thick as thieves || bts x mamamoo

fourteen;

"Could I have a quick word with you, Ricky-ssi?"

Hyejin looks up in surprise as she's leaning up against a wall watching Heeyeon rehearse on stage for her performance tonight. A small part of her rather misses her and Wheein's old performances back in the day, where they would perform their old acrobat acts before showing off their respective martial arts and knife-throwing solo acts in the old plaza back in their hometown, but she knows that her life now is far better in just about all aspects. It doesn't stop her from feeling nostalgic every now and then, though. "Ah, Taehyung-ssi. How are your injuries?"

She didn't think Taehyung would confront her just before their meeting like this. Not this soon, at least. She doesn't even have to observe his body language to know that he's come to talk about Wheein with her- er, "him". She knows that the moment she pulled Wheein tight into her side like that in front of everyone on pure instinct, it would give the pirate the wrong idea and perhaps even move things along a bit more. After all, there's nothing quite like having fake competition right after you've sacrificed your face and safety for a girl you like as motivation to finally confess to said girl. Hyejin is practically doing her rightful duty as Wheein's best friend at this point to ensure her friend's happiness. However, she hasn't really had a chance to decide whether or not she wants to tease the man in front of her a little longer by pretending to be interested in Wheein romantically or not as Ricky, hence the dilemma of Taehyung showing up to speak with her this early.

Just like she expects, Taehyung is quick to get to the point. "I feel a lot better thanks to the ice, there's not much else I can do other than wait for the bruising to heal over, nothing I can't handle. I, uh... Yool-ssi told me that you and Wheein were, uh, close."

Hyejin resists the urge to swallow nervously. Byulyi already said something to him? Fuck, now she has to play it safe in order to make sure whatever she's about to say doesn't contradict whatever her unnie told him earlier. She clears her throat to give herself more time to think, carefully choosing her next words. "Oh, um, yes. Wheein and I grew up together, actually, so she is someone... very dear to me. I never got the chance to thank you for what you did to try and protect her, so thank you."

"You're childhood friends?" Taehyung's eyebrows raise in surprise, and Hyejin can't help but bite the inside of her cheek. Was that the wrong thing to say? How much has Wheein told him about her past, their past exactly? "Does- does Wheein know what you and the other two... really do?"

Oh god, she's really gone and dug herself into a hole at this point. "Uh, yeah, she does. So does pretty much anyone that works here, really."

Her response comes out sounding less confident than she planned, but based on the way something in Taehyung's posture relaxes, she can only assume that she made the right choice and that that's the answer he was looking for. "Oh, I see. How long has she known that I was a pirate?"

Well, shit.

Hyejin lets out a low chuckle and crosses her arms to emulate Ricky's typical ego and persona to hide the panic coursing through her veins. The three of them have never exactly needed to plan a cover story, considering they've never been tracked down until now. It's at times like these that she wishes she had Byulyi's poker face and ability to confidently lie without a tell. "I'm not exactly sure when. I try not to discuss work with her to try and keep her out of dangerous situations, but information will spread amongst the tavern workers here eventually."

"I see..." Taehyung nods, deep in thought.

Hyejin casts a desperate glance to the hall leading to the backstage changing area where Wheein is currently dressing up as Kuku. As much as she would like the other to come and provide backup, she also knows that Wheein has purposely been trying to avoid drawing attention to herself as Kuku in fear that Taehyung or one of the others will recognize her since she's had more interaction and exposure to them than her and Byulyi unnie.