"Come on. Please work," muttered Laylin under her breath.

She stood in front of the temperamental vending machine with her arms crossed as she watched the machine seem to decide or not whether it would give her her mini bag of potato chips. She groaned when the spring on the aisle stopped and her bag of chips ended up wedged between the end of the aisle it was on and the window glass.

It had been a week and a half since Jungkook and Taehyung had gotten hit by that car and fallen into a coma. Nothing had changed about their state just as nothing had changed in terms of catching whoever was responsible for the hit and run. To say she was heartbroken and frustrated would be an understatement. Laylin placed her hands on the glass of the vending machine and pounded against it weakly.

"I think you've been spending too much time here. Even the vending machines are getting sick of you."

Laylin smirked as she turned to see Jimin standing there. He had a white hat crammed on top of his head; a gray scarf about his neck. Wrapped within his gloved hands were two cups of coffee. The unseasonably cold rain showers they'd been having all week had caused him to bundle up.

"I bought a coffee for you too because I figured you would be here. You never leave."

"Well, I have to be here when they wake up," said Laylin.

"I understand. I'd be here more too like you if it wasn't for my job."

Laylin nodded her head as she took the cup of coffee he held out to her. Ever since the accident, she had asked for leave to be by their sides, but her leave was soon coming to an end. Laylin took a sip of her coffee as she looked longingly back at her trapped in limbo potato chips. Chuckling, Jimin handed off his coffee to her before approaching the vending machine. He gripped the side of it with his hands and gave it a firm shake or two. The potato chip bag fell to the bottom as Laylin let out a relieved sigh.

"You're my hero," said Laylin as Jimin chuckled, bending to retrieve it. "Think shaking will work on Jungkook and Taehyung too?"

"I'm sure the doctors wouldn't be happy with us if we tried to find out," said Jimin as he came back over to Laylin and held out the bag of potato chips which she exchanged for his coffee.

Walking side-by-side down the monochromatic hallway, they made their way back to the room where Jungkook and Taehyung were. Upon entering, they saw that neither of their states had changed. Laylin moved to sit in one of the chairs by the window where the rain from outside was clicking against the glass as if it too were trying to wake the both of them up.

"So how is work going?" asked Laylin as Jimin sat down in a chair beside her. She needed to keep her mind occupied to keep herself from crying.

"Good enough, I suppose," said Jimin as he took a sip of his coffee before looking at Jungkook and Taehyung's still forms. "Their parents are still wanting the album to go out since we already had it pretty much done."

"I hate those people..." mumbled Laylin as she set aside her coffee, ripping open the bag of potato chips so violently that a chip flew out and onto the floor.

Jimin chuckled as he took a chip out of the bag she offered his way, popping it into his mouth.

"Don't take your anger out on the poor bag of chips," said Jimin.

"I'm sorry. It's just...those people get under my skin so bad. I mean, you look at Mrs. Kim. She's been here a handful of times since the accident, but always wants time alone with her sons. I hate being kicked out into the hallway while she visits them when I'm actually the one who cares. She can pretend all she wants, but I know her true colors. I mean, she and her husband are trying to profit off them still when they might..."

Laylin couldn't say the three-letter word that was on the tip of her tongue. It hurt too much to give it life. She stared down into the potato chip bag she held as Jimin reached out a hand to pat her back.

"They are adults. Can't their parents stop profiting off them?" asked Laylin.

"I wish it were that easy," said Jimin. "The contract that was signed by the both of them...it's complicated."

"Can you try to uncomplicate it for me?"

"Well basically the long and short of it is - to be free of the contract they are currently under and for the Kims to not benefit from them anymore - they'd have to be produced under someone else."

"Yoongi," said Laylin as her eyes lit up.

"Yoongi?" asked Jimin confused.

"Didn't he say that he wants to be a producer?" asked Laylin.

"Yeah, when he was at the pet hospital and was acting half deranged while he demanded people to save Yoongles," commented Jimin. "I'm not sure if Yoongi was serious, Laylin. He was spouting off a bunch of things that night. If you don't recall, he looked like a madman."

Laylin remembered that night quite clearly. It was the same night that Jungkook and Taehyung had been hit. Having been told by the doctor to leave them both to rest and come back tomorrow, Laylin had left the hospital with Mrs. Jeon only to be intercepted by a bewildered Namjoon who said that Yoongi had changed back. After having explained things to Mrs. Jeon on the way to the pet hospital, they had arrived to see that Yoongi was practically throwing himself over the front desk at the passive faced vet who was staring at the limp cat on its counter. Seokjin, Hobi, and Jimin were all trying to keep Yoongi's feet on the ground by grabbing him by the back of the shirt. When the vet behind the counter promised to do all he could for Yoongles, Yoongi started to spout on and on about all the things he was going to change now that he was in control again. Laylin remembered him stating how he would let more people in his life and take charge of things on his own instead of letting people dictate it for him.

"I'm sure he was serious about the producer bit," said Laylin. "I mean, he was serious about keeping us all in his life."

Jimin sighed, looking over at Jungkook and Taehyung again.

"It's worth a try, I suppose. The situation they are in is toxic. We have to try something to make their life better."

Laylin nodded her head in agreement to Jimin's words. After all, they needed a good life to come back to. She refused to entertain the possibility that either of them could die.

- - -

Hobi was on his way to the hospital to check on Jungkook and Taehyung after having left the label for the day. He had let Jimin slip out ahead of him since it was his turn to do so. That meant though that he was trapped making Taehyung's insufferable parents happy. They seemed to conveniently forget that their son - well technically their sons - were bedridden in comas and could possibly die. Being the hopeful person that he was, Hobi had hoped that when Mrs. Kim had said sorry to him and Jimin on the day of the accident that she actually would change. He should have known that she wouldn't. Tigers never changed their strips.

"Thank you for getting me out of there," said Hobi as he looked over at the man sitting beside him in the car.

Yoongi gave a thin smile, nodding his head as his fingers stroked through Yoongles' fur as he contentedly rested on his lap.

"It was nothing," said Yoongi. "Besides, it was easier when Mrs. Kim left for the day to go who knows where."

"True," said Hobi. Mr. Kim didn't have nearly as much persistence on issues as his counterpart.

When they arrived at the hospital, Yoongi paid for the fare before slipping out. He looked at the hospital they stood in front of as he kept Yoongles safely in his arms. Until Yoongles had properly recovered from his surgery, he wanted him to take it easy.

"I'll stay outside with Yoongles while you go inside," said Yoongi to Hobi. "They won't let me in with him."

"You're going to freeze," said Hobi as the rain came down on the two of them.

"I'll be fine," said Yoongi as he kept Yoongles tucked under his coat to keep him warm. "I'll find a place that's warm enough until you're done. Take your time. I've survived worse."

Hobi chuckled at that, nodding his head as he moved to enter the hospital to check on Jungkook and Taehyung. Yoongi watched him go before moving to find a place outside the hospital that would provide some shelter from the cold and rain. Rounding the corner of the hospital, he found a side of the building that was emanating warmth from inside and decided to stay there. He pressed his back against the warm wall, looking up at the rain dripping off the roof.

"Things will be okay," said Yoongi to himself and to Yoongles.

Now that he had his body back, there were things that Yoongi wanted to change about his life. He had put in his two week notice earlier that morning at the label that currently employed him in order to find something better for himself. He was tired of being someone elses' pawn and wanted to control his own life. He had no idea that trading places with a cat for a while would help him to come to that realization and the realization that he needed others in his life, but he was grateful for it.

Yoongi heard footsteps off to his right, looking to see Mrs. Kim rounding the corner with a black umbrella over her head like her own little rain cloud. Shocked, Yoongi ducked down behind some nearby boxes so he wouldn't be seen by her, listening as her footsteps slowed to a stop. He heard some rattling before she started talking to someone that wasn't there, clearly indicating that she was on the phone with someone.

"...I want you to turn yourself in," Yoongi heard her say.

Yoongi gently put Yoongles down on a dry spot on the ground as he dug out his cell phone, trying to do so quietly so he wasn't detected. He clicked on a recorder, holding it close to the boxes he was hidden behind so he could record what was being said more clearly.

"...When I hired you, I only wanted you to get a message across, that was it. I didn't ask you to potentially commit murder...You're a murderer and you deserve to be held responsible and don't you dare try to insinuate that I am going down with you. I will not be doing any such thing. I have good lawyers."

'Not good enough lawyers to get you out of it with this piece of evidence,' thought Yoongi with a smirk as Mrs. Kim hung up on the call in a disgruntled mood.

Yoongi stopped the recording, tucking his phone away as he stayed crouched there and waited for Mrs. Kim to walk away. He picked up Yoongles again as he stood upright, seeing that she had left. About a half hour later, Laylin, Jimin, and Hobi emerged from the hospital to go search for something to eat since Mrs. Kim had kicked them out of the room and didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. Yoongi approached them with a small grin on his face.

"What are you grinning about?" asked Jimin with an arched brow as Hobi moved to get them a cab.

"I know who is responsible for Jungkook and Taehyung's accident," said Yoongi, "And I've got the evidence we need to bring them to justice."