Chapter Text
The first thing Jungkook became aware of was the sound of his alarm.
It wasn't a gentle sound. It wasn't the kind of alarm that slowly eased someone into consciousness with soft music or a calming voice. It was loud, obnoxious, and intentionally unbearable, which was probably the only reason it worked. Still half asleep, Jungkook groaned and blindly reached across the thin mattress beneath him, fingers searching for his phone until he finally managed to silence it.
For a few seconds, there was silence.
Then another alarm started.
Jungkook let out a quiet, miserable noise and pulled his blanket over his head.
"No," he mumbled, voice muffled against the pillow. "Not yet."
He knew he couldn't stay there. He knew he had a lecture in a little over an hour, and he knew he needed time to shower, get dressed, and somehow make himself look like a functioning human being. But his body clearly hadn't received the message that he was supposed to be awake. It wanted sleep. It wanted another few hours. It wanted him to stop pushing himself for five minutes.
Unfortunately, his schedule had never cared what he wanted.
The third alarm finally forced him upright.
Jungkook sat there for a moment, staring blankly at the wall in front of him as his brain slowly caught up with reality. His hair was a mess, his eyes felt heavy, and his entire body carried the familiar ache of someone who had gone to bed far too late and woken up far too early.
He glanced at his phone.
6:15 a.m.
He'd fallen asleep somewhere around three.
Again.
A tired sigh escaped him as he dragged a hand down his face. "I'm really going to fix my sleep schedule one day."
He said it every morning, but he had yet to actually do it.
Pushing himself off the mattress, Jungkook moved through his small studio apartment on autopilot. The place wasn't much, but it was his. It was a tiny rented room squeezed between two other apartments in an old building near campus, with a kitchenette along one wall and barely enough space between his desk and bed to comfortably walk through.
His desk was the only part of the room that looked truly lived in. Textbooks were stacked unevenly beside his laptop, notebooks covered in handwritten notes sat open beside research articles, and colourful sticky notes decorated almost every available surface. His university work had slowly taken over the apartment until it felt like he was living in the middle of a library.
Not that he minded. Most days, his assignments were the one thing he felt confident about. Everything else was a little more uncertain.
Jungkook opened the fridge, already knowing what he would find.
A bottle of water.
Half a carton of milk.
One egg.
A packet of kimchi that was almost finished.
He stared into the empty space for a few seconds before quietly closing the door.
The cupboards weren't much better.
Three packets of instant ramen sat beside a half-empty bag of rice, a jar of peanut butter, and two slices of bread left in their packaging.
He looked at the bread.
Then at the clock.
Then back at the bread.
He could eat it now, but if he saved it, he could have something before his shift later. The convenience store where he worked didn't always let employees eat during busy hours, and buying food while he was there defeated the purpose of working.
After a moment, he closed the cupboard.
He'd manage.
He always did.
Instead, Jungkook made himself a small cup of instant coffee, carefully measuring the amount of powder because the jar was almost empty. He had learned over the years how to stretch things out. Coffee, food, laundry detergent, his phone data. Anything that could possibly last another week if he was careful enough.
The coffee wasn't good, it was mostly warm water with a vague coffee flavour. But it was caffeine, and caffeine was sometimes the only thing keeping him going.
After showering, Jungkook stood in front of the bathroom mirror while attempting to make himself look more awake than he felt. His hair refused to cooperate, falling into his eyes no matter how many times he pushed it back.
The person staring back at him looked tired.
Really tired.
Dark circles sat beneath his eyes, and there was a faint crease on his cheek from where he'd slept against his pillow. His favourite hoodie was beginning to show its age too, the fabric faded from years of use and one sleeve repaired with careful stitching after it had torn months ago.
He knew he should probably replace it.
Eventually.
When he had the money.
For now, it was still warm, still comfortable, and still perfectly wearable. That was enough.
Jungkook grabbed his backpack from beside the door and immediately froze when he heard the sound of something tearing.
Slowly, he looked down.
One of the straps was beginning to separate.
"...Seriously?"
He carefully placed the bag back on the floor and inspected the damage. It wasn't completely broken yet, but it wouldn't survive much longer.
A frustrated sigh left him as he opened the drawer beneath his desk and pulled out a small sewing kit.
20 minutes later, he was sitting on the floor, carefully repairing the strap with thread that definitely wasn't the right colour but would hopefully hold.
It wasn't pretty.
It wasn't perfect.
But it worked.
Jungkook smiled faintly as he tied off the final knot.
"There."
He placed the backpack over his shoulder again. Good enough. Everything didn't have to be perfect, sometimes good enough was what got you through.
By the time Jungkook arrived at university, he was already running slightly late.
He hurried through the entrance of the lecture hall just as the doors were about to close, offering the professor an apologetic smile.
"Sorry."
Professor Hwang looked up from his notes and shook his head with an amused expression. "Cutting it close again, Jungkook?"
Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck. "A little."
"At least you're consistent."
A few students laughed quietly, and Jungkook smiled despite himself before taking his usual seat.
To everyone else, Jungkook seemed like he had everything together.
He was the student who always submitted his assignments on time. The one who volunteered to help classmates when they didn't understand something. The one who remembered everyone's names and always had extra notes to share.
No one saw him calculating how long his groceries needed to last, no one saw him checking his bank account before buying anything, no one saw the exhaustion that followed him home every night.
"Did you finish the reading?" Mina whispered beside him once the lecture began.
Jungkook nodded and pulled out his notebook. "Yeah. I wrote down some points too if you want them."
Her face brightened immediately. "Seriously? You're the best."
"It's fine."
And he meant it.
Helping people never felt like a burden to Jungkook. If he had something that could make someone else's day easier, why wouldn't he share it?
The lecture continued, and Jungkook focused as best as he could. He took notes, answered questions, and participated when called on. From the outside, there was no sign that he had barely slept.
Until, eventually, exhaustion caught up with him.
His eyes closed for just a second, maybe two. His pen slipped from his fingers and hit the desk. The sound made him jolt awake immediately.
Heat rushed to his face as he realised several people had noticed.
"Sorry," he whispered.
Professor Hwang simply gave him a knowing smile before continuing. Jungkook lowered his gaze, embarrassed, and quietly picked up his pen.
Just get through today, that was all he needed to do.
One lecture.
One shift.
One assignment.
Then maybe, if he was lucky, he could sleep. Although lately, Jungkook was starting to wonder when exactly "lucky" was supposed to happen.
By the time Jungkook left his final lecture of the day, his exhaustion had settled into something almost familiar.
It wasn't the sharp kind of tiredness that made him want to collapse immediately. He had long since passed that point. Instead, it was a constant heaviness that followed him everywhere, like a weight resting on his shoulders. He had learned how to carry it without letting anyone notice.
His classmates were already making plans for the evening as they left the lecture hall.
"Are you coming to the festival tonight?" Mina asked, adjusting the strap of her bag.
Jungkook blinked. "Festival?"
She stared at him.
"The university event? The one everyone's been talking about for the last two weeks?"
Jungkook paused, then slowly looked down at his phone.
There were several messages from the student group chat that he hadn't opened yet. Most of them were about the event happening in the city centre that evening, something organised jointly by the university and several local organisations.
Right.
That festival.
"I forgot," he admitted.
Mina laughed. "How do you forget something that's basically taken over campus?"
Jungkook smiled sheepishly. "I've been busy." lThat was a bit of an understatement.
Between lectures, assignments and work, his days had started blending together. He often felt like he was moving from one responsibility to the next without having enough time to properly stop and think.
"You should come," Mina insisted. "There'll be free food."
That caught his attention.
"Free food?"
She immediately grinned. "I knew that would get you."
Jungkook rolled his eyes, though he was smiling. "I'm not that predictable."
The festival wasn't something he would usually attend. Crowds weren't exactly his favourite thing, and he already had a mountain of work waiting for him at home. But Mina had been one of the few people who noticed when he was struggling during the semester, and refusing her invitation felt unnecessarily difficult.
Besides...free food. And maybe taking a few hours away from his laptop wouldn't hurt.
"Okay," he finally agreed. "I'll go."
"Good. You need to have fun sometimes."
Jungkook smiled at that.
Fun.
He wasn't entirely sure he remembered how to do that.
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The city festival was already crowded by the time Jungkook arrived.
The streets had been transformed completely. Colourful decorations hung between buildings, music played from several stages scattered throughout the area, and stalls lined the sidewalks selling food, handmade crafts and university merchandise.
For once, Jungkook allowed himself to simply look around.
It was nice.
People were laughing, families walked together, students who usually rushed past each other on campus were stopping to talk. For a few hours, everyone seemed less busy.
Jungkook wandered through the crowd with a small paper cup of free fruit juice in his hand, quietly taking everything in. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to do something without worrying about the next thing waiting for him.
Almost.
His phone buzzed.
A reminder.
His shift started in less than an hour, and like that the moment of relaxation disappeared. Jungkook sighed softly and checked the time.
He could stay for a little longer, just a little. He still had time to get to work.
As he moved through the festival, he found himself stopping near one of the larger stages. A demonstration was taking place nearby, surrounded by security barriers and several officials.
The crowd gathered there was larger than anywhere else. Jungkook tilted his head curiously.
"What are they doing?" he asked someone nearby.
The person glanced over.
"Hero agency demonstration, I think."
"Oh."
That made sense.
In a world where people with abilities existed, public appearances by licensed heroes weren't unusual. They were celebrities, protectors and symbols of safety all at once.
Jungkook had never paid much attention to them. Heroes and villains existed in a world that always felt slightly separate from his own. His biggest battles involved deadlines and rent. Not superpowered criminals.
He was about to leave when the atmosphere changed.
It was subtle at first. The music stopped. Not because the performance ended, but because the power cut out.
The entire festival went quiet. Jungkook looked around, confused. The sudden silence felt wrong. People began murmuring and the security moved. The officials near the stage immediately changed from relaxed to alert.
Then every screen across the festival flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Before being replaced by a single symbol. A symbol everyone recognised.
The reaction was instant.
The crowd erupted, people screamed, some ran immediately. Others froze, staring upward in disbelief.
Jungkook felt his stomach drop.
No.
Not here.
Not now.
Around him, people began shouting the same name.
Bangtan.
The most notorious villain group in the country.
The six people who appeared on every news channel whenever something impossible happened. The criminals even heroes struggled to stop.
The first explosion wasn't large.
Smoke filled the far end of the festival grounds as alarms began blaring. Jungkook stood frozen for a moment too long, his brain struggling to catch up.
This wasn't a movie. This wasn't something happening somewhere else. This was real.
People were running, people were terrified, and he was standing right in the middle of it.
"Move!"
Someone grabbed his shoulder, pulling him away as another group rushed past. Jungkook stumbled, clutching his backpack strap. His heart hammered against his ribs.
He needed to leave.
He needed to find the exit.
He needed to-
A second explosion shook the ground. This one closer.
Jungkook flinched violently. Above the chaos, six figures appeared through the smoke. And every person around him knew exactly who they were. They stepped through the smoke with a calmness that made the chaos around them feel even more frightening.
Everyone else was running.
Everyone else was screaming.
But Bangtan walked forward like they had all the time in the world.
Jungkook had seen them before, everyone had. Their faces appeared on news reports, security warnings and emergency broadcasts so often that even people who had never personally encountered them knew exactly who they were.
The leader.
The strategist.
The one who always seemed three steps ahead.
Kim Namjoon.
Beside him was Kim Seokjin, whose abilities had earned him a reputation as one of the most unpredictable members of the group. Min Yoongi, quiet and expressionless, was known for his terrifying demeanour and efficiency. Jung Hoseok, whose cheerful personality made him somehow even more unsettling when paired with his destructive abilities. Park Jimin, whose charm had fooled countless people before they realised they had already lost.
And Kim Taehyung, the wild card, the one no one could ever predict.
Together, they were Bangtan. Six villains who had managed to evade every hero agency attempt to capture them. Six people who had become legends. And right now, they were standing only a few metres away from Jungkook.
His body finally remembered how to move. Jungkook turned, he needed to leave.
The crowd was already rushing towards the emergency exits, and for a moment he convinced himself he could disappear among them. He wasn't important, he wasn't involved, he was just a university student who had made the mistake of coming to a festival on the wrong day.
He took one step, then another. A wall of people pushed past him, knocking his shoulder.
Someone screamed.
Another explosion sounded in the distance.
Jungkook stumbled backwards, losing sight of the exit.
Panic started clawing up his throat.
He couldn't breathe properly.
He couldn't think.
The heroes stationed around the festival were already engaging, bright flashes of abilities lighting up the streets as they tried to contain the situation. Civilians were being moved away, but there were too many people. Too much noise. Too much confusion.
And in the middle of it all, Jungkook stood frozen.
That was his mistake.
Because Bangtan noticed.
"Security response is faster than expected," Namjoon said calmly, looking over the crowd. Despite the chaos surrounding them, his voice remained steady.
"They've blocked the east exit."
Yoongi glanced towards the approaching heroes.
"Then we leave through the west."
Hobi smiled slightly. "That would be too easy."
Namjoon ignored him. Their mission had been successful, they had obtained what they came for. The only thing left was extraction. But the increased hero presence meant they needed another advantage. Something to slow them down.
Someone.
"We need leverage," Namjoon said.
The others immediately understood.
A hostage.
It wasn't unusual for villain groups to use one during escapes. It wasn't something they enjoyed, but it was effective. Heroes were far less likely to attack recklessly if an innocent person's life was at risk.
Yoongi's eyes scanned the crowd.
"Someone recognisable would be useful."
"No," Jimin replied. "Too obvious. They'll prioritise them."
Taehyung looked around thoughtfully. Then his gaze landed on someone standing several metres away.
A young man.
University ID still hanging around his neck, backpack over one shoulder, completely frozen.
"That one."
The others followed his gaze. For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Hobi tilted his head. "The student?"
Taehyung nodded.
"He's alone."
Jin looked over.
"He looks like he might faint."
"Exactly," Yoongi said.
Namjoon studied Jungkook carefully. A hostage needed to be someone they could control. Someone who wouldn't create unnecessary problems.
This student looked like the safest option.
"Fine."
The decision was made.
Jungkook noticed one of them looking at him. His stomach dropped.
No.
No, no, no.
He looked away immediately, hoping that if he didn't draw attention to himself, they would ignore him. It didn't work. The footsteps approaching him sounded impossibly loud despite the chaos around him.
Jungkook backed away.
"Wait..." His voice barely came out.
The person in front of him stopped. It was Taehyung. Up close, he was even more intimidating.
Jungkook's breathing became uneven.
"Please," he said quickly. "I don't know anything."
Taehyung looked almost surprised. Jungkook continued before he could stop himself.
"I didn't see anything, I swear. I was just leaving." The words tumbled out. "I'm not involved. I don't know what you're looking for."
For the first time, something shifted in Taehyung's expression. Not guilt, not yet. Just curiosity.
"You talk a lot when you're scared." Jungkook froze, because that was not the response he expected.
Then Taehyung reached forward.
Jungkook flinched.
"No, wait-"
A second later, his feet left the ground. Jungkook let out a startled gasp as Taehyung effortlessly lifted him and threw him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing.
Panic exploded through him.
"Put me down!"
He immediately grabbed onto Taehyung's jacket to stop himself from falling, then seemed to realise what he was doing and let go again.
"Sorry-"
He stopped. Why was he apologising? He was being kidnapped.
"Please," Jungkook said, voice shaking. "Please let me go."
Taehyung continued on despite his protests.
"I'm sorry." The words came out quieter. "I really don't know anything."
Around them, people screamed as they realised what was happening.
A hostage.
Bangtan had taken a hostage.
Jungkook heard someone shout for the heroes. He heard the panic, he heard people saying his life was in danger. And all he could do was hold onto the back of Taehyung's coat and try desperately not to think about where they were taking him.
Because if the news was right...if all the stories were true...he had just been taken by the most dangerous villains in the country.
The journey away from the festival felt unreal.
Jungkook couldn't tell whether everything was happening too quickly or whether his mind had simply slowed down in an attempt to process what was happening. Only a few minutes ago, he had been standing in the middle of a crowded festival, worrying about whether he would have enough time to get to his shift after accepting a free drink from a university event. Now he was being carried away by one of the most dangerous villains in the country while the sound of alarms and terrified voices faded behind them.
Every instinct in his body was telling him to fight.
He should do something. He should scream louder, struggle harder, try to get someone's attention. That was what people did in situations like this. They fought back, they found a way out.
But every time he moved, he was reminded of the impossible difference between them.
Taehyung barely reacted.
Jungkook had tried twisting away once, but it had been like trying to escape from a wall. The arm holding him in place didn't tighten painfully, but it didn't loosen either. There was no effort, no struggle, no sign that Taehyung even considered him a threat.
That frightened Jungkook more than anything. This wasn't someone who had lost control, this was someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
"Please," Jungkook tried again, his voice quieter this time. "You don't have to do this."
For a moment, he wondered if Taehyung had even heard him. Then, unexpectedly, he answered.
"I know."
Jungkook froze.
The response was so calm that it took him several seconds to understand what he had just said.
"You...you know?"
Taehyung continued walking, his expression unreadable.
"Yes."
A cold feeling settled in Jungkook's stomach. They weren't confused, they weren't taking him because of some mistake, they had chosen him. The thought made his chest tighten.
He wasn't anyone important. He wasn't connected to the hero agency. He wasn't wealthy or influential or someone whose disappearance would cause a national emergency.
He was just a university student.
Someone easy.
Someone who wouldn't be able to fight back.
Jungkook swallowed hard and forced himself to stop thinking like that. Panic wouldn't help him. He needed to stay calm. He needed to remember where he was going, who had taken him, anything that might help later.
But every time he looked around and saw the other members of Bangtan moving with complete confidence, that small piece of hope became harder to hold onto.
They weren't improvising, they were a team.
Namjoon moved at the front, constantly checking their surroundings and making quick decisions whenever their path changed. Yoongi followed closely behind, occasionally glancing back towards the streets they had left behind, making sure the heroes hadn't managed to catch up. Jin and Jimin spoke quietly between themselves, their conversation calm enough that it almost felt impossible considering the situation they were in.
Hobi looked back at Jungkook more than once. Not with anger, just curiosity. That almost made Jungkook more nervous.
If they were cruel, if they were openly threatening him, then he would know what to expect. He could understand anger, he could understand hatred. But this strange calmness made him feel like he was missing something, like there was something about this situation he didn't understand.
Eventually, they reached a waiting vehicle hidden several streets away from the festival. The sight of it made Jungkook's heart sink.
Until that moment, some small part of him had still believed something would happen. A hero would appear, someone would stop them, maybe he would get a chance to run.
But now the streets were quiet.
The festival was far behind them.
No one was coming.
Taehyung lowered him carefully back onto his feet, and for a brief moment Jungkook considered running.
His body reacted before his mind could stop it. His eyes flicked towards the street, the open road, the buildings, the possibility of escape. Then he looked back at the six people surrounding him.
He knew.
Even if he managed to run, he wouldn't get far. His shoulders lowered slightly, the fight leaving him before it had even begun.
Jimin noticed. He didn't say anything, but the expression on his face changed.
"Get in," Namjoon said.
His voice wasn't harsh, but it carried the kind of authority that made it clear arguing would accomplish nothing.
Jungkook hesitated before climbing into the vehicle.
He sat as far away from them as possible, pressing himself against the side of the seat and keeping his hands close to himself. He tried to stop his breathing from becoming too obvious, but every sound in the enclosed space felt amplified.
Before he knew it the engine started, and then they were moving.
The silence inside the vehicle was unbearable. Jungkook stared out of the window, watching the city pass by in a blur. He tried to memorise landmarks, street names, anything that might tell him where they were going.
He wasn't sure what he would do with that information, but doing nothing felt worse.
"You can relax."
Jungkook looked over immediately. Jin was watching him from across the vehicle. The words were clearly meant to reassure him, but they only made Jungkook tense further.
"I'm sorry?"
Jin seemed to realise how that sounded.
"I mean...you don't need to sit like you're expecting us to attack you."
Jungkook stared at him, and his answer came before he could stop himself. "You kidnapped me."
Jin opened his mouth, then closed it, because there wasn't really anything he could say.
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The place they brought him to was not what Jungkook expected. He had imagined something cold and frightening. A hidden prison beneath the city. A place designed to make people feel powerless.
In some ways, the building did match his expectations.
The security was unlike anything he had ever seen. The doors required multiple checks, the technology throughout the facility was far beyond anything he understood, and every part of the place seemed carefully designed to prevent anyone from entering or leaving without permission.
But the deeper they went, the more confusing it became. There were signs of people actually living there.
A kitchen.
A lounge.
Bookshelves filled with books.
A dining table with papers scattered across one end.
It looked less like a villain headquarters and more like a home.
Jungkook didn't know what to do with that information. Homes weren't supposed to belong to people like Bangtan.
"Sit."
Namjoon's voice pulled him back. Jungkook looked towards the chair in the centre of the room. His stomach tightened, he knew what was coming.
Slowly, he walked over and sat down.
For a moment, nobody moved, then Yoongi returned with rope.
Jungkook's breathing caught. He knew it was coming, he had expected it. Logically, he understood why they were doing it. But knowing something was going to happen didn't make it less terrifying when it actually did.
"Please..."
The word escaped before he could stop it. Everyone looked at him and Jungkook immediately lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
The apology came automatically. "I just..." He swallowed, trying to find the right words. "I'm not going to run."
Namjoon studied him for a moment.
"I believe you." That answer surprised him, but Namjoon still took the rope.
"This is just precaution." Jungkook nodded.
He sat still while they secured his wrists, trying not to show how much the situation was affecting him. The feeling of being restrained made reality settle over him completely.
He was trapped.
He was alone.
And the people standing around him were the same people he had spent years seeing on news reports, described as threats and criminals and dangers to society.
For several minutes after the rope was secured around his wrists, Jungkook didn't move.
He sat exactly where they had left him, his hands resting awkwardly in his lap as he stared down at the floor. The rope wasn't painfully tight, and he knew that objectively. It wasn't cutting into his skin or restricting his movement completely, but that didn't stop the feeling of helplessness that came with it. There was something terrifying about not being able to simply stand up and walk away, especially when the people who had taken away that choice were six of the most dangerous people in the country.
His mind kept trying to catch up with what had happened.
Earlier that day, his biggest concern had been whether he could finish his assignment before his shift started. He had been worrying about groceries, rent, and whether his backpack strap would survive another month. He had never once imagined that by the end of the day he would be sitting inside Bangtan's headquarters, unable to leave.
It felt impossible. Like he was going to wake up and find himself back in his tiny apartment, late for a lecture and annoyed at himself for falling asleep. But every time he looked around, reality reminded him that this was not a dream.
Namjoon watched him quietly for a moment before turning his attention back to the others.
"Jimin, check the external systems. Yoongi, make sure there weren't any trackers hidden on anything we brought back."
The instructions were calm and practical, and everyone immediately moved to follow them. Jungkook couldn't help watching. That was the strangest part of all of this, they were acting normal. Not relaxed exactly, but normal.
They weren't shouting at him, they weren't threatening him, they weren't even trying to scare him into cooperating. They had taken him from a public event, brought him to an unknown location, and tied him to a chair, yet the atmosphere around them felt almost routine.
That somehow unsettled Jungkook more than if they had been cruel. Cruelty would have been easier to understand. He knew how to react to anger, he knew how to react to threats.
Jungkook stayed quiet as the minutes passed, afraid that speaking without permission would somehow make things worse. He didn't know what they wanted from him, and until he did, he decided the safest thing was to avoid causing problems.
The longer he sat there, however, the harder it became to ignore the uncomfortable ache in his body. His shoulders hurt from being tense for so long. His wrists were beginning to feel sore where the rope rested against them. Most noticeably, his stomach had started twisting with hunger.
He tried to ignore it, he really did. But after hours of stress and very little food, his body eventually betrayed him. The quiet growl of his stomach echoed through the room.
Jungkook froze, his face immediately heated with embarrassment. For a moment, nobody said anything. Then Jin looked over.
"Are you hungry?"
Jungkook shook his head almost immediately.
"No." The answer came out so quickly that even he knew it was unconvincing.
Jin raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
"I'm fine." There was a pause and Jungkook looked down at his hands. "I don't want to be difficult."
The words were quiet, almost like he hadn't intended for anyone else to hear them. That was what caught their attention.
Jin's expression changed slightly.
"You think asking for food is being difficult?"
Jungkook hesitated.
"No." He glanced away. "Not usually."
That small addition was enough for Jin to notice.
Usually.
It suggested that somewhere along the way, Jungkook had become used to ignoring his own needs before they became someone else's problem.
Jin didn't comment on it, but he disappeared into the kitchen a moment later. Jungkook watched him go, confusion slowly replacing some of his fear.
He didn't understand.
If they wanted information from him, why were they feeding him? If they wanted him to be afraid, why were they acting like this? His mind searched for an explanation, but every possibility seemed to contradict itself.
When Jin returned, he placed a plate of food on the table in front of him.
Jungkook stared at it. It wasn't some small snack or something thrown together without thought. It was a proper meal.
His eyes moved from the food to Jin.
"Why?"
Jin looked genuinely confused.
"Why what?"
"Why are you giving me this?"
There was a brief silence.
"Because you're hungry."
Jungkook didn't move. The simplicity of the answer made him almost more confused.
"You kidnapped me."
"Yes."
"And now you're feeding me."
"Yes."
Jungkook stared at him.
Jin sighed softly. "We may be villains, but that doesn't mean we're going to leave someone hungry."
It still didn't make sense to Jungkook. Nothing about this situation made sense, but his body had already made the decision for him.
However, there was still an issue standing in his way. Slowly, Jungkook looked down at his bound hands before glancing back at the plate of food.
Only then did the reality of the situation sink in.
He couldn't eat.
A flush of embarrassment crept up his neck as he awkwardly shifted his wrists, instinctively testing the rope despite already knowing it wouldn't give him enough freedom to hold the utensils. For a brief moment, he considered asking if they could untie him, but the memory of how quickly they'd tied him in the first place made the request die before it ever reached his lips.
"...It's okay," he murmured quietly, lowering his gaze. "I can wait."
Jin frowned.
"Wait for what?"
"Until..." Jungkook hesitated. "Until later."
"You mean until we untie you?"
Jungkook gave a small nod. "I don't want to cause any trouble."
A silence settled over the room.
Jin looked down at the neatly plated meal before looking back at the young man sitting in front of him. With a quiet sigh, Jin pulled out the chair opposite Jungkook and sat down.
"You don't have to wait."
Jungkook looked up, confusion flickering across his face. Before he could ask what Jin meant, the older man picked up the fork.
Jungkook's eyes widened.
"...What are you doing?"
"Feeding you."
The answer was so matter-of-fact that it took several seconds for Jungkook's brain to process it. His eyes darted uncertainly towards the others, almost as if waiting for someone to laugh or explain that it was some kind of joke. No one did.
"I..." His voice caught. "You don't have to."
"I know." Jin scooped up a small bite and held it out towards him. "But unless you'd rather starve, I don't see many other options."
Jungkook's cheeks burned. This was humiliating.
He was twenty-one years old, not a child. He should have been perfectly capable of feeding himself, yet here he was, tied to a chair while one of the country's most infamous supervillains patiently waited for him to open his mouth.
Every part of the situation felt absurd.
For several long seconds, he simply stared at the offered fork. Eventually, hunger won. With obvious hesitation, Jungkook leaned forward just enough to take the bite, carefully making sure not to bump the utensil.
The food was warm.
Rich with flavour.
It tasted far better than anything he'd had in weeks.
He swallowed quickly, suddenly aware that everyone in the room seemed to be pretending they weren't watching.
Jin simply prepared another bite. They fell into an awkward rhythm after that.
Jungkook accepted each mouthful with a quiet, mumbled "thank you," his voice growing softer each time, while Jin continued feeding him as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world. The silence wasn't uncomfortable exactly, but it was strange, filled with an unspoken awareness from everyone present that this was not how any of them had expected the evening to unfold.
By the time the plate was empty, Jungkook felt almost painfully self-conscious. He couldn't bring himself to meet anyone's eyes as Jin set the fork down, quietly taking the empty plate back towards the kitchen.
Despite the embarrassment knotting in his stomach, the meal had taken the sharp edge off his hunger, leaving him feeling warmer than he had since the festival. For the first time since he'd been dragged from the city centre, his body no longer felt like it was running purely on adrenaline and exhaustion.
And speaking of exhaustion, a yawn escaped him before he could stop it. Immediately, he straightened.
"Sorry."
The apology came automatically. This time, even Jungkook noticed how strange it sounded.
Nobody had said anything, nobody had even reacted. Yet he had apologised anyway. Hobi, who had been watching him quietly from across the room, tilted his head slightly.
"You do that a lot."
Jungkook looked at him.
"Do what?"
"Apologise."
Jungkook opened his mouth, but no answer came. Because he didn't know. He had never really thought about it, it was just something he did.
The conversation faded naturally after that, but the observation stayed with them. Jungkook didn't notice the way the six of them exchanged glances. He didn't notice the questions beginning to form, because exhaustion was catching up with him.
The adrenaline that had kept him awake through the attack and the journey to the lair was finally fading. He knew he shouldn't sleep. Not here, not surrounded by people he didn't know. Sleeping meant lowering his guard, and lowering his guard meant becoming vulnerable. But exhaustion was stronger than fear.
Slowly, his head tilted forward. His eyes closed for just a moment. That was all he intended, just a moment.
But the moment became longer, and before Jungkook realised it, he had fallen asleep in the middle of Bangtan's headquarters, still sitting in the chair they had placed him in, finally unable to fight against the exhaustion he had been carrying for far longer than any of them realised.
Jungkook's breathing gradually settled into the slow, steady rhythm of genuine sleep, the tension that had kept his body rigid for hours finally easing now that exhaustion had won the battle his mind had been desperately trying to fight.
For several long moments, nobody spoke.
The room, which had been filled with quiet conversation only minutes earlier, fell into an unusual silence as all six of them found themselves looking towards the sleeping student in the centre of the room. None of them had expected this. They had expected fear, resistance, perhaps even anger once the initial shock had worn off. Instead, the person they had taken as a hostage had simply...fallen asleep.
Even in sleep there was a faint crease between Jungkook's brows, and every now and then his fingers twitched weakly against the rope around his wrists, as though some part of him still remembered where he was and refused to relax completely.
It wasn't peaceful sleep. It was the kind that came only when a body had been pushed beyond its limits and could no longer stay awake, no matter how frightened its owner happened to be.
Namjoon studied him quietly, his gaze eventually drifting to the university lanyard that still hung around Jungkook's neck. In all the confusion of leaving the festival they had barely paid attention to it, seeing it as little more than proof that they had chosen an ordinary civilian rather than someone connected to the hero agency. Looking at it now, however, it felt strangely personal.
He stepped closer and carefully lifted the identification card just enough to read it without disturbing the sleeping student.
"Jeon Jungkook," he read aloud.
The name was met with quiet acknowledgement from the others, but nobody said much else. Somehow, knowing his name made the situation feel different. Before, he had simply been the hostage they had needed in order to ensure a clean escape.
Now he was a real person with a name, a university, and, judging by the stack of textbooks they'd found in his bag earlier, an entire life that had been interrupted because he had happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Jin's attention drifted towards the backpack resting beside the chair. It had already been searched for anything that might pose a risk to the base, but the contents had been almost painfully ordinary. Lecture notes written in remarkably neat handwriting, several well-used textbooks, a laptop that looked like it had seen better days, and pages of colour-coded revision notes filled almost every available pocket.
"He studies a lot," Jin observed quietly.
Yoongi gave a small shrug. "Looks like it."
"There wasn't much else in there."
The words weren't intended to carry any deeper meaning, but they lingered in the room all the same.
There really hadn't been much else.
No expensive electronics. No unnecessary purchases. Even his wallet had contained little more than his student card, a travel pass and a handful of notes folded so carefully that it had looked as though he was trying to make them last for as long as possible. Everything about Jungkook suggested someone who lived simply, not because he wanted to, but because he had no other choice.
Hobi glanced towards the sleeping student again, his eyes lingering on the dark circles beneath them now that Jungkook wasn't trying so hard to hide how exhausted he felt.
"I don't think he was sleeping much before we took him."
Jimin looked over.
"What makes you say that?"
"He didn't just doze off," Hobi replied, his voice quieter than usual. "He crashed." Nobody argued with that, they had all seen it happen.
Jungkook had tried to stay awake. Even after everything that had happened, after being kidnapped, tied to a chair and taken to an unknown location, he had still fought against sleep with everything he had. His body had simply reached the point where it refused to listen anymore.
Jin's gaze dropped to the rope still securing Jungkook's wrists.
"...He's going to wake up sore."
The marks weren't severe, but there was a faint redness where the rope rested against his skin. It wasn't something any of them had paid much attention to while Jungkook was awake, yet now it seemed strangely noticeable.
Namjoon followed Jin's line of sight before letting out a quiet breath.
"Untie him."
Yoongi looked up.
"You sure?"
"He's exhausted." There was no hesitation in Namjoon's voice, only quiet certainty.
No one argued further.
Jin crouched beside the chair, taking care not to make any sudden movements as he slowly loosened the knots around Jungkook's wrists. The rope slipped away easily, allowing his arms to fall naturally into his lap, and although Jungkook shifted slightly at the change, he didn't wake. Instead, he simply let out a small sigh and instinctively curled his hands closer to himself, as though even asleep he was trying to make himself smaller.
For reasons none of them could quite explain, that simple movement settled heavily over the room.
"He shouldn't stay there all night," Jimin murmured after a while, glancing at the awkward angle Jungkook had slumped into. "He's going to wake up with a ruined back."
No one gave an order. Somehow, they all simply moved.
Taehyung lifted Jungkook from the chair with the same ease he had carried him away from the festival, though this time there was none of the urgency from before. Jungkook barely stirred as he was moved, his head instinctively falling against Taehyung's shoulder for a brief moment before he was carefully laid down on the sofa.
Jin disappeared briefly before returning with a folded blanket, draping it over Jungkook without a word. Hobi dimmed the lights in the room, muttering something about not wanting them shining directly into his face if he woke during the night, while Yoongi quietly moved the coffee table out of the way to give him more space.
The changes were small. Individually, none of them meant very much. Together, however, they painted a picture that none of the six villains had expected to find themselves creating only hours after taking a hostage.
For a while, they simply watched him sleep.
Without the fear so clearly visible in his eyes, Jungkook looked impossibly young. His features had softened, the constant tension in his shoulders easing just enough to reveal how slight he really was beneath the oversized hoodie he wore.
It wasn't difficult to imagine him back on a university campus, buried beneath assignments and deadlines instead of sleeping on the sofa of the country's most wanted villain organisation.
It was Hobi who eventually broke the silence.
"...How does someone get that tired?" No one answered.
There were any number of possibilities, but none of them knew enough about Jungkook to guess which one was true.
What they did know was that they had expected to bring back a bargaining chip.
Instead, they had somehow ended up with a frightened university student who apologised for existing, tried to convince them he wasn't hungry despite his stomach growling loud enough for the room to hear, and had been so utterly exhausted that he had fallen asleep while tied to a chair in the headquarters of six supervillains.
Somewhere between the festival and now, the situation had become far more complicated than any of them had intended.
And none of them realised it yet, but by the time Jungkook woke the following morning, not a single one of them would be thinking of him as just a hostage anymore.