Master's ( Jungkook / BTS )

Episode III: The Basement Door

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"Are you sure this is going to work?" Jungkook asked me as we both watched, from behind a safety wall that Jin had set up.
"Have faith in him, Sir. Jin knows what he's doing. I trust him."
"I don't trust him. How do we know if this'll even work?"
"Because," Jin popped out out of nowhere, taking his goggles off, "it's science!" He handed me his goggles and Jungkook another pair.
"What are these for?" Jungkook asked.
"They protect your eyes, sir." I answered even though it was pretty self explanatory what they were for.
"Protection? Protection from what?"
"You're about to find out," Jin flashed Jungkook with one of his signature smiles. "Just curious, you've got house insurance, yes?"
"Of course."
"Good, that's all I needed to hear. Let's get this started," Jin clapped his hands together.
"Wait, what's going on?" He turned me around, "You said he was only using some alcohol and potassium, why does he sound like he's planning on starting a fire?"
I slowly turned away.
"Please tell me he isn't going to start a fire."
"He might... start a small one," I pinched my fingers together. "Technically, yes, it's only alcohol and a little bit of potassium permanganate, but when mixed together these two things can create a minor explosive reaction." For his sake I was putting things lightly by leaving out some details.
"How strong of an explosive are we taking about?"
"Erm, strong enough to break open a locked steel door?" I was hesitant to answer. Technically what I said wasn't false, this would do the trick in opening the basement door. Maybe a little too well.
     We stood back and watched as Jin was about to drop the potassium permanganate onto the alcohol covered lock.
     "Ready, are all the staff members upstairs like I asked?" Jin looked over his shoulder to ask.
     I gave him a thumbs up, "Ready." It had been a while since I'd seen Jin work and I had to admit I was pretty excited to see him in action again.
     "Three... two... ONE!" He let a few drops fall onto the lock before quickly jumping out of the way; in an instant a flicker of a flame ignited and the loud pop of the explosive on the door crackled like a cheap firework. Jungkook and I stayed behind the safety wall, once the popping quieted down I thought it was safe to assume that it would be fine to get up.
     "Li-ah, stay down! There could still be an after-" I knew what Jin was trying to warn but it was already too late, the explosive hadn't died down it was still going off and heading in all directions, including mine. By closing my eyes and shielding my face I prepared for the pain that was heading my way, but it never came. I felt myself being quickly pulled into a protective embrace and when I looked up to see who it was I was surprised to see it was Jungkook.
     The flame sizzled down and Jungkook loosened his hold, unwrapping his arms from me. Before I could even thank him, he got up in a fury and grabbed Jin by his collar.
     "Yah! What were you thinking, Mr Imageniussoyoucantrustme? Were you even thinking at all, what if you got someone seriously hurt? What about Ah Lina, huh? She could've been hurt!" He let go of him.
     "I'm sorry," I heard Jin say.
     "Sorry?" Jungkook was breathing heavily. "Do you think that if she actually got hurt Sorry would cut it?"
     Jin looked away and turned his attention towards me, "Li-ah, are you okay? Did you get hurt?" I couldn't answer because I was too busy noticing the holes in Jungkook's hoodie and the wounds on his back. He got those protecting me.
     "Never mind me, oppa." I pushed Jin out of the way, "What about him?"
     "What?" Jin was confused, then saw what I was talking about.
     "Master, you're burned. Are you alright?" I inspected the burns.
     He quickly turned around so I wouldn't see. "I'm fine, are you?"
     "Sir, I think we should get your wounds cleaned up, I'll go and get the first aid." I ran upstairs to the supply room and found the med kit. On my way back I ran into Soojin who was poking her head out of the maids' quarters.
"Lady Ah, the staff are wondering when it's safe to come out," she saw the first aid kit in my hands, "Is everything okay, should I go down with you to help?"
Jungkook would definitely not want to cause any panic in the house and so I aggressively shut her down, I instantly felt bad for being too aggressive. " I mean, everything's under control, but I'd still advise that you and the rest of the staff stay up here until we give you the all clear." With that I walked back downstairs in a hurry.
When I returned I was confused to see that Jin was gone. "What happened to Jin?" I asked Jungkook who was now sitting comfortably against a wall.
"He left."
"Oh," I found that weird, but brushed it off. He probably had to go back to work. I put down the kit and got down to check on Jungkook and his wounds. "Um, would it be alright if I pulled your shirt up, sir?"
He answered by pulling his hoodie over his head and revealing his bare chest. Was he crazy?
"Like what you see?" He smirked.
"Could you turn around please?" I choked on my words.
He turned around showing me his back, the wounds appeared more severe than when I saw them earlier. I softly pressed against them.
"Does it not hurt, sir? They look like they would."
"Looks can be deceiving. I really am okay." He tried to sound convincing but I ignored him and got the rubbing alcohol ready. "What about you, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Um, this might hurt a little." I dabbed lightly against the burns and Jungkook flinched under my touch. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you always sorry?" He winked in pain. "Honestly, Ah Lina, it's not your fault that alcohol stings like a bitch."
"That's not what I meant, sir. I'm sorry for being clumsy. It wasn't only today that I caused an inconvenience for you; that day at the mall-" he didn't let me finish.
"Do you want me to scold you, is that it?" He looked over his shoulder.
"No," I knew he couldn't see me, but I still looked down to hide my face.
"Well, I'll do it anyways. Ah Lina, you're the clumsiest person I've ever had to deal with and your questionable fashion sense and constant spacing out has me questioning your actual intelligence, but you haven't given me a reason not to trust yet and so, um, thank you."
This was weird; I didn't think Jungkook would be the one to thank anyone , so this alone got me to completely ignore the fact that he just called me a clumsy idiot with poor taste in clothes. That last one really got to me because despite others' opinion I actually liked my style, but I was willing to let this slide.
I finished applying ointment and bandaging the wounds. "All done." I looked up and saw that Jungkook was staring down into the basement. "Master, is there something down there you're hoping to find other than the vaccine?"
He shook his head and came out of his daze. "Course not." I stood next to him and joined him and as we looked down into the dark space in front of us, I couldn't help but compare it to Jungkook. Just like the lab is to him, he himself was a mysterious and unfamiliar space for me. You know that feeling you get when you're standing at the edge of somewhere high up and you think to yourself I could just jump off right now, I could do it, the power is in my hands and there's this sense in you that compels you to jump even if you know that you shouldn't? Of course most people are able to stop there and walk away, but with Jungkook it was different and I knew that if I kept staying around him, there was a good chance of my heart being broken.

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A/N:
School's about to start for me soon and so I've been working hard to get as many parts done before then.
At the same time I've missed all my friends and I really can't wait for school to start again.
Thanks for the supporting and continuing to read my story!
~Lena 💜