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Chapter Thirty

"She's sleeping again."

Jungkook was deeply relieved by Jimin's announcement. Not only had Hana slept only fitfully the night before, it would have been too easy for her to worry the whole long trip to Busan if she had been awake. A nap was the best way to go. He glanced in the rear view mirror yet again, comforted by the sight of his pack mate tenderly touching the necklace of marks that all of them had refreshed the night before. Their omega had needed the reassurance, and so had they.

What they were doing was not necessarily smart. Not only were he and Jimin headed to the home of a hostile alpha, they had left in the early dawn hours, planning to be there before anyone at the company could miss them and send security after them. Technically they were breaking no rules, but only because anyone with half a brain could see that this was too far to go for a house omega, so no one had seen fit to write it out. They could not conceive what the consequences would be.

Namjoon had promised that he would take care of that part. Before making that promise, though, he had dragged Jimin to his room for some kind of argument. Jungkook only knew that Jimin had emerged teary-eyed and curled up with Taehyung for the rest of the night. The dancer had seemed no worse for wear this morning, though, his determined expression as hard as steel as they all piled into Jungkook's car. How he had managed to shift easily from that, to tender when Hana needed it, was one of the things Jungkook deeply admired about the man.

The neighborhood where he grew up had changed surprisingly little. It was perhaps a bit dingier in places, but that might also come down to flaws in his memory. It was almost hauntingly easy to find Hana's house, and he asked Jimin to wake her when they were nearby. She was terribly quiet even after that; it was not a change from her demeanor all night and day, though.

Aside from avoiding the company's detection, the other reason they had made the trip early in the morning was because of her father's schedule. If all went according to plan, he would be leaving just before their arrival and they would have the maximum amount of time to pack before he was due home. They hoped to avoid him entirely, knowing that an actual confrontation was the worst possible scenario for everyone involved. Their plan seemed to be on track when they pulled up and Hana confirmed that his car was gone.

Unfortunately there was one person they could not avoid. After Jimin unlocked the door, having taken the key out of Hana's shaking hands, they entered the house. Even before they could remove their shoes they heard footsteps rushing their direction. "It's only me, Eomma," Hana said as soon as her mother rounded the corner. "We came to collect the last of my things."

"What?" Her mother was wide-eyed, taking in the unexpected sight not only of her daughter but the two men as well. "You didn't tell me you were coming."

"It was a last minute decision, ma'am. We don't plan to stay long, so don't mind us," Jimin said politely. They were unsure just how much she had to do with her mate's decisions and all of them had decided to be cordial unless she gave them a reason to do otherwise. Hana had always seen her mother as subservient to the order of things in the house; Jungkook was less sure, but not enough that he was willing to argue.

"Are you at least going to have enough manners to introduce me?" she sniffed at her daughter, and Hana merely nodded patiently.

"Eomma, please meet my alpha Park Jimin." The woman raised an eyebrow at that introduction for some reason. "And I'm sure you remember Jeon Jungkook."

"Oh, that is Jungkookie!" Hana's mother suddenly simpered a bit, batting her lashes at the young alpha. "My, how you've grown. I always knew you would be such a good alpha once you got past that awkward puppy-eyed phase."

"Um, thank you ma'am," he replied awkwardly, returning none of her familiarity at all. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to get started." He held up the plastic tubs that he was carrying, and she finally let them pass by with Hana leading the way.