Chapter Text
Dark, icy streets are seen through the reflection of a small rain-made lake, shadows within shadows. Where only car tires are audible. It slices through a canyon of tall buildings. Hardly any traffic at this time, just heavy haulers.
One particular building was seemingly out of place, it wasn’t as tall, but it was rather distant by at least thirty meters from all sides as if its thick high walls weren’t enough to isolate. On one side there was A large stone sign sitting out front with a wide frame (Ministry of Defense).
Closer into one of the windows there was a group of a dozen men and women, seated around a large oval table in a closed room, on one side of the sides against one of the walls stood a female officer, not older than thirty. Everyone was eagerly watching, on the edge of their seat. Like Patton before his troops, she had more than twenty photos on her glass board with labels holding their names, all connected by a red thread and leading into one label (Andromeda)
Everyone checked the copy of the report. The detective started a PowerPoint. A photo of three men and a woman popped up on the screen “The Andromeda secret society” The female started “For the past three years our team has been tracking every single lead about this society. For the public they’re honorable people, with a lot of charity work on their records, however for us they’re the leaders of the most dangerous society in our country. There is no proof in hands whatsoever to condemn them though”. She changed the slide, a photo of one of the men appeared on a larger scale “Hwan, fifty-one years old. He is known as Aquila star, he has the biggest marketing company in our country, used for money laundry of course. Our sources have confirmed that he secretly works in trafficking weapons and drugs. The estimated number of his men is two thousand”. The statement was enough to grab attention; most of the spectators strengthened their backs or crossed their arms, one of the most famous gestures in body language to flick adherence.
She flipped the slide again “Daejung, forty-nine years old. Known as Draco, from the Draco constellation, he owns the most prestigious country clubs in Seoul and Busan, also used for money laundering. Behind the closed curtains he owns the gambling underworld, as well as drug deals of course. He has one thousand, eight hundred men on his side, ready to aid him if there’s ever a red light”.
She grabbed the device again and clicked, this time a photo of a middle-aged woman appeared “Lioness, thirty-eight years old, Known as Cassiopea. She has the biggest spa brand and beauty salon in the country. Again, just a façade to her actual job which is prostitution and drugs. She has three thousand men ready to serve her, whatever her orders maybe”
“Siwoo” She announced the name while changing the slide “The only one from the second generation that is still alive, he is sixty-three. Known as Cygnus and unlike the others, his reputation has always been tainted due to the number of scandals he had been in, like sexually harassing his bodyguard and a young actor two years ago. But of course, his lawyers and his money were able to bury all of these six feet underground. He owns a production company and three channels. And you can guess the rest, all are means to hide his real job, drugs, and organ trafficking. He has three thousand and four hundred men under his lead”.
She paused lowering her head “Finally” She added sounding troubled “Kwan, Forty-seven years old. He is known as Atlas, the constellation. He owns the biggest hotel brand in the country and more than sixty hotels internationally, he also owns private jets business. In other words, he is the richest man among the others. Kwan is also the most successful out of them, he owns half the drugs business alone while the other half is divided among the rest. Same for the weapons, but he owns more than half of that business, let’s say at least two-thirds. He has an estimated number of seven thousand men under his command, maybe more” The detective straightened her back, fixed her blazer, and stridden past some of the seats “But this man’s profile holds more than just Kwan” Another photo appeared, this time it’s for seven young men “Meet the Pleiades. Kwan’s seven adopted sons and currently his wings, legs, eyes, and tail”.
“Seokjin” She signals to his photo using a small laser device “The oldest, he has graduated from law school and currently manages all of Kwan’s legal affairs, he is also the CEO of his clean business” Her hands moved to another photo “Namjoon, the other CEO, he graduated first in his class from business administration college department. According to our sources, these two are dating. And they’re considered the mastermind behind Kwan’s current success”.
She paused, trying to gather her thoughts properly, nothing should be spared now, she fixed her gaze after getting back a hold of her thought, her colleagues are all attentively watching “Yoongi, Jimin, and Hoseok. She pointed to the three photos in the middle, the kings of the underworld business, with Yoongi leading. Not only are they responsible for keeping the business fruitful but also for the safety of their family, as well as the training of their men. This is also unconfirmed but two of them are dating, we just don’t know who”. They all just stare at her. No clue where she’s going with her speech but still wait for her to explain the rest “Finally, Taehyung and Jungkook. We’ve no knowledge about their activities or what their main duties are. But Jungkook” She sighs “We know for a fact they’re dating though” She turned the projector off “Needless to say, all family members are skillful with weapons and combats”
A random hand was raised, easily grabbing attention “Excuse me, if this case has been secretly going around for the past three years and we’re still in the same place where we can’t prove anything, what changed as to include us into this investigation?” The male wondered, but it’s clear everyone was holding the same thought.
Like a shark to blood, the detective walked to the glass wall, with her eyes targeting the Andromeda label. The others Watching her in action is riveting, and thrilling “Because gentlemen, for the first time since this society was created, all five families are attempting to unite by the end of this weekend” Her pupil grew wider at the target “We need to stop this union at all costs, because if their profiles scare you now…Then trust me, it will be terrifying when they do” She bit her lip, rubbing her palms together
*•｡✩｡•｡✩｡•*
Jungkook's eyes were burning with freighting intensity, a drop of sweat escapes to his bare torso, gleaming his already shining body. His opponent was barely keeping his eyes focused from the amount of beating punches he had received. They were both sweating and disheveled. The older male seems to be losing his last will to fight with each passing second.
Jungkook landed a couple of jabs at his opponent’s stomach, then brought up his left uppercut that smashed his opponent’s nose, making it bleed like a river onto his revealed torso. The male could deliver no punches in return, just spits some of the blood on the ground.
"Need a minute there champ?" Jungkook mocked, then moved to one side of the cage, deliberately giving some space to the other wrestler.
It took a minute maybe two before the male rushed back to Jungkook, he snaked his arm into a counter headlock, which Jungkook failed to evade.
"Finish him" "End it" "Man up, I bet a lot of money on you, trash"
The crowd maniacally cheered, but they all seemed to have different reasons, some were glad Jungkook was getting beaten, others were protesting as if their lives depended on it. And some were just cheering for more blood and beating.
"Barbarians" Taehyung mumbled underneath his lips, watching Jungkook's opponent smashing Jungkook's head with multiple fists.
“You seem bored” The younger male attempted to joke; between the punches, he was receiving.
“We are late” Taehyung added, giving no emotion to his speech. But one can easily sense the urge behind the thrown words.
To that Jungkook blinked, his eyes carried more hustle now, more daggers as if the whole thing up until that moment was just a silly game for him, nothing he needed to spend much effort on, but not anymore. He caught the attempted punch thrown at him and managed to give back a straight kick to the other wrestler's chest, the impact is dull, his opponent fell back on the floor in an instant.
"1"
"2"
"3"
The crowd counted in union along with the referee then screamed insanely after Jungkook’s hand was raised, even those who had no bets and were only there for the show. The younger male looked at his opponent then shrugged as if to say “I tried”.
The circular cell's door was opened and Jungkook walked as he heavily breathed towards the crowd "I am sorry, but we’re in a hurry” He managed to say before a tumultuous crash of screaming took place, pushing bodies. Arms stretch out towards him, all trying to touch his body. he is pushed and casually jostled aside by the mass of surging fans and even haters. His face however remained calm and impassive until he reached Taehyung’s side. “Let’s go?” It was a remark rather than a question. He didn’t even wait for a proper reply, he just grabbed Taehyung’s waist with his arm and lead him towards the exit.
“WAIT!” A random voice called grabbing their attention “Your money sir” It was one of the staff with a bag in hand, Jungkook assumed it was his money from winning the match. He however didn’t move his hand and was rather indifferent to the comment, even ignoring the bag that was handed to him “Just take it home”. He added, unmoved.
“Give me that bag, you cockroach-shit. If money means so little to you then gave back the money to those you had them lose it” an angry man reached from behind Taehyung. He was surrounded by another four, who seemed to have proclaimed him the leader of this impromptu group.
“Stop whining like a cat in heat, I come here each month, make sure you bet on my next time. Problem solved” he mocked, voice dripping with scorn.
With that, the man caught Taehyung’s hand and pulled forcibly him towards his chest, with a hunting knife directed at the younger male’s exposed throat. “Tell him to give us the money” The leader of the group threatened, raising his voice above the murmur of the crowd.
“Let him go, man, he’s just a kid let him go” a random voice called from the crowd, but the attacker remained indifferent. “Let him go” Jungkook displayed no temper, remaining invariably tranquil. It was rather scary, though no one knew who Taehyung was or what is his relationship with Jungkook, everyone had expected another scenario, the better one would have been giving up on the money and ending it smoothly. The other would be Jungkook going for their blood, but his still state brought more fear. It made the man more alerted to any of Jungkook’s moves, he aimed to strike if the wrestler dared to move, if he’s going to lose in this situation then he won’t lose everything alone.
“What made you think you can touch me?” Taehyung numbly stated. An awkward silence descended on the entire hall, thrown confetti skittered along the sidewalk, and for a moment they were the only things that moved.
The man was startled just by Taehyung's intimidating aura, he tried to force his hand from shaking. It was clear he wasn’t going to let go of the younger male willingly.
Taehyung had had enough, he hit the man’s nose with the back of his head, causing a crack sound and his nose to bleed heavily, before the attacker’s mind processed the younger male had a good grip of his arm and twisted it painfully against its natural position, he was about to break it “Plea..” He didn’t even manage to finish up the word when another cracking voice was heard, this time from his shoulder, evidently Taehyung broke it.
The crowd was baffled, and suddenly silent, only the sound of the attacker’s screams were heard, while the rest stared at him in wonder.
“Let’s go, we’re already late” Jungkook deadpanned and then looked at Taehyung with annoyance, while marching towards the exit “Was allowing him to get you really necessary?”
Taehyung exhaled slowly, very slowly; he was displeased. Jungkook thought “I spent the past hour watching your face getting smashed mercilessly. I am sure you could endure two minutes of someone threatening me” he got into the car.
“Get us out of here” Jungkook ordered after sealing his door. The car’s engine instantly started and the sound of the tires stroke the night’s air. “Do you know if Yoongi-hyung and Jimin-hyung are home yet?” the wrestler asked, it was directed to the driver “They started at eight sharp, as planned” he replied through his front mirror.
It was 8:09, which means they were already late “Just get us there as soon as you can”
“Certainly, Jungkook-ssi”
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The salon of the manner is spectacularly grand; hideously so. Heavy furniture, with multiple antiques, it leads to the dining room where rows of servants were standing behind the six males, who are sitting before their empty dishes, with multiple varieties of food.
The two youngest males came in shortly after. They skip their seats in favor of approaching the man heading the table “Father” Jungkook kissed the ring on his hand and then gave a room for Taehyung to do the same before they both retreated to their seats.
“Usually, I would be lecturing you about your lack of punctuality, more importantly about your face” The mob declared referring to Jungkook’s injuries “Which we will talk about privately, but for now, let’s discuss something more distressing” They all watch the oldest male, keenly. There were always so little reasons to come before basic manners like being late for family dinner. It must be serious, they all secretly thought without verbalizing it.
“Your brother,” He said looking at Yoongi “He managed to learn something from one of our insiders today. The police are on to us, they want to put an end to our upcoming agreement with other families, and accordingly, new measurements need to be followed”.
Namjoon flinched at the news and turned to Jin. It didn’t scare them, it wouldn’t be the first time, but their history with the police always brought challenges to their family's name which subsequently meant problems with the market.
“First” The man resumed, it was enough to bring back everyones' attention “You will all find new phones in your rooms, make sure to use them, and give your old ones to your bodyguards, they will take care of them” They all nodded, not that the patron needed their approval to follow through his instructions “Second, you will find a new code for our conversations, make sure to learn them by tomorrow morning, we will burn all copies by that time. Also, the new code is exclusive for the eight of us and Hangyeol”.
The last statement forced their sight to the bodyguard standing behind their father, they weren’t one bit surprised by the information, it was already long ago when all seven young males registered the amount of trust their foster father has for his shadow bodyguard.
“About the party, how’re the preparations going?” He said, finally taking a sip from the soup that was served some minutes ago, somehow marking the beginning of their supper for all his sons “You know there should be no mistakes, right?”
Jin gave a small cough, his father had asked him at least twice about the party, forcing him to sense the significance of the event “Everything you have asked is already prepared. Only the best food and beverages will be served, don’t worry. You can count on us” He gave an assertive nod that was copied by Namjoon who also played a huge part in the preparations.
“And what about security?” The question was directed to Yoongi this time.
“The mansion will have an overall of one thousand men from ours, and only a dozen bodyguards would be allowed from other society members along with their families” It was Hoseok who replied. The three males always divided the tasks amongst themselves, their father just assumed they had come into an agreement that Hoseok would handle it and that’s why he’s better informed of the situation. “You know I trust you, right?” He wondered looking at all his sons in an equal manner.
“You know, there was no reason for me to make amends with any of these families. They will still hate us and pray for our fall even when they’re smiling at our faces this weekend” He laughed at his own remark “I am not sure why do I even need to mention this, you must already know. And I am not going to lie I have seen your curious eyes as to why I decided to gather all of them knowing we will gain so little from this” There was a line of nodding around the table. Kwan grinned giving them a brief warm smile, something that is exclusive to them and just them “Well, I was about to lose one of you a month ago” His words brought back a trauma they all have been pretending to forget about, maybe even think of it as a nightmare that never took place in reality, just a dull thought in their heads. “For years now, since you all set foot into my house, I have been protecting you. But, now that our enemies have been growing more greedy, more vicious…I can’t risk it, the attempt that was made on Namjoon, I don’t think it was going to be the last one, and that’s why I decided to follow along with the plan, even if it means we get to get less profit”.
The words made them emotional. Some strived to calm their heart, even struggled to slow their breathing. Kwan was an icon that always seemed invincible, that was the image they fought to maintain. Sadly, their father's words had proven that they were rather a debility.
"Yoongi-hyung can work harder father. Lions don't make deals with rats" Jungkook argued, half-mad, half-desperate. He however was only met with a displeased stare. Even his brothers ' faces could be read as 'you shouldn't have'.
"Lions don't get questioned by their cubs too Jungkook" He spoke calmly but still promising "You only need to follow the plans that I draw. So, you will force a smile and you will offer nothing but good hospitality to our guests".
"But fathe...." Jungkook tried again, only to be interrupted "We will father" Jimin assured placing a hand on Jungkook's, in a way attempting to contain the conversation. Their youngest certainly had a special place in their father's heart but at this point, he was making him angry and Jimin needed to remind him of such fact.
"So, what happened to your face?" Hoseok teased, the wrestler reacted, somewhat surprised by this. He considered lying but got swayed after remembering he's bad at it and they're good at detecting it. "They...well, nobody wants to wrestle with me because I gave two wrestlers permanent injuries. I figured if I get some beats here and there they would agree to get into a match with me" He was interrupted by a sudden jolt of turbulence. Their butler came in, looking as if he had lost some years of his life spam. "I am sorry sir, I couldn't stop them" He added apologetically, giving no elaboration whatsoever.
The family members stared at him, not understanding. Suddenly, loud footsteps were heard, there were dozens of officers flooding into the dining room with detective Yoon-Suh following "We're sorry to interrupt your meal gentlemen" She mocked.
Everyone just stared, they didn't know how to cope with the idea that she was smirking at them so bluntly with her eyes carrying satan into them "Park Jimin-ssi, I am arresting you without a warrant for the attempt of murder of officer Lee Juwon".