No Going Back

8

Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
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The Art of War
Sun Tzu

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Jungkook was in serious trouble.

This wasn't a dream. This wasn't his imagination going into overdrive, creating some scenario right out of an action movie.

No. This was real life.

People were hunting him down for god knows what purpose, unafraid of using violence to get what they wanted. But the question remained - why did they want him?

In the grand scheme of things, Jungkook was a nobody. He had no knowledge or power, no real value beyond his familial relations. And everyone important had either abandoned him or was dead, so he truly wasn't a strategic pawn to have in custody.

No one cared about him anymore. No one - other than Jin, perhaps - would notice if he went missing. But his attackers didn't seem to realize this crucial fact. They were still operating under the assumption that his life meant something to someone.

The smart thing to do now would be to figure out who was after him, to understand their motives. But he didn't know where to start, and quite honestly, the very thought of his life being at stake made his whole body freeze. More than anything, he wanted to curl up into a ball and hide from the world.

He wanted to disappear.

But, no matter how much he craved giving in to his baser instincts, Jungkook wasn't about to appear vulnerable. Showing any form of weakness was unacceptable to him. Being weak allowed others to take advantage of you, to manipulate you into becoming something you were not.

So now, even though Jungkook was the very definition of weak and vulnerable, he didn't let that show. For his sanity, he couldn't let that show. He'd fall apart if people knew of the wreck he was on the inside. It was far easier to mask himself with haughtiness than to face the sadness, grief, and guilt.

The arrogance . . . The cocky attitude . . . It was all a cover-up, a distraction from the deep shit he got himself into. It was the only thing helping him endure right now.

So Jungkook turned towards Taehyung, twisting his lips into a devious smile. "Seriously, if I listened to you and stayed put, I might be locked in a van with duct tape over my mouth right now."

"What a shame that would be," Taehyung retorted sarcastically, smoothly driving down the road. "How would you survive two minutes without talking?"

"Can't you just admit that I was right and you were wrong? Is it really that difficult for you?" Jungkook smirked, finding pure joy in tormenting the bodyguard.

Taehyung's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel, clearly affected by Jungkook's taunts. "I should've cut off all your hair."

"Oh, what a comeback," he laughed, running a hand through his freshly cut hair. "Really. You've put me in my place, Taehyung. I won't cross you again . . . Not if I want another haircut."

"Fine. Correction. I should've shoved those scissors up your ass. Does that get my point across?"

"If you wanted to scissor me so badly, all you had to do was ask," Jungkook responded, intrigued by the vein throbbing in Taehyung's neck. "I wouldn't mind those long, pretty fingers -"

"I did not sign up for this shit," Taehyung muttered under his breath, sounding aggravated and exhausted alike.

A honking car stole Jungkook's opportunity to form a rebuttal; the noise jolting him back to their present situation. He turned in his seat, afraid to see the attackers from last night. But instead of attackers, he found a bunch of teenagers, all flipping them off as they passed Taehyung illegally.