"Yo, don't play hard to get," the bald, fatty man spat vigorously, hand brushing his dirty beard as he looked taehyung up and down with a disgusting expression.

It was not the first time Taehyung was called to that dark, smelly room of an office. This place the boy worked at was one that's placed in one of the red districts in Korea, hence it was well-known fact that the business had never been completely clean. Taehyung's job as a bartender was like the first layer of what's truly hidden inside; and Taehyung had always tried his best to stay there. Though, as time passed by, more obstacles had come to greet him just like right now.

Ever since he first started, the boss had appreciated his face the most. And since he was also very diligent for his pay, the old man saw this as an opportunity to pull him to another level of job.

Of course, Taehyung did not appreciate being flirted, touched, and talked badly with those drunk, disgusting customers. Hosts were dangerous occupations.  They may look like they were treated like kings and queens on the outside, but what happened inside the closed doors was something Taehyung couldn't even imagine of. It was already bad that he was associated with this place as a bartender, so he swore to quit as soon as he get more paid job.

So he refused and refused all the time, much to his boss's disliking. He was good with his job because he was a persistent man with lots of cards inside his pockets. Taehyung had to be extra careful when he dealt with this man, never dared to show any weakness. The old man kept persuading him almost all the time he was present in the place when Taehyung was on his shifts.

Taehyung's poker face faltered in a few seconds as he flinched in surprise when his boss stood up from his chair. He felt a course hand touching his arm, so gross that goosebumps ran all through his body. 

"Don't you like money, boy?" the hot breath and cunning voice of the man was like the news of an early death. "You can earn thrice as much, you know. Put that pretty face on better use, and soon you'll be everyone's favourite."

No, there was nothing appealing with that offer. Taehyung wanted to throw up so bad, but he refrained from doing so. Slowly, trying hard not to look aggressive, Taehyung stepped back from the old man's proximity and pushed those disgusting hands away.

Smiling tightly, Taehyung bowed to the displeased man. "I'm sorry, boss, but I'm content with my current job now. If you'll excuse me, I think it's about time my shift ends. I'll see you tomorrow." And like a lightning, Taehyung escaped the room to get away from his boss.

Just ten minutes later, the boy had hurriedly stepped out on his way to his home. The night chills made him shuddered in cold and a bit of fear. Somehow, the night felt darker, colder, and quieter.  It was almost 2 am and the only sound heard only came from himself, but strangely enough, Taehyung hadn't felt as lonely as usual, he thought fearfully.

---

Just like everyday, the TV was put on to erase the eeriness of the small house. Taehyung was washing up all thorough the news of the serial killer. Grimly, Taehyung could hear how the famous presenter, Jung Hoseok, presented the updates of the serial killer.

Time passed and it had been almost three weeks since the first day of university. And since then, the killer had been silent until recently a young girl was killed and identified with similar signs as other serial killer's victims. It was heartbreaking when Hoseok showed up the picture of the girl who looked to be only a few years older than Taehyung.

Taehyung flinched, thinking that the face looked unbelievably familiar. His face paled when the presenter reported that the girl worked at the bar just a few metres away from Taehyung's workplace. Surely she would feel familiar because Taehyung remembered bumping into her on his way home just a week ago. Today she had been laid cold and unmoving next to Han River with body damaged unforgivably.

Taehyung began trembling in panic. He shouldn't be relaxed now, he'd got to find another safer job far away from that area. He was still so young, though, and he got responsibilities as a university student. What high paying job could be possibly accepting him?

An idea then ran across his mind.  If he put one and two of his problems, a solution would always come up. There had been announcements on student's board about the application of teaching and lab assistants. He contemplated the requirements of the job and what he could offer to get. Taehyung was a smart kid, he knew it himself with those GPA's of his. He just lacked in social interactions, having lived alone for so long, so he probably needed to focus more on the interviews. One to two months of working as an assistant would hopefully help him escape that shady job.

As the news ended, Taehyung turned off the TV and laid down on top of his hard, thin mattress, feeling cold and hungry. He tried his best to find the most comfortable position he could get with that thin blanket, and pillow makeshift from tattered shirt. The sound of a couple of drunkards fighting outside had broken the silence of the night. In one of these nights, Taehyung could only shed his tears silently in loneliness. He just missed his brother so much.

"Taehyung,"

The little boy giggled as he saw his elder brother beaming so radiantly as soon as he came from school. "I made a friend today! Everyone is so scared of him but I think he's just a little different from us. So I approached him, and since he didn't refuse, we became friend!" Seojoon hugged his excited little brother. It felt so warm for Taehyung snuggled deeper into his brother's chest.

"My friends at school are waaay better than the kids here," the elder kid continued to chatter. "There's also no nagging caregivers that forbid me to play. No annoying kids, too! Today I even won the second place in math exam but  turns out, everyone praised me for it!"

"Hyungie, I wanna go to your school, too!" the little tiger eagerly clinged to his hyung. He was still pretty much a baby for his 6 years senior sibling. The orphanage provided the education in kindergarten level, hence Taehyung still had to wait a year before he could go to elementary.

Seojoon cooed at his brother's cuteness, grinning widely. "Silly Taetae, soon you'll go to your own and meet that bunny friend of yours!"

---

Taehyung really ended up applying for the teaching job. Apparently, he was too "young" to be a lab assistant until he was permitted to work on his thesis. Taehyung was confident in his GPA's but he completely missed out on the students' organization life. He was too busy working his ass off, though. So out of despair, he modestly filled out his working experiences, even if most of them were unrelated at all to his field (he didn't put in the bartender job, surely).

Surprisingly, he passed out the screening phase and was soon called out for interviews. He wore his one and only dress shirt, whose colour had gone a little too faded for years. Taehyung honestly hated that shirt, because it was one of Seojoon's belongings who had fallen onto his possession, but he couldn't be picky as a broke student. His black trouser was too big on his skinny frame, but he couldn't be careless because he loved baggy clothes and it brought him a sense of dressing up a bit for wearing something different.

There were a beeline of interviewees; one by one was called inside the classroom. Taehyung nervously waited, wondering what kind of questions would be asked. He had only works for jobs whose skills and requirements were learnt throughout working there. As long as he stayed out of trouble, not asking to be paid more, be diligent, and never missed out work; he should always be fine. But to be a teaching assistant was something new for Taehyung, and he dreaded if he was the right person for it.

He was finally called around half an hour later. Too nervous to look up, he was surprised to find Kim Namjoon and Jeon Jeongguk sitting opposite him. The feelings of throwing up amplified when he realised that those professors would be the ones to interview him. They must've already seen how pale he had become. It was already bad before he remembered the last encounter he had with Namjoon; feeling so embarrassed like a damsel in distress. He could only hope the elder man had already forgotten about the ordeal.

"Oh!" suddenly the tallest man in the room exclaimed in surprise, earning a questing stare from his colleague while Taehyung stared back owlishly. "Kim Taehyung, the one near on the building near the library, right?"

Oh, he remembered, Taehyung thought bitterly. "Ah, y-yes, sir." The boy bowed in gratitude, stuttering a small but sincere thanks.

"How's your body? It doesn't hurt anymore, right?" Namjoon kindly asked, ignorant to the incredulous expression from the man next to him. He probably didn't realise how weird those questions sounded.

Despite the awkwardness, Taehyung felt himself more relaxed. Smiling gratefully, he said, "Yes, sir, I'm as healthy as a newborn. All thanks to you, I'll always remember it."

Jeongguk coughed, grabbing both Taehyung and Namjoon's attention. His expression was awkward, but Taehyung could see a hint of surprise and annoyance in a split second. It was so fast that Taehyung felt like he just imagined it.

"Ah, sorry, Jeongguk," Namjoon sheepishly scratched his head, an endearing trait.

"You two know each other?" Jeongguk asked, looking at Taehyung with interested glint on his eyes. Taehyung couldn't help but blush for being the centre of attention between two handsome men. It should be illegal for someone to be so brilliant and breathtaking at the same time, it was honestly unfair, Taehyung inwardly said.

"I saved Taehyung from being cornered by a bunch of bad kids a few days ago," Namjoon said, he was clearly still troubled with the bullying Taehyung got almost daily. "Can you believe bullying still happens in university? And from our department, too. It's the result of orientation done wrong."

"That's really bad," Jeongguk said, looking peeved. "You should report them to the dean. Or don't hesitate to call us for help whenever you need it, Taehyung."

It really moved Taehyung's heart to hear how kind the two professors were, even though they were basically still strangers. Those words were already very reassuring for him. Despite having no one else left,  he was glad there were still people who cared for him.

"So, let's get back to the business." Both professors straightened their postures, gazes serious and professional, and Taehyung was easily brought into a different atmosphere.

"Actually, Namjoon-ssi shouldn't have been here, though," Jeongguk jokingly said. "He's not in the lightweight structure team."

"Hey," Namjoon pretended to be offended. "I was the substitute for Jungmin-ssi. You should be the one to be grateful I came here to help you."

"Nah, he just wants to interview someone." Jeongguk handed the other man what seemed to be the copies of Taehyung's paper submissions. Namjoon then proceeded to read the CV and form registration.

"What's your index for Statics?" Jeongguk was the one to ask first.

"I got an A," said Taehyung honestly.

"What about Mechanics and Strength of Materials?"

"That an A, too, sir."

"That's good. I would be lying if I said I wasn't pleased with your GPA's," the ebony haired man smiled at Taehyung, making him even more flustered. "But it is as a matter of fact not the only thing to be held onto in pursuit of this position. Please tell us your organisation, internship, or working experiences."

This. This was the question Taehyung dreaded the most. One's career couldn't depend solely on GPA and scores on mere paper sheets. Experiences and social connections were solid foundations too. Scoring a job in such shady places for a minor like Taehyung didn't make him proud for a slightest bit. He couldn't even put it on CV, even if he worked so hard and sacrificed lots of hours of sleep daily. The only skill he could pick up was how to mix alcoholic beverages, ignore some drunkards while pretending to be a good listener, and avoid being fondled by crazy old men. After all, as he had said before, it was all for the money he so needed just to survive life, one that had never been easy on him.

"I'm currently part timing in a local convenient store," Taehyung said, instead. "I've worked in a flower shop, café, and local library before. Um, I'm not part of any student organisations. I'm sorry but most of my experiences are not related to my studies. This is new for me, to apply for an assistance job. I may not have many experiences, but I know myself that I always work hard and do my best to finish my tasks. I was known at my job to be the most diligent and never missed a day of work, at least I could offer you that." He wasn't speaking lies. Of course he was the most diligent when it comes to surviving.

"Very well, I could see how determined you are. At least I could see that you are a responsible and committed person. Being a teaching assistant is not easy, you have to adapt well and catch up to your lecturers. Time management is important so you don't get behind your studies. But you can also learn and experience so much from it," Jeongguk said, flipping the papers.

"Yes, I will take every opportunities I am given and keep learning to be better everyday." Taehyung was determined, if there was one thing he was good at, then it would probably giving all his heart onto something he was serious about.

"Good, good," Namjoon nodded in satisfaction. "What about future topic for thesis? Have you decided which labs you want to work at?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm still undecided about it. But I'm quite interested in the topics of aircraft airframe structure and propulsion system. They're very different, though..." It was still a far-fetch thinking to be thought about, but Taehyung could still dream in the middle of the lonely night, shivering with cold and something akin with anticipation or excitement of imagining the future.

"Ah, that's okay. You still have plenty of time to decide that. Don't worry, since the applications are for general courses, it may help opening the paths to more advance fields for you to choose."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, I think we're done here. You can expect the result next Sunday. Thanks for your time, Taehyung," Jeongguk finished their interview with a friendly shake of hand, which Taehyung gratefully took. His roughness and strong palm was the contradiction to Taehyung's soft and delicate one. For a second, it had felt so warm, Taehyung thought.

"Thank you very much, professor." Taehyung bowed politely to the elder men.

"Remember to call us if those bullies decide to bother you again," Namjoon said, waving his hand to Taehyung on the exit of the room.

"Yes! Thank you for your kindness, sir."

---

"Damn, he should be here soon," Hoseok leaned heavily next to the entrance of Bangtan Seoul Police Station he had grown very accustomed to visiting. His relentless gaze numerously scanned the parking lots to find one certain car of a certain police officer.

The presenter's gloomy face turned into a happy smile upon seeing the arrival of his most awaited person: a black haired man with tired baggy eyes, slouching like a lazy cat needing his daily naps. "Why have you been ignoring my calls? I texted you a bunch too!" Soon Hoseok bombarded him with questions loudly, annoying the hell out of the man. But Hoseok was not a famous young news reporter if he wasn't ambitious with what he wanted to catch.

"Congrats, Yoongi! After months of investigations, you finally solved the elderly murder case! I heard the killer almost took his own life. Did you get the credit for catching him? Awesome!" Hoseok cheerfully exclaimed, following the officer, who was supposed to be 'Yoongi' looking very much pissed off. "As expected of Min Yoongi the genius jjang jjang man bong bong."

Yoongi walked through the entrance of his office, ascending the stairs to his room, all the while with Hoseok still trailing hot behind him. He rolled his eyes, "give me all the flatteries in this world and I'm still done with you."

"Hey, I'm still not done congratulating you! Can't believe I missed all your talents--"

Yoongi facepalmed his tired face, "Stop bothering me already... I'm seriously gonna be serious at you."

Hoseok ignored him, he made an attempt of smelling the elder man obnoxiously. "Aigoo, I smell booze on you. Yoongi, aren't you afraid how the news is gonna turn out tomorrow? Famous detective Min catching beer bottles instead of catching a killer."

Yoongi stopped walking, he turned back to Hoseok with a stupid encouraging smile on his face. The detective shot him a deathly glare because of his accusation. His joke wasn't funny anymore. "I didn't drink and drive," he said in low voice, seriously. "Can't a cop drink when he's off duty?" He continued his walk when he saw the reporter finally shut up.

"C'mon that was hilarious just now, Yoongs," Hoseok relentlessly followed him again. "That being said, you know there's a new victim on the Han River. The one who killed this poor boy--"

"Oh, my headache. Stress will only escalate my hair loss--"

"You know I'm like a shark once I smell blood!" Hoseok tried to catch up with Yoongi when they were only metres away from Yoongi's office.

"I need a bath like right now--"

"Hey! So what made you link this case to the serial killer? The body was also burnt to crisp. I figure it was also the serial killer's work, right?!"

"I need to take a quick nap," Yoongi feigned a yawn. He was seriously tired, though, having detective as a job surely made him work in 24/7 nonstop.

He was just about to escape through the door to his room when Hoseok shouted on his face, standing right in front of him. "Tell me the link you found! There seemed to be something different this time--"

Yoongi sighed exasperatedly. "Come here."

"What?? Tell me," Hoseok came closer, offering his ear for what he supposed to be a giveaway information Yoongi was willing to share.

The detective only smirked, "get lost." And in one powerful push, he was let go from the now annoyed reporter and escaped to his office room. Jung Hoseok was one thing, but he already got too many problems up his sleeve to care about the reporter.

He hadn't slept for two days. He started this weekend by running around trying to catch a crazy young boy who part-timed in a small family restaurant and killed his elderly employer. He worked on this case alone after having had a cat fight with his colleague about whose clues were right to trail. And turned out, he was the one who's right but even the satisfaction only lasted one second after having to catch the killer while preventing him from jumping from a second story building to escape from him.

This break should be his token for his hard work today, just a few hours of sleep before his struggle to find more clues regarding the Serial Killer case. He may look like a zombie, but whenever he traced this case, he felt most alive. From all his experiences, he was surely dedicated to this special case. Though, Hoseok had successfully washed all his sleepiness, hence he opted to take a look at the newest case the murder of a young boy on the Han River, whose case was made all too familiar for everyone of who was supposed to be behind it.

The horrible pictures reported on the folder made his blood boil.

Seong Hyun-Woo. 22 years old. Worked as a waiter in a secluded, exclusive bar in the red light district of Seoul. Burnt to crisp with numerous wounds on his body caused by knife and blunt objects. Found next to Han River. There was also a photo when the victim was still alive. He was a handsome boy with the sweetest smile.

Once again innocent people always had to die, the young ones who struggled to live had to do odd jobs in shady places. Yoongi had to admit, after investigating this for a long period of time. All the victims had attractive features, worked on almost the same field, the location was scattered all over Seoul but still ended up dead in the same place. The methods are always the same: they were burned to death.

Unanswered questions still lingered and piled up in the detective's mind. How did the killer get the information of these people? What were his motives? What linked all of these victims together so he could predict the killer's next move? Yoongi had yet to know.

---

Now Taehyung was on his way to his house, body aching and having a bit fatigue. He went to work at the bar as soon as he finished his interview at his university. It was fortunate that he worked from noon in weekends so he could at least fit six hours sleep tonight since he obviously had no class on Sundays. But going home a few hours early didn't mean he could leave unscathed of his boss's disgusting advances and insistences of employing him as one of the night workers. He used what little energy left in him to sneak home like a shadow.

His house was fifteen minutes' walk from the bar, it wasn't that far but it felt ten times scarier when you had to walk at twelve to two am, barely avoiding stray drunkards who were as violent as mad dogs. It wasn't like Taehyung could afford taxi, though, so he should suck it up and continued fast walking.

Just when he was rounded the corner, Taehyung's eyes were growing blurry. He could've sworn he heard a pair of footsteps behind him but he ignored it. That was... until a few moments later he heard it again. His hands trembled, fumbling his phone inside his jacket.

The noise was so faint, almost inaudible, that he had to strain his ears to hear it, but it was as clear as crystal that someone was walking behind him. He felt sick, though he kept walking.

Curiosity peaked, he stopped walking. The entire street was dark, safe from the streetlight a few blocks from where he was. He slowly peered out into the darkness.

Nothing. There was nothing. Nothing but total silence that seemed to stretch forever.

Slowly and cautiously, he continued walking forward. Of course, as expected, the sound of footsteps resumed. Hands up to his face, Taehyung sighed shakily and rubbed it, feeling his cheeks hot and flushed. If a heart had a maximum speed of pumping out blood, he wondered if he was at that specific moment. Fear coursed throughout his body, clouding his mind to think straight.

What should he do? The footsteps sounded closer now. What the hell should he do? A picture of censored wounded body of a young girl flashed through his mind.

And so, Taehyung ran. He ran and ran, pushing his slender legs to move as fast as possible, bringing him as far as he could from whoever behind him. He passed a few blocks before finally approaching the main road. By the time he could hear horns and the soft sound of car engines rumbling, he was almost out of breath, his body so weak that if he stopped, he could just faint on the ground. The footsteps stopped as soon as Taehyung dashed off to cross the street.

To be continued