♛
IT WAS PERHAPS noon when seven passengers occupied the saloon car, a bit too paranoid to stay in another car otherwise. They were scattered about, minding their own business as smooth jazz played in the background. That was until the arrival of the detective, with an obvious purpose, alerted the passengers.
Snow's head turned away from the window to see Namjoon standing in front of Jungkook, reading a textbook. The younger boy looked up at him curiously.
"Might I inspect your cabin, sir?" Namjoon asked him firmly.
Jungkook raised his eyebrows in both concern and displease. "My cabin? I thought the luggage part was a bit too far, but my cabin?" he asked, the other passengers hearing Jungkook's stern voice for the first time.
Namjoon seemed unimpressed by this, tilting his chin out. "You have claimed that you have not brought any luggage, though I have noticed that you have worn three different ties on your journey so far, and I am sure that a student as yourself would be prioritizing your assignments in your said briefcase instead of several ties, so may I check your compartment?"
The color drained from Jungkook's face. "I am not sure what you're implying! I have nothing to hide!"
"Perfect," Namjoon smiled fakely. "If you have nothing to hide, you will let me inspect your cabin briefly."
Jungkook sputtered, his fingers trembling on his textbook. "F-Fine."
The passengers followed Namjoon all the way to Jungkook's cabin, mostly in curiosity. Jungkook was about to enter the cabin after Namjoon, though was blocked by a serious Seokjin.
"What—You can't keep me out of my cabin," Jungkook wide-eyed him.
"I just did," Seokjin accusingly squinted at him, and Namjoon began to search the cabin as they watched curiously. Snow's breath was beginning to hitch, seeing Namjoon this serious for once. Is Jungkook really hiding something?
"This is ridiculous," Jungkook scoffed, carefully glancing at Namjoon as he nervously shifted. "A man can fit ties in their briefcase!"
They watched as Namjoon paused in the cabin. The detective was staring at the bed. He slowly walked toward it, sitting on top of it as they peered inside with confusion. Jungkook gulped.
Namjoon promptly stood up, though immediately turned back around, burying his hands underneath the bed's mattress. He pulled it up, indeed revealing a case—Jungkook's luggage.
"What the hell?" Hoseok gasped as he looked over Jimin's shoulder in fear.
Namjoon took it out from underneath the mattress, plopping it onto the bed.
"Hey—!" Jungkook protested, though was held firmly in place by Seokjin who was watching Namjoon intently.
The detective slowly opened the case, gently tossing the top onto the bed. There were clothes, suits, and ties, just as they would expect to be in a luggage. Though, Namjoon was not finished.
He began to dig through it, eliciting a noise of protest from the youngest, who grew antsier by the second.
Before Jungkook could say anything, however, Namjoon tossed the last shirt out of the luggage, revealing a large stack of bills—money. And lots of it.
"Is that...?" Jimin squinted.
"That's not—!" Jungkook nearly cried, being held back by Seokjin, who was growing angrier. "That's not what it looks like!"
Namjoon then found something else among his things on the bed, a stack of small notes. It was the same paper used to write the threatening note found on Hyunwoo's window that night.
"A case full of money," Namjoon quirked his eyebrow. "The same paper used to write Mr. Hyunwoo's threatening note. This luggage has showed me the lies that you have told me."
Jungkook's eyes grew wide, before Seokjin turned to him with fury in his eyes. "It was you," he seethed. "You fucking asshole. You killed Yewon!"
"N-No!" Jungkook shook his head, stepping back as Seokjin cornered him into the wall. "You don't understand!"
The staff members nearby grabbed onto Jungkook, as per Namjoon's request.
"Please confine him to a cabin, and make sure two staff members are blocking the door."
Snow watched as Jungkook began to get dragged away, his cries and pleads echoing in the corridor as she felt a hand on her back comfort her. Without even looking up, she leaned into Yoongi's frame, her soft eyes wobbling. It was Jungkook? she thought. She recalled all of the times she had talked to him, confided in him as well. It sent a haunting chill to her spine. It was over.
-
The rest of the passengers resumed to the saloon car, though on edge at the recent discovery.
"So it was Jungkook?" Hoseok asked, still in disbelief as he sat down on a couch beside Taehyung. "Why would he kill Hyunwoo?"
"For the money of course, damnit," Jimin pointed out, gently sitting on a chair and wincing from the pain on his back. "He's a kid who just started university, very passionate about it too. Wanted to get a ton of money. Wanted it so bad that the fucker stabbed me in the back."
"What are we still keeping him on the train for?" Seokjin crossed his arms at Namjoon who sat toward the front of the car. "I say we throw him off."
"Holy shit," Yoongi dryly laughed to himself, his comment ignored by the others as he sat beside Snow closely.
"That's horrible!" Hoseok shrieked. "He's a human being!"
"Who took the lives of two other human beings and stabbed this idiot in the back!" Seokjin refuted, pointing to Jimin who gawked at him.
"And who the hell are you calling an idiot, you fussy trust fund baby?" Jimin spat.
"Actually," Snow's soft and unconfident voice immediately caught their attention. "Jungkook could not have stabbed Jimin in the back because he was in this car with Taehyung and me when it happened."
"She's right," Taehyung confirmed, looking at Namjoon to await his response.
"So what, you're saying there are two murderers?" Seokjin cocked his eyebrow and stared at Snow. "Great," he muttered under his breath at her long silence.
"She's saying my work is not done," Namjoon spoke up, standing on his feet. He looked over to Snow, his eyebrows raised expectantly. "Miss Snow? Will you accompany me to your old suite? I would like to ask you to observe the room and see if there's anything out of the ordinary. You were an actual guest so I believe you would be able to tell."
Snow hesitantly nodded, feeling Yoongi's fingers brush through her hair soothingly as his arm rested behind her shoulders on the couch. She looked at him for a second before standing up, following Namjoon out of the car.
The door shut. "What if it was her? What if she's working with Jungkook? She could have wired him the money because she had access to that stuff, right?" Seokjin stated as he sat on a chair.
"Don't be ridiculous," Hoseok shook his head. "Why would she kill her employer? Do you know how hard it is for women to find work these days? And plus, Snow is not capable of murder."
"What if she's faking her innocent act?" Seokjin cocked his eyebrow. "Jungkook's been doing it the whole time."
"She's not."
Yoongi's stern voice turned their heads.
"How do you know?" Jimin asked lowly.
"Because they're fucking, that's why," Seokjin scoffed. "He would say anything to protect her."
"You're right," Yoongi smirked before he clenched his jaw. "But she's not a murderer. If I hear you speak ill of her name again, you won't live to speak ever again."
"Is that a threat?"
"Yes."
Seokjin sprung to his feet, ready to make his way to Yoongi and collide his fist with his face before Taehyung stood up to hold him back. "Let's calm down. Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help at all."
Seokjin shrugged him off, glaring at an amused Yoongi. He scoffed, walking away to the bar to pour himself a drink. Hoseok sighed, burying his face in his hands as he wished this nightmare to end.
-
Snow took a deep breath as she walked into her old suite, now a crime scene. A shiver ran through her spine at the sight of the dried blood splatters on the wall.
Namjoon casually walked inside, having spent much time investigating in there. "So," he began. "You have acquainted with Mr. Yoongi, yes?"
The sudden question made Snow freeze, suddenly fearful that this was another questioning session. Did he suspect her of something?
Namjoon could seem to tell. "I do not judge, miss. People deal with grief in many different ways."
Snow's eyes turned to him, and he smiled at her comfortably.
"I...I'm going to be completely honest with you," Snow swallowed. "I now realize that I'm not quite in grief over his death. That must make me sound suspicious, but it's the truth."
Namjoon shook his head almost immediately. "Of course not, Miss Snow. I'd actually be a bit concerned if you said you were in grief. Especially considering the way he treated you. He didn't have a very kind face or personality. Anyways," he looked away, observing the suite for the nth time.
Snow looked around as well, seeing the pool of dried blood seeping into the carpet where Hyunwoo's body used to be. The room was cold, an eerie kind of cold that had Snow crossing her arms.
"The first time I examined this room, I noticed that there was almost no evidence. This must have been planned very carefully. Someone was in the room, but made sure that they left not a single trace," he sighed. "But I wanted to make sure with you. Is there anything out of the ordinary?"
Snow looked around carefully, seeing their notepad and pen on the bedside table, a habit of Hyunwoo's during the night, when he used to write down business ideas in his sleep. Hyunwoo's briefcase on top of the desk chair. The desk with the mountains of untouched business papers, pens, and—
That's odd.
A singular white handkerchief, laid at the edge of the desk. It seemed familiar, but it couldn't have been Hyunwoo's considering he only liked to use navy blue handkerchiefs. Unless he had suddenly purchased one during the trip—
It hit her.
It was Yoongi's.
Her breath caught in her throat at the realization. No, she furrowed her eyebrows in thought. The thoughts ran through her head too quickly, unable to piece together the puzzle. He couldn't. He can't... Could he?
It could be any man's handkerchief. Though Snow remembered the first night he met him, drinking whiskey at the bar. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. It was white.
She didn't believe it. She couldn't. He couldn't.
"N-No," Snow swallowed, trying to keep her voice steady. "There's nothing that seems out of the ordinary. Sorry," she said, sending Namjoon a fake smile as she felt her stomach churn.
"That's alright. It just seems that one of our murderers was very careful," Namjoon nodded, walking out of the suite.
Or maybe they weren't.
She grabbed the handkerchief off of the desk.