Chapter Text
Taehyung stared at the board in his hand, flipping the pages to go through the notes he had taken during their last conversation. It certainly wasn’t much. Jungkook never talked much. He just sat there in the corner and listened to Taehyung talking. Sometimes he’d speak a little but it hardly ever was anything worth noting.
“So you said that you were feeling sick last time. Is it any better today?” Taehyung looked back up through the glass to where Jungkook was sitting. T-shirt torn, his pants not in a much better state. There was a little blood on them. Whether it was Jungkook’s or someone else's was something Taehyung had never felt comfortable enough to ask.
They were both sitting in a rather big room. The air was moist and never quite the right temperature, although Taehyung would have had a hard time figuring out if it was too hot or too cold if asked. It almost seemed as if it was both at the same time. His side of the room was basically falling apart, while the part behind the glass wall, the one Jungkook always sat in, was a little more… sealed off. While there were cracks in the walls on Taehyung’s side, on Jungkook’s they had filled every small opening with some sort of glue.
They had never told Taehyung why that was the case. He just knew Jungkook was dangerous and having any openings to his room would have meant endangering everybody in the facility. It was also the reason for the microphones and speakers in each of their rooms. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even have been able to hear one another.
“Yeah. It got better.” Jungkook answered curtly before going back to playing with the hem of his t-shirt, tugging at small threads and pulling them out of the fabric. Taehyung had been watching that part of the t-shirt shrink for weeks now. He wondered whether they were going to give Jungkook a change of clothes once it had fallen apart completely but then again, considering that they hadn’t done so far… they probably wouldn’t.
“That’s good to hear.” Taehyung smiled, noting down Jungkook’s condition. It was one of the mandatory questions he was supposed to ask. Just like the next one. “And how are you feeling mentally? Has anything happened the last few days?”
Jungkook shrugged his shoulders, not even looking up this time around. “Nothing really happened. It was boring.” Then he seemed to remember something. “They gave me something yesterday and I was out most of the day, but that’s it.”
Taehyung shook his head, pressing his lips into a thin line. He wasn’t here because he approved of what they were doing to Jungkook. He genuinely hated the fact that the second humans encountered something they didn’t know they would make a guinea pig out of it. No matter how many people Jungkook had supposedly killed. This treatment didn’t sit right with Taehyung.
But he had somehow ended up in this job and it wasn’t like him declaring he would quit would change anything. At least he had the power to give Jungkook a break for a day. Time to breathe and regenerate. If he would leave… he wasn’t sure what his successor would do. Maybe it would be a sick fuck with sadistic tendencies. Taehyung wasn’t going to risk that.
So he stayed.
Even though Jungkook clearly viewed him in the same bad light as everyone else here. Even though, in the unlikely situation that Jungkook got out of here, Taehyung would be in some very real danger because he was the only guy whose face Jungkook regularly saw. Even with all of that… Taehyung stayed.
Because he hoped he could make Jungkook’s time here a little less awful.
“And you’re feeling okay today, after all of that yesterday?” Taehyung asked, taking a small note. He was aware they probably wouldn’t even look at it, but this still was his job.
“I’ve been way worse. I have a small headache from whatever they did today, but yesterday’s drugs have worn off now.” Jungkook stated matter of factly before pulling at another string of his t-shirt.
Taehyung nodded. He really wished he could do something against all of this. “If you need a break, you know you can always ask me.” He offered because that was the only thing he could actually do. One day. Every once in a while, he could give Jungkook a break for just one day.
“Will do.” Jungkook muttered, still not really paying much attention.
It was always like that. Jungkook probably didn’t even care if Taehyung was there or not. It certainly didn’t seem like he had the biggest urge to talk.
“Anything else you’d like to tell me today? Anything going through your mind?” Taehyung already knew what Jungkook’s answer to that question was going to be. It was always the same. At first, it had been scary but by now… Taehyung had been pretty desensitized to the thought.
“Just thinking about what I could do if I managed to get out of here. Who to kill first.” When Jungkook made eye contact with Taehyung his gaze was sharp and threatening.
His own response was not what a therapist was supposed to answer either. But in this place no one really followed rules or regulations, so Taehyung didn’t feel obligated to follow them either. “Hope it won’t be me.” It was a crude joke. Not even really funny.
But the amused glint in Jungkook’s eyes was probably the most positive reaction he got out of Jungkook whenever he was down here.
When Taehyung had met Jungkook for the first time he had not had any idea what he had gotten himself into. His old boss had been the one to mention this job offer to him and Taehyung had met his supervisor somewhere else.
Back then he had gotten easy instructions. He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about this job. He was going to work with someone dangerous, but he was going to be safe, and Taehyung was not supposed to give out any personal information.
The third point had seemed a little weird at the time, since for a therapist that was the usual procedure. He never talked about himself with clients, but Taehyung had gotten it when he first stepped into that room with Jungkook. Back then both he and Jungkook had been new to this.
Jungkook had been scary. Yellow, glowing eyes. His constant glare. Threats about how he was going to kill everyone, including Taehyung. What he would do to anyone Taehyung knew.
Taehyung had worked with all different kinds of mental illnesses before, but he had never met anyone as scary as Jungkook. Even though Jungkook had been behind that glass screen Taehyung had been honestly afraid for his life.
Because Jungkook kept thrashing around, throwing himself against the glass. Taehyung had been sure it would break at some point.
The first month Taehyung had had nightmare over nightmare. Once he had woken up, sure that he could see Jungkook standing in the corner of the room.
But over time Jungkook had gotten quieter. Had started answering his questions, even if only with a few words.
He seemed to have realized that there was no way out of that room for him. And that talking to Taehyung was better than being completely alone all the time. And of course, once again… Taehyung was his free pass to take a day off.
Taehyung was aware that Jungkook didn’t care much for him, but he liked to believe that Jungkook had gotten a little more positive towards him over the last year. Certainly not much, but he wasn’t as hostile as he had been in the beginning.
But a lot of things changed when Taehyung got a call in the evening, just as he was leaving the facility. It was his supervisor. An old man who was probably about to retire in a year or two.
“Mr. Kim?”
Taehyung nodded before realizing the man wouldn’t be able to see him. “Yeah?”
“I’m calling to tell you that our budget has been shortened again.” Taehyung already knew what that meant. Mr. Choi had already warned him about this. Over the last year, he hadn’t gotten anything out of Jungkook. Nothing about who he was. Where he had lived. What he was.
The facility didn’t care about Jungkook’s wellbeing. They had only hired Taehyung in hopes that maybe Jungkook would slip up in normal conversation. And given that Taehyung hadn’t gotten anything interesting out of Jungkook, not that he had really tried, he was on the top of the list of things that were considered to be a waste of money.
He already knew what his supervisor was going to say next.
“They don’t want a therapist anymore.”
Taehyung sighed. This job hadn’t paid too well in the first place. Taehyung easily could have gone to search for another job. He was good at what he did. Enjoyed helping people.
But leaving Jungkook alone in that facility without anyone to talk to didn’t feel right either. Even if Jungkook acted like these conversations didn’t matter to him. Taehyung was good enough in reading people to know that Jungkook was glad every time Taehyung showed up.
He knew that those conversations meant something to him. After all, there was nothing forcing him to answer any of Taehyung’s questions.
“I honestly saw that coming…” Taehyung muttered, staring up at the sky.
What was he supposed to do now?
“Wow, you’re back. Thought you have gotten cold feed. Not showing up for two weeks. That’s very unprofessional of you.” Jungkook chuckled, folding his legs in his lap. “Almost missed you with how long you were gone.”
Taehyung chuckled, sitting down on that one chair they had supplied him with. “I’ll make sure not to disappear for so long that you’ll miss me again.” He glanced at his notes before putting them to his side. He wasn’t working here anymore, so why would he still focus on taking notes on everything?
“Actually I have a reason for not having been here the last two weeks.”
He watched Jungkook raise an eyebrow. “Oh really? What was it?”
Taehyung nodded. “They decided that you’re no longer in need of a therapist so they fired me kinda?”
For the first time since Taehyung had come here, Jungkook seemed surprised. “Oh… so you’re here to say goodbye? Didn’t take you as that kind of sentimental person.”
Taehyung chuckled. Maybe, even though he knew what Jungkook was, what he was capable of...part of him liked that boy, even with his attitude.
“Actually no. I’m still here because I thought it wasn’t a good idea to leave you alone without anyone to talk to. I know you’re not a fan of our conversations, but staying holed up in here all on your own is probably not something you’d want either. And they allowed me to stay as long as I don’t ask for payment.”
Jungkook raised an eyebrow.
“That’s kind of stupid of you, not gonna lie. How will you even survive if you don’t make any money?” Even though Jungkook still had his usual demeanor, that wall that made him seem like he didn’t care about anything, his focus was completely on Taehyung for once. He genuinely seemed curious.
Taehyung leaned back. This was the first actual conversation he had ever had with Jungkook. Sure, they had talked to each other before, but never like this. Never anything but Taehyung asking Jungkook straight forward questions and Jungkook answering vaguely.
This time Jungkook was actually asking something about him.
“I never started my career as a therapist to make money. I come from a pretty wealthy family. Money has never really been an issue. And as I said, I didn’t like the thought of leaving you completely alone.”
Taehyung wasn’t sure how to decipher Jungkook’s gaze. He just stared at Taehyung, his expression not changing in the slightest, before leaning back against the wall and looking up at the ceiling. “Well… you’re still stupid though.”
After that Jungkook didn’t say another word. They just sat there in silence for quite some time and it was oddly comfortable like this. Usually, he tried to force conversation with Jungkook, but the quiet was nice too.
Jungkook was the one to break the silence after what must have been at least half an hour. “I’m grateful though. It is kind of depressing to be here all on my own.”
After that Jungkook finally began to open up. Little by little he actually started making conversation with Taehyung and Taehyung actually got to see him smile for the first time. Jungkook didn’t threaten him as often as he had used to either.
Their routine broke more and more as they moved away from the usual topics and just talked about all kinds of things. Movies, opinions on certain issues, things that had happened to them or they had watched happening.
And Taehyung didn’t bother to write anything down. It wasn’t like there was any information that would actually help them with anything. Jungkook’s taste in music told them nothing about the kind of monster he was.
But of course, not every day was a good day. There were days when Jungkook was in a lot of pain or just passed out when Taehyung came. The experiments still happened. Taehyung was aware of that, but now that he was getting closer to Jungkook it really started to hurt more to see him in that state.
It didn’t matter how many people he had killed. How much he’d curse at Taehyung because of how much pain he was in. No one deserved to go through this kind of pain.
“You know…” Jungkook began one day, sitting by the glass screen. He’d started getting closer when talking to Taehyung too. It felt more natural. Less like an interrogation. Taehyung had actually developed a habit of sitting on the ground instead of his chair as well. “I used to live a pretty normal life. I mean…” Jungkook looked like he was searching for the right words. “I did kill people… but I had a personal life that I tried to separate from everything I was doing.”
That was completely new to Taehyung. As far as he knew they had found no information on Jungkook whatsoever. No official documents, nothing. Taehyung nodded, listening curiously.
“I had pretty normal friends that I cared about too.” This was clearly by far the most open Jungkook had been with him so far. And Taehyung was glad because Jungkook was finally starting to trust him. And Taehyung was going to do anything to keep it that way. He wanted to give Jungkook at least one place that made him feel comfortable.
“Did they know about you?” Taehyung asked curiously. Outside he could hear echoing steps passing the room in a hurry. It was weird how there constantly was something going on out there and nevertheless, no one ever entered this room.
Probably because they were all scared of Jungkook seeing their faces.
“Oh hell no.” Jungkook chuckled, shaking his head to really underline his words. “They would have either declared me insane or called the police if I had told them. They were really chill people, but this is not exactly something anyone stays cool over.”
He watched as Jungkook leaned back, supporting himself on his hands. “I would have lost them as friends no matter how they would have reacted so no, I never told them. I bet they are worried as fuck right now. I just disappeared into thin air. Wonder how they are doing.” Jungkook stared at a spot behind Taehyung, clearly spacing out.
“Do you regret what you do to people?”
Jungkook’s eyes were back on him. A while back Taehyung hadn’t been able to endure Jungkook’s intense gaze when he had looked at him like that, but now that Taehyung was a little more comfortable it felt less threatening.
Jungkook no longer felt as threatening. Maybe because he was no longer trying to scare Taehyung off. “Not really. I’ve been doing this for too long to feel guilt.”
That wasn’t really a reassuring response, but it was the answer Taehyung had been expecting. “Would you feel guilt if you killed one of your friends?”
This time Jungkook’s gaze was even more intense. His answer took a lot longer than usual.
“I probably would.”
The next time Taehyung visited Jungkook the boy wasn’t looking too good. He was lying on his back, in the middle of the cell, and when Taehyung entered he only gave a short nod of acknowledgment. His face was pale. Eyes bloodshot.
When Taehyung looked closer, he noticed Jungkook’s body shaking ever so softly.
“Hey.” Taehyung greeted as he sat down on the usual spot right in front of the glass screen. “You look awful.”
Jungkook chuckled before starting to wheeze loudly and coughing. “You think so?” He watched as Jungkook brought his shaking hand down to his stomach. “Whatever they did today, it was strong. My whole body hurts.”
That had to be horrible. Taehyung knew that, since Jungkook could escape so easily, they normally used really strong narcotics to knock him out cold before they did their experiments. From what Taehyung had heard the amount they used would have been lethal to any human, but it was the only way to get Jungkook down. By the time Jungkook came back to himself, they always had done all kinds of things to his body, but Jungkook never knew what exactly they had done. Probably the only indicator of what had happened was the pain.
Taehyung couldn’t help but wonder if this was going to end at some point or if they would just keep doing this, completely ignoring the fact that there was someone on the receiving end of their experiments.
Even if Jungkook had done horrible shit before… this was too much. Yeah, Jungkook seemed to regenerate at a rate that would have been impossible for a human, but that didn’t mean they could do anything to him. It really pissed Taehyung off.
“I’ll tell them to give you a break tomorrow…” He was unsure if saying this would go too far… but then again, he was no longer working here so he just went for it. The way he was treating Jungkook right now wasn’t the way he usually talked to clients. It was already too personal, so it really didn’t matter anymore.
He just wanted to make Jungkook feel a little better with his presence. Even if he could only do this much.
“I hate seeing you like this. I know that’s no consolation, but I think what they are doing to you here is awful. This is torture.”
Jungkook chuckled, dropping his head back down on the floor and staring at the ceiling. “I’d say it isn’t, but then I think about how I’m feeling right now and I think you might be right. I’d be a hypocrite to speak up though. I’ve probably hurt people more than this before.”
Jungkook lifted his hand up staring up at his fingers. “I probably deserve this.” He chuckled, but his voice didn’t sound too amused.
“No one deserves this. Yeah, you’ve done shit in the past, and just like the things that are happening to you right now that wasn’t right. Neither is right. This shouldn’t be happening to you.” Taehyung sighed. Jungkook really didn’t deserve this. No matter what he had done before… this was just…
“Why work here if you’re against what they do?” Jungkook asked, grunting as he sat up while applying pressure to his side. Taehyung wondered if there was something on his skin. Or if they had done anything in there.
Taehyung really wouldn’t have been too surprised if they had just cut Jungkook open.
“The reason I’m here is not because I agree with anything they are doing. I’m here because there is nothing I can do about this situation aside from sitting here and talking to you. I’m completely powerless. The only thing I can do is help you kill some time.”
For a few seconds, Jungkook just looked at him, seemingly contemplating what to say next. He still looked fucking rough. Dark bags under his eyes, his usually confident, straight posture now hunched over, probably because of the pain.
“You’re not just helping me kill time though. I…” Once again Jungkook looked a little hesitant. “… am having fun when you’re here. Talking is nice. I didn’t realize how much I missed having someone to talk to until we started actually talking.”
Taehyung couldn’t help the wide smile spreading on his lips. Even in this kind of situation… that was nice to hear. Maybe in a different situation… he and Jungkook could have been friends
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ve been enjoying talking to you a lot recently.” Wow, that had sounded stiff.
But Jungkook just smiled before dropping back onto the floor, groaning exhaustedly. “I hate my body right now. Everything hurts.”
“It’ll get better soon. It always does.” Taehyung promised, well aware of Jungkook’s regeneration speed.
When Jungkook looked at him again, Taehyung couldn’t read his expression at all. It looked so… distant.
“Yeah… it will.”
“What do you think of me, Taehyung?” They were both once again sitting by the glass. They had just had a conversation about what it had been like for Jungkook to hide his identity from his roommate.
“What do I think of you?”
Jungkook nodded. “We’re always talking about me. You never share anything about yourself at all. I don’t even know if you work anywhere else when you aren’t here. I know… you’re my therapist and it wouldn’t be good for you to disclose any personal information so I’m asking you about your opinion of me right now. Not as a therapist. As a person. As… a friend.” Taehyung didn’t know what to say. This was the first time Jungkook had called him a friend. Or had clearly stated anything about liking Taehyung.
He couldn’t help but smile. “So we’re friends now? You get to decide that?”
Jungkook grinned. “I do. So what’s your honest answer? What do you think of me?”
Taehyung thought about it. Half a year ago he would have said Jungkook was cold and scary. That he couldn’t read him at all and that he felt threatened by him sometimes.
Now… Taehyung’s opinion was a little split. “First off I like you as a human. Talking to you is fun and I honestly think we’d be friends under different circumstances, but…” He hesitated. “…you’re still scary. Knowing what you have done and what you could do to me… is quite scary. Even after all this time we have spent in here together, I still have no idea what you even are. All the information I did get was that you’re not human. That’s it.”
Jungkook chuckled. “Because that’s about as much information as they have on me. I-“ Jungkook seemed to be contemplating something. “I can’t tell you much more… not right now. Not here.”
Taehyung didn’t know how to feel about that statement. What it indicated. Jungkook was assuming he’d get out of here. With quite a bit of confidence. Taehyung really wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
Jungkook seemed to notice. “Hey, you’ve turned as pale as a ghost. Don’t worry, I’m not out to get you.” He chuckled, getting up and stretching his body. Today he seemed to be in a pretty good shape, unlike the last few times. Maybe Taehyung was just imagining things but he felt like the experiments were getting worse and worse.
“I have to get out of here soon… it’s…” Jungkook hesitated. “…do they usually listen to these recordings?”
Taehyung’s heart rate sped up. What was Jungkook considering to say?
“They don’t unless I tell them something interesting is on there.” Taehyung wasn’t lying. Over the last year, they had pretty much given up getting anything out of Jungkook through Taehyung. Taehyung was just here to humor Jungkook in their eyes.
“Will you say something?” Jungkook’s gaze bored into him.
For a second Taehyung hesitated. “Is it about you escaping this place?”
Jungkook shook his head. “It’s not.”
Taehyung nodded. A weight lifted off his shoulders… if Jungkook would share something like that with him he wouldn’t know what to do. If he snitched on Jungkook he’d be the one keeping Jungkook here, causing the boy who had made himself a place in Taehyung’s heart, no matter how much he was in denial about that, a lot of pain. If he didn’t snitch and Jungkook did escape any death caused by Jungkook would be Taehyung’s fault too. He would have been the one releasing a cold-blooded killer back into the world.
Taehyung wouldn’t have been able to deal with that responsibility.
“Then I won’t. As long as it’s not about you escaping here I won’t tell anyone.”
Jungkook smiled, his gaze a lot softer than Taehyung was used to. Grateful.
“This might be a little weird to explain, but you know how cats have nine lives, right?” Jungkook asked, sitting back down, close by the window. If it hadn’t been for that glass, they would have been able to reach out and touch each other now.
Taehyung nodded, curious about what Jungkook was about to tell him.
“It’s pretty similar for me. But it’s not limited to a certain number. In a way I steal other people’s lives. When I kill someone it gets added to my lifespan. One life translates to around five years of life… unless I get a fatal wound. The moment I would die from those wounds my body switches onto the next life.”
Taehyung had no idea what to say to that. At one hand that was really cool, but on the other hand… how many people had Jungkook killed before? Just how many lives did he have?
“So, your body can die from the same things a human dies from?”
Jungkook shook his head, readjusting his posture. “No, it doesn’t. I’m a lot more durable than a human. If I wasn’t I’d die every time they use that tranquilizer on me. I regenerate a lot quicker than a human and it takes more to take one of my lives, but it’s a completely possible thing.”
Jungkook grinned. “See, now you know something about me!”
Taehyung sighed exasperatedly. “Really not sure what to do with that information. I still can’t believe you’re not human either. Like, you seem so human when I’m talking to you… my head can’t wrap around it properly.”
“It’s probably better that way. Stops you from thinking that it was a bad idea to come here without any payment.” Jungkook dropped down onto his back. “You made me notice you. Before I’d probably just have forgotten about you if I ever got out, but right now… I think I’d search for you.”
Taehyung felt oddly cold at the thought. There was no clear indicator of whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Whether Jungkook was going to seek him out to kill him or if it was because he wanted to see Taehyung again.
After all that had happened over the last half year Taehyung hoped it was the second.
Because there was no denying that he cared about Jungkook… more than he should have.
Months passed and while there certainly wasn’t any progress on the research data they were gathering on Jungkook with all the experiments, Taehyung really felt like he was getting closer to Jungkook. At some point he had just given up on not sharing anything about his personal life.
And while he had avoided any information that could possibly help Jungkook find him in case he ever got out he started telling Jungkook more about himself and his own life.
And Jungkook did the same. The only thing Jungkook never really explained any further was his… non-human form. Taehyung was just as uninformed as anyone else involved in this.
But over the months something had clearly changed. Jungkook seemed to only be getting worse. While before the days he had been okay seemed to have outweighed the ones he had been seriously injured, that now seemed to shift.
Most of the time they talked Jungkook was lying down instead of sitting. Sometimes he just listened. At some point, Taehyung asked Jungkook if there was a book he liked and from that point on he just made it a habit to take that book with him for their meetings. If Jungkook was okay they would talk and if the pain was too bad Taehyung would read the book to him.
Over the last two years, Jungkook had grown oddly familiar. Which was a weird situation to be in, since Jungkook still was a prisoner. But nevertheless, Taehyung and Jungkook had developed something similar to a domestic routine. Jungkook made Taehyung feel comfortable even though it shouldn’t have been that way.
Taehyung was aware that he was slowly but surely developing feelings for Jungkook that shouldn’t have been there at all. This wasn’t something that should happen. But he’d just spent so much time with Jungkook… and he genuinely liked him.
Jungkook was fun to talk to.
It was just unfortunate that he was also very dangerous.
But then one day, immediately when Taehyung entered, he could tell that something was different. Jungkook didn’t joke around like he usually did. He looked kind of gloomy when Taehyung stepped into the room. His body seemed okay. At least he was perfectly capable of sitting up as he stared into the distance.
“Everything alright?”
For a second Jungkook didn’t say anything, instead breathing in deeply before getting up and moving towards Taehyung, sitting down in his usual spot. “Yeah. I was just thinking about my life before this and I kind of miss it.”
Taehyung wasn’t sure why but that felt like a lie. He couldn’t put his hand on what it was. It just didn’t feel right. But before he could ask about it Jungkook was already talking again.
“A while ago I declared you my friend against your will… but you never said if you wanted to be my friend too.”
That was an… oddly vulnerable statement coming from Jungkook. Taehyung realized that this was what seemed a little off. While it usually felt like Jungkook had his walls up to some extent, right now his eyes were only questioning… there was a vulnerability Jungkook hadn’t shown of himself before.
Taehyung smiled. “Of course we are. I thought that was obvious.” It was at moments like this that he really hated the glass separating them. Taehyung was a touchy person by nature. He tended to show his affection through physical contact. Patting someone’s shoulders, hugs… but he couldn’t do any of that even when Jungkook really looked like he needed a hug right now.
“I’m relieved to hear that…” Jungkook looked down at his hands. Something was off. Taehyung had no idea why, but it felt like something had happened. Something that had really affected Jungkook.
“You sure everything’s okay?” Once again Jungkook nodded, but his eyes told a different story. He looked sad. And Taehyung didn’t know how to deal with it. He’d spent all his life learning how to react to certain situations, to certain emotions, but right at that moment, he wasn’t sure what he could possibly do to make Jungkook smile again.
Just for once Taehyung would have hoped that he was wrong. That there wasn’t something going on with Jungkook he had no idea about.
But of course he was right. How else could it be?
When he entered his part of Jungkook’s room he knew something was wrong right away. The monitor tracking Jungkook’s heart rate was beeping loudly. Just one look at it told Taehyung Jungkook’s heart rate was way too irregular, spiking before dropping to inhumanly low levels. And then he saw Jungkook.
The boy was lying on his back, his hands buried in the front of his t-shirt, gasping for air. Just one look at him and Taehyung could tell he was in a lot of pain. Too much pain. This had never happened before. By the time Jungkook came back to himself his heart rate had always steadied itself again.
And then Jungkook turned his head in Taehyung’s direction, relief flashing over his features. And Taehyung understood. The reason Jungkook had started acting so weirdly the day before.
His question. The vulnerability. Jungkook was about to die. Not one of his many temporary deaths. This was it. His last life. If it weren’t he probably would have switched onto a new one already.
And Taehyung panicked. He couldn’t let Jungkook die. This wasn’t the way this should end. Taehyung didn’t care what happened as long as Jungkook lived. He had to get the doctor.
Before his brain could properly process it he was already outside in the hallway, yelling at the security guard that always stood in front of the door to unlock Jungkook’s room. Taehyung had to get to him. He had to keep Jungkook awake until actual help came. A doctor… anything.
Probably confused by Taehyung’s panic the guy followed him back inside, undoing the electric lock that sealed the door shut. Taehyung’s hands were twitching. He couldn’t let this happen. Jungkook couldn’t die just like that. Not after all their conversations… not after they had finally gotten this close.
Taehyung couldn’t let that happen.
He could still hear Jungkook gasping as he writhed around in pain on the other side of the glass.
“Now call the doctor!” Still clearly a little confused by the suddenness of the situation the security guard nodded, but Taehyung didn’t even notice that anymore. He was already opening the door to Jungkook’s cell, falling onto his knees next to Jungkook, pulling the boy onto his lap.
With horror, Taehyung realized Jungkook’s eyes were closed. They couldn’t be closed. Jungkook was strong. He had to keep himself together.
Without much thought to whether this was the right thing to do Taehyung started shaking Jungkook. “Wake up! You have to stay awake!”
Finally, Jungkook seemed to startle back into consciousness, his eyes fluttering open… and then he just stared at Taehyung. Like he couldn’t believe they were this close. Taehyung then realized it too… this was the first time their bodies were actually touching.
He felt Jungkook’s weight on him. Could feel the fabric of his clothes against his fingers where he was gripping it painfully tight. Could feel the weak lifting of Jungkook’s chest.
“You have to keep yourself together. You can’t fucking die on me, Jungkook, okay? Don’t you dare.” Taehyung whispered, quickly moving to cup Jungkook’s face. “You hear me? Stay awake!”
Jungkook blinked tiredly, his chest still lifting with harsh wheezes. Taehyung could directly feel the irregularity of Jungkook’s heartbeat now. But Jungkook could do this! He was strong.
But then… “I’m sorry.” And Taehyung could feel Jungkook’s hand against his cheek. “I’m glad we had the chance to be friends…”
“No… no, Jungkook, don’t you dare! If you die I’ll fucking kill you!”
Jungkook chuckled, but his eyes turned a little glassy.
This couldn’t happen. Jungkook couldn’t die. That wasn’t right. Taehyung could feel a knot forming in his throat. When was that fucking doctor going to show up?
“Stay awake!” He shook Jungkook’s body again and while he could tell that Jungkook was trying, was fighting the urge to close his eyes, his wheezing breaths were getting weaker.
Jungkook was dying in his arms and Taehyung couldn’t do anything.
“Thank you, Taehyung…” Could Jungkook please save his breath and stop saying goodbye?
“Tell me that alive and well. I won’t accept it right now.” Taehyung tried. “Please don’t talk. Just focus on staying alive, Jungkook… please…” Taehyung hadn’t even noticed the tears gathering in his eyes that were now spilling over.
But instead of listening to him, Jungkook reached his hand out again, brushing it through Taehyung’s hair before giggling. “It’s soft.”
The security guard stepped into the cell too.
And then a few things happened a lot quicker than Taehyung could process.
“I called the doctor. He should be here in a few minutes.” Taehyung didn’t even have the time to panic over the fact that it would take him a few minutes because Jungkook’s gaze changed. His eyes fixating on the security guard that had just entered.
And then Taehyung heard a thud behind him. When he turned around the security guard was just lying there on the floor, completely lifeless. And at the same time, Jungkook’s wheezing breaths stopped.
The first thought that went through Taehyung’s brain was that Jungkook’s weakened body had finally given up, but when he turned back around he found Jungkook looking right back at him. His expression not quite readable.
There were too many emotions in there to decipher all of them. But then he reached his hand out, carefully tracing Taehyung’s jaw… and Taehyung didn’t dare to move. Because just like that Jungkook was back again. Just like that, he was strong again.
No… he had been able to kill that security guard… he’d had the strength to kill him the entire time. But now Jungkook was back to full strength… and back in his right mind, Taehyung had no idea what Jungkook was going to do.
If he wanted to he could easily kill Taehyung. Just like he had threatened so many times.
But Jungkook just looked at him with that unreadable gaze. And then one emotion pushed to the front and it made a cold shiver run down Taehyung’s spine. Anger.
“I’ll be right back.” And then the room turned darker. As if the light had been dimmed and just like ash carried away by the wind, Jungkook’s body turned into smoke.
One second Taehyung was holding Jungkook and the next he was gone. And Taehyung was left behind with the dead security guard, his heart racing. So much had happened in a minute and now Jungkook had disappeared…
He realized where Jungkook must have gone. A threat. A very familiar threat came back to his mind. With wobbly knees and sick to his stomach he got up to his feet, stumbling to the door. The dead security guard looked like he was just sleeping, but Taehyung knew he was dead. His chest wasn’t moving anymore… and if Jungkook was standing then that meant he had to be dead.
If Jungkook had been able to kill so effortlessly even in that state… why hadn’t he killed Taehyung? It would have been so easy. Taehyung had been so immersed in trying to help Jungkook that the thought that it could be dangerous hadn’t even crossed his mind.
He’d just seen his friend in pain and dying right in front of his eyes.
But now, as he walked towards the door leading into the hallway, he realized that just like he had done to the security guard Jungkook could have killed him. Just like that… no movement, no nothing, and Taehyung would have dropped dead.
It would have been the safer choice. Jungkook couldn’t have known the security guard would come. And even then he had left Taehyung’s life.
Taehyung carefully opened the door and he immediately felt like throwing up. This part of the hallway was clean, but further down he could already see red… and a body. There was another body lying on the floor.
Even with his wobbly legs Taehyung picked up his pace. He had to stop Jungkook. He couldn’t kill everyone here.
Taehyung tried not to look as he stepped over the bloodied and mangled body of one of the female doctors working here. He felt the strong urge to puke but he fought it back. He had to get in there. Warn everyone before Jungkook got to them.
But the farther he ran into the laboratory the more bodies he found. They were everywhere. He guessed there were probably about thirty people working in this part of the building and Taehyung was certain he had already spotted half of them. Taehyung’s jog turned into a sprint. At least he knew his way around here… he had one little advantage on Jungkook.
He almost got a heart attack when a hand came out of nowhere, pulling him into one of the staff rooms. When he looked up he came eye to eye with wide, worried eyes. It was one of the guys who had initially shown him around this place and vaguely explained what they were doing.
Taehyung had never been too fond of his character, but now that he was looking at that horrified expression he couldn’t help but feel bad. He had to get him out of there.
“What is happening out there? We got a call that Jungkook’s vitals were all over the place but…” He didn’t get any further because suddenly there was that dark smoke again. All over the room behind the guy. Taehyung wanted to yell at him to run. To run as quickly as he could, but before he could even open his mouth Jungkook appeared out of the smoke.
He didn’t look like himself. His eyes were a dark, glowing shade of yellow, the same Taehyung had seen on his first day here. His fingers ended in long, dark claws and the black color seemed to stretch over his whole arm. It wasn’t just his skin though… Jungkook’s hands were covered in blood.
Just like the new bloodstains on his clothing and smeared lines of blood on his cheek.
But what made the whole thing so much scarier was the fact that the smoke still seemed to cling to him, following his every move. Moving along as Jungkook lifted his arm and slit the unsuspecting man’s throat in one easy, swift motion.
And Taehyung could only stare as the man’s eyes widened before he dropped to his knees and fell to his side. Jungkook’s eyes followed him too, but then he simply stepped over the body like it was nothing.
Taehyung’s heart was racing in his chest. He was scared. This was not the Jungkook he had gotten to know over the last year. This Jungkook was scary and dangerous… Taehyung had to run before he could kill him too. He had to…
But he didn’t. He didn’t know what made him reach his hand out forJungkook. Maybe he was searching for some sort of reassurance. Reassurance that this Jungkook was still the same Jungkook. That he wouldn’t do anything to Taehyung.
And Jungkook just looked at him. His gaze burning and intense… but Taehyung forced himself not to look away. He had to know if this was his Jungkook.
And then Jungkook moved. Taehyung didn’t even get the chance to react before he felt Jungkook’s arms around him… and Jungkook pulled him into a hug.
And even though Jungkook was bloody and Taehyung’s heart was racing, even though his knees were wobbly and his stomach close to getting rid of all its content, Taehyung still returned the hug. This was fucked up. This whole situation was fucked up, but Jungkook… was still the same Jungkook.
Taehyung could trust him. Even when he had gone around and killed everyone here Taehyung knew he wouldn’t do the same thing to him.
“Finally, that awful glass screen is gone…” Jungkook chuckled, his arms tightening around Taehyung.
“I’m glad but… you killed everyone here…” Was all Taehyung got out, moving back a little to stare at the body on the floor.
“Are you scared?” Jungkook asked. And while his appearance was scary Taehyung wasn’t scared. He knew Jungkook wouldn’t do anything. His expression was more normal again now.
“No… but I feel like throwing up and I feel like I’m not even properly processing what just happened yet… so I think you fucked up my sleep for quite some time with this… not going to lie.” Taehyung stared at the body at his feet. Yeah… his brain wasn’t properly registering it.
When he looked back up Jungkook was staring at the body too, looking a little apologetic. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to drag you into this, but they were going to start running soon and I didn’t know their faces… and I was angry. You saw what they did to me.” Once again there was a spark of anger in Jungkook’s eyes and Taehyung wanted to take it away. He didn’t want to see Jungkook angry. He wanted to see him smile.
“I know… I saw you.” Without really thinking about it Taehyung reached out to cup Jungkook’s face again. Jungkook let him.
“Are you better now? You were about to die back there, weren’t you? About to really die…”
Taehyung’s heart felt heavy when Jungkook nodded even though it was over already. Jungkook was already safe. He wouldn’t die now.
“Why didn’t you try to kill me? If you could kill the security guard just like that you could have killed me too…” Taehyung half whispered. He wanted to hear the answer from Jungkook. He wanted that last bit of reassurance. Because his legs still felt like pudding.
“I didn’t want to. You ran in there because you were trying to help me… I’m a monster, not a dick.” Jungkook took a deep breath before leaning in closer. “And I like you. Didn’t like the thought of losing you to my own selfishness.”
Before Taehyung could say anything to that, although he wasn’t even sure what he would have said if he had been given the chance, Jungkook leaned down and pressed his lips against Taehyung’s.
Almost on instinct, Taehyung closed his eyes, his hands moving up to Jungkook’s chest just to realize he was touching Jungkook’s bloodied clothing. He was about to pull back when Jungkook wrapped his hands around his, holding them in place.
Taehyung could feel one of the claws resting against one of his fingers, but Jungkook was careful. Didn’t hold Taehyung too tightly. If he had wanted to he probably could have pulled away but Taehyung didn’t want to.
Instead, he kissed Jungkook back because it felt right. Even in the middle of all of this mess. Even though Taehyung’s body still felt like it could fold into itself at any second. Even with the body right behind Jungkook…
Kissing Jungkook still felt right. When Jungkook finally ended up moving back Taehyung quickly was pulled back into the harsh reality of everything going on around them. Especially with Jungkook letting go of his hands to cup his jaw before muttering a soft. “I have to go now… but I’ll come find you again… just as I promised I would.”
Jungkook’s eyes glinted, then he leaned down to press another kiss to Taehyung’s lips… and then he was just gone. Just disappeared into the smoke again.
And Taehyung was left to stare into nothing, wondering when Jungkook was going to come search for him. But he… looked forward to it. Even with all the trauma and nightmares, he’d probably have after this given how much he was dissociating right now.
Jungkook was worth it.