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Present Day

The knife was digging into his thigh. He was not supposed to be here.

The thought kept ringing through Taehyung's head on repeat, his nerves stretched taut even as he tried to appear aloof. Holding his full champagne glass aloft, he pretended to sip from it, his eyes constantly scanning the crowd. While he knew taking a few sips of the bubbly would do wonders to calm his frazzled nerves, Taehyung refrained. he needed a clear head more than liquid courage for tonight. Maybe. Hopefully. The party was in full, swing, hosted in the sprawling lawns of the home of someone in the Min family. Damn Heukwol . It was a good thing he had done as much research as he could in the last few days.

Taehyung glanced around the well-lit garden from the shadows, seeing the faces he had seen in the news over the years. A few he had seen in his own house growing up. he saw the soldiers of the Heukwol , milling around with stoic faces. he saw the women, mostly decorating the arms of the men they were there with. he saw the enemies.

Ignoring the itch from his wig, Taehyung just observed. he had taken great care to look like someone else tonight. The long black dress he wore hid the knives on his thighs, one of which had somehow twisted and was trying to dig into his. The bracelet on his hand had been a purchase from the dark web, with a hidden slot for an aerosol poison that wasn't available in the market. And he'd tied his dark hair tightly to his head, donning a silky wig of strawberry blonde hair, his lips siren red. It wasn't him. But it was necessary. he'd been planning this night for days.

he had been replying on this plan to work for days. he couldn't screw it up. Not after being so close.

He looked at the mansion, looming behind the crowd. It was a beast. There was no other way to describe it. Like an ancient castle buried in the hills of Scotland, the house an odd hybrid of modern mansion and primeval castle was a beast. A beast with something of hers in its belly. The cool air fragrant with the night blooms, taehyung surreptitiously shook off the chills trying to lick at her skin.

The sound of a man's boisterous laughter drew his attention. Eyes lingering on the built, grey-haired man laughing with other men in the north comer of the property, taehyung studied him. His face was wrinkled with age, hands clean from where he could see. Oh, how he had blood on those hands. So, so much blood. Not that anyone in their world didn't. But he had carved a niche for himself as the bloodiest of them all, including his father. Chang-Min was the boss of the Heukwol , his career longer than four decades, his rap sheet longer than her arm, his cold-blooded attitude a thing of admiration in their world. taehyung had been around people like him long enough to not let that shake him . Or rather, not let it show. Beside

Beside Chang-Min stood his older son Min Yoongi The Wall' Min. While his pretty face could fool some, Taehyung had done enough research not to underestimate him. Built like a wall, the man towered over almost everyone, his physique solid. If rumors were to be believed, he had taken up a key role in the organization almost a decade ago. Taehyung pretended to sip his champagne. Exchanging a polite smile with a omega's who glanced his way, he finally let his eyes wander to the man who stood silently beside Yoongi .

Jeon Jungkook

He was an anomaly. The only non-blood member to have taken the oath with blood in the family. The only non-blood member to be that high up in the Heukwol . No one knew exactly where he was placed in the hierarchy, but people knew he was very high up. Everyone had theories as to why, but no one really knew for sure. Taehyung took him in. He stood tall, just an inch or so taller than Yoongi , in a casual three-piece black suit sans the tie. His dark black hair.

Taehyung knew they were black . A striking black. He'd seen pictures of him, always candid shots in which he looked surprisingly blank. Taehyung was used to expressionless faces in their world, but he took it up a notch. While his muscular frame was attractive, it wasn't the reason taehyung couldn't look away. It was because of the stories he'd heard about him in the last few years, mostly by eavesdropping on conversations, especially his father's.

As the stories went, Jeon jungkook had been the son of Chang-Min personal bodyguard, who had died while protecting the boss almost twenty years ago. Jungkook had been young, with a mother who had taken off after her husband's death. Chang, for reasons unknown, had taken the young boy under his wing and personally trained him in skills of the trade. And today, Jungkook Jeon was a son to Chang- Min . Some said Min favored him more over his own blood. In fact, word was, after Min's retirement, Jeon would be the boss of the Heukwol, not Yoongi.

Jungkook "The HUNTER" Jeon

They called him the hunter . His reputation preceded him. He rarely went on the hunt but when he did, it was over. When he did, he went straight for the jugular. No distractions. No playing around. For all his unruffled attitude, the man was more lethal than the knife cutting into his thigh. He was also the reason he had come to the party. He was going to kill Jungkook Jeon.

...

Life as the daughter (omega ) of the boss of the Seongun Pa family had prepared him for a lot of things. Not this. Despite growing up surrounded by crime, Taehyung had been surprisingly sheltered from the ugliness of their world. he had been home-schooled, gone to university, and now freelanced as a developer. All very plain. That was exactly why he was so not equipped to handle this. he'd not been prepared to infiltrate the house of his father's enemies and by extension hers. And he'd definitely not been prepared to murder that said enemy.

Maybe he didn't really have to kill him. Perhaps, kidnapping would work just as well. As if.

For over an hour, taehyung watched jeon jungkook carefully without being too obvious, waiting for him to just move. Finally, after staying glued to Min's side with a dark scowl on his handsome face, he detached himself and moved to the bar.

Taehyung debated whether to approach him out in the open or wait for him to head into the house. After a split second of indecision, he decided on the latter. The first option was way too dangerous and was he exposed, it would not only mean his death sentence but a war between the two families. A mob war. He shuddered, just thinking of all the morbid tales he'd heard over the years.

He also wondered if he was being logical in wanting to kill the man. Maybe not, but he did need to get into the house and find where he was hiding his codes. It has all started as a dare from his ex-boyfriend (not that anyone knew about him). Being a developer himself, he had challenged her(tae) to create the most complex set of codes she should.

Being a suck for dares that she was, she had succumbed.

Those codes were her Frankenstein. A powerful monster that went wrong, out of his control. They could digitally deface anyone, extract out every dirty secret from the deepest parts of the web, and destroy entire governments, entire mobs if it were to fall into the wrong hands. They had fallen into the worst hands possible. His asshole of an ex-Jackson - had stolen the codes when he was done three weeks ago, and disappeared.

It was when she'd started to track him that she'd discovered Jackson had actually been sent to get close to her by the Heukwol. More specifically, Jeon Jungkook . How he'd learned about his skills and the codes, she didn't know. he was screwed. So, so screwed. There was no way he could tell her father. None. The offenses against him were too high. Dating an outsider, writing a time bomb of codes without any protection, but worst of all, knowing where the codes had ended up - Her father would kill her without batting an eye. He knew it, and frankly, he didn't care. But innocent people and bystanders didn't deserve to have their lives destroyed by her mistakes.

So, after weeks of researching and stalking, she'd finally faked herself an invitation to the party in Heukwol. Her father thought she was there meeting her non-existent friends from college. Her protective detail thought she was drunk and sleeping in her locked hotel suite. She'd escaped. Come this deep into the den. She had to get those codes and get the hell out of there. And she had to do all that while silencing Jeon Jungkook . The only way to do that was to kill him. Thinking of how he'd masterminded everything with Jackson, her blood boiled. Oh yes, killing him won't be a problem. The urge intensified every time she thought of the sick bastard. Taehyung grit her teeth. Finally, after throwing back a shot of scotch, Jeon Jungkook moved towards the mansion.

Showtime. Nodding to herself, taehyung put her glass on a tray of one of the many waiters and quietly made her way towards the secluded path he was taking. Sticking to the shadows, her dark dress ascertained she wouldn't stand out. A few steps on to the path, she saw the party disappearing behind her, as the bushes that shrouded the way grew thicker around her. Up ahead, she saw Jeon's tall, broad figure striding agilely towards the steps of the house. He climbed them two at a time, and she rushed on her heels, trying to keep him in her line of vision. Her eyes darting around the area, she bent low and climbed the steps. Over to her left, she could see the party and the guards stationed around the lawns. Frowning at the lack of security around the house itself, Morana entered the house through the space between the huge double doors. And saw a guard heading straight in her direction through the lobby. Adrenaline hitting hard, she ducked behind the first pillar she saw, her eyes darting around the huge entrance with an over-the-top chandelier. Her gaze tracked Caine taking a corridor to the left of the lobby, his back disappearing from view at the end. She suddenly felt a hand pull on her arm. The large guard frowned down at her.

And before she could rethink, Taehyung picked up the vase beside her and smashed it over his head. The guard's eyes widened before he crumpled down and taehyung escaped, berating herself.

That had been sloppier than she would have liked. Taking a deep breath, focusing on the task at hand, taehyung crouched low, heading towards the hallway. Once inside, she made a run for it, stopping to pick her heels up in her hands to avoid making any noise. Within seconds, she was at the turn somewhere in the back of the house, looking at a set of stairs leading up to a single door. Swallowing, her heart pounding, she climbed up.

Reaching the landing, she tiptoed her way to the door. Taking in a deep, quick breath, she pulled the knife out of its sheath from her thigh, aware of the little bruise it had left there. She reached for the knob, donning her heels, and turned it open. Leaning her neck inside, she looked around the semi-dark guest room of sorts

It was empty. Frowning, she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her quietly. The door on the other side of the large room opened before she even had a chance to take in her surroundings. Heart hammering, she crouched in the corner, seeing Jeon Jungkook step back out of the bathroom, throwing his suit jacket on the bed. Taehyung observed the suspenders stark against his white shirt, the crisp fabric unbuttoned at the collar, stretched taut across the broad expanse of his chest. A very muscular chest. She bet he had abs too. Although she hated herself for noticing, she couldn't deny the man was very, very attractive. Too bad he was a bastard to match. She saw him take his phone out from the pocket of his slacks, scrolling through the screen, his concentration entirely on whatever he was seeing. Watching his muscular back towards her, she straightened from her crouch in the shadows. It was now or never. Walking behind him, her hand slightly trembling with the knife gripped in her paling knuckles, she inched forward, not even daring to breathe lest she alert him. Almost two steps behind him, she placed the knife on his back , right above where his heart was supposed to be , and uttered as cold as she could.

......

aaah ..

Taehyung saw the muscles in his back stiffen, one by one, even before she had spoken. It would have fascinated her had she not been so shit scared and raving mad.

She steadied her grip.

His back stayed rigid, her knives a second away from breaking skin.

Taehyung blinked up into his eyes his very black, very pissed off eyes-stunned at the turn of events. She wasn't prepared for this. Shit, she was soo not prepared for this.

Taehyung gulped. The blade of her own knife clutched in her own hand was gripped by his, right against her neck. She felt the cool metal threaten her tan skin. His second hand, large, rough, held her other hand above her head, his fingers wrapped like manacles around her wrist. She felt his much larger, muscular body press into hers, his chest warm against her heaving chest, the musky scent of his cologne invading her senses, his legs retraining hers, rendering her completely immobile. Swallowing, she looked up into his eyes, straightening her spine. If she had to die, she wasn't going to die like a coward, especially not at the hands of someone like him.

There was a beat of silence, his eyes hovering over her features before surprise flared in them.

Seriously? What did he think she was going to do? Scream for help in the Heukwol household?

"Jungkook , have you seen anyone in the house? Someone knocked out Matteo downstairs," a heavy voice spoke from the other side, a slight accent deep in it.

That raised eyebrow notched even higher before he leaned back in, the knife never moving an inch from the place.