"Taehyung, what does it mean if your ex-girlfriend says 'Good Morning' to you? In a normal, casual way?"
The laptop screen displayed Taehyung on his computer, rapidly clicking away on his mouse as he edited his client's photographs. Jungkook was back inside his gloomy home, his face lit up by the bluish hue of his computer screen. His hair was a long, tangled mess and his pretentious masks were off. Taehyung could see just exactly how pitiful his best friend was.
He briefly glanced at the camera. "Did Ahn Heiran say 'Good Morning' to you?"
Jungkook shook his head in denial. "No. It's a different guy. A friend."
Taehyung paused his activity and stared at the camera, right into Jungkook's soul. "You don't have any friends other than me and Seokjin. And Seokjin is married, so obviously this is about Ahn Heiran."
Jungkook gave up on the pretense, running his hands through his overgrown locks. "Fine. It's her. She greeted me in the elevator this morning. It was really natural too. What does that mean? Does that mean she's moved on?"
Taehyung sighed, resuming his clickity-clackity on his computer keyboard. "Maybe that's what she wants you to think."
Jungkook sat up straighter in his chair. "Right? So she's pretending like she has moved on. To make me feel miserable, right?"
Taehyung furrowed his forehead, "Maybe." Jungkook released a sigh of relief. "Or maybe she really did move one. I don't know. My name is not Ahn Heiran!"
"I know, Tae. But you're the one with relationship advice. So at least take a guess!" Jungkook implored. It was exasperating. He'd been thinking about it the entire day and could not get that greeting out of his mind. Just what was she thinking? What was she planning?
Taehyung rolled his eyes, "Fine, then. How did she look? Did she seem weird? Awkward? Was she watching you for a reaction?"
Jungkook slowly shook his head, "It wasn't awkward. It was really casual as I said. And she was not watching me for a reaction either."
"Hmmmm," Taehyung hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know. This is Ahn Heiran we're talking about. She's clever. She might still be acting to get under your skin, exactly like this."
Jungkook frowned worriedly, "I guess... But she looked better. She looked like she was doing well. Like she was happy... She even dyed her hair—"
"SHE DYED HER HAIR?!" Taehyung almost flung his keyboard in the air. "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"
Jungkook grew wary, "I didn't think it was that important. Why? What does that mean?"
"Of course, it's important! Girls dye their hair when they want to start a new phase of their lives."
Taehyung's sudden reaction was making him grow troubled. "A new phase of her life?"
"That means you're done, mate. You're done. She's moved the heck on and is living her life." Taehyung explained sarcastically. Jungkook dropped his head on the table, shaking.
"No. No. That can't be..."
"Why? Isn't this what you wanted?" Taehyung taunted, his attention back to his desktop.
Jungkook raised his head to look helplessly into the camera, "I don't know anymore!"
"Of course, you don't." His best friend murmured under his breath. "So. You want her back. Is that it?"
"I never wanted to leave her. I just wanted her to be safer. Happier." A pang shot through his heart as he said it. At least one of his intentions seemed to come true. She truly looked more content with her life now that he wasn't there to wreck it. Maybe he was holding her down all this time. A severe pain pulsed in his chest at what that meant. He was right. Heiran could never be happy with him. It was only right that she went where she found fulfillment.
"You can either beg at her feet to take you back, or move on and let her go, which is practically impossible for you. So be miserable for the rest of your life. Those are your only two options." Taehyung declared with a decisive clack on the keyboard. Jungkook slowly nodded his head.
"Right. At least one of us should find happiness."
"What are you going on about now?" Taehyung asked.
"I think I found my answer, Tae. This is for the best."
Taehyung's eyes widened, "Wait. JK." Jungkook's hands moved to end the call and Taehyung rushed to say his part, "I didn't mean it— Think about it some more! You can't give—"
The call ended and the call duration lit up on his laptop screen. Jungkook placed his arm over his eyes and sighed. The sound resonated loudly inside his empty room.
The hollowness of his heart was too much to bear. He didn't know how he was ever going to find out what happened to his father at this rate. He could barely focus on his work as it was. Would he ever be able to bring justice to the victims of Lys?
"Why..."
Jungkook flinched. The voice of Park Haneul echoed relentlessly in his mind. The nightmares never stopped, they came to torment him every single day. His hands began to shake. At the back of his mind, he could still feel the blood that stained his fingers. He was so pathetic. So weak.
The Nation's Hero? What a joke.
He was the Nation's sole disappointment.
* * *
The next day when Jungkook found Heiran near the east section of their office building, he decided that pretending to not see her was the best course of action for his mental sanity. However, when he passed by her trying hard not to lose his facade, Heiran called out to him, making it impossible to go through with his plan.
"Jungkook?"
Unknowingly, he inhaled a sharp breath, pausing at her voice. He turned to her, hoping that his facial expression was neutral as Heiran tapped her head with a cluster of mail in her hands, ashamed of her mistake. "Ah, my bad. Prosecutor Jeon Jungkook."
His throat felt dry and he swallowed. "Yes?"
"Your mail got mixed up with mine. Again. I was here to give it to you." She handed him a selection of the envelopes in her hand. He slowly accepted them, not letting the disappointment show on his face. What was he expecting? Of course. There was no other reason for her to be here. They had nothing more to talk about. He muttered a quiet 'thanks' to her.
Heiran prepared to leave and suddenly he felt that he was not yet ready to part with her presence. His mouth acted on its own before he could think twice. "Are you doing much better now?"
Heiran paused. She faced him and then she smiled a genuine smile. "I am."
"I'm glad to hear that." He replied awkwardly.
She returned the question, "What about you?"
Jungkook felt himself go rigid at her question. He knew the most adept reply would be to say that he was fine. To say that he was doing great, but somehow it felt as if Heiran could see right through him. She accepted his silence as an answer.
Nodding her head as if she had made her point, Heiran walked away. Jungkook stood watching until she disappeared from his view.
* * *
It was almost time to clock out when Yoongi came in for a visit with a big stack of case files for her upcoming trial.
"Ah, Yoongi, don't do this to me. I'm like trying to be healthy. Clocking out on time, eating proper food, getting 6 hours of sleep... You're messing it up right now." Heiran whined, dropping her pen on the table with a pout.
"Yeah, well, blame your job for that," Yoongi replied, dumping the stack of files right in front of her with a huge thump. "Heard you went to the east section today."
The question was phrased casually but Heiran picked up on what he was concerned about. "Yeah. A few of his emails got mixed up with mine. I handed it over to him."
Yoongi nodded his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "So. Are you completely over him now?"
Heiran sent him a dull stare, "I'm just waiting to see what happens next."
A light scoff left his lips. "Right. He's gonna come crawling right back. And when that happens, Heiran, you show him his place. You make him beg."
"Yes. Yas! I knew you were my best friend for a reason, Boongi." She slapped her palm on the table. Yoongi made a displeased noise at his old nickname, muttering under his breath. "Told you not to call me that anymore."
He tapped the stack of files, "Anyway. Look over those. You might find something helpful for the trial on Monday."
"Nah, actually there's a problem. One of the key evidence went missing, so I'm going to apply for a continuance while Kang finds me the damn rope." Heiran replied, revolving around on her revolving chair.
Yoongi nodded his head, walking back to the door. "Fine, then. So do you want me to wait up or are you driving your own car?"
"No need to leave my baby here all alone. I'm coming home in my own car after I take care of some things. You can go ahead."
"Alright then."
As Yoongi left the office, Heiran took one look at the enormous stacks of case files and groaned. "Argh! Kill me!"
Cursing out her job, she picked up one file and skimmed through the contents, trying hard to look on the bright side of things. However, it was a hard thing to do when you had about 40 thick precedents to look over for your impending trial. She released a long sigh. It looked like it won't be an early clock-out day today for her.
Heiran didn't realize how much time had passed as she read over the mind-bending details of the case proceedings. It wasn't until it became practically impossible for her to read did she turned on the light. The sky was gradually darkening to a dim sepia. The lights on the streets were turned on. Heiran took a moment to appreciate the view outside, watching the sky and the few straggling birds heading north. The shrill tone of her ringtone broke her out of her zone. Annoyed, she answered the call. "Hello, this is Prosecutor Ahn Heiran."
"Hei-Hei! What's up, baby?"
A shudder of revulsion ran down as she recognized the owner of that voice. Suho's voice crackled through her phone and she physically cringed. "What the f*ck? Did I not block you, as*hole?"
Suho sounded affronted, "You did. This is a different number."
"Right. This number is getting blocked too." She was about to hang up the call when he cried out, "Wait! I heard some things about you."
Heiran was not interested in the conversation. Still, she decided to see where he was going. "What things?"
"You're on the watch list, baby-doll. You better watch your back now." There was a certain malice in his voice that made the hairs on her arms stand up. Carefully, she asked. "What watch list?"
Suho burst out into a fit of demented laughter. The weird clarity of it sent chills down her spine. "I should have known there was an ulterior motive when you reached out to me back then out of the blue. You were just trying to use me after all. Little mousy's been sniffing around places she shouldn't be, huh?"
Heiran clenched her fists, feeling her heart race. That confirmed it. Suho knew why she met up with him at the Cafe on that day. He figured it out somehow. But how? Did he find out on his own? Or did someone inform him about it? Someone high up there?
"Baby, you don't know who we are~" He sang, sick pleasure in his tone. "You don't know what we can do. If you don't know your place, you might be in big trouble. Don't say I didn't warn ya."
"What the f*ck are talking about, sh*thead?" She bristled, trying to keep up the pretense. She didn't know what Suho knew or how much he knew. She had to keep him talking to make him reveal everything.
"I'm saying that if you don't keep your nose in your own business, hmm..." Suho hummed as if he were thinking long and hard, "I don't know. Maybe your boyfriend just might accidentally find himself in front of a truck that lost its brakes. And I can't guarantee that he'll make it out alive this time."
Motherfucker!" She snarled, slamming her hands on the table. "If you dare touch him, I'll make you regret that you ever met me."
A fit of raucous laughter resonated from the other side of the phone, Suho's snivelly voice grating on her eardrums. She hissed into the phone, "The hell are you laughing at?!"
"Run, little mousy, run~ If you don't want to miss the show— HA HA HA!"
The call ended, Suho's wicked laughter still ringing in her ears but Heiran was already rushing out the door, scrolling through her phone to find Jungkook's phone number to warn him. But no matter how much she searched through her contacts, it wasn't showing up. Had she deleted it in some drunken stupor? Or...did Yoongi delete it?
Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!
Heiran ran east towards Jungkook's office, trying to figure out if he'd already left. Seeing Minseo on her way, she called out to her. "Minseo, did Jungkook leave?"
Minseo nodded her head confused at her distressed state, "I just saw him getting on the elevator."
Heiran raced to the elevator and rapidly tapped down on the button to get it to open but the door wouldn't budge. The elevator was on the first floor. Sh*t. What if he was already out? She couldn't risk that.
Cursing her luck, she dashed towards the emergency exit and sprinted down the stairs, praying that he was alright, that she would get there in time. Please, Jungkook. Please. She mentally willed him to stop, to not go anywhere near danger. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, her heart pumped harder in fear of what was to come. Going down the stairs at full speed wearing high heels was never a great idea. Heiran was quickly reminded of that as she accidentally misstepped a step and went crashing down. She quickly tried to recover from her fall, trying to get back up when a piercing pain shot through her ankle.
Great, just great. Now she had to run on a sprained leg to reach him before whatever show Suho had planned could happen.
Thankfully, Ahn Heiran had been through tougher pains than a sprained ankle. Hissing out a sharp breath, she ran down the rest of the steps and hurried towards the parking lot, hoping against hope that his car was still there.
Her prayers were answered. The car was still there, but Jungkook was nowhere to be seen. Was he still inside the building? But that was not possible. He took the elevator before Heiran. Heiran couldn't have outrun the elevator. He must have reached the ground floor before her either way. The panic set in and her hands began to shake.
She clutched her head and forced herself to concentrate. Where can he have gone?
"Maybe your boyfriend just might accidentally find himself in front of a truck that lost its brakes. And I can't guarantee that he'll make it out alive this time."
The road-crossing. No.
Heiran darted out of the parking lot and outside the building area, her eyes searching for the road-crossing a few yards down the road. True to her deduction, Heiran found him waiting for the signal to turn green, clutching his phone in his hand and talking to someone she couldn't see. An immense relief coursed through her veins as she saw that he was fine. The skies were darkening and there were fewer vehicles on the road. He was fine. Had Suho tricked her? She couldn't risk being wrong. She called his name out loud, limping on her sprained ankle. He didn't turn his head. Was he ignoring her? No. He was wearing his earbuds and was speaking on the phone with someone. There was no way he would hear her at this distance with his stupid noise-canceling earbuds. She had to get closer to him.
The vehicles on the road were slowly gone and the light turned green. Jungkook began to cross the road. Heiran's anxiety grew a hundredfold. The streets were empty and there was no one in sight, but it didn't feel right. Heiran's intuition told her that something was wrong. She increased her pace, trying to catch his attention by waving her hands to no avail. He was watching his phone as he crossed the road, way too engaged in his phone call. Can the idiot just look at the road for once?
It was as she was trying to limp closer to him in vain that she saw it at a distance. A red Toyota speeding down the road in full sail headed straight for him. Her gut feeling was right. It was not a trick.
"JEON JUNGKOOK, MOVE!"
It was all going wrong. Jungkook hadn't noticed the car. He couldn't hear her no matter how hard she was screaming at the top of her lungs. That stupid noise-canceling earbuds were way too effective. Or was it because he was so engaged in whatever conversation he was having on the phone? The car was nearing him way too fast. At that speed, it won't stop on time even if it applies its break. There was only one thing left for her to do.
"You jerk, if I die, I'm coming back to haunt your a*s all the way to hell!" Heiran clenched her fists and raced to the oblivious man on the road, ignoring the searing pain on her right ankle, her hands outstretched. She focused all her strength on her legs. Thankfully, she reached him in the nick of time and pushed him off to the other side of the road. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, YOU LOSER—"
However, Heiran's cheap monthly subscription to her luck must have run out because her heels decided to snap at that exact moment. She lost her balance and went crashing to the asphalt. The momentum of her fall let her roll a little distance away from the oncoming vehicle but Heiran's brain had already registered the truth even before she hit the ground: she was dead. As her body slowed to a halt, she curled in on herself, covering her head with her hands, and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for her impending doom. The harsh squeal of the tires was loud in her ears. It was all ending too soon. Her death was too sudden. She still had a lot to do. She still had a lot to say to her family. To Yoongi. And to him. But now it was all worthless.
Haa, at least it's a heroic death like I've always wanted.
Heiran was still waiting for the pain, her muscles tensed, her heart rate through the roof, and her eyes firmly shut, but it never came. There was a heavy silence in the air.
Was she already dead?
She gradually opened her eyes to the empty road. Was this the road to heaven?
Jungkook's terrified scream shattered the silence. "HEIRAN!" Then there was the sound of rapid footsteps. Heiran frowned. What was he doing here?
Her eyes widened as a possibility dawned on her. Did that loser jump in front of the car?! She let out a frustrated huff. That idiot would definitely do that. All her sacrifice was in vain. The one thing she had heroically forfeited her life for had let her down. Why, oh, why did I give up my life for this absurd fool?!
However, something didn't seem right. The road to heaven looked awfully close to the road to her office building. She could even see the same old monochrome building in the distance. What?
Heiran felt her head being lifted off the ground, her line of vision shifting to Jungkook's pale, frightened face. "Ran, please. Please, no."
"I'm not dead," Heiran whispered out in awe, the statement aimed at the both of them as the realization hit her. At her voice, Jungkook stilled. His eyes were red and glimmery. His hands were shaking so badly that it made her brain rattle. Heiran thought she might as well have been lying down on a massaging chair.
"OH LORD! ARE YOU OKAY?!" She heard a middle-aged male's voice. " I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen!"
Heiran quickly sprung up from his lap to assess the situation. The car had stopped to a halt at about 10 inches distance from where she was lying. Its driver was on the road, sitting on his knees with his head bowed, his body trembling like a leaf. "I'm so sorry! My wife is at the hospital, going into labor. I was trying to reach the hospital quickly.."
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? DO YOU NOT HAVE EYES?!"
If Heiran thought she had seen all levels of Jungkook's rage, she was sorely mistaken. Jungkook's fury knew no bounds. The vein on his temple was pulsing beneath his skin, his fingers clenching into hard fists that Heiran could see them trembling with unreleased strength as he glowered at the man.
The driver of the car bowed his head to the floor. He was an older man with a few graying hairs and vulnerable eyes. No matter how she looked at the situation, Heiran's gut feeling told her that this person wasn't actively trying to kill Jungkook. He fearfully tried to explain. "I was on the phone with my wife, I failed to look at the road. I didn't see that there was a person there, sir. I'm extremely sorry. It's all my fault! I will pay for your treatment!"
Jungkook's loud yells must have been making quite a commotion. Heiran spied a white truck slowly passing by on the other line, its driver looking out the window to watch the drama. He made eye contact with Heiran. The moment he did, he quickly closed his windows and sped away. She frowned. She would have chalked it up to a random coincidence but to her trained eyes, the lack of a license plate on that vehicle was glaringly obvious. There was only one possible reason Heiran could think of at the moment for why the truck was missing a license plate.
It did not want to be traced.
She gasped. Jungkook was saved by pure luck. It must be fate that caused this timely coincidence. If this middle-aged man hadn't been speeding, who knows if Heiran would've been able to save Jungkook on time? Even if she did manage to save him, she shuddered to imagine what would have happened to her.
Oblivious to all of it, Jungkook captured the man by his collar. "Does a 'sorry' fix the damage you did?! What if you had hurt her badly? What if you had killed her?" He slammed the man's back against his car, "Do you want to go to prison for manslaughter?! Is that what you want? I bet your unborn child would be so proud."
He was far too gone in his rage. It looked like he was in some sort of trance.
"JEON JUNGKOOK!" Heiran called his name sharply, trying to snap him out of his anger. "That's enough!"
Jungkook's grip loosened at her voice. He slowly dropped his hands, breathing deep breaths to reign back his temper. Turning her attention to the frightened man beside him, Heiran said, "It's okay. You may go now, sir."
"A-are you sure you're okay? I can take you to the hospital. I can pay for your medical bills," the man insisted, looking at her arms. Heiran had scraped her elbow against asphalt and now her sleeve was torn and blood trickled down her hand. Now that the adrenaline was slowly wearing off, she was beginning to feel the pain. Still, she shook her head. "No need for that. You can go."
As she tried to lift herself up, Jungkook took her arm and helped her up, his body still incredibly tense. As soon as she was back on her feet, Heiran tried to pull away only for the sake of her pride. "Thanks, I got it." However, one step and severe pain jolted up her leg from her sprained right ankle. She gasped.
Jungkook rolled his eyes with a frustrated sigh and grabbed her arm, hooking it around the back of his neck as he seized her waist with the other hand for support. Heiran pursed her lips helplessly. She was in no position to decline his help. Pride be damned.
"I don't want to go to the hospital," she meekly relayed, knowing full well what Jungkook would take her.
"You're going there. End of discussion," he hissed as they slowly made their way away from the road.
"It's not that serious, I just need a few bandages." She pressed but he had no plans to give in. "Let the doctor decide that."
"But I hate hospitals!" Heiran did not like how whiny she was beginning to sound.
"I don't care."
"Ugh, you're such a jerk!"
"Call me whatever you want."
"Just take me to a pharmacy for god's sake!"
"Not another word."
A/n: Heiran's still pretty much prideful. At the rate it's going, it will probably take ten more episodes for Heiran to reach the appropriate character development for them to get back together. But that's the sad thing about character development, it can't be rushed.
Anyway, how did you like the chapter? Was it fun? I don't know if the song really fits the chapter but I loved it so I just wanted to incorporate it somewhere. Any SpiderMan fans here?