There was a sound of the door swinging back and forth, creaking in a repeated pattern and breaking the silence of the night.
As the cold wind entered from the opened door and the curtain danced along with it, the sound intensified, reaching Taehyung's consciousness.
He stirred from the bed, adjusting his vision from the darkness as he roamed his still half closed eyes in the room.
In his dazed state, Taehyung thought of seeing a shadow standing near the edge of his bed for a brief moment.
He blinked before slowly sitting up and wiped the sleep off his eyes as he looked back on the spot and saw nothing but his empty room.
It could just be an illusion, an imagination created by his still half asleep consciousness.
The sound coming from the opened door leading to the veranda continued to fill the room in tune with the howling of the morning breeze.
He glimpsed at the clock on his bedside table, noting that it was still half an hour before 5 in the morning.
Taehyung carefully went out of bed and headed toward the opened door. There's nothing but darkness outside as the rising sun only showed a hint of color in the sky.
He closed and locked the door and soon the room was enveloped in silence once again.
The light coming from the lampshade was enough to lead him back to bed. He rested his back on the headboard, eyes focusing on the now closed door.
Taehyung stared at it for a long while before deciding to go back to sleep.
As he closed his eyes, he let slip of the fact that he had locked the door earlier before he went to bed and that there's no other way for it to be opened if not from the inside of his own room.
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A couple of knocks from the door woke up Taehyung from his shallow sleep.
He immediately stood and headed for the door, opening and revealing his brother's face with an unusual expression.
"Taetae.." Jin uttered, grabbing him lightly by his hands.
"Detectives are here.." He added in a tone full of worry.
"Are they looking for me?" Taehyung asked.
Jin nodded his head and tried to smile, a reassuring one.
"Don't worry. Let's deal with this together." Jin whispered, caressing Taehyung's face.
"Fix yourself and then follow me in the living room, okay?" He added to which Taehyung simply nodded his head.
A good 10 minutes and Taehyung was already in the living room with his brother, facing the inspector and the detective he once encountered before.
"I would really want to say it's nice seeing you Taehyung despite the reason why we're here." Inspector Yoongi uttered.
"Is this about Hyun Jae's death?" Taehyung asked blankly.
"That.. and a lot of things." Inspector Yoongi answered.
He placed a recorder on top of the table before looking at the older Kim.
"With your consent, we would like to record everything we're going to talk about from this moment on." Inspector Yoongi said, staring at Jin's eyes.
The older nodded his head before looking at Taehyung who only nodded as well.
"Thank you." Inspector Yoongi said before turning on the recorder.
"We have been investigating about the death of Hyun Jae, who happened to attend the same university as Taehyung, is that correct?" Inspector Yoongi asked.
Taehyung nodded his head.
"Yes. We attend the same university." He uttered to which the inspector just proceeded.
"It was found out that prior to his death, the two of you were last seen conversing in the supermarket, seemingly having a bit of argument.. Is that true?" The inspector continued to inquire.
"Yes. He approached me and we talked for a while." Taehyung answered.
"Is it also true that he's been stalking you, even sexually harassing you?" Inspector Yoongi asked, looking straight to Taehyung's eyes.
The younger wasn't able to answer as he looked at his brother next to him who was quick to answer for his stead.
"I have heard from Jimin about Hyun Jae and the things he did to Taetae." Jin stated as he sighed.
"As you could tell inspector, my brother has a condition called Alexithymia. He has trouble expressing himself and could not tell the emotions conveyed by others." He said, looking down on his clasped hands.
"He wouldn't know if someone's already touching him with sexual intent. However, if you'll ask Jimin, he could testify to the things Hyun Jae did." Jin stated to which the inspector nodded.
He took the recorder and turned it off to Jin's surprise.
"Thank you for being honest." Inspector Yoongi said.
"Is that all?" Jin asked.
The inspector nodded his head before fishing out his phone in his pocket, placing it on top of the table.
"From here on, the things I'll be asking would be for personal investigation, which means you are free to decline." Inspector Yoongi stated.
"Is an officer allowed to do that?" Jin asked, finding the inspector's sudden change in behaviour a little suspicious.
Before the inspector could answer, the detective next to him finally decided to meddle.
"It's actually my idea." Detective Hoseok said.
"This inspector here is just doing me a favor for the case I've been handling, right?" Detective Hoseok gave a pat on the inspector's shoulder.
Hoseok doesn't want Yoongi to be suspended if this personal investigation of his would be reported to the higher-ups.
"Just like what he said, you're free to decline." Detective Hoseok said before leaning in and turning on the recorder in Yoongi's phone.
"This is about the case 10 years ago." He said and as soon as Jin heard these words, his face immediately turned pale.
"I know this must be hard for the both of you to remember, but that case from before might lead us to solve the cases involving Taehyung now." Detective Hoseok tried to explain, but Jin doesn't even want to hear any of it.
"If it's all about that... I won't allow this interview anymore." Jin immediately declined, looking away from the detectives as he stared at Taehyung who just sat there in silence.
Detective Hoseok nodded and sighed.
"It's okay. We'll respect that." He took the phone on the table though Yoongi was looking at him with sharp eyes, silently saying 'What the fuck are you doing?'
He stood from his seat and was about to head for the door when he spoke once more.
"I just want you to know one thing, though... " Detective Hoseok turned to look at the older Kim, eyes seriously staring at him.
"He's back." He muttered which made Jin gasp in horror at the implications of his words.
"By the looks of it, he's already sniffing around this household.. and could also be the one behind the deaths of the people involved with your brother." The detective informed before turning around.
"If you still don't want to cooperate, then be my guest." He finally headed for the door with Yoongi hesitantly following behind.
However, it took them only a few steps when they heard Taehyung spoke.
"Is this about the man from 10 years ago?" He asked, making the two turn to look.
"Tae.." Jin wanted to protest as he went to sit next to him.
"If it is, then I'm willing to cooperate." Taehyung said.
The two slowly went back to the couch, sitting opposite to Taehyung and his reluctant brother.
"During that time, you're just seven years old, right?" Detective Hoseok asked, setting the recording phone on the table once more.
Taehyung nodded. "Yes, but I could still remember everything that had happened."
He looked at the inspector who had his eyes on him the whole time.
"My testament wasn't credited by the police before because I'm still a child, but regardless, everything that had happened remained in my mind." Taehyung said.
The two older male looked at him for a long time before deciding to continue.
"We'll listen to everything you're going to say." Detective Hoseok agreed as he stared deeply in those empty eyes.
Taehyung nodded his head. He stared at the blinking light coming from the phone as memories flashed his mind.
"I'll count 1..2..3..
That's your chance to flee.
If you're lucky, you're free.
If not....
You're a dead body."
Taehyung suddenly uttered, making everyone in the room turn dead silent.
"Those were the words he repeatedly sang as he chased after me." He added, remembering the night he had encountered the killer.
"It was raining and the road was empty as I ran away from the alley where he had killed a man." He said, the face of the killer becoming clear.
Taehyung felt the hand of his brother on his back, caressing and supporting him.
"He smelled of blood. The jacket he's wearing was stained with blood but the rain washed it away." He recalled, even the smell of blood was becoming vivid.
"Have you seen his face?" Detective Hoseok asked to which Taehyung nodded.
"Yes." He answered in a small voice.
"Could you describe him?" Inspector Yoongi wasn't able to stop himself from intervening.
Taehyung nodded his head once more.
"He has brown hair, eyes on the brown side too." Taehyung started, remembering the man's face.
"He's tall and bulky..." He trailed off as he looked at the detective who's been eyeing him.
"I think he's around 40 years old.." Taehyung added.
"Are you sure?" Inspector Yoongi asked in monotone.
Taehyung nodded his head.
"Yes." He answered, looking straight to the inspector's eyes.
"I couldn't be mistaken. I remembered him clearly." He assured, firmly gazing at the other.
The two males didn't comment as detective Hoseok took the phone and ended the recording.
"If you're still in doubt about the memory of a seven year old...." Taehyung trailed off and looked at inspector Yoongi before continuing.
"I've been wanting to say this the first time we met, inspector." He uttered, piquing the other's interest."
"You remind me of the officer in charge of my case that time." Taehyung said which surprised the other.
"He looked like you. I remembered his surname was Min too." He stated as he stared at the inspector who could only smile.
"Well, that's my father." Inspector Yoongi admitted as he looked at Taehyung in fascination.
"I guess you already proved to have a good memory." He added before lending a hand to Taehyung.
"Thank you for cooperating. You're a big help in solving this case." Inspector Yoongi smiled.
Taehyung took the hand and bowed a little.
"Will it be okay for you to describe the man to a sketch artist tomorrow?" Inspector Yoongi asked.
Taehyung simply nodded.
"Then it's settled. Thank you again, Taehyung." He uttered once more before turning his attention to the older Kim.
"Thank you, Mr. Kim. I know we came off a bit too insensitive to bring such a bad memory back, but we're really grateful that you allowed this interview." Inspector Yoongi held Jin's hand for a handshake.
The latter just smiled and bowed.
The brothers escorted the two officers out of the apartment and into the hallway, passing by unit 201 when the door suddenly opened, revealing Jungkook who was stunned to see Taehyung and the others.
Taehyung told his brother to escort the officers down to the lobby while he remained with Jungkook.
"Who are those people?" Jungkook asked, curious.
"Inspectors." Taehyung answered.
"Inspectors? Why? Did something happen?" The ravenette asked in a concerned voice.
Taehyung shakes his head in response.
"Nothing. Everything's taken care of. Don't worry, hyung." He responded, staring at those raven eyes.
The two of them stared at each other for a long time before Jungkook smiled.
"Okay. Be careful and don't be involved in dangerous things." He reminded, patting Taehyung's head for the first time.
Taehyung just looked at him, unaware that he finally was able to show a timid smile.
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