Code of Conduct

PART 9

Three Weeks Later

"You know, he hated having to bear the name of Jeon." Kim Taehyung knew exactly who the voice belonged to—Jung Hoseok. The cold breeze of the night whistled into his ears, coating his entire body but he was so used to the coldness that it no longer sent shivers down his spine. He didn't respond to the consigliere and just kept his gaze on the tombstone of the former Don, Jeon Namjoon. He felt Hoseok's presence beside him, keeping a distance. For a while, the two of them remained in the comfort of silence. Until Hoseok spoke again. "I wish I could've granted his wish—that when he died, his tombstone would be marked as Kim Namjoon and not Jeon. He deserved that much."

Taehyung sighed deeply, finally facing the consigliere. "What do you want, Hoseok?" He asked. Taehyung naturally had a deep voice which was really useful when he wanted to intimidate someone or threaten someone and he took pride in that during his early years of being a member of the Jeon family—but lately, his deep voice was an octave lower and it was evident, even to himself, that he was tired. Physically, mentally and emotionally.

"Jesus Christ, Tae, have you been sleeping? Eating?" Hoseok took a step closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he looked at him with so much concern.

He was not. He couldn't sleep and he couldn't eat—not when Jungkook made him do so many things at once, always threatening to kill him if he didn't do it. He was aware that he was becoming thinner, more pale and gaunt-looking but what could he do? Taehyung forced a smile on his face. "I'm fine. Do you need anything?"

Hoseok pressed his lips into a thin line before sighing. "I'm just worried about everything that's going to unfold. Jungkook's going berserk, taking these families left and right. With Min Yoongi fighting for his life, that's one family down. This is exactly what Namjoon and their father are preventing."

"What do you mean?" Taehyung asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Jungkook realizing how powerful he can be if he chooses to be." Hoseok hung his head low, shaking his head. "Namjoon saw right through him, you know? He always talked about this hunger in Jungkook's eyes, the coldness in them when he was tasked to murder someone. It even disturbed their father."

Taehyung's eyes widened at the sudden revelation. "What?"

"Yeah. I don't know what it was that came over him—perhaps, divine intervention—but when he looked at Jungkook, he saw himself and it disturbed him so much that he called Joon and I to his office one night and he gave Joon his blessing to strike this deal up with the Mins."

Taehyung felt like all the oxygen in his lungs were knocked out. "Fuck." Was all he could say.

"The deal was simple enough: merge the two families together in order to overrule the rest of the families in the city and by extension, the entire country. Establish a new set of codes for the families to follow, abolish the archaic laws that are rotting the system. They envisioned a great world for people like us, Tae. Where we don't need to sacrifice our morals, where we don't need to worry about the lives of the people we love twenty four seven, where people like you and me have a chance at walking away from this life without being killed."

The caporegime was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sensation. "Why the fuck are you telling me these?"

"Because I see you, Taehyung. I see you and I know that you don't want this life anymore—at least not when Jeon Jungkook is the Don."

For the first time in a while, Taehyung felt the coldness seeping into his bones. "Are you fucking asking me to kill him? Have you gone fucking insane?"

"I'm asking you to consider it, Tae."

"You're asking me to fucking kill myself is more like it, Hoseok."