00: Prologue
The mechanical 'click' of a cameras shutter seemed to echo in the quiet, a flash bouncing off of the trees. A bunny grin stared at the camera– or, rather, at the woman behind the camera. The man stuck his tongue out just as the flash went off, earning a soft chuckle from the woman.
"Kookie," she said, straightening from the slight bend she had put herself in, to capture the perfect photos of the man, "you're a goof, and I love you, but don't do this to me. I need these for a good grade!"
"Sory, Star." The man with the bunny grin pouted slightly, before bouncing to his feet. "I'm not used to being your subject!"
"Get used to it, bunny boy." Hyeon Byeol replied, sending him a wink, "Jackson isn't going to be able to be my subject for a while, and you're the next cutest thing."
Jeon Jungkook sighed heavily, giving an overly dramatic pout. "Fiiine, Beebee!"
There was a few more shutter clicks, and a few more flashes of light. The silence was tense, before Jungkook spoke up again.
"Byeol," he whispered, "are you going with him? To that meeting?"
Byeol stiffened very slightly, dropping her camera and allowing it to fall against her stomach, the straps jerking against her neck.
She took a deep breath, pulling a small case out of her pocket, and putting on her pair of glasses.
"Yeah, Kook. I am." She saw the displeasure on his face, and she shook her head. "Stop worring, hun. I've been doing this for a very long time."
"And you only just told me about it." His jaw tightened, ears red from his anger- the anger he would keep quiet, because he didn't want to hurt her feelings. A sigh left her lips, and she went over, wrapping her arms around his waist, careful of her camera. He responded, draping his arms around her shoulders.
"Sorry, Bee..." He muttered, "Its just hard, knowing you're wrapped up in business like that."
"Kookie, honey, I've been wrapped up in the same stuff you've been wrapped up in. The only difference is, I don't do extensive field work like you do. Just intelligence."
"Which is just as dangerous!"
"Jackson has been keeping me safe, and you know that."
"Jackson shouldn't have let you join his gang at all, no matter how desperate for money you were!"
"Jungkook!" She snapped, leaning her head back to stare at him. His jaw clamped shut, and he looked away, a dark glare on his face. Dark ink peeked out from the right side of his chest, his shirt moving just enough to expose part of his tattoo.
That tattoo was the reason she had gone to her boyfriend, and demanded that he let her into his gang; his world of darkness and violence that he, just like her childhood best friend, had tried to hide her from for so long — that damn tattoo, and the horror story that came with it.
—————
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jackson's dark, worried eyes searched hers, his large warm hands cupping her cheeks. "You can always dip out now; if they don't see you, you can still get out."
"Jackson," Byeol pouted, "I'll be fine. I know I look like a doll, but I can take care of myself. Besides, you can't find someone better at information gathering than me!"
He laughed gently, placing a kiss on her nose. "You're right there... Ah, just make sure you don't go too far from my side, okay?"
"Okay."
Smiling at her, a smile that was surely sad, he tucked a strand of her chocolate hair behind her ear. Then he turned to his men, the men that had grown to respect him and adore the girl he had claimed, and they all walked into a beaten down, ugly bar.
When they all came out, hours later, covered in blood splatters as the sun began its ascent. there was only one word that stood out to Hyeon Byeol. One word, that reminded her of a bunny smile and happy, warm memories.
Bangtan.
