
his body heat against his fingertips.

“That is true,” he says. “But I’ve always been completely idiotic when it comes to you, my love.”

Jimin allows his hands to roam down Jungkook’s body until he graces Jungkook’s crotch. The
boy’s knees seem to buckle at the touch and his breath hitches in his throat.

“Ji- Jimin,” he stutters as he thrusts his hips forward to chase Jimin’s touch. He’s probably not
even aware that he does it, but Jimin knows his boyfriend’s body language like the back of his
hand.

“I want you to make love to me,” Jimin whispers, his lips sticking to Jungkook’s because of the
nonexistent proximity between them. “Here in our new apartment.”

“You wanna have sex now?” asks Jungkook. There’s an amusing edge to his voice. “But we
haven’t even put our bed together yet.”

“Then let’s do it here,” says Jimin as he starts pulling at the boy’s belt loops. “On the kitchen
counter or the table or maybe the floor.”

“But that’s not very sanitary to do where we’ll cook, my love.”

“We’ll clean afterward.”

“But it could be dirty or-”

“Jungkook, for crying out loud, please, make love to me,” pleads Jimin as he shakes his
boyfriend’s shoulders so ridiculously it makes Jungkook grin. “I wanna feel your hands all over
me. I wanna bite my lip to stop myself from moaning. I wanna feel my eyes overflow with tears of
pleasure. I wanna-”

His begging gets interrupted by Jungkook sneaking his arms around his thighs and lifting him into
the air. A yelp escapes Jimin’s lips at the surprise but Jungkook soon swallows it down as he
kisses him eagerly.

He’s not being gentle at all as he licks his way into Jimin’s mouth and bits on his lower lip like a
starving man. He’s determined to show his boyfriend that he will pleasure him like no one else will
ever be able to.

Jungkook continues to kiss him as he carries him away from the kitchen and instead into their
empty living room. A couch is pushed up against the wall and countless moving boxes occupy the
corners but the center of the room is completely cleared. The wooden floorboards are polished to
perfection and the naked, white walls make the room feel much bigger than it probably is.

“Let’s do it here,” says Jungkook as he carefully gets down on his knees and places Jimin on his
back on the polished floorboards. “Let me make love to you right here, in the heart of our new
home.”

Jimin spreads his legs apart to let Jungkook come in between them and he reaches up to intertwine
his fingers behind his boyfriend’s neck to keep him from getting too far away.

“It’s perfect,” he says softly. “Everything is so perfect.”

Jungkook doesn’t reply but instead leans down to press their lips together in a bruising kiss. It
doesn’t take long before their lips are red and swollen. They’re so eager for each other, one could
believe they were horny teenagers getting permission to close their bedroom door for the first time.

Jungkook strips him down efficiently. Even from an awkward angle and from a difficult position,
Jungkook manages to get his shirt over his head and his pants down to his ankles. He leaves
Jimin’s underwear but gets rid of everything else.

The air in the apartment is cold, but Jimin hardly feels it with Jungkook’s body heat over him like
a warm, comforting blanket he can snuggle into and seek love. Jungkook’s hands are all over his
body in minutes and his nails scrape across his skin, making Jimin absolutely crazy.

“You too,” he begs as he pulls at the collar of Jungkook’s shirt. “I wanna touch you too.”

Jungkook tips his head forward and Jimin pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it on a random
moving box a few feet away from them.

He doesn’t waste a moment before he runs his hand over Jungkook’s smooth skin. In the eyes of a
perfectionist, Jungkook’s skin is flawed in many ways. New wounds and old scars, blue bruises,
and yellow bruises decorate his body, years of rough work in the field evident on him. His skin has
gotten rough over the years.

However, in the eyes of Jimin, Jungkook’s body is as close to perfect as anything can get.

“I love touching you,” mutters Jimin drunkenly. “I love running my hands all over your smooth
skin.”

“It’s not as smooth as yours,” says Jungkook, his breath ghosting over Jimin’s cheek as he speaks.
“Your skin is perfect.”

He places butterfly kisses all over his face and Jimin giggles at the ticklish sensation.

“Only because I stay behind my desk,” he argues. “My skin is only this soft because I don’t do any
of the hard work.”

“Well, a king like you should never have to lift a finger.”

“A king you say?” laughs Jimin amusedly as he fumbles with Jungkook’s buttons. “Then are you
my queen?”

Jungkook helps him get his pants off him and soon, they’re both sprawled across the polished
floorboards in their empty living room, wearing nothing but underwear.

“Of course, I am,” replies Jungkook. “I’m all yours in any way you want me.”

Jungkook’s hands run down his torso all the way to his clothed cock. He doesn’t sneak his fingers
under his underwear but instead teases him by touching him over his underwear.
It makes Jimin’s body tingle with pleasure and excitement.

“Fi- find the lube,” stutters Jimin.

“What?”

“The lube,” he repeats. “I want you to prep me, Jungkook, so you can – Oh, God – so you can
make love to me.”

It takes Jungkook a moment to register the words before he jumps to his feet. “Yes, yes, of course,
the lube.” He looks around the living room before he looks back at Jimin. He’s lost. “And where…
where might that be?”

“You don’t know where the lube is?”

“I didn’t pack it.”

“Yes, you did,” says Jimin and gets on his elbow so he can better look up at his boyfriend. “You
said you wanted to pack it so you could put it somewhere you wouldn’t forget in case moving
made you exhausted and you needed a quick sex fix to pick yourself up again.”

“That does sound like something I would do.” He grins like a naughty teenager and Jimin throws
his head back in amusement as he lets out an uncontrollable giggle.

“Go find the lube, you dumbass,” orders Jimin, and Jungkook follow his demand with a salute and
a wink. He races out of the living room and Jimin leans back on the floor as he waits.

He spreads apart his legs and arms like a starfish and rubs his naked skin over the smooth
floorboards. The room is quiet, the only sound he hears is his own breathing and sound of ruffling
boxes from the kitchen.

They haven’t been here long, but he’s already comfortable in their new home. It makes his lips curl
upwards in contentment.

“Found it!” calls Jungkook from outside the living room and less than a second later, Jimin feels
his boyfriend’s hands on his naked thighs. “I put it in the box with the plates from my mother.”

“Your mother?”

“Yeah,” says Jungkook nonchalant as he hooks his fingers around the edges of Jimin’s underwear.
“I needed something to distract me from accidentally dropping them all.”

He pulled down Jimin’s underwear and his hardening cock sprung free. He was now completely
exposed, lying in the middle of their living room floor, but he didn’t feel exposed at all with
Jungkook hovering over him so protectively.

“Then take all of your frustrations out on me,” he pleaded. “Give it all to me so I can make you feel
better.”

He spread his legs apart, allowing Jungkook to get in between them. his cock was throbbing in
anticipation as Jungkook coated his fingers in lube before he tossed the bottle on the floor. A few
drops dripped from the bottle and onto their new floorboards, but neither of them minded in the
heat of the moment.

“Tell me if I’m hurting you,” says Jungkook. He always reminded him even when he didn’t have
to.

“I trust you,” replies Jimin. “You could never hurt me.”

With carefulness and precision, Jungkook inserted a single slick finger into Jimin’s hole. A sigh of
exhilaration escaped the smaller boy’s mouth as he adjusted to the small stretch.

It was so easy getting lost in pleasure with Jungkook.

Sex had never been so satisfying until he met him.

“Are you good, my love?”

“Yes, just… one more, Jungkook. You can add another.”

Jungkook obeyed his wish and forced a second finger in. The stretch was only uncomfortable for a
second before Jimin got used to the feeling and instead started wishing for more by buckling his
hips upward to chase satisfaction.

“Eager, are we now?” teased Jungkook as he fingered him faster. It made it impossible for Jimin to
argue with him. “Moving really does wonders, huh?”

“You do wonders,” says Jimin buckles his hips again. “Now, pl- please, Jungkook.”

He reached out and hooked his finger in Jungkook’s underwear before he pulled slightly to get his
point easier across.

“Okay, okay, I got the hit,” chuckles Jungkook. He retracts his fingers, leaving Jimin feeling
temporarily empty, as he pulls down his underwear to reveal his own throbbing cock.

He’s painfully aroused by the looks of it and Jimin hasn’t even touched him yet.

“Can you- can you touch me a little bit first?” asks Jimin shyly as he reaches down to play with his
own neglected cock. He’s a little embarrassed to admit his desires, but Jungkook taught him to be
honest.

From the moment they met, Jungkook did everything in his power to teach him how to be honest
about what he wants. It took time. It took shame and shyness, but Jungkook supported his every
desire.

“You’ve really grown, my love,” praises Jungkook. “When we first met you never told me exactly
what you wanted.”

“I just… I wanted you to like me,” he admits.

“You want everyone to like you,” says Jungkook. He’s not being judgmental. “You just wanna
please everyone. I’m happy to see you wanting to please yourself.”

“You taught me how to,” says Jimin softly.

“And you taught me how to control my temper.” Jungkook’s fingers wrap around his neglected
cock and Jimin gasps at the sensitive touch. “Without you, I would’ve been fired a long time ago.”

“You’re a great officer.”

“With a great temper.”

He can’t argue. Jungkook’s temper is easily fueled and he knows he has been the one to keep it in
check for a long time now. Jungkook always calms down whenever he was near.

He tucks at his cock at a steady pace and it makes Jimin’s eyes roll backward in pleasure. His lips
are dry from his constant exhales of pleasure, but he doesn’t much care.

“I’m- I’m ready,” he says and reaches out to cup Jungkook’s cheeks. “Make love to me, baby.
Please.”

“Of course, my love.”

Jungkook leans down to press a kiss to the tip of Jimin’s cock before he positions himself between
Jimin’s quivering thighs and aligns his cock to his slick hole.

One quick thrust is all it takes for the air to be knocked out of Jimin’s struggling lungs. Jungkook
is gentle, he’s caring and thoughtful. He’s always the perfect lover.

“We’ve made love so many times,” says Jungkook. “So how come I can never get enough of
you?”

“It’s not just you,” replies Jimin. “Even now, with your cock inside me and your body as close to
me as it can be, I still somehow manage to miss you. Tell me how that is even possible?”

Jungkook grins smugly as if he knows the answer but doesn’t want to tell him just yet. Instead, of
answering, he leans down and captures Jimin’s lips in a bruising kiss that takes the boy’s breath
away.

He’s already struggling to breathe, Jungkook is making it almost impossible for him.

“One of these days,” mumbles Jimin. “You’re gonna kill me.”

“Probably,” says Jungkook slyly. “But I’m not letting you go alone, my love.”

“I know you won’t.”

Jungkook picks up his pace and as his breathing hitched in his throat, Jimin knows his lover is
close to his release now.

“Look at me as you come, Jungkook,” he pleads softly and steadies Jungkook’s head so they can
make eye contact. “I want you to look at me. Can you look at me?”

The boy is unable to reply, but he locks eyes with him and that’s all the confirmation Jimin needs
to feel safe and secure.

“I love looking at you, Jungkook,” he breaths quietly. “I don’t know why but I… I love looking at
you so much.”

It pulls at the corners of Jungkook’s lips. It makes him even more stunning.

With a moan of pleasure and a single escaping tear, Jungkook drowns in his own gratification. For
a single second, Jungkook has completely lost all sense of time and space. He’s lost in his orgasm
and it’s the most beautiful thing, Jimin has ever seen.

It makes his body tremble.

Without as much as a stroke, Jimin comes untouched.

His moans join Jungkook’s and together they make a unique melody no other sound can compete
with.

“I love you,” whispers Jungkook. There’s a tear trapped in the corner of his eye and Jimin watches
as it finally breaks free and rolls down his flustered cheek. “God, Jimin, I love you so much.”

“Always?”

“For the rest of my life,” he replies without a flicker of hesitation. “I will love you for the rest of
my life.”

May 10th , 2020, 10.42 pm.

The Lotus Hotel.

“Jimin?” calls Jungkook through his earpiece and he flinches at the sudden sound. “Jimin?!”

“Yes, yes, I’m here. What?”

“Nothing, just… you weren’t answering me, so I just wanted to make sure you were, you know,
okay, I guess.”

His voice slowly fades out and Jimin almost feels his chest pull a little at the softness in his tone.
He hurries to shake it off, knowing their fellow officers are not only listening in but watching as
well from the few surveillance cameras available in the ballroom.

They are already a hot topic at the station at the moment, he doesn't want to pour fuel on the fire
when he comes back to his desk on Monday.

“I’m fine, just thinking. Nothing- nothing important just-” He stops himself mid-sentence as he
spots something out of the ordinary for the first time since he arrived a few hours ago.

By the entrance to the ballroom, he spots a man who seemingly doesn’t fit in as well as everyone
else present at this gala.

He looks around the room as he continues to adjust his suit, clearly unused to the material he’s
wearing. It doesn’t look too expensive but it doesn’t look as cheap as they had profiled it to be.

He lets his eyes roam over him from head to toe, spotting the fake Rolex around his wrist and the
tiny sweat drop by his jaw that clearly indicates he’s uncomfortable. Maybe even nervous.

But that’s exactly what they believed him to be.

“I see him,” Jimin says into the microphone in his jacket and he instantly hears the sound of
movement through his earpiece, probably their coworkers joining Jungkook’s side. “He’s by the
entrance, wearing a dark grey suit and a black bowtie.”

His heartbeat speeds up in his chest and he suddenly feels a bit suffocated. The time has finally
come and he can feel his body reacting to the anxiety that shoots up like fireworks.

“What do I do?” he hisses into the microphone. “Do I just-”

“Be cautious,” Jungkook says.

“I already know that,” replies Jimin through gritted teeth. “That’s not great advice at the moment.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry, just…” Jungkook’s voice fades slightly out and Jimin’s nervousness
maximizes as Jungkook’s anxiety seems to show its true colors as well. “Sit down by the bar. You
need him to approach you.”

“How do I do that?” he asks anxiously in a hushed voice as he seats himself on the closest barstool.
“He’s so far away. How do I catch his attention?”

“Stay there for now,” says Jungkook. “He’ll go to the bar soon enough to get a drink as everyone
else has done.”

Jimin says nothing but nods regardless, hoping no one will spot his movements and find them odd.
Then he raises the champagne glass to his lips and takes another sip. He’s not much of a drinker,
never particularly liked the taste on his tongue, but right now he truly craves alcohol.

“Stop drinking!” he hears through his ear and he nearly chokes on the champagne going down his
throat. “You’re not an advanced drinker, Jimin.”

“I am at the moment,” hisses Jimin and tightens his grip around the half-filled glass. He throws a
glance over his shoulder and spots the man looking towards the bar. He hasn’t spotted Jimin yet
and he probably won’t until he gets closer.

“Turn around,” Jungkook commands into the earpiece. “He’s coming over. I’ll tell you went to turn
and look.”

Jimin followed Jungkook’s commands without question, trusting the man’s words more than
anything else.

“And be on guard. The surveillance cameras are shit here. We can’t see everything, so just… be on
your toes near him.”

Jimin nodded wordlessly as he tries stabilizing his heartbeat in his chest. It was racing out of
control.

He could feel his skin prickle with uneasiness as he waited for Jungkook’s voice to fill his ear once
again.

“He’s coming closer… closer…”

He could hardly breathe at the anticipation but forced himself to inhaled deeply repeatedly.

“In three seconds, turn to your left,” he finally hears. “He’ll approach the bar five feet from you.”

He can hear the anxiety in Jungkook’s voice as well. It shouldn’t make him feel content, but it
somehow does.

“And smile,” he adds after a beat of silence. “Smile like you did when I proposed.” His voice is so
soft as he speaks. “I need you to smile that beautifully.”
As Jungkook starts counting and he finally reaches zero, Jimin turns around just as he was
instructed to do.

His hair bounces in what he hopes is an elegant, confident way as he moves his head and within a
second, he spots their suspect by the bar five feet away.

He hasn’t been looking at him for more than a few seconds, before the man returns his gaze and
Jimin musters up the sweetest smile he can, in hopes of capturing the killer’s attention before
someone else does.

“He sees you.”

The man’s eyes roam over him for a second before they find Jimin’s again and an almost pleasant
smile spreads on his lips.

“He’s interested. Keep smiling.”

Jimin does as instructed and cocks his head to the side in what he hopes is a welcoming gesture for
the man to come closer.

“He’s coming.”

Jungkook barely finishes that sentence before the man places himself no more than a foot away
and Jimin fights down the uneasiness in his gut at the small proximity between himself and a
suspected serial killer.

“Someone like you shouldn’t be standing alone at a place like this,” the man says, his voice
surprisingly charming. “We can’t have that, now can we?”

Jimin shakes his head and offers his hand to the killer. He tries to keep his trembling at a
minimum, but the man looks too occupied with his eyes to see anything out of the ordinary.

“Lee Jimin,” he introduces himself as. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, uhm…?”

“Byun Mansoo,” the man replies. “And believe me, Jimin, the pleasure is all mine.” His name
sounds wrong on his tongue but he smiles away the uneasiness.

“Tell him you haven’t seen him here before,” Jungkook says into his ear. “Let him know you’re a
regular at places like this.”

He retracts his hand even before Mansoo lets go of it completely, but the man doesn’t seem to
mind.

“I haven’t seen you at these gala parties before,” Jimin says and tucks his hair behind his ear in an
attempt to direct the man’s gaze onto the fancy pieces of jewelry that decorate his fingers and ear.

It seems to do the trick. Mansoo eats it all up like as if he’s starving.

“Yes, well,” begins the man and Jimin prepare himself for a deeply rehearsed story he’s probably
told a hundred times. “I’ve been away on business most summers the last many years. The happiest
times of the year usually makes the clients a bit more persuasive, you see.”

He smiles self-satisfied and Jimin nods along in awe.

It’s a plausible story, he has to admit that. It sounds almost natural rolling off the man’s tongue.
“Touch him,” he hears through his earpiece and he nearly chokes on his own tongue.

“What?”

The outburst is out before Jimin could think it through and all color drains from his face as
Mansoo regards him with great confusion.

“Huh?” the man utters. He doesn’t sound as sophisticated as the previous man Jimin talked to. His
colors are showing.

“I’m just so… thrilled to finally meet a man with a great business-orientated mind,” he finally
says. He reaches out to run his fingers down the man’s arm the way Jungkook told him to. “I’m so
fed up with young boys unable to run a successful business.”

He traces the man’s arms a few more seconds with his finger before he pulls back again.

“But I see I have found the right man.”

Mansoo nods eagerly and Jimin forces out a sweet giggle.

“Good job,” praises Jungkook through the earpiece and Jimin smiles genuinely at the compliment.
“Keep it up.”

He reaches out to run his fingers up and down Mansoo’s arm again.

“He’s under the delusion that the highest elites are his equals,” says Jungkook through his
earpiece. “You have to make him think you’re a high elite, otherwise you won’t fit his deluded
fantasy.”

Jimin listens attentively to Jungkook’s words despite being well aware of this as well. All the while
he maintains the sweet smile on his lips that seems to attract the man greatly.

“It was such a hassle coming here,” says Jimin and Mansoo gives him his undivided attention.
“My driver made countless wrong turns before he found the hotel. It’s so hard finding the right
help nowadays.”

The man smiles as if he understands. Jimin knows he doesn’t.

“I drove here myself,” the man says and Jimin takes a step closer to make sure everything he says
it audible through his microphone. “I don’t trust drivers. They are all greedy parasites, sucking on
the upper class.” He sighs in disgust as if the thought alone repels him.

Jimin hopes his own disgust for the man’s words isn’t visible on his face.

“I understand,” says Jimin, though he doesn’t. “The lower class can’t be trusted so easily with
something so valuable.” Mansoo smiles satisfied at Jimin’s distasteful words and it makes him
squirm in disgust.

“Exactly. I’m so glad I met someone who understands.”

He raises his glass to cheer to that before he takes a small sip of his champagne. Jimin does the
same, tasting the lukewarm drink on his tongue. It was refreshing not long ago, but his nervous
hands must’ve heated in up in no time.

“We need more information on that car, Jimin,” says Jungkook. He sounds pushy through the
earpiece but Jimin does as his husband tells him to do.
“What do you drive? If I may ask that.” He reaches out to run his fingers up and down the man’s
arm to soften the direct question and hopefully throw off any suspicion he might have.

“I drive a Rolls-Royce Phantom,” he replies without hesitation. The self-satisfied smug that
spreads on his lips is anything but charming to Jimin, but he holds his tongue and merely nods.

“Get more out of him.”

Jungkook’s voice is urgent in his earpiece and before he can think it through, words seem to roll
off his tongue.

“And what color may that car be?” he asks and Mansoo’s expression quickly changes into a look
of confusion.

“The color?” he questions, his eyes narrow as he regards him.

“Oh, well that’s because-” He stutters slightly as his tongue seems to grow in his mouth, making it
hard to speak. “I always believe the quality of a man lies in the color of his car; you see.”

Mansoo narrows his eyes at him even more as he continues to be confused and Jimin can almost
feel himself sweat through his expensive suit.

“You see, red usually means the driver is bold and eager for attention. However, a color like grey
or white shows sophistication. And black cars make them… dangerous.”

He winks at the man to show him he means that in the filthiest way possible even if it irks him to
his core to do so.

“And if he owns any other colored car, I won’t waste my time.”

It seems to spark Mansoo’s interest even more as he steps closer and smiles brightly. Whatever he
picked up from what Jimin was putting down, he was greatly enjoying it.

“Well, then I can say with great pleasure than my car is black.” The man looks around the
ballroom for a second before he spots something interesting. “Black as that woman’s dress.”

The man points to someone at the other end of the ballroom and Jimin bends his neck to follow his
finger. It takes some time for him to spot the woman he’s talking about. She’s wearing a beautiful,
black dress that shines in the dim light of the chandeliers.

It doesn’t feel important to point out, but maybe the man is simply trying to further their
conversation.

He turns back to the man, spotting an even wider smile on his lips than before.

“Isn’t that just a stunning black?”

“Indeed,” agrees Jimin. “Very stunning.”

“I would love to show it to you.”

“I would love to see it,” says Jungkook

“I would love to see it,” Jimin repeats.

The man’s eyes glister with eagerness and it makes something cold run down Jimin’s back. It’s not
cold in the ballroom, but shivers form down his arms regardless in the presence of their suspected
killer.

“Well, let’s cheer to that,” the man says and raises his glass of champagne in the air. Jimin mimics
his movements with less enthusiasm. They clink glasses and Mansoo watches closely as Jimin puts
the glass to his lips and takes a sip.

It seems to please him that Jimin follows his wishes so easily and so fast.

Of course, they profiled him as a man in the need of a submissive partner, but seeing it up close is
a whole other thing than hearing it in a briefing.

It’s much more frightening eye to eye.

“Don’t drink anymore,” says Jungkook through his earpiece. “It’s your second glass. That’s more
than enough, Jimin.”

The man sounds annoyed but Jimin isn’t able to follow his directions this time. Mansoo appears
eager for them to finish up their drinks sooner rather than later.

“Jimin, stop drinking, for fuck sake,” hisses Jungkook into his ear. “You can’t take that much
alcohol.”

Jimin ignores him once again.

They continue to sip on their champagne and once they both finishes, Mansoo takes their empty
glasses and places them on the bar counter. They’re taken away by a waiter in no time, but neither
of them pays the employee much attention.

“My car is parked nearby,” says the man after the long silence as he narrows his eyes at Jimin.
“Would you like to go for a little drive around the city?”

He holds out his hand and even though Jimin knows he has to take it; he feels every nerve in his
body tingle with anxiety as he reaches out for it.

The man looks rather eager for him to take his hand sooner rather than later. It doesn’t match his
description. Jimin wasn’t under the impression that the killer wasn’t patient with his chosen
victims.

However, at last, he surrenders and grabs the man’s hand.

“I would love that,” he says and allows the man to guide him away. “I would love that very much
so.”

July 11th , 2018, 4.00 pm.

La Luce Myeongdong Wedding Hall.

Jimin and Jungkook get married in the summer.

It’s almost unbearably hot and Jimin blames his excessive sweating on the warmth surrounding
them. He tries to blame his trembling on the heat too, but he’s well aware of the fact that no one
believes him. Luckily, no one calls him out on it either.

He’s been pacing back and forth for more than an hour now, refusing to stop even though Seokjin
expressed countless times just how much it stressed him out.

“I can’t do this,” mumbles Jimin. “No, no, I can do this. I can do this.” He cracks his knuckles a
few times to ease the tension in his body, but it doesn’t work. “I’m wrong, I can’t do this.”

His white suit feels tight around his body and he desperately tucks at the collar to keep himself
from suffocating.

“Jimin, it’s gonna be fine,” says Namjoon calmly. “It’s just marriage.”

“You did not just say ‘it’s just marriage’,” mutters Yoongi under his breath as he rolls his eyes.

“I agree with Yoongi,” says Taehyung and looks up from his phone. “Marriage is a big deal, man.
No more hooking up. No more getting home at dawn without consequences. No more freedom.”

“Don’t agree with me,” says Yoongi curtly without looking at his fellow officer at all. “I don’t
claim you.”

Jimin hardly hears his coworkers bickering over the overwhelming sound of his own heartbeat
racing in his chest. He can almost feel it jumping into his throat and strangle him any second now.

“God, I can’t do this,” he says again. “Why did we decide to do this?”

“Because you love each other,” says Namjoon. “Very much so.”

“But I don’t love this!” he exclaims frustratedly. “This is very uncomfortable.”

His hands are trembling as they roam over his suit.

“This is- this is-”

His hands find their way to his pockets and frantically go through them. He comes to the horrifying
conclusion they’re empty.

“Oh, God,” he exclaims and it must’ve sounded more urgent than his last few outbursts because
this time he gets the whole room’s undivided attention. “Oh, God, I lost it.”

“Lost what?” Yoongi asks.

“My vows,” he replies frantically. “My- my vows. I had them in my pocket I- I know I did but
they’re-”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” tries Seokjin as he comes up in front of him and gently places his hands on
Jimin’s trembling shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

“No, no it isn’t, it’s-”

“Jimin?”
His breakdown is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of his fiancé and when Jimin spots the man
in the threshold to the room, he instantly feels an overwhelming desire to snuggle into his embrace
and forget all about the wedding there’s supposed to take place in a few minutes.

“Jungkook? What are you doing here, you’re not supposed to-”

“I heard you were freaking out.”

One look at Taehyung and they all knew who was the mole in the room. He didn’t even try to hide
it.

“I’m- I’m not freaking out I just…” He inhaled deeply as he focused solely on Jungkook in the
door. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

The room fell quiet and for a second no one said a sound.

Then everyone slowly got up from their seats and excused themselves before they hurried out of
the door and allowed Jungkook to close it shut after them.

When everyone except the grooms where out, Jungkook finally makes his way to his fiancé. He
grabs him by the shoulders and pulls him closer.

“Jimin, what’s happening?” he asks softly. “Don’t you wanna get married anymore?”

“No! I mean yes, yes I wanna get married, but-”

“But what?”

“I’m scared.”

For a second, Jungkook’s face is twisted into a look of pure puzzlement. However, no more than a
few seconds later it twists into a look of relief. He lets out a relieved chuckle and shakes his head in
amused disbelief.

“I’m scared too, my love,” he says. “I’m petrified, actually.”

Despite his words, the boy isn’t shaking at all. His hands are steady and consistent as he touches
him and his eyes don’t flicker the same way Jimin knows his own eyes do.

He looks completely calm and Jimin can’t help but be equally puzzled and envious.

“You don’t look scared.”

“I don’t?”

“No,” he says. “You look calm.”

“I look calm,” repeats Jungkook, as if he’s tasting the words and finding them humorous. “That’s
because I’m not doing this alone.”

He bops Jimin’s nose and the boy almost goes cross-eyed.

“You’ll be right next to me as I go down the aisle, and as I stop by the altar, and as I tell the whole
world I will love you till the day I die.”

The images flash before Jimin’s eyes as he pictures the whole scene playing out in front of him.
However, instead of seeing the guests, and the judge and the intimidating silence that will surround
them as he reads out his vows, he sees Jungkook.

Suddenly everything is just Jungkook.

It doesn’t feel so scary when the only thing he focuses on is Jungkook.

“Okay, I- I think I can do this.”

“I know you can do this, my love.”

Jungkook’s voice isn’t the least bit trembling as he speaks and Jimin wishes he had the same
confidence in himself as Jungkook does. If only he could see himself from Jungkook’s eyes.

“But…”

“But what, baby?”

Jimin chews on his bottom lip for a few seconds before he replies.

“I lost my vows.”

“You lost your vows?” Jimin nods shamefully. “Oh, baby, it’s just a piece of paper.”

“Yes, but it’s a piece of paper with my love for you on it.”

Jungkook grins at his fiancé’s distress and Jimin hits his chest with little to none effort.

“Don’t laugh, I’m serious, I can’t find them.”

“Then forget about them. Just…” Jungkook sneaks his arm around his waist and caresses his hip
lovingly. “Just say what comes to mind. When we stand face to face by the alter, just… say
whatever you feel.”

“Is that enough?” he asks hesitantly, but Jungkook doesn’t miss a beat as replies.

“It’s more than enough, my love,” he says. “It’s all I’ll ever need.”

May 10th , 2020, 11:34 pm.

The Lotus Hotel.

They haven’t been walking for long when he hears Jungkook’s voice in his ear again. It’s a little
hasty, but Jimin understands every word.

“Tell me where he’s taking you,” he hears through the earpiece. “Tell me something, anything,
Jimin.”

He raises his gaze to look around to spot anything he can use to make his location known, but as he
tries to read the words written on the wall and over the doors, he struggles. At first, they look
blurry and not after long, it almost feels as if they’re switching places.

He comes to the horrifying conclusion that something is very wrong.

“I- I can’t see where we’re going,” he utters as his eyelids feel heavier and heavier. “Where- where
are we going?”

The man doesn’t answer him, he merely continues to lead him away. His gaze lowers to his hand
where Mansoo is grabbing him. The man’s knuckles are white from his tight grip but Jimin can
hardly feel his touch at this point.

“Jimin, I need your location,” says Jungkook again. “I can’t see you on the cameras.” He sounds
panicky. “You need to tell me where you are!”

They continue down unfamiliar hallways and by the lack of fancy decorations, Jimin assumes
they’re now far away from the ballroom.

It frightens him.

“Where are you ta- taking me?” he tries again.

“To my car, my dear,” replies the man. “Don’t worry, everything is fine.”

They go through another door and by then, Jimin can hardly keep his eyes open. His legs are
moving without his own control and he can hardly even feel his own body.

“Jimin! Baby, please give me something!” He can hear Jungkook’s voice in his hear and sends
shivers down his spine.

“I- I don’t know where I am,” he mutters in almost incoherent words. “I don’t know…”

“Jimin, please, tell me something I need to- Jimin!”

Another door is being pushes open and Jimin feels the evening air hit him in the face. It almost
knocks him out. He doesn’t realize he’s collapsing until he feels Mansoo's arms around his waist as
he tries to support him while walking him towards a parked car nearby.

“What- what did you do to me?” he asks in a choked voice. “You… you drugged me.”

“It’s nothing harmful,” says the man softly. “But you’ll get a little hot, so we should probably get
you out of all these clothes, my dear.”

He can’t feel the man’s hands on him at all, but when he feels the wind seep through his shirt, he
realizes he has been stripped of his jacket.

“We’re coming, Jimin! Hold tight I’m- I’m coming!”

He can hear Jungkook’s panicky voice in his ear and it brings tears to his eyes. Even without being
able to see his husband, he knows what expression paints his face at this moment and it breaks his
heart.

“Hu-hurry,” he mutters. It’s only when Mansoo replies he realizes his microphone is gone too.

“Of course, my dear,” Mansoo says eagerly. “I’ll hurry as much as I can.”
 “Baby, I’m coming for you!”

Jungkook’s voice is still in his ear and it’s the only thing keeping him awake as he’s being seated
into the car and secured with a seatbelt.

“I’m coming so just- just hold on!”

His eyes well up with tears and they’re making his already blurry vision much worse. He can see
nothing as Mansoo starts the engine and drives down the street, away from the hotel.

Away from Jungkook.

“Please… please be okay.”

His husband’s quiet plea is the last thing he hears before everything goes dark.

Chapter End Notes

Thank you so much for reading!

I hope you all enjoyed it because I certainly enjoyed writing it. It was so different to
write and much darker, but I seriously had so much fun, so please let me know what
you think and please do leave kudos if you liked it!

This idea came to me at the crack of dawn and I just knew I had to write it, so here it
is. I'm far with the next chapters, so this will probably be completed soon.

Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr to stay updated on my other works as well as this
one!
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 A morning to remember
Chapter Summary

It is funny how silly it somehow seems now. Their problems felt so all-consuming and
so destructive in the moment. Right now, they feel insignificant.

Because all he truly wants in this very moment as he sits trapped in a house with a man
who can kill him is to lie in his husband’s arms. Kiss his nose. Touch his skin. Love
him endlessly.

That is all he wants.

Chapter Notes

DISCLAIMER! Be cautious when you read and stop if it makes you uncomfortable!
Remember, Jimin is in a dangerous situation and I don't want to make anyone
uncomfortable!
Pay close attention to the dates, locations, and timestamps!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

May 10th , 2020, 11.47 pm.

The Lotus Hotel.

“We’re coming, Jimin! Hold tight I’m- I’m coming!”

Jungkook is already out of his seat before he can finish his sentence. Every nerve in his body is
tingling uncomfortably but his hand is steady as he pulls his gun from his holster and leads their
team towards the front door of The Lotus Hotel.

“Baby, I’m coming for you!” he screams into his microphone, but he doesn’t get an answer this
time either.

The others aren’t moving as fast as he is, but he has no time to let them catch up to him. He kicks in
the door and races down the hallways to the ballroom they’ve been observing so closely all night.

But not close enough.

“I’m coming so just- just hold on!” he screams the words and waits with his heart in his throat for
Jimin to answer him, but the line is completely silent.

He can't hear his husband's voice.

“Please…” he begs. “Please be okay.”

He kicks down the doors once again and raises his gun as he enters the ballroom. He immediately
catches the attention of every privileged guest present. A few gasps and even a scream echos
through the large hall before everything goes quiet.

“Everyone, please, remain calm,” shouts Namjoon as the rest of the squad enters the ballroom.
“We’re from the police force. We’re here to keep you safe.”

Skepticism paints the guests’ faces, but none of them verbally argues with any of them. They
simply allow the armed police officers to roam among them as they please.

“Yoongi,” calls Namjoon as he approaches his partner. “Take five officers with you to check the
back exists. Taehyung! Gather a team and search the kitchen, bathrooms, anywhere he might have
slipped through with Jimin.”

The two officers nod in understanding and hurry to push themselves into motion and follow their
superior officer’s order.

The remaining officers are already in the middle of escorting the guests out peacefully and the
slowness of it all makes Jungkook’s skin prickle.

He doesn’t let Namjoon assign him an order before he races towards the door Jimin disappeared
through. He barely even waits for Yoongi to gather his team before he’s running towards the door.

“Jungkook!” Namjoon shouts his name and the boy halts in his movements. “I didn’t tell you to
check exists.”

“I don’t need you to,” yells Jungkook, his grip on his gun incredibly tight. “He went this way. It’s
our best bet at-”

“Let Yoongi search.”

“What? Why?”

He watches as Yoongi instructs a team of five officers to follow him and soon after, they disappear
through the door Jungkook was going for at as well.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” shouts Jungkook as he stares at his superior officer.
“Why won’t you just-”

“Because your head is in the wrong place, Jungkook. You’re not stable.”

“My husband just got kidnapped!” he screams. “And you’re ordering me to do nothing?”

“I’m just trying to make use of you in another way.”

“Why?!”

He pushes his gun back into its holster and stalks towards Namjoon with rage burning in his eyes.
The man isn’t the least bit intimidated by Jungkook’s fierce walk nor his flaming rage. He has
dealt with worse in his career.

“Go to the wan and help Seokjin search through every security camera there is. We must’ve
missed something. Help him find it.”

A few of the guests are discreetly watching the two coworkers’ heated argument even as they’re
being escorted out of the ballroom with hasty steps. However, Jungkook barely acknowledges
them at all as his focus is solely on the man keeping him away from the killer that kidnapped his
husband.

“You did this,” snares Jungkook as he steps closer to Namjoon. “You put him in danger! You knew
how dangerous this man was and you still risked it!”

Namjoon’s hardened expression doesn’t move at all even as Jungkook screams and curses at him.

“We couldn’t possibly have known this would happen. We never wanted this to-”

“He’s a killer!” screams Jungkook. “What did you think would happen?!”

Namjoon is a loss for words and Jungkook can see the slight crack in his firm expression. He’s
anxious too.

Their conversation gets interrupted as Yoongi comes up beside them and when Jungkook turns his
head towards his coworker he feels his heart stop.

“There’s no trace of where they went. We only found this.” He holds up Jimin’s jacket and
Jungkook doesn’t hesitate before he rips it from his hands. “We found it by the alleyway along
with tire tracks.”

He frantically searches through the jacket and to his horror, he finds the microphone still attached
to the inner pocket.

“Lock the place down. Get forensic to the hotel and searched it through for evidence, we need-”

“He’s already fucking gone!” screams Jungkook. “We need to get out there and search for him!”

Namjoon completely ignores Jungkook as he continues to give out orders. He doesn’t even look at
his inferior officer.

“Fucking tell them to search for him!”

Namjoon continues to ignore him completely and eventually, Jungkook snaps.

He launches at his superior officer and grabs him by his collar, pulling him forward until there was
little to no distance between their faces.

“You did this to him,” he hisses. “So you better fucking do everything you can to get him back
safely. You better-”

“Yoongi. Taehyung. Take him outside. He needs to cool off.”

Jungkook grabs Namjoon’s collar even tighter as his coworkers come up beside him and lock their
arms around his as they try to prey him off their superior officer. He puts up a fight, but at last,
they rip him away.

“You’re gonna fucking kill him!” he screams as Taehyung and Yoongi forces him out of the
ballroom and out of the hotel.

Fresh air fills his lungs, but it feels like poison trying to suffocate him. This entire party is full of
poison. Breathing doesn’t come easy to him and even as his fellow officers try their best to calm
him down, Jungkook’s rage can’t be contained.

“We’re gonna find him, Jeon,” says Yoongi and places his hand on his shoulder, but Jungkook
hardly even hears him. “We’re not gonna let this son of a bitch get away with-”
“Don’t fucking talk to me about this man!” screams Jungkook and pushes his coworker’s hand off
him. “I knew how dangerous he was and I tried to tell you but you were all too fucking busy
playing God with Jimin’s life to listen!”

“Wow, wow, hold up, Jungkook,” says Taehyung. “None of us wanted this to happen. We wanted
him safe just as much as-”

“If you wanted him safe,” interrupts Jungkook coldly. “You would’ve never sent him here to begin
with.”

May 11th , 2020, 8:23am.

Unknown location.

It’s mostly dark when Jimin finally opens his eyes.

A dim light is hanging from the ceiling. It’s dangling from side to side and the unsteadiness is
making him even more dizzy. It’s completely quiet around him but his head is buzzing like crazy.
It makes his body numb yet burning in pain at the same time.

He pats himself down frantically and realizes with a small bit of relief that he’s still wearing his
own clothes. Expect the jacket and his shoes.

He can’t spot either anywhere in the darkness of the room.

His body feels heavy as he tries to sit up and hears the haunting sound of rattling chains. He
quickly comes the horrifying conclusion that his legs a shackled. His hands tremble as he reached
down for the chains locked around his feet and follows it all the way to the hook in the floor.

The floorboards are scratched relentlessly around the hook, countless fingernails trying to scratch
themselves free of their shackles.

It makes his gut turn at the thought of all the other people who have been sitting where he’s sitting
now.

It makes his heart drop at the thought of all of them buried six feet under.

The sound of a squeaking door catches his attention and he scrambles back towards the wall. He
slams his back against it, the sound echoing through the huge, dark room.

Squeaking stairs follows and Jimin holds his breath as his kidnapper slowly makes his way down
the staircase. When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he stands still for a second, and Jimin
quivers in fear as a switched is turned on and the entire basement lights up.

He squeezes his eyes shut at the bright light and it takes him longer than he would like to get used
to the sudden change.

“I see you’re up.”

The voice is familiar, yet it sends shivers down Jimin’s back and he wraps his arms around himself
for protection. From the cold and from his kidnapper.

“I apologize for the rough treatment,” the man continues as he makes his way towards him and
squats down. “I promise, you’ll sleep in a warm, soft bed tonight. If you behave, of course.”

He reaches out his hands and runs his fingers down Jimin’s cheek. He quivers at the touch, but he
doesn’t pull away.

He knows what will anger this man. He has an advantage no one else in his position has had, and
he can’t waste it so soon.

However, he can’t stop himself from feeling disgusted with his own compliance, despite the fact
that he knows it’s his only option if he wants to live.

“How do you feel, my dear?” he asks gently as he examines his face. “Do your head hurt? That
happens sometimes.” He smiles almost too sweetly and Jimin feels his skin prickle with anxiety.

It makes him uncomfortable to receive such kindness from a man whose hands are covered in
blood.

“I’m- I’m fine,” he says. “My head isn’t… it isn’t so bad.”

He pulls back his head and the man – Mansoo – retracts his hand from his face. He keeps studying
him for a few seconds more before he cocks his head to the side and smiles. He looks so kind,
Jimin can’t help but wonder how this man is capable of killing.

“Your fever is down to,” says the man. “That’s really good.” He reaches out to run his fingertips
over his forehead for just a second before he pulls back again.

He’s being careful.

He’s being patient.

It makes Jimin uneasy.

“Where… where am I?” He pulls his knees to his chest and hugs them tightly. It hardly even
makes him feel better. “I don’t remember anything. I just… I remember going to your car but
then-”

“You are home, my dear,” interrupts the man. “Right where you should be.”

He reaches out for his hand but the second his fingertips grace his hand, Jimin pulls it away. His
mind doesn't have time to react so his body does it completely out of instinct and he knows
immediately that he has made a mistake.

Mansoo’s face twists into a look of displeasure. It’s the first time he has seen the man with such a
grim expression on his face.

“Don’t deny me,” he hisses. “I brought you here. I took care of you. You belong to me.”

In the blink of an eye, Mansoo snatches his hand, holding his wrist in a tight grip, and yanks it
towards himself, making Jimin gasp in shock. He presses Jimin’s palm to his cheek and sighs in
some sort of sick content.

Jimin’s hands are trembling, but the man doesn’t seem to mind as he leans into his unwilling touch.
His lips part and he exhale deeply as if he finds some sort of deluded pleasure in being touched like
this.

“Your hand is so soft,” he mumbles. “I’ve waited so long to touch you, Jimin. Too long.”

Unwillingly, his lips begin to quiver and his eyes well up with tears. He doesn’t want to cry. He
thought his knowledge would give him an advantage but he feels just as lost as he knows all the
others have.

It doesn’t matter who he is.

Down here, they’re all equal.

“P- please,” he begs as the first tear rolls down his cheek. “Please let me go.”

The second the words leave his lips; he knows he made a mistake. He doesn’t have to wait for
Mansoo’s expression to change before he knows that.

“I told you not to deny me,” hisses Mansoo again and squeezes Jimin’s hand hard before he
aggressively lets it go. “Why are you already disobeying me?!”

He gets to his feet quickly and the dark look that clouds his eyes makes Jimin’s heart stop beating
in his chest. His lips part and countless apologies escape his mouth, but Mansoo dismisses every
single one of them.

He’s lost in rage.

“I saved you!” he yells. “I saved you from all those people who want to use you and hurt you! Why
are you acting so ungrateful?”

Jimin flinches as the man’s raised voice and unwillingly, the tears begin to overflow. He sobs
silently as Mansoo bores his eyes into him so threateningly.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” he continues to repeat. The next apology more frantic than
the former.

Rage fades from the man’s eyes as he takes in the sight in front of him and within seconds, he
suddenly looks quite guilty, as if he didn’t mean to get so upset.

“I just…” He stumps his foot three times in the floor as he suddenly struggles with finding the right
words. “I just want you to be happy, Jimin. I want us to be happy.”

The sudden change in his captor is unsettling and he flinches as the man reaches down and cups his
cheeks. His hands aren’t rough, but it feels frightening all the same regardless.

“Can’t you see that, my dear?”

No words can get over his lips, but at last, he manages to nod his head in agreement. It sickens him
to do so, but he knows he has to. Mansoo’s expression is unreadable for a moment as he examines
his face, but at last, it twists into a look of disappointment.

“You don’t.”

It’s not a question, it’s a statement.

“N- no, I do!” Jimin frantically says as Mansoo pulls away from him. His eyes are cold and it
makes Jimin’s blood freeze in his veins. “I do! I-”

“You will,” he says, voice threateningly low. “You will see it eventually, my dear.”

He doesn’t smile, he doesn’t cock his head in a gentle manner and he doesn’t look at him with
anticipation.

Jimin can’t stop the tears from escaping and eventually, his captor has had enough. He turns on his
heel and stalks towards the stairs case and even as Jimin calls for him to not leave him alone like
this, he doesn’t stop.

“You need more time, it appears,” he says. There’s a disappointment in his voice that makes Jimin
feel unsettled, as if it’s impossible to please the man. “I’ll come back later.”

With those last words, he ascends the stairs.

And then everything turns dark again.

May 11th , 2020, 9:31 am.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

“It’s been ten hours!” Jungkook screams. “Ten fucking hours.”

His glare roams over the whole office before he directs his eyes at Namjoon by the board. He’s
standing with his back to him, ignoring his outbursts like he has been for the last ten hours.

He hasn’t talked to him at all since they got back to the station. Even though Jungkook has been
more than eager to talk to him.

“You should go home and sleep, Jungkook,” says Yoongi softly and reaches out to place a hand on
Jungkook’s shoulder, but the officer moves away before he can.

“No fucking way,” he hisses. “I’m not going anywhere while Jimin is out there with that fucking
psycho.”

His eyes are wide with fury and at this point, he’s not sure whether they’re itching because of the
rage or because of exhaustion.

“We have made no progress in ten hours,” repeats Jungkook, sounding slightly less riled up in an
attempt to get his superior officer’s attention. “We have no lead, no action, not even a simple plan.”

“We know,” mutters Taehyung in annoyance. “You’ve reminded us every two fucking minutes,
Jungkook. We know!”

“Then why isn’t anything happening!”

He stalks towards Taehyung and the boy instantly gets to his feet in an attempt to greet him on
equal terms. Both officers push their chests forward and stare at each other with frustrations and
rage visible in their eyes.

“You haven’t found anything either,” Taehyung spits at him. “So don’t act like this is all on us.”
The words strike a nerve in Jungkook and in a second, he launches forward and grabs Taehyung by
his collar.

He raises his clenched fist to hit him, but long before he can swing it, someone pulls him away.

“That’s enough!” shouts Hoseok. “This isn’t helping Jimin.”

The mention of his husband’s name cools Jungkook down and he pushes his chief off him and
straightens his uniform. He knows the man is right, be he refuses to say it.

“The reason why we haven’t found anything,” continues Hoseok. “Is because this man is that
good. He’s done this many times and he has never been caught. So stop blaming this on your
fellow officers, Jeon.”

Hoseok turns his body completely towards Jungkook and the inferior officer subconsciously takes
a step back.

“So instead of fighting the ones trying to save Jimin, work with them.”

Jungkook holds his tongue as his eyes flicker between his chief’s eyes and his fellow officers.
They’re all looking at him with such pitiful eyes and it frustrates him. He doesn’t need pity he just
needs his husband back.

“Hoseok is right,” says a voice from behind him. “We need to work together, Jungkook, so we can
get Jimin back safely.” Namjoon places his hand on the officer’s shoulder, but Jungkook doesn’t
think twice before he brushes it off.

“Don’t fucking talk to me about Jimin’s safety.” He takes a step back from his coworker and bores
his eyes into him. “He would’ve been as safe as he could be if you hadn’t sent him out there.”

Namjoon sighs deeply as if he’s disappointed in Jungkook’s continuous accusations. However, he

doesn’t push it. Instead, he steps away from Jungkook to give him more space.

“The name he gave Jimin turned out to be fake, but we’ve put out a search for the suspect's car,”
Hoseok says, though they’re all aware of it. “Hopefully, someone has seen it somewhere. We just
have to be patient.”

“Patient?” asks Jungkook mockingly. “We don’t fucking have time to be patient. Every second we
spend here doing nothing is another second Jimin spends with that creep.”

“Jungkook-”

“No.” He holds up his hand as he steps away from his coworkers. “Don’t even dare.”

His eyes roam over them all for a few more seconds before he spins on his heel and storms out of
the police station.

He can’t look at them right now.

They’re just reminding him that everything they say is true.

He isn’t any closer at finding Jimin than they are and it pains him so terribly.
It makes him feel so useless.

May 11th , 2020, 3:59pm.

Unknown location.

He doesn’t know how much times as passed when the light turns back on again. It feels like hours,
yet he won’t be surprised if it’s only been minutes.

He has lost all sense of time and space down here.

The footsteps don't feel as threatening this time. He fears his strength is already fading and his
exhaustion is hitting in.

“Hello, my dear.”

Mansoo’s voice is once again light as a feather and oddly soft. It’s nothing like the coldness he
showed him the last time he came down here.

“How are you feeling?”

He squats down in front of him once again and Jimin fights the urge to scramble away from him.
He refrains himself from showing his disgust and his fear.

“I- I’m okay,” he mumbles. His voice in involuntarily quivering, but Mansoo doesn’t seem to mind
it. Instead, he reaches out and curls a lock of Jimin’s blond hair around his index finger.

“Good, that’s good,” says his captor. He studies the lock of hair closely, almost mesmerized, as he
toys with it between his fingers.

He doesn’t talk then.

For what feels like forever, the man stays silent. His eyes roam over Jimin with immense patience
as if he has all the time in the world to study him inch by inch.

The longer the silence drags out, the more frantic Jimin feels. As if the longer the nothingness last,
the harsher the punishment will be.

He can’t take it any longer.

“I… I’m sorry.”

Mansoo’s eyes flicker to his. Something clicks in his gaze as if this was what he has been waiting
for. However, Jimin knows he’s not safe yet.

“For what?” he asks. There’s an edge to his voice that makes Jimin swallow hard. He should know
better than anyone what this man wants to hear, but as he sits in front of him like this, he suddenly
doesn’t feel so sure.
“For… for being ungrateful.” Mansoo says nothing but he urges him to go on regardless. “You-
you’re right. You saved me from them. All of those people who wants to- to use me.”

His throat chocks up but he fights away his uneasiness.

“Thank you…” he whispers. “Thank you for saving me.”

His captor’s face lights up at his gratitude and it makes Jimin feels sick all over. It makes him feel
dirty and gross to utter such words. Even as he knows he needs to, to survive, he feels repulsed
regardless.

“I knew you would understand,” he says as he gets even closer. “I knew you would see it too.”

He reaches out his hand and cups Jimin’s burning cheek. The touch makes him flinch but he soon
fights back his disgust and reacts as Mansoo wants him to.

He leans into his hand as if he seeks safety in his touch.

“So soft,” he mumbles, but it doesn’t feel as though he intends for anyone to hear it despite saying
it out loud. “No roughness, just… soft.”

He looked almost obsessed as if his smooth skin was somehow incredibly significant.

It somehow freaks him out even more than he believed it would, considering the situation he was
already in.

“Do you wanna see your new home, my dear?” he asks. “I think you’re ready.”

Jimin nods eagerly at the prospect of getting out of these chains even if the next step is unknown to
him. He knows he should fear it more than he does, but right now, he desperately just wants to get
away from this dark basement.

Mansoo reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small key. The metal shines in the dim light from
the dangling lightbulb over them as he leans closer to unlock the chains around his feet.

Once they’re opened and taken off him, Jimin stretches his legs, finally free to do so.

“Your ankles might be a little sore,” the man says. “We should probably treat them when we got
up.”

He examines Jimin’s bruised ankles for a second before he helps him to his feet. His legs are
unstable and they almost buckle as he tries to walk. Mansoo wraps his arm around his waist to
steady him, and Jimin flinches at the overwhelming touch.

He doesn’t like leaning on his captor, but he can’t walk on his own.

He’s beginning to realize this is Mansoo’s most played pawn. He makes his hostages unable to
function without him in one way or another.

The stairs turn out to be the hardest obstacle. It hurts tremendously as he takes one step at a time.
Mansoo is patient with him, but Jimin desperately just wants to reach the top so the man can
finally let go of him.

The light gets brighter and brighter as he ascends the stairs and at last, they reach the top.

A huge kitchen comes into focus and Jimin can’t hide his awe for the luxurious sight the greets
him. He knows the man holding him uncomfortably close desperately tries to fit in with the
country’s elites, but judging by the size of his house, he would’ve believed the man actually is part
of the elite.

But if he is, then why is he so unfamiliar with the lifestyle?

“Do you like it?” asks the man. His voice trembles with excitement and his eyes sparkle with
anticipation. He eagerly wants Jimin to love the house. The house he’s now told is his home.

“It’s- it’s stunning,” replies Jimin weakly. “I… love it.”

Mansoo’s eyes light up before he directs his gaze to his own house again. If Jimin doesn’t know
any better, he would be inclined to believe his captor was admiring his own house as well.

As if he isn’t so familiar with it yet.

“Let’s get you cleaned and dress, what do you say?” Mansoo is already leading him out of the
kitchen even though he said nothing in response. “I’ll show you everything later, my dear.”

Jimin doesn’t get to object. Mansoo drags him along through the house and he’s too weak to fight
his grip.

Another set of stairs come into focus and he’s forced to lean on his captor to ascend them. He feels
humiliated even though there’s no one here to watch him comply so easily. He feels like a coward,
but he knows he’s doing it to survive.

But why does survival have to leave him with such a guilty feeling in his gut?

They reach the top of the stairs and Mansoo guides him into an extravagant bedroom at the end of
the hallway. It’s mesmerizing to look at, Jimin can’t argue, but he doesn’t comment on it this time.
That’s what his captor wants and he refuses to give him the satisfaction again.

“I picked out some clothes for you. It might be a little too big, the last one he-” His sentence is cut
short as he realizes he’s said too much already. “Never mind. I’m sure it fits nicely.”

He guides him to the bed where a dress shirt, a pair of neatly folded, black pants and a set of
polished shoes have been placed. It disgusts him to know the man who wore this before him, is
now buried six feet under.

Will he follow suit?

“Let’s get you out of those filthy clothes so you can have a bath, huh, my dear?” Mansoo doesn’t
give him time to reply, or even register his intentions before he reaches out and starts unbuttoning
his dress shirt.

It makes Jimin flinch, and before he knows what he’s doing, he pushed the man off him and
stumbles back now that he is without support.

Mansoo’s eyes darken. In a matter of seconds, his expression changes and the charming man he
saw a minute ago, is nowhere to be seen.

“Why are you ruining this?” he hisses. “I told you not to deny-”

“I- I want to go slow,” Jimin interrupts with a wavering voice. “So- so many men have tried to use
me, I want to know you’re not one of them.”
The lie rolls off his tongue easily, but his eyes are screaming in fear. He hopes his captor doesn’t
notice.

“And we- we got lots of time,” he continues. “Let’s not rush. Right?”

Against his own will, he takes a step closer to his captor and reaches out to touch his arm. His hand
is shaking but the man’s eyes are glued to his so he doesn’t see.

“We got lots of time,” Mansoo repeats. “You’re right. Let’s not be too hasty, we got the rest of our
lives together.”

It makes Jimin’s heart drop to hear, but he musters up a smile regardless. His lips quiver as he
struggles with maintaining it, but it stays on none the less.

“Ye- yes,” he agrees. “The… the rest of our lives.”

Mansoo nods eagerly as if the fact that their agreeing with one another gives him indescribable
glee.

“Take a hot bath and get dressed, my dear,” he says as he grabs Jimin’s shaking hand. “I’ll prepare
dinner for us.”

Jimin doesn’t get time to prepare before he leans in and kisses him right on the lips. It’s a quick
kiss, barely last longer than a second, but Jimin feels his gut turning. He feels as though his lips are
burning as Mansoo pulls back. He admires his lips as he does so, his gaze glued to his mouth
obsessively.

“So soft,” he mutters. It once again sounds as though he is speaking to himself only, despite saying
it out loud.

At last, he pulls away, with a smile plastered on his lips, Jimin desperately tries to mimic.

“Take all the time you need, my dear. I can only imagine a nice bath will do you wonder.” He
gestures to the open door next to the bookshelf and Jimin’s eyes follow.

He nods wordlessly and starts making his way towards the bathroom. After no more than a few
steps, Jimin feels a hand curl around his bicep and he flinches as Mansoo yanks him closer to
himself.

“Don’t lock the door.”

The words are hissed in a low threatening tone and Jimin squirms under his intense gaze.

“If you do, there will be consequences.”

Jimin nods. Out of fear, out of survival, out of instinct.

Mansoo smiles in return. A wide, charming smile that makes him look nothing like the horrifying
man that possessed him merely a second ago.

“Good.” He releases Jimin’s arm and the boy hurries to step back and wrap his arms protectively
around himself. “I’ll go make us dinner. Tonight, is a special occasion after all, isn’t it, my dear?”

“It- it is,” he agrees.

He can’t even force out a smile, but Mansoo doesn’t seem to mind. He gestures for Jimin to make
his way to the bathroom and Jimin hurries to do so. He has every desire to put a door between
himself and his captor, even if he can’t lock it.

He closes the door behind him and listens for Mansoo’s footsteps to disappear before he dares even
breath. It takes a few seconds for the man to leave. He’s clearly making sure Jimin doesn’t go back
on his promise to not lock the door.

Once his footsteps disappear down the stairs, Jimin finally breaths again. His heart is racing in his
chest as he turns on the hot water and watches as the bathtub very slowly fills up with steaming
water.

He focuses completely on the gentle water circles, almost too afraid to think of anything else.

He doesn’t take off his clothes until the tube is filled and once he’s completely naked, he hurries
down into the water to hide his exposed body.

It burns his skin at first. It’s almost too painful for him to bear, but soon his body goes numb and
he barely senses anything at all.

The bathroom is completely quiet around him yet it somehow feels too large and too suffocating.
He can hardly breathe no matter how much he tries.

And at last, he can no longer hold back his tears.

They overflow quickly and he hardly has time to prepare before his body starts to jerk violently as
he tries to hold back loud sobs and excruciating cries. Once he realizes he can no longer hold them
in, he dukes under the water.

Then he lets out his cries.

Underwater, he can’t feel the tears. He can’t hear his own sobs. He can’t feel or hear anything.

He’s drowning, but for a second, he doesn’t even care.

Then Jungkook crosses his mind.

His sweet, loving husband flashes behind his eyes. His goofy smile, his dark hair, his almost
hidden moles, his twinkly eyes.

Their memories together play like a broken record inside his mind. He can’t turn it off even if he
wanted to.

But he doesn’t

It keeps him alive.

He keeps him alive.

Everything was always so effortless with them. Always so easy and so perfect.

Until it suddenly wasn’t anymore.

Suddenly they no longer kissed each other before breakfast.

Suddenly they no longer doodled silly drawings as they sat bored out of their minds at their desks
to give to each other later.
Suddenly they no longer talked together about their days, about their dreams, about their sorrows,
and about their fears.

Suddenly Jungkook no longer wanted to seek comfort in him after a hard day. Instead, he would
lock himself away or sometimes even get upset if Jimin tried to pry his feelings out of him.

Suddenly Jimin grew petty. He no longer sought out Jungkook and instead allowed him to push
him away. He grew resentful despite the fact that he was to blame as well for not just reaching out
his hand.

They would walk on glass around each other, neither one of them seeking out the other.

They were like ghosts trapped inside the same four walls.

Suddenly everything had changed, and the worst part was, that they had allowed it to happen.

Because they were stubborn, and afraid, and pushed away instead of holding on. Because they
didn’t want to admit they had been in the wrong.

All the times he trivialized Jungkook’s struggles makes his stomach turn as he thinks back on it. So
many times, did he dismiss Jungkook’s feelings because he didn’t agree with them.

It makes him sick to think about.

They made so many mistakes and over time, they couldn’t even count them all.

It is funny how silly it somehow seems now. Their problems felt so all-consuming and so
destructive in the moment.

But right now, they feel insignificant.

Because all he truly wants in this very moment as he sits trapped in a house with a man who can kill
him is to lie in his husband’s arms. Kiss his nose. Touch his skin. Love him endlessly.

That is all he wants.

That's all he wants to think about.

July 11th , 2019, 8:12 pm.

Hongdae, Seoul.

Jimin and Jungkook’s first anniversary goes as planned.

The restaurant has been perfect. The smiles, the kisses, and the loving touches have been perfect.
The romantic stroll from the restaurant to their house has been perfect.

Everything has just been perfect.

Jimin only has one more thing on his well-thought-out plan for their special night.

“Did you lock the door?” asks Jimin as he strips off his jacket and kicks off his shoes in the
hallway before he makes his way to the kitchen. “You have a tendency to forget sometimes, which
is odd, considering you’re supposed to be a police officer.”

“Supposed to be?” questions Jungkook amusedly as he locks the door behind them and Jimin hears
the comforting click of security. “I am a police officer, my love. One of the best, no less.”

“Who told you that?” teases Jimin as his husband comes closer and sneaks his arms around his
waist. “Seokjin? Don’t listen to him, he says that to everyone.”

“Ouch,” says Jungkook, though he’s not the least bit bothered by the words. “Kicking a man on his
anniversary? That’s mean, baby.” He leans down and attaches his lips to Jimin’s throat, sucking
dark bruises onto his skin.

“I enjoy teasing you.”

He leans back his head to give his husband’s better access to his throat and Jungkook seems to
grow eager. He presses his body against Jimin’s, causing the latter to be pushed up against their
dinner table, the edges pressing into the back of his thighs, making it impossible for him to get
away.

“It’s been a lovely night, my love,” mumbles Jungkook against his throat, his lips tracing his skin
as he speaks. “The best anniversary I could ever ask for.”

Jimin can feel his husband’s goofy smile against his throat and it makes his stomach flutter with a
million butterflies.

Even after a whole year, he is still deeply, madly, indescribably in love with his husband.

“The night isn’t over,” says Jimin. “I still have one more thing planned for tonight.”

“You do? What is it?”

Jungkook’s eyes roam over his face, flickering over ever twitch and every line as he tries to figure
out what his husband is thinking.

“This way.” He grabs Jungkook’s hand and the boy lets him without complains, obviously very
curious.

He guides his husband through their small house, his steps slow and determined yet purposely
mischievous just to tease his husband a little bit. However, the anticipation doesn’t last long and
eventually, they find themselves in front of their closed bedroom door.

Without a word, he pushes the door open and pulls Jungkook along into the bedroom.

The curtains are pulled down, leaving the entire room without any of the evening light from
outside. The only light that illuminates the room, is the countless candles that occupies every
visible surface.

The bed is neatly made and overflowing with rose petals, the freshly plucked flowers shining in the
dim light.

“You…” Jungkook’s gaze roam over their bedroom as if it’s the first time he’s ever been in here.
His lips are parted and his eyes are wide with what Jimin hopes is awe.

“I did,” says Jimin. “And don’t worry, the candles are all battery-driven. We’re not risking burning
down the house tonight.” He reaches out for one of the fake candles on their dresser and waves it in
the air to demonstrate.

“When did you-”

“Before you picked me up for dinner.” He puts down the battery-driven candle and instead reaches
out for Jungkook’s hand, guiding him towards the bed with slow steps.

“The candles have been turned on for that long? That’s a waste of batteries, my love.”

“Hey, don’t ruin it,” whines Jimin as he pushes his husband onto the bed and climbs on top of him,
straddling his lap with a knee on either side of him. “I put a lot of effort into this.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” apologizes his husband, but he doesn’t sound very sincere. More amused than
anything. “You know I’m very eco-friendly these days, I can’t help it.”

“Well, try a little harder,” pouts Jimin and hits his husband’s chest with weak punches. “You’re
ruining the mood.”

He pulls back, with no intentions of actually going anywhere, but Jungkook reaches out for his
wrists before he can move too much. He pulls him down, close enough for Jimin to feel his
husband’s breath ghost over his nose and for his heart to beat a little faster.

“I’m sorry,” whispers Jungkook. “Show me what you have in mind, my love. Show me
everything.”

He raises his head just a bit from the softness of the bed to reach Jimin’s plump lips. Jungkook
kisses him gently, his lips moving against Jimin’s slowly as if he’s painting his next masterpiece
on his mouth.

It sends chills down Jimin’s spine and makes his body tickle with anticipation.

“I have something… I wanna try,” he says hesitantly. “Will you trust me?”

Jungkook quirks his eyebrow in puzzlement, but there’s no doubt on his face as he nods. There’s
no hesitation or uncertainty in his eyes. He trusts him wholeheartedly.

Jimin climbs off his husband and instead crawls along the bed towards the nightstand and pulls out
the top drawer. He grabs the black piece of silk from the bottom drawer before he crawls back to
Jungkook.

He fidgets with the black silk in his hand as he shows it off to his husband, the boy cocking his
head to the side to see what it is. He can't help but blush as he waits for his husband's reaction.

“You wanna be blindfolded?” Jungkook asks. There’s an edge of surprise, yet excitement in his
voice as he speaks and it makes Jimin’s heart beat faster.

“No, I… I wanna blindfold you.”

He climbs on top of his husband once again and the boy observes his every move. He reaches out
to place his hands on Jimin’s hip to help steady him on his lap as he makes himself comfortable.
Even in a state of puzzlement, Jungkook always takes good care of him.
“Can I blindfold you, Jungkook? Would you… would you like that?”

He holds up the black piece of silk, but Jungkook doesn’t even look at it. His eyes are solely on
Jimin’s.

“Yes,” he replies, his lips barely moving as he speaks. “I would like that very much, baby.” He
reaches out and for Jimin’s hands and helps him guide the blindfold towards his face. Jungkook’s
breath is shaky with anticipation as Jimin wraps the black piece of silk around his eyes and tightens
it behind his head in a neat bow.

He can already feel his husband react to the loss of one of his senses. However, he doesn’t look
scared of the sudden change. Instead, there’s a smile in the corner of his lips as he lies back down
on the bed. He's excited.

“I’m all yours,” Jungkook whispers, his voice shaky. “All yours, my love.”

“I’ll take good care of you.”

“I know you will.”

With gentle movements, Jimin grabs the edges of Jungkook’s shirt and slowly pulls it up, revealing
his stomach a few inches at a time. He kisses his skin softly, trailing kisses up his body as he
slowly pulls the shirt over his head and completely off him.

Jungkook’s chest rises and falls quickly and Jimin can feel his own eagerness as he sees just how
much his husband is anticipating his every touch. He tries to tease him. Placing kisses to spots on
his body where he knows he’s ticklish. Licking spots on his throat he knows makes him squirm.

It’s a surprise to him to realize just how much he enjoys having his husband blindfolded and
sprawled out on the bed under him like this. It gives him a huge amount of satisfaction.

“Happy anniversary, baby,” whispers Jimin into his husband’s ear before he presses a kiss to his
cheek. “The first of many. So, so many.”

“So, so many,” repeats Jungkook without a flicker of hesitation in his voice.

With teasing touches, Jimin works his way down his husband’s body. He kisses his throat, licks
over his nipple, sucks at the soft skin right over the edge of his pants. It makes Jungkook moan and
squirm under him.

At last, he pulls down Jungkook’s pants as well as his underwear and leaves him completely
exposed on the bed. The cold air in the room sends goosebumps down his husband’s body, but he
doesn’t seem to mind it at all. Maybe he doesn’t even feel it.

Jungkook’s cock is already hard even before Jimin puts his hands around him. He leans down and
wraps his lips around the head of his member, making Jungkook gasp for air and squirm with
pleasure.

“Go- God, Jimin, you’re killing me here. Fuck, it feels amazing, my love.”

The praise brings a smile to Jimin’s lips, but he says nothing as he eagerly bops his head up and
down on Jungkook’s hard cock. He gags several times as he tries to swallow down his entire
length, and it seems to drive Jungkook absolutely crazy.

“I’m gonna ride you. Can I ride you?”

He doesn’t have to wait long before Jungkook nods his head desperately; eager to feel Jimin
around him.

“Yes. Fuck yes, baby.”

Jungkook’s voice is almost trembling with excitement and it makes Jimin’s whole body tinkle with
euphoria. He can’t describe the satisfaction it gives him to see his husband so eager for him.
Jungkook’s desire is driving him crazy.

“Okay, baby, give me a second. I need to prep myself.” He crawls off Jungkook’s naked body and
hurries to their nightstand to get the lube. It’s nearly empty as he pulls it out of the drawer, but
there’s enough for tonight.

He throws the bottle on the bed next to Jungkook before he hastily starts stripping down. He has to
admit it’s not as satisfying undressing when Jungkook’s hungry eyes can’t watch him. It's a little
disappointing in the moment.

“Come here,” says Jungkook and gestures for Jimin to get back on his lap. “I wanna touch you so
bad, my love. Let me touch.”

Jimin doesn’t deny his husband. He kicks off his pants and once he’s completely naked, he crawls
back on Jungkook’s lap, rubbing his bare ass against his husband’s throbbing cock.

His own hard cock is slapping against his lower stomach as he adjusts his seat on Jungkook’s lap,
his husband’s hands running all over his body. It's incredibly exhilarating to feel Jungkook's hot
fingers trace his body, but he can't help the impatience that washes over him. His patience is slowly
wearing thin. He wants to feel his husband inside him sooner rather than later.

“I’m gonna- I’m gonna prep myself now, Jungkook,” he whispers.

The lube lies close by and it takes him no time to coat his fingers in a generous amount of the
sticky liquid. Finding the right position turns out to be harder than he believed. He has to arch his
back in an uncomfortable way in order to slip the first finger in.

He hardly feels the stretch and soon after, a second and third finger follows. Several moans fall
from his lips as he fingers himself open and judging, by the way, Jungkook’s cock twitches, he
enjoys the sound very much so.

“You’re doing so well, my love.”

“You can’t even see me.”

“I don’t have to,” argues Jungkook. “I know you.”

It makes Jimin’s face flush red to hear Jungkook talk so lovingly and at last, he loses his patience.
He pulls out his slick fingers and instead grabs onto Jungkook’s twitching cock. He rubs his lube
covered hand all over him, making him slick and prepared.

“Are you ready?” he asks. “Because I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

“I’m ready,” replies Jungkook. “I’m so ready, baby.”

With eager movements, Jimin takes ahold of Jungkook’s throbbing cock and places the tip of it to
his slick hole. He sits down slowly, taking Jungkook’s cock one inch at a time until there’s nothing
left.
Their moans sync up as Jimin slowly starts rolling his hips. He throws his head back as pleasure
builds up inside of him and makes him pick up pace subconsciously.

His nails scrape along Jungkook’s chest and it seems to arouse to boy relentlessly. Jungkook’s
hands wrap around his wrists and with a hard pull, he yanks Jimin down to him. He swallows down
Jimin’s countless moans as he kisses him hungrily.

Their tongues move in perfect sync with each other and their teeth click together every once in a
while, their lust getting the better of them.

“I can’t- I- I’m gonna-”

“Kiss me… kiss me as you come,” pleas Jimin.

Jungkook complies without hesitation. He sneaks his hand around Jimin’s sweaty neck and pulls
his lips onto his own. The fabric of the blindfold tickles Jimin’s nose as they kiss. It’s a feeling he
has never experienced before, but he finds himself enjoying it very much so.

He picks up pace as he rolls his hips over Jungkook’s cock, eager for his husband to reach orgasm.
He feels Jungkook thrust up into him and it makes him gasp for air as the boy’s member hits from
just the right angle, making him cry out in pleasure.

“Shi- shit, Jungkook.”

“I know, my love, I’m- shit!”

With a last cry, Jungkook’s whole body spasm under him as he finally sees stars. With twitching
movements and shaky gasps, Jungkook comes inside of him. His lips parts as he rides out his
pleasure, but no sound leaves him.

His delirious state doesn't last long. His breathing is still uneven and his chest rises and falls rapidly
as he desperately tries to fill his lungs again, but at last he succeeds.

“Was it good, baby?” Jimin asks. His hips still rolling against Jungkook's crotch, but in a much
more soothing manner. Mostly, he’s doing it because it makes himself feel good.

“It was amazing, my love,” says Jungkook as he reaches up to pull off the blindfold. He throws it
on the bed next to him in favor of stretching out his arm and cup Jimin’s flushed cheek. “You blew
my mind.”

Jimin blushes at the compliment as he leans down just enough for his cock to rub against
Jungkook’s stomach. While the small movements on his neglected cock feels good, it’s not enough
for him. Eventually, he reaches down his hand and starts jerking himself off with eager
movements.

“Are you close?” Jungkook asks as he caressed his flushed cheek with his thumb. It's quite an
innocent touch that hardly corresponds with what they're during.

“Ye- yes, I’m- I’m very close.”

“Do you want me to pull out so you can-”

“No.” Jimin cuts him off before he can finish his sentence. “I wanna feel you inside of me when I-
when I come.”
Jungkook says nothing. Instead, he reaches out for his husband and lets his hand run all over
Jimin’s hot, sweaty body in a soothing manner as he jerks himself to orgasm.

It doesn’t take long with his husband’s touch all over him. It fuels his lust and his desire and makes
it almost impossible for him to not feel delirious. Time and space seems to disappear from existing
around him.

With one last cry of pleasure, Jimin finally comes. It's almost embarrassing loud, but in his state of
pure bliss, he hardly even acknowledge it.

Jungkook’s stomach is covered in cum when he finally pulls back again and the obscene sight
makes his cheek flush in embarrassment. He’s made quite the mess.

“Can you… hand me some paper towels?” he asks shyly and Jungkook grins at his childlike
behavior before he reaches out for the paper roll in his nightstand.

“Getting me all dirty, I see,” he teases as he hands him the paper towels and Jimin hastily starts
cleaning up his own mess. “Hey, it’s okay, my love, I don’t mind.”

Instead of letting him finish, Jungkook reaches out for his wrists and pulls him off himself and
down on the bed next to him. It’s almost embarrassing how fast Jungkook’s missing cock inside of
him makes him feel disappointingly empty.

“Thank you for a great anniversary,” says Jungkook as he pulls his husband into his arms and
presses a kiss to his forehead. “I don’t know how I’m gonna top that next year.”

“It’s simple,” says Jimin and perks his lips in a teasing manner. “You can’t.”

“You think you’re the only one who can plan this great of an anniversary?”

“Of course, not,” replies Jimin. “But you can’t.”

He hardly has time to prepare before Jungkook reaches down and pinches him in the side, making
him squirm and giggle at the ticklish touch.

“At least I don’t wake up the whole neighborhood when I orgasm,” retaliates Jungkook. “You’re
getting louder and louder.” Pink paints Jimin’s cheeks at Jungkook’s shameless words and he
buries his head in his husband’s chest.

“It wasn't that loud,” he defends. “I just… I can’t help it when I’m with you.”

“Oh, baby, you’re just too adorable.”

“At least, we live alone,” Jimin says. “We’re not in danger of waking anyone up so we can be as
loud as we want.”

He snuggles closer to his husband on the bed, trying his hardest to become one with him. Their
sweaty bodies rub against each other and Jimin can feel the stray rose petals caress his skin as he
moves around.

Silence fills the dim lighted bedroom peacefully. The dozen battery-driven candles give off a cozy
vibe and the countless rose petals make it all the more romantic.

He can’t say he’s not proud of the work he put into this special night.

He can’t say he doesn’t dread cleaning it all up again.

“Jungkook?” He tilts his head to get a better look at his husband from his awkward angle next to
him. “You’re awfully quiet. What are you-”

“What if we weren’t alone here?”

The sudden question makes Jimin furrow his eyebrows in confusion and he nearly break his neck
trying to catch his husband’s gaze. Jungkook seems to be avoiding his eyes, however. He knows
his husband has no malice intentions, but it sparks his curiosity tremendously.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” The boy pauses for a second before he bends his neck and looks down at him, his eyes
soft as he regards him. “I mean what if there was someone else here? Someone little. Someone we
can read bedtime stories to and buy adorable mini shoes for and-”

“You mean a child?”

The room falls into complete silence for a few moments. Jimin’s heart is racing in his chest as he
waits for Jungkook to confirm his words.

He’s surprised when he realizes he hopes he does.

“Yeah,” Jungkook replies at last. “What if we had a child?”

“You wanna adopt?”

“I do.”

Jungkook suddenly seems much more eager as he pulls Jimin into a sitting position so they can get
a proper look at each other. There’s a flame in his eyes Jimin hasn’t seen before. He wonders how
long that fire as been burning inside his husband without his knowledge.

“I have great savings and I know you have as well. I mean, we didn’t use much on this worn-down
home of ours. And I know there are tons of adoption agencies out there we could-”

“You’re really serious.”

There’s not a flicker of hesitation in Jungkook’s eyes as he nods.

“I am,” he says softly. “I’m really serious.”

He reaches out to cup Jimin’s cheeks in his hand, letting his thumbs caress his flushed skin
soothingly as he smiles at him so lovingly it makes his heart flutter in his chest.

“I wanna be a parent, my love. I wanna be a parent with you,” he says. “Because I know we’ll be
fucking good at it. Together.”

May 11th , 2020, 4:34pm.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

The briefing room is overrun.

Every officer on duty is currently occupying the small space, listening attentively as Namjoon and
Hoseok paint a picture of everything they have on their killer so far.

There’s a clear tension in the air that isn’t usually there.

Everything is always different when it’s one of their own whose life is on the line.

“We’ve run the name through our database but no match has come up. He most likely gave Jimin a
fake name, so we have no leads so far regarding his identity.”

It hadn’t surprised Jungkook when the name leads them nowhere, but he would be lying if he
didn’t say it felt like a hit to his stomach to still be so much in the dark about their killer.

“What our unsub is looking for, is a partner,” says Namjoon. “He’s looking for a romantic partner
he fully believes is his equal. As long as he believes Jimin is a high-class elite, he won’t kill him.”

Jungkook’s heart is racing in his chest at the words. He knows Jimin is smart, but this man is
smart as well, and once he sees through the lies, he won’t hesitate to kill him.

“So far, he’s kept his hostages for more than two days, but less than three,” continues Hoseok as he
draws a timeline on the board and places the killer's previous victims’ time of death somewhere on
it. “Either the fantasy cracked on day two, or his hostages haven’t been able to make it through
longer than that.”

Based on the profile they’ve made on him, Jungkook is certain it’s the latter rather than the former.
He tries to convince himself it’s not just wishful thinking, but as the hours pass by him, he has
gotten more and more unsure of everything they know about their killer.

“Jimin knows this,” says Namjoon and Jungkook snaps his head up to look at him. He makes eye
contact with his superior officer as he continues to speak. “He knows this man’s triggers as much
as we do. He knows what to do to keep himself alive.”

Jungkook doesn’t doubt his husband’s brilliant mind. He knows Jimin is highly intelligent and it
will certainly buy him a lot of time.

But this isn’t a difficult assignment or a puzzle to solve.

This is life and death, and he fears the danger will break him.

“We need a team to go over his dump sites and his pickup sites. There must be a connection
between them all that we have missed. Some overlapping lines between it all,” says Hoseok. He
nods his head in Yoongi’s direction and the officer doesn’t hesitate before he calls on his squad
and they exit the briefing room.

Jungkook’s eyes follow him as he debates whether he should follow.

Eventually he decides against it.

He’s better at using his muscles than he is at using his head. Countless numbers, locations and
crime scene photos are the last things he need right now.

“We need to keep taps on the search for the car and we need to gather every employee from last
night. One of them must’ve seen something.” Hoseok’s nods his head again and a few officers get
up from their seats and follow each other out of the room at their chief’s command.

He feels eyes on him and when he turns his head, he spots Taehyung a few tables away. The boy
isn’t looking at him with the same cocky eyes and the same smug smile as he usually is. He’s quite
certain he has never seen his coworker look at him like this in all the time he has known him.

Since he started working at the station, the other boy has seen him as a rival, a competition. He was
hired no less than a month after him and they have both graduated from the academy with flying
colors.

The comparison between them soon turned sour, but Jungkook would lie if he said Taehyung’s
presence at the agency didn’t motivate him to do a better job.

It some way he should be grateful to him for pushing him so hard.

Judging by the way, the other officer regards him, he gets the sense the feeling is very much
mutual.

“Jungkook.”

A body places itself in his line of vision and when Jungkook raises his gaze, he sees Seokjin
looking down at him. The corners of his lips are slightly curled upwards in what Jungkook
presumes should be an encouraging smile.

It doesn’t, however, help at all.

“What?”

“You’re coming with me,” says Seokjin. “We’re gonna talk with the employees together.”

“What? Why me?”

“Because Hoseok said you need to do make you useful if we wanna keep you from blowing up
again,” says Seokjin. He doesn’t bother concealing the truth. “So we’re making you useful. Let’s
go.”

Seokjin gestures for him to follow him, but he walks away long before Jungkook can even get out
of his seat. He doesn’t wait for him but merely expects Jungkook will follow him eventually.

And he is right.

Where else is he supposed to go anyway?

May 11th , 2020, 7:09pm.

Unknown location.
Mansoo comes to get him once dinner is ready.

The door has been locked ever since he came out of the bathroom and the quietness it gave him is
interrupted abruptly when Mansoo unlocks the door with harsh movements.

He jumps to his feet and scrambles towards the wall as he watches the door being pushed open. His
heart is in his throat as his captor comes into view and he fights his urge to flee. To run to the
bathroom and lock the door because at least then he would have a few seconds of security.

Until hell would break loose on him.

“Dinner is ready, my dear.”

He’s smiling as he steps closer to Jimin. But he stops a few feet away from him before he holds out
his hand for him to take. He wants him to follow willingly. He foolishly believes he’s actually
giving his hostage a choice.

Jimin could never refuse him. He’s not here out of his free will.

Somehow, it feels as though his captor doesn’t understand that.

“O- okay,” replies Jimin quietly before he steps closer and places his hand in Mansoo’s. "I'm
ready."

The man holds his hand tightly. As they exit the stairs and reach the kitchen, he squeezes
repeatedly just to tell him he can’t let go. He’s trapped.

The kitchen is mostly illuminated in darkness. The only light he can see is from the evening sun
and a dozen lit candles placed all over the dining table and the kitchen counters.

It looks extravagant.

“Isn’t this just romantic, my dear? Doesn’t it just make your heart flutter?” He sounds almost
childish. He sounds immature and juvenile as he seeks Jimin’s approval like this. It makes him
even more unsure of what to expect from him.

“Yes… very much so,” he replies. He can feel a lump in his throat and tries to fight it down as
Mansoo guides him to one of the two chairs by the long dining table and seats him with rough
hands. He squirms in his seat, but he remains still regardless.

“I hope you like steak,” Mansoo says as he seats himself on the chair at the other end of the table.

“I do.”

“Good. Good.” Mansoo nods his head, pleased with Jimin’s answer. “A steak is a luxury, isn’t it?
Not everyone can just obtain something as expensive as this.”

Praise. Awe. Admiration.

He constantly seeks it and Jimin’s not sure how much longer he can keep pretending when the eyes
that regard him are so shifting and unpredictable.

Mansoo picks up his utensils and starts cutting his way through the meat. His movements are
impatient, but his expression is calm.

“I hope you like it medium-rare,” he continues. “That’s only way to eat it, is it not?”
“It- it is,” Jimin replies. He follows Mansoo movements and picks up his own utensils but he
shakes too much for him to cut his steak properly.

His captor’s eyes follow his every shake and every twitch. He can’t read his gaze and it unsettles
him. It makes it hard for him to play into his hands and he needs to play into his hands if he wants
to live.

The pieces he cuts his steak into are deformed yet he forces them down his throat regardless of the
nausea it gives him.

“So, Jimin.”

It’s the first time he calls him by his name since he got here. He furrows his brows in puzzlement
because the man’s attitude towards him just change again, but this time he doesn’t know why at
all.

“Tell me about your father.”

“My- my father?”

“Yes, well, you’re mine now, shouldn’t I know such things about you?”

His lips part in confusion. It’s not a question he would’ve believed he would ask. He doesn’t
understand why he would care about his father.

“My father he… he is a busy man,” he begins. “Works hard to maintain his status. He-”

“Does he love you?”

Jimin blinks perplexed at the question.

His captor’s eyes are eager. There’s a desperation to him he hasn’t seen before and Jimin gets the
feeling this question could potentially kill him if he got it wrong.

So what does he want to hear?

“Lo- love me?”

“Yes,” the man confirms. “Does he love you.”

“I- I think so. Maybe.”

“You think?” There’s a sparkle of curiosity, but not disappointment in his eyes. He’s eager to learn
more.

Jimin wets his lips and inhales deeply as he adjusts himself in his seat. He was never much of an
actor. He was never great at lying. Everyone could always see right through him because lying
made him unsettled and he could never hide that.

But he needs to lie to survive. And he needs to get away with it.

“He… he hardly acknowledges me,” he says. “Sometimes… sometimes I’m not sure he even cares
for me.”

His words make Mansoo smile. It’s discreet, his lips barely curl upwards, but his eyes are glowing.
Whatever he’s hearing in his words, he likes it.
“What about your mother?” he asks. “She takes care of you, right?”

“Ye- yes. She’s good to me. Really good to me,” he replies. “She loves me very much. When he
couldn’t.”

His captor looks pleased and Jimin’s lips stretch into the first almost genuine smile since he woke
up in the basement.

“My mother is a saint,” says the man. He looks nostalgic as he does so. “She loves me. She loved
me enough for two.”

He cuts a piece of his steak and stuffs it in his mouth. He chews sloppily and sometimes he even
parts his lips as well. He’s a messy eater, not at all as sophisticated as he wants all of his hostages
to believe.

“You see, my father didn’t want to be a father. He didn’t have time for that.”

Resentment lies under his words, but not as much as Jimin would’ve believed. This man kills
people who deny him. His father was probably the first one to do so, yet he doesn’t resent him as
much as he should.

“So my mother had to raise me alone.”

“She did a- a good job,” says Jimin, voice quivering, but Mansoo doesn't register that. He smiles
pleased instead.

“She did indeed. Without his help or his money.” His eyes darken. “But I deserved more. It
should’ve been mine a long time ago.”

He raises his hands in the air and gestures to everything around him.

“You see, this was all his. My father lived here in luxury. I never got anything from him.” He
reaches out for the filled wine glass in front of him and empties half of it down his throat. “But
then he died and it all became mine. Finally.”

It clicks then.

Mansoo’s need for the elite’s acceptance. For their approval that he is one of them. He’s delusional
because he believes it is owed to him.

He thinks he’s one of them now because he inherited his father’s world. But he doesn’t belong in
it, and he knows it.

One cannot be a pianist just because they own a piano.

He doesn’t understand that.

“You deserve it,” says Jimin. “Your father he… he was wrong to neglect you. This is all yours
too.”

The man’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights and his lips stretched into a wide, childlike grin.

“Exactly!” he exclaims. “You understand. I knew you would understand me.”

He reaches out for his wine glass again before he pushes back his chair and gets to his feet. Jimin
holds his breath as the man stalks towards him with long steps. He looks determined and it’s
terrifying.

At last, he stops in front of him, pulls out the chair on Jimin’s right side and seats himself.

“You see?” he says excitedly. “We’re the same. We’re compatible.”

He takes a sip of his red win before he places in on the table and instead scooched even closer. He
doesn’t yet touch him, but Jimin can see the eagerness in his eyes to do so.

“You’re not like the others,” he mumbles. “You’re so much better. You’re perfect.”

“Others? What others?”

“No one. They’re not important.”

He knows they’re not anymore. They’re dead.

His captor reaches out for his hands and pulls it closer to himself. The grip around his wrist it tight
and Jimin doubt he would be able to shake him off even if he tried.

He doesn’t dare, however.

“You’ve behaved so well today, my dear,” the man says and tightens his hold around his wrist. “I
think you’ve earned a night in a warm bed.”

The gift he’s granting him is giving him no relief and the uneasiness must’ve been visible on his
face because Mansoo chuckles at his reaction.

“No worries, my dear,” he says soothingly. “Tonight, I will be satisfied with simply holding you in
my arms. You said it yourself. We have all the time in the world to be together. Right?”

May 12th , 2020, 11:10am.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

As the last employee from the party leaves the station, Jungkook no longer feels anything.

Fifteen hours had they spend interviewing every possible witness they could find from that night,
searching every inch the killer might’ve walked, and checking every possible security camera, yet
nothing sustainable had they been given.

It’s day two and they’re no closer.

Inconsistent descriptions of his appearance and inconsistent versions of the night echo in
Jungkook’s mind at it won’t shut up.

“Shit,” curses Yoongi as he collapses in his desk chair after escorting the last waitress from the
party out. “How can none of them notice anything?”
“Because they weren’t paying attention to anything out of the ordinary,” says Jungkook. “We
should’ve alerted the staff. We should’ve told them about a possible killer.”

“That would’ve only spread chaos,” argues Yoongi. “They would be suspicious and possibly scare
him away all together.”

“That would’ve been better,” mutters Jungkook as he gets op from his seat. “At least then, Jimin
would still be safe.”

He stuffs his hands down his pockets and hastily makes his way out of the office and down the
deserted halls. He keeps walking until he reaches one of their old interrogation rooms.

He knows no one will bother him here.

He closes the door shut behind him and collapses against the walls within a second. His legs can’t
keep him up anymore. He’s exhausted and tired. And with no leads or clues, there’s nothing
keeping him motivated to stay standing.

The rage that has occupied his body in the last thirty-four hours has oozed out of him and he’s left
with an unbearable feeling of defeat.

As if his body is slowly surrounding.

It crushes him to admit that.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Jungkook raises his head to spot Namjoon standing in the threshold, looking down at him. He can’t
read his eyes, but he doesn’t have the energy to try either.

“Leave me alone,” he mumbles before he lowers his gaze again.

“No.”

With a soft click, Namjoon closes the door behind him and soon joins Jungkook on the floor. He
seats himself with a reasonable distance between them. Not too big to feel odd, but not too small to
feel awkward.

Jungkook doesn’t bother arguing with his superior officer in an attempt to get him to leave. He
knows Namjoon won’t back down once he’s set his mind to something.

They sit in silence. It isn’t as awkward as Jungkook has always believed it would be between them
if they were ever alone like this.

Strangely enough, it feels almost calming. Namjoon's breathing is slow and steady.
Subconsciously, he mimics his coworkers inhales and exhales until he almost feels calm again.

“I’m- I’m sorry I yelled at you,” he finally says. He hadn’t been aware of how guilty he had really
been about his outburst on his superior officer until the rage had left his body. “It was out of line
and… if you wanna suspend me or some shit, I understand.”

“Jungkook-”

“After we find Jimin,” says Jungkook firmly as he cuts Namjoon’s sentence off. “I’m not going
anywhere before we found him.”
Namjoon sighs amusedly, probably not surprised to hear his coworker so firm on his demands.

“I won’t suspend you,” he says. “If anyone should be suspended it should be… it should be me.”

Jungkook turns his head in Namjoon’s direction but his fellow officer doesn’t return his gaze.
Instead, Namjoon pulls his knees to his chest in an almost childish manner.

Jungkook has never seen the man look so stripped of his authority before.

“You’re right, Jungkook. It is my fault. I sent him on this mission. I might not have been alone to
decide it, but I was the one planting the idea in everyone’s head.”

There is a wavering edge to his voice that isn’t the least bit familiar to Jungkook. It leaves him
strangely unsettled somehow.

“It’s messing with my focus, it’s-” He cuts himself short as he sighs defeatedly before he continues
reluctantly. “It’s eating me alive to know I caused this.”

He raises his hands to his head and with trembling motions, he runs his fingers through his messy,
blond hair.

Jungkook has never seen him so vulnerable before.

“Don’t- don’t do that to yourself, Namjoon,” says Jungkook and leans his head back against the
wall. “Don’t blame everything on yourself.”

“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing?” he asks. “Blaming it all on me?”

Jungkook doesn’t bother deny it. He nods his head in agreement and Namjoon doesn’t look too
surprised either by his honesty. They have never been particularly close, but they have always been
honest with one another. There's too much mutual respect between despite the fact that neither of
them would ever verbally say so.

“I did,” he admitted. “I blamed everything on you because… because that’s easier than blaming
myself.”

“You have no need to,” says Namjoon. “You weren’t the one who suggested he-”

“No, but I’m not finding him either,” interrupts Jungkook frantically. “Every second I spent not
getting closer to him, is another second that man tortures him.”

“Jungkook-”

“I know it doesn’t make sense but…”

He presses the heels of his palms into his eye sockets until he sees stars. It's mildly unpleasant, but
he hasn't felt remotely comfortable in the last many hours regardless.

“I feel like I’m helping him,” he says disgustedly. “By not saving Jimin, I feel- I feel like an
accomplice. I feel like I’m helping the killer get away.”

He groans in frustration over his own conflicted mind and his own messed up sense of guilt he
knows doesn’t really make sense, but still feels so real to him.

“It sickens me to my core and it… it keeps awake.” He lets his hands fall to his side as he gently
knocks the back of his head against the wall. “I can’t get myself to go back to our apartment.”
Familiar images flash behind his eyes, but instead of making him smile, it makes his stomach turn.

“I can’t go back there because it’ll only remind me that Jimin isn’t there.”

He turns his head in Namjoon’s direction and with one glance, he knows the man understands. The
sunken eyes and dark circles on Namjoon’s face surely look exactly like his own.

It doesn’t take long for him to realize the man next to him hasn’t gone home either, nor has he even
slept.

He turns his head away again and exhales in humorless amusement.

“And as if the kidnapping isn’t enough, we’re going through a divorce.” It sounds nothing short of
ridiculous and he can't even stop himself from laughing. Maybe it's exhaustion, maybe it simply
defeat. He doesn't know anymore. “It’s silly, isn’t it?”

He can feel the tears press in the corners of his eyes and at this point, he’s too exhausted to fight it.

“We’re getting a divorce yet the only thing I want right now is to come home to him and fall asleep
in the same bed as him and wake up next to him and…”

He chokes on the words as he says them.

“That’s all I want and yet…”

Lost in grief, he barely registers Namjoon scooching closer to him. Not until he feels the man’s
hand on his knee. His movements are hesitant, but Jungkook can’t say he isn’t grateful for the
gesture.

“We’re gonna find him, Jungkook. We won’t let that son of a bitch win.”

“Then why does it feel like he has already won?”

He turns his gaze on Namjoon and he can see the surprise across the man’s face as he spots the
tears in the corner of his eyes.

“He took off his microphone, Namjoon,” he says, voice wavering. “And he- he must’ve called for
us. He must’ve called for me. He must’ve begged for me to save him but I-”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence before the tears overflow and his voice chocks up. He can’t
talk anymore; only quiet sobs leave his lips now.

He’s less surprised than he thought he would be when Namjoon reaches out and pulls him into his
arms. He doesn’t shush him or even says a word as he merely allows Jungkook to cry.

It soon turns into loud sobs and some part of him feels liberated as he finally lets it out.

He doesn’t know how long Namjoon allowed him to cry until he slowly pulled away, but not even
for a second did he feel as if he was intruding or making the officer uncomfortable. Namjoon had
been ready to sit like that all night if Jungkook had desired it. He’s sure of this.

“There you are!”

Seokjin rips open the door as he frantically looks at the two officers sitting side by side on the dirty
floor of the interrogation room. His eyes are frantic and livid as he regards them.
“I’ve been looking for you two for forever!”

Realizing the state, he’s in, Jungkook hurries to straighten his back and wipe his tears. He knows
he can’t hide his red eyes, but he also knows Seokjin wouldn’t judge him.

“Do you have any idea of how big this place it? It took me so long to-”

“Seokjin,” interrupts Namjoon. “What do you want?”

The frustration across Seokjin’s face soon dissolves and is instead replaced by a look of pure
delight.

“A witness called,” he says. “We got a hit on the car.”

September 30th , 2019, 6:12 pm.

Hongdae, Seoul.

Jimin and Jungkook have their first of many fights over dinner.

It’s not a special evening, it’s not a special dinner and it shouldn’t be a special conversation.

Jungkook is merely telling him about his day. He’s merely complaining about a poorly executed
confiscation of a scooter, yet in a matter of minutes, it’s not so harmless anymore.

“I’m sure Minki did his best,” says Jimin softly as he dismisses Jungkook’s annoyance over their
fellow officer. “He just had a kid, you know. That makes every man soft.”

“It doesn’t matter,” says Jungkook irritatedly. “If he can’t give out a ticket or confiscate a scooter
the right way, he shouldn’t be patrolling the streets with me.”

“They’re kids, Jungkook, he probably just felt sorry for them.”

“It doesn’t matter,” replies Jungkook. There’s an edge of disbelief to his voice as he speaks. He’s
annoyed that Jimin doesn’t see what he means. “Not all kids just make mistakes unintentionally.
Some kids actually make mistakes voluntarily knowing it can hurt other people.”

“They had just tuned their scooter a little,” argues Jimin.

“The driver wasn’t wearing a helmet either, Jimin, that’s not okay.”

Jungkook taps his fingertips on the table in an annoyed manner. His plate isn’t empty yet, but it’s
clear that food is now the last thing on his mind.

“And Minki completely undermined me in front of them,” continues Jungkook. “I was trying to
teach them a lesson but he was trying to look all cool in front of a couple of teenagers.” Jungkook
groans in frustration and Jimin doesn’t understand why the boy is so worked up.
“You don’t even know them,” says Jimin. “Why does it matter what they think of you?”

“It’s not them!” says Jungkook in a raised voice. “It’s- it’s fucking Minki. He treated me like a
child. I’m his coworker yet he treated me like a child, Jimin.”

His husband looks at him with desperate eyes and Jimin realizes this is a much bigger deal to
Jungkook than he thought it would be. He doesn’t understand why, though. It doesn’t make sense
to him that Jungkook would get so upset over nothing.

“Minki is a great officer, Jungkook, maybe he just didn’t think pulling them over was a big deal.”

“What?” Jungkook shakes his head in complete disbelief. “Well, then he should’ve said something
before we pulled them over.”

“Maybe he did get the chance to.” Jimin stuffs a piece of chicken into his mouth and chews it
diligently. “You’re pretty impulsive sometimes, Jungkook. It’s hard to keep up.”

“What?”

Jungkook looks at him with even more disbelief, but it looks as though some anger is seeping
through as well.

Jimin just nods his head as he stuffs his mouth with even more food. He’s pretty proud of the
dinner he's cooked for them and he’s slightly disappointed over Jungkook’s lack of interest in it,
just because he’s upset over something trivial.

“How can you just be eating?” asks Jungkook. “We’re talking here.”

“No, you’re talking. You don’t wanna listen to anything I say.”

“That’s not true, I just-” Jungkook stops himself mid-sentence before he leans back in his chair,
pushes his plate away and crosses his arms over his chest in a resigned manner. “I don’t expect you
to understand anyway. All you do is sit behind your fucking desk all day.”

The words are nearly spat out and Jimin suddenly isn’t so hungry anymore.

“I just sit behind my fucking desk all day?” he repeats, using Jungkook’s exact words even though
he’s not very fond of them. “I do so much more than that.”

“Like what?” asks Jungkook. There’s a challenging edge to his voice as if he doesn’t believe him
at all and he likes pointing it out.

“Like keeping the station together,” he replies. “You know who does all the paper work for you so
you can be out on the street, arresting criminals? Me!” He points to himself with his fork before he
throws his utensils down on the plate in annoyance.

“We could easily do that,” says Jungkook. “It’s not that hard filing a couple of papers a day. You
know what’s hard? Arresting criminals.”

“You’re calling my job easy?”

“It’s just paperwork, Jimin!” exclaims Jungkook. He slams his hand down on the table in
frustration and the carelessness makes Jimin annoyed.

“I do so much more for this police force than you could ever know. But you don’t understand that
because you don’t understand what I actually do. You’ve never bothered understanding it.”
He grabs his half-empty plate form the table, gets to his feet and stalks to the kitchen. With
aggressive movements, he washes off the dirty plate before he pushes it into the dishwasher. He
nearly breaks the plate and he resents Jungkook for making him so upset.

“It’s not like you understand what I do either,” argues Jungkook. “You don’t seem to understand
how important it is.”

“Of course, I understand how important it is!” yells Jimin, furious that his husband would patronize
him like that. “I work at a police station, of course, I know how important the police are!”

“Then why are you so determined to stay behind your desk?!”

Jungkook rises to his feet and lifts his arms into the air in incredulity. He’s started this conversation
so many times before and Jimin it tired of having it again.

“No,” he says. “I’m not having this conversation. I like my desk. It’s safe and I’m good at what do.
End of discussion.”

He tries to storm past Jungkook to get away from this conversation but Jungkook grabs his arms
before he can.

“How can you not want more?” he asks. His voice isn’t as accusatory this time. It’s puzzled, but not
aggressive like it was a second ago.

“Because I’m good at what I do. I’m not good at being in the field like you are.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m not interested in finding out.”

He yanks his arm out of Jungkook’s grip and his husband doesn’t stop him. Then he turns his head
and makes his way to their bedroom, shutting the door after him to makes some distance between
them.

For the first of many nights, he needs to be alone.

May 12th , 2020, 12:54pm.

Baeyang-ri, Gyeonggi Province.

The neighborhood is almost unrealistically quiet as Jungkook’s and Yoongi pull up outside the
address Seokjin sent them. It doesn’t look out of the ordinary in any way. The house is well kept
and it looks neither old nor suspicious at all.

“Are you sure this is it?” he asks Yoongi as the other officer joins his side. “It looks… too plain.”

“The owner is Kim Soyeon. That’s the address Seokjin sent us.” Yoongi takes out his phone,
seemingly to double-check regardless. “The man he spoke to said the car belonged to this house.”
“Is he trustworthy?”

“He lives a few houses down.” Yoongi points down the street and Jungkook follows his finger. All
the houses look rather similar. It’s clearly the same social class that occupies this neighborhood.

“Send a car to his house,” says Jungkook. “Maybe he has more information.” Yoongi nods in
agreement before he dials a number and presses the phone to his ear.

Jungkook doesn’t bother staying still as Yoongi makes his phone call, and decides instead to make
his way to the house. The path to the front door is neatly kept, either a gardener comes by once a
week or the woman living here enjoys gardening regularly.

He reaches the door long before Yoongi ever joins him and knocks three times. The following
knock more persistent than the last. His patience is wearing thinner and thinner by the second.

The door eventually squeaks as it slowly opens and Jungkook is shocked to see an elderly lady
emerge from inside the house. Her hair is halfway grey, her forehead wrinkles as she regards him
and she’s holding a cane tightly in her right hand.

Her expression is hard to decipher, but if Jungkook had to guess, she looks rather dissatisfied by
receiving guests.

“Ma’am, I’m with the police, and we’re here to investigate a kidnapping and a-”

“I don’t have time for this,” interrupts the woman shamelessly and proceeds to close the door in
Jungkook’s face. The officer doesn’t hesitate to block the door with his arm, refusing to let the
woman close it shut.

“Ma’am, your car is highly suspected of being the gateway car in a kidnapping, so either you make
time for us, or I’ll make time for you.”

The words seem to catch the woman off guard and she regards him with startled eyes. Whatever
she had expected from the police, it wasn’t this.

Slowly she lets go of the door and allows Jungkook to push it open once again. She says nothing
but moves aside so the officer can enter her house.

He only makes it past the threshold as Yoongi joins him.

“Hello, ma’am, I’m Min Yoongi with the-”

“Police,” finishes the woman for him with much less enthusiasm. “I got that the first time.”

Yoongi quirks his brows in mild confusion but doesn’t bother to ask any question regardless. His
eyes flicker towards Jungkook, but he doesn't have the patience to fill him in on the few minutes he
missed. And the threatening tone he used on a mere civilian.

They follow the woman to the living room, walking through a few other rooms on their way. It’s a
grand house, yet not many furniture occupies it and those that do, looks cheap and worn-down.

Something is off, but Jungkook can’t quite put his finger on it.

At last, they reach the living room and the woman seats herself in an armchair. She doesn’t gesture
for the officers to sit, nor does she offer them a beverage or do anything at all to make them feel
welcomed. Her hostility only creams guilt in Jungkook's eyes.
He's not sure his eyes are as reliable as they were before Jimin's kidnapping clouded them, but he
hardly cares anymore.

“I don’t understand why you’re coming here to bother me,” she says. “I’m not involved in any
kidnapping.”

“We know,” says Yoongi. “But your car is.”

“My car?”

“According to a witness, the car our suspect drove belongs to you.” Yoongi’s tone of voice is
highly clam and professional. It isn’t as emotional as Jungkook knows his own would be. That’s
why Yoongi specifically told him to stay quiet.

“That’s ridiculous,” says the woman, sounding outraged. “My car hasn’t been out in over a week.”

She sounds very sure, but Jungkook hears the edge to her voice.

Or maybe he simply wants to hear something out of the ordinary in her voice.

“So if we were to go out in your garage, we wouldn’t find a black Rolls-Royce Phantom?”
questions Yoongi and the woman’s face goes significantly paler.

“You’re not searching anything,” she insists. However, there's no denial in her words. “You have
no search warrant. I won’t allow you to search my house and treat me like some kind of criminal.”

She clenches her hands in her lap but makes no attempt at getting up to kick them out of her house
even as she tells them to go. She has the right to do so, but she doesn't. Either she doesn't know her
rights, or she's hiding something.

“I found it absurd that you would even accuse me of-”

“You’re right, we have no search warrant,” agrees Yoongi as he cuts off the woman’s sentence.
“But we will get one if that’s what it takes and if that car isn’t in the garage when we come back,
you will be charged with spoliation of evidence.”

A possible arrest shuts the woman up instantly and Jungkook is almost pleased with the reaction.
The silence gives him a second to take in the living room they currently occupy and it takes him
less than a second to figure out why it felt so wrong.

“You have a son, don’t you Mrs. Kim?” he asks as he continues to observe the room. "At least, the
system says you have one."

“I do, yes,” she replies curtly.

“Then why don’t you have any photos of him?” Decorations fill every possible surface, but not a
single picture can be spotted. “Isn’t it normal for a mother to keep a photo of her only son?”

“We’re not close,” she says, but her eyes look troubled as Jungkook turns towards her again.

He bores his eyes into hers in hopes of cracking her solid exterior, but the elderly woman is
stubborn and Jungkook knows they don’t have sufficient evidence at the moment to light a fire
under her.

“What about his father?” asks Jungkook. There’s nothing in this house that indicates that this
woman has ever even looked at another person. “Not in the picture?”
“No,” she replies. “He was too good for us, apparently. Bastard.” She spits the words, disgusted
with the man she speaks off.

“May we search your home?” asks Yoongi. The question is phrased politely, but they all know it
isn’t as simple as that anymore.

“Fine. Do as you please,” she says dismissively. “I have nothing to hide.” She says it much more
confidently that Jungkook would've liked. He had hoped the woman would be more reluctant
because then there would be more to find.

Yoongi smiles politely at the woman, but Jungkook can't muster up even the smallest gesture of
gratitude.

He doesn’t bother searching the living room, nor does he bother to search any other room inside
the house.

He needs to find the car.

He needs to make sure it’s the right car.

“Where is the door to your garage?” he demands to know, his voice far from gentle as he speaks.
“You have such a huge house; I doubt you walk all the way around to get to your garage.”

The woman groans in displeasure before she reluctantly nods her head towards a closed door and
Jungkook follows her through yet another room until they stop in front of a new door.

“Here.” She grabs the key hanging from a nail next to the door and pushes it into Jungkook’s palm.
She hurries to retract her hand again, clearly not interested in touching the officer at all. “Go search
all you want.”

She doesn’t stay to observe Jungkook’s search through her garage, she merely folds her arms over
her chest and walks back into the living room.

With impatience hands, he unlocks the door and pushes it open. A dark, worn-down garage comes
into focus, but his eye immediately finds the black Rolls-Royce Phantom.

His heart nearly stops in his chest at the relief of finding it.

He races down the few steps to reach the car sooner rather than later. Not even an inch of it goes
unnoticed, Jungkook’s eyes roam over every little scratch, every little flaw in the seemingly perfect
surface, but nothing gives him any kind of answer.

The seats are clean, no trace of anything that could belong to Jimin, and so is the trunk. There’s no
indication whatsoever that this car was involved in any kidnapping.

It makes his blood boil in his veins.

“Anything?”

Yoongi is slowly coming down the few steps, but Jungkook doesn’t even acknowledge him.
Instead, he pushes right past him and races up the stairs once again, his mind determined to find
the only one present who hold any kind of answer.

The woman jumps from her seat in the armchair the second Jungkook kicks open the door and her
eyes are wide with anxiety as she waits for him to speak.
“Where is he?” he demands to know as he stalks towards her, getting almost too close for his own
sake as well. “I know you know where he is, so tell me!”

The woman quivers under his threatening gaze, but Jungkook doesn’t give a damn about her fear.
He clenches his fists by his side, using every fiber of his body to refrain himself from getting
physical.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit!” he screams. “Your son has my husband; I want to know where he is!”

“Jungkook!”

In a blink of an eye, Yoongi is pulling him away from the woman by his jacket, putting his entire
strength into it.

“She knows something!” he screams again, but Yoongi doesn’t listen to him at all as he begins
pushing the officer towards the front door. “Fucking- get off me! I need to-”

“You need to calm down!”

They finally reach the front door and Yoongi doesn’t hesitate before he pushes him out of the
house and slams the door shut behind them, making it impossible for Jungkook to continue
screaming his heart dry at the elderly woman.

Jungkook is already struggling to breathe the second he steps out of the house, his veins fuming
with uncontrollable rage. He doesn’t even bother waiting for Yoongi to join him as he stalks
towards their police car, parked by the curb. Even as Yoongi jocks to catch up with him, Jungkook
doesn't stop for even a second.

“What the fuck, Jungkook?!”

He feels Yoongi curl his hand around his bicep and yank him back, hard.

“What?”

“Are you out of your mind?” Yoongi’s eyes are frantic with frustrations and complete
incomprehension.

“She knows!” he screams. “She knows where her son is and she knows he has Jimin but she- she’s
covering for him!”

He can feel tears of frustration in the corners of his eyes and tries frantically to blink them away
with little success.

“You can’t just treat her like that when we have no evidence against her,” says Yoongi. “She could
press charges. She could get you fired.”

“I don’t give a shit!”

“You should at least give a shit about Jimin!”

Yoongi’s harsh words shut him up abruptly and he blinks perplexed, not understanding what
Yoongi is suggesting. His colleague is looking at him with hard eyes and he can’t decipher what
he’s trying to tell him.
 “What… what are you talking about?”

“You just told that woman that Jimin was your husband,” he says. His voice is a bit softer this time
as if his next words will be just as hard for him to say as they will be for Jungkook to hear. “If her
son really is the one who has him, don’t you think she’ll tell him that? Don’t you think she’ll tell
him who Jimin really is?”

All color drains from Jungkook’s face and lips part in disbelief. He can feel his heart beat at a
painful pace in his chest and it sucks the air right out of his lungs and leaves him gasping.

“That… that’ll ruin the illusion,” he finally says, his voice barely stable. “Oh, my, God, what have
I done?”

Chapter End Notes

THANK YOU FOR READING!

I really hope you all liked the chapter! I got a ton of great feedback for the first chapter
which made me ecstatic, so thank you so much!

I hope the cliffhanger isn't too cruel... BUT the next chapter won't be long since I've
nearly finished the whole fic already, lol.

Let me know what you think? And please do leave kudos if you liked it!

Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr for teasers, and info on all of my work, including
this one!
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 A day to save
Chapter Summary

His captor's eyes glister in the dim light hanging from the ceiling and Jimin can’t help
but wonder if the man has struggled this much with killing all of his victims or if it’s
only him.

“You were so perfect.”

His voice is quiet and wavering. He can’t get himself to do it, but Jimin knows he
won’t spare him regardless.

“We were going to be so happy, but then you… you ruined everything!”

Chapter Notes

DISCLAIMER! PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE CONTINUING! There will be

descriptions of nonconsensual kissing and nonconsensual undressing of the upper body
in this chapter. There will be no rape! But please stop reading if it makes you
uncomfortable!
There will also be a fighting scene/violence towards the end of the chapter.
Pay close attention to the dates, locations, and timestamps!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

May 12th , 2020, 1:59pm.

Unknown location.

Almost forty hours since his capture and Jimin can feel his body going numb as the seconds keep
passing him by.

His fighting spirit is dulling by every breath he takes. He’s growing exhausted yet he can’t sleep.

He hasn’t slept for even a second last night as he lied trapped in his captor’s arms, feeling his hot
breath on his neck every two seconds.

Not even now, as he’s locked inside the extravagant bedroom Mansoo calls theirs all alone, is he
capable of resting his eyes. The man left early this morning with a promise to return in the
afternoon and with a kiss pressed to Jimin’s cold cheek.

And even though he knows the man will not return until the afternoon arrives, he still can’t let sleep
surround him. He fears the man will return. He fears the man has been untruthful and will sneak
into the room when he is the most exposed. The most vulnerable.

Fear keeps him awake.

He has been watching the sun rays for hours now.

Sitting by the end of the bed, watching the rays of sun dance across the white wall is the only thing
he can focus on.

The shadows have moved several feet since he started observing them and he slowly comes to the
terrifying realization that that means his captor will soon return.

His mind wanders to Jungkook. To his husband.

He hasn’t called him that for so many weeks now. He doesn’t remember the last time he called
Jungkook that when the man was present.

Now he wishes he had.

He would do anything to just be able to call him that one last time.

He resents Mansoo for taking that away from him. Despite all the horrible things his captor has
done to him, robbing him of that small satisfaction is what makes him loath him the most.

He wonders if Jungkook is sick with worry. He wonders if he’s searching for him as desperately as
Jimin is waiting for him to save him.

He wonders if Jungkook has signed the divorce papers. He wonders if Jungkook is thinking about
how much easier all the paperwork would be if Jimin passed away instead.

It’s a dark thought and deep within him, he doesn’t believe that thought has crossed his husband’s
mind.

But maybe it soon will.

Footsteps up the stairs are enough to set Jimin’s entire body into panic mode. His heartbeat, which
has previously been calm and stable, is now completely uncontrollable.

His breath hitches in his throat as he desperately tries to inhale and his legs buckle under his weight
as he gets to his feet to greet his captor on equal terms.

The lock goes up and Jimin holds his breath.

“Hello, my dear,” greets the man as he enters the bedroom and closes the door after him. “Have
you been able to entertain yourself in my absence?”

He walks directly over to the breathless boy and plants a kiss on his cheek. It makes Jimin squirm,
but he fights his instinct to step away.

“Yes, I… was fine,” he replies.

Mansoo cocks his head to the side and regards him with suggestive eyes. He says nothing but
Jimin can feel that he is fishing for something else.

“I- I missed you,” he hurries to say. “Very much so.”

“Oh, I’ve missed you too, my dear.” He reaches out and places his hand on Jimin’s hips, digging
his nails into the fabric of his pants. “I’ve thought about you all day. Not a second went by where
you weren’t on my mind.”
He leans closer and with an agonizingly slow pace, he presses his lips against Jimin’s. Dread and
disgust wash over him as Mansoo sloppily moves his lips against his own. He neither moves nor
reciprocates the kiss, but Mansoo seems too lost in his own pleasure to realize he’s not getting any
reaction.

He can feel the man’s hands tighten around his hips and he’s sure the touch will leave a bruise if
he doesn’t let go soon.

“God, I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” whispers Mansoo, his coffee breath ghosting over
Jimin’s nose, making him nauseous and disgusted. “I wanted to wait just a little longer but… I
don’t think I can anymore.”

Mansoo releases his hip in favor of sneaking his hand around Jimin’s delicate neck and pull him
forward so he can kiss him again.

The same sloppy movements, the same feeling of inexperience, are present in this kiss this time as
well. He kisses him like a kid pretending to be an adult. He hardly knows what he’s doing and so
he doesn’t realize that something is wrong.

“I can’t contain myself any longer, my dear,” his captor says. “I need you now.”

Jimin’s heart is racing in his chest as he weighs his options, but fear clouts his judgment and he
can’t think straight as Mansoo’s hands run up and down his body. His fingers find their way to
Jimin’s buttoned dress shirt and he toys with the first button for a little while before he opens it.
Then he moves on to the second one and when he reaches the third, Jimin can’t take it anymore.

He pushes Mansoo away with all his strength, but the man has the upper hand and he grabs his
wrists in a tight grip and pulls him close before he can even attempt to flee.

“Don’t deny me, Jimin!” hisses the man. The sound of his name coming off the man’s lips sends
shivers down his spine and makes tears well up in his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you, but make no
mistake, if I do, it’s because you forced my hand.”

He squeezes hard around Jimin’s wrists and the boy squirms and cries out in pain.

“It will be your fault. Do you understand?”

“Ye- yes,” he replies.

“Good.”

Mansoo releases his wrists in favor of continuing unbuttoning Jimin’s dress shirt. He does it
carefully and it makes Jimin’s skin craw with uneasiness to see the man before him, switching
personalities so quickly.

It makes him unpredictable and those killers are the most dangerous.

“So pretty,” mumbles Mansoo. “You’re so pretty, my dear.”

With one last flick, Jimin’s dress shirt is completely unbuttoned and he feels the cold air in the
bedroom more persistently.

Mansoo sneaks his hand under his shirt, touching Jimin’s naked skin, making him flinch at the
invading touch. His caressing his skin carefully as if he’s afraid of ruining his body somehow.
“So soft,” he says. “So smooth all over.”

He leans closer and attaches his lips to Jimin’s collarbone. He neither licks nor sucks his skin,
instead he runs his wet lips over his collarbone and chest as if he’s marking his territory in the most
inexperienced way.

Jimin struggles with keeping the tears at bay so his captor won’t see, but the man is too fixated on
his exposed upper body to register anything else. Not even as the first tear rolls down Jimin’s
embarrassed cheek does he notice anything.

“I want you now,” he says impatiently. “I can’t wait any longer.”

Mansoo’s hands find their way to Jimin’s pants as he starts to fumble with the buttons, Jimin can
no longer hold his tears back. They stream down his cheek, but even as Mansoo notices them, he
doesn’t seem to mind.

“Oh, don’t cry,” he says softly and wipes a few tears off his cheeks. “I’ll make you feel good, my
dear. Very good, I promise you, I’ll-”

He's interrupted by a persistent ringing. Jimin can feel the man’s phone vibrating in his pocket
from the nonexistent proximity between their bodies. His heartbeat picks up speed as he
desperately prays that Mansoo will stop touching him in favor of picking up his phone.

Unfortunately, his prayer isn’t heard.

“It can wait,” says Mansoo simply and lets the phone ring in his pocket. He hardly even
acknowledge it at all.

Eventually, it stops ringing.

His captor continues to fumble with his buttons and at last, he gets his pants unbuttoned. The sound
of the popping button makes Jimin gasp for air and he squeezes shut his eyes as he waits for
Mansoo to touch him again.

Before the man can do so, his phone starts ringing once more.

The sound is almost even more persistent than last time.

“For fuck sake!” yells Mansoo and Jimin flinches at the sudden outburst. “Leave me alone!”

He pulls out his phone from his pocket with aggressive movements, but once he reads the caller ID,
the frown on his face fades away. His eyes are slightly surprised for a second, but then he breaks
out in a wide grin.

“My mother is calling,” he says softly, a completely different voice than the one he used just a
second ago. “I want her to meet you.” He raises his gaze to look at Jimin while the phone continues
to ring in his hand. “I’m sure she’ll love you as much I do.”

He reaches out and runs his hand over Jimin’s soaking wet cheek, but he doesn’t seem to mind the
tears one bit. He hardly even seems to notice them.

“I’ll be right back, my dear.”

He presses a quick kiss to Jimin’s unmoving lips before he spins on his heel and hurries out of the
bedroom, locking the door after him.
It takes a second for Jimin to register that he had been saved by the bell.

For a long while, he stands completely frozen in place.

Then he breaks down in heart-wrenching sobs.

February 4th , 2020, 11:34 pm.

Hongdae, Seoul.

It’s raining the night everything escalates.

So many weeks now, have they walked past each other as if they were strangers, much less
married. They’ve hardly talked at all for so long. They’ve hardly touched each other.

Jimin had believed it all would go away if he merely waited. It appeared Jungkook had done
exactly the same.

But none of it had gone away. It had only grown bigger and much more obvious.

The clock is slowly reaching midnight, yet Jungkook hasn’t come home yet. He’s done this so
many nights these past few weeks. Instead of coming home to his husband, he voluntarily takes the
night shift, coming home in the dead of night when Jimin’s asleep and they don’t have to talk to
one another.

At last, the door unlocks a few minutes shy of half-past eleven. Jungkook’s movements are careful
as he opens the door, probably so he wouldn’t awaken his sleeping husband, but Jimin hasn’t
gotten to bed early tonight.

He is sick of falling asleep alone in a cold bed.

Jungkook sneaks inside the house and hurries to lock the door behind him. He probably thinks he’s
gotten away with it yet another night in a row, but as he turns on his heel and spots Jimin sitting by
the kitchen table, he freezes.

“You’re home.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement. “It’s almost midnight, you know? This is the
third night this week alone.”

Jungkook seems to recover from the surprise at seeing his husband awake and sighs defeatedly at
Jimin’s words as he throws his bag on the floor and makes his way to the kitchen. He grabs a cold
bottle of water from the fridge before he starts searching the cabinets for cup noodles.

He’s hardly sparing Jimin a glance.

“Are you not even gonna tell me why you’re so dead set on working every night shift there is?”
questions Jimin resignedly. “Why you’re so dead set on avoiding me?”

“Don’t act so holy, Jimin,” says Jungkook. “It’s not like you don’t avoid me even when we’re in
the same room together.”

“It’s because we always fight.”

“Then why are you suddenly so pissy over me working night shifts? Why should I come home
early just so we can fight?”

Jimin’s lips part as he tries to argue his husband’s words, but no answer makes it past his lips. He
doesn’t have a good reason at all. Jungkook is right.

“Then maybe we should try and talk about it. It doesn’t help when you’re never home anymore.”

“So it’s my fault?” asks Jungkook. He sounds nothing short of insulted and annoyed as he points to
himself and frowns deeply. “It’s my fault we don’t talk because I work night shifts a few times a
week.”

“It’s not just a few nights, it’s almost-”

“This is as much your fault for avoiding me whenever we’re together,” says Jungkook, cutting off
Jimin’s sentence. “Don’t pin it all on me.”

It angers him so much that Jungkook is being so defensive and so stubborn that he hardly listens to
a word that’s being said to him. Jimin fails to realize he’s being just as defensive and stubborn.

“Fine, okay? Fine! I’m to blame too, but that doesn’t mean you can just-”

“Just what?” questions Jungkook as he turns his body fully towards Jimin. The cup noodles he
grabbed from the cabinet are completely forgotten. “Just what, Jimin?!”

“That you can just let me fall asleep alone every night!”

His confession seems to shut Jungkook up and for a few seconds, all the two husbands do, is look
at each other with wide, unreadable eyes.

Then Jungkook throws his hands up in defeat. “Fine, you wanna talk?” He storms towards the
table and pulls out a chair opposite Jimin before he seats himself. “Then let’s talk.”

The sudden shift catches Jimin off guard and he blinks perplexed at his husband who is no longer
so far away from him. He doesn’t think they’ve been this close in weeks.

“Then talk!”

“I’m trying!” exclaims Jimin. “I’m trying to talk to you, but you- you just shut down. We haven’t
talked together for weeks because you don’t wanna talk to me anymore.”

“You don’t talk to me either,” argues Jungkook. “It’s not like you’re any better.”

“But you started!” says Jimin accusatorily. He knows his placing the blame on Jungkook when it
should be on them both, but he can’t help but be resentful towards his husband’s repeatedly cold
shoulder.

“’You started’,” Jungkook repeats in disbelief. “That’s your argument? A childish argument?
You’re an adult, Jimin, behave like it!”

“Stop yelling at me!”

The kitchen goes quiet, yet both males are fuming with frustrations. Jungkook’s rage is seeping
through the cracks, and though Jimin could never be afraid of him, he’s unsettled when he realizes
that he’s the only one who can calm down the boy, yet right now, he won’t be able to.

“This… this isn’t talking,” says Jimin quietly. He inhales deeply to calm down his nerves so he
won’t lose his temper and raise his voice again. They won’t come far in a screaming match. “This
is just more fighting.”

“Then what do you want from me?” questions Jungkook. “What is it you want me to say?” He’s
trying to contain his anger, but he’s still upset and he’s having trouble controlling it.

“I want you to confide in me again,” explains Jimin. There’s a desperation in his voice he doesn’t
hide well. “You used to tell me everything, but these past few months you’ve just… shut me out.
Let me back in.”

He slides his hand across the table towards Jungkook but he doesn’t reach him completely. Instead,
his hand lies awkwardly on the table between them. Whether he’s too afraid of reaching out for
Jungkook or if he’s waiting for Jungkook to reach out for him is unclear. Even to himself.

“I- I tried,” says Jungkook. There’s hardly any anger in his eyes now. Not as much as there was a
second ago. “But you just… you don’t understand. You don’t understand what I tell you and you
don’t even try to understand anymore.”

Jimin pulls his hand back and hides it away in his lap.

“I- I do try to understand you, Jungkook.”

“No, you don’t,” says his husband without hesitation. “You don’t try to understand because you’re
so sure you’re right and I’m wrong every single time.”

“That’s not true.”

“There it is again!” exclaims Jungkook. “You’re so goddamn certain you’re right that you don’t
even try to see it from my perspective.”

“It’s not like you try and understands things from my perspective either!” argues Jimin. He doesn’t
even listen to Jungkook. They’re still not listening to each other. “You always look down on what I
do. You never even appreciate me anymore.”

Jungkook’s brows furrow and it’s painfully obvious that neither of them is going any way other
than deeper down the hole they’ve been digging for months now.

“I pity you, Jimin!” yells Jungkook. “I pity your fear of change and challenges! I pity you for being
so content with the same boring shit every day!”

“Just because you like speed and danger, doesn’t mean the rest of us does!”

Tears a prickling in Jimin’s eyes and he can see Jungkook’s eyes glister in the light as well.
They’re running in circles and they’re reaching their breaking points.

“Because I wanna live!” exclaims Jungkook frustratedly. “I wanna live! So why don’t you wanna
live with me? Why can’t we do that?!”

Jungkook’s eyes are frantic and livid all at once.

“I’m- I’m trying to live,” he says. “I’m trying to grow in this life we’re building, but-”

“No, you’re not.” Jungkook cuts him off without remorse, his eyes almost hollow as he regards
him. “You’re so pathetically afraid of change and it’s killing me.”

Jungkook is tapping his fingers against the table in an unsteady rhythm and it’s driving Jimin
crazy.

“How are we gonna raise a child?”

Jungkook's question catches him completely off guard, and he feels as though his heart is being
ripped out of his chest as his husband regards him with such displeased eyes.

“You’re so goddamn content with now. You’re stuck and you don’t even know it. You won’t even
admit it.” The frustration is so visible on Jungkook is unsettling. “How are we ever gonna raise a
child like this?”

“No. No, that’s not fair,” exclaims Jimin. “Don’t you dare play that card now.”

He tries to get up from his chair and extract himself from the path their argument is taking, but
Jungkook doesn’t let him. He grabs his wrists and yanks him down in his seat again.

His husband’s grip is gentle despite their circumstances, but it surprises him nonetheless to be
manhandled like this.

“We haven’t talked about kids for months now,” says Jungkook. “Are you having second
thoughts? Is that it?”

“No!”

“Then what is it? Why are you-”

“I’m afraid okay!”

His outburst shuts his husband up abruptly and the kitchen falls deadly silent.

Only their shaky breaths can be heard and it does nothing to soothe Jimin’s anxiously beating heart.

“I’m afraid that we’re just gonna bring a child into a quiet house.” His voice is barely audible, but
Jungkook seems to hear him regardless. “A house where we don’t talk and we don’t understand
and we don’t love each other.”

It’s not until the words get over his lips, he realizes how deeply these fears lie within him. He
hasn’t dared to dig into himself for months, afraid of what he might find.

Now he wishes he never had.

“You think we’ll stop loving each other?” Jungkook’s voice is barely steady as he speaks. It’s
painful to hear.

“Look at us.” Jimin gestures between them. Gestures to the distance between them. “Look at what
happened to us. We haven’t talked for months.”

“You won’t listen to me when I’ve tried to talk to you,” argues Jungkook, frustrations seeping into
his voice once again. “What more do you want for me then? I’m going crazy trying to understand
but-”
“You can’t.”

It’s not difficult finishing Jungkook’s sentence.

It’s too easy.

That only makes it even more painful.

“Because you’re not making sense!” Jungkook’s eyes are frantic as they flicker between Jimin’s.
His body is trembling with exasperations and he’s having trouble controlling himself. “Nothing
fucking makes sense anymore! What fucking happened to us?!”

Jungkook’s frustrations have never been as clear and painful as they are right now, and Jimin is so
pathetically scared that Jungkook will never look at him like he used to again.

He’s afraid it won’t stop.

They have to stop.

“We… we can’t do this anymore, Jungkook,” says Jimin quietly. His voice is far from strong or
steady as he speaks.

“What are you talking about?”

“Us,” replies Jimin. “Us, we can’t… we keep making the same mistakes and it’s driving us both
mad.” He pressed the heels of his palm into his eye sockets for a second before he looks back at
Jungkook. “We’re not going anywhere, Jungkook and we just can’t… we can’t do this anymore.”

Realization seems to dawn on Jungkook’s face, one piece at a time until he understands the picture
Jimin is hesitantly painting for him.

“You want a divorce?”

Jimin can’t even get the words over his lips, so instead, he nods. It’s a slow, defeated nod he’s not
remotely proud of, but nonetheless it’s a certain nod.

Jungkook sits completely still, seemingly frozen in place and unable to say or do anything in
response. His eyes roam over Jimin as he seemingly tries to read the unspoken words on his face,
but there isn’t any.

“Fine.”

Without a second look, Jungkook pushes back the chair so hard it nearly falls over as he gets to his
feet. He turns on his heel and stalks towards the front door and Jimin’s heart races in his chest.

“Jungkook, what are you-”

“I’m staying at Seokjin’s,” he interrupts. “I can’t… I don’t wanna be here right now.”

He doesn’t look back as he grabs his bag, unlocks the door and storms into the night, leaving Jimin
all alone in a deadly silent kitchen.

It’s not until the clock strikes midnight, seven minutes after Jungkook slammed the door shut after
himself, that Jimin breaks down and cries.

And he doesn’t stop until he falls asleep from exhaustion, three hours later.
May 12th , 2020, 2:03pm.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Jungkook doesn’t halt for even a second as he reaches the police station once again. He rips open
the door and stalks down the halls, determination clear in his eyes as he walks.

Yoongi is calling his name, but he doesn’t acknowledge him at all. He’s not the one he needs to
talk to right now.

He swings a few corners and rips open a few doors until he reaches Seokjin’s office. The man is
sitting behind his desk and when he hears his door being ripped open, he raises his gaze to meet
Jungkook’s.

There’s no trace of surprise on his face as Jungkook stalks towards him. He knew the officer was
coming.

“Please tell me you got something on that bitch’s son?” hisses Jungkook as he stops behind Seokjin
and allows his frantic eyes to search over the officer’s computer screen. “Please, for the love of
God, give me something that can nail those fuckers.”

Seokjin is rolling his computer mouse hastily, but the long silence between them makes
Jungkook’s gut twist.

"Come on, Seokjin!" he shouts when his fellow officer doesn't respond immediately. "We don't
fucking have time for-"

"I'm sorry!" shouts Seokjin. "But I'm not used to this, okay? It's- it's Jimin who does this shit and
I'm- I'm not as fast as he is!"

Seokjin sounds absolutely defeated as he inhales and exhales rapidly, the sudden outburst of his
taking his own breath away.

"Jimin he... he's the one who's good at this," he says, his voice quiet.

It feels like a punch to the gut. It feels almost overwhelming and impossible to hear that the one
person they need right now, is the only one who's not with them.

Resentment spikes up inside of him. Resentment towards himself for belittling his husband's work
for so long. How stupid and delusional he has been for trivializing it so much.

It makes his stomach turn.

"O- okay, I think I got something," says Seokjin and Jungkook nearly trips over himself as he races
to his coworker's side to get a look.

Seokjin's eyes flicker over the screen for what feels like forever before he finally shares his
newfound information. Jungkook's body twitches with impatience as he waits.
“I found her son in the system,” Seokjin says. “But... I got practically nothing on him. No criminal
record, no known education, and no listed address. Nothing since 2013. It’s like…”

“What?” asks Jungkook. “It’s like what, Seokjin?”

“It’s like he doesn’t even exist anymore.”

He tightens his grip on Seokjin’s desk chair so hard his knuckles turn white. Every nerve in his
body is tingling painfully and at last, he erupts.

He screams in frustrations as he spins on his heel, and with full force, he slams his clenched fist
directly into the wall.

Seokjin’s office goes completely quiet. Only Jungkook’s heavy breathing filling the room. He
doesn’t bother looking at the spot on the wall he hit. He knows he left a visible mark on it.

It isn’t even in him to regret it.

“Jungkook. Out. Now.”

Hoseok is standing in the threshold, his eyes are dark and nearly uncomfortable to look at, but
Jungkook’s veins are pumping with so much rage, he’s almost immune to his superior officers’
authoritarian gazes.

“I understand your frustrations. I understand your rage and your fear, but this-” Their chief gestured
to the newly made hole in the wall. “-this is unacceptable, even for you.”

No one dares say a word, but Jungkook knows they’re all thinking it. He knows he’s acting
irrational, which is the most frustrating thing about it. He knows it, but he can’t stop it.

“Officer Min, take Jungkook out for some air.”

“I don’t need air!” Jungkook argues, but Hoseok won’t hear it.

“You need to cool off, Jeon. Just be happy I’m not sending you home for this behavior.” He wants
to argue with his chief, but he knows the man has been more kind to him than he probably should.

In the last 24 hours, he has broken countless rules. It’s a miracle he hasn’t been suspended yet.

At last, he unclenches his hands by his side and holds his tongue as Yoongi grabs him by his bicep
and drags him out of Seokjin’s office.

He doesn’t bother fighting him.

All the rage he had been building up all day had all come out the second he had punched the wall.
Now all he is left with is more pain.

Physically and emotionally.

Every eye they pass as they make their way through the police station to get to the streets is on
them. More specifically, they’re on him.

They all know. They’re all picking him apart as they watch him. They pity him and they feel sorry
for him and they do nothing to help find Jimin.

They’re all just looking.

Once they reach the door, Yoongi pushes him in the chest in an obnoxious manner and Jungkook
slaps the officer’s hand away from him.

“What the fuck was that about, Jeon?” he spits. “Is this really the way you wanna handle this?”

Jungkook says nothing. Even as Yoongi continues to push him, verbally and physically, he says
nothing.

“I can’t possibly fathom what you’re going through, but this behavior is fucked up, Jungkook!
We’re all trying to help! We’re all doing our best! We all fucking want Jimin back!”

Yoongi grabs ahold of his collar and shakes him aggressively. Jungkook wants to push him away.
He wants to fight his grip, but as he raises his gaze, he spots the vulnerability in Yoongi’s eyes.

He hasn’t seen that look in his fellow officer before.

“So stop fighting us!” Yoongi yells. “Why can’t you-”

“Because I just killed him!”

Even the sound of the busy streets of Seoul isn’t enough to drown Jungkook’s quivering screams.
No sound, no matter the volume, would be able to drown out his fragile voice.

“You’re right,” he says, his voice almost a cry. “I told her he’s my husband. I told her who Jimin is
and she’ll tell him and then he’ll kill him.”

He presses the heel of his palms into his eye sockets until he sees stars. He wants the forming tears
to go away so no one can see them.

“If he… if he’s… dead… it’s my fault, Yoongi. It’s- it’s-”

Yoongi says nothing. They look in his eyes is nearly repulsive to look at, because he’s so filled
with pity.

But he doesn’t argue against Jungkook’s words.

He doesn’t say he's wrong or that he shouldn’t blame himself, because in the end, they both know
he’s right.

He might’ve just sealed his beloved’s death sentence and they both know that.

It makes it feel even more unbearable.

“I got him!”

The door to the police station is ripped open and Seokjin is nearly falling over the threshold to get
to them. His eyes are wide and he’s struggling to breathe. He has been running to find them sooner
rather than later.

“We got it all wrong,” he says. “We’ve been so fixated on him and on his mother that we didn’t
even think to widen the search.”

He shuffles through a bunch of papers in his hand and Jungkook’s gaze is impatiently shifting
between Seokjin’s eyes and his frantic hands.

“We shouldn’t be looking at him,” continues Seokjin. “Of course, he wouldn’t leave a paper trail
otherwise we would’ve caught him by now. He’s smart enough to erase any-”

“Seokjin! Where is he?!”

“His father.”

Jungkook blinks perplexed, not understanding what their killer’s late father has to do with Jimin’s
whereabouts.

“We didn’t think to search his dead father, but we should’ve,” said Seokjin and it finally clicked in
Jungkook’s mind. “He was a wealthy man and he died a year ago, but he left behind everything to
his only son no matter how estranged he was to him. Everything including a house.”

He can feel his heart race in his chest and the defeat he was feeling just a second ago was no longer
present in his body. Instead, he was trembling with adrenaline.

“Where is he?” asks Jungkook desperately. “Seokjin, where is that bastard?!”

“Close,” his fellow officer replies. “Less than a mile from his mother’s house.”

May 12th , 2020, 2:16pm.

Baeyang-ri, Gyeonggi Province.

He manages to compose himself again before Mansoo returns. He’s buttoned his shirt once again,
hoping that if the man decides to pick up where they left off, he’s delayed just a little.

The sound of the turning doorknob makes his body tingle with anxiety, but he forces himself to
straighten his back and meet the man with unwavering eyes.

Mansoo enters the bedroom slowly. There’s a certain kind of uneasiness radiating off him and
Jimin swallows hard at the change in his expression.

He can't read him as the man’s eyes roam over him from head to toe.

“Is… is something wrong?” he asks in a quiet voice. Mansoo’s face hardly changes at all, it’s still
rather stiff and speculative. He’s deep in thought and he’s clearly having an internal debate.

But Jimin can’t possibly figure out what he’s thinking and it unsettles him.

“My mom told me something,” Mansoo says. He clenches his fist around the phone in his hand
hard enough for his knuckles to turn white and makes the veins on his wrist more prominent.
“Something I hope you can tell me is a lie.”

His expression starts cracking slowly and Jimin squirms in fear as he spots rage peaking through
the man’s solid exterior.

“Wh- what did she say?”

Mansoo steps closer and Jimin steps back, out of instinct more than anything.

“Someone came by her house today and they-” He stopped himself almost as if he couldn’t even
get the words over his lips. “She told me one of the men said you’re his… husband.” He spits the
words with so much disgust, Jimin’s whole body quiver.

He doesn’t even get time to find hope in Mansoo’s words before the man steps even closer and the
rage in his eyes gets even more fierce.

“I don’t… I don’t have a husband,” he lies, but Mansoo doesn’t appear to believe him. “He must-
he must’ve mistaken me for-”

“Don’t lie to me!” screams his captor and Jimin feels his eyes overflow with tears of pure fear and
terror. “That filthy cop told her you’re his husband! Tell me the truth!”

The man is lost in his own rage and Jimin’s comes to the terrifying conclusion that no matter what
he says now, he will never be believed.

So instead of lying, instead of playing pretend and try to soften his captor, he does what he has
been dying to do all along.

He runs.

With a hard shove, he pushes Mansoo out of the way and storms out of the bedroom door. His
heart is racing in his chest as he runs down the hallway and down the staircase. His legs are
wobbly from his days in captivity so stability doesn’t come easy to him.

Yet he refuses to slow down.

“Jimin!” The man is yelling his name, but Jimin doesn’t stop. “You have no way of getting out!”

He doesn’t listen to the man; he doesn’t allow himself to believe his words.

Countless rooms pass him by as he runs through the house. He remembers the way better than he
had believed he would and soon, the front door comes into view.

“You can’t run!” The voice isn’t too far away now. He has to move quickly if he wants any
chance of getting to the door before his captor gets to him.

He nearly slips on the polished, wooden floor as he runs towards the door and he slams into it hard.
All air is knocked out of him at once, but he doesn’t give himself a chance to breathe before he
grabs a hold of the doorknob and pulls with all his strength.

The door doesn’t move an inch.

Before he can attempt anything else, a hand curls around the collar of his dress shirt and he’s pulled
back roughly. He screams as he hits the floor harshly and he tries in vain to crawl away from his
attacker, but he has the disadvantage.

“How dare you run,” hisses Mansoo as he steps closer and closer while Jimin desperately tries to
crawl away from him. “How dare you run from me!”

He screams as Mansoo launches at him and he tries in vain to fight off his attacker’s hands, but
Mansoo is too strong and Jimin can’t put up a fight.

All air leaves his lungs as Mansoo kicks him in his gut. He bends over on the floor which gives his
captor the time to lean down and slap him across the face, making him dizzy and disorientated.

“You ungrateful little shit!”

He reaches down and grabs ahold of Jimin’s collar before he drags him along across the floor back
into the kitchen. Jimin squirms and struggles, but he can’t fight off the man’s grip.

Mansoo drags him towards the basement door and Jimin begins to scream and beg for him to stop
as he realizes what is about to happen.

“Please! Please, I’ll be good!” he screams. “I’ll stop fighting so please just- just let me go!”

Mansoo pays his pleas no attention as he turns the doorknob and pushes open the basement door. A
hard pull slides Jimin closer to the threshold and he barely gets time to register what is happening,
before Mansoo pushes him down the stairs.

He tumbles down, feeling the bruises form with every step he falls. He’s hardly even able to
scream or cry and at last, he hits the cold ground with a loud thump.

Everything goes quiet for a moment and Jimin can barely feel his body. Everything hurts yet at the
same time; he can barely feel anything at all. He doesn’t even register that the light has been turned
on until Mansoo tips him over on his back with his foot and Jimin is left staring up into the ceiling.

“I’m- I’m sorry,” breathes Jimin as he tries to get on his knees. It’s a slow painful process but at
last, he succeeds. “Please… please don’t hurt me.”

He lifts his chin to meet Mansoo’s gaze at the man is looking at him with conflicted rage in his
eyes. He looks unsure of what to do.

“Why…” he mumbles. It’s almost too quiet for Jimin to hear with the throbbing in his ears, but he
hears it regardless. “Why did you have to be like this?” It doesn’t sound as though his captor
desires an answer.

He sounds frustrated and he looks agonized as if he’s truly broken by the truth. He raises his hands
to his head and squeezes his eyes shut as if he’s experiencing a painful headache.

“You’re perfect!” he suddenly screams. “You were supposed to be perfect!”

He starts pacing back and forward and Jimin observes him in terror as he waits for him to finally
snap and direct his rage on him again. Much more destructive than last time.

“You were the one,” Mansoo continues. “Why did you have to do this?” He looks absolutely
crushed as he raises his gaze to meet Jimin’s. “Why did you have to ruin everything?!”

He swings his fists and knocks over a few rolls of trash bags and duct tape form a nearby shelf. It
makes Jimin flinch as it all hits the ground with loud thumps. It doesn’t take long for his eyes to
roam over the rest of the supplies on the shelves. Ropes, bleach, work tools, some clean and some
dirty, occupy the shelf and it makes his skin crawl.

He comes to the horrifying realization that this is where he murdered all the others that were here
before him.

“I’m sorry,” he cries. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not good enough!” Mansoo’s eyes burn with rage.

He grabs a long wire from one of the nearby shelves and Jimin scrambles to get away as Mansoo
ties the edges around his hands and steps closer. He stretches the wire out and Jimin can’t hold
back the cries as he realizes what his captor’s intentions are now.

“N- no! Please, don’t, I- I beg you, please!” He raises his hand to defend himself as Mansoo comes
closer.

“I told you,” says the man. “I told you that if I ever hurt you it would be your fault.” He stops a
few feet from him and Jimin can see his hands trembling. “This- this is your fault. You forced me
to do this!”

He takes a step forward and holds out his hand, but he can’t get himself to do it. His body is frozen
and his face twists into confliction and frustrations as he tries to force himself to do it.

His captor's eyes glister in the dim light hanging from the ceiling and Jimin can’t help but wonder
if the man has struggled this much with killing all of his victims or if it’s only him.

“You were so perfect.”

His voice is quiet and wavering. He can’t get himself to do it, but Jimin knows he won’t spare him
regardless.

“We were going to be so happy, but then you… you ruined everything!”

The illusion is broken.

The fantasy that he had built for them is destroyed now and he can’t rebuild it with Jimin.

He needs a new one.

But he needs to get rid of the current one first.

“N- no,” says Jimin. He scrambles to sit up and straighten his back once again, meeting Mansoo's
gaze with dignity. “No, I ruined nothing.”

He raises his trembling hand to his cheek and wipes away the falling tears even as more come
rolling down. Blood paints his fingers as well as he wipes them across his face, but he doesn’t have
time to worry about possible injuries.

“This!” He gestures to everything around them. “This is all a big fat lie! This whole fantasy of
yours is built on nothing!”

He screams the words with much more disgust than he thought he would.

“I’m no elite. I’m no son of a wealthy politician.” His body trembles as he finally allows his rage to
run freely. “I live in a worn-down house on the outskirts of Hongdae. I buy off brands, I wear holed
sweaters and I work 9 to 7, six days a week.”

Mansoo’s eyes widened more and more by the second and his bottom lip trembles in disbelief. His
fantasy is coming crashing down around him and he doesn't seem to be handling it well at all.

“And I’m married.” He watches as his captor’s face twists into an expression of pure anger. “I’m
married to a man I love more than anything!”

He spits at the floor near Mansoo’s feet and the man’s eyes darken. However, he doesn’t care. If
this man will kill him, he won’t die without a fight.
“I could never love you,” he hisses. “You’re not deserving of love. You’re not capable of being
loved. You’re a despicable, disgusting excuse for a human being and I despise you!”

That was all it took.

In the blink of an eye, Mansoo launches forward and Jimin screams as the man wraps the wire
around his throat and pulls.

His airways are cut off within a second and he parts his lips as he gasps for air, but unable to get
any. He claws at the wire around his throat to get it off him but he’s not strong enough fight off his
killer.

Dark spots from in front of his eyes and he swing out his arms in weak attempts to push his killer
away.

He has never felt terror like this before as he fights to stay awake. Everything in him is trying to
fight, trying to keep him alive even as his breath leaves his body and his heartbeat slows down.

He's dying and it's a terrifying realization.

“This is your fault,” says Mansoo again. He tightens the wire even more as he practically cries the
words. “This is all your-”

A gunshot echoes through the basement and a second later, Jimin feels the wire around his throat
loosening up. He claws at his throat while fresh air enters his lungs once again, and he bends over
as he coughs violently.

“Jimin! Jimin!”

The sound of his name pulls him back to the surface, but his head is disorientated and his eyes can
barely focus. He feels a soft hand touch his cheek before he feels the wire around his throat being
pulled off him completely and even more air enters his lungs.

“Jimin! Baby, I’m here! I’m right here!”

He recognizes the voice before he’s able to recognize the face it belongs to. Jungkook’s voice is all
choked up as he calls his name and assures him that he’s safe and it makes Jimin’s heartache.

“Ju… Jungkook?”

He reaches up his hand to touch the blurry face before him and Jungkook immediately leans into
his touch. He can feel his husband’s tears on his thumb.

“I’m so sorry,” Jimin says, voice shaking like crazy. “I- I shouldn’t have finished that
champagne.”

The tears overflow and his blurry vision get much worse.

“You told me not to drink it but I did,” he continues. “I did and this happened. I’m so sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, my love, you didn’t- You’re okay now. Fuck! It’s gonna be okay
now.”

Jungkook pulls him into his embrace and Jimin snuggles into him for safety and protection. He
cries his heart dry and even then, it doesn’t feel like enough.
He can hear the sound of their fellow officers in the basement, but none of them rushes the two
reunited husbands. He can feel their gazes on him and he can imagine what their eyes are
screaming, but no one says anything for a long while.

Eventually, Jimin pulls back. His vision is no longer blurred and the first thing he spots over
Jungkook shoulder is Mansoo lying lifeless in a pool of his own blood on the basement floor.

“Is he…?”

“He’s dead,” confirms Jungkook. Disgust and resentment color his voice. “He can’t hurt you
anymore, my love, I promise you.”

Jimin doesn’t doubt him, but he can’t take his eyes off him regardless. Slowly he pushes Jungkook
out of the way and crawls towards Mansoo’s body. Everything hurts as he does so, but he has to
make sure.

He has to be certain he’s dead.

He has to tell him the truth.

The man’s eyes are wide open when he finally comes closer. His lips are parted and a small streak
of blood paints his cheek.

“I didn’t force your hand,” he hisses into his dead captor’s ear. “You did this all on your own
because you’re a sick man.” He spits the words with repulsiveness. “This is all your fault and you-
you don’t get to blame it on anyone else. Not anymore. You revolting bastard.”

He pushes himself away from the dead body and Jungkook is on him in a second. He helps him to
his feet and holds him close as he pulls him away.

“It’s gonna be okay,” says Jungkook softly as he helps him up the stairs. “Everything will be
okay.”

And Jimin believes him.

He believes him as much as he loves him.

May 12th , 2020, 11:58 pm.

Hongdae, Seoul.

Jungkook has been careful with him. He hasn’t touched him all that much since they came back
from the hospital an hour ago. Every other minute, he’ll reach out for him, but in the last second,
he’ll pull back.

He’s scared of overwhelming him, not knowing that Jimin has been wishing for his husband’s
embrace for over two days of captivity.
“You can take the bed, my love,” says Jungkook as he finishes changing the sheets and carefully
sits Jimin down on the bed. “I’ll take the floor, so don’t worry, I’ll be right here all night. Nothing
will happen to you.”

He throws a few pillows on the floor. Not the soft ones, the decorative pillows neither one of them
would ever dream of actually sleeping with.

“Is there anything you want before bed? Some food maybe? Or are you thirsty? I could go to the
store for some soda if you-”

“I just want you here,” Jimin interrupts and pats the spot next to him on the bed. Jungkook’s side
of the bed. “Right next to me. All night. Please?”

Jungkook looked at the spot Jimin was patting with uncertainty. He looked caught in inner conflict
and Jimin just wanted him to smile again.

Neither of them had done a whole lot of smiling in the last many hours.

He wanted it back. He wanted their smiles back.

“Please, Jungkook,” he quietly pleas. “I haven’t slept at all for two days and I… I’m tired, but I
can’t sleep without you.”

It seems to pull Jungkook back to reality, and without hesitation, he reaches down to pull the
covers over Jimin before he snuggles under it as well.

There’s still a distance between them. Several inches too many keeping them apart, and Jimin just
wants them gone. He doesn’t want even a single inch between them anymore.

“You haven’t touched me since we got back from the hospital.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement.
“Do you not want to touch me anymore? After-”

He stops himself, not able to put words to the last two days.

His throat chokes up and he suddenly struggles to breathe. It’s not as bad as before, but it’s not
comfortable either.

“No, no, no, I want to touch, my love. I want to touch you so bad but…” Jungkook reaches out his
hand and runs his fingers gently over Jimin’s flushed cheek. “I heard what he did to you, Jimin. He
forced you to share his bed, he undressed you, he… he kissed you.”

Jungkook squeezes his eyes shut and Jimin can see the tiny tear hiding in the corner of his eye. He
doesn’t look mad, instead, he looks… broken.

“I’m so afraid of touching you because I’m so afraid I’ll hurt you.” He retracts his hand again. “I’m
afraid of suffocating you or- or remind you of his hands or just… just hurt you.”

Jungkook almost curls in on himself under their shared blanket and Jimin’s heart aches at the sight
of his strong husband, so vulnerable in front of him. He has never seen him look so uncomfortable
in his own skin. He has never seen him look so afraid of the world he's always loved so dearly.

“That’s why I want you to touch me,” says Jimin. He reaches out his hand and grabs Jungkook’s,
holding it tightly in his own. “I want you to wash away his touch. I want you to help me reclaim
my body because it’s mine and I want it back.”
He slowly pulls Jungkook’s hand under the blanket and towards his body. With gentle movements,
he guides his husband’s hand under his shirt and lets him touch his naked waist.

“You’re the only one who can give it back to me.”

He let’s go of Jungkook but the boy’s hand stays on his waist. He doesn’t move it away.

“You haven’t touched me in a long time,” he continues. It’s not meant to be accusatory in any way,
but Jungkook’s gaze flickers with guilt regardless. “I didn’t think I could ever forget your touch,
but… I’m struggling to remember.”

The last few days had washed his body clean of the memories of Jungkook’s touch. Now all he
could remember was how rough Mansoo’s hands were on his collarbone or how dry his lips were
against his.

He wants it replaced. All of it replaced with Jungkook.

“You saved my life today, Jungkook.” Tears well up in his eyes at the memories of the seconds he
thought would be his last. “For a moment I really thought… this is it. I thought I would die without
seeing you one last time.”

“I would never let that happen,” says Jungkook frantically. He scooches closer on the bed.
Probably more subconsciously than anything else. “Never.”

“I know,” says Jimin softly and reaches out to cup Jungkook’s flushed cheek. “And I know it’s
selfish of me to ask for. You’ve already saved me once today but… please save me again,
Jungkook.”

He scooches closer to Jungkook, so close their chests touch every time they suck in shaky breaths.
He can feel Jungkook’s heartbeat racing out of control. His own is beating slowly. At a calm pace.
Maybe it’s because he’s safe. Maybe it’s because he knows he’s finally safe, nothing can scare him
right now.

“Please touch me,” he whispers. “Please.”

And without hesitation, Jungkook does.

He pulls the covers off them slowly, gently. Then he crawls over him, careful not to put too much
weight on him if any at all. With soft eyes and patient hands, he pulls Jimin’s shirt over his head
and leaves him half-naked under him.

His eyes roam over his body with such awe, Jimin feels his eyes well up with tears. He’s missed
that loving look in his husband's eyes.

Jungkook reaches up to caress his cheek first and Jimin leans against his warm palm desperately.
He closes his eyes and instead focuses on the gentle way Jungkook is touching him.

His husband’s hands roam over his body as if he’s painting all the colors of the universe on his
smooth skin. It tickles as Jungkook’s fingers trace his stomach and his thighs. He squirms slightly,
but they both know it’s welcomed.

Soon, Jungkook replaces his hands with his lips and Jimin gasps as his husband’s soft lips trace
kisses down his body. His collarbones, chest, belly button, thighs, palms. Everywhere.

Even the sore spot on his throat where the wire had been. He kisses the bruise carefully and Jimin
nearly cries at the touch.

Despite their positions, their half nakedness and their desperation for each other, there is nothing
sexual about any of it. He doesn’t desire for Jungkook to pleasure him, nor bring him sexual
gratification. He wants him to make him feel whole again.

Jungkook is the only one who can do that.

“Thank you.” He doesn’t realize he’s crying until he hears his own choked up voice. “I… I love
you so much, Jungkook. So much, and I- I-”

“It’s okay, my love, it’s okay.” Jungkook shushes him softly as he leans down to press his warm
forehead against his. “I love you too. I never stopped.”

He feels Jungkook’s thumb swipe his cheek and wipes the tears away. He doesn’t realize he is
crying that much until he feels how soaked his cheeks are.

“I don’t wanna leave you, Jungkook,” he says frantically. “Never again, so, please… please stay.
Please don’t…” He chokes on a sob ripping its way through his throat and the tears overflow once
again. “Please don’t divorce me.”

He squeezes his eye shut, unable to open them to look his husband in the eyes while he begs him so
pitifully not to leave him. To stay with him because he can't live without him. He doesn't want to
anymore.

“My love…” Jungkook’s voice is a breathless whisper. “That’s what’s worrying you?” Jimin
trembles as he nods in confirmation, eyes still squeezed close. “Don’t- don’t worry about that shit.
I’m not going anywhere. Not tonight, not ever.”

“Wha- what?”

Slowly, he opens his eyes once again. It takes him a second to focus on the man hovering over him,
but once he does, his heart flutters. Such loving eyes he’s gazing upon.

“I thought you were right,” Jungkook begins. “I thought we were driving each other mad. I thought
we had reached a point where our lives would be better apart.”

He caresses his cheek with his thumb, smearing Jimin’s countless tears all over his flushed skin.

“But then I lost you.” His voice breaks as he speaks and Jimin’s chest aches. “And I told myself
that if- when I get you back, I’m not losing you ever again.”

A shaky chuckle escapes Jungkook’s lips and it makes the corners of Jimin’s mouth curl upwards
despite the tears still rolling down his face.

“Even if you threw me in the middle of the ocean to be free of me, I would find my way back to
you. You’re not getting rid of me, ever again.”

“I don’t want to get rid of you.”

Jimin reaches out and with an eager hand, he pulls Jungkook’s lips down on his own. He takes
charge in a second. He kisses him the way he wants to kiss him. He is taking control because it has
previously been robbed from him and he wants it back.

He doesn’t remember the last time he kissed Jungkook, but he doesn’t even care anymore. They’re
making fresh memories now. Memories he’ll store in a certain part of his heart where he’ll never
again lose them.

“I take it back,” says Jungkook suddenly. “All the things I said about you getting out in the field, I
take it all back, okay? I don't think I can handle it.”

He kisses him again as the last words leave his lips. As if he’s desperate to feel his lips again even
though they’ve only been apart for less than a minute.

It’s a soft kiss. Loving yet eager all at once. It takes Jimin’s breath away and once they part, he
gasps for air to fill his lungs again.

“I’ve never been more terrified in my life, but…”

“But what, my love?”

“I’ve never felt so alive either.” His eyes flicker between Jungkook’s right above him and it’s the
most calming sight he could ask for. “I'm so grateful to be alive and so- so eager to do all the
things I was too afraid to do before.”

There’s a smile in the corner of Jungkook’s lips as he listens to his quiet words. A smile that tells
him he knows what he means. That they’re thinking the same thing, and they don’t need to put
words to it to understand one another.

He can’t remember the last time their minds and hearts were so perfectly in sync. The last time they
understood each other so clearly.

“We’re gonna do it. Together.”

Jungkook’s loving gaze roam over him so softly and it brings tears to his eyes. He doesn’t want to
cry, but the tear escapes regardless. It’s more liberating than he thought it would be to finally allow
all of his walls to crumble in the safety of his husband’s embrace.

“Do you really mean it?” he asks. He has to be sure. He needs to be sure. “Will you truly stay with
me? Make a family with me?”

Jungkook’s lips curl into a wide grin as he eagerly nods his head and buries his nose in the crook of
Jimin’s neck. He nuzzles into him and Jimin giggles at the ticklish touch.

“There’s nothing I’d rather do, my love. Nowhere I’d rather be than with you.”

Jungkook trails kiss after kiss down his throat that makes him giggle and squirm. For the first time
in such a long time, happiness comes easily to him.

He doesn’t want to let go of it ever again.

“Then let’s do it all over.” He grabs Jungkook’s left hand and intertwines it with his own. Their
fingers rub against each other, with no rings to clink together. “Let’s make it right this time.”

Jungkook’s eyes follow Jimin’s gaze and he understands what he’s trying to say.

“Okay,” he agrees and kisses the bare spot where Jimin’s wedding band should be. Will be. “Let’s
make it right this time.”

It feels so simple when they put it like that. A second chance. That’s what they needed from the
beginning. A simple chance to right all of their wrongs.
 They couldn’t see it then.

But they can see it now.

And that’s all that matters.

“Will you marry me, Jungkook?” he asks. “Again.”

Jungkook’s reply is quick and unwavering.

There’s no hesitation in him at all.

“Of course,” he says. “I would marry you in a heartbeat, my love.”

Chapter End Notes

THANK YOU FOR READING!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had a difficult time writing this, yet I really enjoyed
challenging myself and I truly did that with this one.

Honestly, writing the flashbacks of Jikook's fights, were probably the hardest part
about this whole fic, because it had to be a fight that doesn't make sense, yet makes all
the sense in the world. I hope I succeeded, hahaha.

The next chapter will be a prologue and it will be out in a few days!

Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr for teasers and info on all of my fics!
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Twitter
 Epilogue
Chapter Summary

His eyes are shining like stars, like fireworks, and like lightning storms.

His hands are warm with safety, with protection, and with security.

His smile is beautiful like flower fields, like sunsets, and like fairy lights.

There was a time where that was all he saw every time he looked at him.

And then there was a time where he could see none of it.

At last, there came a time, where he once again saw it.

Chapter Notes

Enjoy the last chapter!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

October 24th , 2023, 8:34 pm.

Aquarius Hall.

It’s the same scene. It’s the same silk suit, same fancy champagne, and same luxurious guests.

However, this time, Jimin is almost comfortable.

He raises his glass and smiles at a woman from across the bar table. She mimics his gesture and
they make a toast to one another despite being several feet apart. A young man approaches the
woman and Jimin gives her an encouraging nod that makes her smile before she directs her
attention to the young man.

“Trying to play cupid, my love? ”

Jungkook’s soft voice in his hear makes him grin excitedly and he hurries to covers his mouth so
no one sees.

“Just trying to help,” he whispers into his microphone. “She’s kind, she deserves it.”

“You don’t even know her.” Jungkook’s warm chuckles come through his earpiece and it makes his
heart flutter in his chest.

“She has kind eyes,” he replies in a quiet voice. “And she’s beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.”

He smiles at his own feet to hide his flustered face from the sea of people around him. No one can
know he’s not a habitué at this gala party.

He can hear a few shouts and some laughter in the background through his earpiece and he’s sure
his fellow officers are currently teasing his husband relentlessly. They have been teasing them for a
while now.

He fidgets with his fingers in an attempt to occupy them as he waits. His ring finger is naked and it
surprises him how much that bothers him. He’s gotten so used to wearing his wedding band again
it feels wrong when it’s missing from his finger.

He nearly drops the glass he's holding as he rubs his index finger over his bare ring finger where
his wedding band should be. He can feel the tiny dent in his finger from where the ring usually is.
Even his body is too used to it now.

“They are bullying me,” pouts Jungkook through his earpiece. “Stupid coworkers.”

“They should bully you,” replies Jimin teasingly. “Your sappiness is interfering with our job.”

He can hear his husband’s muffled sounds of childish whining and it pulls at the corners of his lips.
He tries to cover it. He tries to raise his hand to conceal the grin from everyone around him
because according to them, he shouldn’t have a reason to smile like that as he stands by himself.

He shakes the champagne glass gently in his hands to kill some time as he waits. He’s been waiting
around an hour now, but there’s been no trace of their target. They're sure he'll show up, but so far,
he hasn't been spotted at all.

“Are you doing okay, my love?” Jungkook’s voice is soft in his ear and it makes his heart flutter in
his chest. “If you feel uncomfortable, just say it, and we’ll call all of this off. Hoseok already gave
me permission.”

There’s no rush in his husband’s voice. He's not trying to push him rather he's trying to calm him
down. He’s patient with him and merely giving him his options, not forcing his own thoughts onto
him.

He knows Jungkook would rather have him anywhere else right now. He knows his husband is still
scarred by last time. But he also knows that his husband would never push him.

“I’m okay, baby,” whispers Jimin into his microphone. “Don’t worry.”

“But I do,” Jungkook replies. “Being here again scares me and I’m just… I’m anxious. Three years
suddenly doesn’t feel like such a long time.”

Jungkook’s voice is a low whisper. It sounds so intimate in Jimin’s ear and it momentarily makes
him forget that he’s here on an assignment and that their fellow officers are listening in.

For a moment he feels as though they’re in their own bubble.

The bubble bursts as another voice come out of his earpiece and Jimin flinches at the unexpected
change.

“He’s here, Jimin.” Namjoon’s voice fills his ear. “On your left. He’s wearing the red suit.”

His superior officer’s voice snaps him out of his trance and he directs his gaze in the direction
Namjoon was talking about. Luckily, that gives him no time to feel embarrassed by his slipup.
“I see him.”

The man is sitting by the bar a few stools down the line and Jimin takes a second to observe him.
The red suit sits tightly around his body and his hair is styled nicely. The man’s eyes are roaming
over the crowd of wealthy guests, presumably trying to pick out a target.

“I’m on it,” he says into his microphone. He gives himself a second to breathe and a second to
compose his nerves before he puts on a bright smile, cocks his head to the side and makes his way
towards their target.

His fingers run over the bar as he gets closer and once, he’s close enough, he taps his nails against
the table to get the man’s attention.

“It’s a lovely party, isn’t it?” he says. “Yet I must admit that it’s not as fun being here alone.”

The man’s eyebrow raises in what Jimin presumes is curiosity, maybe even interest.

“I couldn’t help but notice you,” continues Jimin. “Your suit is really captivating.” The giggle that
escapes his lips seems to do the trick and the man he’s so desperately trying to interest, turns his
body towards him, giving him his attention.

“Yes, well,” the man says. “I was looking for some attention tonight. I’m happy to see I got some.
And from someone this stunning, no less.”

There’s a charming smile on his lips as he gestures for Jimin to join him and he happily complies,
sitting down on the barstool next to him.

“I’m Jimin,” he says and reaches out his hand, letting the golden bracelet around his wrist dangle
freely for the man to see. He waves his fingers, drawing attention to the golden rings around them.

It does the trick. The man eats it all up with his eyes.

“I’m Sangwoo,” the man replies as he shakes his hand, holding him in a tight grip a second too
long before he lets go. “It’s very much a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

He places his champagne on the bar counter beside them. It's closer to Sangwoo than it is to
himself and he hopes the man won't find it odd.

He hopes he takes the bait.

“I'm hoping you can make my night a bit more interesting,” says Jimin. He runs his finger through
his hair and cocks his head to the side to draw attention to the extravagant piece of gold that hangs
from his earlobe.

Sangwoo follows his movements like a puppy. His eyes follow the golden earring in his earlobe to
the shining rings around his fingers and then to the dangling bracelet around his wrist.

It doesn’t take long for the man to make up his mind.

“I will do my very best.”

A sly smirk spreads across the man’s lips as if he knows something no one else does.

However, he doesn’t. His secret is not his to keep alone.

It’s almost a bit amusing to watch.

“I’m gonna call you now,” comes Jungkook’s voice through the earpiece. “Excuse yourself and
leave the ballroom.”

Like planned, his phone starts ringing in his pocket the second Jungkook’s voice leaves his ear. It’s
not a loud ringing but it gets both males’ attention at once.

“Oh, silly me, I forgot to turn it off,” he giggles and pulls the phone out of his pocket. Jungkook’s
name is written across the display along with some silly emojis and a few too many hearts. “Will
you excuse me for a second? It’s my assistant.”

Sangwoo hurries to nod his head, almost too eager for Jimin to leave him be.

It’s almost too obvious.

“I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be right here.”

Jimin declines the call but presses the phone to his ear regardless and greets the silence that
follows. He hurries to make his way to the nearest exit and slips through the door with no problem.
His heart is beating a tad bit faster than he believed it would as he finally stands completely alone
in the quiet, deserted hallway.

“You did good, my love,” says Jungkook. “Wait a minute or two and get back there.”

“Did he do it?”

There’re a few seconds of silence and he presumes Jungkook is closely monitoring the security
cameras.

“No, yet,” he replies. “But he’s definitely fumbling with something and- yes, he did it.”

A whole new wave of anxiety washes over him as he realizes they’re reaching the fatal point in
their operation. It shakes him a bit more than he believed it would to go out there once again.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Jungkook’s soothing voice fills his ear. “I’m not gonna let anything happen
to you, my love. Okay? Nothing.”

“I know.”

“I love you.”

A flustered smile spreads on his lips and he can only imagine Jungkook is smiling just as silly as
he is. He knows their coworkers will tease them relentlessly, but right now, he doesn’t much care
about anyone who isn’t Jeon Jungkook.

“I know and… you know.”

“I know.”

He inhales deeply one more time before he stuffs the phone back into his pocket and makes his
way back into the ballroom.

Sangwoo sees him the second the door closes behind him and the man’s eyes stay on him as he
makes his way towards him and sits down in his barstool once again.

“Everything okay with your assistant?” he asks.

“Yes, yes, he just… uhm, he ordered the wrong flowers. For my garden,” he replies, the lie rolling
awkwardly off his tongue. “I’m getting sick of looking at roses. I want orchids.”

“Orchids? Those are indeed beautiful,” says Sangwoo. “Much prettier than roses.”

“Indeed,” agrees Jimin. “But beauty is one thing. I want something… unique. Something that’ll
make other people envious. You know?”

Sangwoo’s eye twitches slightly at the word but he doesn’t let his solid façade crack even as Jimin
tries to rile him up.

“Envious,” he repeats quietly. “Such a nasty emotion. Don’t you think?” There’s a saltiness to his
tone as he speaks. As if he’s being called out or exposed.

“Very nasty,” Jimin agrees. “Luckily we have nothing to be envious of. We have it all, don’t we?”
He cocks his head to the side and watches Sangwoo’s gaze darken and his lips twitch just the
slightest.

If he hadn’t been looking for cracks, he probably wouldn’t have noticed.

“Well, let’s toast to that then, shall we?” Sangwoo gestures to Jimin’s neglected glass of
champagne on the bar counter as he raises his own in the air to toast. There’s a dark look in his
eyes as he watches Jimin pick up the champagne as well. A kind of anticipation that screams
trouble.

It’s almost too obvious.

So obvious that even if Jimin didn’t know that this man drugs his victims, drags them to the back
alleys and robs them of everything they’re carrying, he would still find the man’s behavior too odd
to toast with him.

“Thank you for making my night more interesting,” Jimin says.

“I can only say the same.”

The man raises his champagne in a cheer and Jimin soon follows suit. He clinks their drinks
together and simultaneously; they place their glasses to their lips.

However, while ​Sangwoo happily takes a sip, Jimin doesn’t let the champagne touch his tongue.

“Believe me,” mumbles Jimin, his voice barely loud enough for Sangwoo to even hear him. “Your
night is about to get a whole lot more interesting.”

Sangwoo puts down the empty glass on the bar counter and quirks his eyebrows in confusion as he
regards Jimin. His eyes flicker between his eyes and his untouched champagne glass in
puzzlement. He doesn't look anxious yet, but Jimin knows he soon will.

“What do you-”

Before the man is able to finish his sentence, he’s violently yanked off his bar stool. His arm
knocks over his empty glass and the shattering sound catches the whole ballroom’s attention. A
few gasps echo through the room but Sangwoo’s shriek surpasses them all.
Jungkook is, unsurprisingly, the first to reach them. Namjoon, Yoongi and a few other officers are
coming up behind him, but none of them can keep up.

Jungkook is always the first one to reach him.

“What the hell?!” ​Sangwoo exclaims as Jungkook manhandles him aggressively. “We were just
talking!”

Jungkook dismisses the man’s explanation as he turns him around and handcuffs his wrists behind
his back. He’s easily tightening the cuffs much more than needed to secure him.

“Talking my ass,” hisses Jungkook in annoyance. “You were trying to drug him, you bastard.”

“Drug him? I was just- I wasn’t gonna- who the fuck are you?”

“I’m his husband!”

“And a police officer,” injects Namjoon. “Don’t forget police officer, otherwise this is very much
illegal.”

Jungkook yanks the man around, causing him to nearly trip over his own feet, but Jungkook
doesn’t seem to care much for his well-being.

“I’ll take it from here,” says Namjoon and yanks Sangwoo out of Jungkook’s hands. “You might
kill him.”

“I might,” agrees Jungkook without batting an eye and it pulls at the corners of Namjoon’s lips.
Amusement colors their superior officer's face, but he hurries to mask him before anyone else can
see. It shouldn't exactly be an amusing affair after all.

“Kim Sangwoo, you’re under arrest for the drugging and robbing of Kim Hyeon, Oh Jihyun, Jung
Minji...” Despite Sangwoo’s obvious struggle, he doesn’t even bother denying the claims as
Namjoon names his previous victims and pushes him along towards the exit. “You have the right
to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have
the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one…”

Jimin doesn’t catch the last part as Namjoon gets further and further away. He doesn’t mind,
however, he knows the words by heart.

“You did amazingly, my love.”

Jungkook’s sneaks his arms around him from behind and Jimin nearly gasps at the unexpected
touch. The harsh gaze that previously occupied Jungkook’s eyes is long gone now that the danger
has been dealt with.

Now that they’re both safe.

Gratitude is on the tip of Jimin’s tongue, but long before he can say anything, Jungkook swallows
it all down in a hungry kiss. He doesn’t seem to care at all that they are far from alone in this huge
ballroom, but Jimin isn’t bothered enough to remind him.

He kisses him eagerly, almost a tad bit arrogantly as if he's trying to prove something. He fails to
realize that he doesn't have to prove anything because Jimin already knows.

“I came just in time,” whispers Jungkook against Jimin's already swollen lips.
“You did.”

“I’ll never be even a second late again, I promise you.”

The grip around him is tight. Almost too tight as if Jungkook is afraid he’ll slip away if he lets go
even a little. He doesn't seem to know that he has long ago defeated Jimin’s demons.

So many nights have Jimin awoken with a scream or countless fallen tears and Jungkook has
simply pulled him closer and kissed away his fear.

He doesn’t remember the last time he had a nightmare anymore.

He no longer feels afraid.

“It’s funny,” says Jimin. “I told you so many times I like being behind my desk. I like staying safe,
you know?”

“I know, believe me, I know,” Jungkook replies. There’s a small smile playing on his lips as he
speaks.

“Turns out I like being out here sometimes too. I like being valuable.”

“Baby, you were always valuable, I just… I couldn’t see it back then.”

“No, you… you had a point. Sometimes.”

He gently pushes his husband off him, creating some space between them that allows them to
breathe a bit better. However, he doesn’t let the man get too far away from him. He grabs
Jungkook’s hands and holds them tightly in his own while swinging them a bit from side to side in
a childlike manner.

“But I like being needed like this too. I like doing more for this police force than just file their
paperwork.”

Jungkook cocks his head to the side as he regards his husband. There’s a fond smile playing on his
lips and he looks as though he wants to pull Jimin close again, but refrains himself from doing so.

Instead, he caresses Jimin’s hands with his thumbs and looks at him with all the love of the
universe in his eyes.

“I’m really proud of you,” he says softly. “For living so beautifully.”

There’s a tear hiding in the corner of Jungkook’s eye and it makes Jimin’s heart beat faster. It
never escapes, however, but Jungkook doesn’t seem to mind either way.

He’s not afraid of crying and he’s not afraid of being exposed in front of his husband like this.

Even in a ballroom filled with sophisticated, snobby elites, they’re in their own world. Time and
space are merely myths there.

It’s too easy to forget the rest of the world when they’re stuck in their little bubble.

“We should get going,” says Jimin at last. “Our work here is done.”

“Okay,” agrees Jungkook. “Let’s go.”

Jungkook tightens his grip around his hand and Jimin can feel his husband’s wedding band press
against his naked finger. It feels wrong when their rings don't clink together. He misses the sound
of it.

Every eye in the ballroom follows them as they make their way to the doors. Some regard them
with displease, some with the interest and some with annoyance. Few seem to admire the work
they just did despite the fact that they’re all now safe thanks to them.

Jungkook pushes open the double doors and the fresh evening breeze flies through Jimin’s thin,
silk suit, sending shivers down his spine.

Darkness lies heavy above them but the countess streetlights and car lights illuminate the city
around them.

Their fellow police officers crowd the entrance to Aquarius Hall. There’re easily too many
considering how smoothly the night went, but Jungkook had made it clear he wouldn’t allow Jimin
to enter the ballroom unless half of the police force stood ready right outside the doors.

Hoseok had no choice but to succumb to his demands.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jimin can see Namjoon pushing a complaining Sangwoo into one of
the many police cars parked by the curb. The man is fighting his arrest, but at last, Namjoon
successfully stuffs him into the backseat and slams the door shut in his face.

Liberation washes over him as he watches the man being taken away. The distance between them
widens by the second and it makes the corners of his lips curl upwards in relief.

However, he hardly gets the chance to relish in the peace it brings him before a small force nearly
knocks him over.

“Appa!”

A pair of small arms wrap around his knees and makes it nearly impossible for him to move.

“Hajoon?”

The boy giggles as he raises his chin to look up at his father and the sight makes Jimin swoon.
Chubby cheeks press against his knees and the boy’s wide, doe eyes glister in the dim light from
the police cars.

“Why are you- you should be in bed,” says Jimin as he reaches down and lifts the boy into his
arms. “You shouldn’t be here. Why are you-”

“I couldn’t get him to sleep.” Jimin raises his gaze and spots Jungkook’s mother approach them.
Guilt is evident on her face, but she smiles amusedly nonetheless. “He refused to sleep until he saw
that you were both okay.”

“Mom, you can’t just bring him here,” says Jungkook displeased. He does, however, not hesitate to
lean over a press a kiss to the crown of his son's head regardless of the circumstances. “This isn’t a
place for a child.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” says his mother and pinches her son’s cheek, making Jungkook
gasp and sulk like a child. “But someone-“ She throws her son an accusatory glance. “-told him
daddy and appa were gonna catch a bad guy tonight.”
“You told him what?”

“I- I just-” stutters Jungkook. “I just told him we were going on a mission tonight. You know, like
the heroes in the stories he likes.”

“We’re not superheroes.”

“We could be.”

“No, we couldn’t, you idiot.”

He jerks his elbow into Jungkook’s shoulder and the boy sulks like a toddle as he caresses the sore
spot Jimin just hit.

Hajoon giggles at his fathers' silly bickering before he nuzzles his face into his Jimin's chest and he
can't help but smile at his son as he presses his cheek to the crown of the boy’s head.

He should be furious at his husband for planting stupid ideas in their son’s head, but as he holds
him tightly in his arms, he realizes how much he needed this very moment tonight.

“I know I shouldn’t have brought him,” says Jungkook’s mother. “But he wanted his daddies to
tuck him in tonight and I couldn’t resist those sweet, doe eyes of his.”

She cocks her head to the side and coos at the sight of her grandson nuzzled into Jimin’s arms.
He’s already half-asleep and none of them have it in them to disturb him even the slightest.

“Mom, we’re technically still working. We can’t just drop everything and-”

“Sure, you can.”

Jimin nearly flinches as Hoseok comes up beside him. Their chief greets Jungkook’s mother
politely before he directs his gaze onto the couple. His eyes roam over his two fellow officers
before they land on the toddler in Jimin’s arms. Within a second, his gaze softens as he regards the
child with the uttermost awe and contentment.

“Go home,” he says. “Tuck your son in and get some sleep yourselves. You’ve earned it.”

“But, chief, I haven’t written the report for-”

“I’ll get someone else to do it. You’ve done enough, Jimin, let us handle the rest.”

Jimin parts his lips to protest, but Hoseok doesn’t let him refuse again. He holds up his finger to
keep Jimin silent and once he’s sure the officer won’t object, he stuffs his hands in his pocket,
spins on his heel and walks away.

The cold evening breeze is seeping through his silk suit but as he hugs Hajoon tightly in his arms,
he hardly feels it at all. He hardly cares about the events that unfolded tonight. He hardly cares
about anything other than his son, half-asleep in his arms.

He never thought he could love someone as much as he loves Jungkook.

He has never been so grateful for being proven wrong.

“Let’s go,” he says and reaches out to intertwine his hand with Jungkook’s. “Let’s go home and
tuck in our son.”
 Jungkook’s eyes are sparkling in the dim light of the night and it sucks all air out of Jimin’s lungs
to see his husband look so stunning.

His eyes are shining like stars, like fireworks, and like lightning storms.

His hands are warm with safety, with protection, and with security.

His smile is beautiful like flower fields, like sunsets, and like fairy lights.

There was a time where that was all he saw every time he looked at him.

And then there was a time where he could see none of it.

At last, there came a time, where he once again saw it.

He never wanted to let go of it ever again.

He never wanted to let go of him.

“There’s nothing I’d rather do, my love,” replied Jungkook. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter End Notes

THANK YOU FOR READING!

So, that was the last chapter. Thank you so much for sticking with me and I really
hoped you all enjoyed reading this story because I certainly loved writing it!

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