BLOOD MONEY || bts mafia au

three.

It was late when Jimin woke up.

Taehyung had been sitting by his bed all day, preventing him from sneaking out to try and follow Jungkook and Hoseok. It had been infuriating to be pushed back down to the mattress and told to simply rest. Rest? Jimin didn't rest. He slept with a knife beneath his pillow. How was he supposed to be expected to sleep all day?

"Are you hungry?" Taehyung asked when he heard Jimin's shift in breathing. Just because he was blind didn't mean that he was useless. His other senses had more than made up for his loss of sight.

"No," Jimin snapped. Guilt washed over him as soon as the word left his mouth. It wasn't the other boy's fault that he was stuck here in bed. Taehyung was just worried about him. Softening his tone, he asked, "Where is Jungkook?"

Taehyung adjusted the blanket over Jimin's body. How he knew it was crooked, Jimin didn't know. "They got back two hours ago."

"Did they get the deal?"

"Yes, but barely."

Jimin slammed his hand into the wall over his head, startling Taehyung. "They should've let me go with them."

Taehyung's lips twisted together unhappily. "You're still weak."

"I can still pull the trigger on a gun."

Unable to contain his eye roll, Taehyung got to his feet, wincing a little when his joints cracked. He had been sitting for too long but he had nowhere else to go. When Jungkook had left earlier, Taehyung had been able to practically feel the undiluted anger rippling off of him. So he'd let him go off to do whatever he had to do to get a hold of his temper. Hoseok, according to the new soldier placed in front of Jimin's room, was off at target practice. And since the range was no place for a blind guy, Taehyung had opted to remain with Jimin.

"Where are you going?" Jimin questioned.

"I'm going to dinner. If you're going to be grumpy, you might as well stay here. Jungkook won't like it if you try to go against his orders."

Jimin frowned but pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly. It seemed that the effects of the poison were still lingering but he was determined to be as far away from his room as he could. He couldn't stay in that bed a second longer. "Let's just go," he grumbled.

Taehyung listened for the tell-tale sound of Jimin's lurching footsteps as they walked through the den, following his internal map through the corridors. When he'd first come to the den, he had spent weeks walking up and down these hallways, a hand trailing along the wall, committing everything to memory.

Those first few weeks after the accident had been the hardest. Relearning how to find his way, adjusting his brain to rely more on his other senses, trying to find a positive way to look at the fact that he was now handicapped for life. Taehyung didn't want to think about what would have happened to him if Jungkook hadn't found him fumbling through the permanent darkness.

Hoseok was already seated at the long dining table when they approached. He flashed them a lopsided grin as his gaze fell on Jimin and his unsteady pace. "Did someone replace Jimin with my grandma?" the other boy teased. "She can walk faster than you and she's ninety and needs a hip replacement."

"Oh, be quiet, Hoseok," Jimin said as he reached a hand out to grip the back of one of the chairs, pulling it toward him. Taehyung offered a hand to help him but he brushed him off. "Where is Jungkook?"

Hoseok's brightness flickered for a second before returning with full power. "He's in his room. Probably cooling off a little steam. He's just upset that the Cobras have messed up yet another thing for him."