+

"No, no, no. That 'C' could have been that Clifford guy and maybe he's pranking me?" Yoongi mumbled to himself. He had been contemplating for more than hour about who the mystery sender was. Yoongi had been trying to find out the identity of the person but honestly, it was more as if he was denying the sender's identity.

He saw her back. He knew how she looked like even if her body was covered with a thick coat. He knew the way she carries herself and strides like she owns the place. He knew what that shiny thing on her wrist was. He knew it himself.

He saw her. 

Yoongi had his hand placed above his mouth as his thumb supported his chin while the fingers of his other hand drummed against the marble counter of his shared house with Jihee. His eyes never once left the newly opened letter.

Yes, it had been days since the letter was sent but Yoongi could not find the courage to open it until that morning. He had been staring at the envelope before going to bed and as soon as he woke up. He did not want to say it out loud himself but the foreboding sense that the object gave him has made him feel unable to accept the possible truth behind. The possible truth that she was back in his life. That she was back when she was supposed to be dead and to not come back at all.

"No. Dead people don't do that," he was arguing with himself. His feelings a mixture of fear, doubt, regret, a little bit of thrill and somehow...mad. He was like a jigsaw puzzle or a labyrinth that he, himself, could not figure out.

A warm hand was placed on his shoulder and they immediately lost their tension due to the warm touch, "Honey, what's that?"

Yoongi thought that it would be better to hide it from Jihee so he immediately whipped out the letter and stuffed it back inside the envelope, "Nothing. It was just...from an old friend."

Her suspicious eyes locked its gaze on the envelope like a predator eyeing its prey, "Old friend? I thought you didn't have any friends aside from the people you work with."

Yoongi chuckled awkwardly, licking his lips that were beginning to dry out, "Uhm...yeah. This friend of mine...we go waaaay back that's why I must have forgotten to mention it. It's nothing important, really."

She raised a brow, going to the other side of the kitchen to make some coffee for herself and to refill Yoongi's cup, "I thought it would be very important since you look at it almost every time you get the chance to," her back was now facing him while his thoughts were in a disarray. Yoongi did not respond to the comment. He found it best to just shut up about the topic and change it.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans before saying, "So are we going out to do grocery shopping later?"

Jihee remained silent as the aroma of brewed coffee filled the air. Yoongi knew that he could not erase the suspicion in her mind, "Yes, we are," she was now back to her bright self and the mood change made him sigh in relief. Jihee made her way back to him and gave him a peck on his right cheek, "Remember, Yoongi. No secrets, right?"

Yoongi only nodded, his mind still occupied with the letter.

I promised that I would come back didn't I?

-C

(P.S. She'll be safer with you)

+

Jimin, himself, was shocked at what he just did and it was evident with how wide his eyes were, "H-h-how d-did I do that?" his hands were quivering.

Before anyone could answer him, he saw Mr. Salsa charging towards him through his peripheral vision. His reflexes acted on and the first thing that he thought of doing was to send him a high kick towards the face.

Mr. Salsa stumbled backwards, not expecting the attack. Jimin spun around to gain momentum and gave him another high kick then another. Jungkook finished the kill by wrapping his arms around the neck and the head of the man before snapping his neck which sent his head to face a weird direction.

Jimin stepped backwards, trying to let everything sink in until he felt another splitting headache. There was another flash of a memory but again, it was too much of a blur.

Namjoon ran outside, in hopes to save the civilians. There were two men looking after them, pointing guns at whoever moved an inch. A tall worker who had a trickle of blood on his nose was unconscious behind the counter. Taehyung came in and they both took on a guy of their own and knocked them out as fast as they could. 

Taehyung charged towards the smaller one who had his back to him and he sent him lifeless with a heavy hit on the head using his pole weapon. Namjoon relied heavily on his physical strength so he gave the other man two punches and a jab to the stomach before he could be shot. Stealing the gun from him, his opponent was now defenceless and he quickly knocked him out by hitting his forehead with the butt of the gun handle.

"Call the police and don't you ever say anything about us," Jungkook was threatening one of the workers with his menacing eyes while the poor boy's collar was held tightly by his firm hands.

"We got to go, Kook. We got lots to talk about," Namjoon whispered as his hand squeezed Jungkook's shoulder.

Jungkook turned around, raising a brow at him, "We sure as hell do."

+

"I'll grab the door," Yoongi exclaimed, knowing that his girlfriend would be busy 'fixing herself up' before going to the store. He once argued that she did not have to look that extravagant while shopping for groceries but the woman insisted that she only looks her best when she steps out to the outside world. By time, he learned to grow patient with a few of her antics after being aware that it is just the typical Jihee.

He ran towards the front door where the knock was coming from, not bothering to check who the visitors were through the peephole. Yoongi should have done it before opening the door.

As soon as he did, he was met with two familiar faces. Very familiar ones. Yoongi's eyes widened as he was just met with another big surprise that day. The first action that his mind thought of was to slam the door shut again.

No. He can't let them ruin this perfect life. He can't introduce Jihee to them since the girl did not even know anything about his past. He would never ever do anything to endanger their lives especially his girlfriend's. Yoongi thought at that time that letting these two men step inside his household would be one of the first mistakes that he was about to make. He knew that inviting them in would cause chaos and trash his hardly built and new life.

"Hey! What are you doing, Yoongi!" he heard Seokjin's voice which felt very strange after not hearing it for a long time. Somehow, the older one managed to stop the door from completely closing and now they were like playing tug-of-war only that they were pushing the door to the other direction.

"I should be asking you that question instead. What the fuck are you two doing here! Please, leave," he just wished that his girlfriend was too occupied to not hear him trying to push away these people, "Just leave and never come back!"

"Yoongi, we're here for Crimson!" Hoseok yelled form the other side and Yoongi swore that he felt every system in his body freeze at the mention of that name. It was like a curse word that he forbade himself from ever speaking and now here it is. The 'forbidden' name being spoken of. 

He wanted to not say it or even think of it because he was too afraid of what it might do to him. That he might go back into being the miserable person that he was after she died. That he would go back to the man who had so many regrets. The man who was hoping that he could turn back time just to say every little secrets about himself to the only person that he wished he trusted fully but was already gone.

It made him wonder that maybe that was the reason why he liked Jihee in the first place. She was the complete opposite of Crimson. Jihee was very open about herself. Easy to befriend and was definitely a people person. Jihee was the type to be easily trusted since she was like an open book and the trauma of just losing a person who he wished he trusted more made him realize that he should not do the same thing in this relationship. That was why Yoongi and her made the rule of not keeping any secrets from each other.

His strength faded and he backed away from the door. It gently opened, fully revealing Hoseok and Seokjin. They looked very well and so did he. But they all knew deep inside that they were all struggling.

"It's been a long time," Hoseok began, extending his hand for Yoongi to shake. 

Yoongi looked away, not accepting it, "You said you were here for Cri--for...her. What's the matter?"

Seokjin looked at Hoseok. They were practicing their answers to Yoongi's possible questions while they were driving towards his place and they certainly did not expect him to go straight to the question that they practiced on last.

"No...First of all, how did you find me?"

Hoseok frowned. Yoongi did not even ask how they were doing, "Taehyung has been very keen and quite skilled with finding people."

Yoongi clenched his fists at the mention of the name, his skin turning paler than they were, "Taehyung, huh?" he spoke the man's name with such venom that the two men felt it physically, making them wince.

Seokjin gave Hoseok a knowing look. Earlier that day, Hoseok insisted that they should bring Taehyung with them since he was the one who found out about Yoongi's location in the first place but the older one thought that it would be a bad idea to do so.

"So..about Crimson," Yoongi internally winced. Just at the mention of her name, the memories are flooding in, "We were wondering if you got a letter from her these past few days. It was in a red envelope and--"

Before Hoseok could finish, Yoongi threw the said envelope on the floor and it slid until it was stopped by Seokjin's foot. He was quite disappointed at how Yoongi treated such an important item.

"Wait...'gather all the seven armies'..that meant us, right?"

The two of them nodded in response, "We think that Crimson wants to gather all of us 'before the blood flows' and by that perhaps she meant to prevent something bad from happening."

Yoongi scoffed, looking away from the envelope that only seemed to be a grim reminder of Crimson, "You think? You know what I think? I think it's all bullshit. I think all of this is just some sick fucking prank pulled by a stupid--"

"Hyung," Hoseok stopped him, "I saw her, okay? I saw Crimson before she left me my letter."

"How the heck are you so sure that it's her? How can you know if it was really her, huh?!" Yoongi stood up, his finger pointing towards Hoseok while his eyes were widening in rage.

"When you work with someone for almost a year, you would know it when you see them," Seokjin stepped in, placing a protective arm in front of Hoseok who was ready to fight the enraged Yoongi, "I might not understand how you're feeling but I do know that we all somehow have to follow what she says."

Yoongi rubbed a hand on his face in frustration, "Follow what she says? Are you hearing how fucking insane you sound right now, hyung? She is dead and whatever this letter is...it's nothing."

Hoseok was having none of it, "Listen here, Yoongi hyung. Not a single soul in this room knows what the hell is happening. But when a supposedly dead person shows up after being silent for five years and leaves letters anonymously to all of us, the Bulletproofs, don't you find it strange? Doesn't that raise a red flag in your head that something wrong might happen if we don't do something about it? Theses are the cases where we say that we won't know unless we find out. So stop sitting here selfishly living the life you imagined when other people's lives might be at stake. I don't know but this is not like you at all."

Yoongi was rendered speechless and he only managed to blurt out a few words, "You don't know me."

"Then so be it. Crimson needs our help, okay? And whatever it is, she needs it badly enough to cause her to come out of hiding," this time, it was Seokjin's calming yet cautious voice that spoke.

Silence filled the air and it was clear how Seokjin and Hoseok were anticipating Yoongi's reply that their anxiousness was almost tangible. 

"Then help her by yourself then," Yoongi did not want to look at their faces, knowing that he would break his fierce stance if he sees how disappointed they are at him, "Don't get me involved in all this bullshit."

"Yoongi...please," Seokjin pleaded, stepping closer to hold his arm but Yoongi simply raised it and pointed towards the door.

"Get out," his jaw tightened as he kept his gaze on the couch beside him, "Get the fuck out of this place!"

Hoseok pulled Seokjin's arm, telling the older man to just 'give it up'. Yoongi thought that he grew emotionally tougher and promised to himself that he would not be the type to have a brick wall in front of his door. Yet here he was, being colder and pushing people who cared for him away. He thought that he became a better version of himself but in his friends' eyes, he just reached the maximum level of being an asshole.

How could they understand, though. How could they understand how hard it was for him? How could they know his struggles when they never went through it? How could they know how difficult it was for him to come back to a life that he wanted to forget because it was filled with bad memories?

His thoughts were interrupted by Jihee's footsteps, "Who was that?"

Yoongi easily composed himself, walking towards her and unknowingly stepping on the envelope that was still on the floor, "No one. Just those people who sells stuff from door to door. I called bullshit on it since their products seemed fake."

Jihee giggled before she placed her lips on top of Yoongi's. Yeah, Yoongi thought, this is all perfect enough.

"Ready to go?" Jihee nodded as an answer to Yoongi's question and he thought that only she can do it in such an adorable manner. He really did find the perfect woman.

The two of them headed outside their house and after Yoongi made sure that the door was locked, he could not keep his eyes from going over towards the car that was parked nearby. If it weren't for Yoongi's contact lenses, he would not have seen the two figures shouting at each other from the car's front seats.

Much to his surprise, Jihee noticed it too, "Couple problems, maybe?" he tried so hard not to laugh at it. If only she knew.

"Maybe," he replied, clearly uninterested of whatever she says. Yoongi felt guiltier the longer he looked at them and he felt even worse knowing that he was disappointing two of the most important individuals in his life. But going with them would mean that he has to leave Jihee. 

P.S. She'll be safer with you, he remembered the words in the letter. Yoongi felt the imaginary light bulb in his head to suddenly glow. Even if he had a new life now, he knew that he could not just abandon his responsibility towards the country. 

He looked at Jihee and realized that not helping his friends would mean that her life might be in danger as well if he did not help stop whatever is going to happen. Besides, he can go back to this life after he saves people and it would not cause him to even drop a sweat. 

It shouldn't be too hard, right?

If he would have to face Crimson and the others again then so be it. If having to work with them again would mean the safety of everyone then so be it. Yoongi reminded himself that he is doing all of this for Jihee and not for anyone else.

"Jihee, babe. What do you say we go on a little trip?"

She was clearly taken aback by it as she was already making her way to Yoongi's car. Jihee tilted her head in confusion before she followed his line of sight. His eyes were still focused on the two men arguing from a nearby vehicle.

"Remember when we promised to keep nothing from each other? Here's a small part that I might have left out," he pulled her towards him and they crossed the road together.

The knock on the window startled Seokjin and it was a huge surprise for him to see that it was Yoongi and...a woman beside him? She looked very regal and elegant, something that he thought was waaaay beyond Yoongi's taste. As far as he can remember, Yoongi once said that he does not like women who can't stand up for themselves which was the reason why he fell in love with Crimson in the first place. Seokjin kind of felt bad that he was already judging someone so easily.

He made eye contact with Hoseok before the man nodded. The window slowly went down which was a sign to allow Yoongi to speak.

"Do you have any plans?" Yoongi kept his grip on the confused Jihee's arm firm, a clear showcase of how he was terrified of letting her go. He had to take her with him because she would be safer in that case.

"Yes. Come in we're going to his house," Seokjin pointed to Hoseok and gestured for them to enter the backseat. 

"Yoongi. What's happening?" Jihee obviously did not want to come with the way that she yanked her arm away from him.

Yoongi had no time for any of her resistance, "Babe, just come with me okay? Trust me on this. Please, you'll be much safer if you're always with me. These are my friends. They're good guys, alright? They will explain everything to us during the ride."

Jihee's eyes softened and slowly, she wrapped her small hand around Yoongi's arm that significantly had more muscles than before. Seokjin felt Hoseok's look boring into the side of his face so he could not help but look at him as well. The younger had his head tilted to one side, confused at the exchange of words between the stranger and Yoongi.

"Girlfriend...?" he exclaimed out of fear, afraid that this might affect their tasks. He could only imagine how Crimson might be mad at this or even Taehyung. Instead of feeling sorry for stopping Yoongi from saving Crimson that day, he might grow angry towards him for bringing another woman with him to the mission.

"This is why we could not let Taehyung come with us. He would've beat the living hell out of Yoongi right now," Hoseok was glad that he was having the same train of thoughts as Seokjin. 

The couple entered the car and as soon as the door shuts, Hoseok drove back home as fast and as safe as he could despite the questions that clouded his mind.

+

Jimin was passed out on the couch of Hoseok's luxurious house. The three pairs of eyes never left his unconscious figure even if he laid down on the furniture for almost an hour now.

Everything happened too fast for Jungkook to comprehend. After they killed or knocked out all of the bad guys from Jimin's coffee shop, they immediately went inside Hoseok's car to go back home before Seokjin and Hoseok were back.

However, as Namjoon was explaining everything to Jimin while Taehyung drove the car, Jimin clutched his head so tightly that it made Jungkook think that he was about to rip his hair out of his scalp. A few seconds passed and he fainted.

Jungkook knew that it was best not to panic but he began shouting incoherent words once Jimin closed his eyes. He thought that he was about to die in his arms again but Namjoon calmed him down after telling that the coffee shop owner just passed out.

The three of them had no idea why it happened. But they do share the mutual understanding that Jimin's memories are in a haze, "He said that he was a janitor," Taehyung said as he looked at his hyung's face.

"At a military facility," Jungkook added, "The Scouts are completely different from the military. I thought that knowledge was one of the first few things that were taught to us."

Namjoon had a strong feeling that something was definitely wrong, "You have his envelope right?" Jungkook pulled out the said object from the pocket of his hoodie.

The leader carefully pried it open and read out the words written on it in his mind until Taehyung requested for him to read it out loud. Namjoon did not do what he said as he was too astonished by what was on the letter.

Finally fulfilled your dream, congratulations.

What Namjoon found strange though was that her initial of 'C' was not written at the bottom. It was just the riddle that everyone had on their letters and the personal message that was only as long as a sentence or two.

He was going to say his findings out loud until a phone rang. It was a very tacky ring tone that the three of them knew did not belong to anyone. Until their eyes landed on Jimin's pocket where the sound was the loudest.

Taehyung cautiously inserted his long fingers inside Jimin's pocket and pulled out the phone that was vibrating like a madman. The caller ID read Seokjin hyung and he felt the colour in his face fade.

They heard loud footsteps beyond the front door and Hoseok's voice came after, "Hyung, who are you calling?"

Panic flooded their minds and there was no way that they could think of an excuse for the new human being in the house only after a few seconds.

The door opened which signified their doom. It took a few seconds for Seokjin to realize that Taehyung was holding the ringing phone and that a lifeless man was lying down on top of Hoseok's leather couch before he dropped his own phone. Along with that, it took a few seconds for the wide-eyed trio to comprehend the presence of an all too familiar person with the delicate hands of a woman wrapped against his arm.

"Jimin?"

"Yoongi hyung?"

They all said at the same time. On the other hand, Hoseok was utterly speechless. They were all too engrossed in their own confusion that they did not notice Taehyung and Yoongi giving each other the nastiest look that they could muster. Namjoon made eye contact with Seokjin who had his jaw clenched. Jungkook was almost teary-eyed at Yoongi's appearance but was left curious at the lady who was with him.

Gather all the seven armies, check.

+

A man stood inside Yoongi's house not knowing that it was already empty, "I want you to check everything! Who knows if there's some sort of a secret room in this filthy house," he was barking orders non-stop for a few minutes now.

A smaller man went down the stairs, whispering his words to another. He made his way towards the enraged man whose jawline is getting more defined the harder he clenched it in anger, "Seongwoo, sir. Min Yoongi's house is clean."

He kicked a chair and caused it to fall down on the hardwood floor as he shouted, "Shit! We're too late."

However, his sharp vision could not miss that red object on the floor. How did he not notice that before? His hand that was covered with a black leather glove picked up the envelope and held it up to his eye level.

It was a red envelope left in the middle of the living room's floor and must have been forgotten by its owner. He opened it carefully, not wanting to tamper with it and his eyes sparkled like diamonds upon reading the words. A smirk climbed up his mouth as his dark hair almost fell over his eyes.

"The boss is going to like this."

+

And there goes Ong Seongwoo, who was once a member of Wanna One, as a bad guy OOOOHHH. That man just makes my heart leap whenever I see him lghajghah

A quick question, who do you visualize Jihee as? I'm having a hard time deciding who should portray her in this story or if I should even choose one haha.

And what about Crimson? It's very hard to describe but I only see her as a person who does not show her face (kind of like the MC from Mystic Messenger lol).

Here's the GIF of the day <3

What a dork :')