Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- Twenty-eighth -

"Jungkook was leaning against a wall, his gaze nonchalantly scanning the room, which was plunged into near darkness. He could feel the stares converging on him, but he did his best to ignore them. All these faces, which he had seen all his life, now seemed foreign to him. It was a strange feeling. It had been five years since he'd seen them, and now he felt like he was facing complete strangers.

In a way, it was quite painful.

He didn't know why he was there. Five years they had cut him off, forbidden him to come back. And now, from one day to the next, they called him back, offering him a way to make amends. And like an idiot, he accepted. So there he was, surrounded by those he had once called his family, waiting patiently like a ten-year-old for someone to come and talk to him.

Suddenly, someone stepped into the crowd, drawing all eyes to him. Jungkook's eyes included. And the young man felt his heart clench as he caught sight of the man who, despite being in his fifties and having been away for five years, hadn't changed a bit. He felt his heart clench as he thought back to the fact that it had been five years since he had spoken to or seen the man he had so long called 'Dad'.

The man's gaze swept across the room, heavy with the weight of years, stopping for a moment on Jungkook. The Cajun could see a hint of sadness, before it was immediately replaced by a controlled coldness. The man resumed his silent observation, ignoring Jungkook as the rest of the group had done until then.

"Are you going to tell us why you brought us here all together, Jean-Luc?" asked one of the men in the room, giving him a puzzled look.

The said Jean-Luc didn't answer immediately, just stared at them for a moment longer before sighing.

"My friends," he began, "times are hard, even for us, the Thieves Guild. I think you know that better than anyone."

"So why bring us together now and waste our time?" Intervened another man.

Jean-Luc gave him an accusatory look, silencing him immediately. Jungkook couldn't contain his smile. He was clearly the leader of the Thieves' Guild he had always knew. He might be getting on in years, but his authority was still absolute. Something Jungkook had never really been able to replicate. He'd never had that presence, that aura of leadership that silenced everyone else. That was why he'd developed his charms: if he couldn't dominate, he had to conquer.

"Let me finish, you idiot, and you'll soon find out." Jean-Luc sighed.

The man swallowed and instinctively stepped back.

"I've been contacted by someone who wants to commission us. The reward is colossal, enough to keep us alive for a long time. But the reward is commensurate with the danger of this request."

"Do we have to steal something? What, from the government?"

A hint of unease passed through Jean-Luc's eyes, and it didn't escape Jungkook. And he didn't like it. Because it meant that this mission most certainly defied the guild's code of honour.

"It's not something. It's someone." he finally said.

Murmurs echoed in the room, and Jungkook's gaze darkened.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Jean-Luc, instantly obtaining the required silence. "I know this goes against our moral code, but think carefully. We no longer have enough to live on. New Orleans has become impoverished, and if we want to continue to live peacefully on our land, we're going to have to give up these principles."

There was a momentary murmur as the thieves weighed up the pros and cons. As for Jungkook, he remained silent, but his feelings were just as divided as the others. However, he found it hard to understand why his father had contacted him after five years to take part in this discussion.