Crave | tk ✓

CHAPTER THREE

"Fill my empty shelves
with our love stories."

전정국 | Jeon Jungkook

THE VICTIM WAS FOUND on the roof of a company's skyscraper, dull blue spreading the sky above as the sun rose from the horizon. The air was buzzing with the mutters and shuffling of policemen here and there as Special Agents Jungkook, Jimin and a few others pile in the scene, scurrying to the young man bleeding heavily from the stomach, throat and thighs. He was completely still.

Hastily, Jungkook squatted down in the pool of blood, looking up at his acquaintance and exclaiming rather hotly, "You told us he was alive!"

"Sir," says the man who came to Jungkook in his office few moments ago, "He was alive when the janitor found him."

Jimin started towards the dead body, "Let me take a look in this." He crouched down next to Jungkook and peers his eyes, "Guy looks in his forties. Maybe an employee in this building?"

Jungkook scowls. "Uncertainty. The working hours don't start 'til ten and he's wearing cheap jeans, not a suit — and that's off-putting since the last murdered were quite wealthy," Jungkook states, "Plus, no one is in the building. No blood trails either. Thus, the murder was attempted here. His temples are still moist from precipitates, that means he was running away from somebody. The rats. Or the man petting them. Where's the janitor now?" Asked Jungkook, hands on his waist as he gets up on his feet while Jimin is still busy examining the body.

A young woman, with the SPD jacket around a slender figure, large eyes, full, puffy lips and a somewhat baby-ish face approached him, answering his question promptly, "He has been sent to your precinct, Agent. We thought you might feel like investigating him." She tucks her ebony strand of hair behind her ear, irises seemingly a darker shade of crystal blue.

Girls inadvertently tend to expose their wrists and palms when they have fallen for a guy, Jungkook remembered, raising his brows at Sergeant Kim, then at his other partners, who were eyeing the two with a suggestive grin plastered on their faces — even the lady's officers were giving her shifty glances — except Jimin; he was too occupied fiddling with the gloves he was pulling down his cutesy fingers, still next to the murdered guy.

Jungkook gnawed at his full bottom lip distractingly (Sergeant Kim was nearly swooning over) and muttered, "Thanks, Jennie."

"So are you free tonight—"

"No," he replies bluntly, sensing the drop of the calm air and the shifting feet of his mates through the corner of his eyes that he was a little bit too rude.

No take-backs, though. He turned his back from her baffled look, addressing his other friend with newfound scrutiny, "What have you got there, Jimin?"

For the young man, unmoving, was engrossed in a small-sized piece of badly creased paper between his delicate fingers. "It was tucked inside his collar... it's all letters and numbers..." Jungkook stretched out his hand to him and plucked the paper out of Jimin's grip, bringing it to his eyes. In wobbly handwriting it read:

DA45

Jimin scowls at his best friend, "Four digits. Flight numbers?" He picks up the victim's right hands and spots ink marks and slight bumps on the thumb and forefinger. "He wrote it, that's evident."

Grinning, Jungkook clicks his tongue once and answered knowledgeably, "Not just any flight numbers, Jimin. This is Seoul's plane route to Daegu."

Sergeant Kim Jennie interjected desperately, "There's gotta be something happening on the planes from Seoul to Daegu," she gazes at Jungkook for reassurance.

The latter was pouting as he observed the little paper in front of him once again, then said matter-of-factly, bringing down Jennie, "No, that's too far-fetched. If this poor guy was brave and brilliant enough to give away a hint to find his murderer and hide the paper beneath his collar because he knew the killer will search him before leaving the body behind, he would have given the exact timing of the very plane which was to be checked for any suspicious activities.

"In conclusion," breathed Jungkook, eyes twinkling, "this man just wanted to say Go to Daegu, dummies! and since he would have taken much time in writing that, he simply went with a four-lettered code, scrawled it down on this lucky paper and threw the pen off this building."

"But," asked one of Jungkook's good-looking mates, "if the victim knew how he would die, since you said he was running away, why didn't he just attempted suicide, Kook?"

"Marvellous question, Jaehyung," replied Jungkook, smiling genuinely as they made eye contact, "I don't think he wanted to die like a coward, this victim, and jumping off this cliff would probably mean he would lose the paper he wrote the hint on. Plus, he wasn't running just to attempt suicide, he was here to buy himself some time to give away the murderer somehow."

"One last question remains," voiced Jimin cautiously, eyes foggy, "How the hell was this victim able to just run away from the killer when dozens of others couldn't?"

"Oh, yeah," perked up Jennie mockingly, probably holding a grudge against Jungkook after him embarrassing her in front of her officers, "Tell us about that!"

Jaehyung shot up before Jungkook could open his mouth, "If I was the killer, I would have given a chance to you guys to close on to the investigations after several murder attempts. I would risk getting caught just because I'd be bored!"

To Jennie's dismay, Jungkook nods and adds, "That and again the rat's genes. Perhaps they malfunctioned or something—"

"I told you," responded Jimin boldly, "they had normal genes! Didn't you believe me?"

Jaehyung always took Jungkook's side for some reason or other, so he just scowls. On the other hand, Special Agent Jeon Jungkook is smirking in all his glory. "I'll seek that out myself, Jimin. We'll see if I was right or not."

At which Jennie chortled disbelievingly while the others just stared blankly at Jungkook.

"Come on," he orders to his squad, heading to the roof's exit as the early sun beat down on them, "Let's see what the janitor has to say."