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"Going once, going twice....sold!"
The sharzii slammed his fist down on the podium and the crowd around N'mjoon stomped their feet in glee. On the stage, the nala·sheer was shaking, head bowed in defeat as xe was yanked around by xer chains.
N'amjoon hated this. Seriously, it made his blood boil just watching things proceed. Timing was everything, he knew this, and they'd yet to reveal the reason N'mjoon was here. Still, it was painful to have to sit in this crowd and pretend he was fine watching people be bought and sold like this.
All of them were filthy and thin, their clothes in rags if they had any. They were chained, occasionally muzzled, and the guards held batons full of energy to remind them of their place. Very few still had any fight left in their eyes.
The next item--a person--was brought on stage as the nala·sheer left. Pale green scales were nearly white with terror, as the auctioneer started chanting.
"101,000!"
"102,500!"
The numbers continued to climb, rising higher not dissimilar to the way bile was climbing up the back of N'mjoon's throat, the r'pffar sick to his stomach as he watched.
"Tell me you're almost done," N'mjoon whispered into his comm. His hands were clenched into tight fists, only the thick pads on his palms protecting them from being torn open by his claws.
"We're nearly in position. We'll move on my mark." Yoonki's voice was tinny in his ear, but it helped him take a deep, steadying breath even as his hearts pumped faster in anticipation.
"Going once, going twice...sold!"
Yet another slam of the sharzii's fist and yet another scared, shivering person had been sold like nothing more than a particularly exotic pet. The auctioneer paused dramatically, an ugly smirk clinging to his face as the crowd chattered excitedly. They knew what was coming.
"Now...what you've all been waiting for..." the sharzii bellowed, arms sweeping toward the stage. "One of the most vicious creatures in the known galaxies, stronger than ten grown schitans, a savage beast that few have survived...!"
Wow, he was really going for it. N'mjoon found himself leaning forward, breath caught in anticipation the same as everyone else as they watched a cage be wheeled carefully onto the stage, the lights beaming directly on top of it as the covering was pulled away with a flourish.
"A Deathworlder!"
For a moment, there was utter silence. Even N'mjoon was frozen by the sight, his ears shoved forward in alarm. He knew exactly what had just been revealed, but he could scarcely believe his eyes.
The creature was a pale, fleshy thing with not a hint of scales or feathers or armor. It had bony limbs that poked out of worn scraps of cloth. Its exposed skin looked thin and fragile, splotched all over with bits of yellow and green and purple. Despite its predicament, it was not shaking in fear.
"Do you know what this is, friends? I would not be surprised if you didn't recognize such a, hmm, unique specimen. You see, this Deathworlder...is a terran."
Fucking fuck. Where in the ever-loving hell did this backwater planet get a fucking terran???!
"Are you seeing this?!" N'mjoon whispered harshly. He got a couple of vague, unsure noises in return. No one in the crowd seemed to know what to do or say either, their excitement warring with shock and suspicion.
Terrans were exceedingly rare. N'mjoon wasn't sure they'd ever been documented outside Quadrants Φ and Ψ. Very little was known about them despite their notorious status. Mostly, because they had a rumored habit of killing anything that got near them.
This one didn't look like it could do any killing, but N'mjoon had been around the galaxies enough times to know not to judge a book by its cover. The terran was curled into a ball on the ground, appearing much smaller than the species was known for, and its gaze flickered rapidly around the stage. Thick, tangled fur covered its head, a poisonous bright pink on the end and dark near its skull.
N'mjoon remembered, suddenly, that terran were said to have a venomous bite.
"RM, we gotta move soon. Are you in position?"
The auctioneer was still playing the crowd. "Of course, you won't just take my word for it. You need evidence, don't you?" Something wicked crossed the sharzii's face. "Let me show you what you're dealing with."
He made a quick gesture and a guard crept forward, one hand dragging a female pree-ong by the chains. She had to be a child, tiny as she was. The terran caught sight of the pair and there was a burst of unexpected movement.
The crowd gasped as those limbs unfurled and the terran rose on its hind legs to a staggering height. Its head brushed the top of the cage, nearly as tall as N'mjoon himself. N'mjoon was the tallest buyer in the crowd. By a lot.
The guard shoved the young pree-ong in front of him and pointed the baton at it threateningly, energy crackling at the end of the stick. A single hit would send enough electricity through her body to incapacitate her for hours. At full power, it could kill a pree-ong.
"No," N'mjoon whispered, pushing forward even though he knew he couldn't do anything without giving himself away. Shit, shit. Were they going to feed the pree-ong to the terran? Right here on stage? "They're going to kill her."
"Suga, we've got to do something!" That was H•seok's voice. N'mjoon wholeheartedly agreed. They were here to save people.
"Not until I say so!"
A sharp cry fell from the terran's mouth and it surged forward, slamming itself against the side of the cage closest to the pree-ong. Five-fingered hands grasped at the bars, shaking and pulling in a way that made them groan under the pressure.
For a second time, the crowd was knocked utterly silent, fear and awe exuding from their expressions. The terran's flat features were twisted into something ugly and terrifying, eyes narrowed and locked on the guard. Its teeth were bared, snapping wildly as strange, incomprehensible sounds pierced the air.
"Look how it fights! Look at its strength! This one was fed just this morning, but already, it salivates for a bite! Imagine it in the pits, just imagine!"
N'mjoon was imagining. He could see the power in that weak frame now that the beast had been awoken. The rage in its face. But...it did not seem aimed at the pree-ong. It barely even looked at the child, and there was a certain intelligence in its eyes as it whipped its head around to face the guards creeping closer instead. Intelligence that did not speak of a mindless animal.
Two batons were thrust through the bars, energy sparking from the point of contact, and the terran screamed and fell to the ground. Even from afar, N'mjoon could tell the batons were at full power, lightning arcing over pale skin.
The crowd seemed frozen by the display. N'mjoon's eyes flicked from guard to auctioneer to terran. It was twitching, muscles spasming from the force of energy. Two full-powered batons? Surely, that could- that could kill it! The guards jabbed it again, and N'mjoon could see the terran's face twist in pain, a dark burn marking its skin.
"Stop," N'mjoon whispered, feeling helpless as he hid in the crowd. The auctioneer was beaming, saying something about the terran being especially tolerant of electricity. And indeed, after the guards backed away for a moment, the terran miraculously staggered to its feet.
"That's...impossible."
The crowd was excited; it was buzzing with eagerness as the reason for the cage became increasingly clear. A Deathworlder. A terran. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. This time, three batons struck that pale flesh, and the creature fell with a cry.
"How about we start with...one million units!"
Voices shouted, hands and paws and wings waved, feet stomped and shuffled, and bodies pressed claustrophobically against N'mjoon's sides as everyone fought to get the auctioneer's attention. The numbers rose and rose, as people turned away from the downed beast to fight for its ownership. N'mjoon's own eyes never strayed.
The terran was back on the ground, legs curled beneath it, head tucked in what was surely defeat as it twitched and spasmed. Something wet gleamed on its face, and N'mjoon felt a pang of alarm at the sight. Were its eyes...leaking??
"Get ready. On my mark."
N'mjoon tensed, purposefully keeping his eyes forward and not on the air. He pressed toward the stage, closer and closer in small increments, trying not to draw attention to himself despite his tall height. He knew what was about to happen, so he yanked his gaze away to watch the guards, claws flexed in anticipation.
And then- and then-
N'mjoon was watching. He was paying attention. And even he couldn't quite keep track of what happened next. The terran was kneeling, seemingly subdued, when it suddenly surged forward, hands reaching, and five bony fingers found a grip on the closest guard's baton and yanked.
The guard yelled out as the baton--and nearly their arm--was pulled into the cage, the terran standing, rising to its feet despite the way its limbs still jerked with leftover electricity, and then it snapped the baton in half.
Like it was easy. Like it was nothing. Metal cracked and energy snapped and the terran didn't so much as flinch as a tiny explosion burst across its skin. Three batons at full power should've knocked it down for hours. It should be a drooling mess on the ground.
Instead, the terran bared its teeth and raked its predatory eyes across the shocked audience. N'mjoon was so shocked he almost forgot what was coming next. The following few moments unfurled in flashes of panic and noise and movement. A winged form fell from the sky, slamming into the auctioneer before anyone could even blink.
The crowd panicked, surging around N'mjoon in a stampede of fur and feathers and flailing limbs. He rushed forward, the opposite direction of the surge, and fought his way onto the stage, one fist already swinging to take out the first guard he found.
It was over quickly, a poorly organized auction such as this one not having the manpower to stand up to the likes of Bangtan's best. N'mjoon was joined by H•seok's lithe form, the densh•rr weaving his way through the guards, their batons never coming close to touching his shimmering feathers. They fell one by one, almost too easy for veterans such as themselves.
Several buyers had tried to grab onto the merchandise who were waiting off-stage. H•seok bounded forward to take care of that, leaving N'mjoon to assess the rest of the situation. The crowd had cleared out quickly, either for fear that the attackers were Federation soldiers or that they were ravagers who wouldn't hesitate to take off with more than just those already in chains.
Yoonki had the sharzii auctioneer subdued by the podium, and N'mjoon felt a corner of his mouth quirk up when he recognized the chains holding him as the same make and model as those the auction had been using. They would let the proper authorities deal with him. N'mjoon's crew was only interested in the people.
"Here," Yoonki barely glanced his way as he tossed him a bundle of keys. N'mjoon flicked them to H•seok; he already knew the lock on the cage required something more.
"How do we open the cage?" he growled, using every bit of his intimidating height to tower over the shaking sharzii. He watched with interest as yellow eyes filled with fear.
"You- are you insane? It'll kill you!"
"Irrelevant. How do I open it?"
But the sharzii locked his jaw in stubborn silence, and N'mjoon didn't have the patience to deal with him any longer. "Fine. I'll figure it out myself."
He turned to leave when the sharzii shouted. "That thing is deadly, you know! It took eight of my best men to get it in there!"
N'mjoon looked pointedly at the bodies strewn across the stage. "These men?" he said. "I think I'll take my chances."
Yoonki shot him a hard look as they parted, the one that said 'don't be stupid' more clearly than any words. N'mjoon was used to it though, so he ignored the silent warning as he made his way back to center stage.
The terran had been silently watching the chaos, crouched down so it seemed smaller. However, N'mjoon could tell by the way it was balanced, muscles tense and weight held over its feet, that it was a position from which it could move quickly. Its eyes tracked him as he got closer, easy to tell when there was so much unnatural white.
N'mjoon stopped before he got within reach of those long arms, but the terran didn't make any attempt to lunge or attack. N'mjoon tried to remember what he'd read about terrans before. Why was it so calm now? Why had it reacted so strongly to the pree-ong? What was that look he saw in its eyes?
"You don't seem very Deathworldy to me," N'mjoon pondered aloud. He found it amusing the way the creature's head cocked to the side as though it were listening to him. "Curious."
N'mjoon watched its head tilt again, almost like a baby sphyon inspecting something new for the first time. Funny. N'mjoon thought the situation was curious, but the creature seemed rather curious itself.
"You are, aren't you? Curious? You're smarter than people think."
Two-toned fur flopped to one side as the terran contemplated him. It blinked twice and opened its mouth. "Kurr-ee-yus."
What the fu- Namjoon couldn't help the way he startled, tail stretched stiff behind him.
Could it...could it talk? Or was it just mimicking sounds?
N'mjoon took a bold step forward. The terran, in return, scooted back an equal amount, watching warily. N'mjoon bent into a somewhat awkward pose so he could be closer to the terran's eye level, and then watched, fascinated, as the creature shuffled around to copy him.
"You're definitely smarter than people think."
N'mjoon raised his hand slowly, making sure he had its full attention, and pointed one claw at his chest. "N'mjoon," he said clearly. He realized a moment too late that he'd given his real name, but oh well. He repeated it a second time, poking himself as he did.
The terran just stared, and for a moment, N'mjoon felt rather silly. Then, its lips parted and a rough, croaky voice stumbled out. "Nam-joon," it said. "Namjoon."
Close enough. Now, for the real test. N'mjoon pointed at himself and repeated his name. "N'mjoon." Then he pointed at the terran and waited.
Something intelligent sparked in those brown orbs. Something like understanding. A shaky finger unfurled to point at the terran's chest. "Jungkook."
"J'ongguk?"
The terran's head shifted up and down. "Jungkook!" It moved its hand to point at N'mjoon. "Namjoon!" Some of its previous babble fell out of its mouth.
Shit. Shit, the terran was sapient.
"Right, okay. This is fine. Not a groundbreaking discovery or anything."
Jungkook shuffled closer and pointed at the door. "Namjoon? Namjoon ——— Jungkook?"
Fuck, this was so not fine. This was a person, dirty and thin and locked in a cage a trillion lightyears from home. But it was also a Deathworlder who could potentially rip them all to shreds.
What if the tameness was just an act? A way to lure N'mjoon into opening the door so it could attack? If it could speak, could it reason? Plan? Manipulate?
Its eyes--his? her? their??--were so large, glistening with moisture as they stared at N'mjoon. They tucked their bottom lip into their mouth slightly, and N'mjoon could see that their teeth were actually quite dull compared to most carnivores. Only a few had a slight point.
"J'ongguk," he started, resolve crumbling. "I- I'm going to get you out of here, okay? I know you can't understand me. But I'm here to help."
How could he not? Jungkook bobbed their head like they knew what N'mjoon was saying, and the corners of their mouth turned up in what he's pretty sure was a pleased expression. They scooted even closer, body loosening as they realized N'mjoon wouldn't hurt them.
Standing carefully so as not to startle them, N'mjoon inspected the locking mechanism on the cage door. It was old and outdated. H•seok wouldn't have any problem with it.
"The plan was to sell you to the pits," he told them, compelled to talk despite the language barrier. "Private buyers will pay a lot more than these shoddy auction bidders."
He sighed, looking down at the grimy terran. "Clearly that plan is out now."
Bangtan weren't the most upstanding citizens of the galaxy. They were pirates, thieves, who occasionally helped out when they felt there was something to be earned from it. The people they freed called them liberators, but they didn't know how much of the merchandise was going straight into their own pockets once they were released.
A Deathworlder usually fetched a hefty price tag. But most Deathworlders were just animals, creatures too bloodthirsty and primitive to be a part of modern society. They weren't people, so N'mjoon could feel slightly less guilty when he gave them away for the sake of putting fuel in their ship. Yoonki called him soft for caring so much. But even Yoonki drew the line at sending a person to the pits.
There was a whisper of motion behind him before H•seok's distinctive shimmer appeared in N'mjoon's peripheral. The terran watched the newcomer warily, shuffling on their flat feet. "Odd looking, isn't it?" the densh•rr stated.
"They," N'mjoon corrected.
"Huh?"
"Not an it. They are odd-looking. They're a person."
"No way. It's a Deathworlder!"
"Maybe. But they're definitely intelligent. Watch."
He repeated the motion from before, pointing at himself, and suppressed a grin at the way H•seok's mouth dropped open when "Namjoon!" came out of the terran's mouth.
Without prompting, the terran then turned to H•seok and pressed a hand to their chest. "Jungkook." They extended the hand to H•seok and waited.
"Um. J-Hope," the densh•rr said after a moment of processing. Jungkook bounced their head again, pointing between the three.
"Namjoon. Jeihob. Jungkook."
Green eyes darted N'mjoon's way. "You told them your real name?"
"It just came out."
"Well what the fuck do we do with it now?" H•seok asked. "Suga will be back any minute. He was leading the last group to the ship."
"Maybe they'll come with us calmly? They don't seem so vicious now."
"What about earlier? I was worried if the cage would even hold them."
He's...not wrong. Jungkook looked relatively calm, sitting on their haunches with their gaze darting between the two, but they'd shown a willingness to attack earlier. Was it hunger? They'd only reacted that way to the small pree-ong. But no, N'mjoon could swear it was something else.
"Let's just...get this open first. Maybe Suga will have a better idea when he gets back."
H•seok hummed agreeably. "How much do you think they're worth?" He started fidgeting with the lock, popping the panel open to expose the silvery wires. "I mean. Theoretically."
"The bidders were up to 1.7 million," N'mjoon replied. "Didn't seem like they were slowing either."
"This crowd shouldn't have even had that kind of money."
No, they shouldn't have. This whole operation reeked, really. N'mjoon's pretty sure there had been some other motive, some other exchange happening behind the scenes that the auction was simply a front for. These people had come with heavier pockets than the auction list suggested, and some of them had clearly known about the Deathworlder.
"Got it," H•seok declared. He paused, glancing from the dismantled panel to Jungkook who had been silently watching. "Uh. Now what?"
"We ask nicely?"
H•seok fixed him with his most unimpressed look.
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Just saying," the densh•rr grumbled. "If we all get eaten, it's on you."
"Jin's got the holding cell prepped. But look, they aren't even doing anything. I don't think they want to attack us."
"Sure, sure."
Jungkook jumped, pressing themself into the far corner with wide eyes when a flash of motion announced Yoonki's sudden arrival. Sharp golden eyes locked on the creature, the terran freezing as Yoonki bared his teeth in warning. They copied him, their own teeth dull in comparison, and Yoonki bristled at the offense.
"Hey, Suga, chill. This is J'ongguk."
"I thought it was Jeongkook?"
"Is that not what I just said?"
Yoonki hissed shortly. "What the fuck are you talking about?
"That. Them. The terran. Their name is J'ongguk."
"It...has a name."
"They have a name."
Yoonki's tail twisted behind him as he stared at N'mjoon like he hoped the man was joking. "You gave it a name?"
"No. They told me their name."
And once again, they went through the motions. Jungkook crept out of the corner, eyes on Yoonki, as they pointed between the four of them. "Namjoon. Jeihob. Suga. Jungkook."
"Huh. They pronounced yours the best."
"And you pronounced theirs terribly. It's clearly Jungkuk."
"Great, so you've bonded. Now what?"
Four pairs of eyes landed on the broken lock. Yoonki's hand moved to his pocket where N'mjoon knew a vial or two of an emergency sedative rested. "RM. What do you know about terrans?" Yoonki asked.
"Um. Not much. There's very little documented about them, and clearly some of it is wrong. I've never heard of them being able to speak, for one. Nor having pink fur."
It almost makes him question whether Jungkook is a terran. But no, the body shape is identical to the descriptions. The pale flesh, the head fur, the white-showing eyes. It all matches.
Jungkook, clearly tiring of being left out of the conversation, caught N'mjoon's eye and pointed again toward the door. "Jungkook ———?"
It was obvious what they were asking.
"Everyone else made it safely aboard. It's just this one that we need to secure and then we can leave this godawful planet."
Right. N'mjoon could do this.
"J-Hope, open the door. Suga, be prepared."
Yoonki backed away several paces, eyes locked on the terran as H•seok disengaged the lock and the door popped open with a creak. All three held their breath as they waited to see what Jungkook would do.
Which was...nothing. The terran had risen to their full height, but they didn't move as H•seok yanked the metal door all the way open. Instead, they watched N'mjoon.
"You can come out. Come on," the r'pffar beckoned. Jungkook took a hesitant step forward until they were right at the cage's edge. They glanced around the stage, empty now except for the three of them. Yoonki had dragged the rest of the guards off to be secured while H•seok was escorting the victims to the ship.
Jungkook rushed the last few steps, throwing themself across the invisible barrier so they stood trembling on the stage. They seemed shocked for a moment, then they turned to N'mjoon and bared their teeth, the corners of their mouth turned up. Yoonki's ears went flat at the sight and he took a warning step forward. Jungkook's eyes widened and their hands went up in the air, fingers splayed by their head in a clear challenge or attempt to look bigger.
"Stop!" N'mjoon yelled, barely getting between the two before Yoonki could lunge. Jungkook skittered back, H•seok moving toward them with wings flared. "Just- hold on. Everyone take a breath."
Jungkook was babbling, one of the sounds being repeated over and over again. They'd dropped their hands at least, curling into themself instead. Right. N'mjoon could do this.
Somehow, they make it back to the ship in one piece and no one gets stabbed or clawed or sedated. They keep Jungkook between N'mjoon and Yoonki with H•seok behind them in case the terran tries to make a run for it.
Outside of the cage, they seem to have lost a bit of their confidence. The Deathworlder who had met N'mjoon's gaze calmly, who had faced down full-powered batons for the sake of a pree-ong, had been replaced by a nervous terran who kept glancing around like they expected something to jump out and bite them.
Didn't they know they were the scariest thing around?
Seok-Jin greeted them at the door, shooting N'mjoon a Look™ when he saw what they had brought. Thankfully, he'd had years of practice putting up with the r'pffar, and N'mjoon was oddly proud of the way he didn't even flinch at the sight of an unrestrained Deathworlder climbing aboard his ship. They marched Jungkook down the hall to the holding cell, doing another round of introductions along the way.
"So he's...really a terran, huh. I never thought I'd see one in real life."
"Me neither."
On the screen, Jungkook was gulping down a glass of milk like he hadn't had a drink in days. According to the medical scans, he was so dehydrated maybe he truly hadn't. He's sitting down, legs curled in front of him in a feat of anatomy that baffled N'mjoon, with his eyes closed as he savored the creamy yellow liquid.
He looked...young. Vulnerable. N'mjoon had to stamp down the irrational urge to drag Jungkook to his den and smother him in blankets until he was hidden and safe. Until he couldn't see the bruises and burns that littered Jungkook's body, the way his ribs poked out beneath his newly gifted clothes. The scans had told a chilling story about what the terran had been through.
"N'mjoon, no, I know that look. A Deathworlder is not some stray atilaan that you can ship train and keep as a pet. He needs to be handed over to people a lot more qualified to help him."
"And who would that be? The Federation? Please. They'll turn him into a science experiment. Or worse- a soldier. He'll never make it home. He'll never have a life."
Seok-Jin sighed, nuzzling up under N'mjoon's chin so he could press a light kiss to the fur of N'mjoon's neck. "We've talked about this. You can't help everyone. We're dropping the rest of this batch off at the port on Nullenmyr. We can hand him over at the same time."
"He's a person, Jin. He deserves better than to be poked and prodded and made to fight for the rest of his life."
"And what is he supposed to do if he stays here? He doesn't speak Standard, and despite his appearance, he is a Deathworlder. From what Yoonki told me, his reaction to the pree-ong child was...concerning, to say the least. How would you trust him on a ship full of people?"
N'mjoon remembered the look in Jungkook's eyes when the guards pushed that pree-ong to the ground. It wasn't hunger. It was rage. He had been snarling and aggressive, yes. But N'mjoon had a feeling it wasn't aimed at the child.
"What if we're wrong? What if all the documents are wrong? I think...I think terran are a social species."
"Wha- where in the hell did you get that idea?"
"He kept looking to me for reassurance or guidance. He mimics, not just the vocals but the body language, too. And I think he was trying to protect that little girl. I don't think he saw her as prey at all. I think they had bonded, and the guards knew they could use her to bait him into reacting."
Seok-Jin sighed, leaning into N'mjoon as they watched the terran curl up on his cot. He must be exhausted. Getting the medical scans had been a harrowing experience, not helped by the fact that they couldn't explain what they were doing to him. He'd freaked out when they tried to shower him, too, and although they did finally succeed in getting him clean, they'd gotten to see firsthand just how strong the terran was.
Now, he was lying down, his damp fur poking out of the blanket he'd bundled himself into, looking as innocent as a Deathworlder could be. He reminded Jin of a newborn plynorn. Naked and furless and so ugly it was almost cute.
"Give him a chance, Jin," N'mjoon whispered. "What if we have more in common than we thought?"
His words struck a memory from deep in Jin's brain.
'Give him a chance, Seok-Jin. You may find you have more in common than you think.'
A young Seok-Jin's eyes dart across the room, landing on the tall r'pffar whose ears perk up when he notices Seok-Jin looking. N'mjoon is not his first pick as a partner. Not his tenth or even twentieth. He can't possibly have anything in common with some clumsy kid from Quadrant Λ.
"Oh fine, stop looking at me like that. I swear, you're worse than Jimin."
"So we can keep him??"
"He's not a pet, N'mjoon! He's a person."
N'mjoon beamed, reaching out to link hands with Jin, his tail sweeping joyfully behind him. "You're right, he is."
"Ugh, you're such a sap. This ship is going to be overflowing with strays by the time we're fifty."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"I hate you," Jin grumbled. "I changed my mind. Kick him out."
N'mjoon laughed, tugging him closer. "You love me. And it's too late, you already agreed."
"Is not. I never said anything specific!"
"Yeah?" N'mjoon bumped his shoulder affectionately, squeezing his hand in his own. "Well then, you have five seconds to tell me 'no'. Otherwise, the Deathworlder stays."
Seok-Jin paused, mouth opening, but then his eyes fell on the screen again and he shut it without making a sound.
"Going once, going twice..."
N'mjoon grinned. Jungkook was here to stay.