Golden rays of sunlight seeped through the windows of the car as Seung Ho drove towards the shelter, with Hoseok in the passenger seat. 

It had been hectic the past five days with the search of the shooter, and they just yesterday managed to find the car abandoned with no clues about the people who were in it. It had a fake plate, and no DNA was found anywhere. The CCTV — as they discovered later — was deliberately out of order in the route the car took, so Seokjin was unable to track it sooner. 

But they had an overwhelming ace up their sleeve. An ace only Seung Ho, Hoseok, and Namjoon knew about.

Sang Mi Jun. 

Sang Mi Jun cracked under pressure and spilled everything he knew. 

 
During the interrogation five days ago

“Sieun... Sieun is the boss of a crime organization. I just started working for him a week ago, only because I was broke, I swear! I... I didn’t know he was such a monster. I didn’t know he would kill people. I thought I would just sell some weed or something. But he makes us go to deals with him and forces us to kill anyone who bothers him. I haven’t killed anyone, though, really. Even at the thought, I get sick. I can’t kill people. I’m still under training, so he hasn’t made me kill anyone, thankfully. Today was the first time I went to a deal with them. And I lost my shit when I saw him take out the machine gun and shoot at them while fucking laughing. He’s crazy. He’s a complete psycho.”

Hoseok and Seung Ho listened to him wide-eyed; that level of cruelty and insanity was always something that shook them. “So, what—what happened exactly?” Seung Ho asked. 

“That guy Taehyung and I went to the deal. Sieun wanted to buy firearms from them — I don’t know the other guys — but when he checked them, he saw they weren’t legit. They didn’t worth the money they had requested. Then, he went to his car to take the money out, but he instead grabbed the machine gun and started shooting. He was laughing like a maniac. It was horrifying. When we realized the police were there, Nae Jong, Sieun’s right hand, dragged him to the car, and they drove off right away. They left us behind. We tried to escape, but we couldn’t climb up the hillside.”

“Okay, who else was there?” Hoseok asked. 

“The driver stayed in the car. I think his name was Woo Jin. There was another car with four other guys in case something went wrong, but I don’t know them. Sieun has a lot of men working for him, and I’ve only met Nae Jong, his right hand.”

“What about Taehyung? What do you know about him?”

“I just know that his name is Taehyung. Today I met him for the first time, and we only talked about what story we’ll tell if we get caught. He seemed like a nice guy. He was friendly with me, and actually, we fell from the hillside because he tried to pull me higher with him. He didn’t want to leave me behind.”

“He helped you?” Seung Ho gaped at him, appalled at the new information. 

“Yes. Also, when we were talking about the story we’ll tell, I asked him why did he work for Sieun because he seemed so friendly and nice, and he just smiled and said that we all have a reason for the things we do. And sometimes, because of that reason, we do things we don’t want to or things we usually won’t do. I think... I think he doesn’t want to work for him either. It felt like he was forced to do it.”

“Okay. Do you know where Sieun’s hideout is?” Hoseok asked. 

“No. Only after working for him for six months we can go to his hideout. He’s very strict about these things. He doesn’t trust easily.”

“Anything else you know about him? His surname?”

“No, nothing. I’ve only met him twice. The first day I started working for him and today.”

“Okay,” Hoseok sighed. “Any other oncoming deals he has?”

“He always arranges them at the last minute. We don’t know the location beforehand. Only Nae Jong knows.”

“Are you willing to continue cooperating with us?”

Mi Jun’s eyes popped as they bristled with dread. “What if he finds out? He’ll kill me.”

But Hoseok was fast enough to assuage him. “We’ll protect you. And you will only let us know about the location of his next deal. We don’t have to talk in the meantime. When you leave, call him and tell him they caught you. Tell him you just said the story you had prepared. Try to sound calm and confident.”

“Okay. I can do it. Please, you have to stop him. He’s really a psycho.”

The two detectives let him go then and went to find Namjoon and Jungkook. The latter was nowhere to be found, but Namjoon narrated what happened and eased their confusion, replacing it with shock by Jungkook’s behavior. 

Namjoon also told them he had to report what happened to the chief since it was recorded and only he could give permission to delete any footage. Seung Heon was delirious with outrage upon hearing how his son behaved to a witness and gave him additional punishment; he deprived him of his gun for a week and sent him home for the day. Of course, he wasn’t allowed to go to any scene again — he could only do desk work. 

And surprisingly, Jungkook obeyed to everything his father said. For the past five days, he didn’t go to any crime scene and also didn’t ask to go with his squad. He wrote reports all day without complaining about anything. He seemed calmer after the incident with Taehyung. Impassively calmer.

The words Taehyung had spewed that day whirled in his head in a frenzied gyre nonstop despite his efforts to ward them off. And he didn’t know what to do about it. 

So, since the two couldn’t find Jungkook that day, they shared everything Mi Jun said with Namjoon and unanimously decided to keep it a secret from Jungkook for the time being. Everyone could notice the change in his behavior — again — and that sort of information would drive him to an overeager, stressful maelstrom. 

And he hadn’t been this calm for years now. They didn’t want to risk it. 

. . .

“Don’t you think we should tell detective Jeon now?” Seung Ho voiced out hesitantly. “Won’t he be mad if we hide it longer?”

“I don’t know. I’m afraid he’ll freak out and go find Taehyung. Taehyung can’t know that Mi Jun spilled everything. We can’t be sure about what he’ll do. Maybe he’ll tell Sieun. And if he does, Sieun will kill Mi Jun for sure.”

Seung Ho thought it was an impasse no matter what they chose to do; they couldn’t hide their cooperation with Mi Jun forever, and telling Jungkook about it would anger him either way. “Why did he do that to Taehyung, though? I don’t understand him.”

“No one does, and don’t even try. He’s too broken to be understood,” Hoseok said in a hushed tone, a saddened fog cloaking his gaze as he cast his mind back to the time Kang Ho died. 

“No one is too broken to be understood. He just has to open up to someone if he’s going through something. That’s the only way we can understand him.” 

“He’s too stubborn for his own good.” A sigh cartwheeled from Hoseok’s mouth. “He doesn’t like sharing his emotions. He never did, but it got worse after his hyung died.”

Seung Ho parked the car then and tossed a glance towards him, tentative. “How did he die? I never got to ask.”

A cyclone of sorrow blustered in his chest as he locked his eyes on him. “We received a report that Jin Mo was spotted and the chief sent Kang Ho’s squad. He didn’t tell the others because Jin Mo seemed to have someone helping him on the inside, since he always knew our moves. So he thought the fewer that knew about it, the better. When they arrived at the location, Kang Ho said he didn’t have a good feeling about it, but the chief insisted he should go into that building and find him no matter what. 

“The chief was desperate to catch Jin Mo, and he got greedy about it. When they split up to search, Kang Ho ended up going outside from the back door. He said he found nothing, and that something didn’t feel right. He said they should leave because why would Jin Mo be there at an abandoned building alone? It didn’t make sense the more he thought about it. Although the chief insisted on searching more, Kang Ho didn’t yield. He said he’ll take his squad and leave. 

“But as he opened the door to return inside, someone pulled him back and threw him to the ground. Then, he was stabbed thirteen times before he could even understand what was happening. Jungkook had secretly followed them with his partner and arrived at the scene at that moment. He used to follow his hyung’s squad around if he didn’t have another case. Then, he chased him, but he got shot. And Kang Ho died a few minutes later in his arms.”

Moisture beaded at the corners of Seung Ho’s eyes as he listened to the devastating story and the tears threatened to fall by the time he finished. “Oh my God... I don’t know what to say.”

“We didn’t know either when we found out what happened.”

“Is that why detective Jeon doesn’t have a good relationship with his father? Does he blame him?”

“Yes. Everything was recorded, so Jungkook found out that the chief urged Kang Ho to go into that building despite that he said he didn’t have a good feeling about it. And he insisted on looking for him when Kang Ho, as a team leader, wanted to take his squad out of there. His gut feeling was right that night, but the chief didn’t listen to him.”

“Wow,” Seung Ho breathed out as his eyes lost focus by the shocking revelations. “Was Jin Mo’s face shown in the video during the murder?” 

“No, he was wearing a mask.”

“Then how do you know it was him?” 

“It’s an assumption since Jin Mo was allegedly seen there. Jungkook was set on the fact that Jin Mo killed Kang Ho, and he still is. That’s why he wants to catch him so bad. And that’s why he gets so angry when we have no new leads. So don’t push him on this matter, Seung Ho-yah. Let him be angry if it’s about Jin Mo.” Hoseok lowered his head, his expression still tinged with sadness. “No one can understand the depth of his pain when it comes to this case.”

Seung Ho exhaled a long sigh. “Does he blame himself too? Because he lost the killer?”

“Yes. He blames himself the most.”

“God, I feel so bad. I hate that he’s hurting so much. I get why he’s so apathetic at times now. I wish there was something we could do to help him.”

Hoseok welcomed the warm smile that sprawled on his lips at Seung Ho’s words as he glanced his way. “He needs closure. So let’s work hard to help him get that closure.”

Seung Ho copied his smile as he gazed back at him. “Yes. Let’s do that.”

The two got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the shelter. It was an enormous, newly renovated building that left them staring in awe. “That’s a shelter for homeless people? That’s like a freaking mansion,” Seung Ho said as he took in the garden and the enormous yard. 

“I know, right?” Hoseok scoped the place a bit more and laid a hand on Seung Ho’s back, ushering him forward. The door was already open, so they proceeded inside and gaped at the excessive lounge. 

“How may I help you?”

The two turned to the sweet voice of a young-looking man. “Hi. We’re detectives,” Hoseok said as both flashed their badges. “We wanted to ask a few questions. Where can we talk privately?”

“Follow me.”

And they did. They trailed behind him until they reached an office. The man gestured them to sit, and they perched on the couch as he took his seat across from them. “I’m Song Eun Hae. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you. I’m Jung Hoseok and this is Yoo Seung Ho.”

“Nice to meet you. How may I help you?”

“We want to ask about Seon Taehyung.” Hoseok watched as the man’s face crumpled at once and explained further. “We have information that Seon Taehyung provides for the shelter.”

“I don’t know anyone with that name, and I know every single person who has made even the tiniest donation. We have the paperwork too.”

Seung Ho pulled his phone out and showed him Taehyung’s picture. “You haven’t seen this guy?”

Eun Hae’s eyes brightened right away as a smile exploded on his face. “Ah, of course I know him. That’s V.”

“V?” Hoseok echoed in sheer bafflement as he wrote it in his notebook. 

“Yes. That’s how we know him. We basically grew up together.”

The two detectives shared a startled look before Seung Ho redirected his focus to Eun Hae. “Taehyung lived here?”

“Yes. He came when he was nine with his hyung.”

Another wave of puzzlement washed over Seung Ho as he didn’t remember seeing anything about his hyung in his file. “He has siblings?”

“Just a hyung, Jae Wook. But they’re not blood related.”

Okay, that explains why his hyung’s existence isn’t in his file. Right? Seung Ho scratched the side of his neck as he sank into his thoughts, but Hoseok’s next question pulled him back soon enough. 

“So he’s an orphan?”

“We don’t know. V never shared anything about his life. He hasn’t even told us his real name to this day. But... Um, never mind.”

Hoseok discerned the hesitation in his lowered eyes. “Please tell us anything you know. Even the smallest thing is important.”

“Why are you asking about him, though? Is he in trouble?”

“No. We just want to know more about him because he was present in a crime scene.”

“V would never hurt anyone,” Eun Hae hastened to say. “He’s a kind, caring person. When he was underage, whatever money he earned, he shared it with us or bought as much food as he could for all of us. He always said that when he’ll come of age, he’ll make lots of money and help us live a better life. And he did. We owe everything to him.”

“What... does that mean?” Seung Ho asked as his eyes traveled around the lavish office. “V bought this building for you?”

“To be honest, when he was about twenty years old, someone came to find him. I don’t remember his name. It was something like Ah Sin or Ah Mi. Anyway, that guy wanted to offer him a job. But there was a rumor that the guy was working for a criminal and whatever job he was offering was something illegal. We told him not to go, but V wanted to hear him out.

“After that day, he disappeared for a whole year. And when he visited us again, he donated money to the shelter and paid for the reconstruction of the building. He bought everything for us. We asked him if the money came from something illegal, but he said no and that his hyung helped him become a broker. He has his way with words, so he can sell anything to anyone. He makes good money on the side.”

Why isn’t this in his file? Seung Ho breathed out a deep sigh as he went into overthinking mode once more. “So he didn’t take the job that guy had offered him?”

“He said he didn’t. And I don’t know any details about that.”

“Anything else you can tell us about Taehyung?”

Eun Hae tucked his lower lip between his teeth at Hoseok’s question as his gaze fell to the left corner of the room. “I don’t know if it’s true because I never asked anything about their past. No one did. But... when they first came here, they were in a very bad shape. They seemed like they had been living in the streets. And they seemed cautious of everyone and everything. It just... Their behavior was like they were being chased by someone.”

Hoseok hastily jotted the key points of his narrative down and glanced up at him. “Can you give us some examples? Like, what did they do?”

“At first, they stayed in their room most of the time. V especially got startled by the tiniest of noises. It was two months later when they started going out, but they always wore hoodies and masks. And about a year later, when Jae Wook came of age, he disappeared without a trace. V was devastated and kept saying that something happened to his hyung because of him. He never explained what he meant.

“But Jae Wook sent him a text a few months later, saying that he had to leave the country for a while and that he’d explain everything when he’d return. And he did, about two years later. We never got to know why he left, though. He didn’t come back here. He got his own apartment and took V with him. But V was staying here more since Jae Wook was never home because of his work.”

A moment of silence crawled by as Hoseok finished writing. “His hyung’s name is his real name?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Um, I just don’t understand why would Taehyung use a nickname while his hyung used his real name.”

Eun Hae pursed his lips as he contemplated his words. “I’ve never thought about it, to be honest. We want this place to be a safe place for everyone, so we don’t prod in each other’s past. Whoever wants to share their story is more than welcome, of course.”

“I see. Do you know Jae Wook’s surname?”

“It’s Kim.”

“And you’re sure they’re not blood related?”

“Yes. V told me himself.”

“Do you know anything about their parents?”

“About their parents...” Eun Hae murmured, trying to dig up any faded memories from his conversations with them. “Now that I think about it, they never mentioned their parents. I don’t know anything about them. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Seung Ho reassured smilingly. “You already helped us enough. Thank you so much.”

“Thank you,” Hoseok said as well. “If you remember anything else, call us anytime.” He left his card on the table and rose to his feet with Seung Ho copying his moves, then they trod to the exit. “You’ve checked Taehyung’s file, right?”

“Yes. There is no information about his parents, for some reason. Nothing about him growing up here or about his hyung. But if they’re not blood related, it’s reasonable.”

“You’re right. Let’s arrange a team meeting once we return. There’s definitely something off about Seon Taehyung.”

Seung Ho nodded, sharing the same bizarre gut feeling about him with Hoseok. They drove back to the station and found the other two at their desks, chatting with Seokjin. 

“Hey. Did we miss something?” Hoseok asked as he placed his gun in the locker. 

“No. Seokjin was just telling about another woman who was reported missing a few hours ago,” Namjoon said. 

“Does the chief want us to look into it?” Seung Ho asked. 

“No. That’s what the missing persons department is for, right?”

“Yeah, but they haven’t made any progress,” Seung Ho let out quietly as he glanced away. 

“We haven’t made any progress either,” Jungkook spoke up once he hit enter, finishing one more report about a theft. 

“We have,” Hoseok objected. “Let’s go somewhere quiet to talk. We have new information about Seon Taehyung.” 

“I don’t care about him.” Something harsher slithered into Jungkook’s tone. “As Namjoon hyung had said, he’s not important, right?

“You should,” Hoseok uttered. “Because maybe Taehyung isn’t who we think he is.”

The three stared back at Hoseok with mystification burning in their eyes, and soon they all followed him to a meeting room. He recounted everything they discovered earlier, and as one they reached the same conclusion; Taehyung was undoubtedly hiding something. 

“Also...” Hoseok trailed off as his gaze roamed on the others, silently notifying them it was time to reveal their cooperation with Mi Jun. “There’s something you should know, Jungkook. But I want you to be calm, okay?”

Jungkook’s countenance darkened in no time at his words. “What?”

“Remember Sang Mi Jun? He spilled everything. He’s working for Sieun, a boss of a crime organization. Sieun wanted to buy guns from some dealers, but he saw they weren’t legit. Then, he took his machine gun and started shooting them. Mi Jun and Taehyung—”

“What the fuck are you saying?” Jungkook roared, a mask of pure fury adorning his traits. “Taehyung lied? He completely fooled us? He’s working for that Sieun guy? That’s why he was there?”

“It’s not confirmed, but we think yes, he’s working for Sieun,” Hoseok said. “And if he does, he’s definitely doing illegal activities. I think that’s where his money come from. I think the whole broker thing is just bullshit.”

Jungkook rubbed his face with both hands, still in the process of absorbing the appalling revelations. “What else did Mi Jun say?”

“He said he only worked for Sieun for a week. He thought he would just sell some weed—” 

“Not about that, about Taehyung!” Jungkook cut Seung Ho off with a rumbling voice that sent a chilling quiver down his spine. “What else did he say about Taehyung?”

Seung Ho drew in an empowering breath and exhaled deeply. “He said he only talked to him that day about the story they’ll tell if they get caught. He said he was friendly, unlike the others he met, and that they actually fell from that hillside because Taehyung tried to pull him higher with him.”

Hoseok considered Jungkook’s expression — a mix of anger, disbelief, and shock — and couldn’t help the sigh that escaped him. “We asked Mi Jun to tell us about Sieun’s next deal and he said he’ll cooperate. Now we’re just waiting for his text. We didn’t tell you earlier because of the incident with Taehyung. And to be honest, I was afraid you’ll try to find him and confront him about his lies. Taehyung can’t know that we know, Jungkook. Please don’t do anything stupid.”

Jungkook’s phone beeping robbed him of the chance to reply, and he instantly fished it out of his pocket as he recognized the notification sound; it was from the tracker he had planted in Han Misu’s watch. And that beep meant he went to the same place twice that day. 

“Han Misu has been going to a certain location for the past three days more than once a day. I think our plan worked. Let’s prepare a raid right now.”

They all jumped to their feet and headed outside to ask the violent crimes unit two to join the raid with other officers. 

After organizing a couple of things, they began getting ready, wearing their bulletproof vests and securing their guns. But Jungkook froze up as he reached for the keys of his locker. His gun wasn’t there, and it wouldn’t be for two more days. He couldn’t go without his gun. He wasn’t allowed to go. 

So he plumped down onto his chair and gripped his hair in absolute dejection. Why did he have to fuck up again? 

“Yah, forget the punishment,” Namjoon said as he neared him. “It’s about Jong Hoon. You have to come.”

Jungkook only screwed his eyes shut and grasped his hair harder. “Namjoon hyung, you’re the leader today. Make sure your men return safe.”

“Yah!” Namjoon growled as he clutched his shoulder and pulled him to a straighter position. “Go take your gun from the chief and lead the raid. We can’t do this without you. We won’t.”

“We won’t, Kook,” Hoseok said. 

“We won’t,” Seung Ho echoed, determined. 

“What the hell do you want me to do after how I screwed up again?” Jungkook exclaimed in a sudden blast of exasperation. 

Seung Heon bobbed into the room then with a proud smile etched on his face. “Refusing to ask me to go even when it’s about Jong Hoon shows a lot, Jungkook. I don’t know the reason for your change, but I’m grateful for it.” He halted in front of him and set a hand on his shoulder. “Here. Take your gun. Lead the raid to the best of your abilities, as you always do. And catch that scumbag.”

Jungkook felt an inexplicable warmth and eagerness take over his existence — a warmth created by his father that he hadn’t felt for years. His hand slid towards the gun in a faltering move, and a small nudge from Seung Heon brought the gun into his hold. 

“Be careful. Everyone, stay safe. They’ll be unprepared, so don’t make hasty decisions and don’t act on your own. Listen to your leader. Go.”

Jungkook nodded to his father in a silent ‘thank you’. “Let’s go.” With his signal, everyone rushed outside and split into two sprinter vans. 

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