Broken | Jaeyong

chapter 11

Taeyong rubbed his burning eyes tiredly. Yawning, he reached for the espresso sitting beside his unfinished paperwork and lifting it to his chapped lips, sighing in bliss as the hot substance rolled down his throat. He couldn't sleep last night. He just wouldn't stop crying as Jaehyun consumed he's thoughts again like all those years ago. Thinking about seeing Jaehyun and actually seeing Jaehyun was completely different. Everything came running back to him as he looked into his eyes again, the laughs, the heart-felt words, the soft touches. Everything, and he wasn't ready. No matter how much he thought he was, the truth is he isn't. 

A soft knock resonated from the door, causing Taeyong to groan at the thought of getting up. He eventually got up from his chair lazily and went to open the door. He opened it and froze.

"Hi, I'm Ten Chittaphon." The small thai greeted with a bright smile and bubbly voice. Taeyong knew exactly who he was, he was one of Jaehyun's closest men. This was the first sign of them getting closer to finding out who he is. "I'm your new partner."

"Detective Lee." Taeyong smiled back as he introduced himself and stepped out of the door frame, "Please, come in. I would love the help with the paperwork."

Ten laughed, "Yeah, I bet you do. Being a lone detective is a struggle."

"Yeah." Taeyong sighed as he sat back down in his chair, continuing to sip at his espresso once again. 

"So, where were you up to on the homicides?" Ten questioned as he settled his things on the empty desk.

Taeyong turned to him in his chair with a the familiar beige folder in his hands, "Here, these are the reports and autopsies, and the suspects are on the board." He said as he handed the folder over and pointed to the cluttered cork board on the wall.

"Thanks." Ten immediately started flicking through the numerous documents. The faster he got this done, the faster everyone will be out of shit. 

After a few hours had passed, Ten finished reading everything there was to know about the case. Some things he knew already, others he didn't. He was surprised that the detectives had found out Jaehyun's identity, the other even made sure that someone else did his paperwork. But they had still found an old one from Jaehyun's first year of leading. Ten was absolutely gobsmacked when he saw the bank receipt from years ago to say the least. 

Ten then stood up from his desk and went to the cork board, tracing the red yarn with his eyes thoroughly. He saw the familiar faces of both allies and enemies. He saw the drilling rigs and burly street photos taken outside of popular gang hang outs. The detectives really did know a lot more than they thought. 

"Has your fresh mind come up with any new leads yet?" Taeyong's questioning voice broke the silence that had plagued the office for hours. Ten turned around and shook his head with a frown. Taeyong almost released a smile at how good Ten's acting was, but it wasn't as good as his. 

"You'd think something this extreme would have a lot of hiccups, huh?" Ten laughed, sitting back down in the office chair. "It's one guy, he has had to have made some type of mistake."

Taeyong internally smirked to himself. In a way, Ten was giving him a compliment.

"Maybe he's a lot smarter than we think." Taeyong sighed, turning back to the last document he had left to deal with. 

Ten groaned as he too looked through the last bits of paperwork on he's desk, "No kidding."

-

"Jisungie," Taeyong called as he entered the house. "I'm home!"

He couldn't help the chuckle that left his lips as he heard the thuds down the corridor as Jisung ran. The older turned into the kitchen and checked on the slow roast he had cooking since this morning. He took it out and placed it on the kitchen counter to cool.