thick as thieves || bts x mamamoo

eight;

"Ah, please sit," Hoseok begins to rise from his seat to offer it the other, but Yool holds out a hand to stop him and simply shakes his head.

"There's a room in the back," he starts, gesturing in its general direction with a tilt of his head. "If you all would like to speak more privately..."

Everyone at the table looks around at one another, as though gauging each others' reactions and thoughts. Surprisingly enough, Seokjin is the one who stands up first, hands thrown behind his head carefreely. "Lead the way, then."

Yool nods, before spinning on his heel and making his way towards a more secluded area of the tavern, the others scrambling to follow. They push through a set of two doors, where a worn down but rather official looking large oak table sits in the middle of the room. Yool holds the door open for them, waiting until all of them are filed in and seated before sitting down himself.

It's silent for a moment, both parties unsure of how to proceed with the situation. Yool doesn't seem to mind all of the gazes trained on him, taking his time as he settles into a more comfortable position in his seat. It reminds Hoseok a bit of how the cats back in his hometown would curl up in his lap for warmth and he can't help the small smile that creeps onto his face at the memory.

Jimin is the first to break the uneasy silence. "Where are the other two?"

"Ah, pardon?" Yool blinks.

"Your, er, your acquaintances?" Jimin scratches his head, not sure how to phrase his question.

"Ricky and Kuku." Hoseok adds to clarify what Jimin is trying to ask.

Yool hums. "Ohh, those two. I was unsure of your all's intentions for requesting this meeting and didn't find it necessary to have them present if I couldn't guarantee their safety."

"Their safety?" Jimin sputters, "You're alone in a room with seven strangers with no backup whatsoever."

"I would not have agreed to show and reveal myself before you without proper countermeasures," Yool shrugs, unfazed by Jimin's point, "And let's just say the other two... are not as diplomatic as I am."

"You think they would dare start a fight with us? Outnumbered seven to three?" Jungkook's eyes are wide in incredulity.

Yool levels her stare at Hoseok as she replies. "They weren't exactly happy when I interrupted their little match with you."

Hoseok snorts in amusement and crosses his arms. "I wasn't that much happier with the results either, if you ask me. If they'd like, I can arrange to-"

"We are not scheduling a fight right now," Namjoon lets out a huff and pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation, before turning his gaze onto Yool. "We mean no harm, so long as the same respect can be promised to our own crew. We know you three are not to be taken lightly, and were hoping we could somehow form a truce or alliance of sorts if possible."

Yool raises an eyebrow, as though trying to process his words and determine whether or not they ring true. "Before I can consider your offer, I believe we need to lay down a foundation of trust first. Which is why..."

Hoseok feels that same chill run up his spine that way it did their first encounter, when he realized there was much more to this person, this group, than meets the eye.

"I would like to speak to your crew's real captain."

It's like the temperature in the entire room drops ten degrees.

Everyone else on their crew is too shocked for words. Namjoon clears his throat in an attempt to dispel the tense atmosphere. "Could I ask you to elaborate?"