Chapter Text
81.
Taehyung was still zoned out at night, refusing to move from Jimin's office couch. "They're using a duplicate number for the car. The original belongs to a Hyundai owner, who is a non-problematic office employee," he said, scrolling through his phone. "I have deployed our men to discreetly tail the car." He put the phone aside. "Do you think they know?"
Jimin put one of the scotch glasses on the table in front of him before taking a seat, crossing his legs at the knee. He put the glass on top of his knee, fingers tapping on the glass. "Not sure." He sighed. "Yoongi and Hoseok got rid of the men tailing him. They were all mercenaries and didn't belong to any gang. These men were paid in cash. Someone hired them to tail Aera and Yoongi. If they were all reporting to someone—we know for sure they did—we don't know who it is because it wasn't through any phone calls or texts. Our men combed through everything. They must be meeting this person face to face or have some other means to pass information, but we will not know now that everyone we know is dead. Whoever hired them is very careful."
Taehyung hummed. "Word on the street is that Jungkook has fathered a daughter and she showed up at his doorstep unannounced. Since we have her name as Min Ari everywhere else, there's no way they would track her parentage back to you for now."
Jimin nodded but looked torn. Taehyung could understand. Shortly after his wife's death, when it became apparent Ari would never be safe here, Jimin wanted to change her identity and send her far from them. He still remembered how Jimin broke down after agreeing to remove his surname from hers.
There was nothing more he wanted than to claim his daughter as his own, but that also meant putting her life in danger. Especially with Ari's murderers still at large and no gang coming forward to take responsibility, Jimin had every reason to be cautious.
Their suspicion was on the Black Mambas but they had no evidence to prove it was them. Their decades-old enmity alone wasn't enough to go on war with them. Perhaps this could be a lead they all needed.
"We will find them," Taehyung assured. "One day you'll be free to claim Ari as yours."
Jimin blew out a breath and threw his head back to stare at the ceiling. "I'm afraid I didn't consider the danger he possessed when I entrusted Ari to him. Jungkook is fully capable of protecting her, but he has a long line of enemies who want his blood and I don't think they will be quiet if they hear this rumor. What if they went after Ari thinking she's his daughter?"
Taehyung scoffed. "You know exactly what would happen if they did." He grabbed the glass of scotch and sipped it. "Listen, Ari will always be in danger whether she is or not with Jungkook. But with Jungkook you can be at least sure that he will protect her. If it was one of our henchmen in his place, they wouldn't even have noticed that car following them today."
Jimin nodded in agreement. "You're right. Just have an eye on Jungkook too. If there's a need, he should have backup at his disposal."
Taehyung nodded. "The school is only fifteen minutes from here. Someone would be a fool to pull something in our territory and that too this close to our base. But let's not let our guards down."
Jimin agreed and the two silently continued to drink. After a couple of drinks, Taehyung finally decided to address the elephant in the room. "I didn't know you liked men."
"Does it bother you?" Jimin shot at him.
"What? No!" Taehyung scoffed. "It's just...I thought we shared everything." He fidgeted with the glass, unable to meet Jimin's gaze again. "We used to be close, Jimin. After Ara's death, you closed yourself off. Things were never the same again." He exhaled. "I miss you, man. It's just...this thing I guess feels like a nail to the coffin. Is it because of something I did or do? Did you think I wouldn't understand?"
Jimin shook his head. He was silent for a long time before he spoke, "Remember the times you used to drag me to those elite clubs, telling me to have fun?"
Taehyung nodded.
"I never slept with any of those you set me up with."
Taehyung blinked and then frowned. He remembered how he used to take Jimin to clubs in an attempt to cheer him up and encourage him to let loose. They owned several clubs and it was common for their gang members to hook up with someone.
They used to occasionally hook up with girls before Ara came into Jimin's life. So he didn't think of anything wrong when he dragged Jimin back there.
Jimin never said anything when he introduced him to a girl one night. Taehyung had winked at him, assuring him it was completely safe and they already ran a background check on her.
After that once in a while, Taehyung would take Jimin to the clubs. He knew Jimin didn't want to be in another relationship. He always turned down the dating and marriage proposals from their business circle.
"I couldn't bring myself to look at another woman who wasn't Ara. But I knew you wouldn't stop so I lied about being with them. I never touched them and send them away after some time. As for me liking men, I never discriminated between men or women. I just didn't get the chance to explore that side because I met Ara as soon as we entered college and committed myself to her."
"Oh."
Jimin smiled sadly. "A part of me died with Ara." He tapped his chest. "This only beats for her, you know. I couldn't move on."
"I'm sorry," Taehyung whispered. "If you had told me you weren't interested, I wouldn't have dragged you."
Jimin sighed. "It's okay."
"How did this happen then?" Taehyung was curious.
He knew Jungkook was professional and loyal to his bones. They never gave him any reason to doubt such an intimate affair before. Not just that. But Jungkook had that sort of reputation. So it was still hard to digest that someone like Jungkook would be able to be tamed like that.
Jimin shrugged. "I guess after years of going without company, I was just frustrated in general. I didn't want to be in a relationship and at the same time I didn't want to hook up with just anyone either. Then Jungkook just happened to be there and he offered. It was convenient and with him, it wasn't difficult to establish a boundary."
Taehyung could only nod.
"It's nothing serious." Jimin shrugged once again. "It'll run its course and eventually burn out."
This time, however, Taehyung co*cked his head to the side and glared at him incredulously.Burn out? Did he really think it'll burn out?"How long are you doing this again?"
Jimin frowned. "A couple of months...almost a year I guess."
A whole f*cking year???
Taehyung's eyes widened.You said it was just a hook up but today I saw how tender you were with Jungkook. You don't do sh*t like that to just anyone, Park Jimin. You wanted Jungkook to return home with Ari. Who are you trying to fool? Or maybe you haven't realized you have a soft spot for the bull dog.
"Alright. I think I gotta go." Taehyung stood abruptly. It was late at night anyway. "I need a shower and then I'm gonna sleep on this. Let me know if you get any news from Hoseok."
"Sure thing."
When Taehyung exited the office, there was only one thought left in his mind. No one would want to assassinate the Park family just for the sake of it. There was always a motive. Someone was operating from the shadows. For years, the trail had run cold, but these recent incidents only showed their enemies were growing impatient.
His mind reeled. He grabbed his phone and shot out a message. First, he needed to know the recent developments in the other gangs. Maybe there was a clue somewhere. He scratched his chin as he thought deep about everything, determined to find who was behind all this.
82.
