Twenty-One: Blood
Jungkook's phone started to ring just as a shiny black BMW parked behind his car. The engine of the car stayed one and the doors stayed closed, but Jungkook already knew who it was.
He picked up his phone from where it was in a holder and watched Jimin's name slide through his screen. He looked at the car again before answering.
"You didn't want to waste any more time?" Jungkook asked, shifting the gear to drive to continue his journey. He saw Jimin's car follow behind but not too close. "You could have taken an extra hour, you know?"
Jimin chuckled. "Relax. Don't take out your relationship troubles on me."
Relationship troubles? "What the fuck are you on about?"
"You're panicking," Jimin blurted like he'd just spewed facts that Jungkook didn't understand at all.
Jungkook frowned. "Panicking over what? I'm eager to beat the shit out of that imbecile who hurt Jin. What exactly am I panicking over, Jimin?"
"Oh, I know you can't wait to get your hands on Cho. I'm talking about Jin's confession just now."
Jungkook's brows pinched. He slammed his horn and maneuvered around two cars that were driving so slow and close together in front of him that it seemed like they were about to make out. "Jin's confession just now? Jimin, what are you talking about?"
It had better not be what he was thinking.
"You know, Jin saying the L word. You've always been awkward about the word, remember?"
It didn't take further Q&A for Jungkook to be able to decipher what was going on, what Jimin was saying and how he'd come to hear those words that Jungkook had purposely chosen not to dwell on yet.
"Did you hack into Jin's phone?"
Jimin's "Yes?" was hesitant, more of a question and he drew out the 's' way longer than was necessary.
"Why would you fucking do that?" Jungkook stressed out. "I didn't tell you to do that. So, why would you do it?"
"Because no one was talking. One of them knew something about what was happening and they kept quiet. I told you that I had to hack into their phones."
"No," Jungkook shook his head. "You told me you had to hack into Namjoon's phone. You didn't mention Jin because if you had I would have told you to not even dream of it. I remember every mention of his name and you never said anything about invading his privacy."
"Okay. Okay. I omitted it because I knew you'd say no. You're sentimental towards him so you're not considering every option. I had to do it on my own."
"So, what did you arrive at eventually?" Jungkook asked. He hated when Jimin did stuff like this-go behind his back to do exactly what he knew Jungkook would not have wanted him to do.
It was because of this he had almost cut off ties with Jimin, completely.
Jimin's silence was enough to answer. "We'll talk about this when we wrap up this stuff."
"Or we could just forget it and move forward with me learning my lesson, okay?" Jimin asked patronisingly. Then before Jungkook could scold him more, he added. "So, what's the plan? I told you I could handle it."
"I know but it's personal this time."
"Does Jin know why he's doing this?"
"Not yet."
"You haven't told him?" Jimin asked. Of course, Jungkook hadn't told him.
"No," Jungkook said. To be honest, he wasn't proud of himself for holding back on the information. But then, he didn't want to tell Jin until the whole thing was settled. He wanted to be able to tell him when Cho was found, beaten and taken away then Jin would be ready to know that Namjoon wasn't letting on all he knew.
"I'll tell him once this is over. I don't think he'll handle it well right now. There's so much going on in his life and the last thing I want to do is say something that would probably distance him from his best friend. He needs Namjoon around him."
"Even if the kid's like a fucking ticking time bomb?"
"I wouldn't let him blow up in Jin's face," Jungkook frowned, gripping the wheels until his knuckles turned white. "By the way, I don't even think that Namjoon knows that he knows more than he thinks he knows."
Jimin let out a loud hysterical laugh. "What the fuck, Jungkook? That's, like, so confusing. I mean, I get you but that was so dumb."
Jungkook frowned. "I'm serious. The kid's dated more people than you and I put together. What if he doesn't know that Cho's husband was one of his playthings?"
Two days ago, Jimin returned to Korea. He and Jungkook spoke about how nasty things were getting, so he'd met up with Cho Michael, Cho's husband. They'd spoken for a while before Jimin had shown pictures of Namjoon and Jin to him, and from the look of recognition on Michael's face, it'd been clear they were near figuring out what the fuck was happening.
"I- Yes, I know him. This one," he'd said, pointing at Namjoon, shame clouding his face.
"Your husband's student?"
He shook his head. "I didn't know he was a student there. He told me he was out of school, so I imagined he meant he had graduated."
Jimin nodded. Good. He was being honest. This wouldn't take long then. "So, how'd you know him?"
"I met him in a hotel. I was meeting with a client and he offered to buy me a drink. He looked young and I thought he was underage but he told me he was 20."
"You went out with him after that?"
Michael shook his head. "No. I went home."
"So, when did you meet with him again?"
"Weeks after, at the same bar. He was with someone else, but then they left and he came over to say hi. I wouldn't lie, I was attracted to him the first time we met but I was married and owed my loyalty to my husband."
Jimin smiled. "But you had an affair still?"
"Namjoon can be persistent with pictures and texts-"
"You don't know how to block a number? How persistent could a 17-year-old be?"
Michael shook his head, running his hands over his panicked face. "I don't- Look, I'm sorry. Is he your boyfriend?"
"The kid? No, I like my dates a little older than teenagers," Jimin stated. "Anyway, remember when we spoke some days back and you talked about your ex-husband harassing you?"
Michael nodded, staring at the ground between his shaking legs.
"He's also harassing them," Jimin said tapping on his phone with the picture of Namjoon and Jin. "This one is Namjoon's best friend and your ex seems to be obsessed with chasing him. Do you both have a thing for kids?"
"I didn't know he was harassing other people. I thought it was just me. If I had known, I'd have-"
"Don't stop on my account. Go on, please. What would you have done? Run? That's all you two have been doing. Finding you was trickier than I thought, it makes me feel you know something you don't want to tell me."
Michael picked his head up slowly, looking up to meet Jimin's raging glare. Instantly, he started to shake his head frantically. "I don't know anything, I swear! I don't-" His eyes widened when Jimin's hand reached forward, wrapping around his neck.
"I did not come here with the intention of hurting you but one thing you should know about me is, I hate liars. So, talk or I will hurt you."
Jimin was tired of the cat and rat game. Chasing this one. Hiding that one. Figuring out this. Not understanding that. It was too petty and too frustrating when there were bigger issues for him and Jungkook to handle.
King was coming to Korea in a matter of days and Jimin knew more than anything, his visit was not casual. He was coming for Jungkook and it was not going to be a pleasant meeting. And Jungkook knew this.
But Jungkook was too invested in Jin to bother with the real threat facing all of them. He was too worried about protecting Jin and finding the person that hurt him to realize that King's presence would bring more danger to Jin than a hundred of Cho could ever dream of.
Jimin coming to Korea was with the single aim of getting rid of the bug before the actual predator showed up. He wanted to fast-track the entire process of catching the idiot, even if it meant stabbing his ex-husband with a screwdriver in the shoulder.
It wouldn't kill him but it would hurt like hell.
Michael Cho made a gurgling sound, tapping Jimin's wrist. He shook his head frantically, his engorged eyes filled with fear. "What do you know?" He asked, releasing the pressure over the man's neck a little to allow him to speak.
"I don't... I don't know, I swear-" In the few seconds it took him to speak, Jimin was spinning to grab a screwdriver he'd spotted under the table when he walked in and was pulling Michael towards him. "Okay! Please, I'll talk!"
Jimin stared down at him in irritation, an angry sigh leaving his parted lips. His patience was running out. He didn't say anything. His dark eyes did the talking because Michael was spewing uncontrollably in seconds.
It was a mistake. He was supposed to have deleted the texts and photos after he and Namjoon had ended things. He should have informed Namjoon when Cho had found out about the affair. He should have reported to the police when Cho attacked him with a stick. He didn't think his husband would hurt a kid. He didn't disclose Cho's location earlier because he felt he owed him that much after cheating on him. He'd disclose the location now.
"You're not out of the woods yet," Jimin said after Michael had given him the location. "I might have to come back but for your sake, let's hope I don't."
The fear in Michael's eyes had told Jimin he was telling the truth. Getting the address was 80% of the job done, it was the hard part, and that was over.
It was time for the easy part, to catch that son of a bitch.
Cho's hiding place was a small lake house in the rural part of town. It could have easily passed as a shed because of how small it was but it was a smart decoy. No one would think to look in a place like that.
"Shit," Jungkook muttered next to him. Jimin turned to him to find his eyes trained on an unfamiliar Aston Martin parked by the side of the house.
"What?"
"That car," Jungkook said. "What the hell is it doing here?"
"That's not Cho's car?"
"Do you think he could afford one like that?" Jungkook frowned. "That's Namjoon's car. God, Jin better not be here," Jungkook said before bolting for the door with Jimin racing behind him.
The wooden door was locked from inside but it didn't take more than three tries before Jimin was slamming it open with his shoulder. "Lord. My salary better double this month," he mumbled, dusting off the debris as he made his way into the dusty place. "His place is just as dirty as his hands. Poor bastard."
"Check the back," Jungkook said, nodding towards the direction of the kitchen which had a door leading to the backyard. While he made his way into the scarcely furnished living room.
There was just a tv, a brown leather couch pushed up against one wall with a large painting of a corn field hanging above it. A table was in the centre of the small room with fishing magazines scattered over it. It was just a boring little house, not something he'd expect a sociopath to live in.
Where the hell was he? He was tempted to call Jin's phone, but if Jin or Namjoon were here and hiding he wouldn't want to alert the imbecile of their position. Not like it mattered if the idiot heard anymore, Jungkook was here now.
After checking the living room and the broom closet, Jungkook made his way to the bedroom. He'd expected it to be locked but it gave way when he turned the handle, and there he was laying on the bed with his arms tied to the posts.
Namjoon was naked on the bed which was damp, whip marks all over his now reddened skin. He was blindfolded with a piece of cloth hanging from his mouth. Jungkook dashed for the bed, climbing on top of it and taking Namjoon's face in his hand.
The boy's head rolled to the side freely. He was unconscious. The whip marks on his body had formed open sores and were stained with blood. Jungkook's eyes swept the entirety of his body and his breathing hitched when he saw Cho had taken special note to also inflict injury on Namjoon's groin, probably as a warning for sleeping with his husband.
Jungkook's blood boiled as he untied the boy. He was still breathing and must have passed out from the beating. How could someone do this to a fellow human being? He wondered, but he remembered there were fucked up people who did fucked up stuff to other people for whatever fucked up reason they deemed fit.
He found a blanket on the floor and wrapped it around Namjoon's body. "I'll be right back, Namjoon," he assured, even though Namjoon couldn't hear him.
Jungkook grabbed the key stuck to the keyhole and locked the bedroom door from outside, before making his way in search of the assailant. He could hear rumbling from the backyard and knew Jimin had found him.
"You like to harass little kids, huh? Why not pick on someone your size?!" Jimin yelled, just as Jungkook stormed out into the yard. He shoved Cho had that he came tumbling towards Jungkook who was breathing hot air. Jungkook's clenched fist collided with his jaw before he could successfully fall on his ass. Blood splattered from his lips as he went crashing to the ground.
"He must have heard us come and was about to row away on a boat when I caught," Jimin informed him.
Jungkook's eyes were fixed on him, rage burning in them, then he took off towards the man who was cradling his broken jaw. His leg slammed into Cho's stomach, earning a satisfying scream. He hovered over him, grabbed him by the corner and punched him in the face. He sent another blow and another and another, and even when the man started to beg for his life, Jungkook wasn't stopping.
"You harassed my boyfriend for weeks! You had the fucking guts to pepper-spray him!" He was fueled by anger, blood rushing to his chest and his head, his adrenaline was high and he didn't want to stop until Cho was a bleeding, crying, dying mess.
It might have been minutes, hours or seconds but when Jimin pulled him away, Jungkook was screaming and fighting him off. "Let me fucking go!" He yelled at Jimin.
"Stop! You don't want to kill him!" Jimin yelled at him.
Jungkook shoved Jimin away from his side, spinning to face him. "Yes, I do! I know what I'm fucking doing! I'm in control of my senses and I want to end his life!"
"You don't want to-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He yelled, almost bursting his lymph nodes. For a second, the entire place was quiet except for the groans from Cho. "This bastard-" He swivelled to face the bloodied man and somehow, he didn't seem like he'd received as much pain as he deserved. "Go in there," he gestured towards the house. "And see what he did to that kid."
Jimin looked confused. "What kid are you- Is Jin here?"
"Namjoon! I'm talking about Namjoon!" Jungkook clasped his hand over his trembling lips. "He's unconscious in there covered in his blood, his piss and his shit! And you tell me-"
"He had a gun!" Cho screamed. "He pointed a gun at me!"
"Shooting you with a gun would be killing you nicely-" Jungkook felt Jimin pull him back only to realize he'd been walking towards Cho with his fist ready to deliver more blows to his face which wasn't bloody enough.
Jungkook swatted his hand off but stopped moving.
"He destroyed my family! My home! My husband! I was happy and then he destroyed my family! My happy family!" He spat, angrily like his words could make what he'd done right.
"This bastard," Jungkook gritted, picking a sizable rock from the ground before hauling it at Cho's head. The man cried in pain as blood oozed from the gaping wound.
Jungkook nodded, now he was satisfied. "You can call the police now," he said to Jimin before making his way back into the house, feeling drained but at the same time, accomplished.
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