⊹𝑱𝗘𝖮⃠𝗡 𝗝𝑈𝑁𝐺𝐾𝖮𝖮𝗞🍾

The stairs to the basement creaked under their footsteps. The sharp, muffled sounds of knocking came before the light: dull, steady, accompanied by ragged breathing and murmured commands.

When Jungkook opened the metal door, the air was thick with tension. His men surrounded a young man kneeling on the floor, holding him down while one of them raised his fist again. The boy could barely stand, more confused than defiant... Silence fell abruptly as Jungkook's voice pierced the room.

—Who gave them permission?

No one answered. Only the echo of his footsteps slowly advancing across the concrete. His eyes scanned the scene with dangerous coldness, lingering on the stranger's face. There was no hatred there… only fear and bewilderment. Jungkook tilted his head slightly, and his tone lowered, but it became much worse.

"I asked you a question..." she clicked her tongue. "Since when do you make decisions without my authorization?"

One of the men swallowed. —Chief… we thought he was the traitor—

Jungkook interrupted him with a look that was enough to silence him.

—Did they think?

He crouched down in front of the young man, observing him closely, evaluating every detail as if he were reading a mistake written in someone else's blood.

"If they made a mistake..." he murmured, slowly getting up, "then someone here has just made a very big mistake."

The atmosphere became even more tense...

He stopped in front of the young man and, without warning, crouched down. His fingers closed around the other's face, forcing him to raise his head. He held it firmly, barely turning his face toward the light as if inspecting defective merchandise. His eyes scanned every feature: the confusion, the genuine pain, the utter lack of defiance. He didn't look like someone who even knew where he was. Jungkook's thumb absentmindedly wiped a trickle of blood from the other's cheekbone, then studied it on his own skin.

—Look at me.

It wasn't a high-ranking order. It was worse: impossible to disobey.

A mistake...?