Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- Forty-second -

Jungkook pulled his coat over his shoulders, his hands hidden by the black gloves he now wore constantly, like a habit he'd developed over the past year. He was getting ready to face the damp Louisiana nights, but despite the fact that he was going to be reunited with Taehyung, alone (for their mission, unfortunately), he couldn't look forward to it, because there was a dull tension in the air, like a storm ready to erupt.

Bella, sitting on the edge of the table, watched him silently, a glint of anger shining in her eyes. She clenched her fists, her breath coming in sharp gasps.

"Do you really think you're going to leave like that?" she asked in an icy voice.

Jungkook didn't even stop, his movements as fluid as a well-oiled machine.

"It's not a question of permission, Bella." he replied without looking away from his task.

"What am I supposed to do, stay here like an idiot?" she hissed, jumping to her feet. "This potion is for me! It's my life we're trying to save, Jungkook!"

"That's just it." he replied calmly, but his tone had a cutting coldness. "That's why you have to stay here."

The tension around them grew a little heavier, as Bella's anger continued to mount relentlessly.

"Are you kidding me?! These guys are my guild! I know them, I can help you!"

He finally straightened up, his dark gaze settling on her.

"What if they're not the ones with the potion? What if they see your return as a curse, and are preventing us from accessing the potion? No, Bella. You stay here, where you're safe."

But Bella wasn't listening anymore. Rage bubbled up inside her, fuelled by incomprehension and pain.

"Don't tell me that's the real reason!" she said, squinting her eyes. "You just want an excuse to leave me behind... so you can be alone with him."

She had thrown the accusation like a grenade, hoping it would explode in his hands. But Jungkook didn't flinch.

"What if it was true?" he finally murmured, his face impassive.

This confession took Bella aback. She fluttered her eyelashes in disbelief before the bite of his words made her anger explode.

"I knew it!" she shouted. "All this time, you've been waiting for one thing: to fix what you broke with that Taehyung! You don't give a damn about me!"

"Yes." he snapped, brutally honest. "This is my chance to make up for my mistakes with him. To save what's left of us."

The silence that followed was crushing. Bella remained motionless, her hands trembling with rage and despair. Jungkook, however, turned away.

"Bella, don't take my involvement in this affair as proof of my love for you. I'm just paying a debt." he said simply before opening the door.

She wanted to scream at him not to leave, not to leave her there with this unbearable weight. But no sound escaped her lips.

When the door slammed behind him, Bella froze, the tears she refused to shed blurring her vision. She collapsed into the chair, her heart heavy with a mixture of anger and pain that she didn't know how to soothe.

***

The wind blew gently, stirring Taehyung's hair as he stood motionless in the darkness, observing the dilapidated building in front of him. The address Jungkook had given him seemed unlikely, but he had no choice but to trust him. After all, of the two of them, Jungkook was the only one who could obtain this kind of information: where the members of the Assassins' Guild met. Taehyung could only rely on him.

A rustle of leaves caught his attention. He swivelled to see Jungkook appear in the shadows, his face partially lit by the moon. He wore his usual calm expression, but his eyes shone with determination.

"You're here early." Jungkook murmured, smirking.

Taehyung shrugged, still refusing to show him the slightest emotion. He still felt too vulnerable, and still uncertain about the Cajun. For the moment, staying hidden behind the mask he'd spent a year forging gave him a certain feeling of security.

"I don't want anything to go wrong. But how did you get this information? Did Bella really agree to talk?"

Jungkook nodded.

"It wasn't easy... She wouldn't give anything up, not until I agreed to let her come with me."

Taehyung didn't need to know more. In fact, he wasn't interested at all: all he wanted was to get the potion back. Bella's whims didn't concern him the least.

Without another word, they moved in silence, slipping into the shadows like two predators. The building in question was an old structure, its cracked facade reflecting years of neglect. Perfect for a clandestine organisation.

When they reached the end of a moss-covered back wall, Jungkook pointed to a rickety gutter leading to the roof. Taehyung nodded and climbed up nimbly, his movements precise despite the rusty metal creaking under his weight. Jungkook followed, silent as a shadow. Once on the roof, they dropped to their stomachs, crawling up to a partially blocked opening.

As they listened, they could make out voices coming from inside. The building sounded like a resonance chamber, amplifying the murmurs.

Taehyung frowned, because the voices inside were too indistinct. Only snatches reached them, blurred by the echo of the walls. He exchanged glances with Jungkook. No words were necessary: they had to get closer.

The ancient wood of the roof creaked slightly as they crawled closer to the opening. The voices still echoed below, but the words were still beyond their reach, as if muffled by the cracked walls and the echo of the building. Taehyung squinted his eyes, trying to make out some visual clue through the shadows and flickering light from the lanterns below. There was nothing. Frustrated, he glanced at Jungkook, who also seemed to be concentrating on the scene. They still had to get closer.

Without a word, Jungkook pointed to a slightly sagging section of the roof, closer to the centre of the room below. Taehyung nodded. They both knew it was risky, but standing there half-blind would accomplish nothing. In silence, they moved again, sliding carefully over the damp tiles.

The space was narrow, their bodies forced to move against each other in unaccustomed proximity. The cold metal of the gutter bit lightly into Taehyung's hand as he steadied himself, but he paid it no mind. What he couldn't ignore, however, was the warmth of Jungkook's body, almost glued to his as they tried to reach a better position.

Then, a miscalculated movement tipped them slightly closer together. Taehyung immediately felt the firm and undeniably real contact of Jungkook's torso against his back. He froze.

The tension rose a notch, electric, almost palpable. Their breathing, so far under control, became slightly heavier, more jerky. Jungkook tried to reposition himself, but the unstable, moss-covered roof almost seemed to conspire to keep them exactly there, glued together.

Taehyung felt an unpleasantly familiar warmth rise up inside him. This wasn't the time. It was never the time. Yet his heart was beating at a rate he couldn't ignore.

When he turned slightly to murmur something - probably a reprimand - his eyes met Jungkook's. The Cajun's gaze was burning, charged with an emotion he hadn't expected to see.

Jungkook's eyes slid almost instinctively to Taehyung's lips, and the boy felt his own breath catch. The distance between them seemed infinitesimally small. Jungkook couldn't help thinking back to the one time he'd tasted those lips. And since then, he had only dreamed of tasting them again.

The tension between them, long ignored, suddenly seemed impossible to deny. And this time, neither of them looked away.