Work Text:
Week One
When Taehyung woke up, it was with a terrible headache, blurry eyes, and cotton mouth, a terrible taste in the back of his throat. He rolled onto his back, shielding his eyes from the sunlight peeking through his curtains, and let out a long groan.
“Jiminie – “His hand slid to the other side of his bed, coming up empty, the spot his hand laid cold. That’s when reality came crashing down on his still recovering brain. He swallowed the sob climbing up his throat, eyes stinging as tears threatened to fall – he would not cry, because in the back of his mind he knew the love of his life was safe. There was no way that he wasn’t.
With a heavy sigh, Taehyung dragged himself out of bed and to the adjoining bathroom, turning the shower on as hot as it would go so that he could burn himself clean. It’d been a week since he’d arrived home to blood all over his dining room floor, his boyfriend missing. Once the police had gathered all they needed for their investigation, Taehyung had decided to take a week off work, opting to hole himself up in their home, away from the world. And then he drowned himself in alcohol and junk food. Every time he heard a knock on the door, if the doorbell rang, or when he got a notification from his security cameras, the hope that it was Jimin coming home made him rush to answer it, only to be let down every single time.
The water felt like heaven, erasing everything he drank and ate during the past week from his body, and when he was finished, his head hurt just a tiny bit less. He got out once the water began to get cold, drying off and popping a few pain pills from his medicine cabinet to take care of the remaining headache that still lingered. He finished his routine, brushing his teeth and adding a bit of makeup to cover the dark circles, before getting dressed. It was finally time to get back to work – there was only so much work he could miss before things began piling up, and even with the state he was still in he felt bad for leaving it all to his employees and assistants to handle.
When he got to work, everything was a bit of a mess. His voicemail box was past full and the paperwork on his desk was enormous. Everyone was quiet when he walked by, but he could see the worry and pity shining in their eyes – they all though Jimin was dead, but Taehyung was too tired to try and prove everyone wrong. Plus, it’s not like he had anything full proof to prove him right, nothing but a feeling deep in his gut that told him his love was still alive. And though it wasn’t much, was barely anything at all, Taehyung knew that it was the only thing keeping him sane. He’d be damned if he were to let that go.
Week Four
Taehyung watched Jimin laugh, the kind that shook his entire body, made him fling his head back. Taehyung swiped his tongue over dry lips, letting out a small chuckle and Jimin focused his attention back on him, eyes shining. “You’re so silly hyungie.” Taehyung rolled his eyes at his words.
“Jimin, just because I am technically, your boss-“ “Oh hush Hyung, I may be a few months older than you, but I still feel better calling you Hyung, okay? Plus, the way you blush when I do is just too adorable.” Cure the blush. Jimin giggled and reached out for Taehyung’s hand, tangling it with his own, smaller one. His expression was suddenly more serious than before.
“Tae, do you think we’ll get in trouble? Our relationship, I mean. I know it’s still… new, and all, but you are my boss.” Taehyung smiled, squeezing Jimin’s hand in his.
“Darling, don’t worry. If anyone says anything, I’ll just fire them. Simple as that.” Jimin let out another giggle, rolling his eyes at Taehyung’s stuck up nose.
“Baby, you can’t just fire everyone! Just make sure that you don’t give me any special treatment just because we’re in a relationship okay?” Taehyung bit his lip, shaking his head as he sighed.
“Jimin, I know how hard you have worked to get where you are, I have no doubt that you will become the best on your own, through even more hard work. I would never try and get in the way of that, whether it’s to help or not. I have more respect for you than that, you know this.” Jimin couldn’t contain the tears that fell, knowing that Taehyung meant every word he was saying. Taehyung knew who Jimin’s parents were, knew that whenever Jimin tried to things his own way, without them, he was faced with nothing but harsh opinions, everyone thinking he was only getting successful because of nepotism. It was a nasty world that Jimin couldn’t seem to escape.
Taehyung smiled sadly, wiping the tears away with gently thumbs, soft kisses. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for Jimin, even if it meant that they would have to hide their relationship – for now at least.
Taehyung sighed deeply, finger rubbing at his temples as he listened to the private investigator give him nothing but empty words, having found nothing even after nearly four weeks of non-stop searching, going off every lead they had. It was like Jimin fell off the face of the earth. And he definitely didn’t appreciate the way that the guy kept referring to him as just ‘a body’.
“He’s not dead, stop acting like he is,” He stated harshly, shocking the man in the black suit, his words falling silent.
“My apologies, Mr. Kim. The three girls that we arrested haven’t been talking much, but they did tell us about how they got in. Is there anyone else, aside from you and Mr. Park that have a key to the building, sir?” Taehyung was silent. The only other two people that did were his brother and the man’s husband, one of Taehyung’s closest friends. He scoffed and shook his head, waving the accusation off.
“No, sir, no one that I don’t trust with my entire being. My brother and his husband have one, but they love Jimin just as much as I do, I know they wouldn’t do anything to hurt either of us.” The man nodded, swiping a finger across his lip, as he began to think about something. “You can still take them in for questioning though, if you haven’t already, I’m sure they wouldn’t be against helping. They might not know anything, but they know that anything could help, even if it is just an off-hand, small detail.”
With a nod and a few more words exchanged, the investigator left, bidding him good luck with everything. Taehyung did the same, telling the man to call him is he found anything, before leaning back in his chair with a deep sigh. He really needed a drink. Pulling his phone from his pocket, Taehyung dialed Namjoon’s number, bringing the device to his ears.
“Hey, Tae Tae! What are you up to, how are you holding up?” Taehyung laughed at his brothers tone, obviously cheery just to try and make Taehyung feel even just a little better. “I was just thinking about you, was wondering if you maybe wanna go out with me and Kook, dinner and drinks on me?”
“Wow, that’s actually crazy, I was calling to ask you the exact same thing. Maybe more drinks than dinner, but I could fit in both, I guess.” Namjoon’s laugh on the other end of the line was refreshing to hear, having either been holed up at home by himself, going through any clue, any lead he could to find out where Jimin was and what happened, or throwing himself in his work, shutting and locking the door to his office as to not be disturbed while he got everything in check, working remotely while his models went off on scheduled shoots, keeping Taehyung updated on the results and when they were finished through text messages and phone calls. He didn’t have to be out and about to keep his company running, but he wasn’t going to lie and say he didn’t miss running everything on site, physically working with his models to make sure that everything came out in tip-top shape.
“Well, be ready in about an hour okay? We’ll some pick you up.” When he got the okay from Taehyung and they hung up, Taehyung just sat in his seat for a little while longer, running his hands over his face. The words from the investigator sticking with him – apparently someone had given these girls a key to his home, and that’s how they were able to get to Jimin. The only question was, what did they do with him after?
“Hyungiiiieeee, I’m so lonely without Jiminie, what do I do? I need to know where he is, what did they do with him?”
Taehyung was drunk, and when he was drunk, he tended to talk a little bit too much. Namjoon and Jeongguk shared a knowing look, their smiles sad as they listened to Taehyung complain about not having Jimin by his side, about how cold their house was without the love of his life in it, about how he was going to drag whoever did this to the ground, without mercy. He also mentioned what the investigator told him, earlier that day. That caught their full attention.
“Wait, Tae, someone other than us has a key to your home?” Namjoon didn’t know if Taehyung could answer him coherently, with the way he was slurring his words, downing another apple martini that he grabbed off of a server’s tray. Taehyung giggled and shook his head, waving his hand in front of his face, almost smacking himself in the process.
“Of course, not Joonie, you know you t-two are the only ones. I mean before that Nayun did, but I made her g-give it back when we split.” Namjoon hummed and turned to Jeongguk when the younger grabbed at his sleeve, turning his attention to his husband.
“Babe, maybe we should take him home, hm?” Always the voice of reason, Namjoon nodded with a sigh, stealing the new drink Taehyung somehow procured before his brother could swallow the contents. Jeongguk got up, grabbing Taehyung’s arm gently, telling him that it was time to go home. Those words seemed to trigger the waterworks, Taehyung breaking down in tears, wailing about how he didn’t want to go back to that empty, cold house, how he didn’t want to be lonely anymore.
“Okay, okay, you can come home with us, yeah? How does that sound Tae?” Taehyung looked up at the younger male, eyes glistening with unshed tears, bottom lip pouted out, trembling.
“I – I would like that a lot.”
Week Nine
Taehyung always thought that Jimin always sounded beautiful, whether he was yelling, singing, laughing. But he sounded especially beautiful when he was moaning beneath Taehyung, begging him to touch him, for more more more. And Taehyung was never one to say no to his love. Hands slid over smooth skin, hot, the air around them constricting and warm, but in the best ways possible. Jimin gasped beneath him, back arching, hips squirming, and his small hand came to rest on one of Taehyung’s, “Please, Tae, I – I need more, please.” His heart constricted at the words, the pleading look in his lover’s eyes, mixed with love as he gazed down at Taehyung from where he lied on the bed beneath him.
Taehyung hummed, and slowly made his way to where he knew Jimin wanted him, leaving kisses all over Jimin’s body on his way down. Jimin hissed, hips bucking at the feeling of Taehyung’s breath ghosting across his crotch.
“Anything for you, darling.”
“What do you mean Nayun made a duplicate?!” Taehyung was livid. Hoseok and Yoongi gave each other a worried look before turning their attention back to their friend. The man was freaking out, pulling at his hair, teeth clenched in anger. He set his gaze on the two. “When did you two figure this out?”
Yoongi held up his hands, “Look, that investigator dude – what was his name? Seokjin, or something? Well, he took us in to ask some questions, just to see if maybe we knew some stuff going on around your life that you didn’t notice or pay attention to, since we work with you, and Hoseok remembered that a few months ago some of the interns were gossiping. Apparently one of them was friends with Nayun, and they were talking about how lately, Nayun had been talking about you more than usual. They didn’t think anything of it, but I guess Nayun made the comment “He thinks he can just drop me like that over some whore of a model” and then bragged about how she made a copy before she gave it back. Apparently, the plan was just for them to trash your house, but when she got there, she saw that you two were living together and I guess she decided that wasn’t enough. So, she hired those girls.” Hoseok sighs and runs a hand over his face.
“Don’t worry Taehyung, I didn’t think anything of it when I heard them gossiping, but after I remembered what they had said about the spare, I went to their office and asked some more questions, and honestly, they thought she went too far, even bragging about it afterwards, so they told me everything. They were too scared to go to the police though, because they knew there would be consequences for them, too.” Taehyung flung his hand out, knocking over a pen holder on his desk with so much force that it broke apart as soon as it hits the wall. “I told the Seokjin everything, and he said he was going to bring Nayun in for questioning – there’s no way she’s getting away with this, I promise.”
“Don’t you get it, hyung? Even though she may admit to what she’s done, to planning an attack on Jimin in our own home, what’s to say she had anything to do with kidnapping him? What if someone else decided to set something up after hearing about her plans, knowing he would be vulnerable and hurt? What if we never find him?” Yoongi looked at his friend with so much sorrow, biting his lip, not knowing what to say. The chance was there, that Nayun had set up the attack and the kidnap as well, but it’s been well over a month and they still haven’t found any evidence to support the idea that Jimin was still even alive – not that Yoongi would say that to Taehyung. It seemed like the hope of Jimin being alive was the only thing keeping him alive.
“Don’t worry, Tae. We’ll find him… somehow.”
Week Eleven
They kept Jimin in a small, cramped room with no lights and no windows. There wasn’t a day that went by that Jimin wasn’t pumped full of drugs, to keep him docile and barely awake, giving him nutrients through a bag and tube to keep him alive. His body hurt all over, but the wound on his head was beginning to heal, from the initial attack at his home.
It had taken him by surprise. When the door was being unlocked, Jimin had thought Taehyung had gotten off early. He’d been in the kitchen, preparing dinner, when he heard the locks turn, and had begun walking toward the foyer to greet his boyfriend when the first hit came. It disoriented Jimin greatly and he had smacked his head against the wooden floor when he hit the ground, making his vision blurry and he was unable to fight back. There were three of them, with black caps and black masks, but he could tell, even in the state that he had been in, that they were women. Smaller, slimmer, long eyelashes and long hair falling out of their caps.
Everything went dark when they began beating on him, but it seemed like they had been having too much fun with the task to stop even after he’d passed out. When he came to several days later, he assumed, he was locked up in the tiny room he now resided in, and three times a day, someone would come in and check up on him, make sure the bag that fed him was full. Even though he was constantly fed drugs, as of late the visits became less and less, and as he was given a break from the constant drugging, enough of one to regain his senses. There seemed to always be two guards posted outside of the room he was kept in, but soon enough, from what he saw whenever someone came in to make sure he was fed – solid foods now, there was now only one.
He could hear them talking too, the walls too thin to keep the conversation out, and he learned that whoever was keeping him here was gone, arrested apparently, after being found out to be the one behind the attack, the one on Jimin he assumed. Jimin didn’t know how much time had passed after he was dumped here, but two days after the guards had that conversation, he could hear them begin to have their doubts. They had no way to get the drugs they’d been using anymore, the person who had been arrested was the one who had always gotten them before, and with he locked up, what was the real purpose of having the model locked up anymore?
With his full consciousness back, whenever one of the guards came in to check on him, he had enough sense to try and converse with the guy. He seemed young, a foreigner that barely spoke Korean, but luckily with how much Jimin traveled to the states for work, he’d studied his fair share of English. First it was just Jimin that did the talking, asking the guard simple questions like “How long have I been here?” and “Will you guys ever let me go?” He got simple answers at first, but when Jimin finally decided to start focusing on the guard more, it seemed to open up a new door.
Turns out the guy’s name was Alex and he’d come here from the states to study but ended up galling in with the wrong crowd almost as soon as he’d arrived. Apparently a few people from the gang he ran with were paid good money to keep an eye on Jimin, keep him sedated and locked up, but with the person who’d hired them now in jail, the money was no longer coming and the kid was beginning to have his doubts. The guilt he felt wasn’t helping either, apparently.
“I just… this is so wrong you know? I understand being jealous, whether it’s because of your job or whatever, but to beat the fuck out of you and lock you up to make it look like you’re dead? That’s just all kinds of wrong, and I’m in a fucking gang, you know?” Alex had a tendency to talk with his hands, and it was a bit amusing. Jimin looked down at the peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his hands, an upgrade from what he was usually given, before settling his eyes on the boy before him. He was attractive, sure, but all Jimin could think about was Taehyung.
How was he doing? How was he handling everything going on, did he know that Jimin was still alive? Did he think he was dead? Did he give up on looking for him? The last question hurt the most, but Jimin knew Taehyung, almost more than the man knew himself, and he knew that Taehyung would never give up on looking for Jimin. Not until he found him, be it alive or dead. Jimin was just hoping that Taehyung wouldn’t blame or hut himself, not before Jimin somehow found his way back to his love.
Jimin batted his eyelashes at Alex, knowing that, even though he was a little worse for wear at the moment, there was a reason he was one of Korea’s top models. “So why don’t you let me go? If there’s no reason to keep me here anymore? I promise I won’t rat you out, you’ve been nicer to me than anyone else who’s come to check on me. Especially not if you let me go.”
Jimin watched Alex’s cheeks flush, eyes darting around the room as he laughed nervously. Jimin gave the boy a soft smile.
“I mean. I mean you’re right, I could. But will you really not tell anyone? That’s a bit of a risk to believe you, after everything that has happened.” Jimin held out his pinky to the boy, scooting closer. Alex, with his nervousness written all over his face, which just got even more red, looked at the small fingered offered to him. He seemed hesitant at first, but one look into Jimin’s doe eyes and Jimin knew that he’d won. “It’ll take some time but… but okay.” Jimin smiled wider this time.
Week Thirteen
Taehyung was devastated. Even though they were able to arrest Nayun, there were still no leads on where Jimin was, his ex playing innocent on the fact of Jimin’s kidnapping, stating she knew nothing of the sort. Apparently, she only wanted to hurt Taehyung’s lover, rough him up and make him look worse for wear, thinking that would show the boy, and Taehyung, that he was nothing special. Taehyung had almost lunged at her in court, luckily stopped by his lawyer, and when the Judge asked Taehyung what he wanted to do, Nayun seemed surprised when he told them to give her the max sentencing. Apparently, she assumed maybe Taehyung still harbored some feelings toward the woman, and would be lenient on her, but oh, was she wrong.
They sentenced her to five years in jail and three-year’s probation when she got out, with no chance for parole or early release in case of good behavior. He was grateful that Nayun’s lawyer was shit, and Taehyung’s was the best that money could buy. But still, Jimin was missing and that was the only thing that still wasn’t right about the whole situation. He wanted his lover back, wanted his best friend back, and he still wasn’t going to stop until he got him. The only thing was, apparently Nayun was the last lead, and with her locked up, they were coming up dry.
Taehyung unlocked his computer, still in his office even though it was way past closing and pulled up all the company records he could on Nayun. She had since been fired and banned from the company, obviously, but he still had some things to do with her employee records before he could fully terminate her from the system. With a sigh he began filling out the release form, getting stuck on a few questions but generally being able to answer things pretty quickly. He just wanted to get it all over with. Some of the final questions, aside from one asking for the reason for her release, was what her pay was starting out, any raises she may have gotten during her time there, along with paid time off and sick days, and what she currently made before the time of her release. That was going to be a bit tricky. She had been at his company for so long, and he didn’t exactly keep track of things like that for anyone aside from his contracted models – that’s what he had an accountant for. An accountant that was currently at home.
With a heavy sigh, Taehyung signed into the company’s bank account, scrolling through all his employees accounts (yes, he had access to those) and found her file, pulling up her pay information and her transactions made. Though a lot of his employees had separate accounts, where Taehyung couldn’t see what they bought, this was for money directly wired from the company to his employees for their hours worked – they were all able to send it to their separate, respective accounts, but a lot of his employees have told him before that the system they used was a lot easier to manage, especially when taxes came around.
It was then, that Taehyung noticed some things that were a bit… off. As he scrolled through her account, he noticed a large sum of money being transferred out, the same date that Jimin went missing – he scoffed at that, must have been the money she used to pay the girls to do what she wanted. Even after that, though, once a week around the same amount, a few thousand less, was transferred out, the same day and time every week. This caught Taehyung’s eye and his throat started to constrict. What if this was money to keep Jimin held up, what if she was using this money to pay whoever she hired to keep him locked away? He scrolled back down to the initial transaction when Jimin went missing and looked a bit further back, only a few days prior, to see if anything else popped up.
His breath caught. There was a transaction, made to some realtor Taehyung didn’t recognize – Seyoung Housing. Taehyung pulled up an extra browser, but when he searched the name, he barely found anything at all – the only listings showing were abandoned house in need of desperate repair and old shacks and warehouses. If this was all they sold though… Taeyhung slammed the computer shut, rushing out the door.
He had to find out himself.
Week Thirteen, Day Two
Jimin, aside from being an amazing model, was also an amazing dancer. It was a dream he had when he was young, to become a famous dancer, whether it was in the background for an idol group, a ballet dancer, or a solo artist, making a name for himself. All he knew, all he wanted throughout high school and most of college, was to dance. But of course, first dreams never came true. So instead, he put his looks to good use, and walked in the path to become a model. This dream was slightly more easier to achieve, seeing as his best friend worked in the office of one of the most well-known modeling companies, and he begged said friend for just one interview with the man in charge – well known retired model, Kim Taehyung, now owner of said company. After many days of begging and later finding out that Hoseok was actually dating one of Taehyung’s best friends, Yoongi, therefor being actually pretty close to the head of the company, he finally, finally got the interview.
When he met Kim Taehyung, Jimin was immediately enamored by the beautiful man. Jimin could understand why he was once a world-renowned model, the man was simply breath taking, and apparently, he thought the same of Jimin, because after some conversing, he called Hoseok in and joking asked why he would keep such a beautiful gem from him. “I thought we were friends, where were you hiding this beauty?” Jimin had blushed and stuttered his way through the rest of the interview and that very day he was contracted on as a model.
He did his best, worked his ass off through ever gig he was given until he was able to make a name for himself, and through his time there, he got closer and closer to Taehyung until one drunken night, he confessed his feelings. It was the next morning, when he woke up naked, in the man’s bed, that he’d realized what he did, what they’d done and what it may mean in the eyes of the public. But Taehyung, wrapped in a silk robe with a tray of fruit and cream cheese bagels for Jimin, assured him that, though whatever they had might get messy at times, wouldn’t change the fact that Jimin made a name for him himself, even if Taehyung had worked a little harder to get him better jobs seeing as he’d always been smitten for the model himself.
No matter how much Jimin worried, how much he tried to convince others there was nothing going on, their relationship was very hard to hide. Taehyung always made sure not to meddle or mix their relationship into their work, though and when things got serious and more public, he was sure to leave the job searching to Hoseok – he was the one that found the jobs for the models when Taehyung was too busy or away on work. In the end, though, things worked out – Jimin became famous, made a name for himself, and in the process, found the love of his life.
It was finally time. Alex had told Jimin three days, three days and he’d be able to get Jimin out. Before there were ten people guarding him, making sure he stayed here and was cared for (funny enough considering everything he went through before he got here and the fact that he was literally being held against his will) but now there were only five, and it would take a little work and convincing to get them out and away from the building.
When Alex barged into his room, a dark jacket in his hands, Jimin assumed it worked.
“I sent convinced them we needed more food and booze, but the convenience stores are close so we gotta hurry, they’ll be back soon.” Jimin almost began crying. He couldn’t believe it. He thanked whatever god was out there that one of the men were young and weak to a pretty face – if it had been any other gang member, any other hardened, cold hearted gang member, Jimin probably would have been held captive forever.
The streets were dark, the building Jimin had been held captive in some worn down shack with a For Sale sign in the front, surrounded by woods. Alex brought him to the edge of it, threw the coat around his shoulders, and handed him a knife. Jimin’s eyes widened at the weapon, stuttering out the question, of what it was for.
“Mainly, to protect yourself on your way back. It’s some miles before you get to the nearest highway, but you never know who’s going to pick you up, you know? Be safe Jimin and… and I’m sorry, really… for everything.” Jimin smiled sadly, actually kind of sorry for the life the kid had gotten himself mixed up in, but he had no time to think on it. He thanked the boy, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and began running. There was no time to waste, after all.
The trek was long, and it started raining halfway through, but eventually Jimin found the road Alex had been talking about. Jimin let out a sigh of relief when he found it though and began walking toward the city lights he saw in the distance. He didn’t really know where he was, what part of Korea he was in, but once he found civilization, the first thing he planned to do was go straight to Taehyung and take a break from being in the public eye.
Jimin had been walking for what felt like forever before the first car came. Hope lit in Jimin’s chest as he waved the driver down, and relief flooded him when the woman driving stopped. He was finally going home.
Week Thirteen, Day Four
Taehyung had a meeting with the realtor today and he was buzzing with excitement. He’d been pissed he had to wait two days before meeting the guy, who apparently had been booked full the day he initally, but when he made the appointment, he used a fake name just in case he was in on the whole kidnapping plan, letting whoever use his building in exchange for a large sum of money. Taehyung was being careful and he kind of felt like an investigator himself.
I was seven in the morning, and his appointment was at nine thirty, so he had a bit of time before he needed to get ready. He was in the middle of making coffee, too much for one person out of habit when the doorbell rang. He let out a frustrated noise, not wanting to be bothered by anyone, be it his brother, his friends or the investigator, Seokjin, but when the ringing became insistent, he couldn’t simply ignore it.
“I’m coming, Calm down!” He yelled, setting the mug down in frustration as his coffee finished brewing. He walked to the door, not bothering to check the camera, and threw it open, ready to yell at whoever was on the other end. What he wasn’t prepared for, though, was for a dirty, worn out Jimin to be on the other end. Taehyung was glad he wasn’t holding the mug he’d had previously, because he was sure it would have been shattered to pieces on the ground, and it was Jimin’s mug after all. He would have been sad to find out it was broken. “Min… Jimin!”
The embrace was nostalgic, and though Jimin was covered in dirt and smelled rancid, Taehyung gathered his lover into his arms and held him long and hard, refusing to let him go, even when Jimin complained about being squeezed a little too hard.
“Where the – how?” Taehyung broke down in tears, sliding to the floor and bringing Jimin with him in his embrace, tears falling fast as he cupped Jimin’s face in his hands, drinking in his exhausted and malnourished features. “My baby… darling you, you’re back, I can’t- “another sob, “I can’t believe this, you’re finally back!” Jimin was laughing, a wet, harsh sound, but it was music to Taehyung’s ears. His love was back in his arms, and that was all that mattered.
END