#taekookau #taekook 𝚃𝙸𝚃𝙻𝙴: 𝟿𝟿% [𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝙸𝙸𝙸]

𝚃𝙸𝚃𝙻𝙴: 𝟿𝟿% 𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝟷 𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙺: twitter.com/yunayuki16/sta…

𝚃𝙸𝚃𝙻𝙴: 𝟿𝟿% 𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝟸 𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙺: twitter.com/yunayuki16/sta…

T//W READ T//W mentions of murder T//W graphic descriptions T//W Violence T//W cheating Additional Trigger warnings will be added as needed.

Tags - Exes Tae/kook - Murder mystery - NSFW (explicit smut) - cheating - miscommunication - Lawyer Taehyung - Rockstar/ celebrity Jeongguk - hurt/ comfort - HEAVY ANGST - angst with happy ending - dead dove, do not eat

Additional notes:

A/N: Wow I honestly couldn't believe that book 3 trailer got 500 likes before I go to bed tonight Thank you so much! I was initially planning on taking a break for like 2-3 weeks while waiting to reach the goal+

So yes, this is indeed a surprise for me ( before I get called out for this, I want to say that yes, I am aware I have quite a number of following, but my fics rarely blows up so I got used to setting my expectations low.) that's why I'm really surprised now

Anyway, as promised, instead of resting for 2-3 weeks after book 2, I will be starting book 3 soon. (sometime next week and no later than next week) Thank you again so much!

#taekookau 𝚃𝙸𝚃𝙻𝙴: 𝟿𝟿% 𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙲𝙸𝙰𝙻 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 : 𝙹𝙰𝙽𝙶 𝙷𝚈𝚄𝙽-𝙹𝚄𝙽𝙶'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅 𝙰𝙾𝟹 𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙺: archiveofourown.org/works/40752453…

#taekookau 𝚃𝙸𝚃𝙻𝙴: 𝟿𝟿% 𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙲𝙸𝙰𝙻 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁: 𝙺𝙸𝙼 𝚂𝙴𝙾𝙺𝙹𝙸𝙽'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅 𝙰𝙾𝟹 𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙺: archiveofourown.org/works/40752453…

#taekookau 𝚃𝙸𝚃𝙻𝙴: 𝟿𝟿% < ʙᴏᴏᴋ ɪɪɪ >

Life. How does one know if they are truly alive? Is it through breathing? Moving? Talking? Mingling? Loving? Hurting? Feeling?

You— how do you know you're alive? What really is the meaning of life? What if everything you know and that you're taught of just exists in your mind?

Ah, the mind. What about the mind? Do you have it? What about a heart? Do you have a heart?

Yes? Well, have you seen it? Touched it? Held it? If you haven't, then how can you tell that they're real? How can you tell that you really exist? Are you real? Are you sure about it?

'A-am I? Where am I?' Taehyung thinks. He feels like he's looking at his hands but he cannot see it. He thinks that he's breathing but he cannot feel the air go in nor out of his lungs. +

Then, he thinks that he's in panic, that his heart is racing, but when he tried to feel his own chest, he wasn't able to touch anything. Everything's just dark— pitch black kind of dark and it's terrifying.

"What's happening?" Taehyung asks— he was sure he meant to say it out loud, but he heard nothing, Except for one thing. Someone is crying.

*** [Please play this as you read.] Never say never : The fray youtu.be/5wqJWPZeFHQ

Death. If there is anything worse than death, Jeongguk swears this is it— Seeing the one you love the most slip away while you can do nothing but watch it all happen.

It's that sense of helplessness. That startling awareness that, no matter how smart or capable you believe you are, how hard you work and how hard you try, when it comes to some situations—+

usually the most dire ones—you are absolutely and completely powerless. Useless. Right now, the world has stopped for Jeongguk. His mind has shut down and decided to completely stop functioning right.

He couldn't hear or see anything else. His shoulder is still bleeding, but he couldn't care less about that as well. Several more gunshots echoed in and outside the basement. There were screaming, running, loud emergency sirens approaching.

But Jeongguk can only see one thing. That one person who matters the most in his life. That one person he's about to lose right now.

Shaking, sobbing, barely even breathing, Jeongguk cradled Taehyung in his arms; with his trembling hands he frantically tried to wipe the blood on Taehyung's face, but it wouldn't stop. It just kept on bleeding and bleeding as Jeongguk's heart kept on shattering.

No. This couldn't be happening. Taehyung. No— Jeongguk cannot just lose him like this.

"H-help us... Please... Please... FCKING HELP US!!!! FCK YOU ALL! FCK YOU! WHAT THE FCK ARE YOU ALL DOING?! WHY. WHY. WHY. WHY... WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING? FCK!" Jeongguk continued screaming and sobbing.+

Everyone's faceless and voiceless to him as he hugged the already unconscious Taehyung tighter in his arms. Jeongguk couldn't even tell if Taehyung's still breathing and each passing second feels like years of torture to him.

Everything and everyone appears to be moving too slowly for him. More police officers arrived on the scene. Jimin managed to shoot the last one of Yoo Jae-Sung's men who's still with them in the basement.

From there came more screaming and crying. Jimin's sobbing as well, unable to look at what happened to his best friend. Joon is about to go crazy, Yoongi and Hobi were stunned, shocked and scared beyond belief, while Jeongguk—

Jeongguk is looking and screaming at them as if they were his enemies. Suddenly, Jeongguk felt hands pulling him back, attempting to take Taehyung away from him, and he wouldn't let them—no, they'd have to kill him first before they could get to Taehyung,+

so he held the latter tighter—harder, thrashing on the floor, sobbing more because he has no idea what's going on anymore. **'Jeongguk, I love you,'*

"GET THE FCK AWAY FROM ME! DON'T— FCK, DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM! DON'T TOUCH HIM! — FCK OFF! FCK OFF, ALL OF YOU!!!" Jeongguk continued to scream, cradling the back of Taehyung's head protectively, pushing the latter's face close to his neck.

"GUK SNAP OUT OF IT!" Yelled Joon, helping the medics pull Jeongguk away from Taehyung. "LET HIM GO! FCK! HE'S STILL BREATHING, BUT HE WON'T BE SOON IF YOU DON'T LET HIM GO!— JEONGGUK LET HIM GO!" Jimin crouches down,+

joining the brawl as well, carefully but still forcefully taking Taehyung out of Jeongguk's hold. No, Jeongguk cannot hear them anymore. However, he also doesn't have enough strength to fight them all.

He still kept on trying though. He's seeing red, unable to think straight. In his head, everyone here is trying to harm Taehyung. "GET OFF! GET AWAY FROM HIM! I SAID DON'T FCKING TOUCH HIM!!!—"

"JOON DO SOMETHING!!! FCK! HE NEEDS TO LET HIM GO!" Jimin glares at Joon, still sobbing as he struggles to remove Jeongguk's now weak grip on Taehyung.

Knowing that Jeongguk is in total shock right now and the latter is not his right self, Joon nodded to the medic beside him, signaling for them to give Jeongguk a shot of sedatives.

Jeongguk is also losing a lot of blood from the bullet wound on his shoulder, and Taehyung appears to be barely alive. It's a tragic sight, and even as a prosecutor who has dealt with far worse situations in the past, what he's seeing right now still made Joon cry.

But, no matter how heartbreaking this is—no matter how distraught everyone here is right now—Joon knows that in a situation like this, no one has time to weep or panic. The clock is ticking—and it's not going to stop. Not for them, and certainly not for Taehyung as well.

Jeongguk is so numb and high from the shock and adrenaline that he doesn't even notice the medic injecting the sedatives into him. He's mad and he's scared— so scared that he's losing himself. **'Jeongguk, I love you,'*

The world is spinning. Still, he kept on crying, screaming, thrashing, fighting... His vision is blurring. His ears are ringing. Taehyung is fading... **'Jeongguk, I love you,'*

"No... No... Don't— don't touch him... P-please... Don't hurt him... Don't hurt him anymore, please... J-just k¡ll me... K¡ll me... Take me... I don't care, j-just p-please don't hurt him anymore... I can't lose him...+

Please— please don't take him away from me." Jeongguk struggles to speak, his voice is barely audible at this point, lids fluttering close, as he glances desperately at Joon. "H-hyung... He can't die... Taehyung— he can't... He can't —.."

"Guk... Listen to me— everything will be okay. You're going to be okay... You're both going to be okay." Joon says praying to god for it to happen as he wrapped his arms around Jeongguk's frame while the latter slowly loses consciousness, +

failing to lift his heavy arm, blurred eyes watching the medics with Jimin carefully transfer Taehyung to a stretcher, rushing him to the ambulance that’s waiting outside, before everything turned black and quiet+

— even the screaming demons inside his mind. But the thing is— Jeongguk doesn’t want to silence them this time.

*** "I— I can't do this..." Jimin whispers to himself, breaking into another sob as he sits here in the ambulance with Taehyung.

Joon, Hobi, and Yoongi are wrapping everything up in CC's, and Jimin knows that an encounter of this scale will make headlines tomorrow morning, but he can't even bring himself to partake. Especially when a part of him blames himself for what happened.

In Jimin's mind, he's the one who dragged everyone into this mess. Joon and Taehyung are working on their own case, and CC's was supposed to be only his business, but he allowed them to get involved, and that makes him think the tragedy that happened to Taehyung now is his fault.

"I-I'm sorry... Jagi... J-Jagi, wake up... Please— I don't care. I don't care even if you'd never love me back... I won't care even if you get back together with your ex... Just please—please don't leave me... +

Not like this, Tae... God, not like this..." Jimin pleads, holding Taehyung's hand as the medics attach the ventilator to Taehyung who's barely even breathing.

"H-he's gonna make it, right? Please— please tell me he will... Please..." Jimin asks one of the medics with them. "We're going to do our best, geomsanim." The medic says, and Jimin hates that right now he has no other choice but to pray for the best.

*** Joon now sits in the hospital lobby, his elbows on his knees, his palm covering his face, while Jimin continues to sob, peering through the glass panes of the operating room's door beside them.

It's been hours and they haven't finished anything yet, but because Taehyung and Jeongguk have no other acquaintances or family members accessible, they had to come here and leave whatever was left of the operation in CC's to Yoongi and Hobi’s care.

"W-we should've been there sooner... No— we shouldn't have even tried to pursue this operation... None of this would've happened if we had chosen to let it go... I-it's my fault... +

This— f:uck... Taehyung's in there and it's my fault." Jimin cries, trembling, ruffling his hair as he paces back and forth. "W-we even failed to catch Yoo Jae-Sung—.."

"We didn't... He's here, possibly in a different operating room on this floor as we speak," Joon says as he leans back in his chair, caressing the bridge of his nose. Jin has been taken into custody since he's still a civilian who shouldn't have had any access to a gun, +

but he did and he had shot Yoo Jae-Sung repeatedly, thus resulting in their target's arrest. It's a good thing, but every rash action has its own consequence— that applies to Jin as well.

"W-what? How? Didn't he-.." "T'was Jin. He shot him— 8 times in total... 3 bullets on each leg, twice on the man's crotch. Now he's in trouble because of my own incompetence... It's not just your fault, Park... +

If anything, I should be the one to blame— I led the operation after all... We might've caught the target, but I've basically doomed us all." Joon says, huffing out a shaky breath as the doctor stepped out of the operation room.

"How is he?" Jimin asks, rushing to the doctor's side together with Joon. The doctor then sighed, his head nodding slightly. "He's alive, but right now I still have my doubts that he'll be fine... +

Luckily, that one bullet only grazed the skin of the side of his head. We got the ones in his back and his arm as well. It might be an inappropriate thing to say, but your friend is a lucky one indeed, geomsanim. He had no fatal shot,+

however... He still lost a significant amount of blood... We did everything that we could. The only thing that we can do now is to wait for him to wake up." The doctor says, nodding as if to bow his head at the two prosecutors before he continued his way.

"Wait! W-when? When will he wake up?" Jimin asks, chasing after the doctor, who's now looking at him with pity and regret.+

"That will be up to him now, geomsanim... We'll continue to do some tests, and thankfully, we have a matching blood donor for him— for now, we wait," the doctor says, while Jimin bites his quivering lips, crying as he falls to his knees.

*** [You can play this as you read.] I will go to you like the first snow youtu.be/By8Iv_TpxCI

** [A Few Hours Later...] ** . . . Something doesn't feel quite right. Jeongguk has no idea how long he slept for, but he awoke with something dreadful coiling up in his stomach.+

His shoulder hurts, his chest feels heavy, and the moment he opened his eyes, he was welcomed by white and bright lights. "Guk... Are you with me?" Joon asks, rising up from his seat beside the bed after seeing Jeongguk awake after hours of unconsciousness. +

Joon then instantly hit the intercom buzzer to notify the medical team that Jeongguk is now up, as he observed the latter slowly open his eyes, staring blankly into the ceiling before turning to his side.

"T-Taehyung... Where is he?" Jeongguk asks, his mouth feels dry and he could barely hear his own voice, yet he still managed to pull himself up, wincing due to the pain on his shoulder.

From there— he started to remember. CC's. Gunshots. Blood. Taehyung. "He's going to be fine—"

"Liar... Where is he? I need to see him, hyung... I need to see him." Jeongguk says, harshly pulling whatever wires that are attached to him, shoving Joon to the side, stumbling as he aims to get out of the bed. "Guk, calm down! You shouldn't get up yet! God— wait..."

"Fck off! I said I need to see Taehyung!" Jeongguk growls, pushing Joon with all his strength, feeling his adrenaline rush up to his head, barefeet now on the floor, rushing out to the door, pushing the nurses and the doctor who are just about to enter his room.

"Jeongguk, wait!" Joon exclaims as he and the medical staff chases after Jeongguk. "Taehyung! W-where are you?! Tae!" Jeongguk kept on screaming, running frantically through the hallways, pushing everything and everyone who's in his way.

He has no idea where to go, but he kept on running and running, that until he saw a sign heading to the ICU; knowing Taehyung might be in a critical condition after what happened, Jeongguk headed to that direction, +

there he saw Jimin standing outside a room, staring through the glass windows. "Y-you? Aren't you supposed to be resting—"

"Move!" Jeongguk bellows, pushing Jimin to the side and laying his quivering palms flat against the glass, seeing Taehyung lying on a hospital bed with those machines hooked to his body and head inside the room.

"T-Tae..." Jeongguk mumbled under his breath, tears streaming down his face. "He's stable now... S-so you should get back to your room and rest." Jimin says, hearing several footsteps approaching their way.

"Does that look stable to you? Does he look okay to you? He's in there with all that sh¡t in his body... He should be standing, talking, smiling... H-he should be with me— but he's not... He's—"

"He's alive... Stop being so greedy, Jeon... You're not the only one suffering here. Taehyung— he's already battling for his life in there... Don't make it harder— stop demanding more from him," Jimin says,+

clenching his jaw, balling his fists tightly as he walks away, past Joon and the other medical personnel who came to collect Jeongguk.

"Guk..." Joon says, placing a hand over Jeongguk's shoulder, feeling the latter tremble, hands sliding down against the mirror as he drops on his knees, crying over Taehyung.

*** [SOMEONE'S POV] I've never considered myself as a religious person. I abhor the concept of a god governing over everything like a phantom king.

I detest pleading, begging, and praying, but I decided to take my chances here. I finally found the perfect man for me, and right now he's dying. Fck that Jang Hyun-Jung... Just so you wait... I'll get my hands on you. I'll get you for what you did to my Taehyung.

. . . Right now, I'm in the hospital chapel just a floor below Taehyung's room. I know that being here would be risky, especially since I don't have Hyun-jung cleaning up for me anymore, but I also cannot stay far away from Taehyung.

I heard that he's alive but still in critical condition. I feel nothing but anger. How dare he? How dare he risk his life for someone else? How dare he try to die without my consent? No... He's mine, and I refuse to let him die.

He had lost a lot of blood, so I've heard. Luckily we're a match, and that made me feel a little comfortable. Without having any second thoughts, I donated my blood, reminding the medical staff to keep my identity anonymous. We're one now.

A part of me is flowing inside him, and all I need to do now is wait for him to open his eyes and wake up. It has been hours— almost a day actually, so why isn't he waking up?

It's making me anxious—impatient, and before I know it, I'm standing in front of this ridiculous wooden cross, staring at the deity who they claim can perform miracles. I am not here to plead, but to propose a bargain.

"Don't be too full of yourself. I'll never get down on my knees for anyone... This isn't a prayer, rather it's a warning... Dare take Taehyung away from me, I'll make sure to let your other children pay for it for as long as I'm alive. +

An eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth. Take what's mine and I'll take what's yours... I wouldn't dare do it if I were you." I whispered to myself, glaring at the figure of the said god before I turned my back on the altar. [END OF SOMEONE'S POV]

*** Feeling helpless, Jimin found himself here in the hospital chapel, praying to god as he got down on his knees. There's another person standing by the altar, but Jimin has no time to pay attention to anyone else.

The doctors said that they've already done their best, so it's now up to Taehyung, fate and god to do the rest.

With a deep breath, Jimin clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and bowed his head; as he started his prayer, he caught a whiff of mint when the other person walked past him, leaving Jimin alone inside the quiet chapel.

*** [TIME SKIP: Two months Later] Jeongguk once thought that nothing would be more difficult than moving on from Taehyung when they broke up before— it turns out he was wrong,

Because right now, he believes that nothing could possibly be more difficult than trying to deal with the constant fear of losing Taehyung for good. To be honest, Jeongguk has no idea how he manages to go through each day knowing that Taehyung is still not well.

Hours turned to days, days to weeks, weeks to months, and Taehyung is still on the hospital bed.

The first few weeks following the incident were hell—well, it still seems like hell—but after a while, Jeongguk realized that Joon was right when he talked to him, trying to knock some sense into his already messed-up mind. +

There, Joon reminded him that he shouldn't waste the life Taehyung had risked his own for, and that Taehyung wouldn't like it if he woke up and saw him in bad condition.

So using that thought as his motivation, Jeongguk tried to put a little more effort in going on with his life— just a little bit, all while he continued to pray for Taehyung to return to his side.

From desperate drunken nights, Jeongguk started to look after himself more, focusing on the quick recovery of his shoulder. He started writing songs again, adding more to their band's next to be released album.

Since Taehyung's still unconscious, Jeongguk decided to move out of the latter's apartment, now staying in his own home in Hannamdong.+

There, at times Jeongguk still feels like he's not alone, but with everything that's been going on, he couldn't care less about the danger anymore.

Jeongguk never fails to visit Taehyung though. Every day, after he's done with work, he heads straight to the hospital to check on Taehyung— and he's on his way there now, walking through the hallways towards Taehyung's private room.

"Jeonggukkie!" Jeongguk then halted his steps when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. "Akiko? What are you doing here?" Jeongguk asks Akiko, an old friend whom he's also working with for his band's new music video.

"Well, Hajoon told me that you'll be here. Didn't you read my text? We're supposed to get dinner together, did you forget?" Akiko asks, linking her arms to Jeongguk, pouting when the latter pulls away with an empty expression on his face.

"I never agreed to that, Akiko. You know I need to see Taehyung." Jeongguk says as he continued to walk while Akiko follows him from behind, linking her arms with him again and honestly, Jeongguk's too tired to protest again right now, so he decided to let her be.

"Gukkie, I feel sorry for Taehyung too after I heard about what happened, but it's not like he's going anywhere? C'mon, go have dinner with me." Akiko pleads, trying to act cute by clinging onto Jeongguk, while the latter rolls his eyes, turning the knob on Taehyung's room.

"I can't and I won't, okay? Just go ask Jaehyong or the others... Unlike me, they're free to have dinner or whatever—" Jeongguk wasn't able to finish what he was about to say because the moment he opened the door— There's Taehyung.

*** Has it been hours or days? Months, or minutes? Taehyung doesn't know, for he keeps on losing track of time no matter how many times he tries to count the seconds. He's in a place that's just dark and empty, and he's starting to wonder if this is now his new reality.

He occasionally hears faint whispers but has no idea where they are coming from. It sounded both distant and close; there were cries and pleas, yells and murmurs.

The more it happens, the more Taehyung could recognize those voices. Sometimes it's Jimin, then Joon, there's Hobi and Hoseok too and there's also Jeongguk.

"Did I die?" Taehyung asks himself, now finally recalling that he has indeed gotten shot while trying to arreat Yoo Jae-Sung. 'Wake up... P-please... Please wake up.' 'I'm sorry, Tae...' 'We got Yoo Jae-Sung...'

'Everything's going okay now so come back...' 'Tae, please come back.' 'We miss you...' 'I miss you.' 'I love you...'

Eventually, Taehyung grew tired of responding, realizing that no one, not even himself, could hear his voice—but, of all the familiar voices he kept hearing, one stands out the most, because Taehyung has no idea who it belongs to, and that voice is always accompanied by a song.

[You can play this as you read.] The way we were. youtu.be/ifWOSnoCS0M

'He's here again.' Taehyung thinks when he hears the faint sound of the song playing. Barbara Streisand— The way we were. Taehyung has heard this song a lot, here in the darkness that has been embracing him for quite some time now.

From how it sounds like, the one who's talking everytime the song plays is a man. Taehyung wonders who he is, for his voice is something Taehyung could not really recognize.

At first, the man would just say a few words. 'Beautiful.' 'I love you.' Then Taehyung will hear nothing more other than the song.

After some time, the man began telling him stories about his day, like how tiring his job is and how fed up he is by dealing with other people.

He'd tell Taehyung how he hates his father, and that he's been itching to kill him for a long time, but he couldn't, because he knows that once his father dies then he'll be the first suspect the police would have in mind.

The stories went on and on, and at some point, Taehyung began feeling sympathy for this mystery person— that is until the stories turned darker, and darker— and darker.

He would tell Taehyung about those he had fallen in love with and how those people broke his heart so he k¡lled them— tore them apart, piece by piece, limb after limb, +

then he put them all on display for the world to see, and from there, despite Taehyung's state, he figured that the one who has been talking to him is the same psych:opath that they have been hunting. Why, though?

"What do you want from me? Why are you telling me these things?" Taehyung asks, despite already knowing that he'll get no response.

The song continued playing and so are the man's gruesome stories. He told Taehyung about his victims and how useless he thinks they are, for the only thing that matters to him right now is Taehyung.

He kept on telling Taehyung that he loves him and that they're now one— that he can't wait for Taehyung to wake up because the longer Taehyung continues to sleep, the more he's losing his patience.

Then, just when the song is about to end, the man will whisper 'I love you' to him again... But this time— Taehyung heard him say something else.

'I'm not a patient man, love... I even prayed and had given God a rather gracious timeline... But you're still not waking up. I think I have waited long enough... Should I get moving?'

"What do you mean?" Taehyung asks even though it's pointless because no one will hear his response. 'He's been pissing me off more lately, you know? He's always here and every day, he's taking longer and longer to leave— I'm sick of waiting... Should I just get rid of him?'

"W-who?" Taehyung asks in panic, because for some reason, he has an idea who this man is talking about. 'Mhm... Maybe I should... After all, I would like it if I'll be the first one you'll see once you wake up— not that pest, Jeon Jeongguk.'

"N-no... NO COME BACK! COME BACK HERE! NO! HEY!—" Taehyung exclaims, getting up on his feet, running to wherever in this complete darkness that he's in.

Jeongguk. Jeongguk. Jeongguk is in danger, so he cannot just stay here. He had to leave, and from there— a spark of bright light appeared before him.

*** <You can play this as you read.> Feel you  youtu.be/Y6knep2OQX0

"*Gasp!*" "T-Tae? O-oh god..." Jimin who's currently here visiting Taehyung in his room cries when Taehyung suddenly gasps for air, his eyes now wide open.

*** . . . "Unlike me, they're free to have dinner or whatever—" Taehyung is now sitting on the bed, and Jimin was telling him something when the door swung open, causing Jimin to step back and look away as Taehyung turned towards Jeongguk, who is transfixed by the doorframe.

"T-Tae..." Jeongguk muttered under his breath, immediately tearing up at realizing that Taehyung is now awake; he's too happy—too taken aback to notice how Taehyung's eyes slowly travelled down from Jeongguk to the latter's arm, +

which is entwined with the woman standing next to him. "Who are you?" Taehyung asks with a blank expression on his face as he sharply meets Jeongguk's gaze.

A/N: a lot surely happened within our two-month time skip here. If you have questions or if you get confused, please relax. Everything will be explained in detail later on in the story

Are you familiar with that feeling where it's like all the air in your lungs is suddenly ripped out of you? Suddenly you cannot breathe— cannot move. That's what's happening right now to Jeongguk.

"T-Tae... Is this a joke? Baby... You mean Akiko, right? It's been a while after all... But you know her... She used to host our gigs in club FF before... S-she's a model now— +

ah, we're also working together for a project, but that-..." Jeongguk pauses as he pulls his arm off of Akiko's hold. "That's just it," Jeongguk says, his lips twitching as he forces himself to smile,+

attempting to take a step closer to Taehyung, only to be stopped when Taehyung furrows his brows and stares back at him, puzzled.

"No, I meant— who are you? You and her... I don't know you both, so what are you doing here in my room?" Taehyung asks, drawing Jeongguk's eyes to Jimin, who averted his gaze before softly touching Taehyung's cheek,+

pulling the latter closer, and putting a delicate kiss on the top of Taehyung's hair. "You know him, babe... I think you two should talk; I'll just stay outside, okay?" Jimin says to Taehyung as he walks past Jeongguk and towards the door.+

"We might not know each other, but trust me, missy... You don't want to be here," Jimin tells Akiko, grabbing her arm and leading her away, leaving Taehyung and Jeongguk alone.

[You can play this as you read.] In your time youtu.be/rayDZmEotNs

"T-Tae..." Jeongguk trembles as he takes a few cautious steps towards Taehyung, while Taehyung turns to his side, staring out the window as Jeongguk stands by the side of his bed.

"I said I don't know you... Please leave." Taehyung says, keeping his tone cold and flat— but despite all this; after the initial shock has faded, Jeongguk is now once again feeling bliss, +

because finally— finally, Taehyung is here; moving, breathing, talking— no longer sleeping. Then it's as if the world came to a halt.

Now that Taehyung's up, Jeongguk can finally take a good look at him. He has certainly lost a lot of weight, his complexion is pale, his lips are chapped,+

his hair has grown to almost past his shoulders, dark wavy locks framing his face, he doesn't appear healthy at all, yet Jeongguk still thinks Taehyung is absolutely beautiful.

Releasing a rather shaky breath, Jeongguk sat on the side of the bed, not even bothering to blink, his eyes brimming in tears as he carefully swings his arm around Taehyung, +

pulling the latter closer to him by the nape, caging the latter in a tight embrace. "I— G-god... I missed you so much..." Jeongguk says, words rolling out of his mouth breathlessly. +

"I was so scared... I thought— I thought I lost you... I'm so happy right now, so please... Even just for a bit, let me hug you, Tae." Jeongguk adds as Taehyung stilled in his arms.

They stayed like that for a few seconds. Taehyung did not push Jeongguk away, but he is also not hugging him back; instead, he is simply breathing steadily, which is more than enough for Jeongguk right now.

"Is it true that you don't remember me, mhm?" Jeongguk asks, breaking the deafening silence between them, still not letting go of Taehyung.

Taehyung then just slowly nodded his head, feeling Jeongguk gently rake his fingers through his long hair before his palm traveled down to the side of his neck, cupping his jaw, lifting his face, making Taehyung meet his gaze.

"That's fine... I'm cool with that. Do what you gotta do— just don't expect me to stay away from you... I'm Jeon Jeongguk by the way and I love you... +

You might not remember it, but in case you're curious, I'm a hundred percent sure that you're in love with me too." Jeongguk says, his voice soft and tender, his eyes warm as he stares down at Taehyung.

"Love is a fickle thing, so I've heard... I don't see myself believing in it." Taehyung says, not breaking their eye contact. "Am I the only one you don't remember?" Jeongguk asks, smiling tenderly at Taehyung.

"Yeah... Just you." Taehyung replies, making Jeongguk nod his head, his eyes subtly scanning the room, holding his quivering smile, pulling away from Taehyung as he huffs out a lungful of air.

"I see... When did you wake up? Can you tell me?" Jeongguk asks, tucking some of Taehyung's long hair behind the latter ear. "A few minutes ago."

"Mhm... Okay. Did the doctors check on you already? How are you feeling?" Jeongguk inquires, letting his hand slide down from the crook of Taehyung's neck down to hold Taehyung's hand that's on the latter's lap.

"They did... I feel fine though. I'm okay..." Taehyung answers, and even though they're not addressing it, Jeongguk is sure that both of them are feeling the thickening tension in the air.

"T-then, I'm relieved... I'm glad you're okay... Have you eaten yet? Are you hungry? Thirsty maybe?" Jeongguk asks, awkwardly clearing his throat as he gets up, going round the bed towards the small coffee table by the window, +

taking the fresh petunia flowers that he's sure wasn't there when he left Taehyung's room last night, tossing the flowers straight in the trash— a habit he does so often for the past two months.

After all, the petunia flower does not hold any positive or happy sentiments. It is known to display deep feelings of resentment, anger, and trouble— feelings that don't deserve to be anywhere near Taehyung.

"I can't eat anything yet... I drank water, though." Taehyung says, keeping his eyes on Jeongguk as the latter returns to his side, sitting on the bed again.

"Mhm... Okay, but you need to recover quickly so I can fatten you up. You lost your baby cheeks after all the sleeping that you did." Jeongguk says, reaching up to caress Taehyung's face again, unable to keep his hands to himself.+

Taehyung didn't respond, he's just staring at Jeongguk and even though Jeongguk knows he should give Taehyung some space, right now, it's impossible for him to control himself.

"Can I kiss you? Just a peck will do..." Jeongguk says in heavy takes of breath, totally incapable of consuming more of the damn tension between them. "But I don't know you— so why would I kiss you?" Taehyung asks, still with that blank expression on his face.

"Y'know— in some countries, they kiss each other as a form of greeting..." Jeongguk replies in deep whispers, slowly leaning in closer towards Taehyung.

"Some countries? Where exactly?" Taehyung asks again, flicking his gaze down on Jeongguk's lips then back up again.

"Just there... Somewhere in the west, if I remember correctly." Jeongguk breathlessly says, speaking a hair away from Taehyung lips, noticing how Taehyung's throat subtly bobbed up and down, +

batting his long lashes as he looks down, staring at Jeongguk's mouth. "Again... I-I don't know you..." Taehyung whispers back— yet he finds himself not pulling back.

"Ah— again, I'm Jeon Jeongguk, nice to meet you." Jeongguk says, swallowing the gasp Taehyung made as he leaned in, finally closing the gap between them, claiming Taehyung's lips, immediately forgetting his own words that it'll be just like a greeting, a peck— bullsh¡t.

Taehyung is here. He's here. The world finally started spinning for him. He can finally feel the breeze hit his skin. Warmth on his lips. His heart beating. Finally, Jeongguk can feel that he's once again living.

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Jeongguk held Taehyung by the nape, flicking his tongue in between the latter's lips, parting his mouth so he could slide in. Jeongguk cannot even tell when he started crying, but right now he's tasting the salt from own tears—+

yet to him it tastes sweet, as sweet as he remembers it. He was about to pull away, but when he opened his eyes he saw how Taehyung closed his own eyes, slowly tilting his head to the side, which just encouraged Jeongguk to continue— so he did.

With a low grunt, Jeongguk grips Taehyung's nape a bit more, kissing the latter deeper, harder, savoring each passing second.

From being still, Jeongguk felt Taehyung finally moving, breathing laboriously against his lips, flicking his tongue softly, entwining it with Jeongguk's own; delicate fingers crawling up, +

grabbing a fistful of Jeongguk's shirt, keeping the latter close as if he has no plans of ever letting go— and from there, Jeongguk understood that they needed no words. He needs no explanation from Taehyung.

They continued kissing until Jeongguk felt his lips go sore and numb; he then pulled back, eyes dazed as if drunk, staring at the thin string of spit connecting both of their mouths.

"I'm glad you're back... Thank you for coming back." Jeongguk says, breathing more heavily as Taehyung loosens his grip on him.

"Mhm... Nice to meet you, Jeongguk." Taehyung whispers, eyes fixed on Jeongguk's own, staring at the latter for a few more seconds before he pulls himself back, looking away, turning his face towards the window again.

Jeongguk was about to say something when the door suddenly swung open, followed by Taehyung's doctor and some nurses stepping in.

"Oh, Jeongguk-ssi. I didn't know you're here... Our patient finally came around. It's a miracle actually— he's been out for two months and look at him, sitting already." Dr. Kang says, +

smiling at Jeongguk, aware that the latter has been coming in and out of the hospital everyday in the past 2 months just to check on Taehyung.

"Indeed, doc... Are you going to run some tests? I'm guessing he needs to undergo therapy, right?" Jeongguk says, getting up from the bed.

"It’s a must, yes. We'll be monitoring him for now and have him scheduled for physical therapy to work on his motor skills and to stimulate his brain function.+

Taehyung-ssi here is really a fighter and by the looks of it, he'll be out of here before we know it." Dr. Kang says as he walks towards the bed to check on Taehyung.

"Good. Then... I'll just be outside. I'll see you later doc— Tae..." Jeongguk tells Dr. Kang and Taehyung before he steps out, immediately finding Jimin waiting outside the room.

. . . "Will you not ask Dr. Kang about Taehyung's 'amnesia'?" Jimin asks in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You know I'm no fool, Park. Whatever it is, Taehyung must have his own reasons. Then again, I hope you know better... I'm trusting you to not let him be in danger,+

remember— we just got him back." Jeongguk says, tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he firmly stares down at Jimin. "Yeah sure... I know." Jimin replies.

"Good. I'll still come by though, make sure to let him know— and also, whatever you do, don't leave Taehyung alone, especially when I'm not here. I have a feeling that f*cker is about to make a move soon." Jeongguk says with a hint of warning in his tone.

"Worry about yourself. Taehyung will be guarded properly here. You're the one who's mostly on your own." Jimin says, releasing a deep breath as he walks past Jeongguk, heading back inside Taehyung's room.

*** [You can play this as you read.] Dont hurt yourself (inst.) youtu.be/iy9tsTmyJQ8

It's been two months, and Jeongguk hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary—except on those few occasions when he returns home to find a bouquet of fresh petunias by his doorstep, sometimes on the couch, sometimes in the kitchen—damn flowers reminding him that he's not alone.

Jeongguk is not an idiot. He'd already contacted a private security company after receiving his third bouquet and had his Hannamdong home guarded, as well as dispatching some to secure Taehyung's hospital room, +

but for some reason, the sick psycho can still roam free around them, going incognito, leaving only the traces he chooses to leave like a one damn witty ghost.

Jeongguk may have no idea how that psych:opath's doing it, but now that Taehyung's awake, Jeongguk knows that he can't just ignore it anymore. He's on his way back to Hannamdong now, and yes, he's finally been allowed to reactivate his license.+

Then, only a few blocks from his house, he noticed a petunia bouquet on the ground. Jeongguk drove over the blasted thing, clicking his tongue in disgust as he took his phone and called Seokjin.

—"Yes, hello, Guk. Why?" Jin asks. "Taehyung's up now hyung... I need to move." Jeongguk says as he arrives home, heading straight in, grabbing the set of suitcases he packed weeks ago.

—"Wait, what?— That's great news! I'll tell Joon then, but when are you moving, though?" Jin asks. Well, Jin isn't really surprised since as soon as Jeongguk bailed him out a week after he got detained for what he did in CC's,+

the latter immediately asked him to discreetly look for a new property he and Taehyung could safely stay at, once Taehyung wakes up.

Jin honestly has no idea what's running inside Jeongguk's mind, but he still went along with what the latter wanted. He bought a property in Cheongdam-dong, keeping the transaction a secret, putting it under his name also as per Jeongguk's instruction.

"Tonight hyung. I'll just stop by the hospital again to check on Tae. If you can, then let's meet there." Jeongguk says, loading his suitcases at the back of one of his cars, +

different from what he used earlier, then tossing his other car keys to three of his personal bodyguards who are waiting for his instruction by the front porch.

—"Tonight? Already? —*sigh* Well, I guess that's fine. The place has always been ready for occupancy anyway. Still, why the rush? If Taehyung just woke up, I don't think he can move in with you just yet. Doesn't he need to undergo some therapy first or something?"

"I know... My baby's going to work hard. I shouldn't cause trouble for him, so I have to look after myself better from now on. Unfortunately for that psycho, I can't pretend to play hide and seek with him anymore.+

You know— the guy's been watching us hyung... So now I have to make him blind as soon as possible," Jeongguk says before hanging up the phone.

"You all know what to do, right?" Jeongguk asks the bodyguards he had assigned to drive his other cars. He couldn't take any risk now, so he's got to play his cards.

Because of the strange flowers he and Taehyung have been getting, it was clear to Jeongguk that both him and Taehyung are under the psych:opath's surveillance.+

So, since he's now leaving, he devised a strategy to hide his tracks, using his other cars and bodyguards as decoys in case he's being followed by the psych:opath who's most likely still lurking around.

*** "Tch, what are you up to now, you smart fucker?" A man let out a hiss, here in his car that's discreetly parked a few blocks away from Jeongguk's home, seeing three of Jeongguk's vehicles exit the gate, +

all taking a different route from the other, which confuses him on which car to follow. "*Sigh* Fine... I'll play with you, Jeongguk-ssi... Tag— you're it." The man says, deciding to tail the second car that exited Jeongguk's gate.

*** After the guards left, Jeongguk walked back inside his garage, monitoring the CCTV cameras for a few minutes before hopping on his motorcycle and exiting through the back gate.

"It's my turn to go incognito now f:ucker... I'm so sick of your damn flowers." Jeongguk tells himself, smirking as he speeds away.

"Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose." — Viktor Frankl

[You can play this as you read.] Lost cause youtu.be/OybFOQyFd4o

It's been two months since what happened at CC's, and Joon's world has been turned upside down since then. At first glance, the operation appears to be a success because they were able to capture their target, Yoo Jae-sung—but it really doesn't end there.

Even if they were successful in shutting down CC's by proving the illegal activity within the said business, it would not change the fact that Joon, Taehyung, and Jimin acted without complete authorization from the prosecution's office.+

Guests—high-profile ones were injured, and four innocent people were brutally m:urdered on the scene; civilians, Jin and Jeongguk in particular, gained access to weapons they should not have had;+

Taehyung, a prosecutor, was critically injured, and Hyun-Jung, a police officer, is still missing—and all of this combined has brought the prosecution under fire.

Jin had been detained as a result of his involvement and the somewhat gruesome method he had used to capture Yoo Jae-sung. Jeongguk had obviously paid his bond,+

but Jin nevertheless pleaded guilty to acting on impulse and sh:ooting the suspect more than was necessary. Jin was sentenced to pay a total of 11 million won in restitution after a trial.

Although Jeongguk managed to get away by using self-defense as his defense for holding a g:un and sh:ooting Yoo Jae-Sung's men, that doesn't mean he didn't suffer the consequences of being a part of the rather scandalous operation.+

His band, B-side, was forced to take another hiatus, delaying the release of their upcoming album; on top of that, Jeongguk's career is in a seemingly irreversible shambles as he is caught up in one crime and controversy after another.

Jimin and Joon? Well, they've been forced to take an administrative leave, in other terms— a rather more lenient form of suspension, and maybe that's why Joon right now feels like he's got no purpose.

...  —"You know, the guy's been watching us hyung... So now I have to make him blind as soon as possible," "*Sigh* That kid, really..." Jin lets out a deep sigh after Jeongguk ends the call, then he turns towards Joon who just got out of the shower. +

"Aren't you gonna ask me who I was talking to?" Jin asks.  "Well, do I have to? It was obviously Jeongguk," Joon shrugs, plopping down on the bed with nothing more than his loosely tied bathrobe. +

"What are we going to use tonight?" Joon pauses before picking up the pink prostate massager from Jin's toy collection on the bedside table, followed by the mini anal vibrator.+

"Or this? I'm not really in the mood for the beads since I'm still sore from last night." Joon adds, lying on his stomach while fiddling with the toys in his hands.

"Tch. As tempting as that sounds, I have to pass..." Jin says, walking round the bed, sitting beside Joon on the mattress.

"What? Why?" Joon whines as Jin snatches the toys from him, keeping them all in the box under the bed.  "How long are you gonna stay like this, Kim geomsanim?" Jin asks while Joon just stares at him, knowing full well what Jin meant.

Joon values his job above all else. His late father was also a prosecutor, and his mother was a judge before they both died in an accident, leaving Joon to be raised by Jeon Jaeha, his parents' close friend.

Joon has known since he was a child that he was destined to be a prosecutor. It was his dream, which is why he worked so hard for it, but one wrong move cost him everything.

There were a lot of influential and powerful people involved in CC's, and Joon basically made them his enemies. Sadly, not even Jeon Jaeha can help him out of this.

So, now that he's been obliged to take an indefinite administrative leave as a result of what happened, Joon feels as if his life has suddenly spiraled out of control and he has no idea what to do with himself anymore.

Out of shame and guilt, Joon left Jeon Jaeha's home and has been staying in Jin's apartment, not even bothering to step outdoors.

"Joon. I'm simply 'Joon' now, mind you, and what more can I do?— What should I even do? I'm jobless now, remember?" Joon says, rolling on the bed, laying on his back, staring at the ceiling since he isn't really in the mood for this conversation.

"You're not jobless, you're basically just on break—"  "I don't wanna talk about this right now, Jin. Please... If you're gonna pass tonight, then I'm fine with that. You can leave, I'll just sleep here—.."

"Taehyung's awake." Jin says, making Joon immediately sit up on the bed. "What?" Joon asks with shock written all over his face.

"*Sigh* Yeah, Guk just told me about it; I know you've been feeling awful about what happened, but I doubt they're even blaming you... That sick psycho's still onto them, Joon. Are you really not going to do anything?" Jin asks, standing up and collecting his car keys.

"Also, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but if you're still upset because I was locked up for a week, drop it. I knew what I did, I took a g:un, pulled the trigger, intentionally crippled, and shot someone's d¡ck with it,+

so stop blaming yourself—" Jin pauses, leaning in to kiss Joon on the cheek. "I'll be in the car; if you're not out in five minutes, then I'm leaving." He says, leaving Joon staring blankly at the wall as he walks out the door.

.  .  .   Jin is in his car, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, grinning teasingly as Joon jumps into the passenger seat less than 5 minutes after he left him.

"Don't smile. I'm just here to check on Taehyung. That's all." Joon says, leading Jin to roll his eyes.  "Mhm... Alright, if you say so... Still, welcome back to life, Kim geomsanim," Jin says as he starts the car and winks at Joon.

*** [You can play this as you read.] Run youtu.be/gLMyBBZmL2M

"You can stop the act now, babe," Jimin says after thoroughly examining Taehyung's hospital room for any bugging devices. "Now,  can you fill me in? We were kind of interrupted earlier," he adds.

"*Sigh* Well, I'm not really sure. Since I woke up an hour ago, I just have this feeling that I'm not safe here... Jimin— HE's been here... I can't explain it, but I know that psycho has been here— in this room, with me...+