Chasing Butterflies

Poker Face

(A/N) Hello there. This is chapter
🎶SEVENTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN🎶

I slipped into the diamond life a bit too hard ... Can you tell??😂

The tension in the room was so thick you could practically cut it with a knife. Unblinking eyes started each other down and bald heads glistened with perspiration.

The cards were dealt.

Yoongi picked up his hand. The rest of the group had folded in earlier rounds. Part of playing the game is knowing to quit when you're ahead. And they had all walked away with far more than they put down.

The bets were made as the last few players pushed their chips in. The boys stood at the edge of the room, watching Yoongi. All the boys had their poker faces on.

The river card was flipped.

Yoongi fought to keep the smirk off his face as he looked down at his handful of cards. He was about to sweep the last round.

One by one the remaining men at the table either laid out their cards or folded. The losers pushed away from the table in frustration. Finally letting the smirk slip onto his face, Yoongi laid out his cards. Groans and shouts of anger broke through the stillness of the lounge and echoed against the stone walls. The boys smiled as Yoongi pulled the chips towards himself. He was by far their best poker player and he won tonight, just like most other nights.

"Cheat!" One catastrophic word was screeched at top volume. "That man is a cheat, I swear it!" A finger was stabbed in Yoongi's direction.

The accuser was a middle aged man, just like all the others in the room. Only this man was not fat or balding. He wore an expensive suit that fit him perfectly; his jet black hair was streaked with silver strands. Overall he looked like a successful, established, and put-together businessman. That is until he threw out his accusation.

"What at you talking about?" Yoongi's eyes narrowed, inviting the man to a challenge.

"You cheated. I know you did. You and your little friends always cheat," the man hissed out.

"And do you have any proof of that?" Namjoon stepped forward and placed a hand on Yoongi's shoulder. The group stood behind their friend like a fortress. When someone challenged one of them, they challenged all of them.

"Who are you to be making accusations against anyone at this table?" Jimin growled.

The strangers face grew red from anger; the vein in his forehead looked ready to burst. "I'm Kim Sanghyuk. You boys would do well to remember that next time you come here."

"And are we supposed to be impressed by you throwing out your own name as if it had any significance?" Jin inquired, one eyebrow raised at the man. The man could name-drop all he wanted; it had no effect on them.

Kim Sanghyuk looked ready to lunge across the poker table at the group.

"We don't care who you are. We won't stand for anyone accusing us of things we didn't do." It was true. Yoongi had not cheated, neither had the others. At least not tonight.

"Gentlemen, is there a problem here?" The hotel manager seemed to  appear out of thin air.

"This man accused us of cheating in the game when no such thing happened," Hoseok turned to the manager. "We don't take kindly to false accusations," the normally joking and smiling Hoseok was gone, replaced by a man who was all business.

The manager's eyes showed panic for a split second before he gathered himself and turned to the furious Kim Sanghyuk.

"Sir, I'm sorry that the game did not go in your favor but it is highly inappropriate for you to make accusations against these men. They are some of our best clients and their word always stands. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to leave the hotel." At the managers words the man let out an incoherent sound of rage. Face red as the lobster he probably had for dinner, Kim Sanghyuk stomped his way out of the lounge, followed closely by two hotel security guards.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, gentlemen. Perhaps dinner on the house as apology?" The manager offered a bit too eagerly, obviously nervous to see how the boys would react to being put under fire like this.

"That's alright. Thank you for your help but we should be heading out now. And don't worry about him, we don't scare easy," the boys smirked. "Good night," Namjoon quickly collected their winnings check from the shaky hands of the dealer then led the group out of the lounge and out of the hotel. Their black town car was already waiting on the curb.

They slid into the car, not a word was said between them. Nothing needed to be said. Their driver shut the door after them and the car took off. Winding through the rainy streets, the car finally pulled up to the same curb where the boys had been picked up. Jungkook was the first to step out, Taehyung followed with a sigh and the others followed behind them. Mr.Kang drove away from the curb, not stopping to say goodbye. The boys didn't blame him, the South side was dangerous after dark.

Hoseok sighed, running his hands over his face. It was past three in the morning and they were all past exhausted.

"Let's go home guys, before we fall asleep on the sidewalk," they chuckled at Taehyung's statement.

With tired feet they began to trudge back to their apartment. No one said anything, mostly because they were all half asleep. But Jimin's thoughts were reeling. He wanted to get back home as fast as possible. He needed to make sure that Izzy was still there, that she was okay.

Namjoon patted his pockets for the door key but came up short. Jin sighed and pulled his own keys out, tossing them to Namjoon, who offered him a sheepish smile. The keys jangled in the lock and with a push the door swung open to reveal a dark apartment.

"Somebody turn on the lights," Hoseok whispered in the dark. The ceiling light flickered on and the boys were met with a foreign sight.

Izzy lay curled up on the couch, arms hugging her knees with a thin blanket barely covering her. It was strange for the boys to see anyone else in their apartment, but they had agreed that Izzy was staying. And they were all secretly relieved to see her still there, safe.

"She didn't get herself a pillow," Jimin shook his head and walked to the closet, pulling out a spare pillow. He knelt down beside the couch and gently wiggled the pillow beneath her head, trying not to wake her up. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, Izzy needed all the sleep she could get. Once the pillow was in place Jimin stood from his knelt position, hearing his knees pop quietly. Soft footsteps echoed behind him.

Jimin turned to see Taehyung walking towards the couch as well. Leaning over her, Taehyung pulled the thick blanket down from the back of the couch and laid it gently over Izzy, tucking it in around the edges. Taehyung and Jimin took a step back from the couch as quietly as possible, trying not to wake Izzy. She looked as tired as they felt. They walked out of the living room, following the other boys into their bedrooms. Jimin was about to shut the bedroom door when he heard a voice drifting from the living room.

"Thank you," Izzy's soft, sleepy voice floated through the apartment.

Jimin let out a quiet breath, "Goodnight Izzy." He let the bedroom door click shut, ready for some sleep.