Chapter Text
Las Vegas, Nevada
A single lamp over the wet bar was lit, allowing Jimin to get a good gaze at the beautiful man lying in his bed. He was so impressed. He wondered how he had scored such a hot one with so little effort. It kind of felt kismet. The sex was good too, making Jimin all the more excited. The relationship between them was less than six hours old, but it was arguably the most intense and satisfying six hours of Jimin’s life. It was no surprise to either of them that they ended up in bed so quickly.
It was out of the ordinary for Jimin to cuddle with a hook up. But Jimin found himself cuddling with a hook up. It was nice. Despite the man’s attractiveness, he wasn’t a jerk like many of the men Jimin had come across in Vegas. There was kindness and humility behind his devilishly handsome good looks. He had a gentle touch, a gentle kiss and a gentle hug. All of which Jimin gladly borrowed. His time in Vegas had been lonely, so it was nice to have someone in his bed - even if it was temporary.
The sex had ravished them both. Basking in the proverbial afterglow was necessary before parting ways. And both of them fully expected to part ways - eventually.
Amidst the thundering bass of the dance floor and liquor fueled negotiations, they had agreed that Jimin would bottom. Coincidentally, his lover didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he was quite happy with the way the evening had started.
Jimin's eyes continued to explore the stranger in his bed. Never had he fucked a stripper before. And Jk’s body was every bit of a pure stripper’s physique. He loved the taste of his skin. As they remained there, he playfully flitted his tongue over Jk’s chocolate colored nipples. He took his precious time running his fingers through the stripper’s neck length dark hair. Jimin reminisced briefly on how it felt having him inside of him. Even though they were only minutes removed from their orgasmic bliss, he already wanted him again. And then again after that. He ran his nose along the long muscular arm that cradled him. He could smell the cheeky aroma of CK1. Jimin hadn’t worn that cologne since high school. It made him laugh; definitely not a fancy name brand. No matter - Jk made the fragrance work for him. It mixed with his natural aroma and filled Jimin’s nostrils with delight.
Much like Jimin, Jk was the blue collar type. Opulence, luxury, and pretense were all foreign to him. Jimin could tell that Jk was a simple man who wanted simple things. That much, they had in common. He scooted closer to him. The sexual heat that radiated off of his body, caused Jimin's skin to erupt in goosebumps. Why was it so hard to let him go? Why did everything feel so good with this one?
“We’re going again, right?” Jimin asked.
Jeongguk lay behind him with his arms around Jimin’s waist, “You can’t be serious? Already? We just fucked for thirty minutes straight,” Jeongguk burrowed his lips into Jimin's cheek; a gesture that was much too familiar for two people who just met.
“I’m very serious,” Jimin whispered.
“Can I be vulnerable for a second?” Jeongguk asked.
“No. You hardly know me. Be vulnerable someplace else,” Jimin joked.
“Well I’m doing it anyway.” Jeongguk laughed before speaking, “I like you. You’re fun. You’re spontaneous. You're fucking gorgeous. And that’s not the liquor talking because my buzz has completely worn off.”
“Mine too. Hey, what do you say I run downstairs and get us another bottle of wine?” Jimin offered.
“You don’t have to.”
“It’ll take five minutes. The bar is on the first floor. We may as well keep the party going. I’ll be right back. In the meantime, turn on a little music, make yourself comfortable and start lubing your cock again because my dick is hard already and I want more.”
Jeongguk laughed heartily. “You know what? On second thought, skip the wine. Get a bottle of Whiskey. I’m going to need some uh…liquid courage to deal with that situation you’ve got there,” Jeongguk teased.
Jimin crawled out of bed. He dressed quickly, pulling on his jeans and slipping back into his boots. His brand new sweater was destroyed, so he opted for a plain button down shirt. He dropped his phone into his pocket and held on to his keys. “Is there anything else you want while I’m out?”
“Just you…to hurry back,” Jeongguk threw the covers off of his naked body to reveal his erection. He licked his fingers and rubbed his cock’s tip teasingly in front of Jimin.
Jimin took several steps forward towards the bed only to be distracted by a sound coming from the hallway. It was the bell of the elevator. Someone was exiting on their floor. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards the door.
“Shit. FUCK! We have to go. WE HAVE TO GO! Grab your stuff, quick.” Jimin scrambled for his metal suitcase. He tossed a few belongings on top of what appeared to be a stash of money while screaming frantically at Jeongguk to get dressed.
Jeongguk was fully expecting to get dicked down. Moving quickly, getting dressed, and running was nowhere in his stream of consciousness. He hesitated, intent on questioning Jimin about what was happening.
“Why? What are you talking about? What do you mean we have to go?”
“Shhhh, keep your voice down and get your fucking clothes. We have to go. Someone is here,” Jimin said as he moved around the large hotel suite with lightning speed.
“Who’s here?”
“Some very bad guys who want to hurt me. We have to go now. I can’t leave you behind. If they think you’re a part of this…uhh we can’t let it happen. We’re going to have to crawl down a couple of floors. But we can do it. My car is parked right beneath the window. Jk, move now! We have to get out…,” Jimin didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence.
Jeongguk could hear a flurry of footsteps and angry voices coming from the hallway. He still wasn’t sure what was happening, but judging from the look on Jimin’s face, it was serious. He could also hear the cocking of guns.
Jimin was already prying the window open. He didn’t want to leave Jeongguk, but he wasn’t interested in getting caught either. “Come on. We have to go now!” He whispered angrily. There was sheer terror on his face. He pried the window open and grabbed Jeongguk’s hand. “Follow me. Hurry baby please.”
The message suddenly became clear. Jimin was fleeing and not a moment too soon. They had to get out of there. Whoever was there, they were banging on Jimin’s hotel door. Jeongguk shook Jimin’s hand loose and looked around for his clothes. In the dark room, they weren’t immediately visible. He had nothing to wear and there was no time to get anything. He watched as Jimin jumped from his hotel balcony down to the balcony below theirs.
“Hurry!” Jimin looked up and beckoned Jeongguk to jump.
Hastily, Jeongguk shoved his bare feet into his black Timberland boots. In a move that nearly cost him his life, he ran back to the nightstand to grab his phone. Just as his fingers wrapped around the warm body of his iPhone, the knocking on the door transitioned into violent kicking. As Jeongguk fled towards the open window, he could hear the door break off of its hinges and swing violently, cracking the sheetrock of the wall as it flew open.
Through adrenaline fueled fear, Jeongguk took two large steps and jumped over the side of the balcony. He landed with a hard thud that twisted his ankle. He could see Jimin already on the ground, running towards his cherry red BMW 320i.
“Come on. Hurry!” He yelled back at Jeongguk who still had two more balconies to jump down.
“I’m coming!” He replied, out of breath.
Just above him, he could hear the footsteps of the invaders that had broken into their hotel room. They yelled profanities towards the parking lot as they scanned the area. Seemingly, they didn’t see where Jk and Jimin had gone. Instead of making the next jump, Jeongguk pressed his naked body against the window of the neighboring room on the balcony below them. He remained there, waiting for the men to leave. If they didn’t know where the two of them were, they were unlikely to follow.
The moment Jeongguk heard the voices grow distant, he made the jump down to the next balcony and then the next. By the time he reached the parking lot, Jimin was nowhere to be found. But only milliseconds later, he heard the burning tires of Jimin’s red sports car speeding towards him. He lifted his arms to his face to shield from the bright headlights. The car came to a screeching stop just inches away from Jeongguk’s naked body. Jimin had arrived.
Jimin leaned over the passenger’s seat and swung the door open before screaming to Jeongguk, “GET IN!”
Jeongguk ran around the side of the car and dropped his body onto the leather seat. He yelled, “GO GO GO GO GO GO!”
Jimin pressed his foot on the gas and swerved through the parking lot, avoiding the drunks who were loitering on their way to the casino.
“You ok?” Jimin asked as he exited the parking lot and careened onto the road.
“AM I OK? AM I OK? NO THE FUCK I AM NOT OK!” Jeongguk was disgusted and confused and disgusted and scared and disgusted. “WHO ARE THEY AND WHAT DO THEY WANT?” He demanded to know.
“Hold on, baby,” Jimin did not answer Jeongguk’s questions. Instead, he picked up speed.
“You can calm down. I think we lost them. They seemed confused about where we were,” Jeongguk explained naively.
Jimin kept his eyes trained on his rearview mirror. He didn’t dare breathe. He was one-hundred percent certain they had not lost them. But before he could advise Jeongguk of that fact, a black Ford Explorer with dark tinted windows skidded around the corner and rammed into the back of Jimin’s BMW.
“FUCK! Not my car!” He yelled. The pursuers had found them and were once again hot on their trail.
“What’s happening? Oh God!” Jeongguk screamed as he was slammed into the mahogany wood dashboard of the fancy sports car. “Who are these people?”
“I don’t know - exactly. But I knew they were trouble as soon as they exited on our floor in the hotel. I’m in an exclusive suite for high rollers. I’m the only person who has access to that entire floor. These guys showing up out of nowhere was a definite sign of trouble.”
“If you don’t know who they are, then how do you know they want to hurt you? Maybe they just want to talk,” Jeongguk said naively again.
“Do these assholes act like they just want to talk?” Jimin swore as his BMW was rammed again by the black SUV. "SHIT, stop hitting my car assholes!" He yelled.
He barreled through a stop light and made a precarious left turn on Las Vegas Blvd., hoping to put more distance between him and the black Ford Explorer that chased them. The car was trailing so close that all he could see was the glare of the headlights in his rearview mirror. Despite several evasive maneuvers that he thought would be sharp enough to shake the heavy SUV, it remained tight on his tail. Jimin sped down the boulevard at over seventy miles per hour. Pedestrians dove for their lives as he clipped the curb with his run flat tires; all while leaning on his horn to scare the people off of the sidewalk.
He took a quick left, then a right and then pulled into a sharp U-turn in the middle of the intersection. Despite the distraction from his terrified screaming passenger, he had a clear plan of escape in his head. He knew that if he could just get to East Mesquite Ave, he could merge onto the 515 South freeway, allowing him more room to really put his BMW AMG to the test. He had never driven his beloved car over ninety miles per hour, but if there was ever a time to see what she really had under the hood, this was it. Jimin pressed the heavily treaded sole of his Chelsea boot hard against the gas pedal and sped up once again.
It was a dangerous situation for everyone, but especially for his naked companion who couldn’t get his seatbelt fastened across the bare skin of his groin.
“FUCK, FUCK! What is this? Who are these people? Why are we being chased? FUCK! Are they shooting at us?” Jeongguk screamed as he fought with the tight seatbelt. The belt cut into his skin as he tugged and yanked to get more slack. He was sliding around so much that he was unable to get the thing buckled.
“SHIT! Those were gunshots! Stay down,” Jimin yelled. He used his free hand to push Jeongguk lower into the seat.
“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!”
“Get your seatbelt on!” Jimin screamed.
“I’m trying! Don’t you think I’m trying? FUCK!” Jeongguk screamed back. He was jostled about, hitting his head on the window as they made yet another aggressive right turn.
Lound thugs erupted from the rear of Jimin’s car. Jimin took notice.
“What is that banging noise? Do you hear banging?” Jimin yelled as he looked around the interior of his car for the source of the loud noise.
“Banging? Shit I don’t know...just focus on driving. LOOK OUT!” Jeongguk yelled as Jimin narrowly missed a light post while staggering the vehicle up onto the sidewalk.
“I hear some kind of banging or something from the trunk. I’m sure of it,” Jimin said as he maneuvered his BMW back onto the road.
“OH GOD! What do they want? Why are they chasing us, what do they want?” Jeongguk was in a desperate panic.
“Don’t worry. We’re not going out without a fight.” Jimin said angrily as he drifted into another left turn that landed him on East Mesquite Ave. He was only a few blocks from the highway, where he would definitely be able to lose them.”
“FIGHT? GOING OUT?” Jeongguk did not approve of Jimin’s aggressively morose words. “WHAT IS GOING ON? I DID NOT AGREE TO THIS! I JUST WANTED A FUCK AND MAYBE TO GET MY NUTS SUCKED! HOW DID IT ESCALATE TO THIS?” Jeongguk began to squeal.
“Calm down,” Jimin tried to reassure him.
Jeongguk finally snapped his seatbelt, but it was tight across his lap, squeezing his limp cock against his leg. He shifted his naked body as much as possible to settle the seatbelt further up his waist. He was supremely uncomfortable but relieved to finally have himself fastened into the car. “You have to know what they want...otherwise you wouldn’t be RUNNING!” He screamed. “ONLY GUILTY PEOPLE RUN FROM MYSTERIOUS BLACK SUV’S! What did you do? Why are they after us?” Jeongguk demanded to know.
“I told you. I don’t know...exactly. Hold on,” Jimin demanded as he sped down the entrance ramp of the I-515 interstate. He pushed the accelerator all the way to the floor and blew the doors off of the adjacent cars strung along the highway. With a quick lane change, he merged, headed towards Boulder City. More gun shots whizzed by them.
Jeongguk wailed once again, “Oh God. I’m going to die aren’t I? I need to call so many people to say goodbye.” Despite being nude when he fled Jimin’s hotel room, Jeongguk had at least managed to grab his phone from the night stand. The extra fraction of a second that it took to retrieve it had almost gotten him captured, but it was worth it.
Jimin laughed, “No one is going to die tonight if I have anything to do with it. Just hang on.” He checked his rearview mirror again. Sure enough, the clunky, early model Ford SUV suddenly had trouble keeping up with the accelerated speed of Jimin’s sleek sports car. He watched as the gang of marauders fell further and further behind them. He smiled adoringly at his incredibly sexy passenger, “Now calm down. I’ve got this.”
Jeongguk did not calm down. He held his iPhone tightly in his hand as he continued to be jerked around with each of Jimin’s erratic driving maneuvers.
“My brother. I have to call my brother. I have to let him know what’s happening. He has to hide all of my porn so our mom doesn’t find it when she cleans out my apartment for the funeral! OH GOD!” Jeongguk wailed again, screaming nonsense from within his frightened state. His brother Tae was the most recent call on his log. He touched his finger to the screen and waited for his older brother’s calming voice to greet him. “Answer Tae answer! Don’t make me leave a death bed confession that’ll be played on the news.” Jeongguk was not rational. With the way his evening was going and the way in which Jimin was driving, he truly felt this was the end for him. “Tae answer!” He begged.
Once again, they could both hear a strange banging that seemed to be coming from the trunk.
“You heard that right?” Jimin yelled as his eyes fixated on his rear view mirror.
“Ok, yea, this time I did,” Jeongguk looked around his seat.
In addition to the banging, they could also hear the muffled sounds of a ringing phone. Jeongguk stared at his phone for several seconds, thinking that maybe somehow he was receiving an inbound call. But it wasn’t him.
“Do you hear that?” Jimin asked as he pulled his eyes away from the rearview mirror to look around the front seat. “It’s a phone ringing.”
“Yea...I hear it. But it’s not me. Is it you? And why does that ring tone sound familiar?” Jeongguk asked, much calmer. He squinted and listened carefully to the ring tone. He looked around, under the seat, under his bare naked thighs, on the floor. There was nothing.
“It isn’t my phone either. What the fuck?” Jimin tried to balance his driving with his confusion over where the ringing phone was hiding in his car. Once again he was bolted back into reality when yet another gunshot whizzed by the car. “Shit they’re still shooting. They’re going to kill somebody if they keep this up,” Jimin complained.
“Yeah US!” Jeongguk emphasized. “THEY’RE GOING TO KILL US!” He disconnected his call to his brother, but immediately redialed again, trying to reach Tae.
More beating and bamming came from the trunk, but this time it was accompanied by muffled yells, “HEEEEELP! HEEEEELP!”
“Shit – there it is again. Is someone yelling?” Jimin asked in confusion.
Jeongguk also heard the ringing of a cell phone again. The ring tone was an electronic version of the song, Fly Me to the Moon, by Frank Sinatra. It was very distinctive.
“TAE!” Jeongguk screamed out. “That’s my brother’s cell phone. It’s in this car somewhere...and...is somebody in the trunk…?” Before Jeongguk could follow through with his words, another gunshot whizzed by and hit the passenger’s door.
“WHAT THE FUCK? THEY SHOT MY BMW!” Jimin should have been terrified, but instead he was exceedingly angry.
Park Jimin was an honest, law-abiding citizen. He had never received so much as a speeding ticket but on this evening, he broke every traffic law possible. Once again, he shifted into a higher gear, pushing his car to a mind numbing one-hundred and thirteen miles per hour as he attempted to elude the unknown men who were chasing him. “These guys are assholes.”
“ASSHOLES? You mean murderers?” Jeongguk panicked and began to breathe heavily as they continued to take fire. Realizing that his brother’s phone was somehow lost inside of Jimin’s car, Jeongguk abandoned the call and turned his attention to the person screaming from the trunk. “Tae. Tae is that you? Where are you? Why is your phone in here?”
“I’M LICKED N DEEEEE TRENK!” The sounds of muffled screams came from the trunk again.
“Tae?” Jimin called out. Despite being shot at, driving one-hundred and thirteen miles per hour, being chased by maniacs and sitting next to a virtual stranger who’s naked ass was rubbing against his leather seats – Jimin was relatively calm. “Tae, is that you?”
“YEEEEEEEEESSSS! I’M LICKED N DEE TRENK! GET ME OUD!” The muffles weren’t legible, but they were clear enough for both Jimin and Jeongguk to realize that somehow Tae had locked himself in the trunk of Jimin’s car.
“The trunk? How’d you get locked in the trunk?” Jeongguk gasped and grabbed his forehead. Officially, this was the weirdest night of his entire twenty-eight years on earth. “Ok, ok, hang on buddy, we’re going to get you out of there,” Jeongguk squirmed as he tried to face the trunk where his brother was trapped. “Can you breathe, are you hurt?”
“No…JEST GED ME OUD!” Tae said vaguely.
“Hang on. It’s time to get rid of these assholes once and for all.” Jimin checked his rearview mirror again.
“We’re going to get you out, hyung. Don’t panic. We’ve got everything under control,” Jeongguk said as his head banged against the window once again with Jimin’s erratic driving.
Jeongguk was naked. His brother was locked in the trunk. They were being shot at. His raw dick was trapped underneath a tight seatbelt. His booty call was some kind of criminal that half of Vegas was trying to kill. And last but certainly not least, he didn’t even get to have his second orgasm of the night. Without a doubt, things were definitely not under control.
The black SUV gained some ground, but the heavy truck was hardly powerful enough to keep up with Jimin’s new sports car. From what Jimin could see, the team chasing them looked like a disheveled coven of middle-aged men in cheap suits. Their firepower was weak and their vehicle was at least ten years old. Whoever had hired them to come after him, weren’t serious. This was just a stern warning; a threat to drive him out of town. The men were likely sent by a group of casino owners who wanted to scare Jimin away and keep him from preying on their poker tournaments again.
Jimin saw a sign for Hoover Dam and decided to take the exit. He didn’t know the area very well, but he knew there were bridges and underpasses in the area where they could hide while they waited for the black SUV to pass.
In a diagonal line veering across several lanes, he attacked the exit ramp that would release him onto the Dam’s access road. Cars from various lanes honked their horns and slammed on their brakes to avoid hitting the out of control red BMW. They made their way off of the intersection. A quick check of his rearview mirror indicated that he’d caught his pursuers by surprise. They were unable to follow them to the exit.
“We lost them!” Jimin let out a high pitched satisfied laugh.
He slowed his car down, looking for a quiet neighborhood to duck into so that they could lay low for a while. An empty warehouse not far from the road was where he chose to pull over. He cut his headlights, leaving them all in pitch blackness with only the glow of the moon to guide them.
“Are we just going to stop?” Jeongguk looked around. He was worried. It definitely didn’t seem like the safest place to be.
Jimin’s voice was cautiously quiet, “We’re well hidden back here. No one can see us from the freeway. It’s a good place to hide for a while until we can figure out what to do next.”
“Jimin, who are these people? What do they want from you?” Jeongguk angrily glared at Jimin. He was livid over what he had just been through.
“They think that I stole from them. But I didn’t. Nothing I did was illegal.”
“Then why are they so fucking upset? You had to do something big to piss them off…,”
“HEEEEEELP!” Tae called again from the trunk.
“Oh my God Tae.” Jeongguk jumped from the passenger seat and ran around to the trunk, “Open it quick. Let him out,” he yelled to Jimin.
Jeongguk waited anxiously at the back of the car while Jimin popped the trunk. The trunk door flew open to reveal a slightly terrified but unscathed Kim Taehyung - Jeongguk’s older brother. Kim Taehyung was a soft-spoken mild mannered man who couldn’t harm a fly. He was as logical and mature as a man could be. But for some reason, being struck across the back of the head and thrown into a trunk caused him to - snap.
He exploded from the trunk with abbreviated sentences that were thick with profanities, “WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? WHAT JUST FUCKING HAPPENED? WHY WAS I ASSAULTED AND THROWN INTO YOUR FUCKING TRUNK? WHO WERE YOU RUNNING FROM? WHAT HAVE YOU INVOLVED US IN? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?” He screamed. Once stable on his feet, he leaned over and rested his hands on his knees. He was shaking from a combination of fear, panic, and exhaustion. He’d been inside of the trunk for almost an hour.
“Tae, calm down. You’re safe now. No one is around. We lost them. Tell me what happened. How did you get shoved into my trunk? Who did this?” Jimin asked.
Tae’s words spilled from his mouth like a waterfall. He had so much to say, he couldn’t get it out fast enough. “I just wanted to check out the Lady GaGa drag queen review at Luxor. You said that you and Jeongguk were going to be…busy,” Tae’s eyes floated towards the sky when he broached the uncomfortable subject of his little brother having hook up sex with a stranger, “...and you said I could borrow your car. I decided to take you up on your offer. I was just going to ride up the strip for a bit because my car was still charging. I jumped in the driver’s seat and before I closed the door, these men dressed in all black appeared out of nowhere. They grabbed me. I was kicking and screaming and calling for you Jeongguk. I was so scared, I didn’t know what was happening. I was hit across the head with something heavy and thrown in the trunk.” Tae rubbed the back of his head and frowned, “I guess I blacked out because the next thing I remember is being tossed around in the trunk. I stayed quiet because I thought that maybe I had been kidnapped or something. It wasn’t until I heard my brother screaming about hiding his porn collection that I realized it was the two of you driving. That’s when I started screaming for you to get me out.”
“But why would they attack you?” Jeongguk looked lovingly at his brother who had definitely been through a traumatic experience.
Jimin knew the answer, “They were targeting me, not him. These guys are probably all hired muscle. They have no idea what I look like, but they damn sure know my car. It’s pretty easy to spot. My guess is that they probably saw Tae inside of my car and just assumed it was me.”
“Exactly how many fucking assholes in Vegas are trying to kill you? If I could get an estimate, it may help me better prepare for the situation,” Jeongguk said angrily.
As Jeongguk fussed, he suddenly became very aware of his nudity. Despite the balmy temperatures typically found in the desert, it was a chilly night. He placed his large palm over his crotch to try to hide his situation. Regardless of how big his hand was, it wasn’t enough to mask what he had going on between his legs. He threw his other arm across his chest to protect against the cold. None of it did any good. He was still freezing.
Jimin noticed him shivering. Despite their predicament, watching Jeongguk’s nude body quiver in the cold aroused Jimin so much that he was speechless for a brief moment. He wished that he could go back to the hours prior where he and Jeongguk were in his warm bed fucking each other’s brains out. He was angry that their moment had been interrupted. Jimin shook his head tersely as if trying to bury his inappropriate thoughts. He didn’t have many clothes with him. All of his belongings had been left back at the hotel. But he searched through his gym bag in the trunk and found a pair of socks, a roll of toilet tissue, a t-shirt and some boxing gloves. Innocently, with the best of intentions, he apologetically handed the t-shirt to Jeongguk.
“This is all that I have. I’m sorry. But at least it’s something,” Jimin handed the t-shirt to him.
Instead of accepting the t-shirt, Jeongguk snatched the toilet paper from Jimin’s hand and immediately began wrapping layers around his waist to form a make-shift skirt that covered his genitals. By the time he was finished, he looked like a toilet paper wrapped mummy. It wasn’t much but at least the world could no longer see his semi-erect penis resting against his thigh. He then accepted Jimin’s t-shirt and pulled it over his torso. Regardless of how ridiculous he looked, he was relieved to have his body covered in the cold.
“We’ll get your clothes back. We can’t go back there right now but…I…I can pick them up first thing tomorrow,” Jimin said apologetically.
“I have plenty of clothes at my hotel,” Jeongguk, although thankful for Jimin’s attempts to cover him, was still too rattled to calm down.
Tae shook his head, even more angered by Jimin’s actions. It was too little, too late. He knew that his brother’s complete nudity was probably Jimin’s fault in the first place. He felt Jeongguk’s humiliation and that was his breaking point. He stood face to face with Jimin. Tae was angrier than he’d ever been, “Enough of this bullshit. You tell us what’s going on right now. We’ve suffered enough because of you. I was assaulted and then thrown in a trunk and my brother here,” Tae took a good look at his brother, “...is ass-out-naked in the middle of the desert. Bro, you’ll explain later what happened to your clothes, but not right now,” Tae admonished Jeongguk. He turned back to Jimin, “Who did you steal from…or con…or kill…or whatever it is that you people do here in Vegas?”
“You people? Don’t lump me in with these weirdos. I’m not from this God forsaken town. I’m here for a very specific business matter and then I’m going home.” Of all of the things Tae said, that was the one statement that Jimin took offense to.
Jeongguk interrupted acrimoniously. He was tired of the bullshit too, “Stop stalling. I’ve begged you to explain and you keep stalling. Tell me the truth, Jimin. My brother is right - we could have lost our lives just for being with you. We deserve to know what you’ve gotten us into.”
Jimin pondered for a moment. He wondered if telling them the truth would get them even more involved than they already were. He wanted them out safely. He also didn’t know if he could trust the brothers that he’d only known for six hours. Jeongguk stared him down, unrelenting in his gaze. That was enough to make Jimin fold. He decided to reveal just enough to help Tae and Jeongguk understand that they were in danger. It was the best way to get them to flee to safety.
Jimin blew a breath. He temporarily got lost in Jeongguk’s eyes. They were so striking. He wanted to purge his soul into them but feared them turning upon him with rebuke. He didn’t know where to start so he just talked, “They call me the Ace of Vegas. Can’t say that I love that name but I didn’t really have any input into the whole nick naming process,” he laughed. “Funny thing about being the Ace of Vegas. The casinos welcome you as long as you’re losing. But the moment you start winning and embarrassing the high-rollers, they accuse you of cheating and try to run you out of town. I’ve been here four months and had a pretty lucrative stint. It wasn’t always this way. At first, I was a regular player just like the rest of the naive tourists who flock here every year. They loved me, put me up in the finest hotel suites, comped my dinners, flooded me with free shows, male escorts, liquor - every possible sin imaginable. And I loved it all. The freebies just kept coming. That is…until I overstayed my welcome. I’m a very smart man and very honest. But more importantly, I’m a very hard working man. I study my craft. Poker is my craft. It’s not gambling, it’s a sport. Since I was a kid, I’ve had a unique ability to excel at card games, any game, not just poker. Over the years, I’ve immersed myself in the Poker culture, learning everything possible to win. Well that attention to detail finally started to pay off. I began winning more and more of the big tournaments. My winning streak raised eyebrows. Everything was going great until about three weeks ago. I won the $230,000 jackpot at Ceasar’s Palace. I embarrassed one of the wealthy high rollers. That guy has alot of clout in this town and he instantly convinced every major sponsor that I was cheating in the tournaments. And that’s when I was cut off. ”
“Were you?” Jeongguk asked.
“Never. I don’t have to cheat because I always win,” Jimin smirked.
“Cut off - what do you mean cut off?” Tae questioned.
“Banned. I was asked, very gently, not to buy into any more of the high roller’s jackpots. Well of course I ignored the ban. This is a free country and if I have the money to play, then I’m going to play. I’ve done nothing illegal. And that brings me to why people are so angry with me. Earlier today, I took home a $185,000 jackpot.”
“How? I thought you were banned?” Tae asked.
“I am. For the last four weeks, I’ve been using a disguise to enter the tournaments. No one ever suspected it was me, until tonight. I believe I’ve been detected. The tournament was televised and somebody probably made me and figured out my real identity. I think that’s why people are uh…angry.” Jimin nodded.
“Why do they care if you win or not? Vegas has plenty of money,” Jeongguk asked. Jeongguk watched him, waiting for his answer. His eyes followed Jimin as he paced nervously.
Jimin’s brand new Chelsea boots crunched over the gravel as he rolled his feet along the ground. His white shirt was still unbuttoned, revealing slight peaks of his nipples with every demonstrative gesture he made. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair, the ends of which fell neatly along the back of his neck. His pupils disappeared as his eyes creased closed with each glorious smile beneath his pouty pink lips. His figure was svelte, light and strong like a dancer. Each of his short fingers on both hands were covered with his rings. He was an enigma wrapped in an anomaly, a cornerstone of understated beauty. Even amidst their desperate circumstances, Jeongguk appreciated him.
Jimin finally answered, “If the high rollers or big money players feel the game is rigged or that someone has an unfair advantage, then they stop playing. If they stop playing then the casinos lose a lot of money. If they think that I’m cheating, then that creates an unfair advantage. They look at me as a threat to the status quo. They want me gone. But they have no evidence that I’m a cheater, because I’m not. I’ve been banned from every poker game in Vegas. And it’s all because of one piece of shit politician with an ego. They even have facial recognition software monitoring me. They’re doing everything possible to get rid of me.”
“So leave!” Tae said angrily. “You say you aren’t from here, so get out of town. Go gamble someplace else. Save your own fucking life and ours too,” Tae shrugged increduously.
“It’s not that easy.” Jimin had more to his story, but he was still unsure if his two new friends could be trusted. He had to figure out his next move and until he did, he had to keep his thoughts to himself.
Tae doubled his effort, “It is that easy. Get in your fancy car and head back to…wherever you came from.”
“Hollywood. I live in L.A.,” Jimin added.
“Then go back to Hollywood,” Tae said angrily.
Jimin noticed that both Tae and Jeongguk had bruises from their ordeal. Jeongguk had a swollen ankle from jumping over the balcony, plus scratches all over his nude body. Tae had a small gash on the back of his head that trickled blood. Jimin felt terrible about involving them in his mess. He had no idea that thugs would come after him, especially not at 3am in the morning. As much as he hated to admit it, the brothers were in danger, thanks to their bad decision to befriend him.
“Until my business is concluded, I can’t leave. I wish that I could tell you more…but I can’t. Just…save yourselves. Stay away from me.” Jimin said it, even though he didn’t mean it. “Go home. And if you won’t go home, make sure to keep your distance from me.”
“Gladly,” Jeongguk said, “but first, we need to make sure you’re safe. You left most of your stuff in the hotel, you don’t seem to have any family or friends around. And a whole bunch of people are really pissed off with you. Are you sure you’re going to be…ok?”
Before Jimin could answer, he was distracted by the black SUV speeding towards them in the darkness.
“SHIT! GET IN THE CAR!” Jimin screamed.
Tae dove into the backseat. Jeongguk fell into the front seat and Jimin ran around to start the car. He punched the gas, peeling out over the gravel road. He fled so fast that he didn’t even have time to turn on his headlights. Two of their pursuers were once again hanging out of the truck with their guns aimed at the small red car. As Jimin sped through the intersection, he turned on his headlights only to see the SUV behind them traveling at top speed. Jimin sped up, but unbeknownst to him, there was a huge pothole in the street that was blocked off by an orange cone. With no time to stop, he hit the pothole causing his car to go airborne. He crashed and his car stalled. Despite his desperate attempts to get the car moving again, it was dead with the front bumper stuck on the wooden debris. The SUV was speeding straight for them.
Each eye bulged as their lives flashed before them. They were going to be rammed and T-boned by the much larger vehicle. There was no way around it. Jimin frantically tried to get his car moved, but it would not budge. The SUV picked up speed with no intention of stopping. Jimin gripped the steering wheel, while Jeongguk desperately embedded his fingers into the soft leather of the dashboard. Tae screamed and covered his face as the headlights of the SUV flooded the inside of their vehicle. They were all going to die…