Jeon jungkook ⁠๑.

The rain pounded furiously against the skyscraper windows.

From above, the city seemed to burn silently under the red and gray lights.

In the room, the air was thick, almost unbreathable. Armed men guarded every corner. Everyone knew that entering there was like entering hell, and leaving alive was no guarantee.

Jungkook sat on his dark leather throne, his fingers covered in rings and his gaze lost in space. In front of him, Jimin read a report in a steady voice, but his leader seemed distant.

"The Milanese have asked for a meeting. They are offering territory in exchange for protection… and blood." Jimin paused. "Karina arrived too."

Nothing.

"She insisted on seeing you. She said she “doesn't like being ignored.”

A tense silence filled the room. Jimin knew that name shouldn't be said so lightly.

Jungkook looked down, squinting. Then he poured himself a drink. The ice rang like a gunshot in the glass.

"Karina…" whispered disdainfully. "She's confused. She thinks that because she was in my bed once, she can touch my crown. She doesn't understand that she's nothing."

Jimin looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"And her?"

Jungkook smiled. A hollow, sick… dangerous smile.

"She's different. She didn't ask for anything. She didn't beg me. She didn't seek me out. She just showed up, and it was like the world stopped." His voice lowered. "Do you know what that's like, Jimin? To be in charge of death, to have the world on its knees, and yet tremble for one woman."

Jimin didn't answer. He didn't dare.

"I could kill Karina without blinking. I could wipe out an entire country just so she could sleep peacefully." said Jungkook, with a dark gleam in his eyes. "She weakens me. She makes me sick. She obsesses me. And that makes me angry."

He stood up abruptly. The whole room shook.

"If Karina comes near me again, let her know: there is no place in this world where she can be hidden from me."

She's not mine. But she will be. Even if I have to burn the damn world down.