Apricity//Jungkook fanfiction//

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐨

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊ - ❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

          "Catch him!" — the gangster's raspy voice resounds through Jungkook's head like a war siren and he picks up his pace, sliding across the floor of the airport and swearing under his breath when he bumps into people. He doesn't even know what to do. Which way should he go? Should he stop? Should he fight back? What is he supposed to do?
          A gunshot resounds through the busy airport and people start to panic, running from left to right, from right to left, taking cover or throwing themselves on the ground. A complete chaos unfolds and Jungkook runs through it head first, determined to escape the Hell that just broke loose. He takes one big step. He takes the second step too. He's closer to the exit. Another gunshot resounds and Jungkook's grunt covers the screams which make his ears ring. The bullet implants itself in his thigh, forcing him to gulp down a scream which grazes up his throat. He almost falls on the ground, but presses his teeth painfully on one another and continues to run, gasping for air when the pain he's feeling grows in intensity. He starts limping. But he doesn't really dare to look downwards. He doesn't want to see the way blood streams down his leg and leaves behind traces on the floor.
          People around him become even crazier. The gang members scatter across the place, holding guns. And, amidst the panic which overflows both the living and the dead souls, Jungkook crawls towards the closest exit. He doesn't care where he's going. He just wants to get out of this Hell hole. So, with his shoulder pushing painfully into a glass door with a red handle, Jungkook steps out of the airport. He steps out of the madness. Out of the chaos. And, for a brief moment, he feels calm. Despite the pain which crawls up and down his leg, he feels free. He's outside. He feels it when a soft breeze of air brushes through his hair. He can't hear the screams anymore. But he can feel the panic leaking through the cracks. And it slowly consumes him too. It settles inside the pit of his stomach. And, without thinking twice, he jolts forward.
          Limping, he tries his best to make up a route through the black dots which gather in front of his eyes and he genuinely wishes that the bullet from his leg could make a U-turn and implant itself right in his heart. He doesn't want to struggle anymore. He doesn't want to run anymore. He just wants to know what peace means. He wants Y/n. She means pace to him. Her eyes mean hope. Her arms mean safety. Her heart means love. Pure love that he can't have. Genuine love that he has to push to the side, he has to hurt and break into millions of pieces. His love story. A page that he is forced to rip from the book of life.
          A tear rolls down his cheek and he wipes it aggressively, scratching his cheek with the watch he's wearing around his wrist. He stops in one place. And time stops too. His gaze floats on the ticking arms which tell him that it's time he gave up. They tell him to drop to his knees and wait for a death that will eventually catch him from behind. Jungkook clenches his jaw. And his fingers unbuckle the belt of the watch frantically, squeezing around it as soon as it falls in his palm. Jungkook scoffs. "Giving up is for losers." — he whispers to himself and lifts his head to gaze into the horizon, across the runway. "I'm a fighter." — he reminds himself of a truth that pulses fiercely through his veins and throws the watch far away, listening to the shatter of the glass when the item, a gift he got from his father, crushes against the asphalt.
          Pushing him on the ground, somebody tackles him so harshly, it feels like they cut his legs off with a scythe. Jungkook loses his balance and he falls, grunting when his thigh burns under the weight of his attacker. He fights back, even though his position isn't too fit for a man to man fight. He's lying on his stomach, under someone that doesn't feel too heavy, but they still got a good grip of him. "Shoot him." — orders one of the three men who join them on the runway and the panic which settled inside Jungkook's bones earlier starts boiling now. Cursing under his breath, he kicks his attacker in the back with all the strength he can find within himself. And he's surprised to hear a woman's grunt crawling down to his ears.
          Lifting his gaze above his shoulder, Jungkook recognizes the face he's seen so many times before. His breath hitches. "Dam Bi?" — he asks breathlessly. She smirks and her grip around his wrists only tightens. "Missed me?" — she asks, the loud sound of a gunshot following her question and making Jungkook flinch.
           Y/n winces as the loud ringtone of her phone resounds among the four walls of the living room. She stumbles towards the couch and hits her leg in the corner of the coffee table, but picks up the phone right away. "I did it!" — yells Violet through the phone, but her voice sounds a bit forced rather than excited. Y/n trips and falls on the couch. "What?" — she asks as she rubs her leg, hissing at the pain that grips it. "I found him. I found the shooter." — says Violet and Y/n's hand clenches around her own calf as her breath hitches. "You... You did?" — she mumbles. "Who is it?" — she asks, knowing very well that she won't get an answer. Violet sighs. "You know that I can't really tell you." — she says in an apologetic voice and Y/n sighs too, but her sigh is more authentic. More painful. She really wants to know the answer. But, deep down, she knows it, doesn't she?
          "How did you find him?" — tries Y/n again, hoping that she would get an answer to this question. "A receptionist signaled his presence at the airport. A gang chased him down and shot him in the leg." — she says and Y/n gasps as soon as the words reach her ears. "He couldn't have gotten too far-" — says Violet confidently, but Y/n talks over her, cutting her words off. "Is the wound serious?" — asks Y/n breathlessly and Violet doesn't say anything for a moment. She then clicks her tongue. "Why do you suddenly seem so interested in this case? You've never shown any interest in any cases before." — says Violet, growing suspicious about Y/n's sudden implication. Y/n bites her lower lip and feels her pulse increasing considerably. Her palms sweat and her throat hurts and a strangled sound rolls out of her mouth when she lays on the couch.
          "It's nothing. I just-" — she starts the explanation with the well-known words of a liar, but her voice is cut off by the loud ring of the doorbell. Alerted, Y/n sits up and throws a glance towards the door. Could it be Jungkook? Could he have shown up wounded to her door? Y/n clears her throat. "I'll call you back, Violet!" — she says in a hurry and hangs up as she runs towards the door. Within a split breath, she opens it and suppresses a gasp when two policemen show up in front of her hopeful eyes.
          Smoke rises in spirals from Dam Bi's gun and Jungkook's frozen breath melts into a cough as soon as three dead bodies slam against the asphalt. The woman breathes heavily and stands up, stretching her hand forward. Jungkook accepts it and he looks at her mesmerized as she shows a smirk. "How... How did you..." — he stutters. Dam Bi scoffs. "Let's get the Hell out of here first and then you can thank me." — she says as she grabs Jungkook's hand in a hurry and drags him towards a motorcycle which waits lonely and patiently on the edge of the runway. He frowns. Was that motorcycle there before? Or did he not see it at all?
          "Jump on it!" — she demands as she searches for the keys inside one of the dead bodies' pockets. A bunch of other men slam the door open and they point guns at both Dam Bi and Jungkook. They aren't policemen. They are the security of the airport. But they still have guns and it's enough to get both of them killed. "Freeze!" – yells one of them.
          "Shit!" — curses Dam Bi and runs towards the motorcycle, jumping on it in front of Jungkook and turning it on in a split breath. And, as bullets fly near them, she wrenches back the throttle and roars down the runway, totally careless about the plane that is about to land. Jungkook clenches his fingers around her waist. "Dam Bi?" — yells Jungkook panicked and gulps when he sees the massive vehicle hovering closer and closer to them. Dam Bi scoffs. "Are you scared of death?" — she yells over her shoulder as the airplane's wheels come in contact with the asphalt. A vibration shakes Jungkook up. And he panics even more. He can't answer since the words are stuck in his throat, choking him. Dam Bi nods. "Yeah, me neither." — she yells and speeds up, forcing Jungkook to clench his jaw.
          He's sure that he is going to die tonight. He's so fucking sure that he feels it in his bones, he feels it pumping through his blood, he feels it twisting his mind. The truth of his death. Crushed by the massive wheel of an airplane. He can already feel the unimaginable pain of broken bones. He can already taste the fire of Hell on his tongue and feel the heat on his skin. He closes his eyes. And he simply just wishes that in his next life, he and Y/n can finish writing their love story. Even now, as he approaches his death at full speed, he clenches his fingers around that page he ripped from their lives. And he wishes that he can glue it back next time, writing it until the very end. Until the very last dot. Until his very last breath.
          It's probably the adrenaline which makes Dam Bi accelerate even more, but damn it all if she wants to die tonight. So, even though the heavy shadow of the airplane presses on her shoulders, she speeds up more and she feels Jungkook's fingers sinking into her waist like an anchor as she drives right between the wheels of the airplane and into the golden dusk which stretches ahead of them.
          Hissing, Jungkook pushes his head harder into the wall as Dam Bi tightens the bandage around his thigh. "How are you feeling?" — she asks as she reaches out for the scissors to cut the bandage. Jungkook groans and scoffs right after. "Wasted. I feel like I could sleep for an entire week." — he admits and hisses again when Dam Bi lifts his leg on the bed. She nods and wipes her hands with a towel as she stands up from the stool she dragged near the bed. Jungkook clenches his teeth and soon swallows the bitter pill that Dam Bi presses on his tongue. A smile contours on her lips. "It will help with the pain." — she says and shrugs as she sits beside him. "I'm sorry that I didn't manage to stop them sooner." — she says and Jungkook blinks twice. "How did you get involved with them?" — he asks breathlessly. She scoffs. "After I ran out of ingredients, I begged their leader on my knees to spare me. He agreed." — she says and sighs. "Only on one condition. I work both as a member of his gang." — she confesses and moves her hair to the side to reveal the tattoo of a Dark Orchid on the back of her neck. "And as his little slut." — she adds and takes off her T-shirt, her pale skin contrasting with her black bra and the purple marks on her chest.
          For a second, Jungkook absorbs the sight of his friend and his words get stuck in his throat as his eyes travel over every single bruise that can't really be called a hickey. He bites his lower lip and reaches his hand out to caress hers. "I'm so sorry, Dam Bi!" — he says with his voice breaking bit by bit and his heart trembles when his eyes meet her sad ones. She shrugs. "He sent me on this mission. And I don't know if you are the lucky one or if I should call myself that." — she says and scoffs right after. Jungkook frowns. "What do you mean?" — he asks.
          Dam Bi stands up and wipes away the sweat from Jungkook's forehead. She smiles sincerely. "I bought an airplane ticket secretly. My flight is in one hour. But I also managed to save your ass. And I didn't die today. Which is a bonus." — she says and caresses his cheek. "Hyun Woo sent me on this mission to kill you without knowing that I've saved you so many times before." — she says and nods as her hand slides down Jungkook's jaw. "You're a lucky bastard." — she says, followed by a scoff and places a soft kiss on Jungkook's forehead. He rests his hands on her arms and sighs under her lips. "Thank you!" — he says with a smile. Dam Bi scoffs and throws a glance towards the window. "This place is close to that pretty girlfriend of yours." — she says and stands up, walking towards the curtains. "Does she know that you're still alive?"
          Jungkook bites his lower lip. "I don't know. Maybe it's better if she doesn't know anything about me at all." — he says and Dam Bi clicks her tongue. "But you love her, don't you?" — she asks as she parts away the curtains. Jungkook scoffs. "More than you can imagine." — he confesses. Dam Bi smiles over her shoulder. "I heard you whispering her name as we were a few meters away from our death." — she says in a playful voice. Jungkook gulps and sits up, grunting when the wound protests painfully on his thigh. "Did I?" — he asks, not really remembering what he did in those moments of terror. Dam Bi smiles and she nods as she stares into Jungkook's eyes.
          "I'm happy you found her. You deserve to be loved, Jungkook." — she says and he shakes his head as he stands up from the bed. "I don't deserve shit. I almost got her killed so many times. I'm a threat to her. Even when I'm supposed to be her protector, I'm a threat." — he says and Dam Bi scoffs with a smile. "It sometimes takes a storm for a flower to discover its true colors. Don't worry, darling. She's just as dangerous as you are."
          Says Dam Bi and blue and red light breaks through the parted curtains. Frowning, Jungkook approaches the window, despite the limping that almost drags him towards the floor within his every step. He looks out the window and notices a police car parking near the sidewalk across the road. Two policemen get out of the car and enter the building where Y/n's apartment is located. And, suddenly, a thought hits Jungkook like a train of bricks. "Shit!" — he swears underneath his breath. "The fucking gun!"
          "Officer Han Dong Hyeon and officer Seo Tae Moon, Gangnam Police." — says one of the officers as he shoves two badges in Y/n's face. Y/n blinks and her pulse increases under the other officer's peering expression. "May we ask you a few questions, Mrs. Jang?" — asks officer Han and Y/n gulps before answering in a weak voice. "Yeah. Sure." — she answers and officer Seo pulls out a notepad and a pen from his pocket. Officer Han shows her a picture and Y/n tries her best not to fall off her feet at the sight of Jungkook's face.
          "Have you seen this man recently?" — asks officer Han and officer Seo waits for her answer, gripping the pen tighter. Y/n suddenly feels trapped in the wuthering heights. How is she supposed to look two police officers in the eye and lie as if it's the easiest thing she's ever had to get done? But, at the same time, she wants to find Jungkook. So, with her heart beating painfully in her throat, she tells the truth. "He's my boyfriend. Why are you looking for him?" — she asks, not really wanting to know the real answer. The two officers nod towards each other. "Would you let us in, please?" — they ask and Y/n bites her lower lip. She steps to the side. "Sure, no problem." — she says and watches closely how two strangers walk inside her apartment, surrounded by Bam's loud barks.
          Swearing under his breath, Jungkook hides in the shadows and clenches his fists. His thigh burns, but he has to somehow get access into the building. He has to get rid of that gun before the police find it. Otherwise, he might risk getting Y/n arrested for something she didn't do. For his mistake. For his stupidity. Groaning, he steps even further into the shadows when people rush down the sidewalk and he lifts his head. He can see Y/n in her living room through the parted curtains, but his soft smile fades away as soon as he notices the two strangers who sit down on her couch.
          Clearing his throat, officer Seo places the notepad on his knee and taps the pen on top of it in such a stressful manner that Y/n is about to yell at him. But she keeps calm. And fakes the smile of a housewife as she sits down in an armchair near the fireplace, across the couch. "Do you want coffee? Or tea?" — she asks, trying to seem as kind as possible. As less freaked out as possible. The policemen shake their heads. "We just want a few answers and we'll leave, Mrs. Jang." — says officer Han and Y/n forces a smile as she nods. Officer Han looks around the room. "When was the last time you saw your boyfriend?" — he asks and Y/n's eyes instinctively slip towards the bedroom, seeing right through the walls, right through the drawer, right through the clothes, visualizing the bloody gun. She takes a deep breath in. "Yesterday. Before dinner." — she answers and officer Seo scribbles down her words.
          Officer Han nods. "You've probably seen the news, but your boyfriend is the main suspect in a crime that recently took place in Seoul." — says the policeman and Y/n's ears start ringing as another glance floats towards the bedroom briefly. "Yes, I heard." — she answers in a shaky voice. She clears her throat. "But I don't know if I'm of any help to you. He hasn't reached out to me since he left." — she says and, for the third time, her eyes swipe over the wall that hides her bedroom. Officer Seo frowns and he places the notepad on the couch.
          "Mrs. Jang?" — he asks and stands up. "May I use your bathroom, please?" — he asks and Y/n forces a smile. "It's down the hall, the second door on the left." — she says and officer Seo bows his head before heading that way. Y/n looks at officer Han and this one smiles as he looks up another question in his own notepad. He asks it, but Y/n doesn't really hear it when her ears concentrate on the other policeman's steps, resounding alarmingly close to her bedroom.
          Officer Seo walks down the hall, whistling and, right before he is about to turn left, he turns right, looking over his shoulder to make sure that the owner doesn't see him. He shouldn't sneak into someone's bedroom without a warrant, but Mrs. Jang kept looking towards this place alarmed and his instincts tell him that she's hiding something. So he pushes the door open slowly. When he takes a step in, everything seems neat. The bed is made, the floor is mopped, there are no clothes scattered across the place. He holds his breath as he tiptoes inside, his pulse growing in intensity. He's damn sure that she is hiding something and he is going to find it.
          The loud barks of a dog make officer Seo wince and he trips in his own two feet, stumbling backwards and hitting his left hip in the commode. He swears under his breath and rubs his hip, freezing in his place when he notices something odd. Unlike the rest of the room, there is something misplaced. A piece of white cloth hangs out of the first drawer and, as the officer takes a step closer to it, he notices a few red sprinkles which stain the pristine material. His throat becomes dry all of a sudden. Is that blood? Reaching his hand forward to grab the material, officer Seo feels his heart ripping through his chest.

          "What are you doing, officer?" — asks Y/n in a voice which sounds both indignant and confused. Officer Seo retreats his hand and hides it behind his back. "I got a little confused. I think I misunderstood your directions." — he says and forces a laugh as he leaves the room. As soon as he heads back to the living room, Y/n closes the door of the bedroom and locks it, slipping the key in her pocket discreetly.