#﹢.╎ ⇢「 inquiring : junghoon. 」

[gcholdtrops]

﹢.╎ ⇢ there was a shooting star for   :   @cherrysbcmb  .▹ 🎃  2  /  3.

      with the mention of them needing to head out and find costumes,  it had junghoon heave out one of the deepest sighs in history,  his laziness shining brightly through his entire body language.   ‘   is it really necessary to dress up for this   ?   ’   that was when he felt a hand pulling onto his wrist,  which made eyebrows furrow together momentarily as he could easily read the excitement on the other’s features, which made him half-way give in.   ‘   i can help you choose   ------   but do i really have to get one for myself   ??   i ain’t attending any events.   ’   alas,  his stingy tendencies showing.

[a-blue-secret]

CHAPTER XXVII

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Chapter XXVI | Chapter XXVII | Chapter XXVIII

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: swearing

WORD COUNT: 2.7k+

AN: *stares at supposed update schedule* *blinks twice* So uh... I think my update schedule has kinda, um, thrown itself out the window... but anyway, I promised three updates this week, and here I am to deliver!

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for a year and a day, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

Seohyun pulled open the door, rubbing her eyes. “Morning, Taehyun,” she said sleepily. “You’re up early.”

Taehyun gave a sheepish smile, and stepped into the room. “Morning, Seohyun. Morning, Nabi,” he added, and the unmoving lump in one of the beds in the room gave a sleepy grunt.

“What’s up, Taehyun?” Seohyun asked. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong,” Taehyun said. “I just wanted to ask: you guys all know what’s been happening in Gojongja, right?”

“The long and short of it, yeah,” Seohyun said, walking across the room to open the curtains. “Like the fact that Aruyeo now have an alliance with Gojongja, and Beomgyu’s turned into this beast by a curse.” She tilted her head curiously, looking at Taehyun. “Hey… you look brighter. More… alive. Did something happen?”

Taehyun grinned, face lighting up. “Nope. But something is about to happen. And I need yours and Nabi’s help.”

The sleeping lump in the bed shifted, and Nabi emerged from her cocoon of blankets. There was a smile on her face. “I’m listening.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“You want us to do that?” Seohyun said, eyes wide. “Really?”

“Yep,” Taehyun smiled. “Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been possible, but as the Grand Vizier I am legally allowed to appoint anyone I like to take my place. Temporarily, of course.”

“Temporary or not, that’s incredible,” Nabi said. “And you want us? Really?”

“You’re the best people for the job,” Taehyun replied. “And with Beomgyu gone, you’ll technically be ruling Gojongja.”

Nabi fumbled with her words, staring at Taehyun in shock. “I… Taehyun, that’s amazing. And you want us to run Gojongja? Are you sure?”

“I’m 100% sure,” Taehyun laughed. “Take care of Gojongja, okay?” He stood up. “I need to go talk to Jiwon now.” He waved at his sisters. “Jungwon will talk you through how the whole thing works, but I think you’ll get the knack for it in no time.” With one last grin at his sisters, Taehyun left the room.

Taehyun walked through the hallways with a confidence he hadn’t walked with in a long time. He smiled to himself, standing even straighter.

Maybe it was the fact that his family had come back. They might not have been his blood family, but they were the closest to one that he was ever going to get. He’d grown up with them, after all. Sure, maybe Jiwon could be a bit annoying, and Nabi and Seohyun had their girly things which he didn’t understand, but they were his family. And they were back with him. With them by his side, his days had felt the brightest they’d been since Beomgyu had turned. He widened his shoulders, the small smile on his face turning into a fully-fledged grin.

The determined, no-nonsense Taehyun was back, and he wasn’t going to mope and cry anymore.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“The forests?” Jiwon frowned, folding another paper airplane for Junghoon when the younger came running up to him empty-handed. Junghoon left with the airplane, going back to running through the fields. Jiwon turned to Taehyun again. “Sure,” he said. “I guess I could. It would take at least a day, though, because the forests are so big.”

Taehyun nodded his head gratefully. “Thanks, Jiwon,” he said.

“No problem,” replied his elder brother. “But one question. What am I supposed to be sensing for?”

“For Beomgyu,” Taehyun replied. “And any animals around Beomgyu.”

“The animals around Beomgyu?” Jiwon repeated, confused. “Is this to do with your ability? Foreign exchange, right?”

Junghoon came up to them again, guiltily pointing at the paper airplane floating down the stream. Jiwon sighed, but folded another one for the boy, who ran away happily with the paper creation in his hands.

“Yeah.”

Jiwon nodded. “Ah, right. Okay. Sure, I’ll do that for you. It might be a good way to teach Junghoon how to use his ability as well.”

Taehyun stood up with a grateful smile on his face, brushing grass from his trousers. “Thank you, Jiwon. It means a lot to me.”

Jiwon quirked a grin. “Any time, little bro. Any time.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“And now the other part of the plan is to find Hyunjin and Yeji,” Taehyun said to himself, walking through the palace again. “Where would they be?”

He peered into the library, and smiled. “Psst. Hyunjin. Yeji. Can I talk to you two for a moment?”

The Hwang siblings looked up at Taehyun.

“Sure,” Yeji said. “Let’s go out of this library first.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“So what’s up?” Hyunjin asked once all three of them were seated in one of the many tea rooms in the palace.

“I have a plan,” Taehyun started. “And I need your help.”

“What’s this plan for?” Yeji inquired.

Taehyun gave a determined smile. “A plan to get Beomgyu back.”

Instantly, their interest heightened, and Hyunjin and Yeji both leaned forward.

“Go on,” Hyunjin said. “We’re listening.”

Taehyun grinned. “Seohyun and Yeji are going to be taking over Gojongja for a while. Jiwon will take Junghoon and they’re going to try and locate where Beomgyu is. You and I, however, have different missions. You both know my ability, right?”

Hyunjin tilted his head. “Nature? Same as all the other Jinju Kangs?”

Taehun shook his head. “No. Truth be told, I’m not actually a Kang. My ability is foreign exchange. Meaning I can talk to and understand anything.”

Yeji raised an eyebrow. “You’re not a Kang? That’s unexpected.”

Taehyun shrugged carelessly. “I don’t really care about it that much. It doesn’t matter to me. But my ability… it’s helpful for my plan.”

“Foreign exchange,” Hyunjin said musingly. “So like, talking to different things?” When Taehyun nodded, he raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “That’s a powerful ability.”

“Yep,” Taehyun agreed. “And while it’s useful in my plan, it won’t be useful unless I have an idea of how to use it. That’s where you come in.”

Yeji nodded, leaning forward. “We’re all ears.”

“I need you to find out all the cures to insanity. Any poisons which cause insanity, and spells which cause insanity. Hell, even find out what psychiatrists say to patients diagnosed with insanity. Anything you can find, I want you to find it out. If it means going back to your Kingdoms, then do it. Please.”

Hyunjin and Yeji looked at each other, then back at Taehyun.

“You want us to find out all the cures to insanity?” Hyunjin repeated. “Every single one?”

Taehyun nodded. “Every single one.”

Yeji bit her lip, thinking. “Well. That’s a pretty big mission.”

“If Sir Yoongi were here, we could ask him,” Hyunjin said regretfully. “This could be hard.”

At Yoongi’s name, Taehyun looked up at Hyunjin. “Wait, Yoongi? Yoongi will know?” he asked. “Yoongi’s in Gojongja now.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “Really?” He stood up. “Well we definitely have to go to him first. Taehyun, lead the way!”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“Oh, hello Tae– oh my. Taehyun, my boy, you do have a knack for bringing around people that I haven’t seen in years. Hyunjin, how have you been?”

Hyunjin laughed, hugging the Antiquarian. “I’ve been great,” he said. “You’re looking as young as ever, Yoongi. Why, you don’t look a day over three hundred years.”

Yoongi chuckled, releasing Hyunjin to look at him properly. “And rightfully I shouldn’t,” he said, smiling. “I am only three hundred this year, you know. Gosh, you’ve gotten even more handsome since the last time I saw you.”

Yeji and Taehyun, who were watching the exchange, both widened their eyes. “You’re three hundred?” Taehyun asked.

“Indeed I am,” Yoongi said, eyes twinkling. He spotted Yeji, and his smile widened. “Ah, you must be Yeji, Hyunjin’s younger sister. You both have the same incredible facial structure.”

Yeji smiled, bowing. “Nice to meet you, Sir Yoongi.”

“Just Yoongi is fine, my dear. Now come on in, come on in! Let me make you all some tea.” He ushered them inside, and Yeji and Hyunjin both entered the Antiquarian’s office. Taehyun, however, hung back.

“Oh? Taehyun, wouldn’t you like to come inside?” Yoongi asked.

Taehyun shook his head, giving a slight apologetic bow. “If it’s alright, I have some things that I need to do.”

Yeji and Hyunjin looked at him curiously, but Yoongi smiled, as if he knew what Taehyun was going to do.

“I may not have foresaw Hyunjin’s visit, but I predicted this. Alright, go on. Good luck, my boy.”

Taehyun smiled, bowing. “Thank you, Yoongi.” And with that, he walked away.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Taehyun looked up at Hobak. Hobak stared down at him blankly. Taehyun furrowed his brows, tongue poking out in concentration. Hobak continued to blink at him, the same mildly bewildered look on its face.

Eventually, Taehyun gave an annoyed huff, lying down on the grass.

He’d taken Hobak out of the stables to have a walk around the fields while simultaneously trying to communicate with his horse. It was safe to say that things were not going the way Taehyun had planned them to go.

He let out a sigh, sitting up. Hobak pawed at the grass awkwardly, almost as if the horse were shifting from foot to foot, before bending down to graze beside where Taehyun was sitting, still side-eyeing the vizier. Taehyun was grabbing handfuls of grass and ripping them up all over his dark pants, like a toddler throwing a fit. He noticed Hobak watching him, and stuck his tongue out childishly.

“Stop judging me. I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past half an hour. Unsuccessfully. I have a right to throw a temper tantrum.”

Hobak nickered, almost like he was laughing at Taehyun.

‘You could have just said that, instead of staring at me like you were constipated.’

Taehyun’s head whipped around so fast that he almost cricked his neck. “What?”

Still holding eye contact with him, Taehyun’s horse huffed again, and Taehyun could hear the smile in its voice. ‘Surprise?’

Taehyun blinked, and shook his head rapidly. “You– you talked? To me?”

‘Yup. To you.’

Taehyun stared at Hobak, wide-eyed, before throwing his handfuls of grass into the air, letting out a frustrated groan. “It’s that easy to talk to you? Seriously?”

Hobak tilted his head to the side, his eyes glinting mischievously. ‘To be fair, those were the first words you’ve actually spoken in half an hour.’

“Seriously?”

The horse nodded its head. ‘Seriously.’

Taehyun opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, unable to find the right words to say anything. Hobak watched him, before huffing another laugh again.

“Hey, don’t laugh! Why are you laughing?” Taehyun groaned, though there was a small smile on his own face. Hobak was going to say something else, before his ears pricked up and he lifted his head. Taehyun followed the action, and was surprised to see Toto trotting up to them.

‘I heard Taehyun talking! Like, actually talking! I needed to see for myself!’

Hobak laughed again. ‘Look, here comes Toto. God, the horse and the owner are similar in too many ways. Toto talks so goddamn much.’

Toto had now approached them, and he nuzzled Taehyun’s neck, pressing his nose into Taehyun’s chest, nickering happily.

‘Testing testing, one two one two, Taehyun can you hear me? Taehyun, if you can hear me please reply!’

Taehyun couldn’t help but laugh at Toto’s perky voice, so much like Beomgyu’s. “I can hear you, Toto, loud and clear.”

The parrot-horse nickered, blowing warm air over Taehyun’s legs. ‘Oh, good! That’s good! It’s nice to be able to talk to you!’

Hobak tossed his mane, making a noise not dissimilar to the sound that Taehyun sometimes made when he was amused. ‘Toto, calm down, you're being overbearing. Let the poor human breathe, will you?’

Toto nuzzled Taehyun’s neck one last time before stepping back, the vizier grinning up at the two horses. “Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to be able to talk to you.”

Toto tilted his head curiously. ‘Why? What are you doing? What’s going on?’

Taehyun laughed. “Toto, you sound so much like Beomgyu. But anyway,” he carried on, smiling as Toto ruffled his feathers giddily, “This is my ability. I have the ability to talk to you.”

‘Oh, we knew that! Didn’t we, Hobak?’

Hobak nodded. ‘We did. One of the butterflies told us.’ The horse hesitated, and a little bit of shyness creeped into his tone. ‘It’s nice to be able to talk to you.’

“It’s nice to be able to talk to you, too,” Taehyun said, smiling. His eyes lit up. “Wait, this means I could go speak to all the horses in our stables?”

‘Yup!’ Toto said. ‘That new horse, Aengdu, is really fond of you by the way.’

‘Too fond, I think,’ Hobak muttered grumpily. ‘I’m Taehyun’s horse, not him.’

“Is that jealousy I sense?” Taehyun teased. Wow, Hobak sounded so much like him.

‘No, not jealous!’ Hobak defended. ‘Just… annoyed.’

“Yes, annoyed because you’re jealous.”

‘I’m not! I just…’ Hobak sighed, and Taehyun laughed. ‘Anyway, is there a reason you wanted to be able to speak with us?’

“Oh, yeah. Do you know about what’s happening in Gojongja right now?”

The two horses paused, thinking.

‘Nabi and Seohyun have become temporary co-rulers of Gojongja?’ Toto supplied. ‘The stable hands were all talking about it.’

‘The beast,’ Hobak said. ‘They theorised that the beast was Beomgyu, and the reason Nabi and Seohyun are taking of Gojongja for now is because the King isn’t here and his vizier is too stressed to deal with it.’

Taehyun raised his eyebrow at the scarily accurate theory. Toto scoffed.

‘Nah, that was just a theory from one of the young stable boys. The one that talks a lot. That can’t be true. Beomgyu can’t have turned into the monster.’

“It’s true.”

Both the horses bent their heads down in surprise.

Hobak huffed in shock. ‘Say what?’

Taehyun bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from potentially crying. He nodded his head. “It's true. Beomgyu has turned into the beast. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

Hobak and Toto were silent for a long moment. Then Toto spoke.

‘What?’ He shook his head, like he was trying to get his thoughts in order. ‘So you’re telling me that this legendary, only-told-in-stories beast is actually Beomgyu? How does this work?’

“Uh…” Taehyun looked around, seeing if there was any way to explain it in a concise manner. “Can you talk to the wind? The wind knows.”

The two horses shook their heads. 'No, the wind doesn’t like us. They won’t talk to the horses,’ Hobak said.

‘It’s because we run against them all the time,’ Toto added. ‘That’s why they don’t like us.’

Taehyun nodded thoughtfully. “Alright.” He gave a sigh. “I’ll explain it to you then. So the short version of it is that someone cursed Beomgyu to turn into this beast, and this someone’s clan has been cursing people for centuries to turn into the beasts. This beast is the beast of legends and we all know that the beast is killed in the end. That’s always what happens to the beast, because it’s a beast and people want a beast killed. And now it’s Beomgyu who’s turned into the beast and he might di– die.”

Taehyun’s voice hiccupped on the last word, but he kept his face neutral. He was done with crying.

‘All I caught was the word ‘beast’, but I think I understand the gist of it,’ Hobak said.

Toto nodded. ‘Me too. So you want to communicate with this beast, right?’

“Yeah.”

‘So that’s why you want to talk with us, to make sure that you’re able to do it,’ Hobak said, understanding the situation. ‘Right, that makes sense. Hey, should we go to the other horses so you can practise more?’

“Oh, sure,” Taehyun said, getting up. He went over and patted Hobak’s furred flank, smiling. “It’s nice to be able to talk to you, Hobakie.”

Hobak shook his mane, pleased, while Toto gave a whine.

‘Hey, aren’t you glad to be able to talk to me too? I’m your boyfriend’s horse, you know!’

Taehyun gave a laugh. “Do you two like, listen in on every single conversation you hear?”

‘Duh, of course we do! And I’m Beomgyu’s horse, what do you expect?’

Taehyun chuckled again, ruffling the feathers of Toto’s mane. “You’re right, you’re right. And it’s nice to be able to talk to you too, Toto. Come on, let’s go back to the stables.”

They walked back towards the palace, the two horses on either side of the vizier.

“Wait Toto, how did you manage to get out of the stables by yourself?”

‘I flew.’

“You can fly?!”

taglist: @my-moarmy-heart​ @arohabangtan​ @a-fragmented-world​

[sevenpabosandabunchoffans]

Criminal minds {Min Yoongi}

After Namjoon realizes he doesn’t exactly like working as a detective at the local police department, he leaves, determined to finish a case by himself. After months of nothing, a new development comes to light, motivating him to enlist the help of someone else. The two of them build a team from the ground up that’s independent from any government or police force, solving cases purely for the benefit of helping others and doing what’s right.One day, a newcomer enters their lives, begging them to let him join, too.

:: characters: namjoon, yoongi

:: genre: angst, thriller, Criminal Minds!au

:: warnings: mentions of death, someone gets shot

:: word count: 2893

Kim Namjoon

The door opened not even thirty seconds after Namjoon had knocked. “Well, if it isn’t Detective Kim Namjoon.” Yoongi leaned against the door frame crossing his arms. “What brings you here?”

“Hi, Yoongi.” Namjoon greeted him. “How’s the shoulder?”

Yoongi subconsciously brought his hand up to massage it. “Better. You know the doctor cleared me to be back on the field months ago, but the chief forced me to retire.”

“I knew there had to be something that was keeping you from coming back.”

Yoongi sucked air through his teeth. “Yeah, you get shot on the job, and all you get is a retirement package, so you can ��live comfortably’.” He rolled his eyes.

Namjoon chuckled lowly. “What would you say if you had the chance to get back in the field?” Yoongi cocked his head at Namjoon’s inquiry.

They soon found themselves standing around Yoongi’s kitchen table, case files spread out. “So, the only reason this guy is still out there is because Chief Son was in a rush to pin it on someone?” Namjoon nodded. “Definitely sounds like him.” Yoongi grumbled under his breath.

“Yeah, I took everything with me, since I’m technically still the detective on the case, but I haven’t been able to work on it.”

Yoongi shook his head. “Well three months between the murders…” Yoongi picked up the picture of the newest victim that Namjoon had printed out before coming over to his place. “It’s gonna be hard to find a connection between them, especially when we don’t know their identities.”

“Actually, that was the last thing I worked on before I quit.” Namjoon rustled through the papers until he found the list of addresses. “These are all the addresses of single males that had either disappeared or hadn’t paid rent around the time our original John Doe was found in the believed area of residence. I haven’t been able to go check them out yet, though.”

Yoongi pointed to the third address listed. “I know someone who works at this complex, let’s go there first.”

Namjoon picked up a picture of the John Doe. “You still got your gun and badge?”

Yoongi scoffed, walking towards his bedroom. “It’s like you don’t even know me!”

The two of them entered the apartment complex, approaching the young woman at the front desk. Yoongi knocked lightly on the wood to get her attention. He shot her a smile as soon as she looked up, which was met with a hard glare. “Hi, Suran, we-“

“You never called me back.” She cut him off, crossing her arms.

Namjoon failed at holding back laughter. “There’s actually a really funny story about that.”

“Oh really?” She asked, obviously not believing him.

“I’m serious!” Yoongi insisted. “You know how I told you I was a cop?” She nodded. “Well, now I’m not kidding about this, the day after you gave me your number, I got shot on the job, and then I had to recover, and by the time that was over, I couldn’t find the paper you’d written your number on.”

“Uh huh.” She said, still not believing him.

“Oh, he actually was shot.” Namjoon chimed in.

“Yeah,” Yoongi smirked. “I can even show you my scar sometime.” Suran’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink as Namjoon smacked Yoongi on the back of the head. “Ow!”

“We’re not here to flirt.” Namjoon placed the man’s picture on the desk in front of Suran. “Have you ever seen this man?”

Suran looked at the photo, her eyes widening in recognition. “That’s Junghoon!” She looked up at the two detectives in front of her. “Is he okay?”

“I’m afraid not.” Namjoon said. “What can you tell us about Junghoon?”

“Uh,” Suran looked around, trying to recall anything she could about the man. “He was a nice guy, he always brought me a cup of ramen from the convenience store down the street when he came home at night. I haven’t seen him in about three and a half months, though.”

“He was found dead a little over three months ago.” Namjoon explained.

“Do you know who did it?” Suran asked after a few seconds of silence, obviously trying to keep herself calm.

“Until today we had no idea who he was.” Yoongi said. “Can we see his rent payment records, and look at his apartment?”

“Well, Junghoon always paid in cash, but I’ll take you up to his apartment now.” Suran stood up and moved around the desk.

After leading them up to the third floor, Suran left Yoongi and Namjoon alone in the apartment to look around. “Not very many reasons for someone to be paying their rent in cash.”

Yoongi continued Namjoon’s observation. “And almost all of them involve trying to stay off the grid.”

Yoongi moved to look in the man’s bedroom while Namjoon stayed behind in the living room. He paused as he noticed the pairs of shoes by the door. Upon closer inspection, Namjoon realized that there were two different sizes. Moving further into the apartment, Namjoon inspected the kitchen, noticing that there seemed to be fairly fresh fruits and vegetables, along with recently used dishes in the sink. Namjoon made his way to the man’s bedroom, where Yoongi was standing at the desk, sporting gloves as he held two pieces of paper in his hands. “Someone has been here recently, like, within the past week or two.” Yoongi turned to face him. “I think someone was living here.”

“I think I have an idea of who.” Yoongi holds out one of the papers to Namjoon. “These are letters of correspondence to what seems to be a friend. It looks like they used codewords and phrases, as if they were worried someone would read them and find something out.”

As Yoongi was talking, Namjoon had pulled on his own pair of gloves and taken the letter from Yoongi. “What were they trying to hide?”

Yoongi shrugged and picked up an unsealed envelope on the desk, pulling out the contents. After skimming through it, he spoke up. “I think we might have found this guy’s family.” Namjoon looked up in surprise as Yoongi started reading off. “’My dearest wife, I am so sorry for my sudden disappearance. I had to leave for the safety of our family. Do not try to look for me, I will be home as soon as I am sure it is safe.’” He looked up from the letter. “He never sent it.”

“He was probably killed before he got the chance to. Is there an address on that envelope?”

Yoongi flipped it over in his hand. “Looks like Junghoon is from Busan.” He looked up at Namjoon. “You up for a mini road trip?”

After asking Suran if there was a possibility of someone else living in Junghoon’s apartment (“No, I haven’t seen anyone new around here, and no one’s been near Junghoon’s apartment.”) and a four-hour drive, Namjoon and Yoongi were knocking on the door of a fairly nice house. A middle-aged woman answered the door, looking confused as to why two unfamiliar men were standing on her porch. “We’re very sorry to bother you, ma’am,” Namjoon held up the picture of Junghoon, “but is this man your husband?”

The woman covered her mouth as she gasped. “Sungho!” She started crying at the image of her dead husband.

Around a half hour later, the two detectives found themselves sitting across from the shocked woman, her son now there to comfort her after he had been contacted. “My father abandoned my mother. He packed up and left in the middle of the night with no form of contact for three months.” The son obviously had a lot of anger towards his father.

“Your father was murdered three months ago.” Yoongi said, sliding the letter they had found across the table towards him. “We found this letter at his apartment. He never got the chance to send it.”

The college-aged boy swallowed back tears. “Have you found the reason why he left?”

A sob escaped the woman’s mouth. “That’s why we’re here.” Namjoon explained. “We’re trying to understand your father so that we can find the man who killed him.”

Before anyone else could say a word, the front door was thrown open and another middle-aged woman ran in. “Have you seen my husband?” The woman directed towards Namjoon and Yoongi.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, who-“

The boy cut Yoongi off. “This is Auntie Jiyoung. Her husband and my father were good friends.” The boy stood up to wrap his arms around the distressed woman. “Her husband, Sungjin, disappeared two weeks ago, much like my father did.”

Yoongi looked over at Namjoon before pulling out the picture of the new victim. “Is this your husband?”

The woman burst into tears as she took the picture from Yoongi, sinking into a chair at the table. “We are very sorry for your losses.” Namjoon sincerely told the women. “We can’t even begin to understand how you feel at this moment…but we do need to ask you some questions so that we can catch the man who did this.”

The boy rejoined his mother and the other lady at the table. “I can answer any questions you have.”

“How did your father and Sungjin know each other? Were they childhood friends?”

The boy shook his head. “They met six months ago at a support group for people with a gambling addiction. Apparently, they used to frequent the same places, and decided they could hold each other accountable to make sure they never returned.”

After a few more questions and getting the name of the support group from Sungho’s son, Namjoon and Yoongi found themselves interrogating the leader of the group. “Yeah, I remember them.” He handed the pictures back to Namjoon. “I was sorely disappointed when they both stopped attending meetings, but now that I know the reason…”

“Did either of them still have debts to pay off?” Yoongi inquired.

The man chuckled. “All of the people in our support group are people who still have enormous debts to repay. They join this group to keep themselves from gambling away the money they could be using to pay off those debts.”

It was nearing midnight, and the two of them were still working diligently on the case, neither of them wanting to give up. Namjoon was busy adding their new findings to the file while also checking into the news occasionally to see if there were any updates on the other end. Yoongi had his laptop on his lap, trying to search for more information on their victims. “Have you found anything yet?” Namjoon asked.

Yoongi scoffed. “You know I’m not some tech person. I don’t have fancy equipment. I’m having to rely on Naver, so I’m not exactly having the best of luck.” Just a few minutes later, Yoongi sat up excitedly. “I think I found something!”

“What?” Namjoon asked as Yoongi turned his laptop towards him.

“An underground gambling ring was busted six months ago. Everyone involved was arrested except for those that agreed to join support groups along with performing community service. Including our two victims.”

“Does it say who was in charge?”

Yoongi scrolled through the article. “One Lee Youngsoo.” Yoongi quickly searched the internet for this guy before finding another article on him from four months earlier. “He was apparently held and investigated until four months ago when all the charges were dropped. People think he paid people off.”

“And that coincides with when Sungho went into hiding.” Namjoon concluded before standing up. “Come on, we’re paying the station a visit.”

Officers all over the station were shocked to see both Kim Namjoon and Min Yoongi stalking through the building towards the Chief’s office. Namjoon threw open the door, revealing not only Chief Son, but some NIS agents that were in the room. “What is the meaning of this?” Chief Son stood up from his chair, about to yell out Namjoon, but he was cut off.

“Lee Youngsoo.”

“What?” The chief looked at him, confused.

“Who are you and why are you busting in here in the middle of an investigation spouting out the name of one of the richest men in Busan?”

“I’m Detective Kim Namjoon and this is Officer Min Yoongi.”

“EX detective and officer.” The chief jumped in.

“We still have our badges.” Namjoon retorted before turning his attention back to the agents. “I was placed as head of this case back when the first body was found and chose to pursue it on my own when I realized Chief Son here did not care to actually look into it.”

“I made a mistake-“

“I told you that you had the wrong guy. That you had nothing on him. And you still refused to release him, stating that you just wanted the case closed.” Namjoon exposed, refusing to back down or submit to the man.

“Anyway,” Yoongi chimed in. “While you were here, sitting on your ass, as you do best, we were over in Busan, finding out what we could about the victims.”

Namjoon placed the file he had compiled on the desk in front of the agents. “The victims’ names are Ahn Sungho and Im Sungjin. They were both gamblers, specifically members of the ring run by our very own Lee Youngsoo. The police in Busan let them go with the agreement that they would perform community service and join a support group.”

Yoongi picked up. “Four months ago, two weeks before the first victim made his way here to Seoul, the charges were dropped against Lee Youngsoo, and we believe he’s out to find all the people who still owe him money.”

One of the agents sighed. “I hope you’re right.” He turned to the chief. “We’re gonna need to find out where this guy is and get a warrant.” He turned back to Yoongi and Namjoon. “And you two, I want you with us when we find the bastard.”

After discovering which hotel Lee Youngsoo was staying at, Yoongi and Namjoon found themselves following behind officers and NIS agents as they kicked down the door to the hotel room. The group spread themselves around the penthouse, Yoongi and Namjoon heading towards the bedroom. No sooner had Yoongi opened the door than he fell back against the wall as pain spread through his arm. Namjoon quickly shot the leg of the bodyguard who had shot Yoongi, kicking the gun out of his grasp as he kept his gun trained on the man standing on the balcony, still not moving an inch. “You okay?” Namjoon asked Yoongi.

Yoongi nodded through the pain, keeping his hand on the wound on his arm. “First day back and I’ve been shot again. At least it’s not my shoulder this time.”

Namjoon slowly approached the man on the balcony, sensing other officers filing into the room. “Lee Youngsoo!”

“You’ll never keep me in there.” The man stated calmly, only turning his head so Namjoon could see his profile. “I have connections.”

“Seoul doesn’t take too kindly to bribes.” Namjoon only lowered his gun as an officer came forward and placed cuffs on the man.

By the time they made it downstairs and outside, the sun had risen. Lee Youngsoo was placed in the back of a cop car as Namjoon went over to the ambulance where Yoongi was being checked over. “Are you seriously okay?”

Yoongi nodded. “It was just a graze this time.” He smiled up at Namjoon. “Thanks for bringing me into this. It was nice to be back out there.”

“We do make a pretty good team.” Yoongi nodded. “What do you say we stay a team?” Yoongi cocked his head in confusion as Namjoon explained further. “Too many cases like this one pass through the station, leaving questions unanswered and families and friends of victims unsatisfied. We can be the ones to change that.”

Before Yoongi could answer, an NIS agent approached them. “Gentlemen, we’d like to thank you for your work on this case. We have an opening over at the NIS if you two are interested.”

The two shared a look before Yoongi responded. “Nah, I think we’re good, just the two of us.”

The chief overheard and walked up. “They can’t do that. Can they?”

“Well,” the Nis agent stroked his chin thoughtfully, “as long as they don’t break any laws, which they haven’t yet, we can’t stop them.” He held his hand out to shake Namjoon and Yoongi’s. “Should you need it, any resources the NIS can provide will be open for your use.”

The agent walked away, and the chief crossed his arms, staring them down. “How exactly do you expect to fund…whatever you call this?”

Yoongi stood up from the back of the ambulance. “Well, since I’m technically still retired from the force….and you’re required to provide a retirement check every month…I guess…you’re the one funding us.” The chief’s jaw dropped in shock. “Thanks a lot, Chief.” Yoongi mockingly pat his shoulder as he and Namjoon walked away.

“So, what should we call ourselves?” Namjoon asked.

“Well, since I’ve been shot twice now and am still alive…how about Bangtan?”

Namjoon rolled his eyes and laughed with Yoongi, throwing his arm over his shoulder as the area slowly cleared out.

Jung Hoseok

[gcholdtrops]

﹢.╎ ⇢ there was a shooting star for  :  @cantoribus .▹

 「  song  : talk me down.      artist  :  troye sivan. 」

       ❝   i know i like to draw that line, when it starts to get too real   ...   ❞   the male murmured out subtly, reaching over to glide fingers over the other’s forearm in a gentler caress.   ❝   but, the less time that i spend with you, the less you need to heal.   ❞   words are meant and sounding sincere, keeping eye-contact with the other while hand gave the arm a light squeeze.

[gcholdtrops]

﹢.╎ ⇢ there was a shooting star for  :  @mcrtel . ﹢

       several empty bottles later and the party group was sitting in a circle, one empty bottle lying in the middle of them all. junghoon’s head was pounding a bit, since it’s been a while since he allowed himself to do something else, instead of just working all the time. it turned and landed on joowon, one of the people he had just met today through a mutual friend   —   it was the dumb teenager game of seven minutes in heaven, junghoon praying it wouldn’t land on him the second time but, his luck wasn’t on his side today. so the two of them rose while people cooed at them because two guys in a tight-spaced closet together; the thought even leaving junghoon a bit nervous. once there, the door closed in on them and the only light source came from the break of the closet doors.   ❝   so   …   we don’t actually have to do anything, right   ?   ❞   not that he didn’t want to, he just found this a tad bit awkward right now.

[gcholdtrops]

﹢.╎ ⇢ there was a shooting star for   :   @puzzlcmoon  for giving a ♡.  ▹

       he appalled,  to say the least,  getting woken up in the middle of the night because his friend wanted to drag him out,  junghoon already knowing there was probably a deeper meaning behind but;  his sleep-deprived state wasn’t exactly the best to approach nonetheless.   ‘   the beach   ?!   now   ?   ’   it’s clear that he’s finding the suggestion completely ridiculous but,  he grabs his cap anyway and stretches arms above his head;  yawn falling from his lips.   ‘   alright alright   ---   let’s just go buy something to eat on the way,  otherwise,  i’d get grumpy.   ’   a drowsy and hungry junghoon wasn’t the most pleasant experience.