Author's POV:
You were crying. Your tears didn't stop.
"I... I..." You were crying so hard, that you choked on your tears. Jo was panicking about seeing you. This wasn't how you ever cried. This cry was loud and painful, unlike any other cry you'd ever cried in front of them.
"D-Dad!" You cried out, hiding your face in your palms.
"M-Mom... w-was there... t-too." You cried out. You felt a big presence near you.
"Sir.." Jo's voice sounded low and hesitant. You had no idea what was happening around you, you were busy crying.
Your body froze a little when you felt a pair of large arms around you. He didn't look at you, he looked at somewhere which wasn't you. He knew you'd hate anyone seeing you like this. You looked down and cried, you couldn't protest about whatever he was doing right now. You needed this.
You heard footsteps leaving the room but the pair of arms around you didn't move an inch. You couldn't help but lean into the embrace of those arms. You kept sinking in deeper until you were against a big hard chest. Your face was buried in his chest, you knew. His arms wrapped around you, securely. He pulled you closer, slowly stroking your back.
"It's okay." You heard an edge in his voice making you feel a little different. He sounded like he was also hurt or somewhat... angry. And that was something you couldn't understand.
"We're doing exactly what your dad wished to." He spoke, in a low voice. You shook your head and cried harder.
"D-Dad c-couldn't d-die... for... Uncle w-won't..." You couldn't continue. He hummed and said, "It's okay, don't talk. Let it out."
"Why?" You asked, still crying. He didn't answer anything, just continued to stroke your back lightly. You were crying so hard. But after what seemed like 10 minutes, you slowly calmed down a bit. The entire time, Taehyung didn't even move a bit, not even an inch. He sat there, hugging you closely—like a statue.
His scent was surrounding you and somehow, the dark woody scent which you hated with all your gut was now comforting you. Everything about this was making a way to your heart. It felt different, your heart ached more.
Unlike all those times when you had people by your side, yet you felt like you were all alone in this world. Unlike all those lonely days when Tzuyu was right beside you but you had no courage to share about your feelings with her. Today was different. You were sure these people around you were not on your side, you were alone. Yet, this was the exact moment when you felt comforted and validated. They were the ones who were supposed to make you feel lonely but you realized it wasn't them.
You weren't lonely yet you were very lonely. But now, you were lonely yet not lonely at all. These very people around you who you were sure would never be anything to you and would make your life worse were the ones being the shoulder to cry on. Especially—him. Him, who you were so hateful about, someone you hated with all you had.
And the fact that the ones you loved were the ones who betrayed you and the ones who you hated were the shoulder to cry on was making it worse. It was breaking you even more—more than you could handle.
You clutched on his t-shirt, your grip tightening. He felt you shaking your head. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he said, "And I'll make sure that every single one of them... who hurt your parents and those innocent people get the punishment they deserve... or even worse."
You could feel his jaw tightening over your head. A sense of security arose in you. The way only he made you feel, every time you were faced with danger or hurt. He always stood like that pillar in front of you. A pillar on who you vented all your anger at first but then leaned onto the pillar, letting out everything within you. Because even if you broke, the pillar wouldn't. It would hold you and be your support from falling.
This was exactly what he was doing right now. Something you could've never expected from him but this was it, the reality.
—Time skip
"Hey, look. The cookies are delicious. You said you'd have them later. Maybe have one now. It'll be comforting." Jo said as you stared at the cookies with your puffy eyes.
"I don't want to." You said, your voice sounding hoarse. After all, that crying, it had been 30 minutes. Nobody brought a word about the evidence yet, only tried to let you rest which didn't go unnoticed by you. The fact that they cared, about you. Maybe not about you but it still felt nice. You missed this feeling.
"I remember saying that I don't want this to go to waste. It was hard making it." Taehyung spoke. You looked at him and then at his T-shirt. His black t-shirt was soaked in your tears and probably some snot as well which was utterly disgusting to you and he should've been grumpy but he didn't say anything. He didn't change his shirt either, he just stayed there, not quite moving.
"I'm sorry for that." You whispered, pointing at his wet t-shirt as he said, "It's okay."
"You should change."
"If you cry again, two T-shirts of mine will go to waste. I can't afford to get all my T-shirts wet. I brought only 5 of them, unlike you." He said. You frowned a little. Somehow what he said was funny but also offending but also, his tone wasn't rude. It was warm. You didn't even know how to explain this. You just scoffed lightly and looked at the cookies.
You saw Jo take a piece and moan in delight. Taehyung scrunched his face and stared at Jo in disgust who apologized for his moaning. You sighed and looked at Azure who was meowing to you.
"It's okay, I know." You whispered to her. Taehyung noticed you both and said, "You're similar. She also likes cookies. But she can't have them."
"Really?" You asked, your face brightening a little in curiosity. He nodded.
"It's good, Y/N- Sorry, Ms Y/N. You'd be stupid not to try this out!" Jo spoke. You just looked at him before saying, "Well... I'm probably younger than you and I also call you Jo. So you can call me Y/N."
"Really? I thought you didn't want us to be casual."
"We couldn't be any more casual than this." You said, sighing. He chuckled and nodded.
"Okay, then! Y/N." He said. You smiled faintly. Taehyung just sat there quietly.
"And... you can too. Not like you call me by my name but if you do." You said. He simply nodded and stared at the cookies. You got a feeling that he was waiting for you to try out the cookie. You took a cookie, staring at it. This was what you had been craving for so long. You thought that you'd be eating this after you escaped from the hellhole. Cookies with Tzuyu while you share your sob story of 3 months of torture. But your plans were all diverted into something else.
You were now eating cookies with your kidnappers and your little friend, Azure. Maybe, calling them kidnappers now was becoming too mean. After the past week, you wondered if they could be called kidnappers.
They were just like people. Just... a little hard to understand. And quite secretive. Which always made a wall appear between you all. But as they started letting the wall down, you also realized how nice they were.
The choco chip cookies were big. And they were soft. You could sense it. They smelled delicious too. A feeling of familiarity and warmth spread across you causing your eyes to become moist again.
You took a bite of the choco chip cookie and immediately closed your eyes. The chip seemed to melt in your mouth, the bursts of chocolate felt so good. Just like the ones you had at home. Or maybe... it'd hurt to admit but this one tasted better in a way. Maybe because this was something you were eating while your heart was aching. But it tasted different, it tasted better. It somehow left a signature of him, the one who baked it.
"Are you sure you baked this?!" You asked. He nodded. You smiled and said, "It's really... good."
Your eyes became teary again as you took another bite. He looked at you, his lips forming a faint smile. A real one. Just like that day when he was injured and he thanked you. You stared at his lips and then at his eyes, your eyes became bigger than their usual size.
Jo stared at Mr Kim, a grin appearing on his face. You could say that he also saw his smile rarely. You looked at Taehyung before looking at Jo. The smiles on their faces were radiating warmth. This wasn't what you had ever seen. Never in the past 1 month and 17 days, you had seen them smile like this, not at you.
It felt like you all were friends. You couldn't help but smile back. His smile made a spark ignite in your heart. One which you were ignoring but your face couldn't. You smiled back, your teeth visible.
"Sometimes you both act kind." You said, sort of in disbelief as you chewed the cookies.
"Talking while eating is bad manners." Taehyung said as you frowned saying, "Nevermind, I take it back." Jo chuckled and said, "Well, it's nice to know that we aren't as bad as before."
You nodded and smiled a little, taking another cookie. Taehyung's gaze followed your hands.
You looked at him, expecting to see him regretting his decisions or wondering why you ate so much. But to your surprise, he looked like he wanted this. He just watched you eat one after another and when you stopped, he said, "What did this one do wrong?"
"I ate 5. I'll die out of sugar." You spoke, confused about his behaviour.
"Right, sir... she'll die out of sugar or get diabetes," Jo spoke, a little worried. Taehyung just sighed and said, "Okay. But if it cheers you up, eat one more."
"You sound weird," Jo spoke, weirded out. But Taehyung rolled his eyes.
"So, about the evidence.." You spoke, but your voice came out weaker than you wanted it to. Both the men looked at you, a little hesitant.
"It's fine... I mean, I... my father's wish is more important." You said, but you didn't sound convincing. You were hurt and it was obvious. Taehyung sighed and said, "We'll search for it with your help tomorrow. We're tired today. We still have 2 days."
You frowned and said, "But we-"
"It's going to be done tomorrow. That's it." He got up and left the room as Jo said, "Please know that he means it's for your good. Because tonight is a little... sad. You know. It's okay, take your time throughout the night. We can start tomorrow. We need you to trust us."
"What about the whole story? The voice clip didn't say everything."
"We'll tell it to you tomorrow, maybe. Today wouldn't be nice to spill everything out." Jo said. You nodded, looking down.
"Well, sir's right. Another cookie won't hurt. You know, just in case.." He smiled and got up, taking Azure with him. You stared at the door. The room was now empty and a part of you wanted them to return, sit down and just exist. Right now, you wanted someone to exist besides you. They, precisely.
And a part of you knew, after everything you had heard. Your uncle being a part of the corruption wasn't confirmed yet. You had no idea and you refused to believe that he could kill your father. If he did, why would he take care of you afterwards? It didn't make any sense. But you knew that maybe your uncle did have something to do with it. It wasn't Taehyung who convinced you to do it but it was your dad, himself. The voice clip. And you knew well, that this night wouldn't go easy. You had countless things to figure out.