Abscond| KTH

•Chapter 10•

Taehyung

After I made breakfast for the two of us, we ate, and I dropped Yerin home.

I hadn't realised just how close Yerin and I had gotten until last night. And this morning, when she laughed at something I said—a laugh that reached her eyes, lighting up her whole face—or she accidentally brushed against me, I couldn't stop myself from grinning like an idiot.

I shouldn't be doing this, and I knew that. No matter which way I thought of it, getting close to Yerin only meant more danger—for both of us.

I was here for a reason. After this mission, I needed to leave, but I only found myself more entwined with the lives of the people around me, the people who had now become my friends, the four of them swiftly taking me into their little circle.

There was Jungkook, confident but quiet, fiercely protective of those he loved. His unexpected competitiveness was somehow endearing.

Paired with Haewon, they made an adventurous team. It had taken me a while to figure Haewon out. She mostly kept to herself, and her gaze was observant and analysing. Her electric blue hair stood out, contrasting her reserved personality. But it was clear how close to her heart she held her friends.

Unlike Haewon and Jungkook, Namjoon was talkative. He was always friendly, drawing people to him, and they couldn't help but trust him. But his kindness was not to be mistaken for naivety. Namjoon was intelligent, more so than he let on.

And finally, Yerin. Within a little less than two months, she had gone from the girl on the bus to someone I couldn't imagine not seeing every day. I didn't know when it happened, but the best parts of my day were the ones I spent with Yerin. It was alarming how quickly she had made a place for herself in my heart. I was afraid to admit it.

I found myself trying to make her laugh just to hear her cute giggles and watch as she hid her face behind her hands. I loved studying with her, knowing she would inevitably fall asleep after an hour, and when she did this, her head would dip low before she straightened and continued her work, still in a sleepy daze.

Yerin seemed to have many layers to her. Her eyes were dark, mysterious, almost like something was hiding in there, some sadness she didn't speak about. The more I learned about Yerin, the more it seemed like there was a lot left to uncover, and I couldn't help but be curious.

"Wake up." Hoseok's voice snapped me out of my daydream.

I swatted his waving hand away from my face. Hoseok and I sat around the table in our living room, with a few papers and our laptops open on the wooden surface.

"Tae, you know we have to come up with a better plan this time." I nodded.

I can't remember a time before the two of us had worked together. Hoseok knew me better than anyone did, maybe even better than I knew myself. It was just the two of us until that night we had stumbled into Yoongi. One of our missions had gone wrong, and Yoongi had helped us escape a mansion moments before an ambush. 'An enemy's enemy is a friend,' he had said.

And that's what we became: the best of friends. Yoongi took us in, giving us a place within the Min gang, and despite being the leader's son, he treated us as his brothers.

In the last two years, Hoseok and I had climbed up the ranks of the Min gang. The first year, we worked small jobs, running errands of minor deals and gathering information. And we had finally earned the trust and respect of the gang, and now we worked with Yoongi.

Now, the three of us were working on a mission of our own.

I pulled up some messages to show Hoseok. "If my sources are right, she should be there tomorrow evening."

Park Jihye, daughter of Park Daesung, who was the head of the Park family. The Parks and Mins had always been rivals, but the rivalry had grown into a deadly enmity when the eldest son of the Min family was killed by the former. "The File" being the reason; the File contained evidence of all the illegal activities committed by the Park gang, and the sheer power that comes with the possession of the File has everyone itching to get their hands on it.

However, there was one problem: only one person knew the File's location, and he was dead.

This left both the Mins and the Parks chasing the File. Park Jihye was said to be the brains behind the operation of finding the File, but for the past few years, she had been entirely off the grid. The girl had been on the run. Yoongi had come so close to catching her, but she had managed to escape on multiple occasions.

 He didn't give up, though. He couldn't; the stakes were too high. But, with sweet, sweet revenge for Yoongi's brother's death on the line, it would be a long time before Yoongi—or any of them—came close to giving up.

"We finally have a proper clue; it's gonna be a busy week," Hoseok spoke up, "tomorrow's plan is hard to mess up—ah, I have two minutes to turn this assignment in," he chewed on his bottom lip, frantically switching tabs on his laptop.

"You're submitting an assignment right now?! We're discussing some serious stuff here, man."

Hoseok waved a hand at me dismissively. "We still have to finish this college shit." His gaze darted back to his screen, "at least keep up with appearances, you know," he said as he frowned at the screen, typing hastily. "Plus, there isn't much to discuss. The plan's solid."

He was right, "Alright, yeah. So tomorrow I'm just gonna watch, find out who she is. No action, just intel."

"Yeah, but we can't waste too long without doing anything." Hoseok met my eyes. "We already wasted 3 weeks at the wrong college." He brushed a few fiery strands of his hair off his forehead.

"I mean, I don't really regret that," I said before I could think better of it, "that wrong bus was the whole reason I met Yerin."

Hoseok suddenly paused and stared at me before shaking his head and saying, "man, you're whipped."

My cheeks heated up, and I quickly stumbled over my words, "So, uh, tomorrow, I'm staking out that restaurant. You go meet Yoongi, see if he's got anything new on the File."

"Cool—done!" he hit enter before closing the insane about of tabs that were open on his screen and shutting his laptop. "Tae..." Hoseok hesitated.

"What?"

"What if it's her?"

No. I knew exactly what Hoseok was asking me, and although a small part of me had considered the possibility, I had come to the conclusion that what he was suggesting was impossible. She wouldn't do that. There was no way that she was partly responsible for the death of my best friend's brother.

"What if Yerin is Jihye," Hoseok voiced.

"I know her—"

"—do you?"

"I know her," I repeated, slightly irritated by the accusation, "and she wouldn't do that. She isn't a part of this world, Hoseok."

Thankfully, he decided not to press. "Alright, I believe you," he sounded unsure.

"Good."

"Well, I have some phone calls to make." Hoseok stood to leave, "Night, Tae."

"Night," I replied with a nod, and Hoseok left for his bedroom.

With that, I opened up a new document and decided to catch up on assignments. Because Hoseok was right, I still had to keep up with this college shit, and this week was going to be hectic. I worked for an hour before walking to my room and collapsing onto the bed. 

Sleep evaded me for hours that night. No matter how hard I tried, it was out of reach. It was a long time before exhaustion suppressed my thoughts and anxiety, allowing me to finally fall asleep.