RIN

I'm mad.

I'm mad, at Jungkook.

"Miss Rin?" He calls when I briskly walk out of the hospital entrance. I'd intentionally waited until he'd come out of the room where Aeri was, having been sitting impatiently in the seats outside.

I hear his footsteps, and walk even faster.

He hadn't let me see Aeri.

And when we'd gone down to the Underground, he hadn't even let me come close when he'd been fighting, like, four men by himself.

Maybe if he'd let me help, he wouldn't have gotten hurt and have that dumb scar ruin his pretty face.

I don't even make it past the stairs before his hand wraps around my shoulder. He pulls me back, and I whip back with an annoyed look.

"What."

His eyes search my face at my scratchy tone.

"Are you angry?"

"No." I sniff, about to turn away again when his hand tightens around my upper arm. His brows knit together.

"You are. Tell me what I did wrong, Rin."

I blink, slightly taken aback at the sound of my name. It had always been miss, or Miss Rin. It feels a little weird, to hear him say that.

My heart beats a little faster.

"You didn't let me go see Aeri," I scowl, finally admitting. "Plus back in the Underground you made me watch like a useless person. I—"

"Because it's only been a couple days," He murmurs. "I didn't mean for you to feel that way. I meant for you to be safe."

I glance at his cheek. One of those guys had had a knife, and the thin, red line that runs across his cheek to jaw is getting on my nerves.

"And you?"

"...what?"

"Never mind." I say, crossing my arms together. "Then what about just now? Why aren't you letting me see Aeri?"

This time, he seems more reluctant.

"Because..."

His voice trails to silence. And I'm staring at him, waiting for an answer when he suddenly changes the topic. Stops answering my question, just like that.

"Come on. We can't just stand here."

I blink. "You didn't answer my question."

But he's already walking. I make an incredulous noise, but still follow after him like a lost duckling. I didn't really have any other choice, did I?

"Hey! Jeon Jungkook!"

Then I slow when I see him pause in his steps. He's taking a buzzing phone out of his pocket, and I edge closer as he presses it to his ear.

I blink in curiosity.

"...yes." He whispers. And my eyes narrow, when I see his body tense. "I understand."

But when I try to shuffle a bit closer to try and eavesdrop, he walks further forward. I look up at him— at his back, firmly turned to me. He's keeping his distance.

The call doesn't even last ten seconds.

"Rin."

But when he turns again, his face is shadowed so darkly the complaints shove their way down my throat. For a second, I wonder if he's angry at me.

Then his eyes flicker side to side, sweeping through the alleys that mark the street.

"I need you to go home," He murmurs, running a taut hand through his dark hair. "Please."

My voice is low.

"...what was that call?"

Why was he so tense? I'd never seen him this on edge— even when he'd been fighting those guys. He'd looked much more relaxed than this.

He shakes his head. His voice has turned pleading, and I glimpse that his fingers around the silent phone has turned pale with how hard he's holding it.

I couldn't read books, but it didn't mean I couldn't read situations.

"Fine," I say. "I will."

"Are you going to be okay though?"

That bursts out of me before I can even stop it. And I can't believe myself when I realize I'd been the one to say that, and blush furiously when Jungkook glances towards me in mild surprise.

"Not because I'm worried," I snap. "Because I don't want to fall behind on the lessons, you know. Can't you obviously tell?"

He smiles.

And his smile— his smile is what cuts me off. It's like a sunbeam that slices through the darkness that has fallen over his features, and it take my breath away for a split second.

I sniff.

Although I'd never admit that even with my life on the line.

"I will be." He smiles, tilting his head.

"Thank you, Rin."

________________________________

JUNGKOOK

"You already know why I called you here."

I nod. And my stare is forced down, fingertips tightly tangled behind my back. The floor I stand on is a dim color— a shade between a light gray and black.

"Answer."

"Yes, sir." I murmur, voice taut. "I do."

There's a slight sigh. My eyes flicker at the heaviness of his tone, and for a second I wonder if he really means to kill me tonight.

Sighing, maybe— for what might be lost.

"I will deal with my son later," He says sharply, and I can hear the faint sound of his fingertips drumming against the arm of the chair. The only other sound I can hear in the room is the steady, cold ticking of the clock.

Annoyance is clear in his voice when he speaks next.

"I brought you here alone, since I know how much Taehyung cares for you. He would just make things so much harder than they need be."

So maybe you'll be the one to tell me,"

I'd expected this question.

"Why did you go against me?"

My fingers tighten, out of his sight. For all the moments that had led up to now, I had thought of every possible excuse that I could give.

Nothing would trick him perfectly.

So I go with the closest try— skirting closest to the truth as possible.

"With Min Kian," I murmur softly. "I turned him over to Taehyung because he had a personal vengeance with him. Related to Park Jimin, in the Hacker's Department."

"For the records in the Underground..."

I look up, my eyes steadily meeting the brutally cold gaze of Kim Haein.

"Hyung went down to Shin Aemin's residence to search for the prototype blueprints himself. He would've brought it to you if he had found—"

My head whips to the side as something crashes into my temple.

A sound of shattering glass echoes in my ear, and I see the shards rain onto the stained floor. The remnants of a wine glass, and I realize it had still been full with alcohol as I feel wetness drip down the line of my throat.

I barely press down a cry of pain as I feel the fire of the alcohol mix into the cut that the glass had opened in the side of my head.

I can only wince, as the blood runs heavier.

There's a harsh laughter.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

And the sound of footsteps echo closer, until I feel a sudden blow to my calf. My legs give out— already unsteady from the painful nausea clouding my mind. They crash to the floor.

I find myself kneeling, head hung forward. My dark hair is already soaked with blood.

Cold fingers grip my chin.

"I asked you a question."

"...no, sir." I say faintly. My hands tighten by my sides, to try and stay awake. "I would neve—"

"Oh, but you must take me for a fool." He says, and I can't help the cry that bursts from my lips when he presses his thumb into my wound.

"If you think that you can lie to me so easily."

He lets go. And I gasp, catching myself heavily. Darkness crowds the corners of my eyes, and my right vision blurs with a dull scarlet.

Better to faint.

Better to find an escape— any escape, from this man.

But would it matter? To a man who knew of a thousand ways to wake a person who has gone unconscious from torture like this?

"Jeon Jungkook,"

His voice is suddenly warmer. And he bends, to meet my eye level. Even through the haze, I can see him. I can see him, and the way he is coaxing me from my own death.

"You're a very valuable asset to me. It would be a great loss for me to lose my favorite assassin like this, would it? For such a fickle reason."

It hurts.

I can barely focus on him, as he speaks. But I have to— I have to. He was a man who hated repeating himself.

"You can still save yourself."

"Tell me where the records really are."

And my thoughts instantly turn to Miss Aeri. She knew— where they really were. But I couldn't think of her. I was afraid that he would read my own thoughts from my mind.

So I think of Rin.

I see her. I let my thoughts fill with her and her hazel eyes, always so full of purpose.

I recall sending her home before this. I remember.

Hey, Jeon Jungkook.

She blinks up at me.

Are you going to be okay?

My chest seizes. It feels as if a hand has my heart, twisting me apart from the inside. It feels that way as I think of the empty promise I'd made her.

I wouldn't ever see her again.

And my gaze lifts back to him.

"No," I whisper.

"I do not know where they are."