seven
yoongi stayed frozen in his spot, wide-eyed. he couldn't believe it. hoseok? — it couldn't be. the mere thought of the metal inside his pocket scared him. it belonged to his friend — no — it belonged to a murderer. it belonged to a merciless murderer who didn't mind his hands to be tainted with bloody scarlet. yoongi didn't notice seokjin's hand inch closer to his, causing him to flinch as soon as they made contact. yoongi looked at the older, eyes still wide. seokjin gave him a concerned look, as if asking if he was okay.
but yoongi didn't say anything back. he couldn't reassure the older he was okay, because he wasn't. yoongi turned to dojung almost immediately, a look of panic plastered on his face. "where's jimin?"
dojung looked a bit taken back by the sudden question. "u—uh, i called him awhile ago. he said he was on his way."
yoongi cursed under his breath and got up. "if you see jimin, call me right away. make sure you keep him under your watch at all times, okay?"
dojung nodded unsurely, looking confused as to why yoongi was acting like this. yoongi frantically ran towards the door, hearing the inspector call out his name as he did so. he ignored him and fished his phone out of his pocket. he typed in his pin and immediately called jimin, walking in a hurried way.
"pick up, pick up." yoongi chanted under his breath, starting to unconsciously chew on his nails. yoongi grunted in frustration when the call directed to voicemail, but nevertheless, yoongi persisted. he called jimin once again. it rang a couple of times, but that was it. yoongi clutched the phone in his hand tighter, starting to get anxious.
"hyung?"
yoongi immediately turned around when he heard the familiar voice. upon seeing jimin that stood from a distance, yoongi felt the huge weight that burdened his shoulders subside. he bit his lip and ran towards the younger, gaining a confused look from him. he flinched slightly when yoongi grabbed his shoulders.
"listen," yoongi started. "i want you to stay with the inspector. don't trust anyone else, not even hoseok—"
"hoseok-hyung?" jimin interrupted with a frown. "why? did something happen between the two of you?"
yoongi pursed his lips. "just promise me, jimin. okay? i know what i'm doing."
jimin looked unsure; yoongi couldn't blame him. yoongi and hoseok were the closest friends. yoongi treated him like a brother, and so did hoseok himself. the sudden change of attitude yoongi brought towards hoseok probably confused the younger — it wasn't jimin's fault to be quite hesitant about it.
jimin gave yoongi a slow nod, although, still looking a tad bit flabbergasted by his words. yoongi thanked him, giving him a weak smile.
ㅡ
yoongi hesitantly walked in the investigation department dojung was assigned to. he remembered coming here just yesterday with the others, being questioned as witnesses. dojung wasn't here — he was still at the hospital, assuring seokjin's condition. yoongi didn't want to bother the inspector, so he decided to go by himself.
"may i help you?" a man approached him, a cup of what seemed like coffee, in his hand. he looked like he was about in his late 20s. he did seem that young, pushing aside the heavy bags that fell under his eyes. yoongi opened his mouth to speak, but the man's eyes suddenly widened, beating him to it. "you're one of the witnesses of the latest case, aren't?"
yoongi awkwardly nodded his head as the hazel-haired male took a sip of his coffee. "ah—yes. i came here to ask if i could check something — if that's alright with you."
the man raised his brows whilst sipping on his coffee, as if asking yoongi to continue. "i wanted to see the CCTV cameras..."
"the cameras?" the man repeated. he set his coffee down, giving yoongi a small frown. "we're not supposed to allow anyone outside the police department view the cameras unless it's necessary—"
"please," yoongi interrupted, starting to get desperate. "it'll be quick, i promise."
the male bit his lip, then sighed.
ㅡ
yoongi stared at the screen in front of him, eyes seemingly lifeless. his finger hovered the mouse that laid near the desktop. he slowly moved it down to click the file, but he stopped himself. he bit his lip, hesitant. why was he afraid? with this file, he could connect the events that were happening. was it because hoseok was his friend? he heaved a shaky sigh, staring at the unopened file.
jan.4.2017.divx
he pursed his lips and opened the video. he clicked the fast forward button, stopping at 2:32 AM, the exact time they had entered the station. yoongi watched from the screen as their past selves sat in front of the inspector, being questioned and all. present yoongi drummed his fingers against the desk, furrowing his brows.
3:05. this was the time dojung had offered them if they wanted a ride. present yoongi watched as his past self and seokjin walked out together with dojung, leaving jimin and hoseok behind. both of them stayed dead quiet, not saying a single word to each other. it was until jimin's mother came into station, eyes stained with tears. jimin bid his goodbye to hoseok, who acknowledged him with a small nod.
3:20. yoongi narrowed his eyes when hoseok still wasn't moving from his spot — he just sat there, waiting. dojung had said the attack happened around 4. if hoseok left now, it would prove—
yoongi's heart stopped.
hoseok's blurry figure left the station.
yoongi stood up from his seat and ran out the monitoring room, head pounding. from the corner of his eye, he could see the man from awhile ago trying to grab his attention, but yoongi continued to run. once he was out, he hailed a cab. yoongi hurriedly told the driver the hospital name as he got his phone out of his pocket — he tried to turn it on, but the phone was dead.
yoongi didn't even keep track of the time — he was constantly thinking about the possibilities. so when the driver stopped at the hospital, yoongi didn't even notice. he flinched slightly when the driver's voice reached his ears. he apologized, paid the amount and got out the cab. he frantically went inside and ran towards the stairs—
he saw a familiar mop of pale hair.
"hoseok?" yoongi narrowed his eyes. he stepped off the staircase, trying to clear out hoseok's figure. the younger was at a great distance, but the color of his hair made him stand out. yoongi saw hoseok turn a corner from the hallway.
yoongi walked towards the said hallway, carefully and slowly. he peeked over the edge of the corner, only to see no signs of hoseok. yoongi's shoulders slumped. was he imagining things? — no — he was sure of it. he bit his lip. he continued to walk, a long tiled pathway ahead of him. there were carts of medicine and vials standing against the wall.
there was another hallway.
yoongi took a good look at it, frowning when hoseok wasn't there. he swore he saw hoseok pass this direction. the other hallway still looked the same — carts up against the wall. he aimlessly walked forward, mind empty and wandering—
he stopped himself.
what was he doing?
he was supposed to be at seokjin's hospital room right now, informing them about what he had discovered. he backed away, trying to run—
but he tripped on something.
yoongi winced as he tried to get himself off the ground. he attempted to glare at whatever it was that he stumbled on, but only a look of confusion made its way to his face. the thing that made him topple was a long cloth that hovered over a cart of medicine. it was quite unusual, judging by the fact that it was the only cart that had fabric placed upon it; the others were nothing more than old steel.
that wasn't the only thing yoongi noticed.
beneath the fabric, there was a bulge. he narrowed his eyes, nearing it. he looked around, trying to see if anyone was there, but it seemed like no one ever passed by this particular area. yoongi raised his hand to lift the pale cloth—
he paused.
he was hesitant about it, but the urge to look inside was crawling up to his skin. it was as if he needed to see it. he lifted the fabric, strong adrenaline coursing through him–
he paled.
it was a man's body. it was covered in blood — every part of him. he was positioned in a fetal way, lifeless eyes evident as his mouth hung slightly open. yoongi backed away almost immediately, fear washing over him as he realized that the bulge he had seen wasn't just a bulge — it was human feet.
but that wasn't all.
upon the man's head was a familiar mop of pale hair.
it was hoseok. and he was holding a blue card.