Warrior at Heart| Vkook

Ch.16: Stigma

A/N: Hey everyone, it's been a while, but I'm back. In the summer I got a job and then started school once again in August. I needed time to readjust. But I'm back and promise to be consistent. Thank you for sticking to this story for so long!

-taesmaniandevil 💜

Characters' thoughts are in italics

The next morning, they all ate breakfast together and decided to review the empire's landmarks that they mapped out.

They all had mapped out the palace as being the center of the empire as well as the walls of the empire as the border. They also mapped out the market as well as a tavern which they all agreed would be a good place to scout out information.

The four men were in Yoongi and Hoseok's room deciding on their plan for the day.

"So," Suga started, "I think we can all agree that the tavern will be a great place to gather information. Men are drunk out of their heads and will say whatever comes to their mind. We can use this to our advantage and listen in on people's drunken rants and maybe even chat a few out. All we're doing is gathering intel tonight. Is that clear?"

The other three nod.

They spent the rest of their morning and the majority of their afternoon preparing for the evening and did some extra scouting.

It's the evening and the four boys are getting ready to go to the tavern. They gather all necessary belongings such as coins and their swords so they can make their way out of the inn. The tavern is only a seven minute walk from the inn.

As they approach the entrance of the tavern named "The Sly Sailor Pub", Yoongi suddenly stops walking and turns towards the group.

"Remember, we're only scouting out information. Let's stick together. Don't do anything stupid or run off on your own."

At that, he looks at Taehyung. He then turns around and starts heading in the tavern.

Taehyung is following the other three when he suddenly gets stopped by Jungkook's back.
"What?", Taehyung asks.

"Listen to what Yoongi said. I know you're a bit stubborn but I don't want you running off on your own and getting hurt."

He lifts his arm to caress Tae's cheek. Jungkook leans in and leaves a chaste kiss on his lips and heads inside.

Taehyung is frozen in place. He knows that they've already kissed but he never brought it up because he thought he was reading the signs wrong and Jungkook never mentioned it. Maybe I was simply overthinking, he thought. Taehyung felt happiness invading his mind and a smile appeared on his face. Realizing what he is supposed to be doing, he snaps out of his daydreaming and goes to follow the rest inside.

As they enter the tavern, they see that their are plenty of empty tables as it's still relatively early in the evening. This was a good thing as it allowed them to strategically choose a table to sit at. They opted for a table that is more towards the back of the tavern but still near all the action.

As it got later into the evening, the tavern started getting more packed as people were done with work and now had free time to drink and hangout with friends. The four boys were now more alert as more people came in. They all ordered a drink to blend in. Yoongi ordered an Irish Bomb, Hoseok ordered soju, Jungkook ordered a glass of Merlot March and Taehyung ordered flavoured soju. They observed and were closely listening to the patrons in the tavern.

A couple of hours into listening and no luck in hearing anything suspicious when Tae notices two men discussing intensely while their eyes are fretting around almost nervously. Tae looks at the other three who seem to have gotten into a conversation when he wasn't paying attention and they weren't really listening to the patrons. Not minding them, Taehyung tried focusing on listening to the conversation of the two mysterious men. They were only a table away but still a decent distance away that Taehyung had to isolate his hearing, the commotion of the tavern not helping the conversation. Taehyung scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.