Trying to behave

Chapter 23 end

January 2016

Tuesday the 12th, 12:03pm

New York, USA

Jungkook

'Please state your name and today's date for the recorder,'

Jungkook fidgets slightly on the uncomfortable plastic chair, gaze fixed permanently on his twitching hands. His knuckles are bruised and bright red with the wounds that have torn them apart and his fingers hurt much worse than yesterday. He can't stop shaking.

'Please state your name and today's date,' the woman repeats slower this time, starting to tap her fingernail against the table as she waits and Jungkook wants to tell her to cut it out. 'For the recorder. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?'

The pet name makes him look up at the people sitting in front of him for the briefest of seconds before he shies away again, clutching his pants for dear life. As if he's going to fall sideways if he doesn't. Or cease to exist completely. There's two women across the table from him, a blonde policewoman in uniform with kind blue eyes and the one that's speaking to him, his translator. She has his hair pulled back tightly and tired looking grey eyes. She reminds him a little of his mother.

Suddenly, Jungkook has the violent urge to be sick. To be away from this room.

'Do you want to do this later?' the policewoman says in quiet, cautious English and Jungkook feels himself shaking his head before he's comprehended her words. 'Okay, then. Let's start with our names. I'm Marianne, what is your name?'

The translator robotically rattles off a translation as soon as Marianne quietens and he almost laughs, because he may not speak English but he can speak that much.

Condescending fuck.

Jungkook swallows and thinks better than to ask for some water.

'My name is Jungkook,' his voice is raspy, tired. He hasn't used it much since last night, and he finds that whatever little English he does know is escaping him completely, so he doesn't try. 'Jeon Jungkook,'

'Okay Jungkook,' Marianne says kindly, scribbling something on her notepad. 'Can you tell me the date today?'

The translator parrots her.

Jungkook brings up a shaking hand despite his better judgement and chews on his thumb slightly.

'January 12. 2016,'

'Perfect,' Marianne says encouragingly and pauses to write briefly. 'I'm going to ask you some questions, okay Jungkook? Answer them as best as you can,'

His teeth break skin beside his nail and he nods.

'Can you tell me where you're from?'

'Busan, South Korea,' Jungkook can taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth and lets his hand drop back into his lap. He's starting to shake even worse, maybe because it's cold.

'And you are how old?'

Jungkook shivers a little. 'Eighteen,'

The translator repeats his reply in English and he feels Marianne's breath hitch a little sadly, though it's gone in an instant.

'How long have you been in America?'

'Um,' Jungkook strains his tired brain. The painkillers the EMTs had given him are making him so extremely drowsy and the rape kit experience has rendered him emotionally exhausted. 'Since September. End of August,' maybe.

Marianne hums at the translator's recount and writes something down.

'Can you tell us how you got here?' her voice is gentler, almost a whisper like Jungkook is a wounded animal. He is. 'Can you tell us what happened?'