Detonate Me, Granulate Me | BTS

Chapter 13

"I need to see it."

Namjoon turns around from where he's writing up some complicated formula Jungkook can't understand to stare at Jungkook. It's early in the morning, Jimin and Taehyung still asleep in the room below, and Namjoon's working away at the table in the underground experiment basement. Jungkook stares right back, and Namjoon puts down his hoverpad.

"See what?"

"Outside. Seoul."

Namjoon frowns. "What do you mean? You've seen Seoul. I've shown you, given you those videos on the hoverpad. Have you watched them?"

Jungkook shakes his head. "No, not like that. I've seen those, but I need to see it with my own eyes. I can't—I can't just believe the videos. You said it yourself, Paradisus made us believe what we did by fabricating our whole lives. What if you're making it up too? Edited the videos together?"

"For the record, I didn't, but..." Namjoon sighs. "Going outside, it's really dangerous. You know that, right?"

"You want our help, don't you?" Jungkook asks, crossing his arms. "It doesn't have to be for long. Just five minutes, take me outside for five minutes, enough to convince me that what you're saying is the truth. Then I'll do whatever you want, unconditionally."

"Look." Namjoon scratches his head, lips pursed. "I'd love to take you above ground, I really would, but I can't risk you getting caught so early on in the game. They have monitors all over the place, facial recognition scanners. We were only able to go undiscovered because we brought you in through an underground sewage system underneath the city, used by humans thousands of years ago. If you're caught while above ground, it's the end for all of us."

"Then disguise him. You can do that, can't you?"

Both Jungkook and Namjoon turn, startled at the new voice joining their conversation. It's Jimin, leaning against the wall near the trapdoor entrance, his weight on one leg, arms crossed, and Jungkook furrows his brows. Why the hell is Jimin backing him up?

"Don't get me wrong, I'm totally willing to help, but..." Jimin smiles, eyes curving into crescents. "I want to do this together, the three of us. And that means Jungkook, too."

Namjoon frowns for a moment, deep in thought, then stands up, striding across the room. He knocks on the door at the end of the lounge room, the door to the second underground experiment lab. "Hey, Yoongi. You sleeping in there? Come out."

"I was in the middle of something," Yoongi grumbles when he finally pokes his head out. He has goggles around his eyes, a layer of black soot covering his face. "Can this wait?"

"Your holographic projector," Namjoon says. "The one you were fixing last month after you broke it up. How's that coming along?"

Yoongi looks between Namjoon, Jungkook and Jimin, narrowing his eyes. "Are you fucking serious? No. No! If we're caught, we're dead."

"Just for five minutes," Jungkook says. "Five minutes is enough."

The holographic projector Namjoon is referring to is just a clunky helmet, connected to an external battery pack. An old type of technology, but apparently enough for Yoongi to use to project a mirage around him when he's out doing Illegal Stuff slash work.

"It'll only project for one person," Yoongi explains, tightening the straps around Jungkook's head. "Out and back. One trip. You follow behind Namjoon, got it?"

"Take care," Jimin says, resting a hand on Jungkook's back, and Jungkook grits his teeth, nodding.

The air outside is humid and hot, and Jungkook's sweating underneath the suit and helmet. It's a sight Jungkook's never seen before, the natural sunlight, the fleets of airships and hovercrafts zooming around in the air, the tips of skyscrapers as they move closer and closer to the city centre, winding through narrows streets. He follows closely behind Namjoon as Namjoon leads the way to the heart of the suburbs, keeping his footsteps light and quiet.

"Most of the Hybrida here will be Class Tertius," Namjoon mutters under his breath as the turn the corner into the main street, "but you'll get the idea."

What Jungkook sees next roots him to the spot.

There are rows of Hybrida standing in front of the shops and buildings, mostly Canidae, Felidae and Ursidae, backs held stiff and faces drawn. They all have a metal band around their necks, ones that look like chokers, and their eyes are glazed over, lifeless.

"Guards," Namjoon explains, leading Jungkook down the street. "If they don't act right, it's a microchip shock. The signal is sent through the collar."

At this point, a plump man walks towards them, adjusting his suit and striding up importantly to the entrance of one of the buildings. When the Canidae at the entrance doesn't react immediately to open the door for him, he frowns, pressing a button on his hoverpad, and the Canidae doubles over, entire body shaking for a good ten seconds before the man takes his finger off the button.

"That's the owner of the bank here," Namjoon says, when the man's out of sight and Jungkook's breathing has calmed down. "He treats his Hybrida the worst. Shocks them whenever they don't perform even a small task right. Come on."

They turn into a side street, a dimly lit alleyway, and if Jungkook thought he'd been indignant before, now he's sick to the core.

"The Leporidae. These are the sex bunnies," Namjoon says, voice sympathetic. "The ones who are forced to work at the brothels after they're purchased from Paradisus. Most of them have a specific quota to meet or they'll be punished."

Jungkook glances at the nametag of the Leporidae standing outside the building. Hyeri. Hyeri, who had probably been brought up inside the walls of Paradisus believing the lie they'd fed her, believing she could be something more than an escort on the streets.

"Sir, sir," Hyeri says, running after Namjoon. Jungkook ducks out of the way before Hyeri can collide with him, and Namjoon turns around as Hyeri catches the edge of his shirt. "Sir, would you like to come in and try our services?"

"It's okay, thank you," Namjoon says, taking Hyeri's hand and gently removing it from his shirt. "You don't have to."

"Sir, we have the best range of Bunnies in Seoul. Class Primus, all of us, handpicked by our manager Tony An. Please, can you...?"

"Here," Namjoon says, slipping a few circular discs over to Hyeri. "Take this and tell your manager you met your quota for today. I won't take your services."

Hyeri accepts the discs gratefully, tucking them away in her skirt before scurrying off to catch the attention of more people on the streets, and Jungkook follows behind Namjoon, shaking in anger.

"Is this enough for you?" Namjoon says gently, when they're out of earshot of people from the main street. "Do you believe me now?"

"Yeah," Jungkook says, fists clenched tight enough to draw blood. "Yeah, I do."