BLOOD MONEY || bts mafia au

forty six.

Yoongi snuck off to meet Jimin every chance he got. When he wasn't actively standing right in front of him, he was thinking of ways to see him again. He knew Jin and Namjoon had noticed his growing absences but couldn't find it in him to care. His thoughts were only consumed by one person.

It should've concerned him, how easily everything else faded into the background when he was with Jimin. It was like nothing else mattered when he was holding him in his arms and Jimin was clinging back like he never wanted him to leave. Yoongi had half a mind to give in and stay with him forever.

For so long, all he'd cared about was building his gang up. Increasing his territory, his power. Taking bit by bit from Jungkook the way he'd taken everything from him. But now, all that he cared about was whether Jimin had a good day. He wondered what he was doing at that moment, what he was thinking, if he was smiling with his eyes turned up into those adorable crescents the way Yoongi loved so much.

Jin slammed his hands down on the desk in front of Yoongi, startling the boss out of his thoughts. "Alright, that's it. You've been mentally checked out for days. We've been nice about picking up your slack, but I want to remind you that this is your mess that we're in."

Yoongi looked up with a scowl, shuffling through the papers stacked in front of him. He wanted to argue, to defend himself, but he knew no logic could support it. He knew it was stupid and reckless to just hand over such a large portion of their territory for someone who wasn't even in their gang but he couldn't seem to help himself when it came to Jimin.

When the snarky retort he'd been waiting for didn't come, Jin only seemed to grow more furious. "You're not even going to fucking say anything? Everything is falling apart, Yoongi, what don't you see about that? Our clients are leaving and our soldiers are losing morale and everything is going to go to those fucking Kingmakers if you don't pull it together soon! All this and for what? Some boy?"

"He's not just some boy," Yoongi snapped.

Namjoon shifted his weight awkwardly in a forgotten corner, shrinking back while he let the two work it out the way they normally did.

Jin leaned back. "So that's it, huh? We're all second-class citizens to him now, aren't we? And you're going to throw us all to the fire just for him."

Something in Yoongi's gaze softened. "Hyung, you know that's not the truth."

But Jin didn't seem satisfied with that. "Then what is?"

"Jin..." Namjoon interjected. "Come on, guys, there must be some way we can have a calm conversation about this."

"How can I be calm when he's sneaking off to fuck our rival gang's right hand while we're in the midst of a territory war with another gang?" Jin exploded. "We can't take much more of this, Yoongi. Is that what you want? You want this to be over so you don't have to deal with any of us anymore and you can go back to Jimin? I've stuck by you for years. Do you know how much of your shit I put up with?"

Yoongi bristled. "If you hate me so much, why don't you just leave then? If I'm such a terrible person, why did you stay for so long?"

"Because I love you, Yoongi!" Jin yelled. "Because we're fucking friends, even if you don't think you have any of those. I did everything because I cared about you. We both did. Do you think we would still be here if we didn't? But, god, you can be such an asshole sometimes." He lowered his voice, drifting back to a gentle speaking tone. "I want you to be happy, Yoongi, I really do. But I can't afford to let you throw everything away for someone who might never be able to be what you want."

Now, Yoongi dropped his gaze, chewing on the inside of his cheek instead of responding.

Jin took this as a sign he was getting somewhere, creeping closer until he could rest a hand on Yoongi's shoulder. "I only want to look out for you. I don't want you to get your heart broken. The way you love him is too much. I don't know how long he can stand it."