Payback

Protect or Sabotage?

"Yes, we're fine." Jungkook murmured over the phone for the tenth time. We were sitting in a small diner just off of the Thruway. We had driven for about an hour trying to figure out what to tell the others. Our stomachs are what made us pull off of the Thruway and into the small diner. We weren't planning on calling anyone until after we ate, but Jimin called to check up on us right after we ordered our food.

"Stop worrying about us and make sure you tell Namjoon. We're at a diner now to get something to eat."

Jungkook sighed and rolled his eyes. I couldn't help but smile at that. Jimin always seems to be the most worried whenever anyone is hurt or not feeling well.

"Here's your food, dears." Our waitress, an older woman with a huge smile, was carrying our plates of food in her arms. She set the food down in front of us just as Jungkook hung up on the phone. "Anything else I can get you?"

I shook my head. "No, thanks."

The waitress then turned to Jungkook and gave him a smile. "You know, my son has muscles like yours. He can sweep me off of my feet like I'm nothing." The woman then nodded toward me. "If I were you, I'd leave my phone down and sweep her up instead."

The woman gave the both of us one more smile before walking off. Jungkook's face was a mix of confusion and shock. It took him a moment to pick up his silverware and begin to dive into his food. I already had a slight head start on him, but he finished his food way before I did.

"So, the guy's name is Jun." I said as soon as I finished my plate. "I didn't even think about the fact that no one told me his name."

Jungkook shrugged. "I thought Christian would've told you, but I guess not. But this kind of changes things. Jun knows more about us than we thought."

"And apparently he knows more about my family than I know."

I watched Jungkook's face darken as I said that.

"I know you probably hate us now, but it's the truth."

My eyes narrowed on Jungkook, not satisfied with his reply. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Jungkook let out a defeated sigh and he looked down at the table for a minute, as if choosing the next words to say.

"According to Namjoon, your father and his father go way back. They used to go to school together, so they've always been friends. When the building burnt down, your father swore to pay off everything, but legally. He wanted to raise you away from the underground world. Namjoon's father lessened the debt because he's a close friend, but then your father couldn't afford to pay him and raise you by himself at the same time so he went into hiding."

"What was my father's original debt?" I asked before Jungkook could continue.

"About 1.6 million." Jungkook answered. "Namjoon's father reduced it to 1.3 million. Your father only paid off about $400,000 before he went into hiding."

"So that explains the $872,500 that I still need to pay off. How much have I paid off already?"

Jungkook tilted his head, looking confused about the words I just said. "Namjoon didn't tell you?"

I shook my head.

Jungkook took a deep breath as if bracing himself for what he was about to tell me. "Namjoon decided that you need to pay back the entire debt, so he got rid of the friends discount."

I felt my heart sink right to the floor. "So you're telling me that I have another $300,000 or so to pay off?"

Jungkook nodded slowly. "It was about 1.2 million. It's now 1.1 million."

I glared at Jungkook. "Yeah, like that makes it seem even less." I buried my head in my arms that were crossed on the table. "This is a fucking nightmare. At this rate, I'll be old and senile by the time this gets paid off."

"If you don't get killed on the job, first." Jungkook murmured.

I looked back up at him and shot him a glare. "Thanks for the cheer up."

Jungkook smiled. "Christian will make sure that doesn't happen."

"And you? Will you protect the prophecy? Or will you save Christian?"

I watched as Jungkook's face darkened once again. He stared off into nothingness before finally responding. "If I am to follow orders, I will let the prophecy play out." He looked back up at me with dark eyes. "But I sometimes don't like to follow orders."

A lightbulb went off in my head. "So that's why you're training with me. Just in case you decide not to follow orders."

Jungkook didn't get a chance to respond before the waitress came back to pick up our empty plates and give us the check.

"Why don't we have a little face-off?" Jungkook suggested as he put the cash down onto the table. There was enough for the bill and a rather large tip as well. "Let's test our skills before we go back to training tomorrow."

The smug look on Jungkook's face already got my blood boiling. The kid wanted a challenge, eh?

I thought about it for a moment, wondering if this was really the time to test our skills. We just did a hit today and honestly, I don't feel too confident in my silent ninja skills just yet. But then again, this may be the best time to test my hand-to-hand combat skills. I was instructed to take a day off, but the challenge was too tempting. "What's the wager?"

"If I win, you spend the night with me." Jungkook said as he stood up from the table.

"And if I win?" I asked with a smirk, looking up at him as I stayed seated.

Jungkook shrugged. "We switch rooms for a night." With that, he extended his hand out to me.

At first, I wanted to protest. But the thought of sleeping in a real bed without having to please anyone sounded rather intriguing. Jungkook would also finally know what it's like to sleep on a floor. That might teach him a lesson to respect me a little bit more.

I smiled up at him and took his hand. "Deal."

(Don't worry, the juicy stuff is coming in the next chapter!)