Chapter Text
Jungkook tried to be as quiet as possible as he stuffed his pockets full of magical little ‘helpers’. There was also the protective amulet and the symbols he always put on, one dangling on a leather band around his neck, the others painted on his back as protection from being attacked from behind.
He had done it quickly in the bathroom by himself, letting the water in the shower run, so that none of the others would ask questions about what he was doing while locking himself in the bathroom.
He knew what they would say if they knew about his plans; especially Yoongi, who would tell him that no job, no matter how amazing the pay, could be worth running into it blind like that.
If it was up to Yoongi he would only take on small jobs after getting background checks on everyone involved, would sleep on it for a week and then only agree on doing it during the perfect moonphase or something. Unfortunately jobs that paid as well as this one needed to be done quickly or his ‘employers’ would simply choose someone else who could do the work better and faster for them.
So that’s why he simply didn’t tell the others whenever he got a lucrative offer and kept all the details to himself.
If a job went really great and turned out to be easier than he had thought he just told them that he had worked at the market so that he could contribute some money to their magical household without having to tell them what exactly he had done. Difficult and dangerous jobs however, including their payment, were never ever mentioned. Instead, he put the money in the small wooden box with the iron mountings that he kept under his bed, to be used in case times got tough again.
He knew that the others wouldn’t look too closely, as they respected his privacy. They’d probably think a little differently about it if they knew what he was doing right now…
Jungkook sighed and then strapped an extra dagger to his thigh, hiding it under his black tunic. It was his favourite one to wear for jobs like this because it was made out of hemp that Jin had grown himself in one of his crazy magical experiments and then turned into garments and belts. There was a ton of protective magic in the whole fabric, basically woven into every fiber, so that Jungkook felt safer in this than in any actual armor.
Sometimes he just needed an extra spark to get out of a tricky situation and he felt like tonight might be such an occasion.
※
Jimin couldn't see a thing and the feeling of dread and panic gripped his heart and squeezed his lungs until he felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. He tried squinting into the darkness so that he might see something but it didn't work, either because it was actually pitch black around him or there was something wrong with his eyes.
He couldn’t check because his hands were tied behind his back and bound to the sturdy chair that he was sitting on. He tried to wiggle around a little to see if there was some room in the ropes around his wrists but they were so tight that he couldn’t move his hands at all.
Now that he concentrated on it he realized that not only his hands were bound but also his feet, which kept him pretty much immobile and unable to do anything else but sit there and slowly succumb to the panic. He considered screaming for help, but then he didn’t dare, too afraid to alarm the person who had brought him here instead and face the consequences.
There was a strange sensation inside of his chest that traveled along his skin, an ache, a burning pressure that made him feel dizzy .
There was more and more pain coming from his body the longer he tried to concentrate on those sensations and although he could feel more clearly where it was coming from the more he was regaining consciousness he still wasn’t sure what exactly it was that had him hurting like that. Had he hurt himself trying to fight off his kidnapper? He couldn’t remember how he got here at all!
Who had brought him here? What had happened? Where was he now but more importantly why was he here?
He desperately tried to remember anything at all that might help him figure out the answer to any of these questions but there was nothing but a headache pounding against his skull.
The fear increased every time he tried to think back and came up empty, an awful reminder of how lost and helpless he was right now.
He was on the verge of breaking into tears when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps somewhere behind him, a little dulled, as if it was coming from behind a door.
Jimin held his breath, trying to prepare himself for whatever would happen to him now. His eyes were wide as he stared into the darkness, trying to turn his head into the direction where he thought that door might be but if he was honest he was - quite literally - just groping in the dark.
The room was suddenly flooded with light, completely blinding him for a moment and making his eyes burn. The tears spilled over and ran down his face, not from the overwhelming emotions but simply because he had no way of shielding himself from the light despite how much he tried to turn away his face.
Somehow it irked him that the kidnapper was able to make him cry that easily but the feeling got quickly replaced by fear again as he was still blinking furiously to try and see something while the footsteps were unmistakably coming closer.
His heart was thumping heavily against his chest and for a cold and horrible moment he wondered if maybe he wouldn’t survive this day.
※
At first everything had been surprisingly easy. Jungkook had found the location he had been told to go to and then, as promised, his compass had led him further from there.
Of course it wasn't a normal compass that simply led you north but one that reacted to strong magical energies and could lead you to them. It was a very valuable item and he could only hope that Yoongi wouldn't need it while he was gone, because it wasn’t actually his own.
The people who currently had what his contractor was looking for had tried to shield their magical artifact away but they were either completely talentless with magical shields or the magic that powered the compass - Yoongi’s magic - was simply better than theirs.
In the end he arrived at some rundown place with lots of concrete buildings that looked more like ruins than actual houses.
Getting closer he could see that the outside of the buildings were moist and moldy and he scrunched up his nose at the distinct smell that followed. Hopefully he would find that ‘magical treasure’ his contractor was looking for right away and could leave as quickly as possible!
※
Jimin still frantically tried to get used to his surroundings when someone grabbed his shoulder. This time he did scream but the only effect it had was that the man in front of him stuffed a piece of dirty cloth in his mouth that muffled his voice.
He tried to pull on his restraints despite knowing how tight they were but he couldn’t just stay still and wait for that man to put his hands on him again and do whatever he had come here to do.
Jimin was shaking as his mind came up with countless horror scenarios of what they might do to him while he was kicking against the ropes and twisting his wrists like his life depended on. Nonetheless he barely even got to move the chair. He was entirely helpless!
Jimin choked on a sob, as he turned his face away from the man who was just standing there and watching him tire himself out like he had all the time in the world.
In a last attempt at protecting himself Jimin curled in on himself as much as he could in his bound state and begged quietly to be let go. The cloth in his mouth however swallowed every single sound.
Jimin was desperately hoping that this was all just a horrible nightmare that he could wake up from; that he only needed to hold on a little longer, until the sun would rise and all this could be over but the pain in his body and his wrists where the rope had rubbed his skin raw was telling him otherwise.
※
Jungkook blinked his eyes against the darkness and made a few careful steps. He had entered the building that the compass had led him to, ready to get in and out as fast as he could, but except for some scarce rays of evening sun that fell through the boarded up windows there were no sources of light, which had slowed him down immensely. Of course he had packed a flashlight but he didn’t dare to use it until he could be certain that he was alone.
Jungkook had just rounded a corner when the sound of a door being opened forced him to blindly jump back behind it. His shoulder knocked against the concrete wall but he swallowed down the sounds of discomfort right away before they could leave his lips and draw any unwanted attention on him.
The compass that he was still holding in his hand twitched to life as if the magical signal had suddenly gotten stronger and then died down again when there was a soft clicking noise as the door fell shut again. Jungkook held his breath. There was only one explanation for this: whatever he had been sent here to get was right behind that door around the corner!
He stayed quiet for a few more seconds until he was absolutely sure that whoever was walking around had left and wasn’t coming back before he dared to peek into the hallway again.
The door was so close, he could almost reach it like this and so he held his breath and quickly sneaked over there, before pressing his ear against it.
There was no sound coming from it and so he dared to slowly open the door and slip inside, hoping that there was no one waiting for him behind it.
A short glance at his compass showed him that he had been right; whatever he was supposed to get was right here - but when he looked up again his whole body froze.
The joy of having reached his aim and finishing the job like this died down when he saw the boy bound in front of him.
There was something stuffed into his mouth that kept him from making any sounds which explained the quiet because the panicked expression on the boy’s face just showed how close he was to screaming.
Jungkook swallowed hard. There was nothing else in that room, only the boy and the chair he was tied to, so the ‘magical artifact’ he had come for must be on him.
What had he gotten himself into this time?