"So, what you say?" Namjoon said softly, eyes still staring you dead in the center as he slowly offered out his help.

You had your hands crossed over your chest uncomfortable, slightly regretting the fact that you hadn't grabbed an extra hoodie while rushing downstairs so quickly. Feeling practically naked, your stomach fluttered uneasy before glancing at the dirtied boys before you all over again. Eyes lingering for a moment on Jungkook who seemed to drift away from your gazes, your jaw clenched lightly when remembering all the maknae had said while in the pit of anger.

"I don't need your help," you said lowly, staring directly over at Namjoon now.

Namjoon licked at his bottom lip a little. Slowly finding the courage to move towards you, everyone watched in shock as he pasted your father and stepped high and tall in front of you.

"I'm sorry."

Your brows furrowed deeply. Staring over at Vee and your father that stood alert and unaware over what was happening before them, you glanced back over at Namjoon who spoke down at you.

"For what?" you asked confused.

"I doubted you," he started, explaining himself instant and immediately, "I accused you of stealing those missing jackets and then told a hot-tempered Jungkook about them...so I'm sorry."

Your lips parted at the new information spill forth before you. "You..." you pursed your lips, searching Namjoon's genuine frame before you.

"I'm sorry, heck, we all are," Namjoon said lowly, barely looking over at the other two that were internally screaming over at Namjoon who had stole their thunder.

WHAT IS HE DOING? WE ALL AGREED TO DO THIS TOGETHER! Jungkook piped internally, smiling nervously over at the father that glared in his direction at the mention of apologies. Jungkook had the sudden urge to face-plant into a spiked wall.

Yoongi looked irritated, but, more on the tired side. The man looked like he wanted to quickly leave just as quick they had entered.

You didn't say anything, glancing over at your father and Vee awkwardly once more.

"Guys could you give us a minute," you tried, staring over at the two-protective people by the sidelines.

"I'm not leaving you here with them," your father lowly stated, his eyes still grilling down the maknae that was now trying to hide behind Yoongi.

"Dad, please," you sighed out, practically begging awkwardly with your eyes before glancing over at Vee in a pleading expression.

Vee seemed to be hesitant a moment, but nodded none-the-less. Moving towards your father, Vee tried to talk to him lowly as she moved towards the staircase. Whatever was said by the woman seemed to work as the man's shoulders rolled back a bit, his broom slumping lazily in his grip as he moved to turn towards the staircase.

"Before I leave," the man said, eyes on Namjoon, "What exactly could you possibly do to help?"

Namjoon opened his mouth to answer but you interrupted him. Shooing your father away, you tried not to pout when he sternly made eye contact with you before starting to move up the stares. "If they bring a good deal, don't be too stubborn and prideful Y/N...this is about our family now. Sometimes you have to put your ego aside and think of the bigger picture..." the man whispered over at you.

You pursed your lips, nodding. "I'll see what they have to say."

"Good."

"...but doesn't mean I can't see them squirm a little before giving in," you mumbled out, only to cause your father to grin and nod.

"That's my girl," he chuckled out, allowing Vee to move before him as both went up slowly.

Moving back to where you were standing, you didn't bother looking at Jungkook or Yoongi as you stood straight, mimicking Namjoon's stance.

"As of right now, I could care less for apologies," you stated with authority, taking your fathers advice on what needed to be dealt with regarding family safety at this point.

Jungkook swallowed the lump in his throat at that. No longer screaming in his head, the maknae just found his stomach to drop in nerves, hating that he could look at you let alone stand high and tall like Namjoon and apologize for what he's done.

"...what I need to get clarified is why would you want to suddenly help a criminal?" you popped out, eyes narrowing.

"You aren't a criminal," Jungkook softly let out to the point where only Yoongi could hear.

Yoongi smiled painfully over at Jungkook, growing awkward himself.

All the boys suddenly missed having the father around, it had given them a different reason to be uncomfortable. It almost made it easier to face you...

"We feel at fault for this," Namjoon said softly, before glancing over at Yoongi who took his time to nod slowly.

"I feel at fault," Yoongi clarified, about to come up with words to speak about the pictures he was the reasoning behind.

"I know why, because of the pictures," you said lightly, eyes at the point of squinting, "...but you shouldn't. You shouldn't feel guilty of this outcome."

"How could I not?" Yoongi asked, voice cracking a little as he spoke for the first time after the awkward silence.

"You may have gotten the photos taken," you chimed, trying to explain without revealing too much about your current situation, "...but...the leaking of those photos wasn't entirely your fault."

The boys were beyond confused so you took your time to stabilize your voice without any waver, trying not to let emotions take over while vaguely mentioning Jae and Vee in subtle ways.

"Someone managed to pay off the man who you had trusted," you said, finishing, "They had copies and those were the ones that were released." You refrained from telling them that you had the pictures released in the first place, I mean, could you even imagine how confusing and stupid that would sound?

"What?" Namjoon asked, brows jumping as he glanced over at both Yoongi and Jungkook who were shocked.

"And no need to try and search for the individual either," you lightly scolded, "...they're a lot closer under my radar as of right now, so don't worry about any of that. I can handle myself."

"Clearly," Yoongi said lowly, pointing over at the front door, "you haven't been able to get rid of them."

"How am I supposed to possibly do that?" you barked out, defensive, "I was an ARMY once okay? I would be furious if I was in their situation as well—probably wouldn't camp out a chick's house, but I'd be angry over being confused too."

The boys stared at you blankly.

"What do you mean by 'was' an ARMY once, are you no longe—"

You glared over at Namjoon. Out of all that I just said, that's what stuck out to them?

"Nope," you shot out, bitter as you grinned a little, "I'm no longer an ARMY. I got to live through how inhumane you all can get, and the thought of being in your fandom now has me desensitized."

Jungkook pursed his lips at that. It didn't help when you finally seemed to look over at him the moment you spoke the words "inhumane". His stomach turned, an almost tearing pout reaching his lips as he glanced towards the ground. Well, she isn't lying...

It grew silent and awkward.

You sucked your cheeks in, not knowing how to carry on with this conversation. Instead, you brought it back to what you were originally trying to push out.

"What exact plan do you have," you said lowly, wanting to lock yourself back in your bedroom.

"We," Namjoon awkwardly pointed his shoulder towards the somber boy's behind him, "W-We were thinking to confront the news casters tomorrow morning...maybe even talk to the fans a little outside."

Your eyes widened in awe at that. I was expecting a stupid answer as a solution yes. But I wasn't expecting this bad of an idea, you screeched internally, knowing this was a terrible terrible way to add fire to more fire. And no, no connection to BTS's fire is intended.

"That way maybe a few will leave you alone and not everyone would be as curious and confused anymore," Namjoon lowly continuing, knowing that this was a terrible plan on its own.

BangPD's words replayed in the leader's head, trying not to let it all scare him, Namjoon hoped for the best. He knew this would probably get the entire group in possible trouble, but it was the only possible solution at this point.

"You'll all get eaten alive," you whined out, "Considering ow dirty you all look right now, sneaking in to my house, I doubt you brought any protection with you...you can't just go before fans and news outlets without any protection."

Yoongi grinned a little, watching as Namjoon's head sunk a little.

"What're you talking about?" Yoongi piped, trying to lighten the mood, "We got your father and his broom."

You tried not to smile at that sudden remark as you forced a glare to rage over at Yoongi.

"There's also Lia and Jin outside...they could be of some help as well," Jungkook said softly, staring over at Namjoon's back before sneaking in glances of you.

Yoongi and Namjoon seemed to finally look over at the maknae again. Almost taken aback, Namjoon had for sure practically forgotten about the younger one's presence since Jungkook had been incredibly quiet.

"When would you do this exactly?" you asked, skeptical, "...and wouldn't management kill you? Or did they agree to this?"

"They agreed to it," Jungkook popped out, urgent and quick his voice was.

You finally let your eyes fall on Jungkook. Watching as the maknae's form seemed to soften the moment you stared over at him, you forced yourself to look away.

"In a few hours," Namjoon said lowly, "it'll be daylight soon enough."

"And you're planning to stay where in the time being?" you asked, eyes narrowing all over again as your brow felt the urge to cock upwards.

Namjoon smiled nervously over at you, sweetness seeping out of the leader as he moved a slight bit closer towards you.

Jungkook watched the leader move closer to you. Confused and a little envious over how confident the man seemed to be, Jungkook simply remained silent, his hands in front of him as they enclosed together.

Yoongi shot out a tired and uncomfortable smile of his own, leaving Jungkook to be the only one sweating and twitching in his wet and muddy clothes.

"I'll get blankets for you all," you said irritated and under your breath, "...the living room is by the end of the hall. But before entering, there's a bathroom—freshen up so you don't get mud on the couches..."

The boys listened to you ramble out orders as you moved towards the staircase. It was a weird feeling for them, since prior to this, they were the ones to usually be giving you orders.

"I'll bring out any new clothes for you that I can. The washing machine is farther down the hall and to the right—lil' door, you'll find it so wash your messy clothes if you'd like," you continued, starting to move up the stairs, "If you sleep, great for you. If not, don't make noise and wake up the rest of the house."

You mumbled the last bit, watching at the boys stood in awe in the space by the staircase they were previously around. It was probably taking them a while to establish the fact that you were genuinely allowing them to stay in your home for the remainder of the night.

Freezing at the stairs, you quickly forced a smile on your face before facing the sets of eyes that looked up at your travelling form.

"Oh," you popped, finger moving to the air as you stared at all three of them before continuing, "by the way..."

"Hm?" Jungkook squeaked.

"Thank you," you said slowly, watching as the boys started to smile. Before they could curl their lips up too far, you quickly finished what you had to say, "...but don't think I want your help in any way. I'm doing this for my family...I screwed up and got them mixed into my mess, and now this mess that I also caused—"

Jungkook's brows furrowed lightly at that, smile falling a bit. How could she have possibly caused the leaking of the photos?

"—if anything, think of it as if you're here to help my family, because there's no way I want to be treated as some charity case," you continued, jaw clenching when remembering the reasoning why Jungkook had hired you in the first place, "So after this all blows over, no need to take pride in being your criminal's hero anymore."

Yoongi's brows jumped high at that.

Namjoon's forehead crinkled.

Jungkook, well, Jungkook's heart fell to his stomach.

"...I don't need anymore pity," you said softly, staring at Jungkook directly.

The maknae started to nibble over at his bottom lip in nervousness again, but the constant sinking of his heart wasn't helping his awed expression as he watched your shoulder's slouch, your eyes dart away and your body face forward to move away again.

"But, thanks for the 'get out of jail' free card I guess..." you finally finished, feeling shitty as you moved a strand behind your ear, gripped at the railing, and moved away instantly.

It all grew quiet.

Jungkook stared at the spot where you were just now, his mind wandering.

"You're welcome," the maknae breathed out, voice barely audible.

-

"You're welcome," you said lowly, awkwardly moving your hand away from the clothing and towels you had passed over to the maknae that stood close to you by the threshold.

Staring away from the boy and over to the other two that were trying to sit and find themselves to grow comfortable on the couches with the blankets you had brought over, you glanced the maknae's way when he moved towards your side.

His opened mouth seemed to shut the moment you looked over at him, his eyes weirdly soft which made you want to curl into a ball and roll down the hallway.

"You should get washed up and sleep too," you said lowly, hugging the sweater you had made sure to put on. The warmth that came from it gave you a sense of security, as it made you feel better than earlier when you had stood faced with the three.

"Y-Yeah," Jungkook said softly, glancing down at the articles of clothing he held in his hands.

"Who's clothing, is..." he trailed off, not knowing why he couldn't form words around you.

"It's my brother's clothing," you said softly, awkwardly moving one leg behind the other as you turned to slowly face the maknae that was invading your personal bubble.

"Thanks," Jungkook said, brows furrowing a little as he softly smiled, "I uh, I didn't know you had a brother. I just assumed these were your fathers."

"Yeah, well there's a lot you don't know about me," you whispered out, eyes bouncing away from his that whipped in your direction.

Jungkook's throat bobbed, tension airing around him and now you.

"I don't," Jungkook said softly, licking at his lip a little as he stood, hair still wet and attire still plastered with dry mud now.

Silence.

Jungkook cleared at his throat, wanting to continue up a conversation with you. So, he did it, he tried, only to have his soft smile fall a little when you showed no interest in reciprocating in the conversation. He didn't blame you however...

"Would your brother be okay with me jacking his clothing?" he asked jokingly, cutely moving the cloth higher in his awkward hands.

You glanced down at the clothing. Your heart sunk a little at the thought of your older brother.

"No," you lightly let out, gaze moving to distract itself away from the maknae, "...I, um, I wear his stuff all the time so it's fine."

Your voice became a mumble near the end, wanting to drift away from the subject of your brother. You just wanted to move and go to your room at this point.

Jungkook stared at the side of your face as you asked if Namjoon and Yoongi needed anything. Seeing as both were trying to snuggle into the couches, they thanked you, repeatedly telling you that "they were fine" when they were clearly struggling. Sighing internally, you forced yourself to look away when they said their byes and Namjoon almost fell off the two-seater.

About to turn around completely, you froze when Jungkook's soft voice stopped you.

"I'm sorry Y/N," he lightly let out, studying the way your neck looked in that moment as it sucked in for a sigh.

"It's not okay," you spoke out, side-glancing over at the boy before finding your feet to start working again as you made it a mission to move towards your bedroom again, "There's a limit for everyone, even criminals like me..."

Jungkook's eyes softened when you mentioned the label he constantly threw at your face. He knew you were emphasizing it on purpose because he was around, but instead of being irritated over it, he grew saddened.

"I know I—"

"Everyone's got a line that no one should ever cross," you cut off, wanting to finish what you wished to say.

Jungkook nodded, listening politely as you ended.

"...and you crossed mine."

Jungkook nodded again, eyes staring forward and to the ground of the living room.

"Goodnight," you said softly, back muscles tense as you moved away from the maknae without a second glance.

"Goodnight," Jungkook replied, voice softer than ever.

-

-

"MORNINGGGGGG!"

You groaned, managing to throw pillows over at the voice that practically screamed in your ear to wake up to the new day.

"No," you mumbled out, hating that there were suddenly fingers trying to tickle at your neck to wake you up further.

"Wake up or I'm going to rain you with more apologies and excuses," Vee chimed out, laughing as she moved her body to roll a little onto yours on the bed, bothering you in a plank position while having you trying to struggle away from her weight.

"Screw you," you sighed out, eyes barely open as you managed to sit a little bit up onto your bed, squinting over at Vee who grinned when realizing that her ways of waking you had worked.

"I was told to get your ass up if you're serious about this plan the boys are planning out," Vee explained, laughing a little when noticing how dazed you still seemed to be.

"What boys?" you asked, brows furrowing as you were clearly too sleep-driven to realize what you were questioning.

Vee rolled her eyes.

"Just get up and freshen up," the girl sighed out, patting at your blanket before moving off your bed.

You groaned again, slowly realizing who Vee was talking about.

"Ah, we're still doing the confronting thing?" you chimed out, still thinking of this to be a terrible idea. I doubt BangPD knows, you sighed internally, he'd never allow the boy's to be out without much backup around for safety.

"Yes," Vee mumbled out, moving towards the bedroom door, "all of us are going to help them...but not you. You're staying in here."

Your nose scrunched in irritation. Of. Fucking. Course.

"Let me guess?" you popped, "My Dad's orders?"

Vee grinned, moving to turn at the door knob.

"At least you won't be alone in house arrest," Vee said lowly, opening the door to your bedroom, "Jungkook will be moping and worried downstairs."

Your brows furrowed at that.

"Namjoon's orders for that one," the woman clarified, smiling a light bit when realizing the sudden softness cloud your once irritated form.

"What's up with you and the younger one anyway?"