Hustlers || Taekook

Chapter 27

"You think you've won like this? You think you have hope on your side? Not everyone's as loyal to their own as you might think."

Jungkook turned these words over in his mind continuously on repeat, until he'd broken down each syllable into a million different fragments to analyse. He leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees and pressing his lips to his steepled fingers in thought. There was something to these words. They weren't just empty bravado.

'Hope on your side'? Why 'hope'? It seemed like a rather strange choice of word for this situation. And if he said 'you think you have hope on your side' so derisively and scathingly, that would equal there was somebody seemingly on Jungkook's side who he needed to be aware of. Someone like a double agent, maybe? Like himself? Jungkook could infer from Junseo's wording that that person intended to harm him, or at least wasn't holding friendly intentions towards him. Him specifically?

And that last sentence. Did that mean this person was betraying 'his own' while acting as if completely devoted and trustworthy?

Someone on Jungkook's side, someone who gave the impression of hope, someone inconspicuous and not suspicious at first glance, but acting as a double agent. From which side to which side? Someone close enough to Jungkook to cause him harm, so someone he knew.

Jungkook's first thought was Taehyung.

Well, of course it was. Taehyung had betrayed him once, what was there to prove he wouldn't again?

But his gut feeling told him in this case at least, it wasn't. He didn't want to rely on instinct, so he thought it through a bit. Looking at it objectively, from an impassive, neutral point of view, Taehyung was so, so obviously deeply, madly in love with him anyone could tell. He needed Jungkook to live. Jungkook highly doubted he was brave enough to ruin what they still had, and personally throw away the little affection Jungkook still showed him. He wouldn't dare. At least not this soon.

And Taehyung was a careful person, who was good at his job. If he truly was a double agent, unless he was working with Junseo, there was no way Junseo would've been able to find out, especially since they hadn't crossed paths before. And Jungkook knew this, because he knew exactly where Taehyung had been everyday since he'd left his side in February. He'd looked into it. He'd checked Taehyung's call and text history a couple of days ago as well, when Taehyung had been sprawled out on the bed, dazed and panting from exertion. He could recognise every contact and message history as someone from Bangtan, a lackey or an executive or Taehyung's personal subordinates or someone from the surveillance and information department, or someone Taehyung had connections with, or had current dealings with. Taehyung hadn't bothered to delete a plethora of suspicious texts, even from obscure contacts only Jungkook knew he had, so he doubted Taehyung had gone to the trouble of deleting any messages exchanged with Junseo. Besides, Jungkook just knew Taehyung wouldn't work with someone like Junseo.

And then there was also the fact that Junseo had warned him that not everyone was as loyal as he might think, so it was someone he wouldn't easily suspect. Jungkook almost snorted. Well, if it came to people he suspected of being disloyal, Taehyung was quite literally the first that came to mind, and Junseo would know that, since he seemed to know so much about what had happened to Jungkook.

Thinking about that point, it was likely that the person was therefore from Bangtan. Jungkook wasn't neglecting the possibility that it was one of the people from Jaeguk he'd already grown quite fond of; he'd learnt his lesson in trusting people blindly. It might even be Jinwoo, despite everything. He was going to do thorough background checks on every person he'd met tonight that he knew the name of, Jinwoo especially.

But it would make sense if Junseo was working with someone from Bangtan. Why would he work with someone from Jaeguk that was betraying Jaeguk, most likely for Bangtan? If it came to the idea of this person being disloyal or falsely being on one side, the feud between Bangtan and Jaeguk was the only thing Jungkook could think of as an instigator. If that person was from Bangtan, it would also make sense why Junseo knew about Jimin disappearing on him for Yoongi and Taehyung being the one that set him up. So it was likely someone in Bangtan quite high up the food chain, that would be privy to details like these. The executives.