SAFE HAVEN, yoonkook

fourteen.

"You and Taehyung know each other?" Yoongi hissed as he and Jungkook waited in one of the employee rooms. He'd been pacing for the past few minutes, muttering to himself as he tried to figure out what was happening. All while the younger just stood there, staring blankly at the door. Yoongi had stopped pacing and now stood right next to the other, frowning as he looked down at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It didn't matter."

"It didー It does matter." Yoongi exhaled slowly and run his fingers through his hair. "You should tell me these things. I bought you the tickets, I have a right to know."

"You know now."

"A little head's up would've been nice. You know, just a little: oh, the actor we're meeting today is actually one of the others I've been telling you about and I feel like making a bit of a scene in front of everyone." Jungkook just returned his attention back to the door, waiting for it to open. Yoongi went to sit down on one of the chairs, his arms crossed over his chest as he frowned at everything he looked at.

The door eventually did open, revealing a nervous-looking Taehyung. The actor glanced over his shoulder before shutting the door behind him, making sure no one could overhear them. He then looked at Jungkook, sighing as he approached him.

"Birdy, howー"

"You were supposed to come back." The younger cut in, glaring at the older male. Yoongi remained silent, watching the interaction in the hopes of getting more information than the boy had already given him. "You promised you'd come back."

"I know, and I did. I came back but he had security cameras everywhere and everything was locked up. I tried, Birdy, but I couldn't get in."

"Liar. I should've known I couldn't trust a cat." Taehyung flinched at the younger's words. "You were just jealous, weren't you? Jealous that even though you were the first, I was the favourite. You justー"

And in what seemed like a second, the older male was on top of the younger. A low, guttural growl came from him as he glared at the boy, teeth bared and fingers digging into his shoulders. Jungkook squirmed underneath him.

"I couldn't care less about that man's favouritism. You were the one who cared so much about it, who seemed to need it ー do not project those feelings onto me." Jungkook opened his mouth to retort, but Taehyung kept going. Yoongi just continued to watch on, but was more wary now, in case the actor tried to do anything. "It's your own fault you didn't get out on time ー you hesitated. If you hadn't, we'd all have escaped and we wouldn't be having these issues. And I did come back for you, every night I tried to find a way in. Sometimes I'd come back in the day but he cares too much about not getting caught, Birdy ー he's too paranoid."

"Get off me, you mangy cat." Taehyung slowly got off the boy, helping him back to his feet. "He was going to kill me. He killed Frog Boy; I was going to be next. And Jimin is in charge now. He took my place."

"Jimin? Well, I guess it makes sense." The actor sighed, looking fondly at the younger boy. "I really am sorry. But you're safe now, right?"

"I live with Yoongi now."

"So you did escape."

"No, he gave me to Yoongi. He locked me up in isolation ー I couldn't escape." The attention was now turned to Yoongi, who was still feeling confused. While some question had been answered, new ones had also formed. He was probably going to have to interrogate the younger when they were alone.

"Thank you, Yoongi, for looking after Birdy." Taehyung said, holding out his hand. The pair shook hands, the younger smiling as they did so. "Please don't make him go back to that place. If you ever need a new place for him to stay, please just call me and he can live with me."

"I don't have your number..." And that was how Yoongi managed to get his first celebrities number ー a feat that sounded more impressive if you ignored the circumstances in which he got them. Jungkook continued to frown at the pair, especially Taehyung. His frown seemed to increase when he looked at that male. As they said their goodbyes, the youngest stuck to the oldest's side and held his hand, barely acknowledge the actor. A look of disappointment and regret on Taehyung's face didn't go unnoticed by the other two.

"Maybe we could meet up sometime. You know, get something to eat, you can tell me all about your new life..." He said hopefully.

"Maybe." Jungkook responded, his voice still blank. Yoongi mouthed 'I'll text you' to the actor, who gave him a grateful smile in response.

"Take care, Birdy."

"It's Kookie now; but you can call me Jungkook."

"Take care, Jungkook."

"Bye, One."

ー

"You gonna explain what went on earlier?" Yoongi asked when the pair were finally alone, sitting down beside Jungkook on the couch. He frowned at the younger, waiting.

"Explain what?"

"Everything! Why'd you call Taehyung 'One'? You said you were the first. What was all that about coming backー And what's going on with Jimin?"

"I was the first completely successful one. There were others before me; Taehyung was the first one your friend stupidly tried out. A tiger with a human ー can you imagine how that could have gone wrong? Luckily, it went wrong in the safest of ways and all he ended up with was a human with sharper teeth, a tendency to growl and purr, and an affinity to fish. There are.. other things, of course, but they're not that important." Jungkook shrugged, pulling his tie off and placing it down beside him. "He used to chase me into a corner, threatening to eat me. Sometimes I'd fight back. He was only playing though... I wasn't."

"Okay so a famous actor shares DNA with a tiger. That's not something you hear about every day."

The younger shook his head. "The coming back thing was about the escape attempt I told you about: Taehyung was one of the few who managed to get out. He promised he'd come back to save me ー to save us. After we got caught and I was locked away, Jimin took my place as number one and also became his assistant."

"Jimin's a hybrid?"

"Yes. He's a newer one than me though, so he's naturally better. I think he shares similarities with a dog ー I think he was made to be unconditionally loyal. He's also a good guard dog."

"But he seemed so..." Yoongi trailed off as he grew careful of his choice of words. This was noticed by the younger, who instantly provided him with the word he was trying to avoid.

"Normal? He's meant to. Taehyung and everyone before me were just test runs, I was a little fun experiment, and Jimin was made to take the best traits of an animal while still fitting in with society."

"Namjoon is definitely not the man I used to know." Yoongi muttered. But then he thought about it and realised he really shouldn't be that surprised. Even back in the early days of their friendship, the younger scientist had always been curious about these things. Yoongi blamed the jellyfish. "Do you want anything to eat? You haven't eaten since breakfast."

"I more tired than hungry. Can I just go to bed?" Jungkook asked as he yawned. "Please."

"Sure. I'll probably go to bed too. It's getting late."

The pair then continued getting ready for bed, changing into their pyjamas, brushing their teeth and washing their faces. Yoongi was pleased to notice that this was getting easier ー Jungkook wasn't struggling against the blonde anymore.

It made him feel like progress was being made.

ー
I feel like this story has potential but I'm only just scratching the surface of it, if that...
But I dunno, I'm also a terrible judge of my own stories so I'm probably (hopefully) just being hypercritical