The Hunt

66

Dinner was tense to say the least. Everyone seemed to be weary of Sumi knowing that Daehyun was coming to get her. The near constant buzzing of her phone indicating a new text message didn't help matters much.

Taehyung and Namjoon took everyone's empty bowls upstairs with the help of Jungkook. They seemed more than eager to get out of the uncomfortable vibe that had settled in the family room.

"So, Sumi," I began, plastering a smile on my face. "What does your family do?"

She glanced up at the mention of her name, slowly pocketing her cell phone.

"Have you heard of Kang Supplies?"

I nodded recognizing the company name. "Yeah. I think they do the scrubs at some of the hospitals my family owns."

"Yes. We supply uniforms and provide laundry services to thousands of businesses throughout Korea. We also sell cleaning supplies, paper products, latex gloves, hand soap, antibacterial hand sanitizers, surgical masks. Really, anything you can think of as far as cleaning and protection goes." She grinned proudly, "It's actually a very competitive industry, but Kang Supplies is the largest in Korea."

Well, that explains why she's marrying my brother. Solid business move.

Sumi turned to Sarah and Hoseok who were cozied up to one another on the couch opposite where I sat between Sumi and Jimin.

"What does your family do, Sarah?"

Hoseok stiffened and sent Sumi a glare.

Sarah gave Sumi a forced, but pleasant smile. "I'm not sure about my father's family, he died when I was young and I don't have contact with his family. But my mother's side is mostly engineers."

This seemed to satisfy Sumi, and she pulled her phone back out of her pocket. It began to buzz again. Her face lit up.

"Dae is here!" She jumped up off the couch, appearing to be genuinely excited.

The door bell rang giving me an overwhelming sense of unease. Jimin took my hand in his and stood up from the couch.

We all silently made our way upstairs.

Taehyung, Namjoon, and Jungkook had been busy drawing all of the curtains, shades, and blinds on the main floor. There was no seeing in or out of the house.

"Stay here," Jimin's lips barely moved as he ordered me behind a concrete column in the hallway between the dining room and formal living room.

Flanked by Namjoon and a very serious-looking Jungkook, Jimin opened the front door.

"They patted me down as soon as I got out of my car," a familiar, slightly annoyed man's voice carried through the open living area of the main floor of the house. "Choi Daehyun."

A shuffling of footsteps from multiple people could be heard before the front door was shut and locked.

Next to me, Sumi was almost dancing with excitement, ready to run to the man who had just entered the house. The only thing stopping her was the close proximity of Sarah and Taehyung, who were standing with us just inside the dining room.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Park Jimin. This is Kim Namjoon and Jeon Jungkook."

It was silent for a moment as no one spoke nor moved.

"Is there something you wanted to discuss?" Daehyun asked, his tone serious, but I could sense his discomfort. He was never one for conversation. Social situations usually just left him irritated. Daehyun was more of a man of action, settling disagreements with his fists rather than words.

"Is there anything you wanted to share?" Jimin countered.

Daehyun let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I get it, you don't know me so you don't trust me. That's fine. I'm here alone. Your security guards out front already confirmed that I'm unarmed. Why don't we all just have a seat and chat? Or Sumi and I can just leave if you'd prefer?"

I was about to grab Sumi by the hand and go into the living room, when I heard a car door shut. Jin and Yoongi were home. I glanced over my shoulder at Hoseok who had stationed himself at the backdoor, and gave him a quick nod. He unlocked the door and Jin and Yoongi quickly stepped inside.

Hoseok whispered a simplified explanation of the situation.

I turned back toward the living room only to come face-to-face with Jungkook. Even in his human form his movements were unnervingly quiet.

Stealthy, stealthy bunny.

He gave me a sheepish grin, noticing he had caught me off guard.

"Can everyone come into the living room, please?"