TWO DAYS AFTER TAEHYUNG’S VISIT/JIMIN’S DISCHARGE:

“You think he will cooperate?” I turned to face Jimin.

Jimin’s eyes remained trained on the pensive man sitting all alone in the quiet interrogation, separated from him by the large shiny glass pane that filtered the view from inside. The man was already cut and bruised, probably due to the intense face-off he and his little gang had when we raided their hideout this morning after a tip-off from Namjoon’s sources. It was hard work….. We almost got busted at one point but Seokjin kind of salvaged the situation. True to his description, he was one hella fighter (the way he kicked that guy right in his head…. Baam! *applause*……) Thanks to him, we were able to capture at least one lead alive to further our case…….

“Don’t know” Jimin broke my daydream speaking gravely, still observing our new captive, “Depends on how Namjoon sunbae decides to handle him…….”

Suddenly, the door of our room was kicked open and three men barged in. We turned towards the intrusion, swiftly bowing solemnly in greeting to them.

“How’s your wound now Jimin?” Namjoon smiled at him, placing a firm hand on his healthy shoulder.

“Much better. But I already feel bored sitting out” Jimin smiled back at him.

“Better be careful next time…… Both of you obviously need more training to face such situations. Utilize this time to learn new skills” Namjoon patted him encouragingly, his smiley eyes flitting between the two of us.

After a brief pause, Chief Bang suddenly asked “So what do we have here?” turning to observe our convict.

And suddenly, Namjoon’s friendly demeanour underwent a sea change as he turned to face his superior, “His name is Oh Sehun- one of the members of EXO. According to our sources, EXO was ordered to carry out this attack in Itaewon. And I believe that they carried out the other attacks as well.”

“What about the other members?”

Namjoon sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “Our plan was to capture them alive. Unfortunately our cover was blown and we could only capture him. Three of them died during the shoot-out, rest escaped. Their leader- Kim Junmyeon and two others are not even in Korea right now from what I’ve heard…….”

Chief Bang nodded his head, thinking deeply about something.

“Namjoon?” he finally said.

“Yes sir?”

“Go inside. And do your thing” he was now staring at him right in the eye.

Namjoon smirked slightly, cracking his (bruised) knuckles and nodded his head, motioning Seokjin to follow his lead.

“Watch and learn kids” Chief addressed us as Namjoon and Seokjin entered the interrogation room. I was seriously anticipating this…..

Namjoon casually sat down on the chair placed opposite to the convict. Not a single word was uttered as both parties just intensely stared each other down.

“Are you going to stay mum officer?” he finally smirked at Namjoon, subtly challenging him.

“What do you want me to say?” Namjoon smirked back at him.

“Won’t you ask me about the murders? I heard it was the latest buzz in the city these days…..”

“Oh so EXO likes to indulge in the city’s gossip?” Namjoon indulged him, “Interesting.”

Sehun looked sideways towards the glass pane, “Can they see this?”

“Does it matter?” Seokjin bit back, his arms crossed across his chest, “Why don’t you just ‘reflect’ on what you have down till now and tell us about it?”

“Ah officer” Sehun laughed out, “Angry are we?”

“You really have balls to commit a murder and attack a police officer in broad daylight…… and then talk like a cocky piece of when you are under arrest…..”

Suddenly, a wide evil grin was plastered on Sehun’s face. “You have doubts about my package pretty boy?” he stared at Seokjin, “I mean if you trained your eyes further south, you might just meet a very pleasurable sight. I am sure you won’t be disappointed…..”

Seokjin struggled to maintain his composure while the three of us on the other side were suddenly looking in different directions…….

Like, what just happened?

A loud thump echoed dragging our attention back to the room. “Look here” Namjoon said in a very calm tone, smile wiped off his face long back, “I have all the time in the world to play your little game. And I’ve already indulged you enough. But if you keep on insisting, I might end up doing the same thing as what happened to your brothers who are still lying back in that compound…… If that’s what you want.”

And suddenly, Oh Sehun’s confidence went down the gutter when he heard about his ‘brothers’, his expression becoming grim again.

“You’re right” he sighed, “They were my brothers….. But I ain’t giving in yet officer…..”

“Who are you shielding?” suddenly Namjoon asked in a mocking tone, “Your leader who is not even here with you guys?”

“Hyung will never desert us” Sehun replied angrily, “I am not taking any about him….”

“Oh really?” Namjoon raised an eyebrow, “Your ‘hyung’ purposely left the country and left you guys here to fend for yourselves. Tell me, did he even contact you personally after the attack? Did he even give you an escape ‘ticket’ that he usually does after every mission? No?”

Sehun’s face suddenly changed showing his conflicted emotions. Clearly Namjoon had hit the right nail. “Hyung will never do that” he mumbled back.

“But that’s exactly what he did……” Namjoon mocked him, “Your hyung is right now vacationing in Macau while the five of you are rotting here. Why? Because he wanted you guys to get arrested so that his cover wouldn’t get busted……. Your hyung betrayed you and your brothers Sehun. You saw Luhan’s body yourself, didn’t you?”

Sehun remained silent at the mention of his comrade’s name. I looked stunned towards my seniors. How did he……..

“Namjoon has encountered EXO before as well” Chief Bang answered my silent question, “He and Hoseok know in and out about them by now. “

I nodded as I turned back to see the man before him, who seemed to be finally giving in.

Namjoon bent forwards, talking very earnestly now, “Look Sehun. I know everything about you and your little gang here. I know how your hyung has wronged you guys over these years. And anyways, EXO is done for. My friends are currently searching for your other members now and soon enough, your entire history would be out for people to see- not just me or public but also your rival gangs. Can you imagine the humiliation-a gang taken down after their leader ran away from them? Nobody would even take you in Sehun. You have nowhere to go. Think about it…..”

Sehun silently observed the officers before him, seriously contemplating his choices. Namjoon had him in the palm of his hand by now.

“What do you want from me?” he finally asked in a resigned tone.

Namjoon’s smile returned back, “If you help me, both of us can get our work done here- you can get your revenge by giving out Junmyeon and I, in turn, can try to reduce your punishment, get your life on tack and give your other members a reasonable funeral. Choice is yours- me, who is ready to take you out of this or him, who has abandoned you here?”

I watched with bated breath as Sehun after a long pause, finally gave in, “I’ve got nothing to lose anyways…” he replied.

“Very well” Seokjin commented, “Enough of beating around the bush. Just tell us- did EXO carry out all the five murders till now?”

“I can’t say about others” Sehun said thoughtfully, “But Itaewon was me and Luhan hyung. Apart from that, I have no idea. We never talked about our missions with each other. Heck, we don’t even meet like this. It’s just that we got a message saying that Junmyeon had called an emergency meeting in Goyang and the next thing I see is our hideout being busted by police with no signs of our leader………”

Seokjin looked to Namjoon whose face remained expressionless, his mind deep in thought.

“Why were you guys killing junkies? I mean it’s not like you will gain money or info as such by killing them……” he asked.

“What?” Sehun was visibly surprised, “I don’t who they were or what they were. We were just given targets hours before and we would do the job. That’s it. After the job, money would be wired to our accounts. No questions asked.”

“So you don’t know anything about a blue mark?”

“Nope” Sehun shrugged his shoulders.

“Why did you kill Bobby?”

“Luhan hyung had got a message from Junmyeon ordering the killing. We would not have been so sloppy had your officers not been on the scene- they caused Luhan hyung to panic and he drove the van recklessly and I had no other choice. We had to complete our task to avoid enduring Junmyeon’s wrath”.

“Why? What would he do if you did not?”

Sehun gave him an expression of disbelief, “You don’t know? He is a monster in the garb of a human. Last time it happened, the man was skinned alive while he made a video of it…….”

“I am not surprised” Namjoon said calmly, as if it was a common thing while I, on the other side visibly shivered. That’s so sick!

“Sehun”, Namjoon asked, “does Junmyeon have big money riding on this? Is that why he is insistent on you guys shooting down these targets?”

“Maybe” Sehun said nonchalantly, “I can’t be so sure but if he has run away from Korea that means he was paid well.”

“So do you know who ordered these attacks?”

“Not really” he said dejectedly, “But yesterday I checked my account to see if payment was done. It was but surprisingly, this time, it wasn’t by Junmyeon’s account. Instead, it was from some JYP’s account……”

“JYP?” Namjoon looked surprised. He turned to whisper to Seokjin who just nodded in silent agreement. I looked at Jimin and Chief Bang with confusion who were seemingly catching on pretty well with them.

Who the hell was this JYP now?

Taehyung shoved the last box in his car’s trunk. He looked at the pile of luggage occupying the car’s trunk and the back seats to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. He turned around and made his way towards his flat, scratching his head, deep in thought. What had he missed……….

“Here” suddenly Chanyeol appeared out of nowhere, making Taehyung yelp and fall hard on his .

“Hyung~” he yelled, clutching on his chest, “Why you do dis?”

“Because it’s funny every time” Chanyeol chuckled as he gave a hand to let him stand up.

“Not fair. Why always me?”

“Because you’re my favourite dongsaeng” he flicked his forehead, “And I will miss you after you’re gone…………”

Taehyung smiled sadly at him, thinking over his last words. His main purpose of going to Seoul was to get a posting in Seoul which he did manage. Gwacheon was getting a little difficult for him, especially after that murder case. He wanted to get out and explore the city life for once. Sure it would be busier but he could manage that. And besides, Seoul had better hangout spots for anime geeks like him……

Only drawback was - he would have to leave his favourite hyung behind.

Overwhelmed, Taehyung jumped to hug the taller senior tightly, “I will miss you too hyung.”

“Ya” Chanyeol barely spoke out, hitting him hard on his back, “You’ll strangle me…..”

Immediately Taehyung retracted back, visibly embarrassed. Chanyeol chuckled again as he ruffled his hair (which he knew the younger absolutely hated). Taehyung shrugged his hand away as he turned around to lock the car’s trunk.

“Hey” Chanyeol suddenly asked, “what about your apartment? Is someone there or….”

“Don’t worry hyung. I have a friend there- remember I told you about a Park Jimin? Yeah…. So he helped me get a flat in his neighbourhood. And he will be there by the time I reach. I’ve got everything covered” Taehyung reassured him.

“All right then” Chanyeol came forwards to give him a quick hug, “Take care. Don’t do anything stupid. And call me when you reach.”

“Yes” Taehyung smiled back, hugging him, “Once I reach Seoul, I will call you.”

Finally, a new chapter was going to start for him and he couldn’t be more excited.