Seoul City

Ch. 3 - The Phoenixes

Jungkook was ready to officially call that night a "bad" night until a certain brunette showed up to entertain them all.

The Phoenixes were facing troubles recently with imposter gangs forming all around the country, claiming the Phoenix name and blaming all their petty crimes on them. It had come to his knowledge that these people were even going so far as to copying their signature Phoenix tattoos. Any Phoenix member would be able to automatically detect a fake tattoo, but unfortunately, ordinary people were not as competent. Jungkook had initially planned on not giving these groups the attention they were seeking; but, the FBI were starting to get involved and he couldn't have that. Not when the Jeons were in the final stages of closing a trade deal with political ambassadors in China. Throwing Lisa a birthday party was the perfect excuse for the Phoenixes to casually gather in one area and lure an imposter into a trap.

The 7 members who were present – Jungkook, Jin, Hoseok, Yugyeom, Mark, Jackson, and Bambam – had scattered to different areas of Bambam's mansion and were tasked with the objective of finding anyone with a fake phoenix tattoo. The task should have been easy, given that half the West side was present at the party.

It was just after 11:00 pm when Jungkook located the fake tattoo donned by a muscular, young man who appeared to be having the time of his life. 'Pathetic' Jungkook thought as his eyes followed the man's every movement. He studied every minute detail about the imposter within minutes, picking up details from his estimated height and weight to which of his hands was likely the dominant one. One thing was for certain – the man was no match for Jungkook. He could have easily took him out on the spot, but there was etiquette to be followed. Plus, his hands were sore from kick-boxing all night so, for once, he really wasn't in the mood for fighting. So, he texted the other members to converge again.

"Where's Bambam?" Jin asked as he casually scanned the room. Six out of the seven of them had met Jungkook on the main floor, each with a glass of alcohol in their hand to remain inconspicuous.

"No doubt upstairs with Lisa," Jackson said with a loud laugh.

"Or drunk and asleep somewhere," Mark joined in.

"...with Lisa," Hoseok added, causing all the boys to chuckle. Lisa and Bambam were childhood friends but he had only recently begun dating her with serious intentions, stating that it was 'about time he settled down'. Meanwhile, he was only 21 years old and, in Jungkook's opinion, seriously needed to chill.

As soon as they noticed their target heading towards the side doors of Bambam's house, with a cigarette in hand, all conversation and joking was cut off. The 6 of them casually trailed after the man, sticking close by each other. Hoseok was the last to exit the doors, making sure to look both ways, to ensure they wouldn't be discovered, before slamming the doors shut.

"Hey, bud!" Jackson called out in a mockingly friendly tone as he put an arm around the man.

"I don't think you'll be needing this," Jin said, plucking the cigarette out of his hands.

"Hey! What the hell?" The man looked around at the circle the 6 of them had formed around him. When Yugyeom ever-so-slightly lifted his arm to show the Phoenix tattoo, a mixture of fear and realization finally dawned on him.

"That's a nice tattoo you've got there," Jungkook sneered, "too bad it's not real."

"Listen, I don't know what's going on here, but I swear I know nothing!" The man pleaded, backing away from Jungkook only to bump into Jackson behind him.

"Look, I'll give you 3 seconds to tell me where you got this tattoo and why you have it," Jungkook said with a fierce calmness.

"I-I don't-" The man began to stammer.