Chapter 12

Hoseok was sitting up in the bed, snuggling into the mountain of pillows Jimin had insisted upon tucking behind his back when he heard a soft knock at the door to the guest room.

"Minnie, it's your home.  You don't have to..."

The door opened and a cautious Yoongi peeked his head into the room.

"Can I come in?" he asked in a tentative voice.

"Oh.  Yeah. Sure..." Hoseok nodded and he was surprised when the Alpha entered carrying a tray containing a big bowl of soup and a steaming mug of vanilla chai latte.

"Wow...I don't remember calling for room service," teased the Beta.

"Apparently it comes as part of the package in this establishment when you book this particular suite," winked Yoongi as he rested the tray on the bedside table then reached for a chair.

Hoseok considered the contents of the tray warily.  It all smelled wonderful but after what he'd been through in the past twenty four hours, he wasn't quite sure if he trusted his stomach just yet.

"What happens if I don't want anything?"

"Then I suppose I'll take back this chai latte with cinnamon, allspice and maple syrup that was made especially for you."

Yoongi plucked the mug from the tray and pretended to start back towards the door.

Hoseok leaned forward and narrowed his eyes.

"You wouldn't dare," he challenged.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" retorted Yoongi.  "Who knows?  Maybe I'll just drink it myself."

The bodyguard smirked as he slowly raised the mug towards his lips.

"Fine!  You win!"  Hoseok cried, causing Yoongi to relinquish his prize with a triumphant chuckle.  The Beta held the mug under his nose and inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma before taking a long sip.

"Ahhh! That is excellent!"

"I'm glad you think so," said Yoongi before he unceremoniously removed the drink from Hoseok's hands and placed it just out of his reach on the side table.

"Hey!  Give that back, you Barbaric Barista!" whined Hoseok, making grabby hands towards the beverage.

Yoongi shook his head as he sat in the chair he'd moved next to the bed, effectively blocking the Beta's efforts to regain the mug.

"Nope.  You only get the rest after you've had a some of this soup Jimin-ah made for you."

Hoseok folded his arms and pouted at the Alpha, who snorted as he set the tray on the Beta's lap.

"And you can put that lip away, you Crabby Convalescent.  I've been around Kim TaeHyung since he was five years old so I've got a built up immunity to all manner of pouts and tantrums, thank you very much."

The bodyguard dipped the spoon in soup, blew slightly on it to cool the contents then held it up to Hoseok's mouth.

"Now, eat," he stated in a firm, clear voice.

Hoseok glared at the Alpha before reluctantly doing as he was told.

"That's right.  There you go," hummed Yoongi in a tone normally reserved for congratulating preschoolers who'd successfully completed a requested task.

"I can feed myself," grumbled Hoseok.

"Very well."  Yoongi placed spoon on the tray next to the bowl and gave the Beta an expectant look.

"Once at least half of that soup is gone, then you can have your precious drink back."

Hobi released an indignant harrumph but nevertheless he picked up the spoon and began eating on his own.

After a few minutes of watching the other man eat in silence Yoongi asked in a soft voice,  "Hob-ah? Do...do you need anything?  Because you've been awfully quiet and well...to tell you the truth it's starting to scare me."

"I'm fine, hyung."  Hoseok insisted but Yoongi noticed that the Beta didn't look him in the eye when he spoke.

"You don't seem fine, Hob-ah, and...well...it's okay not to be okay after what happened to you."  He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  "So, please...talk to me."

Hoseok sighed as he slowly laid the spoon down on the tray.

"It's nothing, hyung.  I mean...it...it's just...I..."  The Beta began picking at a loose thread on the duvet cover.  "I feel stupid for ending up in a situation that forced you guys to have to put yourselves in danger to get me out of.... I..."

"Stop right there."  Yoongi leaned forward with a stern expression on his face.  "You didn't do anything wrong.  As a matter of fact you did a lot of things right."

" Like what?" The Beta scoffed.  "Managed to get snatched off my own street by a group of two bit gangsters, thereby putting other people at risk?"

Yoongi rubbed his hands over his face in frustration.

"Don't think of it like that. Yes, they got the jump on you but you still managed to maintain your composure, figured out how to signal a way to find you and held on until help arrived. I've known cadets that have gone thru police academy training who couldn't have handled the pressure of that situation as well as you did."

The bodyguard instinctively took Hoseok's hand in his as he spoke.  "You did a really good job, Hob-ah."

The Beta shook his head and continued to look miserable.  "But I should've..."

"Nuh-uh.  No way.  Nope."  Yoongi deliberately gave the 'p' an exaggerated pop.  "Don't start down that road, Hob-ah.  Should haves, would haves, could haves...they're utterly ******* pointless and will only bring you heartache, okay?  Trust me.  I know."

He squeezed the Beta's fingers before letting go to  lean back in his chair.

"Listen..I understand that you don't like depending on others but the truth is we all need help sometimes ...regardless of our designation. "

"Even you?" Hoseok asked quietly.

The Alpha dipped his head and gave a rueful snort.  "Especially me."

Yoongi took a deep breath then motioned back towards soup. "Now, come on. Two more spoonfuls before this gets cold?"

Hoseok grimaced before picking up the spoon.  "Fine, if you insist, you Waist High Waiter Wannabe."

"Ah...Finally..." Yoongi said with a grin.  "There's the Jung Hoseok that I know.  For a minute there I was afraid we'd lost him."

When the Beta had finished the requisite amount of soup, Yoongi kept his promise and returned the beloved beverage.  Once Hoseok drained the mug the Alpha loaded everything back onto the tray and started out of the room.

"Get some rest, Hob-ah.  Shout if you need anything."

He'd almost reached the door when Hoseok called out in a soft voice.

"Hyung?"

Yoongi turned back towards the bed.  "Yeah?"

Hoseok briefly gnawed at his bottom lip before simply saying, "Thank you."

"For what?"

The Beta fidgeted with the hem of the bedspread. "For being there when I needed you."

"Anytime, Hob-ah.  Anytime." Yoongi hesitated, shifting his weight as if he wasn't sure which direction he ought to proceed.  "Do...do you...l mean... would you want me to stay in here 'til you fall asleep?"

If Hoseok were being honest there was nothing in the world that he wanted more in that moment but he forced himself to say otherwise.  He wasn't quite ready to admit that he needed that kind of help just yet.

"No, that's okay..."

"Are you sure?  It's no problem."

"Thanks, hyung.  I appreciate it but...it...it's kind of like how things were right after Dantae...you  know..."

Yoongi twitched at the mention of Hoseok's ex but held his tongue and let the Beta continue.

"Jimin-ah wanted to stay with me the first night after Dantae left but I knew if I depended on having someone with me on that night it would only make it harder to be alone all the nights that were going to follow."

In an effort to lighten the mood, Hoseok made a funny face and rolled his eyes in an overly dramatic fashion.

"So, you know...If you were to stay and help me sleep now then I might get dependent on you and then you'd be forced to help me sleep every night for the rest of eternity."

I'd be okay with that was the first thought that sprang to the Alpha's mind but years of keeping his feelings sealed tightly under wraps meant those words remained locked firmly inside.

Instead Yoongi simply nodded, "Okay then.  Rest well, Hob-ah.  Like I said, we're just down the hall if you need anything."

He exited the room and closed the door quietly behind him, leaving Hoseok staring at the ceiling until he eventually fell into a restless sleep.

xxx

Yoongi deposited the tray in Jimin's kitchen then walked into the living area to find a visibly irate TaeHyung glaring at him.

"We need to talk,"  the Omega snapped.

"Okay..."shrugged Yoongi. "Go ahead. Talk."

"In the hallway," insisted TaeHyung. "Now."

"What's wrong with right here?"

"Oh, I can talk here," growled Tae.  "But I'm pretty sure you don't want to have this conversation with everyone else present because I'm going to ask some VERY personal questions and I'm going to insist upon VERY honest answers."

Yoongi had no idea what had gotten into the young man but from the look on his face,  the bodyguard decided it would likely be in his own best interest to learn the details in private so he stepped aside and motioned for the Omega to lead the way into the hall.

Once the door had closed behind them, Namjoon, Jimin and Jin immediately spun around to confront Jungkook.

"Okay, JK.  Spill," said Jimin.  "What's that all about?"

An obviously befuddled Jungkook shrugged helplessly.

"I really don't know.  He seemed fine until we were almost back here."

"What happened then?" asked Namjoon.

The younger Alpha dropped down on the sofa and began wringing his hands.

"I...I'm not sure?  I mean, things started great.  After we left here, TaeHyung had me stop at Yoongi-hyung's place first.  He had a spare key so we went in and he packed a bag for hyung then we went to Hobi-hyung's apartment and did the same thing."

He looked at Jimin and smiled. "Remind me to tell hyung how much TaeHyung admired his closet, especially his leather jacket."

"Your friend is lucky Tae didn't start trying things on..." laughed Jin.

" I think he considered it," blushed Jungkook. "But he didn't want to seem rude."

" Well, then there's a first time for everything," snorted the Beta.  "So what put him in such a foul mood?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure.  We stopped at my place last then at one point during the trip back here I  mentioned how much nicer it was to drive Yoongi-hyung's car than mine..."

A startled Jin nearly fell off his chair.

"Excuse me?  You drove Yoongi-ah's car?"

A bewildered Jungkook nodded.

"Was this before or after your Beta buddy carjacked it for that high speed pursuit?" asked Jin.

"After," replied Jungkook.  "It was today, actually."

Jin could not have looked any more shocked if Jungkook had informed him that aliens had just landed on the roof.

"Today?"

"Yeah...Once he'd carried Hobi-hyung out of the building..."

Now it was Jimin's turn to almost fall out of his seat.

"Wait!  Hold up!  Hobi-hyung let Yoongi-hyung carry him?"

Jungkook was nodding so much at this point he was beginning to feel like one of the bobble head dolls they sometimes handed out at the ballpark.

"Yeah.  Hobi-hyung's legs were still numb from being tied up, plus he was pretty weak due to the exhaustion and dehydration.  He tried to walk but almost fell so Yoongi-hyung picked him up and carried him to the car.  That's when he gave me the keys and told  me to drive."

Jin leaned forward intently.  "Why didn't Yoongi-ah drive?"

"Because he was in the back seat with Hoseok-hyung."

"Why did he do that?" asked Jin.

"I don't know.  To comfort him?  He sat back there and used a bunch of those heavy duty scent wipes to try and remove the smell of the sons of bitches that kidnapped Hobi-hyung off him."

Jimin's eyes sparkled as a light bulb went off in his brain.

"But that wasn't all he did."

"What do you mean, babe?" asked Namjoon

"I mean that when I was helping hyung get ready for his shower, I couldn't help but notice the very distinct odor of black coffee and campfires coming off him."

Jin's jaw dropped. "Are you telling me that Yoongi-ah scented him?"

"It sure smelled like it," said Jimin.

"Wait, wait.  Stop, stop."  Jin waved his hands in front of him.  "This is too much to take in.  I'm still  not over the car thing yet."

"What car thing?" implored Jungkook.  "What am I missing here?  Why is TaeHyung so upset?"

Jin considered his words before answering the young Alpha.

"You  see...It's like this...Yoongi-ah is a bit....particular when it comes to his cars.  He never lets anyone - and I mean anyone - but  him drive them.  Not even Tae and like he said, they've known each other since they were kids in Daegu."

"He's right," Namjoon chimed in.  "I've known hyung since my freshman year of college and I've never seen anyone other than him drive one of his vehicles."

The older Alpha clasped Jungkook firmly on the shoulder. "You, my young friend  have been granted a very rare honor indeed."

The younger man automatically sat a bit taller in his seat.

"Really?"

"Absolutely," agreed Jin. "Wow...No wonder Tae's so pissed.  He's begged for years to drive one of Yoongi-ah's cars."

The Beta shook his head and chuckled softly.  "He's lucky the kid found out today.  Tae'll probably go easy on him considering what just happened.  He won't say so but I think seeing Yoongi-ah using himself as a human shield scared him more than he wants to admit."

Jimin's jaw dropped at these words.

"What?!  What do you mean 'human shield'?"

Jin and Jungkook then took a few minutes to bring Jimin and Namjoon up to speed on the details of Hoseok's rescue.

Once they'd completed their tale, Jin waggled his eyebrows and glanced towards the doorway.

"So am I the only thinking that our very own Min Yoongi is acting a bit...shall we say...besotted with your little friend?  Why I haven't seen him like this since..."

Before he could finish, the door to the apartment opened and a smug Tae and a subdued Yoongi walked back into the room, having obviously reached some sort of an understanding.

"I think it's time for us to talk," stated the bodyguard.  "Make sure we're all on the same page."

The group nodded and Jimin asked.  "Should I go get Hobi-hyung?"

Yoongi closed his eyes and tilted his head as if listening for something in the distance.  A second later he shook his head.

"No.  He's asleep so let him rest.  We can fill him in later."

The Alpha pulled up a chair next to Jin as Tae plopped down on the loveseat next to Jungkook.

"Right...." started Yoongi.  "From what we can determine at this point, the most likely scenario is that a person or persons currently unknown to us has engaged the services of multiple crime organizations - of varying levels of intelligence and quality - to kidnap Jimin-ah and it appears they intend to stop at nothing in their efforts to force Namjoon-ah to sell off the Geumga Tower property belonging to his family."

"Which I'm going to do," stated Namjoon.

A livid Jimin leapt to his feet, spluttering furiously. "W-what?!! The hell you are!"

"Jimin-ah, that could've been  you!"

"But it wasn't!  And even if it was - even if I died..."

"Don't say that!" plead Namjoon.

"Even if I died..." repeated Jimin forcefully.  "The very last thing that I would ever want you to do would be to give into these bastards.  So help me, Joonie, if you did that then I would haunt you forever and not in a sweet Patrick Swazye kind of way!  I'm talking the kind of paranormal activity that would make hard core horror movie fans cover their eyes and hide behind the sofa in terror, do you understand me?!"

The entire room sat wide-eyed and silent in the aftermath of the Omega's outburst.

Jimin took a few deep breaths to calm himself before sitting down next to his mate, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers.

"Love, if you give these people what they want it will only show them that it's okay to treat people like pawns in their sick games.  On top of that,  if you sell the tower it means that a lot of good, innocent people would suffer on my account and that makes me angry, hyung. That makes me very, very angry.”

Namjoon blinked back tears as he tipped his head back in frustration.

“Damn it!" he growled. "All I ever wanted to do was to honor my family's promises and keep the people that I love safe!  Why the **** did things have to get so out of control?!”

Yoongi gave his friends a moment to collect themselves then said quietly, "Well... if you ask me the solution to your predicament is pretty simple."

"Really, hyung?"  challenged Namjoon.  "And what solution might that be?"

"We eliminate the problem," stated Yoongi.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Jimin.

Yoongi looked Jimin directly in the eye.  "I mean that the person or people behind all this won’t be able to hurt anyone if they're dead.”

The room got very quiet as the full impact of Yoongi's words sunk in.  Sober glances were traded amongst the group until finally Jin broke the silence.

 “Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Yoongi-ah?”

“Probably," nodded Yoongi.  "You got a problem with that?”

Jin shook his head slowly as he looked across to TaeHyung.  “I don't have a problem with that.  Do you have a problem with that?”

Tae stretched his legs out in front of  him, nudging Jungkook's knee with his own in the process.  "I got no problem with that.  What about you, Handsome?  You got a problem with that?"

The young Alpha cracked his knuckles as he turned to Namjoon.  "I don't have a problem with anything that keeps my friends safe.  What about you, hyung?"

Kim Namjoon swallowed hard and studied the other faces in the room before wrapping his arm around Jimin.

"I  don't have a problem with that."  He pulled his mate close to his side.  "What about you, love?"

Park Jimin stared down the hall towards the room where Hoseok was sleeping before declaring in a firm voice,  “I have no problem with that whatsoever.”

Namjoon took a deep breath as he looked back at Yoongi.  “I guess there’s your answer then, hyung.”

 “Good," said Yoongi as he leaned forward with a fire in his eyes.  "Now that we’re all in agreement, let's figure out how to find these fuckers and bury them, shall we?"

Notes:

Hello, lovelies! What are your thoughts so far? As always, your feedback means the world to me!

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