It felt cold and wet around it. Projecting directly from his back, it shined under the broad daylight like the lustre of metal. Her lungs froze and lips trembled when her eyes laid on it, a knife had penetrated him half depth in and he was bleeding fresh blood that wet his entire shirt on the back and even dripped down on his feet.
“OHHH…. GOD!! HOSEOK!!” she screeched but it was too late as he had already collapsed on her shoulder making her fall on her knees for his weight.
“Its him” he whispered before passing out completely.
“No! no!! Wake up! Wake up hoseok!! Don’t do this! Pleaseee!” she wept until her tears emptied her eyes.
He came to help her, he was there because of her and now he is in this situation because of her. Her mind did a toss and her heart felt ripped apart in guilt.
Rage filled her insides, thinking about how he murdered him. About how heartless he became and how cruel he could get.
Hoseok was a good man who always stood by his side and helped him through his hardships, seeing how cold he could get at someone, rendered her trust on his humanity, shatter into pieces.
Just then her phone rang,
“Hfff… Hello” she answered holding in her weeps.
“Jaeji, where are you” Rijin asked excitedly
“why?”
“Jimin came back just now. You said you wanted to meet him right. Ask Hoseok to come back soon, I said I’d serve coffee for him, he shouldn’t miss my coffee”
Jaeji’s eyes filled with tears until the brim but she held it in before speaking,
“I’ll... I'll call you back Rijin”
Her head dropped low and her hands clutched onto his, dead, cold and stiffening hands. Despite she giving him the warmth from her body, his eyes never blinked, pupils didn't quiver nor his chest moved. It was over. Over. He'd gone past the point of reviving him. She knew it. But she wanted to help, do anything, anything at all, to bring him back to life.
The police had gathered around the site and his corpse was packed in for autopsy in the lab.
For a man like him, who fought so hard to find the truth about his sister's death, this was not how it was supposed to end.
Jaeji was dumbstruck at her situation. She sat without speaking a single word since his death, simply watching everyone walk hastily and the people who surrounded to visit the crime scene.
Taehyung walked upto her and sat beside her.
“Your pale" he pushed her hair behind her ear "I’m sorry you had to see such a gruesome thing happen in front your eyes” he sniffed in his grief and rubbed his tears away.
She held in well until his hands wrapped around her and her heart gave away and she began weeping uncontrollably.
He hugged her and patted her head as his eyes got wet too.
“How dare he do this” namjoon swallowed and face-palmed in distress.
Jin consoled him patting his shoulder while he shot a worried look at ravi who was equally disturbed at this situation.
Jimin stood afar and watched everyone silently, when Rijin walked up to him and hugged him, he didn’t even flinch.
“I’m sorry”
“Why” he asked still gaze-fixed elsewhere.
“For Hoseok”
He nodded and sighed,
“anyways there was nothing you could’ve done so don’t be sorry” he said and exited after a pat on her arm.
She was flustered with his change of attitude but too deep in grief she ignored it.
//////
Namjoon looked really stressed, he rubbed his forehead often and nipped the edge of the table subconsciously.
Jin was in deep thought too,
“why hoseok, why him out of all the other victims”
Ravi wondered the same too but kept silent because he didn’t have an answer.
“He was only doing this for his sister. I always promised him that I would find his sister back alive for him, but…” Namjoon’s voice quivered. Strong man and a very elegant officer now broke down weakly at the realisation of losing hosoek.
“What changed his mind to go for a man, and moreover, a police” Ravi mumbled to himself.
His thoughts explored every possibility that could explain the situation but none on it seemed to solve Hoseok’s death.
He looked at the autopsy pictures on his monitor just when his eyes caught something,
“Wait!”
He peeked closer, trying to figure out what he just saw.
‘The corpse was there. Hasn’t the murderer always disposed the bodies of whom he killed?’
He quickly picked up his phone,
“Did you find anything other than his belongings during the autopsy” he asked his officials on field.
“No sir. Only his ID card and phone were in the pockets. Nothing else sir”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes sir. Positive”
"Was there a weapon you found on him?"
"Yes sir there was a knife, approx 20cms long"
"Thanks"
Ravi looked at then intently,
"The one who killed hoseok was not the murderer, but someone else”