Chapter Text
"Jungkook, you’re not making sense.” Taehyung was pissed, to say the least. He’d been plucked from his perfect life, where he had the loveliest parents, his bestest friends, and a quaint coffee shop, which was his pride and joy. Well… had been his pride and joy until it blew up and Jungkook took him and ran.
“What’s there not to understand, Tae?” Jungkook spoke up, stuffing his mouth with bulgogi, staring at him with his oh-so-big doe eyes.
“Why did you bring me here?” Taehyung asked. ‘Here’ was Tongyeong, an unfamiliar coastal town. It was five hours away from everything he knew, and he had no idea why they were hiding there.
“Youf weren’f safe feher,” Jungkook said with his mouth still full. Taehyung sighed. They had been going in circles since Jungkook basically kidnapped him.
“Why?” Taehyung was exhausted. Would he ever get a proper answer?
At his question, Jungkook had the gall to look a bit guilty.
“It was my fault.” He confessed, those big Bambi eyes of his staring directly into his soul. Taehyung wasn’t blind. He knew Jungkook was hot— he had known it since the first time he’d seen him—but when Jungkook looked at him with the stars in his eyes, he couldn’t help but be soft.
Focus Taehyung.
”No shit, Sherlock.” He tried hard to be mean, but it didn’t exactly come out that way. Because, cmon, he had a crush on the guy, okay? And he had gotten teased by Jimin about it since he found out. “What did you do?”
“.... I may or may not have pulled a prank on them…” Jungkook mumbled, looking at his bowl. At Taehyung’s raised eyes, he continued reluctantly, “...before I knew that they were in a gang.”
“Them?” Oh dang. Taehyung had been trying to get them away from his shop since he took over the ownership.
“Yes… I heard them talking about how they would destroy your shop,” Jungkook pursed his lips, his voice low and strained. “I thought I could stop them, so I slashed their bike tires... I wanted to slow them down till I warned you, but by the time I got to them, they’d already planted the bombs. I tried, Tae... but I couldn’t save your shop.” His voice cracked slightly, his eyes shimmering with guilt as he looked at Taehyung.
“Oh….” Taehyung was speechless. Even if his means weren’t right, Jungkook wanted to do the right thing. He did have a good heart after all. Taehyung would know. He’d watched him play with the kids near the beach, teach them how to swim, the ‘Dos and Don'ts’ of being on the beach, how to identify the different types of tides and many more things. They lived in a small town after all where everyone knew everyone. Nobody had anything bad to say about Jungkook.
Jungkook’s gaze turned curious as he put down his chopsticks. “Tae, what did those guys want with your shop, anyway?”
Taehyung hesitated, tracing the rim of his bowl with his thumb. “It’s... complicated.”
Jungkook leaned closer, concern clear on his face. “Complicated how? Did they just want the land?”
“Sort of,” Taehyung muttered, his eyes shifting to the table. “It started as a stupid bet, really. With Namjoon.”
“Namjoon?” Jungkook echoed, surprised. “The gang leader?”
Taehyung nodded. “We... we were friends as kids. He came into my shop one day, all cocky,” he scoffed. “And we started talking about coffee. I bet him that he couldn’t make a perfect macchiato. He said he could and if he couldn’t, then we’d get the land the shop’s on. It used to belong to Joon’s dad and we rented it from him.”
Jungkook’s eyes widened. “And Namjoon lost?”
“Yeah,” Taehyung said with a bitter smile, “but he didn’t take it well. After a few years, he started going after my shop, trying to force me out. I didn’t think he’d go this far.”
Jungkook’s expression darkened as he processed the information. “And now he’s taken things to a whole new level. Blowing up your shop...”
Taehyung sighed, rubbing his temples. “I guess I underestimated how much he wanted that land. What I don’t get is, why my shop? Why that exact land?”
Jungkook frowned. “There’s something more to this, Tae. I can feel it.” he said, his eyebrows scrunching as he stared into his bowl, deep in thought. Taehyung fought the urge to reach out and smoothen it.
“There’s nothing we can do though,” Taehyung sighed.
“But there is something!” Jungkook suddenly looked up, eyes sparkling.
“What ‘something’?”
“Disguises!” Jungkook looked utterly proud of himself.
“....disguises?” Taehyung wondered if the heat had melted Jungkook’s brain. “What do you mean disguises?”
“Listen to me!” Jungkook’s eyes sparkled like the rays of the sun reflected off the sea waves at dawn. Cutting off Taehyung’s indignant “ I am! ” he continued, “We go back in disguises and tell them that we’re there to fix your shop. Then we snoop around to see why Namjoon blew it up!” Taehyung hated to break Jungkook’s entirely-pleased-with-himself smile, but there were way too many loopholes in his plan.
“Jungkook, it’s a small village. No one would believe us. They’ll see right through it,” Taehyung pointed out. Jungkook was messing with him, right?
“I know someone,” Jungkook smirked.
His crush was going to get them killed.
~ x ~
Jungkook drove them to a quaint little shop just on the outskirts of Tongyeong. The first thing Taehyung noticed was the effortlessly stylish man behind the counter. He wore a sleek, grey overshirt layered over a fitted black tee, tucked neatly into dark, ripped baggy jeans held up by a worn leather belt. A thin, pirate-themed necklace hung down to his chest and, even though they were indoors, he wore dark shades, which would have looked weird on someone else, but apparently not on this man. Everything about his appearance seemed so effortlessly put together that it made Taehyung suddenly aware of his own cream sweater and beige pants—clothes he had thrown on for an easy working day before they had to flee.
The shop itself was an open, airy space, with clothing so artfully displayed that it felt more like a curated gallery than a typical store.
“Jakayyy, my man!” The man said as he came closer, giving Jungkook a hug. “Look at you! You’ve grown up so well. The last time I saw you, you were a wee little baby. It’s been nearly a hundre-”
“Hobi hyung!” Jungkook interrupted him with a panicked glance towards the doorway where Taehyung was standing. “I know it’s been a long time, but it’s an emergency .” He pointed at Taehyung.
“Oh.” That was when ‘Hobi’ noticed him. “My, my, my, how pretty you are,” the man purred, suddenly appearing beside Taehyung, his eyes raking over him as he slid his shades down with a slender finger and a smirk on his pretty, plump lips. “I could just gobble you up.”
Jungkook’s nervous chuckle was heard before he sidled up to them and gently inserted himself between the two. “Hyung, emergency, remember?” That seemed to rouse Hobi as he blinked, as if shaken from a daydream, and his expression softened into something warmer. “Call me Hobi, darling. Any friend of Kookie’s is a friend of mine,” he said with a warm smile, ushering them inside.
“We need a makeover,” Jungkook said as they moved to the backroom stuffed with cabinets twice as tall as him. There was barely enough space to move around. “Complete change. No one should recognise us.”
“What did you guys even get up to?” Hobi muttered to himself before moving them to the chairs centred in the room.. “Now you stay here. I do love a challenge on occasion! Let’s see what I can do for you,” Hobi glided over to the cabinets, already muttering “hair dyed and cut, and what else…”
“Hobi hyung is great at what he does,” Jungkook commented as he noticed Taehyung’s skepticism. Hobi had been puttering about for nearly fifteen minutes, mumbling to himself, flitting from one end of the room to the other.
“It’s.. not that…” Taehyung hesitated. How do you tell your crush ‘Hey, I don’t know what you’re planning and that’s making me shit my pants, so would you be so kind as to tell me what’s going on in that cute brain of yours?’
“I’m just worried about what you’re planning.” He admitted, looking the other way. Great! Now he told his crush that he didn’t believe in him. Way to go, Tae!
“Oh! I didn’t tell you, did I?” Jungkook turned towards him, unperturbed by his lack of confidence. And so he told him, and though Taehyung was a tiny bit reassured after listening to what Jungkook had in mind, it all depended on whether Hobi would be able to transform them properly.
“So, here’s the plan!” Hobi suddenly appeared in front of them, holding two sets of outfits along with god knows what. “Jin will work on Kookie, while I get you, darling. I have a few ideas in mind which I think will work and- oh.” Hobi’s words trailed off as his gaze dropped. Both Jungkook and Taehyung followed his line of sight, only to realize what had caught his attention: their hands. Intertwined. At some point during their conversation, they had turned toward each other, and their fingers had laced together.
Taehyung’s breath caught in his throat, his heart racing, as he yanked his hand away. Jungkook’s face turned a deep shade of red. Clearing his throat, Taehyung tried to play it cool, pretending they hadn’t just been holding hands.
Nope, it’s all cool. Everything’s cool. He wasn’t just holding hands with the hottest man ever, nope absolutely not- shut up Taehyung!
Thankfully Hobi chose not to comment on it, pushing Jungkook to another room while he made Taehyung stand up so he could better assess him. Now the eyes that roved over him were critical, professional. It didn’t feel intrusive.
“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Hobi said after a few minutes of deliberation. “I’m going to dye your hair back to black and you need a new outfit. Then we’re gonna see how the clothes fit and we’ll work from there.” Taehyung nodded. Okay, he could work with that.
Hobi worked mostly in silence, asking a question here and there, but it was about whether he was comfortable or not or whether he was hungry or thirsty. His touches were gentle and Taehyung ended up nodding off a little as he worked his magic.
“Done!” Hobi exclaimed, stepping back to admire his work. The sun had already begun to set, and the soft glow of the newly lit lights gave the space a warm and cozy atmosphere. Taehyung stood up, stretching to ease the cricks in his neck and hands.
“Now go and put this on. I’ve got a good feeling about it,” Hobi said, handing him a bundle of clothes and steering him towards a small room. “And promise me you won’t look at the mirrors,” he added in a serious tone. Taehyung had a feeling that he would get along quite well with Jimin. After promising not to look in the mirrors, Taehyung was finally allowed to change into his new outfit.
Hobi was speaking to someone with his back turned towards him when Taehyung emerged from the room. He cleared his throat, drawing Hobi’s attention, and in doing so, got a full view of who Hobi had been speaking to.
For a moment, Taehyung forgot how to breathe. It felt as if someone had punched him in his diaphragm. Was that Jungkook? But it didn’t look like Jungkook. The Jungkook he knew had a boba ball head, with big, round eyes so sparkly it was as if he held whole galaxies in them.
This Jungkook had piercings in his lips and eyebrows, blonde hair, and an undercut that made something flutter in Taehyung’s chest. He hadn’t ever seen Jungkook like this, but he’ll be damned if this didn’t make him weak in the knees. This wasn’t good for his heart at all .
Hobi started clapping, bringing him out of his reverie. “Sheesh look at the two of you,” he whistled, looking between them both. “You’ll look good together. Power couple!” and he started laughing at his own joke.
Taehyung felt his face heat up, but before he could respond, a new voice cut in. “Now, now, don’t tease them like that,” came the smooth, amused tone. Taehyung turned to see another man emerge from the room Jungkook had been in. Fucking hell, was everyone here so handsome?
“That’s my job,” the man added with a smirk. This had to be Jin. He was taller than them, with a shoulder to waist ratio to be jealous of, and a face that belonged on the cover of a high-end magazine rather than wasting away here. He wore a simple white shirt and comfy pants, but he exuded so much confidence that he could wear the most unfashionable thing and make it look like it belonged on the runway.
“You guys look unrecognizable. Seriously,” Jin reassured them before heading back the way he came, tossing a playful wink at Jungkook that went unnoticed. Jungkook hadn’t said a word. He just kept staring at Taehyung with an unreadable expression. Goddamn, since when did Jungkook look so intimidating?
“So, how do I look?” Never mind the fact that he himself hadn’t seen what he looked like. Taehyung needed to know what Jungkook thought of him first.
Jungkook was silent, his eyes locked on Taehyung until a nudge from Hobi broke the spell. His ears turned a bright red, and he quickly averted his gaze to somewhere over Taehyung’s shoulder, mumbling, “You look really good.”
Jungkook’s eyes kept drifting back to Taehyung as Hobi made some final adjustments. He would look away, only to return to Taehyung’s face, as if he couldn’t help himself. The way he looked at Taehyung—so intense—it made red hot flames pass through his body.
Taehyung focus!
He looked at the mirror in front of him, a large one attached to the wall like you’d find in dressing rooms. For the first time since his makeover, he could really see himself from all angles, and he had to admit—Hobi had done a pretty good job. Jungkook was almost unrecognizable with his blonde undercut and piercings, but him….. His own transformation was striking. His hair, dyed back to black and straightened—no more messy perms. It had been cut into a sleek, flat style that completely changed his face. Paired with the fitted suit Hobi had chosen for him, he looked like someone straight out of the Victorian era.
He chuckled at his reflection. So polished, so different from his usual cream sweater and beige pants. It did give him a confidence boost though. But every time Taehyung met Jungkook’s gaze in the mirror, he found himself stumbling over his words, trying to keep up with Hobi’s questions. The way Jungkook looked at him made Taehyung feel as though he might be devoured on the spot. He questioned his sanity when he realized that he wasn’t opposed to it.
“It’s pretty late,” Jungkook noted, sitting down beside Taehyung. Their trip had taken longer than Taehyung had expected and night had already fallen.
“Why don’t you guys stay the night here?” Hobi suggested, piling more meat onto Jungkook’s plate despite his protests. “You can head out tomorrow. You both look like you could use the rest.”
“Yeah, Hobi’s right,” Jin agreed, adding more meat to Taehyung’s plate. They were all sitting on the rooftop of Hobi’s shop, sharing the meal Jin had prepared. Hobi and Jin weren’t letting them leave without feeding them first.
“It’s not a bad idea, Tae. What do you think?” Jungkook asked, looking at Taehyung with that irresistible smile. Taehyung’s heart skipped a beat at the sight. Oh god, why did he have to look so handsome? It was seriously messing with his heart.
“Tae?”
“Mhmm?”
“Do you want to stay here?” Jungkook asked, chuckling.
“Mhmm,” Taehyung mumbled. Oh, Jungkook’s pretty eyes, he could spend eternity looking at them.
“Are you just going to keep saying ‘mhmm’ all the time?”
“Mhmmm,” Taehyung sighed. Jungkook had a dimple. So adorable! He was going crazy.
The sound of squeaky windshield wipers jolted Taehyung out of his daze. “Who’s washing windows at this hour?” he asked, looking around.
Hobi and Jungkook burst into laughter.
“First of all, screw you,” Jin said, clearly offended. “I was just laughing,” he pouted.
“Aww, don’t feel bad, hyung. We all love how you laugh,” Hobi said, hugging Jin as he sulked.
By the end of the evening, it was decided that they would stay the night and head back in the morning to start Phase II of their plan.
As Taehyung lay in the bed at Hobi and Jin’s home, staring at the ceiling and trying to ignore Jungkook’s warm body beside him, his mind was already racing thinking of the next day. Tomorrow was crucial. They needed to dive deeper and figure out why Namjoon had blown up the shop. There was something fishy going on as Jungkook had said and they had to find out why.
‘Operation Find Out Why Namjoon Blew Up the Shop’ was officially underway.