Detective Hoseok had been staring at his computer screen for a long time as he continued to glare at the picture of the man that had his blood boiling.

"Jeon Jungkook." He uttered his name for the nth time as if doing so would equate to pain on the man himself. He didn't want to forget his name, not until he's already dead.

His fist clenched as he scrolled through the man's profile once more. There was nothing out of ordinary nor suspicious that could help in strengthening his claims.

Hoseok needed a conclusive evidence to make sure that this man wouldn't get the chance to dodge the bullet coming his way.

As of now, issuing a warrant of arrest just from a voice from a mere recorded conversation would only lead to nothing.

"Fuck!" Hoseok hissed as he stopped scrolling.

Nothing was working his way and things just got even more frustrating. He knew who the killer is, yet he could not do anything.

"Not yet." Detective Hoseok murmured as he thought of Yoongi and his motivation to do better bloomed once more.

His eyes started reading every detail about Jungkook again and again while he raked his brain for something.. a clue maybe.

There were no registered parents, for he was an orphan. No siblings. No noted relatives in the family registry.

He didn't get to finish high school as he started working as a cleaner in a cafè at the age 16. He also worked as a baker. Then, a driver for a liquor company after a few years.

"So he's an all rounder, huh?" Hoseok gritted his teeth as he tried to get something that could be of any use.

However, there's none.

"Fuck!" He cursed as he let his back hit the backrest of his chair.

He contemplated for a long time before going back to search the orphanage where Jungkook used to be part of.

Agape: Home of Angels

Hoseok had already searched it a while ago, and he already knew that it was no longer operating after a fire broke out and burned down half of the place.

There were casualties of that fatal event, and Jungkook so happened to be one of the few survivors.

"Lucky bastard." Hoseok murmured, reading the article over and over again when his brain started functioning at the sight of the date mentioned.

His fingers quickly moved to search on their database for anything that might have occurred on the same day.

August 1, 2013

There were few hits, but nothing could really be connected to the case.

"Fuck!" He hissed once more, feeling frustrated.

"I'm getting dumb." He uttered to himself as he tried changing the month to September, a month after the fire broke out.

Few cases appeared and one had Hoseok jumping back to stare at the screen for a long time.

The case involving that of the killer. His very first kill which marked the beginning of a series of deaths.

Hoseok opened the file and revealed the death of Kristina Jordan, a registered nurse who was found dead on September 2, but based on the findings, she died around 9-11 pm of September 1, 2013.

Her hands were missing a few fingers, and her forehead had the triangle mark from the killer. A stab on her neck was the cause of death.

Hoseok continued to read further until a smirk formed on his lips.

"This is getting interesting." He mumbled, noting that the nurse was once an orphan from the same institution as the killer.

"Coincidence?" Hoseok scoffed before going back to Jungkook's profile which made his eyes sparkle even more at the realization of another 'coincidence'.

Jungkook's birthday was the same day the nurse was found dead.

"This is the shit!" Hoseok could feel his heart pounding in excitement.

He's starting to see the connections, and finally the case could have a direction.

He abruptly took a pen and a piece of paper where he calculated the possibilities.

The orphanage stopped operating when a fire broke out on August 1, 2013. During that time, Jungkook was 15 years old, still young to live on his own. He could've been moved to another orphanage, but there was nothing about that in his records.

It was noted that he started working at the age 16, which created a plausible hypothesis that he had been living on his own after he left Agape.

The nurse who used to be an orphan of the same institution died on the day as Jungkook's birthday when he turned 16, the age he started to assume his freedom.

A series of murders followed suit, weeks after the first case. However, after the death of Josh Kruger, the killings stopped.

Ten years later, he's back again.

Hoseok grinned once more as the age matched Jungkook's current age. He had turned 26 last September 1, 2023, exactly 10 years since the first case.

"Would you look at that?" Hoseok mumbled, eyes fixated on the image of Jungkook.

Now that he found a way to connect things, it wouldn't take long for him to find out other connections in all of his victims.

"Wait and see. I'll definitely catch you." Hoseok uttered in determination as he continued to imprint Jungkook's face in his head, wanting to make sure he'll remember the face who harmed the only person he truly treasured.

———

It was past six in the evening when Taehyung arrived home. He had to finish some documents in the university without Jimin who had another business to attend to.

As soon as he entered the apartment, his brother's smiling face immediately welcomed him.

"Hey." Jin greeted as Taehyung went to sit next to him on the couch.

"How's your day?" Jin asked, ruffling Taehyung's hair a little.

"Good, hyung." Taehyung responded which made Jin hum in response.

"Do you want me to prepare your dinner now?" The older asked.

"I'll go wash up first before eating, hyung." Taehyung responded as he stood, heading to his room.

"By the way, Taetae.. Jimin passed by earlier." Jin informed which made Taehyung look back.

"Jimin?" He asked in a blank face.

"Yeah. Did you tell him you're at school?" Jin asked to which Taehyung nodded his head.

"I did. What did he do here?" He asked.

"He said he'll wait for your return because he had something to give you... but after an hour or so, he decided to just leave everything inside your room." Jin explained.

Taehyung could only respond a short "okay" before heading to his room. He saw there two paper bags containing chips and sweets.

He quickly took his phone out and dialed Jimin's number. After a few rings, Jimin's voice finally came from the other line.

"Hey." Jimin greeted.

"Hey. What are all these stuff?" Taehyung asked.

"Oh that... I got some stuff from my grandma and she said I should share some with you." Jimin informed which earned a simple "thank you" from Taehyung.

"Thank my grandma. She's very insistent to give all those stuff to you. Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if I'm really her grandson or it's you." Jimin added with humor laced in his voice.

"Okay. Tell her I said I appreciate her." Taehyung uttered.

"Yeah..yeah.. see you tomorrow." Jimin said, finally ending the call.

Taehyung proceeded to charge his phone while he started taking a quick shower before having his dinner with his brother.

At around nine in the evening, Taehyung was finally ready for bed. He had his back resting on the headboard as he took his phone and started typing a message for Jungkook.

I'm going to bed, hyung.

Taehyung sent the message and a minute passed before a reply came.

That Hyung
Can I sleep next to you?

Taehyung need not to think twice as he replied in a snap.

Okay, hyung. I'll leave the door open.

He quickly stood to open the door leading to the veranda before going back to bed. As soon as his bum touched the mattress, his phone vibrated once more as a message from Jungkook came.

That Hyung
I'll join you once I'm done with a few things. No need to wait for me. Go to sleep now, little lamb.

Taehyung went over the message for a couple of times before his fingers quickly typed a reply.

Okay, hyung. Goodnight.

He hit reply before placing his phone on the bedside table as he finally lay down on the bed, closing his eyes until sleep visited him.

————

Deep in the night, Taehyung felt a movement next to him which made his eyes slowly open.

He had always been a light sleeper and a simple movement could already wake him.

Taehyung could feel the bed dipping before a sudden strong arm find its way on his waist, pulling him until his back touched that familiar broad frame.

Taehyung need not to look just to know the man who's holding him.

"Go back to sleep."

He heard Jungkook say, voice deep as he whispered near his ear.

He felt a soft kiss on his temple before the ravenette pulled him closer as he buried his face on top of his head.

"Goodnight, little lamb." Jungkook whispered once more, inhaling the intoxicating scent from Taehyung's hair.

It brought a sense of calmness that had him closing his eyes before pulling Taehyung closer in a tight embrace.

"Goodnight, hyung." Taehyung responded in a hushed tone before finally going back to sleep, now enveloped in Jungkook's warm embrace.

————
Love you 💜