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❝𝐢'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮❞
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ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ:
[ᴊᴏʏ - sᴀᴍᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ]
0:00 ●────────────── 3:45
↻ ʀᴇᴘʟᴀʏ ⇉ sᴋɪᴘ ♥️ ʟɪᴋᴇ
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Sᴇᴏᴜʟ Mᴇᴛʀᴏᴘᴏʟɪᴛᴀɴ Pᴏʟɪᴄᴇ Aɢᴇɴᴄʏ
Jungkook was surprised to find Yeo Jingoo outside his floor walking through the hallway. It had been weeks since the last time he saw the detective and although he tried to ask the chief a few times about his well-being, there was something telling him to pay a visit—even though he was sure he'd receive much worse treatment than the one Jisoo was giving.
Jingoo, busy receiving updates from their captain, nodded along with his hands behind his back as they slowly made their way to the elevator, where Jungkook and Yoongi had just stepped out.
Once he laid eyes on the detective, his face turned from impassive to icy. Jungkook still opened a friendly half-smile, pressing the button so the elevator could return.
"Lieutenant," Sangkyu greeted. "Detective Min."
Both answered the captain with a respectful bow and Jungkook looked at his long-time rival. "Never thought I'd say that, but... I'm glad you're back. This place has been falling apart since you left."
"Which says a lot about your competence," Jingoo replied, pressing the button an extra time.
Sighing, Jungkook pinched his forehead before glancing at Yoongi discreetly, who decided not to comment. "Don't you think it's time for you to put all that grudge behind?"
"Easy for you to say with both of your parents alive."
"Boys," the captain warned. "Don't start."
"My parents need to be murdered so we can start being civil with each other?
Jaw clenching, Jingoo glared at him impatiently. "No, but it'd certainly make you understand what I felt and how it is to know that those who should've protected them, actually helped."
"I said it wasn't my idea."
"How's the investigation going?" he cut him off. "Any results?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"Perfect. When these results get them all in prison, then we can talk." The ding of the bell announced the elevator and once the doors slid open, Jingoo was ahead of the captain, turning to the panel buttons.
"Give him time," Sangkyu muttered. "He's been through a lot."
Jungkook just gave him an understanding nod.
"Wow," Yoongi let out a small rumble of a laugh, folding his hands behind his head as they began to move to the exit of the building. "It's bad as if you were the assassin yourself."
"Can't blame him," he gave a dismissive shrug, hands shoved in his pockets. "I'd have reacted the same way."
"It's not your fault."
"He doesn't care. Jingoo's mad because I had the choice of refusing to be part of it and I didn't."
Yoongi scoffed. "And go against the chief's orders? We have our best shot now that you're meeting them all in person."
Pushing the door open, Jungkook frowned up to the sky, not expecting to be welcomed by the heavy rain while Yoongi slipped a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, selecting one.
"Weren't you pessimistic about the whole thing?"
"I was," he confirmed, the filter tip dangling between his lips as he lit it with a flick of a lighter. "It was hard to put a hundred percent of my expectations in your expectations... We're detectives. We don't work with faith and that's all you had."
"Yeah, I got lucky."
A chuckle. "You sure did. Commissary smoke, Jeon?" he asked, holding out the packet.
Jungkook wrinkled his nose in denial and watched the smoke that came out of his partner's first drag fading into the air as they stood against the wall in silence, waiting for the constant hammer of rain to end. He crossed his arms, switching his leg weight, thoughts circling in his mind; futile and ceaseless in equal measures.
Eventually, Yoongi slid a look his way. "Answer me something."
"All ears," he replied evenly.
"How far will you go to put her in prison?"
Jungkook stared at him, hesitating as if trying to suss out exactly what kind of trick he was going to pull. "Farther than I've gone?"
"No, not the others. Her," Yoongi corrected, flicking ash from the tip of his cigarette into the rain. "The seduction mission worked... So it'd be such a drag if you screwed everything you've achieved so far precisely because the mission worked too well."
The officer rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Not sure what you mean by that."
Yoongi laughed. "Cut the bullshit— one, you had the vixen there once and let her go; two, you hid evidence before the chief even assigned you to do this job," he pointed out, giving him a mock dirty look. "If your performance as an actor was good at that level, drop everything because your place is in Hollywood, not in a police station."
Jungkook smiled and gazed up thoughtfully. "It's not a bad idea. I've always wanted to show my talent on screens."
"Jungkook," Yoongi deadpanned.
He sighed. "She saved my life, Yoongi, I told you this—it was only fair to spare hers too."
"Not to the police. You risked your job by not communicating to anyone that she was with you in a restaurant."
"I still went after her later to fix my mistake, didn't I? The orders given by the chief were to bring her back to Seoul. What was left for me to do? If she's not in prison today it's not my fault," he lied. "I'm still working on it."
The cigarette had burned down. Yoongi watched his friend warily, not having a single idea what was going through his head at the moment, but racking a few of the alternatives.
"Jungkook... Lee's a criminal," he said heavily. "Alright? She broke the law several times, helped to assassin Jingoo's father, and deserves to be in prison as much as the others," his eyes narrowed to the detective, who remained staring blankly ahead. "I'm not doubting how ready you are to go after the rest of Kazoku... But this woman is also on this list. Don't forget it."
Jungkook stood stiffly, cold, uncomfortable, and non the happier for the direction this discussion had taken. "I won't."
"It's just in case you already did—hey, where are you going?"
"Home."
"It's still raining."
"I don't care," he grumbled and trudge off through the rain, ignoring the unpleasant dribbles down the back of his neck. His mind was thoroughly preoccupied with other thoughts as it had been for several days now.
He had new things to chew on anyway.
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"Let me take you out to dinner."
Jieun smiled at herself in front of the bathroom mirror as she applied lotion to her arms; Jungkook had asked her out and she realized it was the first time a man had done something like this.
She had gone on dates before, bars, cheap restaurants, and even movie theaters, but they all ended in one place— in a motel bed. For once in her life, she didn't have to worry about the outcome, where the night would lead, or if he was doing out of interest. Not anymore.
They were having dinner simply for having dinner, and it made her thrilled.
Jieun placed the lotion back on the counter, frowning at how much space she had taken lately. It must have been weird for a guy to wake up one day, and out of nowhere, find in his bathroom so much girly stuff, especially someone like him who had always opted for just a few necessary utensils.
But at the end of the day, they wouldn't stay for long, so Jieun shrugged her worries off and began to work on her hair, running her fingers through the strands to pull them into a ponytail, not counting on Jungkook walking in, already in his oh-so-elegant black suit.
He examined her lazily, eyes roving over the half-naked sight like they had a natural right to do so. Not expecting this kind of attention so early, her cheeks stained crimson under his evaluating stare. "I'm not done yet."
"Mm... Clearly," he remarked, stepping behind her. "How many days left before you leave this bathroom?"
Jieun's chest raised to catch her breath once he pressed himself on her rear. "A few extra if you don't let me finish."
"We have a reservation," he intoned, snapping the elastic band of her red thong with one finger. "Why does it take so long for women to get dressed?"
"The makeup process, for instance. And it's harder than it seems." Jungkook hummed in a distant response, his mouth inching lower, trailing kisses across her shoulder and she squirmed, using her elbow to push him back. "Stop being a tease, please... I'll be done in a minute."
"A minute," he chuckled, and much to her dismay, didn't move. "Fine. I'm counting."
Jieun clicked her tongue, inching closer to the mirror while trying to apply her mascara. "How's work? Does everyone know about your little break?"
"I might have mentioned it," Jungkook answered absently. "It's not like I can give many details about it."
"And your friend... Jisoo, isn't it?" she feigned interest. "How's she doing?"
His eyes moved off her ass up to her face through the mirror, looking into her dark ones before noticing the grin on her face. He knew the impish look that came over her whenever she was attempting to provoke him.
He ignored her question to ask one himself, "How's Kim Namjoon doing?"
Jieun's expression changed to something sulkily as she closed the cap and searched for a lipstick. Her motions slowed and stopped completely, not able to hide the gloom very long. "Not so good..." she muttered. "He's not coming with us."
Jungkook suddenly stood a little straighter. "What do you mean he's not coming?"
She pursed her lips, head still lowered. "He doesn't want to... He still thinks hanging out with you like this is a mistake and doesn't want to be part of it if something goes wrong."
Panic.
"Jieun... Namjoon has to come," he looked at her confused, then immediately fixed. "I mean— It'd be unfair to leave him behind because of me."
"It's not only you," she said. "It's us. Imagine what it'll be like for him to live with both of us."
"He's going to abandon the entire group for something so silly?" Jungkook scoffed. "You have to convince h—"
"Namjoon's not abandoning us." Jieun turned to face him, oblivious to his apprehension. "At least, it's what I hope. He will come around, but he's not happy. He's going against all our plans lately and fighting with everybody constantly. I can't say for sure if he's tired of all of this or if it started when we got together, but regardless, the idea of wandering off it's been on his mind for some time now. The difference is that... he wanted to go with me."
Jungkook went very quiet. He wasn't sure how much time it passed before he finally asked, "What about you?"
She shook her head. "What about me?"
"You don't want to? Go with him?"
Squinting, Jieun felt momentarily entertained by the idea of opening the faucet behind her to throw water on his face. How could he ask her that?
"It's different now," he stated seriously. "Namjoon leaving changes everything because he matters more to them... I'm not stupid to think it's not the same for you."
Surprised by his implication, Jieun looked up to return his stare. Her prolonged silence seemed to make Jungkook come back to himself and he uncertainly took a half step back.
"I'm sorry. I'll let you finish."
"Wait," she breathed, bringing him back to close the distance between them again. "It's okay, Jungkook... I..." she took a slow, deep breath, "I don't mind you asking me these things. Yes, Namjoon matters to me, but it's his choice and I'm..." she trailed off and looked down.
With no significant change in her facial expression, Jungkook still managed to read her thoughts. He lifted her chin, muttering, "You, what?"
His question eventually pulled her out of her daze. "The only person I'd run away with today is you."
Heart sinking, Jungkook felt his arms hang boneless at his sides.
"I can't tell you that staying away from him will be easy for me because it won't," she admitted. "I don't remember what my life was like before him—he has always been there. He was my first kiss, my first time, the first person I wanted to kill." The memory brought a smile to her face before it faded slowly. "First love doesn't always mean only love or that it'll last forever. I thought it would... until I met you."
Jungkook had to close his eyes at that and bow his head, hands falling to her hips. The way she said it made his heart thump against his ribs with a pang of guilt so strong he almost wanted to drop everything and give up on the case so someone could deal with it. This was beyond cruel.
"You love me?"
Jieun closed her eyes too with a sigh, nodding slowly.
Jungkook made a noise in the back of his throat and she smiled, pulling him until his forehead bumped against hers lightly. He couldn't open his eyes, let alone move or offer a verbal response. His brain was a puddle of oatmeal, incapable of shuffling words into coherent thought. Especially those particular words, in that order, from her.
His expression slid right off his face, eyes unfocused when his thoughts retreated inward. Something big was processing, slowly at first, but with rapidly increasing speed, like the dim light of a train growing brighter as it surged forward through a dark tunnel.
New information rained down with missing puzzle pieces. Impossible as it was he—
"I love you too," Jungkook murmured, letting the words out since they were begging to be released. "Fuck, I really do..."
Still smiling and somehow relieved to hear that, Jieun pulled back, holding his jaw, making him look at her. Her radiance dimmed just a bit. "You sound upset."
Jungkook didn't think peeking at her in the bathroom would lead them to... this. He cursed again under his breath, shaking his head. "No, I'm not upset."
"You sure?"
He kissed her in response, and for a brief moment, her mind blanked, forgetting everything except the feeling of coaxing lips against hers.
"Let's not think about the future," he asked. "Or feelings for now."
She nodded.
Hours later, they were enjoying the nice dinner at the restaurant, both trying, wanting but failing each time not to think about the last few moments in the bathroom and the words that were said.
Because deep down, the acknowledgment of that feeling was frightening them both equally. Even if they didn't show through their smiles.
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The next day, Jieun returned home and the attention stopped on her soon as she closed the door that morning. Members were gathered in the living room, all looking cheerless; some tense and worried. Sana raised from the couch first, her eyes completely reddish.
"Jieun," she sniffed. "It didn't work."
Her brows furrowed. "What happened?"
"RM... He's really not coming."
"Nobody could convince him," Yeji uttered next to Mai just as depressed. "We spent the whole day trying to prove to him that he's making the wrong decision. We cursed, we fought, we begged...but he's still firm."
"And this is all your fault," Yuta accused. "Since when do we choose lovers over family?"
Seeing this, Akagi decided to step up, leaving the balcony. "Jieun didn't choose anyone," he said. "Jeon wants to come with us and I'm the one letting him."
"If RM is staying, I'd rather stay too," Felix said from the floor, head hung between his legs. "Nothing will be the same."
Jieun watched all that and the bees in her stomach circled faster until she lost control of her mouth, "Where is he?"
Sana wiped her face, gesturing to the corridor. "Packing his stuff. He's leaving tonight."
"Tonight?" she frowned. "Where to?!"
"No one knows," Mai answered, trying to comfort a sobbing Hyunjin.
"You're kidding me—" Unable to stop herself, Jieun sprinted to the room, not even going to the trouble of knocking. There, she found Jongin seated on the bed next to Namjoon, who was standing with an open suitcase next to it. She swallowed a lump, realizing it was all true. He was going to leave for real.
"Kai, can you... can you leave us alone for a second?"
Jongin exchanged a glance with Namjoon before getting up from the bed. He patted twice on his friend's shoulder and didn't look at her on the way out, but neither did she. Once the door was closed, she folded her arms in displeasure.
"How much are you charging?"
Namjoon paused for a moment as if unsure, then resumed his task, not looking at her. "Charging for what?"
"For this stupid show you're forcing all of us to watch."
He snorted. "Good one."
"It's not a show? Well, then I'm sure is just drama," she scoffed. "Don't you feel ashamed of yourself to keep this up when everyone in the room is getting dead worried and crying because of you?"
"Mm. I don't give Jeon another week to make them forget. He's already stealing my place anyway."
The taunting edge of his voice snapped her out.
"Stop being pathetic," she hissed. "If you can't do it for me, do it for them. They're your family too and you're throwing away years of friendship for—"
Namjoon sneered bitterly under her words. "Throwing away?" he asked, finally looking up at her. "I won't miss a thing by not going back to Tokyo, Jieun. Maybe the one throwing away something for blindly trusting a guy who has proved not being trustworthy here is you."
Her jaw dropped in shock. "Did you really just say that?" she snapped. "After everything he did for us? Sean is gone because of him!"
Unbothered, Namjoon went back to rashly fold his clothes, throwing them inside the suitcase.
Jieun laughed in disbelief. "So that's how it's gonna go? You're really going to leave because you're unhappy with the guy that I'm with."
He continued to ignore her, and all of a sudden, every ounce of the anger Jieun was suppressing came roaring to the surface. She advanced forward, snatching the shirt from his hand, and began to take everything out of the suitcase furiously.
Namjoon reacted immediately, grasping both of her wrists to make her stop. "What is the matter with you?!"
"You're not going anywhere!" she screamed.
"Didn't you ask me if I'd make a sacrifice for you?!" he snarled before pushing her away. "There, you have it! I'm doing it!"
Stunned and hurt, Jieun shook her head. "This is not a sacrifice," she croaked weakly. "You're just trying to make me choose."
Namjoon stopped collecting his clothes on the floor and straightened up, his eyes curious. "What if I am?"
She returned his frown with one of her own.
"What if I am making you choose?" he repeated, pausing an inch before her. She blinked up, her head tilting back. "If it were up to you here and now to make me go, what would your answer be? Would you give up on him?"
Jieun just stood there silently, her fist clenched tightly and an irrational fear instinctively gripped her at the thought of doing that. Namjoon could almost hear the honest answer in her eyes... and it stung.
His expression grew cold.
"Is he better in bed?" he asked after a moment of staring at her. "Is that what it is?"
The last words were whispered darkly, derisively and she flushed, first with embarrassment, then with indignation. "Is that all you care about?!" she exclaimed angrily, pushing at his chest with both hands. "Sex?!"
His body didn't budge.
"How did he do it then?" Namjoon scowled, icy stare piercing through her. "How did he accomplish something so fast?" His fist tightened and he shook his head, a disbelieving smile on his lips. "For acting like a hero in front of everyone that night? Was it the way he touched you? Did he make you feel like you were more than just a body? Isn't that what you've always wanted? To have a normal relationship with someone?" The muscles in his jaw clenched. "Tell me... what exactly did he do to make you want him so much that you would destroy what we have for him?"
Surprised by his accusation, Jieun automatically opened her mouth to protest, but the words died in her throat because she knew that he was right. Her heart twisted. She had to swallow the next lump that had formed at his words.
"Namjoon..." she said brokenly, unthinkably reaching for him. "Please don't."
Namjoon immediately batted her hand away with a stinging slap, but he didn't step back and she cradled her wrist against her chest as tears finally filled her eyes.
His decision was made. There was nothing left for her to do.
"I'm not gonna cry for you," she whispered. Namjoon continued to stare at her coldly and she nodded in agreement to his silent response, breaking the eye contact. "Don't forget it was your choice..."
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