"So you won't tell me what really happened."

Silence.

"If you don't, I'm going to assume it was you." Taehyung wouldn't. He just wanted to know what actually happened.

Silence.

"Okay then. The other three boys are your friends, right?"

"Yes."

"Lee Dohyun was found restless when he was being questioned. And especially about you. Any idea why?" Taehyung's gaze bored into him, observing his every move.

"None whatsoever." Unfazed by the inquiry, Jeongguk brushed his knuckle against the edge of the desk lazily.

"No idea about that either, okay." Although he didn't believe him, he couldn't pressure him to talk if he didn't want to. "What does the number two mean?"

"The number two? Isn't it just a number?" His lack of interest in the conversation was still well defined by the mask of boredom he had on his face and his indifferent tone.

"You said, 'Two, Dohyun,' when you were in the police car. What did it mean?"

"Nothing. The officer must have heard wrong."

"Jeongguk." It took everything he had not to lash out at him for being so impassive and uncooperative. "It's clearly a code. Will you tell me what it means or do I have to become freaking Einstein to solve it?"

A low chuckle echoed in the office, taking him by surprise by how melodic and suave it sounded. What the fuck? Taehyung, focus, he scolded himself and focused on the curly-haired boy in front of him.

"Are you smart enough to solve it, Mr. Lawyer?"

"Jeongguk, this is not a game! You have to work with me so I can get you out of this. Why are you acting like you don't give a shit about what is going happen to you now?"

There it was. His body stiffened at his question, and the rhythmic tapping of his knuckle against the desk ceased abruptly. "I do give a shit about what is gonna happen to me, Mr. No curses," he sneered, his smirk vanishing as fast as it appeared. "I want to be free so I can continue doing my thing, you know?"

"No. If you don't end up in jail now, you will live a decent life after this, okay?"

Jeongguk tossed his head back with the taunting chuckle that flew off his mouth. "No, thank you."

"Then you can rot in jail for at least seven years. How does that sound?" he challenged a bit aggressively, his temper getting the best of him.

"I'm a minor, Mr. Lawyer. I thought you were smart. I won't go to jail for so many years."

"Yes, you're underage, but you're nineteen. If they pressure the situation, they can make the judge treat you as an adult which you are going to be in less than a year."

Shit, is this really possible? A tinge of alarm blazed in Jeongguk's chest, but he forced it out with a sigh.

"What do you gain from not telling me what happened? Nothing, you're gaining nothing."

"But I'm not losing anything either." He flashed him a small smile and averted his gaze again.

"Fine. Tell me about your parents."

"Why would I do that?"

"Are they bad parents? Are they neglecting you and you found a way of getting their attention by doing illegal things and getting into trouble? Are they treating you badly? Are they—"

A sonorous thud boomed across the room as Jeongguk kicked the desk in an attempt to silence him. Dismissing his startled look, he stared him down, menaces radiating from his harsh eyes. "Don't fucking talk about them."

"This is not going to work if you keep acting like this."

"Then let me rot in jail," Jeongguk murmured, pushing himself off his seat.

"Where do you think you're going?" Taehyung mirrored his movements, baffled.

"I don't want your fucking help."

"Don't you want to sleep in your bed tonight?"

Jeongguk halted as his words were like music to his ears. "How can you do that?"

Taehyung stood behind him then, ready to respond, but he dried up throughout as he took in the younger's beautifully shaped build. Broad shoulders, biceps ready to tear off the tight clothing, long, kissable neck which was right at his mouth level since he was a bit shorter than him. You're a lawyer and he's your client. Stop thinking stupid things!

As Taehyung chided himself mentally once again, the younger twirled around to question his sudden silence. The proximity of their faces had his eyes swelling and captured them in a heartbeat, absorbing his gorgeous characteristics. How can one have such an angelic face? His hand twitched with the unexpected need to brush away a strand of hair that fell over Taehyung's eye, and he reached out at a creep.

"Mr. Lawyer?" He curled his fingers into a fist instead and dropped his hand before Taehyung could grasp what just happened.

"Oh, um, yes?"

"How can you help me sleep in my bed tonight?"

"Oh, right!" Taehyung took some clumsy steps back and hurried to his desk. "We have to, um, go to the police station, and you have to tell them what I'm about to tell you. They will release you since you're a minor, but you'll be monitored closely. You can't run away, get into trouble, visit the crime scene, or destroy any evidence."

Jeongguk was unsure about how much he heard from his instructions as something else had his full attention for a while now. Taehyung's reaction a few moments ago. Did he actually blush? Or am I seeing things?

"Are you even listening?" Taehyung snarled, perplexed by his smirking face.

"Not really, can you repeat that?"

His reply ripped a groan from Taehyung's throat, and he rammed his things into his briefcase before he surged towards him. He ignored his annoying, satisfied from pissing him off laugh and stormed out of the office.

"Oh, Mr. Kim, Mark called and said—"

"I don't care right now, I'm busy," he said, voice cold and harsher than usual.

"Why are you so mean to her?" Jeongguk brisked his gait to catch up, baffled by his explosive reaction. Did I really piss him off that much? "Mr. Lawyer? Did I go overboard? I was joking. I heard what you said."

Taehyung came into an abrupt halt, eyes burning with vexation and shooting daggers at him. "I know you think about this as a game, but it's not. Not paying attention to me while I try to fucking help you is not acceptable, and honestly? It hurts."

Jeongguk blinked on repeat as his honest outburst rendered him in a daze. He gulped nervously, for some reason his mouth feeling dry. "I told you I was joking. I really heard what you said. I'm sorry if you found it too much."

"That's not an apology, you jackass." He shoved his shoulder, but his brows drew together as the younger didn't even budge. How much strength does he have? Taehyung caught himself thinking, and he peeled his gaze away as he resumed walking a notch slower.

"Yah, you know what? You—"

"Don't yah me! I'm older than you."

"Then why did you curse at me, huh? Shouldn't the older people protect the younger ones from bad words like fucking, shit, jackass—"

"Yah!"

Jeongguk folded his lips inwards to constrict an amused laugh that bubbled at the back of his throat. Despite his efforts, he couldn't help the quiet chuckle that leaked out of his mouth eventually as he scrutinized him.

Taehyung was his lawyer, seven years older than him, and short-tempered, but he was also a truly interesting man.

"I'm sure you say even worse curses than these," he mumbled while they arrived at the lobby.

"You bet, Mr. Lawyer. I'd be more than happy to teach you one or two."

"I know a bunch of them. I just don't like using them."

"But you enjoyed saying shit, fucking, jack—"

"Officer, hello, I'm Kim Taehyung," he spoke in a resounding voice, earning a few glances from the surrounding people. "Shall we get going?"

"With all due respect, why are you coming with us?"

"To get the kid out of jail of course. He is ready to tell you what happened."

With that, they exited the building and trod to the car. The two sat in the backseat and didn't utter another word until they reached their destination.

Taehyung requested a moment alone with his client before going inside. "Tell them what you said to me, but more decently. Tell them and show them that you acted recklessly at that moment. Don't mention anything about the man who was hit, but I'm sure you won't do that, anyway."

With a firm nod from the younger, they entered, and an officer guided them to the interrogation room. Jeongguk did exactly what his lawyer said, but the officer kept pressuring him to tell him who hit the man.

"My client has already told you that he doesn't remember what exactly happened. Everything must have taken place in a few seconds, so it's reasonable not to remember, especially if he was anxious and mentally unstable by the thought of getting caught. Do you have any more questions?"

The officer glowered at Taehyung, but he didn't budge at all. "No. The guard here will take you back to your cell."

"No," he said, a jeering smile gleaming on his face shortly. "You will release him. He's a minor and he needs his parents' company and support. You can't deny him his wish to be with his family. He needs mental support."

"Maybe he didn't assault the man, but he did break into the store and stole and—"

"I know, everyone here knows what he did. He's not a danger to society. He just wants to be with his family, right Jeongguk?"

The said boy squeezed his hands into fists, tongue poking the inside of his cheek in sheer vexation. "That's right."

"See? Go get the papers ready now." Taehyung shot him another sweetish smirk, leading the officer to sigh, peeved.

The moment they were left alone, Jeongguk riveted his rowdy eyes on him, a scowl engulfing his traits. "Why the hell did you say that crap?"

"About your parents? Don't you want to be with them, though? You spent two nights in jail. I'm sure it wasn't easy."

"Can you keep your mouth shut for the things you don't know shit about?"

"Stop talking to me disrespectfully. You could at least say a damn thank you," he muttered and jerked up, not even waiting for an answer since he knew he would get none, anyway. His gaze lingered on him without purpose, and he slouched off, a bitter feeling settling over his chest.

"Hi, I would like to talk to Lee Dohyun," Taehyung said to a random officer he found sitting at a desk.

"Um, who are you?"

"I'm a lawyer, Kim Taehyung. I represent one of the four kids involved in the case. Can I speak to him? I need his statement." He showed him his ID, and the officer told him where to go to wait for the boy.

It didn't take long for Dohyun to appear, and he sat on the chair with halting moves as he eyed the unknown man.

"Hi, I'm Kim Taehyung, Jeongguk's lawyer." He perceived how his gaze changed right away at the mention of his name.

"Did he... What did he tell you?"

"He told me everything, Dohyun. He told me that he was the one who knocked down the man."

"What? No!" he exclaimed, panic rushing through him. "He wouldn't... He didn't."

"But that's what he said," Taehyung pressured, hoping Dohyun would yield and tell him the truth.

"He didn't do it." Rapid shakes of his head followed his harried response.

"Then who did?"

Dohyun lowered his gaze, mute, clasping his hands to stop them from trembling.

"Look, I have to know what happened so I can help Jeongguk. This way, I can help all of you. Do you have a lawyer?"

"I do."

"Will they get you out anytime soon? Because I can."

"I have to give them my statement first. They won't let me out as long as I stay silent."

"Then do it. Jeongguk already did."

He perked his head up, staring at the lawyer with big round eyes. "He did? He talked?"

"Of course he did, Dohyun. He doesn't want to stay here. Who wants that? You should confess too. And you should admit that Jeongguk was the one who hit the man."

"He wasn't! He really wasn't. I was, okay? I—I did it."

Taehyung peered at him with furrowed brows at his unforeseen confession. Was he wrong after all? His gut was telling him that Jeongguk was the one. Was he really wrong? "You did? Honestly?"

"Yes. I—The man was ready to attack us, and I panicked. That's why I did it. It was self-defense. I thought he wanted to beat us up," Dohyun said, words coming out muffled by his frantic breathing.

Something didn't seem right to Taehyung. "Did you already have the bottle in your hands?"

"Yes. I wanted to take a bottle of beer home, but I didn't put it in my bag right away. When we were caught, Jeongguk suddenly stormed out of the store, and we were in a hurry, obviously. So I grabbed the bottle since it was on top of my bag and took it with me."

"Are you one hundred percent sure that's what happened?"

"Yes."

"Dohyun, if you're lying and say that to the police, you are going to end up in jail for sure."

"I'm not lying."

"Very well. Talk to your lawyer to get you out of here. A piece of advice, tell them it was self-defense, exactly like you said to me, okay? The man is fine now, so it won't be that bad." Taehyung gave him a faint smile as he stood up. Once Dohyun thanked him, he made his way out of the room, his chest still feeling heavy with a churning of bitterness, doubt, and unease.

⚜✳⚜
 

  
Who hit the man anyway? Is Dohyun lying? Tell me your thoughts/theories💜

  
  
This is what I saw first things first when I woke up and I'm shook🥵