The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance • Monsta X

vii.

"And the terrible thing, the terrible thing is, but the good thing too, the saving grace, is that if something happened to one of us--excuse me for saying this--but if something happened to one of us tomorrow, I think the other one, the other person, would grieve for a while, you know, but then the surviving party would go out and love again, have someone else soon enough. All this, all of this love we're talking about, it would just be a memory. Maybe not even a memory."

― Raymond Carver, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

--

"We got all the kids some blankets, coloring books, and snacks to make them comfortable," Jooheon explained as he led Hyunwoo toward the interrogation rooms after they'd both restocked on caffeine. "Well, that was mostly Hoseok, but still." He opened the door to one of the rooms, popped his head in, and closed the door without entering. He repeated the process several times before he apparently saw Hoseok on the other side of the glass, and he shouldered open the door, leaning on it so Hyunwoo could slip past. Then they both took a seat in front of the observation mirror.

Hoseok was currently talking with Minhyuk, who had ignored the coloring book but had accepted the blanket and snacks.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," Hoseok was saying. "I'm not here to interrogate you, Minhyuk. I'm really just here to listen."

"So I don't have to say anything?" Minhyuk asked, pulling the blanket a little together around himself. "Not if I don't want to?"

"Not if you don't want to," Hoseok confirmed with a warm smile. Hyunwoo frowned; it seemed like Hoseok got along so easily with kids, and Hyunwoo wished he were that naturally sociable.

Minhyuk looked down for a moment before looking back over at Hoseok. "Can me and Hyungwon be in the same room?"

Hoseok nodded. "We can make that happen, but I'm going to listen to Hyungwon first, okay? He might have things he wants to say but doesn't want you to hear, and I want to make sure he has an opportunity to be listened to if he wants it."

"All right." Minhyuk nodded, restless but satisfied for the moment. "What do you want to know?"

Hoseok shook his head. "It's not about what I want to know, Minhyuk. It's about what you want me to know. You get to choose what – if anything – you want to tell me. And Minhyuk, you don't owe me any information. You don't have to tell me or the officers anything, if you don't want to."

"But what I tell you could help the case, right?" Minhyuk asked, looking up at Hoseok with eyes older than his years.

Hoseok shrugged. "I'm just the psychologist. Yes, it's possible that you may know things that could help with the case, but my priority is your health and safety. I work with the police, but that doesn't always mean we want the same thing. Although-" Hoseok paused to look up at the window with a knowing smile even though he couldn't possibly see Hyunwoo or Jooheon. "I think it's safe to say that these officers have the same priorities as me right now."

"You want me to pick out pictures or something?" Minhyuk asked uncertainly, eyebrows dipping.

Hoseok read his anxiety at the thought and shook his head. "I don't think we need to do that right away."

"Then what exactly do you want me to say?" Minhyuk asked, clearly frustrated as he picked as loose threads on the blanket.

"How are you feeling?" Hoseok asked, switching tactics a little bit. "Not just physically in the moment, but mentally. How do you feel as a result of what happened?"