Royal Flush | pjm; jjk

Chapter Twenty Two

Nora came into the meeting room carrying a tray with tea. The whole group had finally gathered, after scattering around for several days. She quickly placed the tea on the table and joined them, taking a seat on Jin's right. Scanning the room, she stopped at Jungkook for a moment, catching his stare quite angry. Nora quickly raised her brows in question, but Jungkook simply turned away.

"Did you manage to get any information from him?" Namjoon asked Jimin, who was sitting with a stone cold expression. He slowly nodded, turning at Jungkook. "Which advisors did you talk to?" Jimin asked quietly, creating a tense atmosphere in the room. Nora's eyes followed him closely, unsure what was the issue. Jungkook thought for a moment. "I spoke with your families," he tilted his head towards the boys, "and the religious one. I still have the red, orange and brown." Jungkook's tone was calm, but it was obvious that Jimin's inquiry intrigued him. Nora noticed that Jin tensed up as well. Jimin nodded his head slowly once more.

"So did you get any information?" Namjoon asked again, unsure why the silence kept dragging. Jimin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Internal turmoil kept shaking him up, twisting all of his emotions. "I did." He finally answered and raised his eyes. "The advisor that gave us in to the King.. it was your family, Namjoon. Yours and Jin's." Nora quickly raised her eyes to Jin, and felt a pinch in her throat as soon as she saw his expression. Jin looked mortified, shame and anger overtaking his whole being. He quickly hid his face in his palms, as if trying to make the whole world disappear. "No." Namjoon stated, quite harshly. All eyes landed on him, Jimin responded with a raised brow. "He's lying." Namjoon spoke again and Jimin sighed.

"Namjoon, I ripped three of his fingernails out. He is not lying." Jimin stated calmly, but his words started to resonate in Nora's mind, sending shivers up her spine. Namjoon placed his palm on the table, quite loudly, and stood up. "He. Is. Lying. My father would never suck up to the King." Nora felt the two shooting daggers at each other and looked at Jin again, who was still hiding his face in his palms. He slowly lowered his arms, almost placing them in a praying position, eyes still closed and sighed. "Namjoon.." Jin began quietly. "It is possible." He finished, barely a whisper. The whole table sat in silence, while Namjoon tried to process his words. Nora simply tried to understand the implications.

Namjoon sat back down, still shooting daggers towards Jin. "Explain." He finally mustered. Jin placed his hands on his knees, and Nora saw them squeezing into fists. "When Ava.. Before Ava passed, and none of us were allowed to see her, I went to uncle. I asked him to talk to the King, to allow us to at least examine her. She was from a family of medics, it was logical for us to see her.." Jin stopped for a moment, and Nora placed her hand on his, trying to not grab anyone's attention, but still provide some support. Namjoon raised his brows. "And?" Jin didn't speak for another minute, searching for the correct words. "He told me," he finally began, now squeezing Nora's hand in his. "He told me that she belongs to the King now. That we should not go against his wishes, that we should not displease him." Jin market the final words, sending an uncomfortable atmosphere through the room.

"So? He was right! She chose it herself, what else was he supposed to do?" Namjoon shot back, pulse rising, a vein on his forehead indicating rage. Jin squeezed Nora's hand harsher and snapped back. "She was dying, Namjoon! It was obvious she didn't get sick on her own, foul play was definitely involved! She was dying after being used, most likely being killed slowly, and he left her there, he didn't even try to help! He was her uncle!" Jin yelled out, suppressed hurt overflowing. Yoongi quickly stood up and left the room, obviously unable to listen anymore. Now Namjoon stood up, his whole body was shaking. "My father had nothing to do with this. It's not his fault that your sister was a whore." Unable to control himself, Namjoon spat out, but his face indicated instant regret. Jin simply sat there, unable to form a response. It was a moment of deafening silence, before Namjoon stormed out of the room.