The dimly lit alley is covered with dried leaves, and your heart pounds like a desperate drumbeat, chest heaving with fear. Sweat drips off your temples as you attempt to push away his hand, seeking any escape, but the knife sinks deeper into your flesh.
"Don't try to act smart, detective. If you move an inch, I will slit open your neck," a voice behind you warns. You shut your eyes tightly. Your soul screams for help, but your mouth remains silent as the grave.
"Stop investigating this case. Take your team and get out of our village. Tomorrow morning, if I see any of your team in the village, you will be the first to die. RIP in advance, girl. HaHaHaHa......HaHaHa," a cruel grin curls on his lips.
A stone hits right across the masked man's face, and he drops his knife. Seizing the chance, you escape his grip, delivering a swift kick to his stomach. He falls down, groaning in pain. Jungkook rushes towards you, and the masked man attempts to flee. You move to catch him, but Jungkook pulls you back.
"Where do you think you are going?" he screams.
"We need to catch the culprit. He is running away. Leave me; I need to catch him," you insist.
"Don't you realize how hurt you are? Do you care about your injury?" he asks, his eyes red, and his face drowning in tears. A red liquid drips from your fingers, flowing from your neck. It stings harder when you recall the earlier scene. Jungkook pulls you to sit on a bench. He kneels down in front of you, takes out his handkerchief, and gently presses it on your wound, looking at you with puppy eyes.
Jungkook calls Jimin, "Hyung, Y/N is hurt. There is no hospital in this village; what should I do?" His voice is fragile, trying hard not to let out a sob.
"What? How did she get hurt? How bad is it?" Jimin screams through the phone.
"She has a deep cut on her neck. She is loosing blood, i dont have time. I will tell you the details later Hyung," Jungkook says, concerned.
"Okay, okay. Take her to the clinic near the restaurant we ate at. We will be there before you. Don't worry; I will arrange everything," Jimin reassures.
"Let's go to the hospital," Jungkook says, lifting you bridal style and starting to run.
"My neck is injured, not my legs. Drop me; I can walk," you protest.
Don't talk. It will make the pain worse," he said, and he was right; the pain was excruciating. Jungkook ran with you in his arms, and your focus was on the veins popping out of his sweaty neck. You wanted to capture the sight into your heart, but you were slowly losing consciousness. Jungkook reached the clinic, and Jimin was waiting outside with a stretcher. Jungkook laid you down on the bed, and though you were not fully awake, you could still feel the pain in your neck. The doctor examined your wound.
"There is no internal damage, but the cut is deep, so I have to stitch it," the doctor said. Soon after, a nurse arrived with a tray full of medical supplies for stitching. The doctor cleared your wound and gave you anesthesia before stitching and placing a bandage. "Let her stay here for the night; you can take her back tomorrow morning," the doctor said to Jungkook.
You slept peacefully until a prickling sensation on your neck woke you. Opening your eyes, you found no one around. You were in a hospital gown, not wearing your clothes. You sat on the bed, recalling the past few hours, remembering how Jungkook ran with you in his arms and how you passed out. The concerned look on Jungkook's face lingered in your mind. Glancing out of the window, you saw a big, shining moon peering inside. Rushing outside, you discovered an empty clinic. In a tiny room, a nurse was in slumber. Outside, Jungkook sat on a bench, staring at the moon. You sat beside him, and his blank eyes softened when they met yours.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, concerned.
"Trying to participate in the debate you are having with the Moon," you replied, gazing at the moon.
He looked back at the moon and said, "It's not a debate because it never answers any of my questions."
"Why don't you ask them to me? Maybe I can answer them," you suggested.
"Will you be able to calm my heart that is beating crazily?" he asked with a blank face, making you choke on your saliva. You coughed hard.
"See, I know you can't answer them. Now let's go inside; you will catch cold," he said, getting up and offering a hand for you to hold. You slapped his hand away and whispered with a small pout, "Such a tease, I told you to spend less time with Jiminshi."
You both went inside, and he helped you lay on the bed, covering you with a blanket. "Aren't you sleeping?" you asked.
"No, I am guarding you," he replied.
"The sun will rise in a few hours. You should take enough rest. We have a long day to uncover the truth," you said.
"I am fine; you should sleep," Jungkook insisted, settling on the couch. Knowing Jungkook's stubborn nature, you kept quiet. You observed him working on the laptop, appearing both warm and cold. Your eyes focused on the mole under his lips, then traveled down to his jawline, amazed by its shape. Slowly, your eyes moved from his jawline to his collarbone, and you heard a deep voice, "Staring at me won't help you sleep." In second-hand embarrassment, you hid your face under the blanket.
"He has the eyes of an eagle," you murmured to yourself.
~
The sun greeted the day with its bright radiance, marking the beginning of another crucial day. You woke up, realizing you had slept for an extended period. The big bunny was nowhere to be found. A nurse approached, offering a cheerful, "Good morning, Y/N-shi. How are you feeling now?"
"Hi, I'm good," you replied with a soft smile.
"Let me check your wound," she said, removing the bandage. After cleaning the area and applying some red medicine, she affixed a plaster. As you stretched your neck slightly, you remarked, "Oh, this is more comfortable than the gauze."
"Don't stretch like that, or the stitches will break. Be careful for two weeks. Don't overstress yourself, avoid putting too much pressure on your neck, and take complete rest for at least a week," the nurse advised, providing all the necessary precautions and fresh clothes that Taehyung had bought for you.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to follow any of that," you said, getting up from the bed.
"Where are you going?" the nurse asked with concern.
"To catch a mad wolf," you replied, rushing toward the washroom to change clothes. You opted for black skinny jeans, a white tank top under a black leather jacket.
You went outside and found Taehyung talking to the doctor. He rushed to you, asking, "Where are you going?" while following you outside.
"To set the trap," you replied, tying your hair into a high ponytail.
"Jungkook instructed not to let you go out. He asked me to protect you. You don't know how mad he will get if you roam outside like this. Please listen to me; let's go back," Taehyung pleaded, grabbing your wrist.
You stoped, went closer, unlocked your wrist from his grip, and said, "The criminal dared me. He warned me to get out of this case. How dare he touch me with his filthy hands and slice my neck. I still remember his voice clearly, and I have a suspect. I will catch and punish him myself." Your red eyes and fuming expression stopped Taehyung's breath. He released a long breath and followed you.
"So, how are we setting the trap, actually?" he asked.
"Let's find some clues first," you replied.
"Where?" he asked.
"To the president's house," you answered with a smirk.
"And why exactly?" he inquired.
"Because everything started from there. The reason for all these deaths is Min-ah, the president's wife," you explained.
"She is the reason? How? I heard she is mentally unstable," he asked, trying to keep up with your pace.
"This story started 35 years ago. But I still need to figure out why the revenge is delayed 35 years," you said.
"Revenge? Whose? For whom?" he bombarded you with questions.
"Stop asking questions; you will figure out everything. Have patience," you snapped at him.
You both reached the president's house. "You go inside and keep him busy talking until I signal you to come out. Okay?" you explained.
"You're not coming?" he asked.
"I am, but not from the front door," you replied, leaving before Taehyung could ask more questions. He was left confused, but he got his mission to follow. Taehyung went inside and called the president.
"Hi, Detective-nim. Anything I can help you with?" President asked.
"Just wanted to talk to you about the case," Taehyung replied.
"Come inside. Let's talk," President offered.
"No, let's talk outside. Isn't the sun beautiful today? Vitamin D is good for health, you know," Taehyung replied, trying hard not to stutter. The president looked confused over Taehyung's behavior, but he agreed nevertheless.
Meanwhile, you effortlessly jumped inside the house from the window. Carefully looking around, you found the house empty. Going directly to Min-ah's room, you opened the door slowly. Min-ah was in a deep slumber. You went inside and locked the door from within. While searching the room, you opened all the wardrobes and cupboards but found nothing. Sighing in irritation, you sat down.
"It has to be somewhere around. I clearly saw it here," you talked to yourself. Your eyes landed on a white drawing book under the pillow. Slowly taking it out to avoid waking Min-ah, you whispered, "Found it," and looked around for somthing more. Then your eyes fell on a diary Min-ah held close to her heart. Kneeling down, you tried to remove Min-ah's grip over the diary steadily.
On the other hand, Taehyung was asking nonsensical questions to the president, doing his best to keep him busy.
"How long have you been living in this house, Ahjussi?" Taehyung asked the president.
"Since I was born, my grandpa built this house ages ago," he replied.
"How many doors do you have? Do you have a back door?" Taehyung questioned.
"How is that even relevant for this case?" President reversed the question, irritated by Taehyung wasting his precious time. Taehyung sensed President's irritation and laughed hysterically, wiping his sweaty palms.
"HaHaHa, it was a personal question. I want to build a house like this," he tried to explain himself and heard a scream, a loud one.
"Min-Ah, Min-ah is screaming," President said, running inside. Taehyung was starstruck. "Damn, we messed up. I am leaving.
No, Jungkook will kill me if I leave Y/N alone." He rushed inside with the president.
As soon as they reached inside, Min-ah ran outside her room and hugged the president tightly. She was panting and scared. Taehyung peeked inside her room, searching for you. The president was calming his wife.
'What happened, honey? Why did you wake up, and why were you screaming?' the President asked in concern but received no response from his wife.
'Maybe she just had a bad dream,' Taehyung tried to cover up but got a 'Did I ask you?' look from the President. However, the President looked convinced when the hug around his waist tightened. Taehyung heard a whistle and looked outside. You waved your hand from the front door, gesturing for him to come out.
'I should get going. Thank you, President-nim,' Taehyung said before rushing out. The President nodded in agreement and took his wife inside.
'What have you done to her?' Taehyung screamed at you.
'Lower your voice, Taetae. I didn't do anything to her. I was just taking this diary from her hands, and she woke up. She screamed her lungs out. I was ten times more scared than her. Fuck, my eardrums were near to explode,' you replied, rubbing your ears.
'What's that diary?' he asked.
'Let's go; I will explain everything. I asked Jungkook and Jimin to meet us near the village garden,' you replied.
You and Tae reached a gazebo, where Jimin and Taehyung were already sitting at the table. Your eyes met a pair of deadly eyes that were staring into your soul. Chills ran down your spine, and your throat became dry as the distance between you and those fuming eyes reduced.
'Hello, everyone! A very good morning! Well, it's almost afternoon, right?' you greeted as cheerfully as you could, avoiding the piercing gaze from Jungkook.
'Good morning, Ms. Y/N. Come, have a seat. We have a long discussion to do,' you could clearly sense sarcasm in Jimin's voice, and that definitely scared you. You took a seat beside Jimin and far away from Jungkook, who was fixated on the white bandage plastered on your wounded neck.
'Where were you? Hasn't Taehyung instructed you to take rest?' Jimin asked, raising an eyebrow. You gave an awkward smile in response. Jungkook took out a food parcel, a medicine box, and a water bottle, placing them before you.
'Eat this and take the medicine,' a raspy voice spoke.
'Thank you!' you greeted and started eating as you were starving.
'I have something important to tell. I have suspects in this case. We can catch the culprit easily. When we visited the President's house last night, I saw Min-ah drawing something in a book. I went to her and asked her to show her drawings. I was dumbstruck when I saw those drawings. Here, see for yourself,' you passed on a drawing book to them. The book contained very weird drawings that weren't easy to understand, but one could feel the pain behind them.
'All the drawings convey the pain of women getting harassed and molested,' you added.
'Why didn't you say anything last night?' Jungkook asked.
'I wasn't sure about these drawings, so I sent them to my friend who is a psychiatrist. I was waiting for her opinion. And after yesterday's incident, I understood that we are close to the truth. I found a diary that Min-Ah was holding. I saw a letter in it. It's a letter from Hyung-bok to Min-ah.' You said, passing an old letter to them.
'Yesterday, I showed their high school picture to Min-ah. She hid herself in the closet as soon as she saw it. As per this letter, Hyung-bok was obsessed with her. That wasn't love for sure. If my guess is right, then something happened to Min-ah after Hyung-bok came from the military. Min-ah met with an accident on the same day Hyung-bok came back from the military,' Jungkook explained his view.
'Are you proposing that Hyung-bok, who got killed brutally, was behind Min-ah's accident?' Jimin asked.
'Exactly! All these murders are revenge for her,' you pointed.
'Why after 35 years?' Taehyung asked.
'Maybe the culprit got to know about this recently,' you replied.
'Who are your suspects, then?' Jimin asked.
'Gi-chan, the first love of Min-ah. Restaurant Ahjussi, who is a dear friend to Min-ah and Gi-chan. He also has a grudge against Hyung-Bok, and finally, the President, Min-ah's husband,' you counted them on your fingers.
'To find the real culprit, let's set a trap,' you said with a smile.
~
At the President's house -
'Mom!! Mom!! Mom, where are you?' Min ho, the 19-year-old son of Min-ah, shouted.
'What happened? Why are you shouting?' the President asked.
'Dad, where is mom? I don't see her; where is she?' Min ho asked, drenched in sweat.
'Isn't she in her room? I thought she was sleeping,' the President replied.
'No, she is not there. Can't you even look after her when I am not home? You don't even care if she is alive or dead. You are a selfish man,' Min ho stated and received a powerful slap across his face.
'Never raise your voice against me,' the President warned. Min ho left the house, crying and searching for his mom. He took out the letter he found on Min-Ah's bed.
~
2AM, Min-Ho reached an abandoned high school. He searched every room for his mother when his eyes landed on something that was hanging from a ceiling in the auditorium. His whole world crashed in front of his eyes. He fell on his knees, tears escaping his eyes as a flooded river. He lost, Lost everything he ever had.
(Salut darlings... I wrote a big chapter, it took 2 days to write 🥵.
Jungkook slayed his album 'Golden'. I loved song hate you. Those lyrics touched my heart, kidneys and liver😉 Whats your favorite?
In the next chapter I will introduce a new character, be ready)