Chapter Forty - Eight,
"How are you sure it's his copycat? Just because the zodiac signs?" He asked again.
You bite your lips and looked up, at Jungkook first then at Taehyung, "I........... I r-received a letter!" Your body started shaking again and your voice cracked at the end.
Your words and the way fear was obvious on your face made the men's eyes widen and their bodies totally froze.
Jungkook was the first to react and run toward you, held both your hands, and looked at you, "What do you mean Y/N? What letter?"
You clenched your teeth and look at him, "It's......... It's on the living room's floor."
"I will get it!" Taehyung said and run to get it.
"Y/N w-what....... I mean, that's why you were scared?" His voice softened as he caressed your hand. Usually, it's so easy for you to read through people's facial expressions, words, and body language to get into their mind, to understand and get the idea of what they might be thinking but not with him. You were still recovering from that idea but Jungkook was the person you wanted to understand the most, you wanted to read through him the most, you wanted to know everything before it's too late.
Isn't it too late?
Huh?
interrupting all your thoughts, the young professor, stepped forward, "Someone sent you a threat? Should we call the police?" Jin asked, obviously panicking. He knew you for years. If this scared you then it's serious.
"Here's the letter!" Taehyung walked in holding the paper that almost caused your heart to stop.
"What does it say?" Jungkook asked, still holding your hand. He wanted to walk over to Taehyung and see for himself but he didn't want to leave your side. Your heart softened at that.
"This is the Zodiac speaking," Taehyung started reading, and you felt Jungkook's hand tighten the hold. "I thought you would need a good laugh before you hear the bad news, you won't get the news for a while yet...... PS: Could you print this new cipher on the front page? I get awfully lonely when I am ignored......... so lonely I could do my thing!" He swallowed when he finished, "There's also the symbol of the crosshairs of a gunsight at the end ................ What the hell?"
"That's crazy..........But by a good laugh, he meant something like the relief you felt when you closed the 12 cases?" Jin guessed, you weren't surprised he could think of something this quick, he was a human behavior professor after all. "But why ........... and what front page?"
"A newspaper ...... He wants attention, huge media coverage and........... To cause a public panic." You said, "Those kinds of psychopaths feel at ease when they walk on the street knowing that everyone fears them......... It gives them the fantasy of being the ones in power and control........... He wants us to publish his letter in the newspaper!" You breathed, feeling a lot better than the minutes that passed. Maybe it's the fact that you can see the men next to you or that you were actually saying your thoughts out loud rather than keeping them hunting you inside.
"I don't fucking care about that!" Jungkook suddenly raises his voice, teeth clenching as anger started to get into his system. "Why the fuck did he send it to you?"
"Even if he wasn't the main killer of the 12 cases, I think it was somehow all his doing!" You said, "When they didn't get any attention he proceed and killed people by himself making the number 12 a hint for whoever will investigate to notice........... Yet the cases were hard and no actual shreds of evidence were found so it was just placed as unsolved until I coincidentally started to work on them.........."You paused to take a breath, "If ...... If I n-noticed before giving them to the DA he wouldn't have noticed." You cursed and looked away to sigh.
"Fuck......... Why I haven't even thought about investigating them!" Taehyung cursed and messed his hair, "Even if he wasn't the one who killed my father, this bastard is copying him for God's sake.........."
"It's the same thing, he'd have just sent you the letter instead of Y/N......... More importantly, should we call someone now? the police or something?" Jin asked again, "You and Y/N can't be the only ones investigating this....... I won't allow it." He walked and stood next to Taehyung.
Jungkook looked at you, scared and powerless. He couldn't do anything. "You are coming with me, you can't stay h-"
"Don't worry, he doesn't want to kill me!" You told him, "I am the only one who can challenge him now, therefore he's having so much fun!" You took a deep breath, "If he wanted to kill me he'd do it when he put the letter on the mailbox yesterday!"
Jungkook's heart started beating so fast at the thought. "I........ I w-was there all the time, I haven't seen any-"
"Probably after midnight or when you left......" You told him. A sudden cold chill run down your spine and your whole body trembled, if you weren't sitting you'd have fallen to the ground. You have never been into a similar situation, you were never scared to investigate more but the thought that someone might get hurt or killed this time is hunting you. "He .........w-won't hurt me for a while but........... h-he can....ummm.." you couldn't say it, even the thought scared you.
"Hurt your family?" Jimin asked taking a guess after he heard you mentioning something like that earlier.
"I don't have one!" You replied without hesitation.
"Then who?"
Your heart skipped a beat and you looked slowly up at Jungkook. He looked back at you and probably everyone in the room followed your gaze, the little time of silence told you this.
"J-Jungkook? why would.........." Jimin's voice trembled.
"He won't." Jungkook looked at you dead in the eyes, his serious gaze and the fact that you can't tell if he was lying or not, made you wish he can keep his words. "No one will get hurt, Okay Y/N? So don't think too much about it, let's inform the police for now." the young firefighter/CEO tried to reassure you, he knew he had fallen deeply for you when he looked at your eyes while you were telling him I-am-scared-to-lose-you without words. For you, a woman who has always struggled with understanding human emotions, a woman who built a wall against everyone and preferred to live alone to have this feeling to him even after he lied and used you.
It was easier for him to tell what you're thinking.
It was beyond his imagination, he never thought he'll have the chance to actually love someone let alone receive the same feeling. Therefore, he promised to protect that even if it takes to lose himself.
"I believe we should go to the station rather than calling them here," Taehyung said "We need to get all the files with us, I will call Mingyu to-"
"Don't" You said, stoping the man before he could hold his phone. "The Zodiac must have been keeping this place under surveillance, he might assume Mingyu is my partner and since I don't have family or someone close............ He might also be in danger." You paused then stood up from the seat to walk toward the desk, "Don't ask him to come here, If he's at the station, tell him to meet us at the DA's office!" You opened your laptop when you finished your words.
"The DA? why are we going there?" Taehyung walked toward you, "We must inform the chief first, open a case file and get permission."
"We can do that later, all the cases I worked at the DA's office now!" You told him then stood up again, "That's where we start!"
"Where are you going?" Jungkook held your arm when you turned and started walking away.
You swallowed, didn't turn to face him, and just looked down, "I Umm......... I n-need a minute!"
He stared at you for a few seconds then let go of your hand understanding what you meant.
You closed the door the first second you entered your room, placing both hands on your rising and falling chest, taking the breath you didn't know you were holding. It felt like you had run a thousand miles or woke up from a terrifying nightmare.
"AAhhhhh stupid stupid!" You shook your head and throw yourself on the bed, face on the pillow to curse yourself more without being heard, "Lie to me? I told him to lie to me............ I looked stupid, didn't I? Freaking out like thattttttttttttt !" You faked a cry.
lie to me.
lie to me all you want.
Just don't die.
don't leave.
You took a deep sigh and closed your eyes.
It's not the right time to think about this, Y/N. You kept telling yourself.
The hell you were scared about Y/N? Are you afraid of that bastard of a copycat...................... He threatened you and a person you cared about........................ Isn't it more reasonable that he is the one getting scared? You asked yourself.
"I agree!" You clenched your teeth.
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, what's more important now is to find this crazy man who's threatening you.
It will be probably the hardest and the scariest case you have ever worked now, not just the fact that this person killed 12 persons and maybe was involved in another 12 people losing their lives but........... It's also related to your parents' disappearance.
"The Zodiac ha?" You sighed.
"Y/N?" you suddenly heard Jungkook's voice on the other side of the door.
You stood up quickly and looked around, "W-wait........... I am c-changing" Your face turned red when you heard his name.
Damn, how can I face him after what happened?
You shook your head fast.
No Y/N.
Now, we protect him.
then, we'll blush.
.
Taehyung, you, and Jungkook walked inside the DA's building and were guided to prosecutor Park's office which his door was open and you didn't have to knock.
From where you three stood, you saw the man on his desk writing some stuff while his assistant standing next to him, files in her hand.
"Oh give me a second, please!" The man raised his hand and told you after he felt someone standing by the door, but the second his assistant leaned in and whispered something to him, he immediately looked up and you all watched as his eyes widened and a bright smile was formed on his face.
"Detective Y/N!, It's a p-pleasure to finally meet you!" The man stood up and walked to shake hands with you while Taehyung and Jungkook stood beside you and only received 'Hello' as a welcome from the prosecutor. "I'm guessing you don't know my name, you can call me Hyungsik!" He added, hand still shaking yours and it took a little longer than usual.
"Of course, she doesn't know your name, like how can she? And........... Aren't you the district prosecutor?" Jungkook faked a smile and stared at the man. "Our Y/N here isn't yet familiar with our culture, please don't give her the impression that we get friendy-friendy from the first meeting-"
You cleared your throat to stop him, obviously, the young firefighter wasn't planning to shut up if you didn't give him a glare. Weird. "Since when you are talkie-talkie with people from the first meeting, Mr.Jeon?" You also faked a smile. Weird. That's weird.
"Owww you must be thankful that I am teaching you about our country, right Y/N?" You watched as he walked further inside the office, hands inside his pockets while looking around, "You know since you don't get along with people and hate going out and stuff-"
"Anyway......." Taehyung interrupted his friend at the right moment, you were about to start an endless conversation with the man that you don't even know what the content will be.
Even if you only got here a few minutes ago, Jungkook was already acting weird.
Can't he take things seriously? Didn't I make sure that his life might be in danger?
Idiot.
"I was surprised by your visit, actually I was planning to call you over but .......... As you can see," He paused and looked around to the mess his office was under. "Miss Y/N you gave me so much work that I didn't blink an eye for a whole week!"
"Ummmmm I think you're lying Mr. Hyungsik, your cornea would swell if that's the case, it doesn't have blood vessels so it needs oxygen from the tear film, which it gets when you blink............... and yours isn't swollen" You cleared your throat when you noticed the glare on Taehyung's face telling you to shut up probably, "I w-was just saying................ I-it's impossible"
"Umm Y/N." Jungkook was next to you in a second, "It's.........a figure of speech!" He whispered.
You swallowed, looked around then at him, "I know O-of course......... When was the last time you heard the word 'Joke' Mr.Jeon?" Rolling your eyes, you looked away.
"Hah?" Jungkook blinked and stared at you not understanding the sudden change of behavior even since you walked out of your room. It felt like you rebooted your mind and jumped straight from the first time you two met to now making his question whether what happened earlier was just a dream.
In a way, he wished it was. Well, at least there will be no threat and a serial killer shit.
But in another way, he was hopeful that you forgave him. and.............. The way you acted gave him the idea that you care about him so much.
She does. right? he asked himself.
"Anyway..........Prosecutor Park, this is Jeon Jungkook, a probationary firefighter at SFD! and........... The new CEO of SH group." Taehyung stepped aside and introduced his friend to the prosecutor.
The Prosecutor raised one eyebrow in confusion "SH group? Did Shin Hae-ga retire already?" He asked.
"You know my grandfather?" Jungkook asked while frowning. It wasn't that obvious but you could easily feel it.
The man called Hyungsik slowly nodded, the look in his eyes gave you the impression that he was choosing his words before answering. As expected from a prosecutor. "Yes, I have called him in for an interrogation considering a Tax evasion..... Such a tough man to deal with!" He ended his words with a smile that shows his satisfaction with what he said.
Oh!
Your gaze fell on Jungkook and........... it was the total opposite, you could tell he was bothered but didn't have anything to say which explain the way he was chewing the inside of his cheek.
Oh! What do we have here?
"It's hard not to be tough when you have thousands of families depending on you for their living!" Jungkook leaned against the wall and answered. Hum, such a good answer.
'That's true, anyway Nice to meet you!" Hyungsik nodded and Jungkook did the same. "But I have to say it........ It's impressive that you also work as a firefighter, I am surprised it's not in the news."
"I still didn't take my position publicly but ...........either way, I like my private life to be private!" Jungkook replied.
Hyungsik nodded, "Humm I see.............. But it's better not to mention that after all, wasn't it a little irresponsible to get into the academy knowing that you will have to quit one day? It could have been a place for someone else......... Someone who'd actual serve-"
"Prosecutor Kim?" The man's assistant suddenly had to walk to him and stop him, an awkward smile on her face.
"Oh, I apologize!" He looked back at Jungkook who you were surprised that he stayed calm and didn't start an argument. "I tend to speak without a filter sometimes, If I offended you Mr.Jeon I apologize!"
"Not at all!" Jungkook smiled. So fake.
"Well, we apologize for coming at this hour!" You decided to speak, staying here quiet while the two glared at each other for some reason wasn't going to end well.
"Oh No, You have no idea how much I wanted to mean you," The man confidently walked closed to you and said, "When cases started coming without a stop I had to ask who was the detective responsible, I was surprised I was when I heard you started working with the Korean Police, Miss Y/N!"
You blinked and stared at him, "Do I know you?"
He shook his head, "You don't, but I do........ I actually heard of you from Mensa!"
"Mensa? what's that?" Jungkook asked walking involuntarily between you and the man named Hyungsik.
"The largest high IQ society in the world, a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized," You answered him but still looking at Park Hyungsik, he was a man in his early thirties, hair black matching his eyes that were a little bit smaller than Jungkook's, his handsome face and confident look was a bit similar to Jin's but everything else was different.
"Yeah, I have a couple of friends who are Mensa members and you have been the talk for some time!" He smiled at you.
"Some time?" You repeated his last word and also his smile, "Your friends don't find me interesting anymore?" You joked.
"No, No of course not....... I didn't mean it like that." The man's eyes widened and he shook his head immediately, "I meant the time I was around-"
"I forgive you!"
Jungkook watched the way you smiled at the man. Huh?
"Anyway.....Back to the main topic!" Taehyung cleared his throat and looked at you, you rolled your eyes. "We have an interesting update about the cases Y/N was sending you!"
.
To Be Continued ..........