"... Oh, shit." Well. Yeah, no, that did explain things a little. Huh. He wasn't sure what to do with this but he felt a twinge of guilt at threatening to torture him. He didn't want torture a lunatic, he didn't think that was good practise. And then he realised how dumb that logic was. "He doesn't seem crazy."
He turned his head and eyed the door that Jimin was behind. "I wonder what he was in for." Weirdness. "I can't believe Namjoon is already attached.
"He gets attached quickly. He liked you back when I just thought you were annoying." Namjoon really was more of a people person than him. Which wasn't saying much, but yes, he knew that Namjoon had a lot of empathy. He never seemed to lose it either, no matter how long he was in this business. "Namjoon told me Jimin's diagnosis. Delusional something or other? Sorry, I forgot."
He had a lot of other things to keep him mind after all. "Namjoon wants to talk to Taehyung. How badly did you hurt him?"
"Not as much as I wanted to. I figured he'd talk more if he was less hurt. Kinda punched his face a few times and he hurt himself trying to escape." So really, it could have been worse but Jungkook went nice and gentle on him. For Jungkook, anyway.
"Great, so he'll be hurt but not broken." Namjoon commented as he came over, drinking his coffee. Only his coffee wasn't just a straight black coffee like the cool gangsters drank. His had caramel syrup, cream and sprinkles. It tasted great. "I'll go talk to him." Sluuuuuuurp.
"Whatever." Yoongi was about to just step back and be dismissive, but then he paused and moved forward, stopping Namjoon with a hand on his shoulder. He reached up and wiped the cream from Namjoon's upper lip, frowning at him. "You look like the help."
And yet he was his second in command. Awful. Whatever. He licked his thumb and turned around now, because he'd gotten a glimpse inside the room and seen that, however hurt Taehyung might be, he was currently sobbing desperately and he didn't need Namjoon trying to guilt him over it.
Namjoon smiled and licked his lips before heading inside and kicking the door shut behind him. He leaned against the door and slurped his drink, kicking the door once with his foot. "Kookie, you better not be listening in! Get lost."
"... I wasn't." Jungkook sounded so much younger when talking to his hyungs.
Namjoon watched Tae sob and he hated it, he didn't think a kid just trying to help out his friend should have to suffer like this but this was the business. "Come on, don't cry. This is the part of the evening where we have an adult discussion. No pain, promise. Just you and me talking."
When Tae looked up, realising he was no longer alone, he immediately tried to pull himself together, glaring at whoever this new guy was. He didn't know what was happening now. Torture? A good cop routine? He rubbed his face against his sleeve, spotting the blood that stained it afterwards. Well, great. If he survived this, he'd need a new shirt.
"Did Jungkook call his big brother?" He eyed him critically. "He's cuter."
"Tell me about it." Well, he was. "Nah, I'm the second in command and I mean it, I want to talk. That doesn't mean this is a free for all where you can be a little shit to me. I'm still a gangster and I'll still shoot you if you try anything. I just really don't want to." Honesty was the best policy, right? He didn't really like to dick around.
He finished his coffee and dropped the plastic container on the floor, kicking it aside carelessly. "So, I looked you and your friend up. Quite the tale you both tell. You have enough minor chargers to fill a notebook and he's got some interesting medical notes."
"So? You litter." He pointedly looked at the plastic cup, mostly still thinking about the 'medical notes' statement. How could anyone just know all of that and talk about it like it was nothing? That was Jimin's life. This sucked. He stared at the door, wondering what was happening to Jimin right now. He should have just taken him back. Yes, Jimin had begged him not to, but at least it would be better than this. "Jimin's medical notes are none of your business. You're not his doctor."
"I wanted to see what kind of person he is. And you. I don't think you meant to screw us over. Or wanted to." And that was something he truly believed. "I went to the Dark Dragon's club today. The green club your friend described. They didn't talk very nicely about him either. A fuckable body and mouth they wanted to try out. It's not a pretty picture. And I know those guys, they mean business."
Hence all the crying girls he saw today and the fight he almost provoked. "They're vile. Honestly, I think you did the right thing in the grand scheme of things. If you'd said no, you'd both have been raped and murdered."
"Yep." Well, he knew that was true. Mostly he was worried about how long they'd have kept them alive. "Your people aren't that bad."
Comparatively speaking. "So I'm not giving you anything." He just wasn't as afraid of them. Again, comparatively speaking. He still felt awful. He still knew he'd failed. All Jimin had wanted was to be free for once and this was where it had led. It was his fault, he knew that.
"We're not killing you. I had to bargain with Yoongi pretty fucking hard and this is a big risk for me but -- ah, fuck, whatever. I want to offer you protection." He looked at Tae and slowly moved closer, leaning forward to look him over. "Right now, they think you and Jimin are already dead. Stay with us and we'll protect you so they don't find out until we tackle the problem."
Shrugging his shoulders, he reached out to wipe some blood from Tae's forehead before it went into his eyes.
"The one issue is that I really need those names, yeah? Because one of them could be in our gang, spying on us. If they are, they'll know you're alive. And then we're all fucked." And that was the catch. The tricky part. "Please, just tell me. Cause I don't want you to suffer like this for helping out a friend. I'd have done the exact same thing."
"Sure. Because a lot of people threaten to rape Min Yoongi." Sounded convincing. Tae just wanted to give in and he couldn't believe that it was actually working. People weren't nice to him very often. People especially didn't look like they cared about him. Wipe his blood. He wasn't the type to make people take care of him, that was more something that happened to Jimin.
"I guess you don't have any reason to so I'll just have to give you one. Because I think I get you and I hope one day, you'll get me. I think you just want to save your friend. I think you're a good kid... in that respect. I know you're a little punk, you really wound up Kookie today." Namjoon laughed a little and then reached forward, already undoing Tae's bindings as a show of good faith. It didn't seem right to play it this way.
"It seems stupid to get you to trust me when you're the one tied to a chair." As the bonds loosened, he reached out and caught either side of Tae in case he fell. "I'll let you relax a bit and then we can talk it over again, yeah? I'll keep you safe if you just trust me."
Tae had no idea what was going on. His heart was beating up to his throat and he quickly leaned back against the chair, staring at Namjoon as if he'd grown a second head. Was he special too? What was up with him? Had to be a trap. Definitely a trap. "Where's Jimin? Are you hurting him?"
He had heard him scream before. "I want to see Jimin. If you say we are safe, then I want to see Jimin."
"Okay, we'll go see Jimin. I think he's in the other room. No one should have hurt him a lot so that's something. Come on." He helped Tae up and held him upright by his elbow, helping him along and assuming he'd had some trouble moving. He didn't seem scared that Tae would attack or run, he just kept on moving as he opened the door and hauled Tae out into the hallway.
"Erm, it's this one... I think." He jiggled the knob and knocked a few times. "It's me, RM."
The door opened and the guard frowned at Tae's presence. "What's up?"
"We want to see Jimin. You can go take a break, I got this." Hopefully.
Tae had no idea what was happening, because this wasn't supposed to happen like this. He watched Namjoon suspiciously, only looking away when the door opened and he saw Jimin. He really didn't seem to have been hurt, at least not visibly, which was a relief. He rushed inside, even if he felt as if he might fall over. It promptly happened and he landed by Jimin's feet, hugging his legs and resting his head on top of his lap, not even caring that he was bleeding on him.
"Tae, oh God. Oh no. What happened to your face? Shit." Jimin wriggled around in his ropes, trying desperately to get his hands free so he could hold Tae but in the end, all he could do is lean a little closer and cry himself. Mostly tears of relief than sadness. "Tae, it's okay, it's really okay. It's not your fault. Please don't be upset."
Namjoon shut the door behind him and moved forward, walking around them slowly. Jimin tensed hard as Namjoon got behind him. "What are you-- who are you?"
"RM." Namjoon undid the ropes and let them loosen. "Bet you guys want to hug. Hug it out, I'll be over here." He didn't want to watch, it seemed weird.
Tae quickly pulled Jimin down and wrapped his arms around him entirely, pulled his head against his chest, wishing he could shield him. He was so not in the shape to do that and all that really happened was his stomach growling, which was unlikely to intimidate anyone.
"It's a trap," he muttered to Jimin, because nothing else was making any sense, "Just a way to make me talk." But it meant that he got to be close to Jimin, so there was that. "They looked up your records, Jiminie, I'm sorry, they know."
"They looked up ... why?" Why the hell were people looking through that stuff? It was private. He buried his head against Tae's chest and tried to bite back not just sadness but a wave of sudden anger. "It's okay, Tae. We'll be okay. We just have to be careful. I don't care what happens to me, I don't blame you. I'll never blame you. We're just unlucky."
"Explain to him the deal, I'm going to nip out for a few. And seriously, consider it. I'm not dicking around with you. Just try to trust me." Namjoon moved from the wall and headed out of the door, intent on finding some food for them both.
Jimin peered over Tae's shoulder, hating all of this. "What deal?"
"He's just bullshitting. He thinks I'm stupid." Tae tried to be as dismissive as possible, he didn't want to give Jimin false hope. "He said that if I give them the names, they'd give us protection. Keep you safe." Because in his mind it was just about Jimin needing protection. "He told me he's the second in command and that he talked Min Yoongi into it."
Certainly didn't seem like a second in command to him.
"We would be protected from the people we stole the drugs for, right?" Well, that didn't seem so bad. Jimin sighed and leaned against his friend, wishing he knew what the right move was. "I mean... it's getting close to that point, Tae, where I don't think we have a lot to lose by taking a chance. What if he isn't playing us? Then we stand a chance. If we don't go with the deal then we never stood a chance anyway."
He didn't think it was real but he liked the odds. "I'm not saying we won't die but I like the idea of the lie over the harsh truth. It makes it easier."
"I don't want you to get hurt, Jiminie." He really wished he had a better way of explaining this, but instead all he could do was holding him and wishing he could believe anyone. Trust anyone. He knew people never really cared, but Jimin was always so trusting. He thought everyone was sweet or nice.
"I don't want you to get hurt but you already are. You know, you don't always get what you want." If he did then he'd be the one suffering and not Tae. His friend had always been there for him, always protected him, he was the first friend he made on the outside that really treated him like any other person. He didn't want to lose him. "I say we go for it. Gamble our lives. We don't have a lot to lose by doing it."
Jimin leaned in and pulled Tae into his arms, hugging him even tighter this time. "I'm so sorry, Tae. For everything. And I just want you to know, if I don't see you again after this, that you made my life great and I love you more than anyone."
"I love you more than anyone too, Jiminie." And Tae still blamed himself, but he couldn't just stop that. He was too protective of Jimin, for good reason, and it didn't help that people kept confirming that he was to blame. The assholes that had set them up. Jungkook. His words kept replaying in his head and he tried to push them back. "I'll give them all I know."
He rubbed at his eyes and hugged him tighter. "You've made my life an adventure, Jiminie."
They held each other for a while in comfortable silence before Namjoon returned and held out some candy bars to them, kicking the door shut behind them, "I wanted to get proper food but we had none so it's just candy. The nearest food place to us is tacos and they're just -- they're kind of dodgy. No one needs that."
Jimin looked at the candy for a long time and then turned his head to Tae. If they were doing this, they may as well do it now. Jimin took the candy and nodded in appreciation.
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He turned his head and eyed the door that Jimin was behind. "I wonder what he was in for." Weirdness. "I can't believe Namjoon is already attached.
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He had a lot of other things to keep him mind after all. "Namjoon wants to talk to Taehyung. How badly did you hurt him?"
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"Great, so he'll be hurt but not broken." Namjoon commented as he came over, drinking his coffee. Only his coffee wasn't just a straight black coffee like the cool gangsters drank. His had caramel syrup, cream and sprinkles. It tasted great. "I'll go talk to him." Sluuuuuuurp.
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And yet he was his second in command. Awful. Whatever. He licked his thumb and turned around now, because he'd gotten a glimpse inside the room and seen that, however hurt Taehyung might be, he was currently sobbing desperately and he didn't need Namjoon trying to guilt him over it.
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"... I wasn't." Jungkook sounded so much younger when talking to his hyungs.
Namjoon watched Tae sob and he hated it, he didn't think a kid just trying to help out his friend should have to suffer like this but this was the business. "Come on, don't cry. This is the part of the evening where we have an adult discussion. No pain, promise. Just you and me talking."
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"Did Jungkook call his big brother?" He eyed him critically. "He's cuter."
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He finished his coffee and dropped the plastic container on the floor, kicking it aside carelessly. "So, I looked you and your friend up. Quite the tale you both tell. You have enough minor chargers to fill a notebook and he's got some interesting medical notes."
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Hence all the crying girls he saw today and the fight he almost provoked. "They're vile. Honestly, I think you did the right thing in the grand scheme of things. If you'd said no, you'd both have been raped and murdered."
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Comparatively speaking. "So I'm not giving you anything." He just wasn't as afraid of them. Again, comparatively speaking. He still felt awful. He still knew he'd failed. All Jimin had wanted was to be free for once and this was where it had led. It was his fault, he knew that.
"Can I see Jimin before you kill us?"
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Shrugging his shoulders, he reached out to wipe some blood from Tae's forehead before it went into his eyes.
"The one issue is that I really need those names, yeah? Because one of them could be in our gang, spying on us. If they are, they'll know you're alive. And then we're all fucked." And that was the catch. The tricky part. "Please, just tell me. Cause I don't want you to suffer like this for helping out a friend. I'd have done the exact same thing."
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"Why would I trust you?"
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"It seems stupid to get you to trust me when you're the one tied to a chair." As the bonds loosened, he reached out and caught either side of Tae in case he fell. "I'll let you relax a bit and then we can talk it over again, yeah? I'll keep you safe if you just trust me."
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He had heard him scream before. "I want to see Jimin. If you say we are safe, then I want to see Jimin."
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"Erm, it's this one... I think." He jiggled the knob and knocked a few times. "It's me, RM."
The door opened and the guard frowned at Tae's presence. "What's up?"
"We want to see Jimin. You can go take a break, I got this." Hopefully.
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"I'm so sorry, Jiminie."
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Namjoon shut the door behind him and moved forward, walking around them slowly. Jimin tensed hard as Namjoon got behind him. "What are you-- who are you?"
"RM." Namjoon undid the ropes and let them loosen. "Bet you guys want to hug. Hug it out, I'll be over here." He didn't want to watch, it seemed weird.
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"It's a trap," he muttered to Jimin, because nothing else was making any sense, "Just a way to make me talk." But it meant that he got to be close to Jimin, so there was that. "They looked up your records, Jiminie, I'm sorry, they know."
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"Explain to him the deal, I'm going to nip out for a few. And seriously, consider it. I'm not dicking around with you. Just try to trust me." Namjoon moved from the wall and headed out of the door, intent on finding some food for them both.
Jimin peered over Tae's shoulder, hating all of this. "What deal?"
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Certainly didn't seem like a second in command to him.
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He didn't think it was real but he liked the odds. "I'm not saying we won't die but I like the idea of the lie over the harsh truth. It makes it easier."
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"I guess maybe it can't get worse."
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Jimin leaned in and pulled Tae into his arms, hugging him even tighter this time. "I'm so sorry, Tae. For everything. And I just want you to know, if I don't see you again after this, that you made my life great and I love you more than anyone."
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He rubbed at his eyes and hugged him tighter. "You've made my life an adventure, Jiminie."
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Jimin looked at the candy for a long time and then turned his head to Tae. If they were doing this, they may as well do it now. Jimin took the candy and nodded in appreciation.
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