Soobin's POV:
I pursed my lips, clenching my fist as I turned on my heel and walked out of the conference room. I had to think for a moment wondering where Yeonjun would go. I didn't see him out in the main room, so the first place I would go is the locker room to talk to someone. I speed-walked there, passing by Yuna's desk. I think she said 'hi' to me, but I was too focused in order to turn to her and reply.
As soon as I got to the door, I paused, taking a breath. I slowly opened the door, softly in case Yeonjun was still on the phone. I heard him talking when I stepped inside, "So, everything must've been staged. That has to be the only way everything could've happened."
I took a few steps closer to the lockers, and I guess he was on speaker phone since I heard a reply, "Danny, I knew you would figure it out. How long did it take?"
I scrunched my eyebrows; that's not his name.
"What do you mean? I think I looked at the photos for like five minutes. It doesn't matter – I figured it out." He said, stammering a bit.
I closed my eyes and sighed, leaning against the side of the lockers as I heard, "It took us two days to figure out those pictures were set up."
"What? Wait – you solved the case already?" He asked, hearing the confusion in his voice.
"Don't you miss it?..." I heard over the phone, "I can hear it in your voice. You miss the rush of it all, right?"
Yeonjun paused for a moment, "Excuse me?"
"It took you five minutes to get a lead that took us two days to get. Dan, don't you see? You have to come back."
I heard him take a deep breath, "You know why I left, Alex. You know the situation I'm in, and you try to bring me back by hyping me up with a case? I-I thought you needed my help." He said, his tone switching to an annoyed one.
"Come on, don't be mad. I was just showing you—"
"No, you know what..." Yeonjun cut him off, "Never talk to me again."
I guess he must've hung up because I didn't hear anything after that. He let out a big sigh, and then I flinched when there was a crash. He must have hit the lockers with his palm, "Daniel, you're a fucking idiot." He mumbled under his breath.
I waited a few seconds before peeking around the corner of the lockers, seeing him sitting on the bench between the rows. He was facing away from me, an elbow on his knee and his head resting in his hand. He had his eyes closed, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.
I stepped out from my hiding spot, "Yeon—"
I stopped myself when he flinched, turning to me quickly. I instantly felt bad since he looked away from me, sliding away on the bench. I pressed my lips together, "Sorry, I umm..." I paused, crossing my arms over my chest, "I came in here to tell you..."
He couldn't look at me, "Chan knew too?"
I nodded, "He was just following orders. The director threatened to cut our funding. He was upset and told us right after you left."
He sighed again, "H-How much of that did you hear?"
I took two steps closer, "Like, the last minute..." I replied, sitting down on the bench to try and move closer. I was still considerate, keeping a good distance between us, "I'm really sorry, Yeo— I mean, Dan, I guess."
He gulped, "Yeah, umm... Yeonjun is my middle name..." He couldn't meet my eyes, "Soobin, there's a lot you don't know about me and why I transferred here. C-Can we just forget that ever happened, please?" He said quickly, still looking at the floor.
"Yeah, that's fine..." I quietly replied, "Jun, it's ok. You can talk to us. I-I mean, you don't have to, but you can always talk to me—"
"You don't understand..." He cut me off, "Y-You don't—Soobin, I can't. It's way too much and I'd rather not relive it..." I've never seen him this anxious before, and it kind of scared me, "I-I'm sorry."
He stood up, and I hurried to get in front of him, "It's ok, just breathe. I'm not mad..." He was still looking at the floor, and I hesitated to reach out and place my hands on his arms. I slowly slid my palms over his upper arms, "I get anxious like this too; everything's ok. Take a deep breath."
He took a deep breath like I said, "I'm sorry..." He said quietly, almost mumbling it under his breath, "I'm not trying to hide things from all of you. I just— A lot happened."
I softly smiled, sliding my hands down until I was able to hold his, "You don't have to tell me. I just want you to breathe."
He took another deep breath, "Can I have a hug?"
I quietly took a step forward, letting go of his hands so I could wrap my arms around his shoulders. He placed his hands on my waist, dropping his head onto my shoulder. He snaked his arms fully around me after that, sighing against my neck. I rubbed circles on his back, whispering, "Everything's alright."
He relaxed into my hold, "Thank you."
I rested my head slightly on his, "Of course."
Yeonjun's POV:
"Chan, can I talk to you really quick?" I asked, watching as he was packing up his stuff for the day.
Everyone had left already. I purposely waited so that it would only be Chan and I in the locker room. He sighed, "Yeonjun, I really am sorry about—"
"You were just following orders, and I know the director is an ass. It's ok..." I cut him off, not wanting him to get the wrong idea, "I wanted to say something else."
He turned to me fully, saying, "What would you like to talk about?"
I held onto the strap of my bag going across my chest, gripping it tight, "I told you in my interview that I wanted to move here because of the hours and not being grounded somewhere..." I replied, lowering my head to look down at the floor, "That's all true... B-But I really just needed to get out of Busan."
He paused for a moment, like he was waiting for me to say more, "Ok... Is everything alright, or...?"
I shook my head, "I-I had filed a restraining order on my ex-girlfriend. She went ballistic when I broke up with her..." I cleared my throat, not having the strength to look at him, "She was stalking me. She would send me threats; she would send my family threats. So, I needed to move away from Busan and go somewhere else."
Chan hesitated for a few seconds, "Holy shit..." He replied, like he was absorbing everything in waves, "I-I'm so sorry."
"It's ok. I just—..." I stopped myself, taking a deep breath before I said, "Would it be possible to just ignore anything that the BAU sends you? I don't want to go back – my boss never helped me with anything there."
There
There
There
"Yeah, of course..." He quickly said, picking my head up finally. He nodded, "Of course – I promise, I won't do that again. I'll ignore everything they send me."
I gulped, "Thank you."
He took a step closer to me, "Listen, if she ever finds you, just tell me and we can figure it out. Yeonjun, I don't want you to be alone in this, ok?"
I softly smiled, "It's Dan..." I replied, and he just scrunched his eyebrows, "Yeonjun is my middle name. I went by it so that she wouldn't find me. Daniel is actually my name."
"Oh..." He mumbled, nodding his head, "Ok—Daniel."
"C-Can we just keep this between us?..." I asked, "I'll tell everyone eventually. I just want to do it on my own terms."
He instantly nodded again, "Of course; stays between us."
I kept the smile on my face, "One last question and then I'll leave you be."
He gave me a soft smile back, "Of course, you're not bothering me."
I took a breath, "Do you mind if I clean our equipment room?"
He scrunched his eyebrows, "Clean it?..." He asked, and I nodded in reassurance. He was still confused, "Why? You know the building has janitors, right?"
I pressed my lips together in a thin line, "They don't organize it correctly. It's kind of driving me crazy."
He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly to the side. He seemed really confused until his eyes softened, a lightbulb turning on in his head. He let out a small, "Oh..." Letting it linger a bit, "Your file said you have—" He stopped himself, scratching the back of his neck.
He seemed anxious, not wanting to cross a line. I nodded, "Yeah, I have OCD."
He smiled, "Dan, I'm not going to stop you from cleaning and organizing. If something's bothering you, we can help you organize, ok? We usually all contribute when stuff is all over the place."
I gripped the strap of my bag, "Thanks. I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't organize it right now." I quickly said, about to turn around and put my bag down on the bench.
Chan stopped me, "Wait..." He said, reaching out to place a hand on my shoulder. I turned back to him, "Do you see anyone for it? Like a therapist or anything?..." He closed his eyes and shook his head, "Y-You don't have to answer—"
"I did when I was little..." I cut him off, trying to tell him that he wasn't crossing a line, "I haven't seen someone about it in a really long time."
He pursed his lips, "Listen, if you ever want to, my wife is a psychiatrist. She works in this building, just a few floors up. I can get it paid for through the insurance. No pressure, though."
I paused for a moment, thinking about it. I knew I had to say something to help myself, "That would be really nice, actually..." I cleared my throat, trying my best to break the tension, "I feel like it's been getting worse lately."
He instantly nodded, "I'll talk to her tonight. I bet she can squeeze you in to get a consultation."
I looked down at my feet, not remembering the last time a coworker was this nice to me, besides Soobin, "Thank you."
He patted my shoulder, "Let me know if you need help organizing the equipment room. I want you to be able to sleep tonight."
I smiled when I picked my head up again, "I will."