TRAPPED || Taegguk

[ 60 ] Gold & Silver

"I'm sorry I'm making you meet with me here. Unfortunately meeting at my house is way too risky and Han knows most of the bartenders and store owners in town, so I didn't have much of a choice."

"It's okay." Taehyung repeated, allowing his eyes to wonder around the room. It was rather small, like any studio, but weirdly empty — except for the table in the center of the room, the fridge, and the shelf by the entrance. Granted, it wasn't big enough for a maximalist decoration, but it was hard to believe someone actually lived here.

"So is this your... boyfriend's place?" Taehyung questioned, curious even though his head was telling him not to ask any questions.

Seoyeon made a face. "What? No." She shook her head, as if she wanted to get rid of a particularly disgusting thought. "That's a friend's place. He's kind enough to let me borrow his dump for a few hours. He'll be back in a few hours so we better get to talking, though." She briefly explained, gesturing for the man to sit across from her.

She opened the fridge to grab a can of what he assumed to be beer, by the color of it. "Want one?" He shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows when she crouched down to look through the fridge.

"I don't want anything." He hurried to add, not wanting to waste any of her time. The woman rose her brows, a bit surprised, but she didn't insist.

"Suit yourself." And there was that bright smile again. For the second time, Taehyung mirrored it.

She pulled the tab of the can to open it, taking a sip of its content before sitting across from Taehyung and setting the can down.

"I just want you to know that there's no pressure, okay? You're Jeongguk's friend. I would never do anything to put you in danger." She immediately reassured him, holding eye contact. "In fact, if all goes well you won't even have to see Han at all." At that, Taehyung frowned.

"How will I help you then?"  He inquired, confused.

Seoyeon took a deep breath, seemingly looking for the right words to use.

"Han talked about you." She ended up revealing, searching Taehyung's face for any possible signs of discomfort. She found none, so she took it as her cue to continue. "He mentioned something about one of your parents being a cop?"

Taehyung nodded. "My... step-dad is a cop, yeah." He tried not to think of his encounter with his dads the day before, for the wound it had left was still fresh and burning. "Why?"

"I need you to ask him questions. If he's a cop, he must know." Taehyung's confusion only deepened at the girl's words. He opened his mouth to ask, but when he looked at her, she seemed too busy ruffling through her bag to listen to his questions.

"Here." She pulled a yellow post-it out of her purse, sliding it across the table and towards Taehyung. "I'll do my best to take Han down, but before I do anything. I need to know." She looked at him intently, her tone dead-serious now.

Though apprehensive, Taehyung took the small rectangle of paper in his hand to read the few sentences written on it. The handwriting was delicate, contrasting with the words it was depicting. With a sigh, he put the post-it down.

"Those are really more questions for a lawyer..." he whispered, not daring to look at her — he was too afraid he'd see her face painted in disappointment if he did.

"I know, I know. But it's worth a try, right?" To his surprise, Seoyeon didn't seem that phased. He let out a sigh of relief, though the lump in his throat remained as he nodded.

"What do you plan on doing?" He finally dared to ask the question she'd been avoiding this whole time, his curiosity eventually winning over his fear of asking for too much.