59

Taehyung

2 weeks later

I stared at the pictures in my hand.

Stared at them longer than I should have.

The pictures were shaking only because my hands were trembling.

Anger had been a constant emotion inside of me since Jungkook had been taken away.

I lived on the anger inside of me.

It kept me going.

It kept me grounded enough to find my Angel.

But now, I was raging.

There's a big difference between anger and fury.

Anger was enough to make someone go insane.

Fury, it made people psychotic.

And that was exactly how I felt.

I was past making sense.

I no longer felt anything except deep loathing and fury.

Nothing else mattered.

The little humanity left inside of me was gone the instant I laid eyes on the photos in my hands.

Fury boiled inside of me as I imagined the multiple ways to mutilate Byungchan's body. My fingers tightened on the pictures until they crumbled in my fist. Closing my eyes, I threw the photo across the room, not caring where it landed.

I just needed it out of my sight.

My jaw ground with the effort to keep myself under control.

Jungkook's face flashed behind my closed lids, my body tightened as a wave of pain coursed through me.

Under the layers of fury, my heart was aching. It ached so much I was suffocating under the pressure, the pain was nothing compared to what Jungkook was going through.

The thought was enough to drive me insane.

Through my rage, I heard the door open. My eyes snapped open, making contact with Seokjin's as he stepped into my office. He stopped in front of the door, his eyes moving to his feet. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he bent down.

Seokjin grabbed the photo firmly in his hands and stared at i, I knew what he was seeing.

The image of Jungkook bare, his legs spread, eyes frightened, filled with tears was forever etched in my memory.

A second passed.

And then another.

A full minute passed before Seokjin finally reacted, his face was red with anger.

"What is this?" he growled.

"Byungchan sent us a gift," I replied numbly, my voice a little hoarse from built-up emotions.

"I'm going to fucking cut his dick off and feed it to him," Seokjin snapped, standing up to his feet.

I sat straight in my chair and levelled him with a glare, "He is mine to kill, Seokjin"

Taking a step forward, he stopped in front of my desk, his stare unflinching. "You are not the only one who cares about him."

"He. Is. Mine. To. Kill," I hissed, getting to my feet.

Seokjin shook his head with a sigh, "I will never take that right from you. When we find him, he is yours to kill. But the rest of us will have a hand in it too."

We stared at each other.

No words were spoken.

The air around us filled with tension, it grew colder and heavier under our need for revenge.

"Fair enough," I replied.

Seokjin nodded and sat down on the couch, placing the heavy file he was holding on my desk.

"All the names that are connected to Byungchan. His right-hand men. Their families are also listed. Everything there is to know about them, the fvckin' unknowns," Seokjin said, nodding toward the file. I sat down and pulled it toward me, "We already got so many of his men. Nobody knows a thing. He was smart enough to keep his hiding place a secret. His men are a bunch of cowards. If they knew the truth, they would have told me for a chance to live."

"What about Jihoon?"

The same question had been brewing in my thoughts, but it was another dead end.

"From Yoongi's information, he went into hiding, too. He's Byungchan's second in command. He knew he would be our target," I said, sitting back against my chair.

The muscles in my neck were aching, pressing my fingers against the back of my neck, I massaged the muscles, hoping to relieve the

tension.

My body was weak from fatigue, if I kept going like this, I would be no use to Jungkook when he was found.

"If we find Jihoon, it's another step closer to finding Byungchan," Seokjin muttered, a thoughtful look on his face. "Byungchan has gone off-grid, his second in command is nowhere to be found. He is vulnerable and he knows that. Even if Byungchan didn't tell Jihoon anything about his hiding place, he will have to contact him."

"His only communication is through Jihoon," I added, sitting forward in anticipation.

"But we have to find Jihoon first," Seokjin said through gritted teeth.

If we couldn't find Jihoon, there was only one person who would lead us to him.

Or bring him to us.

"His mistress," I suggested.

Seokjin shook his head, "She's out of the country."

"When will she be back?" I wondered out loud.

"I don't know. She left the same day Jungkook was taken away. It was probably for her protection."

At the sound of Jungkook's name, my heart stuttered, and another wave of pain crashed through me.

My hands tightened in fists until my knuckles turned white, I stared at the file in front of me.

"One of these men, at least one of them know about Jihoon's whereabouts or even Byungchan. This is our only option."

"We'll get to them - All of them. Everyone on this list will be questioned. We won't stop until Jungkook is found," Seokjin promised.

No.

There was no way we were stopping.

Jungkook would be found.

Today or tomorrow.

Or the day after.

He would be found.

Jungkook would be found.

"What do you want to do after they're questioned?" Seokjin asked.

But he already knew the answer.

He only asked because he needed confirmation.

He needed a push, a new purpose again.

I stared at the photo frame on my desk, it was a photo of Jungkook. Jimin took that picture a few days before Jungkook was taken away from me. He was laughing, his face had lit up, his brown doe eyes shone brightly. His beauty, his smiles, his laughter, they were all mesmerizing.

"Skin them, burn them alive. Kill them all," I whispered, still staring at Jungkook's picture.

None of them was innocent.

There was no innocence when it came to Byungchan's men. I still remembered when Jungkook was telling me about his abuse. How Byungchan's men would rape him while the sick bastard watched.

I was going to avenge my Angel the only way I knew how.

I was going to destroy the Ganpeh.

One by one, until they bowed down to me.

To Jungkook.

Reaching forward, I touched Jungkook's cheek through the photo.

Wait for me, Angel.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when the door banged open. I looked away from Jungkook to find my father and Hae-jin walking in.

Seung Won was fuming, his chest heaving with each breath he took.

"The Families are questioning your capabilities as the Boss."

Seokjin swivelled around to face them. "What?" he growled, getting to his feet.

Seung Won ignored Seokjin's outburst, he levelled me with a glare, daring me to reply.

I had no answer.

I knew it would come to this.

"While looking for Jungkook, you forgot that you are the Boss of four Families. You are not taking care of the business or anything else. When there is a problem, you send them to Seokjin. The Families have every right to question you as their Boss," Hae-jin added as he came to stand beside Seung Won.

"You are the V. The Boss of the bosses. If it continues like this, they will lose faith in you," Seung Won muttered.

"Like eleven years ago? When they lost faith in you? When you had no other choice but to make me the Boss so that the Vante's wouldn't lose the title?" I retorted with a shake of my head.

His eyes went wild at the mention of his downfall when we almost lost everything, "I taught you better than this, Taehyung," he growled, stepping forward.

"If you fail, like I did, we lose everything," Seung Won snapped.

He walked forward, stopping in front of my desk, bent forward until his face was mere inches away from mine, "If you continue this downward spiral, Kim Jong-in, Kai, could take over as the King. You fucking know that! He has been looking for every opportunity to do so and now you are giving him an invitation."

The Vante consists of four families - The Kims, Jungs, Mins, and the Parks.

Each family had their Boss and I am the Boss of them all - The King.

The other families were underneath the Vante's. Kai had wanted to take over. If Seung Won hadn't handed this empire over to me, he would have been the Vante's a long time ago. And now he was looking for another opportunity, only because I'd proved myself weak.

Seung Won grabbed my collar, pulling me forward. "I told you not to fall in love. And now you have become useless. I thought you were stronger than I was. I was mistaken."

Releasing my collar, he stood up, his gaze unflinching as he stared me down, "I'm taking over."

I wasn't surprised when the words were uttered.

No, I knew it was coming.

I expected it, and I was prepared for it but Seokjin wasn't.

"What?" he exploded, moving forward, Hae-jin stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"You are useless while you look for Jungkook. So it's better if you concentrate on finding him. I'll take care of the Families. When you find him and he is safe, you will have your position back,"

Seung Won announced.

He didn't wait for my answer.

Not that he cared.

He walked out of my office, Hae-jin right behind him.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Seokjin demanded as soon as the door closed behind them.

"It's better this way. I don't want to worry about the Families while looking for Jungkook. He is my priority," I mumbled, my gaze drawn to his photo again.

There were a few minutes of silence between Seokjin and me before I finally stood up, "Call the others. We have business to take care of."

Next man on the list, another step toward my Angel.

They were small steps but I knew in the end, they would lead me to where I wanted.

They had to.

I wasn't going to stop until I had what I wanted, what I needed.

I walked out of the office with Seokjin following closely behind. When my steps faltered in front of the room next to the office, Seokjin walked away without another word. He always knew what I needed even without me saying it.

And right now, I needed privacy.

Opening the door of the sitting room, I walked inside before closing the door softly. The light was already on, although not surprising. Only two people were allowed in this room. If it wasn't me, then it was my father.

We just happened to be in the room at the same time. He stood facing the wall, his hand behind his back, his legs shoulder-width apart in a defensive stance. Seung Won looked very much like the powerful man he was known as but he was hurting inside.

I knew that because he stood staring at my mother's portrait. It was a family portrait. The frame was big, taking almost half of the wall. My mother was sitting on a sofa chair, fit for a queen, wearing a beautiful golden dress. My father stood beside her, while a younger version of me sat on her lap. Her stomach was rounded with my baby sister.

Next to the portrait was another photo of my mother with my father standing beside her. But that was before I was born, just after my parents were married.

It was a tradition.

And I could almost see another portrait on that wall. Of Jungkook and me, while he sat on the very same chair my mother did, looking very much like the queen he would be but the image was suddenly shattered by Seung Won's voice.

"I miss your mother every day. Every day, I wonder why I'm still alive while she is gone. I loved her more than I should have." He paused and then chuckled dryly, "Who am I kidding? I still love her as much as I did before. That type of love never dies, Taehyung."

He was right.

It would never die.

Several months ago, I would have laughed in his face, but things changed - I knew how he felt. The pain of losing the person you love with every fibre of your being.

"How much do you love him?" he asked suddenly.

I flinched at the question and stared blankly at the wall, "I will kill for him, die for him. Does that answer your question?"

No words were spoken, only silence between us before Seung Won finally continued in the same monotone voice, his back still facing mine.

"You have that type of love. If I'm honest, I never wanted you to feel this way. When I first saw Jungkook, I saw your mother. And I just knew it would be impossible for you not to fall. Now that you have fallen, there's nothing we can do."

My heart clenched at his words and I rubbed at my chest, trying to get rid of the burning sensation. I stayed silent, too overwhelmed with emotions to speak.

My father spoke enough for both of us, "Just get him back, protect him with your life, and love him the way he needs and deserves."

"I will," I stated firmly, looking at the portrait of my mother and father.

With a final glance, I turned around to walk out of the room, Seung Won's voice stopped me again.

"Your mother would be proud of you."

Letting out a shaky emotionless laugh, I shook my head.

"Don't lie."

I heard him huff, his voice was heavy, laced with so much emotion that it made my heartache. "If she found it in her heart to love me, a monster, then she would have loved you just as much, if not more. Your mother's heart was pure and so full of love. She would have wanted you to be happy. Nothing else mattered. Not who you are or what you do. Always remember that, son."

My chest tightened at his words.

Without saying anything, I walked out of the room.

My heart was heavy and it hurt.

It hurt for many different reasons, they all meshed together until all I felt was blinding pain. It hurt without Jungkook, it hurt more knowing I was helpless. It also hurt because I always wanted to hear those words from my father. I had craved for those words and his support.

Now that I had them, I didn't know what to do with them. Shaking my head to clear my sudden foggy mind, I walked down the hall with only one purpose in

mind.

Even with my purposeful stride and determined mind, I couldn't shake away one thought.

To find my Angel, that was all that mattered.

In the sitting room, that was the most my father and I had spoken with each other in twenty-two years.