chapter 4

The tension in the air was thick cutting through the musky stress sweat odor left by previous tenants. The silence was deafening from the abrupt pause. Within seconds the fox pounced the bars, rattling the once calm metal. His eyes were blown out, tail wagging, nails elongated and ears pulled backwards against his skull. The spotlight hanging in your cell swung lightly back and forth from the impact against the bars. Chaos was a foot. You scrambled back lining up against the back wall snatching Key’s blazer shakily at the sudden appearance. His ragged breathing was cut off with, “What did you say?” His expression was vague, somewhere in between angry or upset, either way it demanded an answer. It was all on you now, you’ve grown too vulnerable and unguarded around him. You’ve already kissed her goodbye and let the hand go of the woman you used to be to him. You just started finding your footing among the team; no way were you letting that go.

You needed a way out and fast.

Taking the next steps carefully, you began chattering your teeth pulling the blazer closer to you. “Good-Good night Tae-Tae Taehyung.” You felt vulnerable with him staring at you intently, judging your character with squinted eyes. Clanking rang through the hollow hallway from the heavy main cell door addressing the presence of someone else. Taehyung turned his attention to the tall figure now at the entrance of the hall. This gave you time to puff your cheeks full of air and cluck your tongue against the roof of your mouth matching the noisy sounds. You were able to accumulate enough pressure in your mouth within those few seconds that when he turned around back to you your acting was complete. You opened your mouth while shivering releasing a billowing cloud of condensation. Physics wasn’t your favorite subject in college, but for once you could use it. He looked at you with astonishment not quiet believing his eyes, but he did. How could someone fake condensation? Your acting was solidified when he pulled his blazer tighter to himself and his body relaxed. He didn’t think it was that cold as you were making it out to be, but then again, he was a hybrid. Hybrids naturally had a higher body temperature. “Mr. Kim! That’s the only way you can address me Y/L/N.”

The tall figure standing at the main door walked towards Mr. Kim. The slow, calm pace clicks of his dress shoes was an eerie suspense since you couldn’t see the owner. Mr. Kim shifted his ears up with the new individual presence and held his now relaxed hand out to greet the figure approaching. His march halted in front of your cell with his last footstep bringing his heels alongside with a loud clap. He was standing directly under a spotlight sending chills down your spine watching the silhouetted man. The man wore a dark navy suit; you stared at his shoes making your way up the shadowed, capped figure to his head. The ample amount of medals on his left ****** glimmered under the dim lighting. The silhouette face under the cap was brute. In a polite gesture, the man took off his cap bringing it down to rest against his chest. The over gelled, slicked back haired man raised his lowered head revealing the deformed left side of his face. The intense, deep scars trailed from his temple and dragged down to disappear into his collared dress shirt in three lines. The man offered a jagged smile shaking Mr. Kim’s hand in a strong grip, “Mr. Kim, you do know it’s after visiting hours, right? Even though you are a friend to this station, you can’t break the rules.” With a raised brow he gave Mr. Kim a suggestive look. The man looked down at you in unamusement, but flipped the switch suddenly into a crass smile. You weren’t a hybrid, but your intuition was telling you to get away from him. He was bad news. You could feel the goosebumps forming as he studied you, and it wasn’t from the bad acting. Mr. Kim offered a smile back, “I’m sorry Chief, it won’t happen again. I was just leaving.” Mr. Kim gave you one last look and they walked side by side out of the hallway.

Taehyung wasn’t close to the man, but he’s seen the Chief enough with his frequent visits to the station. He bowed to the Chief at the station’s main entrance and walked to his car in the parking lot. When Taehyung was out of sight, two men dressed in black with a mask and hat covering their face came behind the Chief. The chief stood unchanging his watch on the disappearing figure with his hands clasped behind his back. With a deep breath he tilted his head back rotating it clockwise cracking his neck. He slanted his head back after coming to a rest casting a deep shadow over his eyes. A menacing smile bloomed but only pulling up fully on one side, “Follow him boys.” The two men nodded and silently walked down the step steps with their hands tucked in their pockets blending in with the nightly shadows.

Taehyung drove back to the office on the nearly empty streets before heading home. He parked in the empty underground parking garage leaving his black M5 BMW in his reserved spot. He grabbed his leather briefcase from the passenger seat and draped his coat over his forearm closing the driver’s door. The click of his oxford loafers echoed in the otherwise silent garage. The ding of the elevator registered and brought him up to the fifth floor. The darkness greeted him, but he reached out for the light switch without looking having turned it off too many times from working late. He walked through the work room and glanced over at his team’s desk. It hasn’t been long since you’ve started working for him, but he’s gotten used to seeing you sitting at your desk. He could picture you sticking your pen in your bun instead of behind your ear in concentration. The swollen pout of your lips when you were stuck or frustrated. The room felt empty with out you. You’ve become a constant in his life. He stepped towards your desk smiling and grazed the surface of it with his fingers. Before he could stop himself, his cheerfully wagging tail was wrapping around the leg of the desk scent marking. When he realized what he was doing he unwrapped his tail like it touch a hot iron and back tracked towards his office. He opened the door and walked in sitting his briefcase down on one of the two leather seats across his desk. He slumped down into his swivel office chair and rested his clasped hands on his stomach reclining back. He closed his eyes going over today. The simple task he gave you turned out to be a catalytic event.

Furrowing his brows in thought, he tried deciphering if his ears have ever failed him before. When he was walking away from you, he swore he heard “Good night Tae Tae.” Only people who were close to him called him that, in fact, only his mother and Hoseok called him that. Well, that girl from the countryside used to as well, but she’s not around anymore. His phone dinged with an incoming message. Not wanting to move from his comfortable position he opened one eye to see who it was disturbing him. “Kim Kibum has sent you a video file,” projected on his lock screen. Any remaining energy was dedicated to hunching over his desk and opening the file. It was the video recording from earlier today that Kibum showed him. He shared it to his Dropbox to pull up on the larger screen of his desktop. He turned his seat to face the desktop and hit the space bar watching everything unfold. His attention was on the kids bullying David, but your shouts broke his concentration. You walked over confidently asking for them to stop, but then was thrown to the ground by a figure taller than you. A low, aggressive yell escaped his throat watching you get tossed. The armrest of his chair got a taste of his claws. Once you stood up and took control of the situation it was like watching a UFC match! He sat up right with a sudden burst of energy watching the action film play out. He even found himself cheering for you mimicking your punches. He shadows boxed along feeling like he was getting the bad guys too. You even took on a guy with a knife! When all was said and done, you turned around to the camera and smoothed your hair behind your ear and scoffed. You were just like a heroine in a movie.

His eyes started seeing double, the same posture taken on by a child with a choppy bowl cut. “Pick on somebody your own size!” She was pointing at the group of boys a few years older than her. She was the same height as him, so the comeback didn’t make any sense. She stood to the side of the half circle of boys surrounding him. They laughed at her pushing her as well to the ground. He was whining and shrieking rushing over to her to pick her up, but she stood up on her own. She went charging at the boys with no mercy. She wouldn’t let anyone pick on her fox! The light in her eyes lit up when she turned around to Tae, cheering as the boys ran away. She held out her hand to pick him off the floor in his submissive stance, “Let’s get some ice cream Tae!” He was amazed that a girl, who’s so small, was able to take on four fourth graders! He smiled his boxy smile and nodded taking her hand.

His eyes focused back on the blackened screen seeing the reflection of himself. Why was he having so many flashbacks about this girl when it concerned Y/N? He rubbed his eyes, he must be exhausted and already entering a dream like state. He needed to figure a way to get you out and settle the Miller case. He reviewed the video a few more times watching carefully for things he could use to build onto the case. He fell asleep on his desk with the video looping in the background. Mrs. Lee shook him awake. He groggily shooed her away asking for five more minutes. She shook him once again and he finally sat up with hair sticking out everywhere. His ears were twitching along with his slow blinking eyes, “Mr. Kim, did you sleep here?” He looked around his office noticing that it was now day time. “Go home and get changed before you start work for the day. Today’s going to be busy. I pushed back all your clients for today, so go ahead.” He mumbled thanks and picked up his brief case and made his way home.

You slept curled up against the corner of the cell with the blazer acting as your blanket. Knocking on the cell door woke you up, so you turned your head off the wall towards the sound. Jungkook was standing there with two ramen cups with steam leaking from the lids. He looked exhausted with his hair sticking out in random places and uneven tucked in shirt. You offered a small smile and propped yourself into an upright sitting position. Your pencil skirt restricted you from crossing your legs comfortably. Jungkook opened the cell and set a cup down in front of you. “How’d you sleep?” He asked cheekily, you picked up the chopsticks and cheerily responded, “Well I’ve never stayed in a five-star hotel before, but I felt the luxury and comfort of one last night.” He laughed at your review and cheered your cup of ramen with his. “Taehyung is coming in later to talk again with the boys, excuse me plaintiffs, who were brought in this morning. Some of them have already gone through interviews, but their parents pulled them out. Their parents were able to wiggle them out of staying in jail.” You sighed, knowing that the wealthy always get away with things; no matter the bail it was chump change to them. Money can buy some people anything for the right amount. You looked at Jungkook taking in his disheveled appearance, “You should go home. You look like you’ve stayed up all night.” He nodded while slurping up a mouthful of noodles. “I did I stayed up and went out on patrol. The recent uprising of hybrid trafficking has gotten worse.” You poked at him with your knee on his thigh, “go home Jeon.” Another knock on the cell door echoed and another officer stood with legs crossed at the entrance, “flirting with an inmate Jeon?” Jungkook choked on his broth and turned towards his partner, “Yugyeom!” You laughed along with his partner, Yugyeom. His partner introduced himself to you, but Jungkook cut it short. He got up and grumbled to you, “Taehyung will be here shortly. I’ll take your advice, see you later Y/N.” You waved him off watching Yugyeom wink at you while he threw his arm around Jungkook’s shoulder. Ramen was indeed food for the soul.

The interrogation room was dark except for the florescent spotlight shinning on the single table in the center of the room. The metal folded chairs sat empty for the mean time. Behind the two-way window stood Jungkook, Yugyeom and a few other officers in the observation room. Taehyung waited among the lot with the other parties’ lawyer for their clients to make their way into the room. The last of the five plaintiffs walked in escorted by another officer had a cast around his hand up to his elbow. He sat down in one of the chairs observing the room, chewing gum obnoxiously. He stares at the two-way window challenging whomever stands behind it. His lawyer steps into the room taking a seat alongside him. Taehyung watches as his defense attorney goes over the legalities, but the kid just scoffs waving him off with his good hand. It’s obvious to tell that his lawyer is getting paid well enough to deal with these kids.

Officer Jeon steps into the room with a folder and bag in his hand. He sits down at the table laying the folder on the table and leaving the bag in his lap. Taehyung stands directly at the window’s edge resting his hands on the pane. The kid leans to his left and spits his gum on the floor. Jungkook sits back and only stares, while the kid imitates him actions. “Let’s begin with the basics, who are you?” The kid’s nose scrunches in detest, “You don’t know who I am? I’m sure you’ve heard of my dad.” Officer Jeon is holding his patience with this brat and opens the manila folder looking over the kid’s details. His father is the owner of LVT Industries, one of the biggest electronic companies worldwide. Jungkook doesn’t want to waste any time on someone who’s going to just preach about his father’s achievements. “Were you the one who wielded the knife?” He brings out the evidence bag with the knife in it and sets it on the table. The kid’s expression didn’t change, but the lawyer did; apparently, he didn’t know. His eyes widened and whipped his head around towards the kid. The kid shrugged his shoulders. The attorney’s eyes were running back and forth rapidly looking for any excuse. “You know your friends already told us it was you.” That was a lie, but he needed the kid to say it was him. The kids leg started shaking in agitation, “they wouldn’t do that!” Ah, he struck a cord with him. The lawyer seemed to be catching on to what Officer Jeon was doing and interjected saying that he’ll abstain from commenting.

The questioning went back and forth for a while until the kid grew tired of the questions. “Look, Bunny Officer whatever you are, how much money do I have to give you, huh?” Officer Jeon raised his brows, “Give money me for what?” The kid leaned forward on the table with one hand beckoning Officer Jeon forward. “To get you,” pointing his index at Officer Jeon, “to let me,” jabbing his thumb at himself, “out of here? What? You want me to tell you that we—,” his confession was cut short when the door swung open. An officer with a captain badge interrupted, “Officer Jeon, please step out of the room.” Jeon stood up pushing the metal chair back with a clang, “What! Captain, I’m not leaving until I’m done!” The officer wasn’t having any of Jungkook’s protest, “Leave or you’re off the case. Your questions were out of line. You need to leave now.” Jeon looked back to the kid who wore a smirk and shrugged his shoulders with feigned sympathy, “Oh no Mr. Officer!” “Jeon, out!” The captain kept insisting so Jeon picked up the evidence and walked out the room, past the observation room and into the hallway.

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