Four | BTS ✓

3

"Well, since you're not running away and screaming for your life, I guess I should show you to your quarters. This job has very few perks, but free housing is one of them." Jin stands and motions to Namjoon and Hoseok that they're heading out. "Kennedy should be knocked out for a while anyway."

Jungkook doesn't want to bring up the fact that having a place to sleep that doesn't involve shitting in a hole and hiding his food from the wildlife is his main reason for applying. He doesn't want to open that can of worms with a bunch of guys he just met.

Jin leads Jungkook back down the hall they came in through, but on the other side of the biometric-locked blast doors, they go through another that Jungkook hadn't noticed on his way in due to his anxiety. They start down another hall that seemed to run along the back of the prisoner cells.

"So you just graduated, right?" Jin casts a quick glance over his shoulder at the younger boy.

"Yeah, I graduated about six months ago."

"What made you decide to get a job rather than going to college like most kids your age?"

Necessity, Jungkook thought ruefully. But that's not what he said. "I wrestled in school, but I wasn't good enough to get a scholarship. My parents couldn't afford to send me without help. So I thought I'd work for a while and try to save up the money."

It isn't a total lie. His parents can't afford to send him to school, but that is only because they are dead. He watches the older man in front of him nod in understanding.

"Well, that explains how you were able to get the jump on Kennedy so easily."

"Honestly, I think I got lucky there. She seems kind of...capable."

Jin snorts out a laugh. "You could say that. She's small, but she's vicious and kind of like a tiger. Kind of cute if she wasn't deadly and likely to eat your face off."

Jungkook's eyes widen as he makes a note of the offices and storage rooms leading off the long hallway. They have to be getting close to the employee quarters considering how long they've been walking.

"What made you decide to come here?" Jungkook asks in an effort to get the attention off himself.

Seokjin groans as they reach another set of doors that lead somewhat perpendicular to the last hall. "I was a cop," he answers as he unlocks the doors with a physical key. "I'd been in for a few years when some dipshit robber shot me in the leg. This was a way to keep doing something productive that didn't require me to run around all over the place." He chuckles humorlessly. "Until they brought Kennedy in, that is. At least now I can make you do all the running."

"Yeah..." Jungkook says with a sigh. "What about the others?"

"Well, you don't have to worry too much about the night shift. You won't be seeing them much to really interact with them. As I've mentioned, Namjoon's dad put this place together. For him to not put his son in a position for this rather prestigious program would have looked bad on both of them. His dad's a decent guy, but he's bureaucracy. Everything he does has thirty ulterior motives behind it. But luckily, Namjoon turned out to be pretty capable on his own. He's got a wicked need to impress his dad, so he can come off a little cocky sometimes. Don't mind it, though. He's cool."

"Hoseok, though. He can get a little crazy, especially if you get him drinking. He's like the exact opposite of Yoongi, which can have hilarious results. They're like fire and ice. Oil and water. But, honestly, I don't think Yoongi hates him. I've even seen him smile once or twice when Hobi really gets going. But then again, Hobi is like that. He can make anyone smile. Which is ironic considering his past."

"What's that?"

Jin looks back but shakes his head instead of giving an immediate answer. "That's for him to tell. We all have our issues. Some are just worse than others."

Jungkook snorts under his breath. Yeah, you could say that.

They don't have to walk much further down this hallway. There are several doors on each side, more than Jungkook had expected to see.

"How many other guards work here?"

Jin stops in front of the third door on the right and starts to open it with another key. His set of keys is enormous and Jungkook doesn't know how he is able to keep up with what each one went to.

"It's just us four during the day. There are eight others that cycle through the night shift and cover for our day off every week. Command wants us to be the primary officers who interact with the inmates on a daily basis, but our day off is randomized – as is the secondary officers' rotation – so the inmates can't use it against us."

"They've really had to think of everything with this place, haven't they?"

"You have no idea. Namjoon's dad is a meticulous planner and he's been working to get this project off the ground for at least ten years. He's had time to think about it. He didn't really leave anything to chance, which is the main reason it's been so successful. For the most part."

"Until Kennedy?"

Jin grins and shoots a finger gun at him. "You're catching on." He pushes the door open and motions Jungkook through.

Jungkook steps through the door and is shocked by what he sees. He was expecting something like a dorm or military barracks, but the room before him is more like an actual studio apartment. There is a small eat-in kitchen with a stove, a sink and a small refrigerator. A bar separates it from the living area that is furnished with a simple couch and chair, a coffee table and a mid-sized TV mounted to the dark-stained concrete wall. A large black metal divider with multiple smaller square mirrors inside separates the living room from the sleeping area, which has a window and a door that leads out to a small patio surrounded by twelve feet tall cement walls. It is more comfortable than Jungkook could have hoped for, even if it is simply furnished.

"Command wanted the guards to be able to relax when they were off shift so they spared no expense on the apartments. The courtyard is my favorite part. You get to go outside and sit on actual grass if you want. Keeps it from feeling so claustrophobic."

The apartment is nice, but there is something about it that is nagging at Jungkook. Almost like it is too nice. He turns to Jin with his eyebrows wrinkled together.

"How often do we get to leave?"

Jin rubs the back of his neck and looks away. Jungkook's stomach does a little somersault as his anxiety spikes at Jin's reaction.

"Well...the thing is, this is beyond even supermax security levels. These are literally the worst inmates in the whole nation," Jin says after a moment of silence, his face etched with unease.

"How often do we get to leave?" Jungkook asks again, his voice and his hopes falling down to his toes.

"We don't. You live here. You work here. Groceries are trucked in and delivered to your room. There's a coffee shop on site. Laundry and gym facilities, too. It's too much of a risk for us to be coming and going all the time. If you decide to stay here, you stay here."

Jungkook licks his lips as he stares at the head guard. What have I gotten myself into?