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“Are you ready for this, Seok-ah?” The crackling of his communication unit making Yoongi’s voice tiny, hiding the worry lacing his voice.
“I was born ready.”
Yoongi sighed, “How old are you again? This was a bad idea from the start. M16 have been looking for you, and you’re taking a mission in their home territory, not to mention this could be a trap; Hoseok you aren’t thinking clearly-”
Hoseok let out a light chuckle, “Hyung, you're worried for me? I’ll be fine. This is the easiest job I’ve gotten in a few years. I’ll leave England right afterwards. Tell Tae to buy me a ticket home tonight.”
“You’re a stubborn fucker aren’t you? Come back tonight, or I’ll personally give you up to the CIA. And I know they’ve got a pretty good bounty on your head.” Yoongi warned.
After ten years working as a spy, Jung Hoseok would say he’s pretty damn good at his job, being recruited at 17 by the CIA, and trained by the finest of schools; fighting for the rights for the people, or at least he used to. Nowadays, he was well known in the world of espionage as the silent killer. Anyone who had gotten in his way had been silenced; left with their tongue cut out, his way of making them repent for their sins. He had never been caught, always disappearing into thin air.
But to say that was all his own handy work wasn’t true, as Min Yoongi reminded him everyday, “You’d be dead if it wasn’t for me, you asshole.” The rest of his team were kinder to him. Kim Namjoon made gadgets such as his new communicator, which doubled as thick rimmed 3D glasses that had spectacular night vision. They were officially debuting at a small party for the ambassador of Finland who would meet his untimely end tonight.
His other team members were Kim Taehyung - another genius hacker, graduated from MIT at 14 - and Jeon Jeongguk - or the muscle pig he was nicknamed by Tae and Jimin-but they didn’t talk about Jimin anymore. Hoseok focused on the physical parts of the missions. Or as Yoongi puts it, murder. Blunt, but it’s the truth.
Tonight’s mission was easy, compared to his last mission of killing the Chinese Prime Minster. All he had to do was get the Ambassador alone, find out the information, or remove him from this world. Sure the M16 were looking for him, but if everything worked out, he wouldn’t have to see anyone other than the party guests and the Ambassador.
The party was held at the palace. Invitations were easy to get—Hoseok might’ve sweet talked his way into the daughter of the Prime Minister pants—and preparations were made by Seokjin—his tailor who had altered his favorite suit into a Armani knock off with some special features.
And so that leads to Hoseok sitting next to the Prime Minister's daughter a few tables away from the Ambassador's table, sipping on some fine wine and having his ears chattered off on how charming he is.
A flash of red hair weaves through the crowd and Hoseok flicks his eyes away immediately. It was none of his business if that was Jimin or not, that had been made clear enough five years ago, but that didn’t stop him for looking again one last time.
An unwise decision Hoseok thought, as at that moment Jimin locked eyes with Hoseok, he couldn’t escape the memory that he’d been trying to forget.
A giggle escaped Jimin as he traced circles on Hoseok’s ribcage, “Is this real Hoseok-ah?” he moved his hands to cup Hoseok’s face, “I feel like if I blink you’ll disappear.” Hoseok kissed Jimin softly. “You can blink, I promise I won’t disappear.
Hoseok had kept his promise.
Jimin had disappeared
And now five years later those same bright cherry red lips turned into a deadly smirk taunting Hoseok. “Catch me if you can.” he mouthed, turning to face Hoseok so he could see every word.
Park Jimin was a great escape artist. So in a matter of minutes where Hoseok was excusing himself from the throngs of women he was entertaining, he had left the ballroom. The palace hallways were empty. Eerily glowing with candlelight, and long winding as he checked the library and some other rooms. A palace guard directed him to the gardens, saying a young man had gone in there a little over thirty minutes ago.
As he entered the rose gardens he found Jimin in the middle hair matching the rose he was holding. “You caught me.” he turned around to meet Hoseok’s eyes. “Although you are a bit late, i thought i had given you a big enough hint with my hair.” he gestured at the rose, “You know red is your favorite colour. Red like a rose.”
It’s like he never left. So like Park Jimin to barge into his life without telling him. Completely destroying all his plans. And Hoseok was done; so done with all this bullshit. He didn’t care any more. All he wanted were answers.
“What do you want?” Carefully poised it was all Hoseok could say without accusations pouring out.
“Do you trust me?” Jimin asked; eerily echoing his words from years ago. Hoseok raked a hand through his carefully styled hair, he didn’t care that the stylists had spent hours styling it to perfection. “Did you bring me out here to ask me that? Because if you lead me out here for nothing—” Jimin interrupted him “Answer me.”
His face looked more pale than usual. Almost greenish in the moonlight, the joking manner he had before gone. But what did Hoseok know? He hadn’t seen or spoken to Park Jimin in more than five years.
“Please Seokie.”
His desperate voice cracking. And in that moment, he became Park Jimin, the man Hoseok knew and loved — who had woke him up every morning with kisses on his face, because he wanted to make up for the days he wasn’t there, who knew all of his secrets and danced energetically to the trashy pop music Taehyung and Jeongguk kept introducing him to. He was so different from the man who had left, so Hoseok—against his better judgment—said yes.
Something flickered in Jimin’s face; a tinge of discomfort that had disappeared as soon as it had come . And Hoseok wondered if had just imagined the look of pain on Jimin’s face. Jimin nodded once and turned on his heel and left.
“Do you trust me?” Jimin mumbled into a handful of popcorn. Hoseok frowned; pausing the movie they were watching. “Why do you ask that?” Jimin turned away from Hoseok’s gaze. “I dunno, I just—” Hoseok grabbed Jimin’s hands “I love you.” he said firmly. Ending that conversation. They never spoke of it again.
His comms device crackled again shaking him out of the daze Jimin had left him in.“Hey, Seok, did you get the job done?” Taehyung inquired.
“I got a bit caught up, it’s fine now though. I’ll be done soon.”
“Your flight’s at 4 am you need hurry up, Hyung.”
Hoseok sighed.“If all goes well I’ll be done before midnight, plenty of time to get to the airport.”
“You sound sad,” Taehyung hums over the sound of Yoongi and Jeongguk fighting over something or the other.
“I’m fine, I think I’m catching the flu or something.” Hoseok winced at how terrible his lie was Taehyung would surely see through it like he always did.
“Face it you’re getting old hyung.” Taehyung laughed. “Pretty soon Namjoon will be constructing you a wheelchair.”
“Yeah yeah make jokes and all I can still beat your ass at mario kart.” Hoseok could hear Taehyung”s face scrunch up in disgust.
“Ew only Seokjin Hyung plays that and he’s ancient, I have to go now Yoongi and Jeongguk are about to tear each other apart.” True to his words a loud crash sounded from his end and the bleep of him ending call echoed in the quiet garden.
“You’re late.”
Zico grinned from behind the Ambassador’s desk, twirling his knife like it was a shiny plaything. “Never thought the headmaster’s favourite would playing on the other side of the law.”
“We all change.” Hoseok replied. Zico had been an old acquaintance from training, always in the top ten even though he was slightly on the smaller side. Nowadays, he’s part of the M16’s Block B, and wherever Zico was, his henchmen weren’t far behind.
Yoongi had been right, this was a trap. Hoseok gritted his teeth. “Where’s the Ambassador?’
Zico smirked, “He’s boarding a plane to the maldives right about now, he left the party earlier when you were preoccupied with loverboy. Did you not learn anything from training? A good spy never takes his eyes off the target.”
What was Jimin doing with Block B?
Registering the shock on Hoseok’s face, he cackled, “You didn’t know? This is rich. Didn’t you ever wonder where loverboy went after he left you?”
Jimin's face was completely devoid of emotion. “I have to go. I can’t be around you anymore.” He continued packing his bags messily; shoving stuff into his small suitcase. Not even organizing it by colour like he usually would. Hoseok followed him to the bathroom, watching him gather his toiletries. “I can fix this, whatever it is, Jimin, I can try—” Jimin slammed the bathroom door shut. “No you can’t. You kill people for a living. How is that okay in any sense?” He stopped and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, but I have to go.” And with those words, he left for the first time since Jimin moved in. The house was dark and cold and so empty. And Hoseok was scared, because the only constant in his life was finally gone.
No, Jimin isn’t involved in this business-this dirty business that Jimin hated so much- he had left Hoseok because of his involvement; he wouldn’t do anything like what Zico was insinuating.
“Jimin joined M16 exactly 5 years ago after his father recruited him.” Zico was aware that he was breaking Hoseok’s world apart again, and he was enjoying it. Taking pride in the fact that he was the one bringing the almighty Jung Hoseok to his knees.
“He was deemed good enough to join Block B, and within the year, he served us well. Tonight is gonna be his biggest feat yet. He has been sent to kill you.”
“Do you trust me?” Jimin had asked less than an hour ago. And now Hoseok truly knew the answer.
He can never trust Park Jimin
“Where is he then?” Hoseok asked gripping the gun in his holster. Zico checked his phone lazily, “He should be here with the reinforcements right about now.” True to his words, the doors burst open and the rest of Block B, plus Jimin entered.
Jimin didn't look at Hoseok, he walked up to Zico and spoke to him quietly face set in a grimace. Zico nodded twice and turned to Hoseok “Looks like your death won’t be public, loverboy wants to have some last words with you.” He turned on his heel and the rest of his minions followed him out, the door closed behind them with resounding click.
“So this is what you do nowadays.” Hoseok spoke first after a few minutes of just staring at each other, being so close to Jimin unhinged him. Not that he would ever admit it.
“Killing people? Not necessarily I’m more the brains then the brawns in missions but since I knew you Zico thought it could my initiation of sorts.” he said this matter of factly like he wasn’t gonna put a bullet through Hoseok’s skull in less than five minutes.
“Now you have to kill me.”
Jimin shifted uncomfortable tracing the elaborate detailing on the gun he was holding and he looked s fragile as he loosened his tie and sighed “Don’t make this harder than it already is Seok-ah.” he put the gun on the desk and walked towards him.
Hoseok felt anger and fear clawing up his throat. "No Jimin you don’t get to call me Seok only my friends and family get to call me that and you—” his voice cracks and he can’t speak he’s so so tired. The room goes red and he wonders if this is gonna be the last place he’ll ever see.
He promised Yoongi he'd come back.
Hoseok wasn’t religious but he quickly went over one of the prayers he had learned back in the catholic school.
Our Father thy in heaven
“I’m sorry.” Jimin says.
Forgive us our debts
The gunshot shattered the window and Jimin dropped to his knees.
Deliver us from evil
“I’m not.”
Save us from ourselves