NEW QUIZ ALERT
What type of fictional character would you be?
cozy koo on your dash đ„ș
he looks like the main character from some romantic winter movie âïž
Dextrocardia. Originally a medical term, but also a way to describe someone who's got their heart in the right place.
"She's been moved to another operation to help out. This pairing is necessary because you'll be undercover as spouses. I know you two can be professional about this."
"What?!" It's Jeongguk's upset voice that sounds, and for once, you share his displeased opinion.
Spouses.
pairing:Â cop!jk x f detective!reader
genre:Â undercover cops, fake marriage, e2l au, angst, fluff, (smut?)
word count:Â 6.5k
warnings: none besides.... fictional police work...
rating:Â NC-17 â Adults Only
masterlist
part 16/?Â
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© dextrocardia is copyright jeonstudios. this fic can not be modified, re-posted, or translated without my permission.
Despite everything, you fill with a sense of excitement as you drive off, Sana in the passenger seat beside you. Itâs nice to feel like you have a purpose again, and even if you technically had one during the last mission with Jeongguk, it was overshadowed by the danger you believed resided under the same roof.Â
Itâs a comfortable journey, and soon enough the highway turns into a pristine neighborhood, bearing no trace of the traumatic events that occurred there months ago. Most of it looks the same as you remember it but other parts donât. Thereâs an unfamiliar car parked outside âyourâ house, and not only that, but glancing through the large windows as you cruise by, you spot movement inside. Children? You knew people would eventually move into the houseâa house that never even belonged to you to begin withâbut it feels weird.
Putting your more than illogical feelings aside, you focus on parking your car outside the Jungsâ house instead. Before stepping out, you and Sana give each other one last once-over. Despite the relatively low risk of this initial part of the mission, youâve still made an effort to appear inconspicuous, and itâs not only for your own sake. Considering what theyâve done for youâHoseok especiallyâyou donât want to be a bother if theyâd rather not have law enforcement be seen knocking on their door.
Itâs Eunha who opens the door, eyes going wide when they land on your face. For a second, your worry grows; what if your presence isnât actually appreciated? At all? But then her lips pull into a smile.
âOh, hello?â
âHi, we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions? About another case, not⊠yours,â you find your greeting turning into rambling.
âOh, uh, yeah, of course. Come on in. Iâm a little busy baking at the moment, but Hobi is home, and Iâm guessing heâs the one you really want to speak with?â
She wipes her hands on her light blue jeans, leaving a white, powdery residue on the fabric before opening the door wider.Â
âThank you,â you smile as you step inside, looking around to see that, as far as you can tell, everything looks the same as when you last paid the Jungsâ a visit. When you think about it, Hoseok never brought up the bugs you placed in their house, so youâre guessing they never found them. Or if they did, they havenât brought it up for some reason or another. Youâre not sure, but what you do know is that youâre not gonna be the one to do it, just in case.
âMake yourselves at home. I need to check on the cookies. Hobi!â she turns to call out into the house, âWe have guests!â
With an apologetic smile, Eunha excuses herself, and then you and Sana are left alone in the entryway. You share some kind of look. Sure, you didnât expect too much hostility, but to leave you, two detectives, unsupervised in their home?Â
A second later, the sound of footsteps approaches, and you smile toward the brown-haired man as he comes into view, his confused features turning happy. He takes in the sight of you before he closes the distance to give you a warm hug.
âHow are you? You look good!â he compliments, also turning to shake Sanaâs hand, a very sweet smile on his lips. âHoseok.â
âSana,â she greets.
âIâm doing well,â you answer, âHe is too; made a full recovery.â
Hoseokâs smile falls, and he takes on a rather baffled look instead. âWe saw on the news. About the station and the investigation and all that. Crazy. I mean, we knew there were corrupt cops, but to that extent?â
âYeah.â
âSo what brings you here?â he asks, a glint slowly returning to his eyes. âWas it maybe something I said one time at a hospital?â
You nod, âYeah. Can you tell us what you know? Or give us any tips at all so that we can stop Kyung Sunghyun once and for all?â
You watch him contemplate. Since he first let that comment about Ksung slip at the hospital, youâve felt that heâs a good enough man to at least not mind Sunghyun being investigated and possibly put behind bars. But what can he say without incriminating himself for essentially planning a robbery? And can he trust you if he accidentally lets something slip? You might seem like youâve stopped pursuing him, but can he trust you not to, ever?
âWhy donât we take a seat in the living room?â He gestures for you to follow him, and after quickly taking off your shoes and jackets, you do, with Sana in tow.
Sitting on the Jungsâ couch, you wait for Hoseok to get comfortable and for Sana to pull her pen and notebook out of her bag.Â
âHey, love?â Hoseok calls out to his wife, turning to the two of you, âYou want something to drink?â
âOh, water would be fine,â Sana accepts, and you nod, âYeah.â
âHm?â Eunha appears in the doorway. She seems to have more flour on her pants than last time.
âCould you bring us some water?â
âOf course. Anything else?â
Hoseok thinks about it for a second before he lights up, âOh, do we have some of those brownies left?â
âUh, yeah, Iâll bring a few pieces.â
âThanks.â
As soon as Eunha leaves, Hoseok turns to you again, a look of concentration coloring his features. âSo, what do you want to know?â
âWell, everything,â you say.
âOkay. Iâll warn you that I might not know as much as you think, and some thingsânot that I know themâI canât say. I guess I can start by saying that, hypothetically, if I were a criminal of any kind, I would probably still stay as far away from other criminals as possible; especially if I had⊠valuables that might make me a target. No honor amongst thieves and all that, you know?â
Although his words deny any criminal activity, his expression reveals that heâs well aware that everyone in the room knows that heâs far from innocent. At least as far as the law is concerned. You watch him intently, waiting for whatever information he has and praying that itâll help.
Sana drives you both home an hour or so later, you sitting quietly in the passenger seat and staring out the window as the world passes by.
âWe need to tell Jihyo as soon as possible,â Sana says, âI can drive you home after if you want me to? Unless youâd rather stay with me?â
âNo, itâs⊠fine. Iâm fine.â
You are fine. Although it couldâve sent you into some sort of panic attack, it didnât. Itâs just a reminder of why you donât trust men, and you feel yourself withdrawing instead.
Hoseok didnât have too much info on the Ksung trafficking case. As you expected, they spent a pretty significant amount of time trailing Sunghyun and his closest men in order to map their routines. Not that Hoseok admitted it; it was very âhypotheticalâ. But from what you gathered, it was difficult to get close to the top men and almost harder to follow anyone. Then, when everything happened and Hoseok and Yoongi understood that youâd been watching them, they put the plans mostly on hold. Except for one thing.
âHe, of course, doesnât actually get his hands dirty if he can help it, and we werenâtâyouâd have to be a whole team to keep track of everyone and what theyâre doing. But âŠthere might be a private plane flying mostly under the radar about once a month. Someone mightâve found⊠âreceiptsâ for fuel from different places, and when pieced together, they form a vague route.â
âI guess the question is, why the need to fly incognito? Is it possible it flies⊠cash or other valuables from the bank that theyâd rather not have everyone know of?â Sana asks, and you nod in agreement. Itâs a very valid concern; you wouldnât want just anyone to know if youâre transporting valuable cargo, even legally.
âThe plane is refueled more often and with less fuel than a cargo plane, according to the receipts. It seems to be a very small plane, with a correspondingly small fuel tank. And these days, flight tracking is the default; itâs definitely an extra step to opt-out. Sometimes even difficult to achieve.â
âSo weâll be looking into this plane, alright. Where are the receipts from? Is there a pattern? Somewhere we can go to see if we catch them as theyâre refueling?â
âThe first stop is around three hours from their headquarters, so youâd assume the plane is stationed around there somewhere, but it might have proved hard to actually find it. Iâll give you the coordinates for that and the other locations.â
âThank you.â
Itâs with genuine gratitude that you thank Hoseok. Itâs truly ironic that one of the sweetest men in your story is a bank robber, while the police have taken on the role of your enemy.
âSo how is your case coming along? You havenât found them yet, I assume?â
You press your lips together briefly before sighing. You know you shouldnât disclose anything, really, but again, with how much has been on the news, the public wouldâve known if the wanted police officers had been apprehended. And they havenât. Youâve been told not even the Jimin-lead actually led to anything.
So you shake your head. "Still looking.â
To your surprise, Hoseok looks to be thinking hard about something.
âOkay, so⊠this might not lead anywhere, but if youâre stuck and possibly trailing Ksungâs people anyway⊠rumor has it that Ksung has been paying off the cops for a while. Not sure what station, but maybe, someoneâat least up until around two months agoâused to meet up with someone at seven a.m. on the fifteenth of every month. Like I said, itâs supposedly around two hours away from here, essentially smack dab in the middle between the closest stations, but given your previous colleaguesâ... reluctance to follow the law, it might be worth checking out.â
âBut theyâve been on the run for months now,â Sana questions, âIf Ksung has been paying for police protection or their deliberate ignorance, then what would be the point now? They donât have anything left to offer.â
âTheir silence, maybe?â Hoseok tries to offer an explanation. âThey could be blackmailing Ksung into giving them the money they need while on the run. Pay up, or theyâll tip someone off?â
âIf what we think about Ksung is true, wouldnât he just⊠get rid of them if that were the case? Canât be that much of a leap between trafficking and murder? Especially if theyâre a threat to everything Sunghyun built?â
You adjust your position on the couch, sitting quite literally on the edge of your seat and looking at Sana. âYeah, I honestly think so too. It wouldnât make sense to let some of the most wanted people blackmail you like that. Thereâs a big risk that theyâre caught and then they might blab and drag you down too. Better to get rid of them.â
âMaybe,â Hoseok adds, âBut there were a lot of officers caught in the investigation, werenât there?â
âYeah. All fired,â Sana confirms.
âAgain, I canât promise itâll help because itâs somewhat of a long shot, but what if you didnât catch them all? What ifâŠâ
â--Someoneâs still working at the station,â you continue where Hoseok trailed off. âAnd taking bribes?â
âAnd you think that person is helping Hoseong?â Sana wonders, her eyes wide.
âDonât know, but what are the odds of two separate groups of officers being corrupt?â
You really donât want to answer that.
Jihyo is surprised at your findings, but when you turn it around to look at it from another angle, it makes an awful lot more sense. Instead of questioning the odds of your two cases being connected, itâs not so strange to think that a criminal bank CEO might be bribing the townâs corrupt police. Itâs just strange for you to have found yourself in the middle of it.
âSo what do we do?â Sana whispers, glancing at Jihyoâs closed office door behind her.
âWait. Whatâs todayâs date?â Jihyo asks, her eyes going wide as she realizes what youâve already had time to see.
âJanuary fourteenth,â Sana explains.
Jihyo looks at you and Sana and the look you give each other. âNo. We should wait for backup; the outsourced detectives will be here in a week.â
âWeâll miss the window,â you argue quietly.
Jihyo raises her eyebrows. âWhat if itâs not true? What if itâs a trap to get rid of you?â
âSet up by Hoseok? I donât think so. He couldâve gotten rid of us today if he wanted to, and I donât think he would; he saved us, after all.â
âWell, you more or less surprised him today, and people knew where you were, so it wouldâve been stupid on his part. Getting rid of you while youâre âlooking for someone elseâ would be a better plan. And like youâve said before, when he saved your life, he didnât know that you were investigating him yet. Now that he does, he mightâve just been waiting for an opportunity. What are the odds of you finding all of this out on the fourteenth when the supposed meeting is taking place tomorrow?â
Well, when sheâs putting it like that you have to agree that thereâs a risk. Not a big one, you donât think, but a risk nonetheless.
âI want to go,â you say before lowering the volume of your voice further, âIf there is someone here still⊠if thereâs a mole, we need to⊠we need to act as soon as possible. The longer we wait, even if we try to be discreet, the higher the risk of him finding out.â
Jihyo sighs, lifting her hand to rub her forehead until she seemingly decides.
âFine. Do you want to go tomorrow? Together? Maybe you should bring someone else as well?â
âWho? We donât know who the mole or informant is, and if you suggest bringing JeonggukâŠâ you trail off. Jeongguk is great, but this is not his area of expertise.
âHeâll want to go, regardless.â
âHeâs not a detective.â
âHeâs out on a call right now?â Sana asks.
Jihyo nods. âYeah, I think so. Out patrolling, at least.â
âDonât tell him,â Sana suggests.
âYou donât think itâs him, right?â Jihyo asks in disbelief.
Sana continues, âNo, but⊠the more people who know, the bigger the risk. I think heâll do more good here, keeping up the charades.â
A few hours later, youâre already in the car, heading toward the spot Hoseok pointed out on a map. The meeting isnât supposed to take place until tomorrow morning, which gives you a valuable opportunity to scope the place out beforehand.
The sun has set by the time you reach a hill, the road ending in an empty cul-de-sac with a low stone wall overlooking the arches of a large, gray viaduct. Thereâs a road running parallel to you, only on the other side of the wall, below the hill. It doesnât pass under the viaduct, which stands almost perpendicular to you, but instead turns to run alongside it. You lean your gloved hands against the stone wall, following the road and its sidewalk below with your eyes.Â
The meeting point is supposedly a few meters from the sidewalk, up underneath the viaductâs closest arches. From this spot, you canât see beyond the arch, except for a few bushes and trees. It looks like it might be downhill.
Hidden by the elevation, the stone wall, and some trees, the current spot will be where you park the car tomorrow, and before checking in at a nearby hotel for the night, you decide to also check out the other side of the viaduct.
âSo, how does it feel to be back for real?â Sana asks, stepping out of the bathroom and putting her toothbrush in her mouth.
Sitting on the bed, you flip through the TV channels. âUh, good. I really missed this⊠feeling of having a purpose?â
She pauses the brushing, toothbrush still in her mouth as she speaks. âMhm, I get what youâre saying. And⊠how does it feel, knowing that there might be someone we⊠missed?â
You take a moment to think about it. âI donât know. Iâm so used to walking around the hallways, paranoid of who might be waiting around the corner. Waiting for me to be alone somewhere. After a while, you just donât have the energy to be that scared anymore.â
Sana nods in understanding, brushing her teeth thoroughly for another few seconds before she enters the bathroom again to spit the foam into the sink.
âDid you know that I basically didnât fight them at all when they came for us during the undercover assignment?â you ask, fiddling with the remote on the white bedspread.
âJeongguk mentioned something about feeling like youâd given up, but not a lot more. He wanted us to stay close and check up on you; said he thought the last year had taken a bigger toll on you than weâd assumed.â
âYeah. Iâve been so scared for such a long time; felt for so long that I stand no chance whenever they actually decide to try it. I didnât think there was any use in fighting them when they came, so I just⊠stood there. I closed my eyes.â
âBut Jeongguk saved you.â
âHe did, yeah. Let himself be stabbed by a fucking samurai sword.â
Sanaâs quiet as she exits the bathroom again, a white robe in her arms.Â
You let out a deep breath. âWhat would you do? If you were me?â
Immediately understanding, she sits down on the other bed. âI donât know. I want to say that Iâd give him a chance, but I think it might be easier said than done.â
You look down at your hands. âYeah.â
âI do believe heâs a good guy, and I think heâs learned his lesson, but a relationship canât depend on whether heâs good or not, if he deserves you, or whether you should forgive him, can it?â
âIt shouldnât?â you raise your eyebrow at her, smiling a little.
âNo, I mean, you shouldnât be with him if the answer to those questions is âno,â but the next question is just⊠Do you want to be with him?â
âI donât know.â
âThen⊠does being with him make you happy?â
You feel your whole body practically answer her question. Your eyes drop sadly to the bedspread again, and your shoulders lift a little anxiously. âI think he makes me feel inadequate.â
She looks at you sadly. âYou know that youâre not, though, right? You get to feel that way, and he has no say over your feelings because heâs the one who caused them, but youâre more than enough. Weâll support you no matter what you decide to do.â
Nodding slowly, you take another deep breath, getting up from the bed to brush your own teeth.
Usually, you find it hard to wake up fully when the sun has yet to rise and itâs freezing cold. Even the hotelâs hard but warm bed would be tempting you to stay in. But not today. The moment the alarm blares, youâre already reaching for your phone to quiet it, sitting up and looking around. On the other bed, not far from yours, Sana is rubbing her eyes and yawning. Todayâs the day you might actually find a good lead.
Due to the nature of todayâs assignment, youâre armed, just in case, and youâre clipping small body cameras to your thick, black jackets. On your head, youâve got black beanies, and your hands are gloved as well to withstand the cold.
The sun still hasnât made it far on its journey across the sky when you park the car in the same spot as you did yesterday.Â
âIâm in my position,â Sana informs through the earpiece. You dropped her off closer to the other side of the viaduct, where sheâs currently hiding a little farther down a walkway and behind some parked cars.Â
âGood. Me too,â you confirm, leaning your elbows against the wall. Thanks to the trees and the relative distance, youâre well hidden as you kneel behind the stone wall, focusing on the meeting point through your black binoculars.
âItâs five fifty a.m., and weâre both in position,â you repeat, more so for the recordings.
âAnd so we wait,â Sana concludes.
Despite the thick jackets, it doesnât take long before youâre freezing. If you could, youâd sit in the car, at least to be protected from the biting wind, but the angle from there wouldnât let you see over the wall. Sana complains quietly about her fingers while your cheeks hurt the most. Every glance at your watch is painful.
Six fifty arrives, and you focus further. But thereâs no one. Once every few minutes, a car or two passes on the road below you, but thatâs it. Seven oâclock. Still no one. Youâre starting to fear that maybe you missed them? Did they change location? Or maybe they decided on another time? What if they really just stopped meeting up, altogether? Hoseok didnât seem too sure, after all. You bite your lip, trying to keep your cold body still. If there is an informant, you need to catch him.
Then, at seven twenty, you hear something. Itâs the rustling of thick fabric as Sana adjusts her position.
âDark-clothed male, moving in. 4 oâclock.â
As slowly and inconspicuously as you can, to not draw attention, you turn your head. Sure enough, a man is walking on the sidewalk below and to your right.Â
Just like you, heâs dressed in all black, a bulky jacket covering most of his body except his legs. Heâs got the hood pulled over his head and his hands in his pockets.
âCan you get a visual of his face?â you ask, watching wide-eyed as he passes below you.
âNo, heâs got somethingâa shirt or somethingâpulled up over his mouth and nose.â
âOkay, looks like heâs headed for the viaduct,â you say, waiting to see if he follows the sidewalk as it turns to run parallel to the viaduct, or if he steps in under the arch. âWeâll wait and see if anyone else shows.â
But the man doesnât stop to wait for someone. He steps off the sidewalk, casually walking over to the closest of the huge pillars, graffitied in blue and green, and swiftly retrieves something from under a small bush. A bag?
âItâs a dead drop,â Sana exclaims as the man continues on his path, heading in her direction. It only took a few seconds, and anyone less observant wouldâve missed the pickup.Â
âDo you recognize him?â you ask, on the edge of your seat. âCan you follow?â
Youâre too far away to follow him on foot, and driving down would be impractical and likely draw his attention, so you stay put.
Instead, Sana moves, the rustling loud in your ears, and you hold your breath. Itâs always more nerve-wracking to watch someone else pursue and track a target than doing it yourself. If this man discovers her, you donât know what will happen, much less what heâll do if he recognizes her.
The man disappears from view, and for a while, all you hear is Sanaâs breathing and that same occasional rustling of her jacket as she moves. Then, thereâs a bout of silence before her quiet, shocked voice comes through.Â
âI canât follow him further; heâs getting into a black car. I⊠I think itâs JJ.â
As quickly as possible, you drive back to the station, wondering if you ever missed a clue about JJ. Considering how many men work at the station and how youâve had to keep a very close eye on some of them, JJ has flown under your radar a bit. The tall man wasnât anyone youâve paid much attention to or interacted with, but he never came across as weird or suspicious; just as a regular man. He never outright harassed you, but he never stood up for you either, but then again, he wasnât the only one using that approach. Additionally, youâve seen him with Jeongguk a bunch of times, and you figured Jeongguk had cleared all the remaining men. Not that itâs Jeonggukâs fault, but still; you donât think heâs easy to fool.
âHow sure are you?â Jihyo asks in a hushed voice, her worried eyes flitting between you, Sana, and the closed office door. You know JJ is already at the station, you walked past him in the hallway, dressed in uniform. You werenât able to follow the man, but considering you had to wait a bit and then drive down to collect Sana, itâs entirely plausible he made it back before you.
âLike eighty percent. It was hard to see, but⊠Iâm pretty sure. Donât know if I captured anything of value, but we can go through the recordings to be sure?â
âMaybe we can look through the work schedule as well?â you suggest. âIf he hasnât been clocked in at seven to eight a.m. on the fifteenth of the last few monthsâprobably since they went on the runâthenââÂ
ââWe still canât rule him out,â Jihyo interrupts sadly. âEven if heâs been clocked in, heâmaybe together with his partnerâcouldâve simply driven there while on duty, assuming they werenât on an active call. Maybe not super likely, but not impossible. So if heâs been clocked in, weâd need to look at those exact hours and place him on specific calls.â
âWhich might take a while,â Sana adds, and you nod, realizing that sheâs right.
Your heart races. âSo what do we do?â
âHis carâs in the garage, right?â
Jihyo gives Sana a warning look. âWeâll need a warrant to search it, and this is not enough for one.âÂ
âBut not to take a look through the window,â you say, biting your lip and meeting Sanaâs eyes.
You wait for Jihyoâs objection, but it doesnât come. âBe careful,â she whispers instead, following you toward the door. âIf thereâs one, there might be more.â
âYes, boss.â
Being the first one to step out of Jihyoâs office, you glance the other way, just in case JJ happens to be watching. However, you donât look where youâre going, and of course, you run headfirst into someoneâs chest.
âHey,â a deep voice says, its owner steadying you by your arms. Of course.Â
Embarrassed, you look up, only to meet Jeonggukâs dark eyes. Heâs dressed head to toe in uniform, the sleeves rolled up to expose his veiny forearms, tattoos and all, and itâs clear that heâs on his way out to patrol. You didnât know he was really patrolling again, but then again, it doesnât seem like they were getting anywhere on your case, and well⊠you donât talk much these days. Like always when heâs near, your heart rate picks up, and your skin heats under his hands despite the fabric between you.
âUh, sorry,â you apologize, looking away. You know youâre normally a pretty good actress, but today, you just feel too wound up and on edge. Jeongguk holds onto your arms, his observant eyes gazing over you.
âIs everything okay?â
âUh, yeah. Everythingâs fine,â you say with a nod, glancing at Sana. âBut we need to go.â
But Jeongguk doesnât give up. âThereâs somethingâs going on, isnât there?â
âNo,â you lie again.
âYouâre making me worried.â
âYou donât need to be.â
His gaze flickers between you and Sana, and even though you donât think heâs completely buying it, he lets go. âPromise me youâll tell me if you find out anything.â
âYeah, okay,â you say, already moving away. Technically, you being âoffâ can simply be explained by the fact that youâre not entirely comfortable around him.
After getting rid of Jeongguk, you and Sana enter the stationâs parking garage. The personnel floor is empty, save for about twenty to thirty vehicles, Jeonggukâs motorcycle included. Still, you make sure to look around before you start.
âWhat did the car look like?â you ask, peering through the back window of the closest one, a small dark blue car.
âUnfortunately, I couldnât make out much besides the color and size. It was black and a pretty small one, I think.â
You look around. Almost all cars are black. Or at least dark enough to be mistaken for black. "Do we even know what his actual car looks like?"
âWell... Letâs just check all of them. Just to be safe.â
Even though you make sure to check carefully, the process goes quickly. Until Sana calls your name quietly, the black car in front of her being her sixth or seventh.
âThat could be it, right?â she points toward something barely visible, halfway under the passenger seat. But yeah, it looks like black fabric, maybe part of a small bag, but you canât be entirely sure.
âYeah, maybe.â
âIf we could only look inside,â Sana mutters.
âYeah,â you sigh, your shoulder dropping in disappointment. âBut all he did was maybe pick up a bag of unknown contents outside. Itâs not enough. Should we just check the rest of them and then head back?â
Sana nods, âIâll finish this row.â
Jihyo is still in her office when you return, having found nothing but the maybe-bag. Sheâs pacing on the phone to someone, motioning for you to enter when you cautiously peek your head through the door.
âOkay⊠Just get back to me as soon as you can, alright?â she says, sitting down behind her desk. âYeah, okay, bye.â
âWe saw what we think could be the bag, halfway hidden under the seat of a car that looks about the one the man got into,â Sana explains quietly after youâve closed the door behind you.
âOkay, so nothingâs ruled out and nothingâs confirmed,â Jihyo concludes.
You nod, trying to think of the next steps. âWell, what if we review the camera footage? We were probably too far away, but you never know, right? And Jihyo, you could check the schedules and work hours, start cross-checking them with the calls responded to. Iâll see if I can dig up anything else about him.â
For a few hours, you work in Jihyoâs office, all three of you focused. Jihyo sits behind her desk, trying to see if she can match JJ to specific calls on any recent fifteenths and thus provide him with an alibi.Â
Sana sits in a chair on the other side of the desk, her laptop open in front of her as she goes through every frame of your recordings, and you sit on the floor, back against the wall, scrolling through both your phone and laptop.Â
âFinding anything?â Sana wonders, sighing in frustrationâa sign that the recordings arenât giving her anything useful.
âMaybeâŠâ Jihyo replies, eyes locked on her screen. âCan you read line thirty-seven for me?â She hands Sana a sheet of paper listing the calls.
âSure. Uh⊠Call about vandalism came at six twenty-seven a.m., reported closed at eight thirty-two. October fifteenth, last year.â
âSix twenty-seven to eight thirty-two,â Jihyo repeats as you scroll through JJâs instagram, clicking on yet another tagged friend.
âMhm,â Sana hums.
âWell, he was clocked in⊠But it seems like⊠yeah, Min and Mark were the ones who responded to it.â
The room feels⊠tense in a way, something Jihyo is about to put into words. Meanwhile, you focus on your phone, fingers tapping away quickly and your heartbeat rising.
âDoesnât seem like we can rule him out. Which, you know, sucks because we all trust himâmaybe trusted himâand we donât want yet another one to have betrayed us. But if it is him, then maybe⊠we might finally be getting somewhere? Maybe?â
âYeah, I agree. Donât like the direction weâre moving in, but at least weâre moving.â
âHey, guys,â you say, your eyes still glued to the screen in your hands. âJJ has a stepsister named Jimin.â
âWhat?â Sana exclaims, her voice hushed and eyes wide as she turns to you.
âYeah. JJâs mom seems to be dating this Jiminâs dad, but it doesnât look like theyâre married; not even like they live together.â
âSo there are no ties on paper?â
âNo, no ties.â
All three of you exchange silent looks, realizing what this could mean. You might have an address.
After discussing your findingsâall hushed voices and big eyes as you conclude that, yeah, maybe Jimin visited her brother at the station and stumbled across Hoseongâyou decide to take a break. You need to pee and Sana complained only a minute ago of her rumbling stomach. To be fair, you havenât had time to take any real breaks, much less eat.
Determined, you leave the office, discreetly looking around before heading toward the bathroom. Sana leaves for the cafeteria.
After using the bathroom, you sit on the closed toilet lid to gather your thoughts. It almost feels like you need to catch your breath, too. Do you dare hope that you might finally get them? Still, you find yourself imagining what youâd do if that were the case. Itâs not like theyâve haunted you for decades, but even a few months stretching into years feels like such a long time. A lifetime, almost. You experienced life at the station before everything went down, but is it even possible to return to that? Maybe it isnât; youâre not the same person anymore.
Still thinking deeply about what this revelation might mean, you head back toward Jihyoâs office. Occasionallyâlike nowâthe white halls are empty, but as you approach the wooden door with the frosted window, you hear voices inside. Theyâre not abnormally loud per se, but louder than they should be.
You open the door, and for a moment, the voices fall silent. Already back, Sana stands with a Saran-wrapped bread bun and coffee in her hands. Jihyo sits behind her desk as usual, her laptop open and the call papers scattered across her normally tidy desk. And Jeongguk is standing in front of it, still in his uniform, wild eyes looking back at you.
âWhy didnât you tell me?â
âIt wouldnât have changed anything for the better,â you say, stepping in fully and closing the door behind you. âYouâre with the guys more than we are. We donât want them to find out.â
âThereâs a risk anyway,â he says, turning to Jihyo, âWe need to go there as soon as possible.â
Jihyo meets his gaze, her expression understanding but firm. âJeongguk, like I said, we need to wait for backup. Weâre understaffed, and thereâs too much of a risk that theyâll recognize you. Besides, all of you inside this room are too emotionally involved at this point.â
His hands fly out, and though he tries to keep his voice down, frustration seeps through. âThey were allowed to watch JJ accept a bribe in the first place?â he argues.
âYes, and that was risky enough. If they recognize you, theyâll probably try to kill you. Theyâve got nothing to lose, and youâre the reason theyâre in this mess to begin with. Just hang in there until backup arrives.â
He shakes his head in frustration and disbelief. âThis is crazy. Theyâve tried to kill her so many times, and someone connected to them is still here. For all we know, he could be planning something on their behalf as we speak!â
âI donât know what to tell you. I understand youâre frustrated; we all are, but this is the best course of action.â
He gestures toward you, âShe needs to leave in that case. She canât stay here.â
To be honest, youâre not that scared of JJ. Heâs never seemed particularly interested in you, and you donât think heâs planning to kill you or anything like that. Months have passed without you even suspecting he might be involved, and nothing has happened. Sure, you were mostly with Jeongguk until recently and not that often at the station, so while the opportunities might not have been plentiful, JJ has had his chances.
Jihyo sighs, leaning back in her chair. âItâs up to her.â
He turns to face you fully. âCome stay with me? Take a week off, stay at my place.â
You shake your head. âNo, Iâm staying at my place, and Iâll continue to work if I feel like it.â
âPlease?â
Youâll never stop being surprised at how easily Jeongguk lets go of his pride. But by doing it so quickly, with so few reservations, itâs almost as if he grows in your eyes. You try not to think about him in that way.
You shake your head. âI donât want you to think that you need to save me all the time. Iâll be fine on my own.â
He glances around at the three women in the room, none giving him the support he wants. He looks like he wants to say something, but suddenly, someone calls for him on his com radio.
âGo,â Jihyo instructs as Jeongguk gives you one last longing look before quickly exiting through the door.
Jeongguk canât shake the new information, and as the day progresses, it keeps gnawing at him, his mind turning over every possible option again and again. While that last callâregarding a break-inâkept him distracted for a bit, his thoughts return as he enters the station again, Min heading off to the cafeteria.
He knows youâve already gone home by the time heâs clocking out and heading for the locker room, still unsure of what to do. It terrifies him to know that thereâs still someone who might want to hurt you, walking these halls. That he missed someone.Â
Heâs got three options to choose from. The first: go home. Get some sleep. Or at least try to get some sleep. And then just hope that JJ didnât spot you this morning and is waiting to attack you outside your apartment door. Jeongguk knows that itâs what you want him to do; go home and not get involved. But heâll never forgive himself if something happens to you.
Option two is to drive to your apartment and sit in his car outside it all night. Heâll do it if needed, but itâs not very tempting, and itâll render him useless at work tomorrow. Additionally, if nothing happens tonightâwhich, yeah, it might notâthen heâll need to guard you the night after as well. Sooner or later, heâll need to sleep.
Biting his lip, he enters the locker room, taking a lap to make sure heâs alone before pulling out his phone. Google gives him the number to the nearest car rental, and he wastes no time, pressing âdial.â
Heâs picking option three, and he needs a car that isnât his.
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author's note: i hope you liked it!! <3<3
V (BTS) © Joo-Young Ahn // VOGUE Korea (September, 2022)
But wasn't that what every girl dreamed?That she'd wake and find herself a princess? Or blessed with magical powers and a grand destiny? Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren't chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.
richard siken my beloved
IM SO MAD THIS NEED TO STOP RIGHT NOW
comfort people âĄ
this look!!!