Heal me // A Jikook Trilogy //

《33》Secrets Down Below

It went over as expected.

Lian gaped as we led her into the Black Swan, then downright stood there flabbergasted in our middle, her blue eyes thrown wide in shock.

"What is this place?"

"This is our base," Namjoon told her and her eyes widened even more.

"Base for what?"

Jin's expression was tinged in darkness, his voice both bitter yet full of pride.

"For doing all the things the police is too stupid or unwilling to do."

"What he means," Yoongi clarified as he took his usual seat in front of a dozen screens, keypads and computer.
"Is that we take on cases that no one else is trying to solve. Unlike the police, there is no bureaucracy or rules for us."

Lian snorted, still looking around with ever glowing eyes as she started to grasp what we were telling her.

"Like vigilantes? But... isn't that like really illegal?"

There were several chuckles and shoulder shrugs and I found myself grin a little wickedly too.

"We would definitely have to do time if we were caught."

And honestly, it made this entire enterprise a little more fun.

To know we were actually risking something.
But so worth it.
Hunting the true evil of this world.
Those who believed themselves to be above others, above the law, above basic human decency.

And in her eyes we now saw the understanding, as if she had always guessed we were more than what we pretended to be.
Not just a gang of misfits.
We were organized, smart and efficient.
We got things done that the police couldn't or wouldn't.
We looked where many others turned away, either by choice or sheer ignorance, which, in my view, was just another conscious choice.

Ignoring and looking away was the same as seeing it and doing nothing.

"Which we won't because we're the best fucking team ever!" Jimin threw in, the same pride glittering in his eyes too.

Yes.
We needed this as much as we needed each other.
The feeling of actually making a difference in the world.
Knowing that we mattered.

And Lian asked just the right question, as per usual.

"Why? Why are you guys doing this?"

To our surprise, it was Taehyung, turning to her with a sudden dark glint in his eyes.

"Because no one did it for us.
No one looked into Jin's case of domestic violence.
No one stopped Jimin's father from using him as bait in his crimes.
No one made sure J-Hope had supervision when his parent's left him alone at age ten and no one cares about the poor and the struggling like RM's family.
No one is stopping a gang like X-EXO and no one asked themselves why Suga felt like he had no other option but to burn down his step-dads garage."

"And you?"

Such simple two words and yet Taehyung froze all over.
And the rest of us held our breath.
She was asking about his past.
And whenever his past was concerned, Taehyung locked down completely.
Shut everyone out.
Would get that haunted look in his eyes.
We never pushed even as we wondered.

But he stared at Lian now.
Then took a deep breath and quietly, in nothing but a whisper that echoed the pain of his past said: "No one cared about the son of a prostitute either."

Surprise, shock but also understanding had me and the others suck in a sharp breath.
Lian was truly changing him.

He had never uttered a word about where he came from, what his life had been like before we met him on that bridge.
But hearing it now... the fact that his mother had been a prostitute... it made so much more sense why he'd been so invested in this case since the very first moment he heard of it.