Chapter Text
Seokjin was asked if he wanted to see his bandmates, and of course he agreed. Instantly.
Taehyung and Jungkook were alright or so he was told.
He was so tired, the interactions with the detective had been exhausting. Being held captive was exhausting. Lifting his head up was almost impossible and he soon realized it was because after the doctor left he had asked the nurse to give him something for the after surgery pain. He felt like he had drank a little too much. Must be the medicine.
Oh, and he had been shot. The bullet went through but they had to remove any remaining pieces of it so the wound could heal properly.
His ribs felt horrible as well, but according to the doctor they were just bruised. He wasn't going to dance practice for some time, about that Seokjin was sure.
He saw figures walking in, and a nurse telling Namjoon something. And Namjoon nodded only half- heartedly and just kept looking at him. So Seokjin gave him a tiny wave with his good hand which Namjoon returned with bunched up lips.
Oh no.
Seokjin knew that expression. Namjoon was holding back tears.
Seokjin was pretty loopy, whoopy and as he told a very red eyed Hoseok while pointing at his bandaged up shoulder, he had been shooty.
For some reason Seokjin's first words being a joke made Hoseok actually laugh even though he kept crying in between. "It isn't funny Hyung." Said Hoseok while finding it pretty amusing actually, at least that's what his little smile said.
"They gave him morphine." Said Namjoon to everyone, wiping the side of his nose with his thumb to hide the fact that this nose was leaking from unshed tears, "Hyung might be a bit out of it."
"I'm oookay Joonie, just can't lift my head up at all. It's cottony." Seokjin said in a drawn out manner. He could understand everything fine; it was just hard to respond the way he wanted.
"Can I still tell him he is a fuckass for going out to get overpriced ramen in the middle of the night?" Asked Yoongi in a very serious tone.
"Go ahead." Said Seokjin with a calm expression, "Tell me what I am." He slowly blinked, letting Yoongi know he was okay with it. Cats communicate with slow blinks so why can't roommates?
A roll of eyes and Yoongi started "Hyung, you're a fuckass for going out to get overpriced ramen in the middle of the night." There was a little smile and a wobble of the lower lip to Yoongi's words. "Who's gonna take me fishing at any given opportunity when there is water nearby, hyung you…?"
"You wanna go fishing?" Asked Seokjin with furrowed brows, completely ignoring the first part of Yoongi's speech.. It wasn't an invitation, it was a question "At this hour?" Seokjin shook his head from one side to the other in a "no" gesture.
Jungkook, Jimin and Taehyung were little in the back. Taehyung being in the wheelchair made Seokjin pause a bit but Taehyung's legs were crossed in the chair and he wriggled them a bit noticing Seokjin's eyes… So… he was okay. Hopefully, maybe the chair was for dramatic effect and it was Taehyung so maybe it was for fashion.
"Kook, Tae…" said Seokjin, Jungkook looked ready to jump on him for a hug or maybe the youngest wanted to fight him. Seokjin could never tell which was which with the youngest.
Taehyung finally looked calm and easygoing like he used to, which could be because he was with Jimin again or maybe because Taehyung wasn't trapped in a basement anymore. Or both.
Then he looked at Jimin who looked absolutely horrible, truth be told. Seokjin was the one in a hospital bed, but he wanted to scoot over and ask Jimin if he needed to lay down.
"...Jimin." Seokjin called the maknae trio over, Jimin was the one who pushed Taehyung's wheelchair over, the scene before Seokjin kind of made him laugh a little so he had to bite his lip. Three rappers on one side of his bed and three vocalists on the other.
"Hah, you know, I just realized something, if I had died there would be just enough people on each side of my casket, you know to carry it?"
Seokjin watched as some of the smiles wavered on his bandmates faces. Hoseok's dropped for only a second till it was back on. But like it was more awkward. Yoongi audibly scoffed and looked at Seokjin with a "Really? REALLY?" expression. And Namjoon had the easy going expression that of a Buddha statue. So Namjoon was just probably going to ignore the unsuccessful joke.
"I mean… I'm not that heavy, and Joonie is already hulk like…And Jungkook can carry me as is…" Seokjin wanted to make himself shut up but he couldn't. He looked on the other side of the bed and the two out of three happy maknaes were now three unhappy maknaes.
"Hyung?" Asked Jungkook, his expression was unreadable but his lips were stiff. "Does your other shoulder hurt as well or was it injured, at all?"
"No…Owww! Kook, what the hell?"
The little shit pinched him!
"For fucks sake…don't say that kind of bullshit!" All eyes were on Jungkook, some of the gazes were sad, some were shocked.
Seokjin's expression was a sad one. He screwed up a bit, didn't he? Jungkook was many things but he was never outright rude, he rarely even swore at people especially Seokjin.
"I- I knew you were alive… I knew you wouldn't just die… "
Oh no.
Jungkooks face was now screwed up the way Namjoons had been previously, keeping back tears. Only Jungkook was very bad at keeping his tears back. Like very bad, so some started to escape.
"I mean I took your shoes, and that's why you fell…" and that was the moment waterworks started. There was a "Jungkookie…" heard in the back that sounded like Hoseok was ready to comfort the maknae, but Seokjin shot him a quick look that said "I'll handle this." Hoseok still looked worried but, settled down.
"Im sorry…" Jungkook started looking down on the floor to hid his face. "Your shoes, they got really dirty a-and you would be mad if I- I didn't give them back to you, b-because I know you and y-you like your stuff to all be packed and where it needs to be but I left it at Martha's and Phil's house I'm sorry I'll buy you new ones- hyung, what are you doing?"
Jungkook was drawn out if his teary ramble when Seokjin had reached out with his good arm and tried to pinch him in the tight, only to fail miserably not realizing how weak he currently was.
"I'm pinching you back for pinching me!"
Seokjin tried again but after a while gave up letting his extended hand fall back into the bed. Jungkook usually would've laughed at a situation like this, but now he just looked even sadder than before.
"And those shoes..." Seokjin used his already outstretched arm to grab for Jungkook and pull him down to lean in on Seokjin's good shoulder. "..were last season anyway."
The maknae was in an obvious need for some affection.
Jungkook let himself be pulled and oh, how he wanted to crawl into the bed and just cry it all out. But for now Jungkook settled for a familiar safe and warm shoulder to lean his forehead on.
"You're okay, right?" Jungkook quietly mumbled into Seokjin's shoulder.
"I'll live." Seokjin whispered back. He looked over Jungkook's shoulder to assure Hoseok that the situation was solved but he was met with horrified eyes.
Not only Hoseok's, Namjoon's and Yoongi's as well. Their eyes weren't on his face, they were on Jungkook?... Seokjin felt panic set in, and his brain instantly unfogged from whatever sedatives he had been on. Was something wrong with Jungkook? Was he hurt?... No. Their eyes were definitely not on Jungkook. Their eyes were on him.
His neck.
The same as when the detective's eyes had lingered there as well…when the detective had told Seokjin not to blame himself, but that was because he killed someone, right? That conversation made less and less sense to Seokjin now.
Scanning the room Seokjin also noticed Jimin looked to be ready to start hyperventilating.
Taehyung had caught on quickly enough and grabbed his friend's wrists and Jimin took Taehyung's hand in both of his for support.
"Jimin? What's wrong?" Taehyung asked his best friend quietly and Jimin just shook his head and mumbled "Tae…this is all wrong… please, tell me… tell me nothing happened…Tae…" Jimin was making no sense to Taehyung. The second youngest looked around the room trying to find some backup to help calm Jimin but noticed that the other hyungs were looking at Seokjin with hardened faces.
Yeah, he didn't look great with his hair dirty, some dried blood looked to still be under his fingernails and he had a large bruise on his jaw where Ryan had hit him…. And on Seokjin's neck… oh.
Oh. No, no, no, no! That's what Jimin had meant…
Seokjin's confused eyes met with Taehyung's panicked ones.
Taehyung used his free hand to cover his own neck mirroring the place where Seokjin's neck had the bruises.
Taehyung had noticed them back in the basement as well, but too much had been going on back then, and Taehyung knew how Seokjin managed to kill Mickey. What lengths their hyung had been willing to go to give them a chance to escape.
But nothing had happened. There just wasn't enough time. Even if time seemed to have slowed down back then, Taehyung knows that nothing really regrettable could have happened in those few minutes.
Even when covered in blood and looking dazed and crazy Seokjin… well Seokjin still had all of his clothes on, and Taehyung doubts he would've spent time fixing himself up before he had killed Mickey.
Seokjin, noticing Taehyung's hand placement instinctively reached for his own, but his only free hand was on Jungkook so he tapped the maknae on the shoulder.
"Kookie… can you get up please?"
Jungkook got up as he was told, wiping his eyes while doing so "Sorry, I'm probably too heavy…" the maknae started apologizing thinking he was the problem, but then noticed Seokjin reaching for his bruised neck with his good hand.
Jungkook frowned knowing, how those bruises got there, so he averted his eyes and got up.
Maybe Seokjin suddenly felt conscious of the bruises and maybe they hurt and maybe Jungkook accidentally touched them and maybe Jungkook should get his hyung a nice scarf or buy him a very expensive and very soft turtleneck as a compensation for Seokjin's sneakers.
But Seokjin looked confused staring at the rest of the groups, so Jungkook followed his hyungs gaze to Taehyung who looked panicked.
Then he finally took in the atmosphere of the room.
Taehyung's and Jungkook's eyes met, and understanding struck Jungkook.
The bruises. The rest of the group must think… oh no.
Jungkook was about to say something, but Seokjin beat him to it.
"Is there something wrong… with me?" He looked at the rap line, one face at the time. They were the ones staring the most.
Hoseok forced a smile "What? Pshhh no! We just haven't seen you in a long time! And you know you're a visual, aren't you used to people staring at you hyung?"
Hoseok tried to make the situation humorous, they shouldn't be upsetting Seokjin now, but no one was laughing or smiling. Still Hoseok tried his best not to let his smile slip. What if Seokjin doesn't want to talk about the obvious hickeys…. Or worse, what if their hyung doesn't know what's on his neck.
So he nudged Namjoon in his mad ramble, Hoseok needed some backup. The leader nervously licked his lips and nodded. "Yeah. Just…missed you, that's all, looking good as always hyung." He gave a weak thumbs up and a quickly fleeting smile to try to seal the deal.
Seokjin didn't look convinced. "What's wrong with me? Did… did I get maimed?" He felt around his neck with his good hand, but the skin there felt normal.
"No…" Hoseok smiled a stained smile. "You're okay." Hoseok was saying it more to the rest of the group than Seokjin it seemed.
Seokjin kept searching the members' faces for answers while clutching his neck.
Hoseok was lying to his face, Yoongi looked sad, but like he was trying to hide it. Seokjin had been Yoongi's roommates for years. Seokjin could tell something was wrong. Namjoon looked angry… Jimin was still in distress.
Taehyung tried to calm him down, pulling his friend down to be Taehyung's chair level, all the while talking to Jimin in a hushed voice.
Jungkook was still by his side exchanging occasionally panicked looks with Taehyung, so Seokjin took his hand away from his neck, ignoring how some of the stares intensified and nudged on Jungkook's sleeve.
Big bambi eyes landed on Seokjin's neck then quickly shifted to his hyungs eyes. Even Jungkook was looking at him weird.
Something was wrong.
"Kookie? Tell me what's wrong with me, please?"
Jungkook looked over at Taehyung as if looking for help, but Taehyung only nodded at the youngest in a "go ahead" gesture. Right, Taehyung's hands were currently full of Jimin. Both literally and physically.
Jungkook went down to Seokjin's level and put his hand over Seokjin's ear to whisper, the motion unknown to the maknae revealed his black and blue wrists to the rest of the room. His bruises, not everyone knew about.
"Hyung… you have bruises on your neck. Hickies..."
Seokjin felt cold sweat sweep over him once realization hit him.
Mikey.
Right, he had let Mikey do that to him, so Seokjin could kill him.
Jungkook drew back Seokjin and now could see the scene unfolding before him with full understanding. But now some eyes darted to Jungkook, especially from the oldest maknae.
Jimin was frantic. One of his hands was clutching his head, almost pulling out his overprocessed locks.
"...stop telling me to calm down this is so fucked up Taehyung… and how do I know you're telling the truth how do I know you were … that you too weren't… You're in a wheelchair because you messed up your feet running away from your kidnappers!" Jimin struggled against Taehyung trying to get free from his best friend's clutch."
"Our maknae, Jungkookie, Tae, Jungkookie! Has ropeburns on his wrists and God knows what else because no one is telling us shit!"
Jimin finally got free from Taehyung's hold and he hastily approached Seokjin's bed to finally get a closer look at his hyung.
Jimin stopped abruptly and stared at Seokjin's neck just like everyone else in the room and his face twisted in despair.
"And- and Seokjin hyung… was he? Oh god, was he fucking molested!-"
"-I wasn't!" Said Seokjin loudly and sternly stopping Jimin from his mad ramble.
That tone of voice from Seokjin wasn't a thing you hear often.
"I wasn't- molested. I let the guy do that to me," Seokjin's hand moved to cover his neck again. "I needed him to be distracted."
Jimins mouth hung open for a bit before he could mutter out any words "W-why?"
He and Seokjin had a staredown of who could make a more devastating expression. The two only looked at each other and no one else in the room while Seokjin continued. "He didn't get to do anything to me, he only gave me a few hickies-"
"Hyung!" Taehyung said softly with his low calming voice from where he was sitting in his chair "You don't have to-"
Seokjin shook his head and looked at Taehyung. "It's okay. I think it's better if everyone knows what I did."
Seokjin drew a big breath and winced to himself, the pain medication was wearing off, but he didn't want to ask for more. He needed to be clear headed. He felt like he needed to tell his group, his friends everything.
It would eat him alive if he didn't tell them.
They are a team. They need to trust each other and knowing what Seokjin did might be hidden from the general public but… he wanted them to know.
For them to understand why he did it.
Seokjin looked down at his lap, he didn't want to change his mind while looking at everyone's expressions. He assumed first there would be curiosity, anger, pity and eventually disgust.
He could take it.
"I- I don't regret it, especially because it saved Tae and Kookie. I don't regret it at all, if I hadn't done it we could've been forced to do unimaginable things… more horrible things than I had been willing to do to get us out."
He paused and chewed on his bottom lip, he wanted to look up but couldn't just yet. Jungkook was still by his side Seokjin hadn't seen him move since Jimin came forward. It gave Seokjin a little comfort having him there.
Jungkook also already knew… what Seokjin had done. And it was Jungkook. Jungkook would always be by his side when Seokjin needed someone, even if it was to just share a joke. Seokjin didn't have to look up to see that the youngest was standing there protectively.
"I wasn't awake for everything, I think I was chloroformed. Like in the movies, it turns out it can actually knock you out and it really stinks." Seokjin joked but even without seeing the faces of others he knew no one cracked a smile.
"Kook and Tae assured me they were fine when I woke up," Seokjin drew a long breath, he hated not knowing what had really happened to the maknaes while he was out cold.
"They tried to explain to me what had happened and then I met the men that had kidnapped us."
"I soon noticed one of them had a thing for me, so…I exploited that information."
"He had the keys for our cage and a gun on him."
Seokjin heard the words "cage?..." and "gun…" being whispered in the room.
"I don't want to explain in detail what I did to convince him to let me out, but please trust me it wasn't anything I wasn't prepared for… I was…I was willing to go further actually… whatever it took…"
Seokjin could feel Jungkook put his hand on Seokjin's shoulder and give it a slight squeeze. Seokjin removed his good hand from his neck and put his hand over Jungkook's.
Seokjin could see the ropeburns on Jungkook's wrists in his peripheral vision, he guessed so could everyone else.
What a sorry sight they were.
"… but thankfully I didn't have to go that far." He continued with his confession.
"We had gotten our hands on an empty beer bottle."
"And we were able to break it, silently."
"I hid the longest shard in my sleeve."
"And of course Mikey… the man who was into me, he came down to see me when no one else was home." Jungkook gave his good shoulder a squeeze, Seokjin wasn't sure if it was a reassuring squeeze or a tense one upon hearing Mikey being mentioned.
Seokjin paused, still not looking up. The silence in the room was loud. As loud as the implication of what Mikey had wanted from him then.
Seokjin thought that Jungkook and Taehyung would stop him from saying anything further, but they were probably curious as well so aside from a slight pressure in Seokjin's shoulder no one interrupted him.
"We had a plan. It wasn't a great one but… it was our only chance."
"I made Taehyung and Jungkook close each other's ears. And I hoped they would for once listen to me and look anywhere but at me..."
Seokjin thought he could hear someone's jaw muscles tense up, he thought even a little sound was one of the member's giving some kind of a reaction. Seokjin was too afraid to look up, so far his teammates are probably feeling anger or even pity… disgust in Seokjin's actions is soon to follow then.
"I convinced Mikey to let me out… I think you all can guess how." Seokjin let out a humorless laugh and he clutched back at Jungkook's hand now needing some kind of an anchor.
"While he had me up against the iron bars, I made sure his arms were busy, and his attention was elsewhere…"
Seokjin heard what he thinks is Yoongi. The sound his friend and ex roommate makes is unmistakably him, just an angry exhale of air then a murmur from the soft yet musky tone from Namjoon. Probably calming words. They all want to know what happens next, Seokjin guesses. So Namjoon is probably trying to keep them all stay quiet.
"Then… there was the chance I was looking for, Mikey was busy with me…" The room was dead silent, waiting in painful anticipation for what happened next.
"So I stabbed him. In the neck with the glass shard…"
The silence in the room was replaced with little noises Seokjin tried to ignore. A tiny whisper and a gasp, a choking noise, a shushing sound and he thinks he hears someone's heart beating way too fast and way too loud.
Seokjin drowns the noises out with his own voice pickin up volume and an edge, "..Again and again and again, we had eventually fallen to the floor, and I knew he was already dead!" Seokjin thinks the heartbeats that are way too loud for the quiet room are his own.
"I knew I had killed him, I knew he was already dead, but I didn't stop… I couldn't stop, my body didn't listen to me!" Seokjin almost yelled the last part out, they had to understand he wanted to stop. But seeing Mikey had made Seokjin almost blind with silent rage.
So he had just continuously, stab, by stab made sure the man would never get up to hurt them again.
No one commented on Seokjin's confession out loud. They probably had thought that this would be about the hickies, not about their hyung being a murderer.
Everyone must have thought that it was the police that killed both Mikey and Ryan. Hybe will most likely take care of everything and as the detective had said, made a new official statement from the truth.
"These tiny bruises pale in comparison to the mess I made of Mikey's neck or whatever was left of it…" He probably shouldn't have said that out loud, but I was the truth.
Seokjin remembers it as if he was looking at himself and Mikey from above, like he was looking at the scene from the sidelines. It had looked horrible, dark red, sticky and dirty.
Seokjin had been the one who made the mess, he was a murderer.
"I barely remember what happened next, I think I was in sort of a survival mode haze." Seokjin changes the topic as fast as he can, but the damage is probably already done.
"I know we hid, then we ran, one of then came home, His name was Ryan."
"He is dead? I think he is dead now." Seokjin knits his eyebrows together, the events getting mixed up in his head. "He wanted to blow his brains out… in front of me… but I think he didn't get the chance to?" Seokjin would look around the room for answers but he kept his head down and just shook it to himself.
"I tried to make sure Jungkook and Taehyung wouldn't separate, I tried to make sure they would stay together. No matter what at least they needed to survive…"
Seokjin doesn't think he values his life less than the lives of others. He has always been gentle with himself and tries to appreciate himself but when it came to life or death situation he surprised himself. He really had laid down his life to let his dongsaengs escape.
"I- I slipped, I had the gun, I was pointing it at Ryan. He was pointing it at me and then he shot me…I think? I- I can't remember…"
Seokjin let go of Jungkook's hand and reached for his gauzed up shoulder, the pain was slowly returning as medication was leaving his system.
"...I've never felt pain like that in my life, but I saw him point the gun somewhere. It could only be at Kookie and Tae."
"I was so, angry he hurt me, hurt us, so I grabbed his leg but I still heard a gunshot." Seokjin still remembers hoping and praying it didn't hit one of the maknaes, he remembers the relief of seeing the empty line of sight in the trees.
Seokjin's eyes are unfocused as he stares at nothingness on his blankets. His vision is blurring with tears, remembering the events.
"Then he kicked me over and over again until I couldn't take it anymore… I kind of was ready to die. I didn't want to die, but I saw no way out and everything hurt! And I was so, so tired…"
"Hyung stop." A quiet and soft voice pleaded.
Seokjin through his blurry vision could see the shuffling of feet just outside of his view and then a dip in the mattress. Finally looking up, he noticed that it was Jimin who had slowly made his way to Seokjin's hospital bed. With his knees hitting the ground, the oldest maknae buried his head in Seokjin's lap.
It was like a bow.
"I'm sorry… Seokjin hyung, Kookie, Tae…"
"I'm sorry I suggested we go out!" Jimin kept his head down in the hospital sheets.
"I'm sorry I ran ahead, I'm sorry I didn't stay, I'm sorry I didn't help you I'm sorry I ran away im sorry I didn't get help fast enough, I'm I'm sorry you all got hurt because of that! I'm sorry I'm so sorry I'msosorryI'msorry-"
Jimin yelped and jerked his head up when he felt a sharp kick to his rear. With red eyes, with yet to be shed tears Jimin found the foot connecting to his behind was none other than Kim Taehyung's bandaged up one.
"Jimin no!" Taehyung was gritting his teeth probably from the pain his foot was experiencing. "I don't want to hear no survivor's guilt from you, you hear me?"
"Jungkook was a mess, I can't blame him but he was, I was too scared to admit I was scared and I would've done nothing to try to save us. If you had stayed, if you had been taken as well, Seokjin hyung would have to deal with another one of us."
Taehyung looked from Jimin to Seokjin. "And I'm sorry for being a pain in the ass and not being cooperative. I was scared…And I know you were too hyung, I could see it and I'm so sorry I didn't make it easier."
"I'm going to work out more." Said Jungkook to the side with a frown on his face "I could've done something if I was stronger, if I could have fought them off."
"If I was stronger I could've dragged Jin hyung with us to the woods when he fell… I could've…I could've helped more…I…"
"Taehyungie go kick Kookies ass as well." Said Seokjin interrupting the maknae. He seemed to have collected himself, his eyes were still red but 7 out of 7 members had the same look in their eyes.
"Hard to maneuver in the wheelchair hyung."
"I thought you wanted to be more cooperative?"
"Handle your own ass kickings."
"How about not kicking my ass, or discussing kicking my ass in front of me?" Jungkook mumblewhined removing his hand from Seokjin's shoulder to cross it defensively over his chest.
All the tension and gloom in the room seemed to not weigh so heavy on them anymore.
They could still be… normal. Themselves. And it wasn't forced, it was natural, it was them.
The moment was interrupted when Yoongi spoke up "One of them is still out there right?" His jaw was tense, his arms crossed tight across his chest.
"The ginger one, he had glasses, Al." Nodded Jungkook putting both of his hands on both sides of his temples to mimic putting on glasses, accidentally showing his ropeburns.
Yoongi's eyes followed their maknaes movements and his mouth momentarily dropped into an even deeper frown. The rapper exhaled and nodded. "Al, okay."
Hoseok raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with an open mouthed Namjoon, then out of nowhere Hoseok's expression matched the leader's expression. "Yoongi…?" Said Hoseok, looking worried.
Yoongi shook his head, "Nothing, later."
Hoseok went to Namjoon to whisper something and Namjoon shook his head and whispered "I mean…if he's thinking what we're thinking… we could…but…"
Yoongi switched his attention back to the hospital bed where the maknaes and Seokjin were. The sight stung. The maknae line were all children when they joined the group so seeing them like this, hurt and in distress, made Yoongi sad and mad.
And then there was Seokjin. Even though Seokjin was the oldest Yoongi still felt protective over his only hyung in the group… also it was Seokjin, if no one asks for their passports or birthdays Seokjin could basically pass for a maknae liner.
The oldest rapper forced a small smile "It's good to have you back Jin hyung…Kookie, Tae."
Seokjin was about to say something looking all sad and kicked puppy like, Yoongi could already guess that something was being self-deprecating so he did something very un-Yoongi-like. "Hyung… Seokjin. You know, it's okay. You probably feel horrible about it and I can't make you stop feeling that way but… you saved two people…" Yoongi exhaled, clicked his tongue and looked down at the floor heat rising to his cheeks. God, he wished he could take a shot of whiskey before saying this "and you saved one if my best friends."
Instead of self deprecation there now was a snort and a tiny "...go on?" Even without looking up Yoongi could already tell Seokjin had an amused expression on his face.
Yoongi kept looking at the floor but smiled to himself "No."
"Ah, Yoongchi, but you were about to confess your never-ending love for me!" Seokjin seemed to have caught on to the need to lighten the mood.
Even though he had confessed to something horrible, to doing something no one ever thought someone as gentle as their Seokjin hyung could ever do, no one thought less of him.
"Your devotion, your admiration… Come on, the compliments bring them here! I want to hear it all."
Small snickers filled the room, everyone made fun of everyone. Eventually normalcy would return to the group. Everyone in the room wanted it and so they would work for it.
**********
Returning to Korea was hard, the flashes of the sasaeng and paparazzi cameras were blinding but when were they not?
Articles filled the Internet. Pictures of Jungkook being covered head to toe in black, not unusual, but the amount of bodyguards was a bit extreme even for a bangtan member. In fact Jungkook was barely visible. Jungkook simply didn't want be seen right now. Yet Jungkook couldn't lie, Korea felt a lot more safe to him. It was home after all.
A lot of buzz was around Taehyung because of his physical appearance. He was being wheeled around in a wheelchair, Jimin always by his side. But Taehyung being himself chose to calm the fans nerves a bit when he crossed his legs while being wheeled. He even swung them back and forth while waiting for his turn to get his passport checked. He wanted the company to make a statement that he was physically fine as soon as possible, but for now he just gave some cameras small waves.
And then there was the one who had been presumed dead because of a confusing news report with bird's view footage of covered bodies being wheeled into an ambulance. A mistranslation and some half-lies spread by sasaengs to the K-media. Seokjin had his bandaged shoulder hidden in his long coat and he was wearing a long dark turtleneck hiding his injuries and bruises. A face mask was covering majority of his face since he was bruised there as well.
Seokjin was walking extremely slowly and he hoped it wasn't that noticeable, that he was in pain. He had bruised ribs and he was aching all over since it would take weeks for his minor injuries to heal and months for his shoulder. He had been offered a wheelchair but Seokjin refused. He didn't want to worry the fans that were probably already worried for Taehyung's sorry appearance.
The airport appearance wasn't necessary per say, they could have gone through a private exit. But Hybe insisted that this was the best way to show the world that they were hurt yes, but alive. And no one was hiding the news of one of the members dying as so many sasaengs had already spread around.
*********
When they finally reached the Hybe building everyone's parents were there. Even some big sisters and big and little brothers. Everyone's, even the rap lines.
No matter whose son was who everyone was checked on, everyone was hugged and later on everyone was fed with everyone's homemade food.
********
Therapy was mandatory, minimum once a month for the rap line and once a week for two months for the vocal line, which included Jimin.
The rap line were all going through stress induced anxiety. So by idol standards they were healthy enough to work.
Jungkook and Jimin both had PTSD like symptoms and Jimin did experience symptoms of survival guilt.
Jungkook admitted in a group therapy session that he sometimes needs to check if everyone is breathing when they are taking a nap in front of him.
"Its so stupid but, Jin hyung looked just like he was sleeping, which he was… but…I keep thinking what if he wasn't…"
"I just want to forget it all honestly, but I don't think I can. Maybe, just maybe if I would've been stronger… hah, some "golden maknae" I am… good at everything? No,..I'm not good at everything but I will be, I have to be. I will be."
Taehyung, aside from the obvious physical injuries, was probably the most mentally stable out of the three of the kidnapped vocalists. He admitted that talking to someone did help and he was charming as always towards the therapist.
"I just… feel okay? We are home and we are now safe. What else could I ask for? Ah, I'm a little scared to go to the store at night now, so I just order in, I guess?"
"Ah, Miss? Do you know any good take - out places for some pork dumplings? I feel like some pork dumplings tonight!"
For Seokjin it took a couple of weeks to actually say what he meant, not just try to use jokes as a defense mechanism when asked how he was feeling at the beginning of each session.
"...I killed a man, but I don't feel guilty. I told this to the detective handling our case as well. I think I feel more guilty for not feeling anything… I actually feel like I've done something good for the world. I- I looked up who these people were since full names were all over the news."
"I'm not one to seek revenge, but after reading about them… I think I removed a parasite from society."
Seokjin did draw a line when I came to talking about how he let himself be the sacrificial lamb for one of their kidnappers.
"I simply didn't want to see my maknaes suffer and I didn't want to be sold, it… it doesn't matter. I was just looking out for Jungkook and Taehyung. I'm their mathyung, after all."
********
As soon as they had landed in Korea Yoongi had sent a text to an old acquaintance through his personal phone. Well the man was technically Namjoon's friend's brother from back when they were underground rappers.
Hoseok had taught the man how to do a hattrick while they had all gone out for a drink after and a rap battle, so in exchange the man told them a secret.
"...yep, you know that politician that was found hanging from the ceiling in his apartment? Yes, Gloss, that's the one. The guy is good made it look like a suicide…"
"... it's actually not that expensive, like we could never afford it. We are freaking mortals here… But if you're you're influential figure you can probably kill anyone…"
"...oh? You don't believe me? Okay, you know that TV host? Yeah the gossip channel, well I heard he is next, yep! Okay if he is dead by next week Runch Randa is buying us all drinks!"
Namjoon had ended up buying everyone rounds the following week.
Skeptical, Yoongi had decided to humor the man between drinks and ask how to even hire a hitman.
And so years later Yoongi, Hoseok and Namjoon get a middle man to handle a contract killing.
The price? Apparently one death costs less than a single wristwatch in their world. Hoseok's whole outfit that day could be 3 people's lives.
And so weeks later Alan Cooper is found drowned. He was already deep in debt so of course no one suspects finger heart throwing K-pop idols.
*******
The news arrived while they were done recording for the day for the new album. Although Seokjin and Taehyung can't currently dance they can still record so they keep working.
Seokjin was just checking his phone, scrolling aimlessly, then he sees the article. It feels like something heavy has been removed from Seokjin's chest, like he can finally breathe.
When the news finally reaches all seven members there is a strange sense of giddiness. The source of so many nightmares, the last one who had hurt them, Al is gone.
"Hey… do you guys wanna go out? For a few drinks?" Suggests Jungkook looking around the room away from his phone where he has the article open, trying not to look too happy seeing the news.
"Yes. I want cake and Soju." Says Seokjin putting his phone away trying to look unaffected as well but inside he feels like it's his birthday hence he is going to eat some cake. Chocolate cake!
"I could go for something sweet, I need it to heal." Says Taehyung, way too happy looking, lifting his feet up from his wheelchair. It's been a few weeks and his feet are almost fully healed but he keeps using the chair as per doctor's instructions.
All the members are in agreement putting their phones away, not discussing the elephant in the room, also known as the article.
They are just going out to celebrate Seokjin finishing recording his as libs that's it. They are very good ad libs.
Also.
All of the Cooper brothers have died.
And Hoseok has one less Rolex in his collection.