Chapter Text
“Pick up, pick up…” Tae was pacing outside the studio where they’d been recording the talk show. He kept glancing nervously at the door in case anyone else came outside. He’d mumbled something about going to find food before sliding out one of the back doors. They alley he was in was the definition of shady. Cigarette butts littered the ground under his feet.
“Hello?” The groggy voice on the other end of the line made Tae feel instantly relaxed.
“Hey it’s me.”
“I don’t know anyone called ‘me’. Try again.”
“Ha, ha,” Tae said dryly. “It’s Tae. It’s important, I think someone might know something.”
He was met with a few moments of silence. “I’m confused,” the person on the other end of the line said. Tae could picture them sitting up, becoming more alert.
“Like about us,” Tae clarified.
“Someone who? What do they know, exactly?”
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing. Maybe I’m just being totally paranoid. I probably am. Just…I don’t know.” He ran his hands through his hair and leaned against the wall.
“No one has seen us. No one knows anything Tae. Don’t worry. Where are you right now?”
“Recording a show with some of the guys.”
“Come over after. We can figure it out, if there’s anything to even figure out.”
Voices on the other side pf the door meant that he had to get off the phone. “I’ll see you later then. If I can get away.”
“Okay Tae.”
“Okay,” he said softly. “I lo—”
“I know.” The line went dead.
~~~
Jin was heading to he and Yoongi’s apartment when he noticed Yoongi standing in the middle of the sidewalk with his phone out. His fingers were poised over the screen, but he wasn’t typing, just staring at it. Clearly something had shaken him.
“Yoongi!” Jin called. “You okay?” His head snapped up. When Jin stepped toward him, he stepped back. Then his face hardened.
“Clean up the kitchen,” Yoongi snapped and spun on his heels, leaving the way he’d come.
~~~
Jungkook jumped when there was suddenly loud pounding at the door. He turned off the TV and looked down at his phone. Was he expecting someone and forgot about it? He got up and peered through the peephole to see Yoongi standing on the other side of the door with his arms crossed and his face twisted up into a scowl.
Jungkook opened the door a crack. “Hey,” he said. “Are you going to punch me if I let you in?”
“Why would I punch you? That might mess up your face and we can’t have that.” Yoongi pushed at the door, forcing it open and strode in. His words were laced with malice. He was agitated.
“Okay, I think you misread my text. It wasn’t an accusation. Not exactly.” Jungkook watched Yoongi’s shoulders relax slightly. He was dressed casually, dark jeans and a T-shirt, but his jacket was big on him and bulky like he might have something stuffed in hidden inside pockets.
“Then what did you mean?” Yoongi asked without turning around.
“I know you’re covering for Jin. About something. I don’t know what yet, and I don’t mean that to sound creepy or like, ‘if you don’t tell me, I will find out one way or another’. I just…can I help? Is everything okay?”
On any other day, Yoongi might have been touched by Jungkook’s consideration, but today he was annoyed, and hungry. Really hungry. “No, there’s nothing going on. Everyone needs to stop being so concerned about Jin. Jin this, Jin that. Honestly, the man is just weird. Let him be weird. I mean sure, the hair dye job could have been better but—” Yoongi stopped short and closed his eyes.
“Alright, sorry. Bad day? Never mind, you probably don’t want to talk.” Jungkook shifted back and forth.
“Look, maybe don’t try confronting Jin about anything. Just act normal. Everything is normal so just act normal. We have a concert in a few weeks and…everything is normal.”
Jungkook wondered if Yoongi was trying to convince him, or himself. Either way he seemed to be doing a bad job. “Cool. Sure.”
“Sorry about…” Yoongi held out his hands. “You know. I’ll go.”
Jungkook didn’t have a chance to say anything else before Yoongi hurried out of the apartment and was gone. “I’ll figure it out,” he muttered to himself and shut the door. He was about to sit back down on the couch when he noticed a slip of paper on the floor.
Blood drive, two days. 12-4:00
“Blood drive, two days, twelve to four o’clock,” Jungkook read out loud. The messy scrawl was Yoongi’s handwriting. He must have dropped it.