FOOLS

Chapter 9

Namjoon followed Jungkook's instruction and drove through a path that only the Pandoras knew about. Hoseok would have no way of following them. Deep in his heart, namjoon felt awful for leaving his best friend behind, practically betraying his trust. But right now it didn't matter, he just wanted his little brother to be okay. There wasn't a second since Jungkook's reveal that Namjoon questioned the legitimacy of the nature of their relationship, he knew that Jungkook was telling the truth and that he was his brother. Something in his doe eyes, Namjoon thought.

Before Jungkook had fallen completely asleep, he gave Namjoon his address very hesitantly. He figured that if they went to Namjoon's apartment, it would soon be surrounded by unwanted visitors and he had also wanted to show his brother the luxury he lives in. Namjoon was taken back but also not surprise that Jungkook lives in the upscale portion of the city. He had never thought about looking here, the most obvious place. He parked the car in Jungkook's private garage and did a double take at the rows of cars along the wall. His own car felt like an ant in this beehive.

Carefully, he lifted Jungkook up in his arms and allowed the elevator took them up to Jungkook's floor. Yes, he had his own floor which Namjoon decided not to question. To his horror, before he could punch in the code Jungkook told him, the door opened, revealing a distressed and terrified older woman. She held up a ladle and wore a baby pink bunny apron. For a second, Namjoon forgot where he was.

Her eyes wandered from tall and broad Namjoon to frail and bloody Jungkook. The ladle dropped and the next second, she was ushering Namjoon into the living room. Surprisingly she seemed calm as she searched the cabinets for the first aid kits, it was more like a suitcase. It landed on the ground in the front of Namjoon with a thud.

"Ajumma," Jungkook said breathlessly, "can you leave us alone?" he asked.

She stopped, but nodded. "I'll go home for tonight. I made some soup for you in case you're hungry." Namjoon offered to walk her to the door, out of obligations and he felt overwhelmed in the moment. There were split seconds where he felt like he was going in and out of a dream. "Please take care of him. He needs you." ajumma said.

"I'll be here for him, please don't worry." Namjoon answered.

"He's a good kid, really." Namjoon didn't say anything, it would be a lie to say he agreed because he honestly just didn't know. The wounded boy that Namjoon carried earlier was so different to the notorious mafia leader that Namjoon had imagined. He just smiled and closed the door.

Back on the couch, Jungkook had began to clean his wound, flinching every now and then. Namjoon felt his own body shivering at the sight. Carefully, he took the bandage out of the suitcase and wrapped it around Jungkook's wound. It wasn't deep enough to kill him, Jungkook kept a poker face the entire time Namjoon was tending to his wound.

"Thanks....hyung." he said quietly and hesitantly. Namjoon returned it with a slow nod. After putting the first aid kit back in its place, Namjoon stood awkwardly between the hall and the living room. It finally dawned on him that he probably didn't belong there or had any business being there. Jungkook noticed the waddling figure out of the corner of his eye. "I wouldn't recommend going home or going to work. Your team members might kill you."

Namjoon didn't argue with that, knowing that they wouldn't hesitate to eliminate him for the sake of a mission. "I can't stay here forever." he said flatly. It struck something in Jungkook's heart, it was more sore than the bullet wound. His head turned to the window and glued his eyes to it. Namjoon sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, it was stiff. "Sorry for what Hoseok did. I should have done a better job at leading my team."

"Your team is just as strong headed as you are." the young boy chuckled.

"And it might not be my place to say this but I can't apologize enough for what my-our father did. He's a demon and you should not associate yourself with him. All the pain that he caused you can never be healed and I know I can't just wash them away. But you can stop this, you don't need to prove your skills to anyone any longer."

The room was then filled with Jungkook's lifeless laughter. He hadn't wanted to laugh, but it was just instinctual response. "You thought I did all of this for him? Fool, I did this because I wanted to. Not for you, not for him, not for anyone else." Of course that was a lie, but to admit the truth would be a sign of weakness and Jungkook was not ready to show that side of him, even to his brother.

Namjoon could tell the bullshit right away. For one thing, his ears were red and his feet thumped like an excited bunny. "Alright. Keep telling yourself that."

"Where are you going?" Jungkook asked upon noticing that Namjoon was headed for the door, his tie loosened around his neck and hung like a noose.

"Out. Don't worry. I won't get caught."

"Hyung," Jungkook called out. "Do you promise to come back?" he asked, knowing it was impossible to keep Namjoon here. It wasn't his place and Namjoon had his own wings. A small smile crept up onto the elder's face, allowing his dimples to emerge.

"I promise."