I Want the Headline

3

Raindrops steadily pounded against the roof and windows of the truck as the car sped deeper into the city. You were huddled in the back of the new men's truck as they drove off to who-knows-where. The leader with the dimples, who had introduced himself as Namjoon, was behind the wheel, unlike Yoongi who had been chauffeured around. Beside him in the shotgun seat was Taehyung, and he had spent the entire ride staring at you. A smirk would cross his lips whenever your eyes would meet. "So...Y/N. " he cooed, "How do you know Yoongi?" Namjoon chuckled, playfully raising his voice above Tae's and the soft music playing from the radio,

"No, no! What did you do to him to make him use you as currency? Jipped him from a good time or something?" He asked, glancing at you in the rearview mirror. His brows furrowed, "I didn't think he still dabbled in that kind of thing after, you know." The last part he directed at Taehyung. Tae's eyes scanned over your dress,

"That's not what happened." He theorized. "Did you see the way he looked at her old ring? She was a goddess to him, he wouldn't trade his whore for her ring-"

"I'm not a whore!" You snapped bitterly, wrapping your arms around your knees. You were just finishing your sophomore year of college. You had a good future ahead of you. You had a job, there was a guy who was interested in you, a nice little apartment around the block from your brother. You were happy... Now, your brother was tied up in a warehouse somewhere by a man who had sold you for a ring. Tears of frustration started to cloud your vision as you dug your nails into your knees.

This was that man's fault.

This was Yoongi's doing.

Too tired to even cry, you just stared at your knees, "I'm not his whore...I don't even know him."

Namjoon looked back at you, honestly surprised. Yoongi was one of the only men he knew that honestly lived by equal trade. If he did something to someone, it was only because they did something to him first. You had to have done something to him to make him trade you off like that." Really? Then what were you doing with him?"

"His...Jimin.." You gulped," My brother, he sent me to on a vacation to Jeju...and I met this guy there." Your voice hiccuped, "I thought he was a nice guy, I thought it was a coincidence that he was at all the tourist spots where I was... The next thing I know I'm waking up in a warehouse tied to a chair." The car drove over a bump in the road before entering a tunnel. Dim yellow lights flickered violently through the windows, distorting the shadows along Tae's face as he stared at you. Namjoon's eyes were devoted to the road. "They took me to get my brother to listen to them. He..that man shot my brother in the foot for no reason; they beat him! He gave me away for a ring!"

The leader frowned softly. That didn't sound like how Yoongi worked at all. Kidnapping you to get your brother to cooperate? What had your brother done that was severe enough for his punishment to drift over to you? Namjoon felt a headache coming on. He had prided himself on predicting Yoongi's habits and the man's habits had been pretty consistent for the past two years. An eye for an eye. If Yoongi was suddenly changing tactics, he had to be prepared. If he was gonna start taking two eyes for every of his one, Namjoon had to figure out some new countermeasures.

After all, the most dangerous kind of man is one you can't predict.

Tae simply shrugged, "Well, if helps you any, the ring's pretty important to him. Who is your brother?"

That phrase alone was enough to make your shoulders sag. Since when was a ring more valuable than a person's life? "My brother's name is Jin.. but why is a ring so important?"

The two men shared a look but didn't comment immediately. Finally, Tae murmured, "The ring belonged to his fiancee, he was...he'd do anything for her. He's killed dozens of people over her. But he's also got this code; like an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.. he'd do anything for his organization, too. She was caught giving out secrets and intel to his rival group; several of his men were killed over it and he had to..." Taehyung's eyes passed over you to the window. For a moment he just watched the city lights quickly pass by through the window, "Well, he killed her for it..." Tae blinked slowly, "I gotta hand it to his dedication... I mean..killing the girl I've slept beside for years even if she was selling me out? I don't think I could do it." He crossed his arms over his chest," Your brother's been doing the same thing she was doing. I..I hope you two weren't that close."