Stuck In Between | ot7 | Four

 Pair: Sope x f!reader ; Ot7 x f!reader

Summary: What does it take for a life to be changed forever? For you it was running into one of Bangtan’s seven –the most powerful street gang in all of Gwangju. It was only supposed to be a steamy one night stand after night out, but after being targeted by Bangtan’s number one enemies, you find yourself interlaced with seven dangerous men. Can you get your old life back? Or will you stay stuck in between what you believe to be good versus bad? 

Chapter warnings: Trouble in paradise?  

 WC: 4k

 Waking up in a strange bed, in a room you had never stepped foot into before tonight, would have been confusing and unnerving to start with. But at least you would have slept. Which was something you did not do, as your mind was way too busy to really let the fatigue you were feeling actually consume you. 

You had too many concerns, too many questions bouncing on the walls of your brain to be able to settle. 

Who were those men tonight and what did they want with you? Were they after you because you knew one of the Bangtan members? Were they hoping you were more than acquaintances? Were they looking to shake you to make you spill secrets about the gang? How did Jungkook end up there? Did Hoseok know about the attack beforehand? 

What about Yeonjun? The young boy you met at the bar of S7VEN, was he part of Bangtan too? Was everyone working at the club part of the gang? What happened to the third guy that Kai went after? Would the friends of the two dead men come after you looking for revenge? Would they come after you regardless? 

You were sitting in the middle of the bed, basking in the darkness surrounding you, when a small beep and the noise of cogs turning was accompanied by a female robotic voice: 

‘Good morning, Hope. It’s June 9th, 10am, and the weather is 15ºC with 4% possibility of rain in the afternoon.’

“Hello?” you spoke into the dark room, which made you feel silly as you realized the voice must belong to an alarm clock system, and not an actual person saying good morning to the owner of the bedroom. 

‘Would you like to open the blinds now?’ the voice asked and you didn’t know if it could recognize just anyone’s voice of if had to be programmed into the system, but you still tried:

“Yes.” 

‘Opening the blinds now.’ 

To your surprise, sun started filtering in from the right side of the room, as the heavy curtains started swaying and parting in the middle to reveal large floor to ceiling windows that let you see the outside. Curiosity was bigger than tiredness, apparently, as your feet led you closer to the windows so you could admire the view. 

All you saw was land, stretching for miles, and the pretty mountains that made up Gwangju’s topography in the distance. Right in the backyard of the house, you could see a pool complete with a diving board and tanning ledge with flamingo and donut floaties resting in the corner. A little further away was a pool house. Movement on the opposite side made you stretch your neck to see what looked like a kennel with big dogs inside; but you were too far away to see what kind and how many there were. 

Turning around to the bedroom once more, you noticed things that your numb brain hadn’t allowed you to see last night, when Hoseok brought you into his room before leaving again. The first thing you noticed was how large it was, now that the sun was illuminating the whole space. 

The sleeping area was up on a dark wood platform that was four steps higher than the rest of the room, and there wasn’t much up there; only the big bed, a nightstand on each side of it, and a reading area closest to the window –with a red suede wing back chair and a small corner table with a book on top. 

The rest of the square bedroom was covered in light colored wood tiles, the walls were of the same color, except for the one right across the bed, which held a flat screen television and was painted red. In between the bed area and the TV wall was a black leather sofa with SUPREME cushions and Snoopy head pillows. Right under the TV was a line of KAWS figurines, all of the same size, but in different designs. 

There were two doors on the red-painted wall; one that led into the bathroom –which you had already used during the night– and the other one you assumed led into a walk-in closet. 

This was the type of bedroom you would expect from an artist, not a gang member, which just showed you how much more Hoseok had to offer, how deep his personality ran, besides what met the eye. 

But then again, you didn’t know what secret compartments were hiding weapons or secret passageways. 

When the door of the bedroom opened softly, your first instinct was to search for a place to hide, but then Hoseok pushed it wider with his hips and you saw the tray of food he was carrying and you settled. 

“Oh, good, you’re awake!” he smiled that heart shaped smile of his, the one with the dimples, and closed the door with his foot. “Are you hungry?” 

“Not really.” you said the truth, because you weren’t hungry. You weren’t much of anything besides tired. But the man looked a little disappointed, or concerned –you didn’t really know him that well to pinpoint the difference–, so you tried to fix it: “But I should probably eat.” 

“It’s good that you eat something, yeah.” he agreed, walking deeper into the room to place the breakfast tray on the center table next to the leather sofa. “I usually don’t have food in the room, but I’ll open an exception for you.”

“How kind of you.” you chuckled lightly, feeling only a little better about not having to be alone with your thoughts for a while. “I like your bedroom.” 

“Thanks. I designed it myself.” Hoseok was clearly proud of it as you sat beside him on the couch. “We all designed this house together.” 

You only nodded, because besides the entrance, the hallway and the backyard you saw through the windows, you hadn’t seen much of the rest of the house to give your opinion on the architecture or decor. 

Hoseok pushed the tray with food closer to you, and while everything looked good and fresh, you didn’t think you’d manage to eat all of it. The man said the gyeran-mari was delicious, so you reached for the small plate with rolled omelet and held it on your lap. As Hoseok handed you metal chopsticks for you to start eating, he asked:

“Stupid question, but how are you feeling?” 

“Well. I woke up with someone on top of me, telling me to hide.” you started, holding a piece of gyeran-mari to blow on it to cool it off. “I’m pretty sure I saw two dead bodies on the floor of my childhood bedroom, then I was taken to the headquarters of gang members.”

“Sounds like a regular wednesday.” Hoseok joked to break the tense mood, which you appreciated. 

“Eh, I’ve had worse.” 

You shrugged, but it wasn’t real. You knew that, he knew that, but you focused on filling your stomach with the rolled omelet that was, in fact, really good. You took a few small bites, trying to pace yourself lest you get sick, then you asked one of the questions that had been on your mind for a while:

“Jungkook said you sent him. Did you know I was going to be attacked?”

“Not attacked, I don’t think those dudes wanted to hurt you.” the man shook his head, folding his legs to sit sideways, facing you. “They were, uhm. How do I say this?”

“Just say it.” you pleaded, needing answers. 

“They kidnap people to sell.” Hoseok spit it out and you almost choked. “Human trafficking. You know? As sex workers or–”

“Okay, say less–!” you changed your mind, not needing him to get too into it as you knew the concept. “They were going to do that to me?”

“I’m pretty sure, yeah.” he nodded and you rested the chopsticks on the plate, suddenly feeling full after a couple of bites. “Those guys, did you see their tattoos?”

“One had a snake on their face, and the other on his neck, yeah.” the image of their lifeless bodies would be something hard to forget. 

“Those were Dogsa men.” Hoseok said, which was a name you recognized lightly. You knew the titles of the three gangs that controlled Gwangju, everyone did. Bangtan, Dogsa and Gangnam. “Dogsa is our biggest rival gang.”

“Oh.”

“Do you know what gangs do?” Hoseok asked as you placed the plate with the half eaten omelet back on the tray, picking up the glass of orange juice to try and wash the lump in your throat down. 

“Shitty stuff, like kidnapping people, apparently.” you answered bitterly. 

If Hoseok minded the tone, he didn’t show. 

“Gangs work with what they can sell.” he started. “Drugs, weapons, information, and some gangs, like Dogsa, sell people.”

“But n–not Bangtan, right?” you didn’t think you could spend another minute under this roof if they did what Dogsa tried to do to you, but Hoseok shook his head. 

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that we never did shady things, because it comes with the job.” you could feel the honesty behind his words as you picked up a Snoopy pillow to hug to your chest. “But I like to think we’re the lesser of evils. While we are an illegal organization, we like to believe that we do have ethics. Our drug isn’t laced, which brings down the mortality rate. We don’t sell guns to just anybody. We won’t kill or shake anyone without a background check. Jk particularly likes taking care of wife beaters and child abusers.”

“Jungkook?”

“Mmhm. He’s our hitman. The muscles of this operation, if you will, which is why he’s the one I sent to keep an eye on you.” Hoseok said with a little smile, which didn’t surprise you after what you saw and heard last night. But all you could really think about was his warm hand holding yours and his innocent doe eyes. “What I’m trying to say is that, there are bad guys. And there are bad bad guys.”

“And Dogsa are the bad bad guys?”

“Indeed. They are family run, which means they have old blood, and are everywhere in this town.” the man continued as you settled deeper against the couch, folding your legs up and bringing the pillow closer to your face. It smelled of something gentle, sweet and floral. “Not everyone will come out and say they are part of Dogsa, and not all members have the snake tattoo on their faces, but yeah.”

“Are those like a mark? An initiation into the gang?” you asked with curiosity, fearing Hoseok might stop answering you. 

“We call it branding.” he explained patiently, pulling his pant leg up to show you the ‘7’ tattoo on the back of his right calf. “Bangtan has it too.”

“I like yours better.”

“Thanks, doll.” he smiled and dropped the pants back down. “Dogsa is the oldest gang in town, they used to rule everything back when Hajun was their leader. But then Mingyu got him out of the way so he could be the one to lead Dogsa instead.” 

“You said it’s family run.” you frowned. 

“Hajun was Mingyu’s older brother.” he told you and your eyes widened a bit as you realized Mingyu killed his hyung in order to rise to power. “Hajun had killed their father before then.”

“Oh my god.” you gasped. “I hope Mingyu doesn’t have a younger brother then.”

It should have been a little joke, really, not that the family betrayal going on with Dogsa was funny. But the way Hoseok grimaced showed you the k-drama wasn’t over just yet. 

“Younger sister.” he said, avoiding your eyes as he pulled a piece of lint out of the sleeve of your hoodie; well, Jungkook’s hoodie that you were still wearing. “But the last I heard, she wants nothing to do with being the leader.”

“How do you know so much about Dogsa?”

Hoseok sighed and let out a small chuckle as he admitted: “I was hoping you wouldn't ask that.”

Before you could ask why, Hoseok grabbed the back of his shirt and lifted it off, taking it out and draping it on the back of the couch. It absolutely was not the time for it, but your cheeks burned as you saw his lean torso, tanned skin and tight abs. But the man turned his back to you. 

The tattoo of a dragon took up almost the whole of his spine. Its body had coils that moved this way and that, and scales, two arms, two legs but no wings; all in black lines and no color. You hadn’t seen it that night you first met and slept together, because you hadn’t looked at him from behind. Which was a shame because, not only did the tattoo complement the ones on his arm, Hoseok’s back muscles were something else altogether. 

“That’s a pretty dragon.” you said, not really seeing the point of him showing it to you right now. 

“Look closer, doll.” 

At the instruction, you scooted forward, tracing the tattoo with the tips of your fingers, looking for whatever secrets laid behind it. You started at the tail at the bottom of his spine, following it up until you reached the head. And then you realized. 

The head of the dragon was covering something. You took in a small ragged breath as you realized the dragon head was on top of a burn scar, and if you looked closely, you could notice traces of another tattoo that had been there once before. 

“Oh.”

“We burned the head of the snake. Covered it with a dragon instead.” he confirmed what you could already guess. 

“You were part of Dogsa?”

“I joined when Hajun was leader.” Hoseok turned around again to face you, pain and discomfort showcased on his expressive face. “Things weren’t as bad as they are today. For starters there was no selling people.”

“So you went from dancing to being in Dogsa? Because that makes even less sense than joining Bangtan–”

You just couldn’t fathom how the sweet little boy Mrs. Jung had shown you endless pictures of, could end up trading the stage and dance competitions to join a gang that sounded as bad as Dogsa did. 

“I’m glad you think so.” Hoseok forced a smile, but it was heavy. He didn’t move to put his shirt back on, and you forced yourself to only look at his face. “And I was also hoping you wouldn’t ask that.”

“Don’t tell me you’re taking your pants off now, too.” you rolled your eyes, which made him laugh a genuine one. 

“Would that be so bad?” he wiggled his eyebrows, and you were glad the heavy mood was slightly lifting. 

“Well, it would be hella distracting when you’re telling me your villain origin story.” you pointed out as you reached for a small piece of buttered bread from the breakfast tray, attempting to eat again.

“Okay, well, long story short, I joined because of a girl.” 

“Oh my god, Hoseok! Of course you did.” you were shaking your head in disbelief, hiding your chewing mouth behind your hand as you guessed: “It was Hajun and Mingyu’s sister, wasn't it?”

“I– damn, am I that predictable?” Hoseok scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and you rolled your eyes so hard they might get stuck that way. 

“Men are so dumb.” you mused.

Hoseok’s laugh was full of heart as his head was thrown back and you hated how it made you smile. “You’re right about that. I was dumb. Thought I was in love, and the only way for me to get close to her was joining the gang, proving I was tough as shit.” 

“I can’t believe you joined a gang for a nice ass.” you washed the rest of the bread with a new sip of the lukewarm juice, but refrained from eating more. 

“Now I realize she manipulated me and used me.” his laughter had died, and you noticed it was still a sore spot for him. 

“Is that why you broke up with her?”

His head shook as he started: “I broke up with her because her brother killed my best friend.” Hoseok told you and you guessed he was talking about Hajun; the older brother who was in charge when Hoseok first joined Dogsa. “And when Mingyu rose to power, and started messing with trafficking people, I realized that it was too much. There was a lot of messed up shit I learned to overlook and turn a blind eye to, but I couldn’t stand behind that. So I left.”

“Just like that?”

“Eh. The thing with gangs is that you can’t just leave. You either die, or you join a bigger gang.” he said with a faraway look, and it made sense. “You find someone who will protect you.”

“And that was Bangtan?”

“Yeah.” Hoseok fiddled with the small hoop on his lobe. “But it's almost impossible to change gangs, because who would trust a defector? Who wouldn't think they are just trying to infiltrate and take them out from the inside?”

“How did you join Bangtan then?” you wanted to know, resting your arm on the back of the couch and your head on your hand. 

“I already knew one of the guys.” he grinned softly, only one dimple poking at his cheek. “Jimin and I were in the same dance class growing up, so when I ran away from Dogsa, he took me in. I still had to prove myself, lay low for a really long time. But I earned my place. I burned the snake and became someone else.”

You had no idea who this Jimin was, as you only ever properly met Jungkook, and since you were too out of it to even attempt to gather any more information about the other five last night. But if you based yourself on the build of the gang members, you assumed Jimin must be one of the blonde men. 

“So what happens to me now? Why did they target me?” you asked with a little squirm. Your head was starting to hurt from all of the information you gathered during this conversation, but you still needed to know what would become of you from this point on.

“The thing with your car, the zip wires, the X on your door. Those are all signs to tip off Dogsa members that the person who lives at that house is a potential target.” he spoke carefully and you let his words sink in. “It’s usually someone who lives alone, single, mostly women.”

“Okay.” you nodded slowly, making sense of the words. 

You had been living alone in that house for three years, barely ever had Ji-hun over, you didn’t have that many friends to begin with. And you never brought your occasional hookups home. You didn’t think anybody was ever watching you, but it clearly was the case. 

“I don’t know if being with me, sped things along and they tried to take you to get to me, or if it was by chance that I drove you home last night and saw the signs,” Hoseok acknowledged and it sent a shiver down your spine as you wondered what would have happened if you didn’t accept the ride home. “But I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“Either way, I’m glad you did.” you buried your head on the pillow in your arms, voice a little muffled as you told him: “If you hadn’t asked Jungkook–”

“I know.” he said and you felt his hand on the back of your head in a touch that was a little comforting. “Unfortunately, whether they already knew of our connection or not, they definitely know now. There was a third guy at the house. He knows Bangtan took you from them.”

“That– doesn’t sound good.” you lifted your head just a little, resting your chin on the pillow. 

“It’s not. They’ll probably try to take you again if you go back home.” that much you had already guessed, but hearing him confirm it brought a whole new anxiety into your bones. “And if you leave to go somewhere else, they’ll search for you.”

“Great.”

“Good news is, you can stay here for as long as you need.” he tried, which you appreciated. “Bad news is, you’re stuck with us.”

“Okay.”

Later you’d be thankful that Hoseok wasn’t just kicking you out to your own luck, or handing you over to Dogsa. Later you’d appreciate all that he was doing for you, all of the answers he provided and how he opened up to you with his own backstory. 

For now, however, you’d worry, and you’d overthink, and you’d let the news settle that you were now a woman in hiding, with dangerous people after you. 

“Obviously, no one will make you stay. I know it’s a lot to process and think about, you can leave if you want to.” he gave you the option, but it wasn’t really one you’d be comfortable taking. 

“It’s just not advised that I do so.” you muttered, voice weak. 

“Not unless you want to be harvested for organs or shipped to Japan.”

“Jesus, Hobi.” you hissed as he could really paint a picture. “Guess I’m staying then.”

“I can send someone to your place to pick up clothes and whatever else you need.” he said, as if going there yourself would be a very bad idea. “You won’t be a prisoner here, just– Let us know if you want to go somewhere? So we can find someone to go with you.”

“Don’t the seven of you have better things to do than be on babysitting duties?” you mused with a pout, feeling the last of your freedom escaping through your fingers.

“It’s not just the seven of us, doll. We all have people working under us.” it made sense then, and confirmed your suspicions about Yeonjun and Kai, and whoever else worked at S7VEN being a member of Bangtan. 

“What about my job?”

“You should probably take a vacation if you can. And, uhm. Stay away from your friends for a little bit?” he said, as if you had many friends to begin with. “Just to lay low and not put them at risk?”

“Probably smart.”

Little by little, the more you talked, the more you realized how the life that you knew had already changed forever. Up until this point you had managed to lay low and avoid messing with the wrong people. And the wrong people still came after you. 

You could resent Hoseok and his connection to Dogsa, maybe it would be smart if you did. But if it wasn’t for him, God knows where you’d be right now. If it wasn’t for him, even if you had somehow escaped Dogsa on your own, you didn’t know how long you would last out there by yourself. 

“You say I’m not a prisoner, but it feels like I am.” your voice was small. You weren’t trying to sound ungrateful, but you allowed yourself a moment of self pity. 

“Well, it could be worse.” he reached for your hand to squeeze your fingers. “We have a pool. A game room. I’m sure the younglings will give you a tour later.”

“Tomorrow, maybe.” you shook your head, hiding it on the pillow once more. “I think I had enough new things to get used to for a day.”

“Whatever you want, doll.” 

“Where am I staying?” your head rose as you realized that small detail. Looking around, this room was pretty good for a prison, but you couldn’t expect to have it as your hiding spot. 

“For now you can stay here.” Hoseok confirmed, looking at his space, too. “We’ll clear up a room for you, but all of the bedrooms are taken, so.”

“Okay.” you nodded to show you understood, a little nervous as you checked: “Are you–are you staying here too?” 

“I have another room I can sleep in, don’t worry.” 

“Oh.”

Hoseok grinned and cocked an eyebrow: “You look disappointed.”

“Just don't wanna be an inconvenience.” you shrugged and lied. “Are the others okay with this? Me being here?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?” Hoseok sat up properly to stretch his back and yawn; you didn’t know if he had slept the night before or not. You tried to hide the way you ogled the planes of his chest as he did so. 

“I’m a little concerned about one of you.” you admitted sheepishly, feeling a particular member glaring at you the whole way as Hoseok led you up the stairs to the second floor. 

“Which one?”

“Pretty boy with long hair?” you supplied, but Hoseok’s smile only grew. 

“I’m gonna need more than that, doll.” 

“He looks like a cat?” you tried, and Hoseok’s eyes widened and his lips parted in understanding. 

“Ahh, that’s Yoongi hyung.” he laughed, and you wondered if that was the hyung that Hoseok talked about so much. “We hook up–”

“You– Jung Hoseok! You ass!” you gasped, incredulous, taking the pillow in your lap to hit him with it as you lectured: “Your mother didn’t raise you to cheat on your boyfriend!”

“Hey– hey, stop–” he was laughing as he tried to defend himself from your pillow attack, but you didn’t see the funny part.

“And with me?! God, this is so fucking awkward–” you continued with the hits of the pillow until it was yanked out of your hand and thrown away. 

“Will you listen?! That’s not– He’s not my boyfriend, we have an agreement!” Hoseok took your wrists in his hands as you reached for another pillow, words settling you a little; just barely, really. “We hook up, yes, but we see other people. Sometimes together, sometimes apart. So no, I didn’t cheat on him with you. He knew what I was doing when I left the club with you.”

“You are so messy, way to drag me into this.” you reprimanded with a huff, feeling weird even about the slight hand holding that was going on now that he was holding your wrists hostage.

“Well, in my defense, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, and I didn’t think you’d be coming to stay with us for the indefinite future!” Hoseok defended himself, but it hardly took away his blame. 

You remembered Yoongi that night at the club, and how you thought he was looking at you, offering you dangerous smirks that were doing something to your insides. But now that you knew the truth, it was easy to guess that the looks were sent to Hoseok, and not to you. 

But he didn’t seem angry when you were dancing with Hoseok, which was proof enough that Hoseok’s explanation about them having some sort of open not-relationship was true and made sense. 

“So you think Yoongi hyung is pretty, huh?” Hoseok teased you and you regretted your every life decision. 

“God, you’re unbelievable.” you rolled your eyes as you pulled your hands away from him, calculating how far you’d have to leap to reach another pillow to smack him with it. 

“You just said it, not me!”

“Well, I have eyes!” you justified. “You must be, like… A power couple.”

“Thanks.” he laughed, reaching for a grape from the breakfast tray and popping it into his mouth. “I’ll tell him you said that.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that will help.” you scoffed, a scowl still etched to your face. “ What about the other guys?”

“What about them?” he asked mid chew. 

“Are any of them, like, a real couple?” maybe focusing on internal relationship drama was easier than worrying too much about your situation. 

“Not with so many words.” he shrugged. “Tae and Jiminie sometimes hook up, too.”

“And Jungkook?”

“Interested?” Hoseok sent you a sly little smile that made your cheeks and neck heat up. 

“Stop that.” you warned. 

“Jungkookie exclusively likes girls, so no, he’s not with any of us.” he explained, leaning sideways against the couch as he wiggled his brows. “You know, he put up a great fight for you to stay.” 

“I don’t know. And I don’t want to know.” you fixed your posture and crossed your arms, jutting out your chin. 

With a new laugh, Hoseok simply said: “Sure you don’t.”