Sacrifices (vkook)

75

Jungkook ends the call immediately and dials Taehyung's number again.

"Your call has been forwarded to~"

Jungkook pulls the phone from his ear, he feels himself starting to panic but he holds it together and redials the unknown number.

"Where the hell is he?" He asks as soon as the line picks up.

"I would think you'd have more respect towards your mother after almost four years but I guess not." His mother says.

"I couldn't stand you then, and I can't stand you now." Jungkook spits.

"I wouldn't be so rude towards me, especially when I have something precious to you right in the palm of my hand." Ms. Jeon says matter of factly.

"Why are you messing with us!?" He shouts through clenched teeth.

"And I see you're just as dense as the day you left. Don't you see that it's you messing with us. Everything we worked for, everything we built for you and you're just going to throw it away? Do you honestly think I can stand for that? As your mother and mentor that behavior is highly unacceptable. So I will give you this chance and this chance only to return to the business. Leave what's in the past in the past and move forward like you should have done a long time ago."

"I swear to every fucking god there is, if you hurt him~"

"And still your mind is clouded by that boy, it's disgusting." Ms. Jeon says, venom laced through her words.

Jungkook pulls the phone away so his mother doesn't hear the unstable breath that he releases as he sits down on the bed.

He brings the phone back up. "Whatever it is you want, I'll do it. But I won't leave Taehyung."

"We need to discuss things face to face, not over the phone." His mother says.

"I won't speak to you again until I see him."

"And you won't see him until you speak to me again. They should have dropped the address off by now. See you soon."

"Wait." Jungkook stops her before she ends the call. "How do you know where we live?"

"I've been keeping tabs on you since the day you left Jungkook." His mother says. "Just because you throw your phone away and only pay with cash doesn't mean you're completely wiped off the map. Sure it was more challenging, but it was possible to find you. The security cameras of the houses you walked passed on the way to the bus, the security cameras at the train station, the security cameras on the streets of Naju and pretty much everywhere else you two went. If I wanted to I could have just reported the two of you missing, since you were still under the age of 18. The cops would have dragged you back that night."

    "Why didn't you?" Jungkook asks, he didn't want to be talking to his mother but he wanted to know the reasoning behind why she waited until now.

    "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

Jungkook's stomach drops. "That was you too then? All the quotes and dead roses?"

    "And the letters, you didn't forget the letters did you Jungkook? It's actually quite sad, I even pitied him for a moment." Ms. Jeon says.

Jungkook's anger deflates and he feels tears filling his eyes. "You really are just a cold, heartless woman aren't you?"

    "I'll see you soon, Jungkook."

The call drops and Jungkook stands, going downstairs.

On the kitchen counter there's a different piece of paper, and surely enough there's an address written on it.

How many times had strangers walked through his house without him knowing?

Were the same people watching everything he did on a daily basis, and if so, were they also watching Taehyung?

Jungkook wipes his eyes and types the address in, his mother didn't mention hurting Taehyung so he still had a smidgen of hope that he wasn't hurt or harmed in any way.

    "I'm coming, Tae."

—

Taehyung squinted as the blindfold was removed and light flooded his vision.

He pulled at the restraints that held his wrists behind his back, while looking around and trying to figure out where he was.

    "Looks like you grew up nicely since we saw you last." One says kneeling in front of him. "Didn't he Junho-ah?"

Another guy appears making Taehyung whimper and try to scoot away.

    "Stop messing around Jaewook. Can't you see you're scaring the guy?" The other says reaching forward and pulling the cloth from Taehyung's mouth.

He hadn't put up a fight going to the unknown car, he didn't when they tied his hands behind his back and blindfolded him, but he did keep asking questions so they gagged him with some dirty rags.

They seemed to have used zipped ties around his wrists since he could feel the plastic digging into them.

The other guy looks younger, but still many years older than him.

    "Wh-What~"

    "Calm down with the questions. We haven't received any orders to hurt you." The older one, Jaewook, says. "So we won't, unless you force us to."

Taehyung notices for the first time that they are both dressed in suits and ties.

    "Who do you work for?" He asks trying not to sound like he was panicking.

    "That's confidential information, Sunshine." Jaewook says.

    "Stop calling him that. It's weird." The other one, Taehyung thinks he remembers Jaewook calling him Junho, says.

    "It's funny, look how mad he is." Jaewook says, both of them look at him.

    "What do you want?" Taehyung asks, the same words leaving his mouth for the hundredth time.

    "One more question and the gag goes back in." Junho threatens before standing up, Jaewook following.

The feeling of deja vu washes over Taehyung and he starts to think he's been in this situation  before.

 
A door opens with a loud creek making Taehyung jump.

The two men stand up straighter and bow to the person walking in.

The sound of high heel shoes clicking on the ground lets Taehyung know that the new person in the room is a woman.

He puts his head down, almost like he is bowing as well but he's just trying to be as small as possible, then maybe they'll leave him alone.

The woman stops in front of him, squatting down and putting her hand under his chin, making him look up.

His breathing becomes shallow as he sees her again for the first in years, for the first time since the last threat he received he sees the woman behind his pain and suffering.

    "Long time, no see."

———