The day of discharge had arrived and Jungkook couldn't wait to be released from the prison that was the hospital bed and be back at home taking rest, ideally with his lovely girlfriend. But the said girlfriend was nowhere in sight, running errands and getting discharge papers ready as he packed his belongings. He tried not to pout.
"Ready to go?" Heiran appeared by the doorway. He turned around with a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am."
Fifteen minutes later, Jungkook sat in the passenger seat, watching Heiran drive. She was deep in thought, one hand on the steering, the other hand resting on the door, a finger tapping the diamond on her nose as she did every time she was in her mental zone. He wondered what it was that made her eyebrows furrow or her eyes crinkle. What was it that made her nibble on her thumb ever so gently as if it were an unconscious habit? And why was she ethereal even when she positively appeared tired? Now that he took a closer look, her complexion had paled to an unhealthy tone. Guilt tugged at his chest; it was probably because of him. He should have cared more about her well-being than getting obsessed with his crazed mission. It was a fool's errand. Catching the criminal organization won't bring his father and mother back to life. He knew that.
But it would save many lives like his parents.
At a stop sign, Jungkook took her hand and gave a squeeze, snapping her out of her thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"
Heiran sighed, "I was wondering if exposing the NightShade clinic is the best way to go. Exposing one won't bring them all down. If anything, it will only alert the others and make the job harder."
Jungkook frowned, "Do you have evidence?"
"I have a feeling I will. I'm taking the pills from NightShade to Dohyeok to get them tested. Once I can prove that the formula of the pills matches that of the ones in your father's journal, I can expose them."
Jungkook straightened in surprise, "The pills in the journal. Why didn't I think of that?"
Heiran, his clever Heiran, had made so much progress than he had ever made, it seemed. It warmed his heart. Why hadn't he let her in from the beginning? But he stopped. No, he couldn't let her get involved. He feared what they would do to her if they discovered her. He had seen the worst extent of what they could, things he had never told her, and never will. He had lost his mother. His father. He couldn't lose her too.
"I already tested them. They were strong hallucinogens. Brain-eating drugs, Dohyeok said. They were initially banned. Never passed approval. I'm going to get the ones from the clinic tested today. Mind if I stop by the Forensic office?"
"Wait. Where did you get the pills from?" he questioned, feeling a sense of dread. "Don't tell me. Did they give it to you when you admitted yourself to the clinic?"
The thought scared him. They had dared to give Heiran those vile substances? How dare they try to target her? It made his blood boil.
"Calm your man-t*ts," Heiran ordered, noting the brewing storm in his expression. "They only gave me OTC pain pills. Trust me. That's the first thing I checked as soon as I got my hands on it. Those pills are someone else's. Namjoon's wife had those."
Jungkook edged closer to her side, amazed at that new piece of information. "Namjoon? Do you mean Kim Namjoon? Our old lay witness?"
"Yes. His wife..." Heiran's lips turned down in sympathy, "I think she was a victim."
"That's cruel," he murmured.
"Exactly. That's why I should do this even if it isn't your personal battle. I promised him."
Jungkook felt fear grip his chest. No, this wasn't how he wanted this to go. It seemed as if the situation was spiraling more and more out of his control. Heiran couldn't join him on the hunt. She just couldn't.
"Jungkook," she broke the silence, "Why do you think they didn't kill you?"
He raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry, did you want me dead?"
Heiran shot him an unimpressed stare. He huffed out a short laugh, "I think it's because they recognized who I was. It's one thing to kill a no-name civilian and pass it off as suicide. But it's an entirely different issue if it's a well-known national treasure, don't you think?" He shot her a wink. Heiran gave him a wry look. "Concealing it as suicide won't do. It will attract too much unwanted attention to them."
She nodded her head, thinking. "But you said you were in Itaewon. How come you ended up back here near Yeongsan?"
"I think it was a warning," Jungkook said light-heartedly, trying his best to make light of the situation so that he won't scare her. "I think they wanted to tell me that I would end up like the victims of my most famous case if I didn't back off."
"Or..." Heiran trailed off, not finishing the sentence as the color drained from her face. She looked alarmed. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. He could only guess. Heiran was sometimes like that. Inaccessible. Always an enigma.
He gave a squeeze to her shoulder, "Or nothing. I'm not going to die, Ran."
"You better not."
The car turned into the parking lot of the Forensic office and Dr. Cha Dohyeok was already waiting for her at the entrance. Heiran parked the car and unbuckled her seat belt. As he watched, she placed a hand on his backrest, her eyes on him.
What was this?
Was it indeed what he thought it was?
Wide-eyed and with anticipation, he waited to confirm his suspicion when she rose from her seat and leaned forward, her face nearing his before he could think. She was so close he could smell the faint smell of her shampoo. The scent of citrus was so sweet it was dizzying. Locks of blond hair brushed against his arms and it made the hairs behind his neck stand up. His heart beating rapidly fast, his eyes fluttered shut in reflex and his head careened forward without a second thought when he felt her other hand push his face out of the way.
"Don't embarrass yourself."
His eyes shot open and he looked at her confused and mildly disoriented when she pulled down a compartment of her dashboard situated in front of him and took out a bottle of pills. Damn it. That was embarrassing. Yet, he couldn't deny the pull the close proximity of her had created. He gave her an annoyed stare for not going along with it, clenching his teeth. Heiran ignored it.
"Stay in the car and rest. I'll be back soon." She ordered.
Before she could open the door, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Heiran yelped in shock as her mouth crashed against his and he claimed what was his with his lips. After a second or two, she pulled away and shot him a glare, "For god's sake, Jungkook, I almost chipped my teeth against yours!"
He only shot her a look of triumph before exiting the car, stretching his hands above his head. "Ha, I missed this place."
"I told you to stay in the car," Heiran said, nursing her incisors with her tongue, trying to detect any jagged edges.
"Nope." He simply stated as he followed Heiran toward a man he found vaguely familiar. Ah, Dr. Cha Do Hyeok, the forensic officer friend of Heiran's. Jungkook's feelings towards the particular man were mixed. On one hand, he was grateful for the timely intel he had given Jungkook seven months before at the height of the Yeongsan murders that helped him save the love of his life from certain death. On the other hand, Jungkook deeply suspected his intentions. His senses were tingling. This man with his annoyingly profound dimples and a smile that was a tad bit too bright was suspicious.
"Dohyeok! Are you on lunch break?" Heiran jogged up to him with a charming grin. Jungkook hadn't seen her smile at him for the last three days. The little fact irritated him more than it should have.
"Yup. I got your text and thought I would meet you down here. I see you've finally found the missing boyfriend." Dohyeok's eyes slid up to him. Jungkook gave him a curt nod.
"Hello, we meet again," he was greeted with a polite smile.
Jungkook had to correct him and say that they had not officially met ever before but he refrained.
"Hello. Ran told me that you were helping her out," he offered, carefully.
"Ah, yes. When she came to me asking for a big favor for a highly dangerous mission, it was a bit concerning. I felt that I should try my best to help." Dohyeok said calmly, his smile intact despite his scrutinizing stare. Jungkook didn't particularly like his subtle implication. He suspected that he was taking an indirect jab at him for not keeping Heiran safe.
"Ran has a knack for being reckless and inviting trouble," he slid his hands deep into his pockets, surveying Dohyeok. "But I'll keep her in check from now on."
"You guys! I'm right here." Heiran huffed, rolling her eyes. However, both men were engaged in an intense staring contest, sizing each other up, and unwilling to back out to respond to her. Tension crackled in the air, so thick was its presence that it was palpable. Slowly, it seemed to climax as the windy parking lot made it harder to keep their eyes open and it became a matter of who gave in to nature and closed their eyes first to determine victory.
"What are you guys doing?" She questioned but neither of them answered.
Jungkook curled his fist and kept his eyes open, despite them feeling a bit teary and hot. He refused to close them however windy the parking lot may be; he refused to back down. Tears were beginning to cloud his eyes yet he kept his composure, trying to stare as intimidatingly as possible when Heiran punched his arm, breaking his eye contact. He blinked on impulse and winced at the automatic defeat.
"Jungkook, stop making Dohyeok uncomfortable. What is wrong with you?"
He was flabbergasted. The audacity of her to defend another man right in front of his eyes.
"Ignore him, Dohyeok," she told him, shaking her head. She tossed the pill bottle in the air toward him and he caught it with ease. "Here, these are the pills. Protect them with your soul because I have a feeling the results will be in our favor."
"Really? That's incredible. You can finally sack them with hard evidence. This is a start!"
What's he getting so worked up for? Jungkook thought, vexedly. As their conversation continued, he couldn't help but wonder just how much Dohyeok knew. From their discussion, he seemed to know quite a bit. Jungkook did not like that.
He especially hated Dohyeok's eyes as he talked. They were abnormally sparkly. Jungkook himself had experienced the sparkly-eyed effect often. Taehyung mentioned that it was most prominent when he was in Heiran's presence. Like a golden retriever on pills, Taehyung had described.
"I hope everything goes well. Don't forget to reach out to me if you need any help." Dohyeok was saying and she nodded her head, "I will. Thanks for your help, Hyeok. I mean it."
Jungkook whipped his head around to her. Hyeok? Was that a nickname??
"Anytime, Heiran. And call me if your boyfriend's giving you trouble again. I'm always available for you to rant," Dohyeok offered, holding his hands open in a wickedly friendly gesture. Jungkook snapped his head around back to him, and Dohyeok seemed to be staring right at him with a lopsided smirk. The audacity—
He pushed Heiran behind him, out of sight, "Ahem, I don't think there will be any need for that—"
"Ok! I'll call you, Dohyeok." She piped from behind his back and Jungkook turned around just to give her a stare of disbelief. She grinned at Dohyeok and some understanding seemed to pass between them. Jungkook absolutely did not like that.
With a joyful farewell, Heiran skipped back to their car with Jungkook following closely behind. Just as they were about to enter, Dohyeok called back. "Oh, and don't forget about that dinner date!"
Jungkook almost gave himself a whiplash, snapping his head around for the umpteenth time.
"Don't worry, I won't," Heiran replied with a chuckle before she got into the car.
Jungkook pulled the door open and as soon as he was inside the vehicle, he yelled, "Ahn Heiran! Did you agree to go on a date with a guy? When I'm here? Right in front of me?!"
But she was laughing as buckled her seatbelt, her eyes crinkling with humor, a weird fondness in her eyes.
"Why are you laughing? What's funny?" He asked indignantly, closing the car door.
"I promised to treat him to dinner as a thank-you for saving my life, Jungkook. Calm down." She was still laughing, but Jungkook wasn't mollified.
"He doesn't seem to have the same idea. Why does he think it's a date?" He clearly couldn't see the humor in the situation. Heiran was wheezing at his expression.
"Jungkook," she called in between her laughter, "Did I ever tell you how adorable you look when you are jealous?"
Jungkook was taken aback. Although he felt mildly elevated by the compliment, he did not let that show. "Answer me."
"He said it that way because we were both obviously teasing you! And what's even funnier is that you missed that!" Heiran was still giggling about his naivety when he stared at her in absolute incredulity.
Gullible Heiran. His vulnerable Heiran. Did she not see all the subtle nuances that were hidden under his well-maintained phony exterior? Did she really believe that they had just been sharing a mutual joke?
"Ran, don't you see..." he trailed off, incredulously.
"See what?"
That giddy smile said it all. Poor Heiran. His precious oblivious Heiran couldn't see it. Hell, she didn't even see his advances a year before until he outright confessed to her face. Even Taehyung had told him that he was being pathetically obvious.
In that case... Maybe it was best that he didn't tell her. Heiran wouldn't notice him if she didn't know. Soon he will get disheartened by her complete unawareness. He should know. He was once at the receiving end of it. The only man she had to notice was there, sitting right beside her. Jungkook smiled a devious smile.
"That's right, Ran."
"What?" Heiran glanced at him briefly, a little concerned at his tone.
A dark cackle burst out of his lips.
"That's right. Focus on me. You're doing great."
A/n: As a break from all the action before we get into the intense stuff, here's 2K word count chapter of simply Jungkook simping for his girlfriend.