Chapter Text
[m.yg]
Today was another one of those typical, quiet days for Yoongi, idling away in his balcony as he stared out at particularly nothing but the trees as his company, completely filling his vision. He had just woken up from his slumber, still hazy with sleep to even walk the stairs down for some coffee to wake him. He'd taken note of how the weather had been so warm in the past few days, the air being so unusually velvety on his skin every time he stepped out of his room and into the balcony, or the building to go out for a walk in the city — which was miles and miles away from where he stays. He vaguely hears the incessant honking of the vehicles in the nearby highway, and for a moment, he thinks whether or not he should really start his day and make it productive, or maybe he should just stay like this, completely unmoving within the confines of his balcony with an old, concrete ledge, rough edges and rusty railings.
He'd be honestly content with that. It's either a day by himself against his own thoughts, or a day by himself against the world, and by that — it means being out and exposed in the city with people. But he knew, one way or another, one of his brothers would tend to drag him out of his oasis. His brothers, who were never really too keen on the idea of letting Yoongi stay by himself, locked up in his own room. His brothers — his friends, more like, would always find a way to get him out of his own bubble.
They all knew that Yoongi wasn't the type of person that people could easily get along with, make friends with. He had been told a few times he was quite a difficult one to approach, and it was most likely due to the way he carries himself with an inexplicable aura that nobody can pinpoint what exactly it was. Was it a strong one? An intimidating one?
Not that he cared about it. In fact, he doesn't care about what people thinks of him at this point, at all. And it wasn't like a lot of people knew him anyway, since he only limited the knowledge of his existence to merely less than ten people. Three of those being the only people he trusted, his only friends that he calls family by now.
The three, or — trio who knew of his way in and out of crimes, of abducting people, never the innocent ones — which he had been told, was a vigilante move even though they, too, was and is always involve in whatever shit he purposely gets himself into. With that, they'd been called the smartest of all the Wanted criminals in the city, recognized by their usual and same familiar tactics, and for having the perfect camouflage to blend in to the crowds of people — rendering them difficult to catch for the police, who, up until now, still have no shit of a clue who exactly they were. But to the public eye, they'd been seen and named as a gang, albeit Yoongi wasn't in favor to call themselves that, likewise for the other three. They were nothing but mere criminals, a fact that they'd already accepted a long time ago.
So that's why Yoongi always finds himself resisting the urge to laugh whenever he was near the police station or when he's talking to an officer or just a mere security guard, finding it amusing as to how dense they were, having a criminal like him slip away from their palms without even grasping him in the first place. It was quite... satisfying, to him, really — With the whole world so against him, but the feeling of it sitting still in his own hands — it explains the reason why the world, in his own point of view, was out of control.
Because he was.
Not that Yoongi was well aware of the fact. He liked to think he was in control, but he just either never cared, or he cared about it a bit too much. Because no matter which point of view he takes, he never had the privilege to see the world without having to see its imperfections, and for those imperfections to bite him, first.
So nobody can blame him when he spent years building his own guard up, one that strikes first before the world could.
And within those years, he never really regretted anything other than letting himself fall into the trap of a toxic, complicated, relationship with someone he never really liked, genuinely. It was mostly out of desperation, one that he could never (even begrudgingly) admit.
But even though with that matter, the lack of trust and affection doesn't stop their relationship, albeit Yoongi had tried way too many times to break the ties off because at this point, what they insist themselves to have, wasn't even a relationship anymore. Every single day, Yoongi felt more like he was the host of some parasite he stuck himself onto.
The very person that was supposedly his lover, his girlfriend — namely Kim Seorin, had been stuck with him for about a year now, and gradually over time — they've been fading away naturally, and the fact wasn't even heartbreaking, but rather, a relief.
So when Yoongi feels his phone vibrating annoyingly in his pockets, it did not only snap him out of whatever reverie he'd fallen himself into, but also it reminded him of the fact that he wasn't quite out of the relationship just yet when he sees the caller I.D.
Seolrin had always been the one to call him first, and whenever it happens, Yoongi could never spare time for her, being far too tired and frustrated to answer but mostly, she calls at the wrong time. It only adds to the list of reasons why they lack trust; Seorin doesn't know about him being a criminal. And so now he was guessing that Seolrin (finally) grew tired of him that she haven't called Yoongi for a whole week until now. Hell, they haven't even seen each other for weeks.
Sighing forlornly, he mustered up the courage before pressing the answer button, and to his no surprise, she spoke within a few seconds.
"Y-Yoongi?"
"Yeah. Hey, Seorin," Yoongi all but drawls, feeling the need to yawn all of a sudden, "How are you?"
"Oh...I'm fine," She answered with the slightest hint of sarcasm in her tone ,"We haven't seen each other for over two and a half weeks and yet you have the nerve to ask me how I am?' "
"Ah, sorry, I've been—"
"Busy," She heaves a sigh, "I know. But what keeps you busy these past few weeks that you can't even spare a minute to call me?"
Well, firstly, Yoongi's never really been the one to call first. That she should know already by now. Everyone knew that. He rarely has his phone with him — another excuse to not answer calls or texts — other than the times he'd only felt too tired.
"Do you have time?" He questions listlessly.
"Forget it Yoongi, My parents said that I'm not allowed to go anywhere except school because of the incident that happened last night outside the mall just blocks away from my house."
"...Incident?" He swallows, clearing his throat as he anticipated for the answer.
"Haven't you heard? Some people have been kidnapped, and they weren't just any people — they were my school mates," She divulged, followed by a sound that seemed to be the door closing.
"Oh, yeah — that incident, last night," Yoongi nods to himself, running a hand through his hair, ruffling them as if they hadn't been quite a mess already, sticking out everywhere — he noted as he got a glimpse of it by the mirror just earlier. "You close with them?" He added, just for the sake of it.
"Yeah, kind of," She says a bit hesitantly, "But the thing is, I was also supposed to go with them yesterday too but, I had other plans with this... friend."
"A friend? Which one?" It wasn't like he knew any of her friends anyway. He'd seen them from a distance, but refused to meet them whenever Seorin had tried to ask him a few times.
"Yeah, and I like this friend."
"What do you mean?" Yoongi shifts on his feet, turning his back and leaning against the railings instead.
"It's just I — whatever" She sighed, again, "Anyway, if you really wanna see me, just drop by the campus, then text me, or call. Whatever"
Yoongi never really said something about wanting to see her but,
"Okay." He clips, scolding himself for not trying to do the least and make an effort on sounding just a bit interested, or more like — less rude, which exactly how his tone had sounded.
"Yeah, okay...Uh, bye."
She ended the call faster than her response could process into Yoongi's brain, not that it mattered. That was their relationship. No 'I love you's' and any other sappy shit that'd surely make him cringe til' his face hurt. Yoongi started questioning himself not long ago if what they have even deserve to be called a relationship, since it lacks everything that a relationship should have. They were nowhere near friends, nor lovers. They weren't acquaintances either, so if anything — they were strangers; ones that knows each other but never really knew each other. From the start, if he were to be honest, his feelings for her were never even that firm nor solid. His thoughts would sometimes lead him to the question; What's it supposed to feel like anyway?, for someone having absolutely no experience on that area they call 'Love'. It surely was just a waste of time — that's what he learned, and...experienced.
Yoongi stares at his own reflection on his phone, furrowing his brows. Does that even count as an experience?
He scoffs, "Surely not," he mumbles under his breath, answering his own thoughts. Sure he didn't have the knowledge when it came to those kind of things, but he wasn't stupid either.
He shoves his phone back to his pocket, briefly contemplating whether or not he should bring the device and after a while coming to a conclusion that he should choose the latter, leaving it on his bed before heading to the bathroom to shower, and then actually start the day.
He decided to make the day productive when he stepped out a few minutes later after a long while of another contemplation in his bedroom.
"Oh," He stares at his supposedly-not-ripped jeans, frowning at it as it had been his favorite, "Too bad." He clicks his tongue, continuing to dry his hair with a towel — and after a while growing a bit impatient to make an effort on actually drying it, so he leaves it be, tossing the towel on his bed before grabbing some random shirt and a leather jacket from his closet.
He then reaches down to pick up the metallic whip on the floor, not really remembering how it got there in the first place — and a handgun from his nightstand, shoving it in his pocket whilst the whip remains in his grasp. And as he trudged his way down the stair case, he faintly hears music playing from Taehyung's stereo, getting louder as Yoongi draws closer, knitting his brows a bit when he realizes how loud it had been, albeit not loud enough to reach his room from upstairs.
He didn't really mind the music, so he doesn't complain.
He was about to head to the kitchen for some breakfast, or lunch, more like — until he passed by the locked door made of metal (also supposedly soundproof that leads to the cell rooms) and halted, wondering if the sudden muffled screech that he heard was merely a product of his imagination or if it had been a part of the song.
He takes the few steps to his side, pressing his ear against the door and tried to make himself focus his attention on the other side of the door. For a few seconds, he heard nothing, and was about to leave until he heard it again; another scream.
God, he wasn't really keen on going in there so early.
He presses his ear against the door once again, staying still for approximately ten seconds before telling himself it probably was just a part of the song... Unless people were unfortunately dumb enough to piss him off and make him walk in there especially when he currently had the possession of a handgun, and a metallic whip.
When he steps away from the door, he hears it again. Closing his eyes shut, he takes in a breath, "Tae, would turn that shit down?!" He yells, hoping that the younger heard his screech muffled by music playing and the singer belting her notes out.
When he heard another scream, followed by what sounded like a bang, a loud thump on the floor from the other side, Yoongi wastes no time on opening the goddamn door.
He deliberately stomped his way in, striding fast, practically throwing the door close shut as he made his way in, briefly eyeing every cell room he passed by with sharp eyes and a scowl on his face, dropping the metallic whip he was holding against the floor and dragging it, allowing it to scrape annoyingly much to his displeasure, just to let his presence be known among the hostages.
The others were smart enough to actually stay quiet, most of them used to the sound of Yoongi's footsteps echoing through the hallway, glaring at his way, but Yoongi pays them no mind. And his expression morphs from the look of grimace, to being an impassive one as he spots that one particular hostage that had been the one screaming the whole time, frowning as he sees her trembling in fear when Yoongi halts beside her cell room, with his eyes staring straight ahead of him, but from his peripheral vision, he could see her slowly backing away from the bars which she had been trying to take down with a chair.
"You know," Yoongi starts, "if you wanna get out of there so badly, then at least try not to warn us about it if you don't wanna make it worse."
"Don't k-kill me" was all what the girl could say, quivering, as she gaped at him, her back leaning desperately against the wall — far from him. She was one of the abducted victims from outside the mall, the incident Seorin mentioned to him.
Yoongi tightened his grip on his whip and deliberately slammed it against the bars of her cell. The sound of metal echoed through the abandoned building, which, as a result — rendered the other hostages to cry out. Yoongi wanted to scoff.
One of the new victims in the cell room beside hers that had been fuming (Yoongi merely tuned him out all the while) yelled, "Don't hurt her! You fuck —"
"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you." Yoongi deadpanned, not even moving to look at the boy who'd gone quiet so sudden.
Sighing, he finally shuffles on his feet to look at the girl, frowning at the memory of her cornering a student in an alleyway along with her minions, or friends. Whatever. It angered him to see some other student cowering under her presence, clearly too intimidated to not follow whatever it was that she said.
It angered him, sure, but — c'mon, he wasn't that evil to give her the taste of her own medicine like, stomping on her shoe, crushing her foot with his weight and taking her wallet — nah , he'd seen her done much worse on other students, what he learned by watching her for a while after what happened in the alleyway. Although he preferred not going to a much detailed explanation in his head.
"You hungry?" He asked eventually, taking the girl by surprise as she probably didn't expect him to say that, much less, actually consider asking that question. But since Yoongi had reminded himself that he wasn't that evil, he actually tried to consider taking in her situation rather than making it worse. It was quite rare for him to do so especially since he wasn't in a particularly bad mood today —
"Asshole."
Okay, then. She practically tempted fate itself by choosing the hardest way to get out of this.
"Asshole?" Yoongi craned his neck towards her, narrowing his eyes before letting out an amused huff. "That's quite brave of you to say," he taunted.
"You're a piece of shit, y-you know that?" She provoked, taking a valiant step forward, but trembling just the slightest bit whilst her gaze on Yoongi's doesn't falter, "My father's a lawyer, a-and you're screwed once the police finds this place. You'll- you'll rot in jail, you fuck. All of you will!"
"How about you shut the fuck up or I'm gonna shoot everyone if you don't." Yoongi closes the distance between him and the bars of her cell, reaching for his handgun in hidden within his pocket and raised it up high for everyone to see. It only caused the vague cries to ring in his ear even more, practically growing louder each minute. But the girl remained silent and continued to glare at him. Yoongi thought, how this was such a waste of time, shoving his handgun back to his pocket, shaking his head with a slight, cocky grin.
"Fuck you," The girl cursed at him. Damn, was she really testing him? Yoongi tried to remain his composure, deciding the best to ignore her, and so he turns around, rolling his shoulders as he groused, "Shut the hell up."
"I said fuck you!" The girl retaliated at him on the top of her lungs, and that was when Yoongi totally, almost lost it.
Almost.
"God, would you stop digging your own grave?!" Yoongi seethed in white hot anger, her words fueling the fire in him. His face turns rigid, unaware of how red it was with suppressed rage, jaw clamped tight — as he swung around, mentally snapping. His sudden movement caused the girl to flinch, stumbling with her feet and almost tripping. Yoongi haven't even done anything, and they should be thankful.
Straight up insulting him wasn't very wise for the girl to do so.
If he tried harder, he could hear the door clicking from a distance, and the distinct sound of the music playing, almost as if it was making its way inside, and into his senses.
"Yoongi-hyung?" A familiar voice suddenly echoed as the footsteps draws closer towards his direction. Taking a deep breath, he gives the girl a firm look, before deciding it's really best to walk away before his anger manages to get the best of him. He needed to turn away, get away from their judgemental stares that he knew could do nothing to him but rile him up.
Namjoon, who had been the one to call him, was nowhere to be found in the hallways as Yoongi sees himself out, slamming the door hard on his way. "Fuckin' hope their stupid brains rattle in their stupid skulls," He grumbles, tossing the whip he had been holding somewhere on the floor and cringing at how it scraped against it.
It was an understatement to say how startled he was when he sees Namjoon, standing a few steps beside him with his arms crossed, raising a suspicious brow at him. He practically appeared out of nowhere —
"C-Can you not do that?" Yoongi badgered, resisting the urge to check his heart rate.
"Do what?"
Yoongi sighs. For someone so smart, he could be dumb sometimes.
"That."
"You did something, didn't you?" Namjoon suddenly coaxed, his eyes flickering from him to the whip thrown in a distance behind Yoongi, who raised his brows as a response, "I didn't do anything," he demurred, shaking his head as he did. It was the truth though.
Namjoon narrowed his eyes at him. "Is that right?" He implied in a tone that clearly suggested that he did not believe him at all.
"Seriously, I did nothing so quit staring at me as if I actually did something," Yoongi gives him a deadpan look, "Go see for yourself."
"So you really didn't do anything?"
"Joon —" Yoongi pauses, closing his eyes in disbelief for a moment, "It's more like... the other way around."
Namjoon furrows his brows, nodding just slowly, seemingly trying to consider thinking of his words in his head. "...Which one of them pissed you off?"
Yoongi reaches a hand up to scratch his nape habitually, pressing his lips into a thin line as he avoids the other's gaze, "The new one," He murmured. Clearly, with Namjoon's expression, it suggested that he barely caught his words.
"The what? The new one? Which one?"
Yoongi shrugs, already heading towards the kitchen before his stomach could grumble out loud, "You'll know when you see for yourself."
"How about their lunch?" Namjoon queries, resulting Yoongi to turn to him in confusion.
"What about it?"
"Should I give them? I mean, their lunch?"
Yoongi huffs out a breath, the corners of his lips tugging up to what seemed like a smile, "Uh...Yeah?" He says as-a-matter-of-factly, "Y'think I'd want them to starve? That would be plain cruel of us to do so..."
Scratch that. He knew he was cruel already. They all are. But at the same time, it wasn't like they were doing this...everything... for fun. They had reasons that people probably wouldn't see as an excuse unless they could dare reach such level of empathy and perception to understand them, to understand him.
And everyone sees him as what he appears to be, but only the fewest experience what he really was.
Calloused, not strange. Insane but not mad, and surely cruel though not evil. That's what he was, what they were, as criminals.
Misunderstood and never heard.