ʙᴜʟʟᴇᴛᴘʀᴏᴏғ│ᴛᴋ [complete]

.5-2.

"Is he safe?" was Jungkook's first question to Namjoon when he came to find the professor on his Monday morning coffee break.

"Yes, he is. Don't worry about him."

"Is he staying with you?"

The older man had to sigh at Jungkook's innocent enquiry. "Of course not. Too risky. And he can't go back to you because they are probably watching all your whereabouts as well."

Those words took a while to sink in.

He can't go back to you—

he can't go back—

Namjoon had a sip of dark brew, to buy himself some time before voicing his concerns without alarming the younger who, incidentally, had remained awfully silent. "It's really unfortunate that your mother — of all people — recognized him. Her ties to the Blue House have turned this into a manhunt."

"I'm sorry," was all Jungkook could say because, truthfully, there wasn't much else he could at this point. "He still managed to reach you, though," he added, a sliver of hope in his voice.

"Yeah. We had a backup protocol in place for such emergencies."

Jungkook wished he had thought of that but in his defence, he had never imagined Taehyung would one day be considered public enemy No. 1. "What did he say?"

"He asked me to tweak a few of his general settings."

Namjoon's choice to remain purposely vague about the unit's request piqued Jungkook's curiosity. "What settings?"

"I'm aware there is no such thing as confidentiality when it comes to AIs, but I fear me sharing such details with you would equate to betraying Taehyung."

"Fine." Jungkook had no problem with respecting the humanoid's privacy because Taehyung was so much more than that. First up, a reminder of his carefree youth which had been stolen from him the day his father died. Taehyung belonged to a past he desperately wanted to restore. In part, at least. Despite the recent events, Jungkook was still convinced his bodyguard was the key element that would allow the return of some sort of normalcy to his existence, a balance he felt had been lost in that fateful blast, seven years ago.

The past few weeks sure had made it seem that way. Unbeknownst to him, he had settled in a comfortable, domestic routine thanks to the familiar presence of Taehyung by his side. As for the kiss, well, better not dwell on that momentary lapse in judgement. The young man was definitely not ready to face the implications of his rash move. He'd put it down to Taehyung's very kissable lips and his own mental acquisitiveness. Yeah. Jungkook was only thirsty for knowledge. Nothing else.

"Ahem."

Jungkook practically jumped out of his skin. "I'm s-sorry. I must have spaced out."

"You sure did. Anyway, I have two things I must show you." Namjoon locked the door to his office before pulling out a file from a drawer. "These are the only elements we received from secret services back then, with the mandate to identify the — remnants. They might help you make sense of your mother's allegations."

It only took a second for Jungkook to recognize the debris as body parts belonging to a KTH unit. "Don't tell me these were found at the scene—"

"They were. In fact, the forensic lab was able to confirm that particular unit to have been both the explosive and the detonator."

"Wait. Are you saying that this AI was turned into a suicide bomber?"

Namjoon rubbed his tired eyes before answering. "I've been losing sleep over this for the past seven years. And I still don't know how it happened, but it did."

"Are you sure it wasn't some kind of setup?"

"Jungkook, your own personal bodyguard was able to confirm this."

What?

Namjoon pulled on his computer screen before typing some commands which launched a video. "These are the last moments recorded by Taehyung before he was shut off. I managed to retrieve them from one of his backup memory drives."

It had been a rather hot day and the people were dispersing into the shadows of nearby shops, as the President was being escorted off the stage. Thirteen-year-old Jungkook had jumped off the podium into the moving crowd, eager to get some ice cream or something. Taehyung had followed and that's when Namjoon hit the pause button. "Watch the man wearing a cap at fourteen hundred."

It was easy to spot the suspicious silhouette for it was the only one walking toward the stage while everyone else was turning away from it. A few seconds later and Namjoon paused again. Jungkook could now clearly see Taehyung's face under the cap and realized his bodyguard must have noticed him too. "They made eye contact," Namjoon confirmed, as if reading the boy's mind.

"I'm not sure how they communicated but the short exchange was enough for your bodyguard to evaluate the danger and decide on his next move — to shield you. Meanwhile the rogue unit successfully accessed Taehyung's remote shutoff feature right before detonating itself. Well, at least that's how I piece those events together."

The tsunami of information had Jungkook staggering. "I'm going to need time to process all this."

"Take all the time you need. Taehyung's on the run now. You might not see him again for a while."

"Define 'for a while'," is what Jungkook should have asked Namjoon then. In a way, he was glad he didn't. He likely would not have found the will to live for another fifty years with the knowledge that he was never going to see his bodyguard again.

—

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