Hana

          I walk outside the office building much later than usual, only to see Jungkook pulled up in the drop-off lane and leaning against his car. “Your bouquet delivery was over the top,” I laugh, bounding down the steps towards him.
 

          He shrugs with a knowing and unapologetic smile before pulling me in by the waist for a searing kiss that had me grasping at his lapels.
 

           “You’ll drop your papers if you’re not careful,” he pulls away, murmuring and eyes scanning the ground. He opens the car door for me, and something in the pit of my stomach twists at the gesture.

          I slide in, plopping my bag full of papers and my laptop in my lap. “Where to? It’s late.”

          “How about home? You have updates, don’t you?” He slides in on his side and turns the car on, warmth sinking into our skin with the gentle purr of the engine.

          “Yup. And I’m not sure you’ll like any of them. So we need a team meeting.” I let the smile slide off my face, no longer playing the smitten fiancé of Jeon Jungkook.

          “Do you think the other side fell for the bait?”

          “I think so,” I chew on the inside of my cheek. “I think they would. If they think it’s a power play, they’re going to spend time seeing if there’s any evidence of a connection between our two companies.” If anything, it would take up quite a bit of attention in the next few weeks, giving our side time to plan an attack.

          “When you told me not to invest in your new possible drug, I thought you were insane. It was a good move.” Jungkook’s compliment surprises me. His compliments were rare, and they seemed to be increasing in quantity in the last few days.

          “Between companies, the paper trail is too obvious. Besides, I got two new names for possible spies for their coalition today.” I turn my face towards him. “Huang Zitao and Kim Jongin. Do either sound familiar?”

          His brows furrow as his eyes focus on the road, “No. I’ll run it through my records though. Anything else?”

          I didn’t expect him to recognize either name, but I sigh, sitting back. “Min Yoongi’s behavior has changed since the weekend, and in the words of Chanyeol, he’s been ‘irritated.”’Jungkook laughs at that before I continue. “And on top of that, there might be a new project that Kim Taehyung started, called ‘Whale.’”

          “Whale? Isn’t there a more tasteful name that he could give to a project?” His nose wrinkles, scrunching up. “Not smart from an investment standpoint. But I wouldn’t put anything past Kim Taehyung. ”

          “Also, the shooting in Busan? It happened next to a warehouse with no public property information.” There was so much new information that I didn’t know where to start with the investigating. There were so many places to start our investigation, and I knew most of the trails would lead to dead ends. How do we pick where we should start our investigation?

          “We should call the surrounding businesses and look up previous crimes occurring in the same spot.” Jungkook hands clasp the wheel as he narrows his eyes at the mirror. “I think someone is following us.”

          I turn around, searching through the tinted window. “Which one?”

          “Black SUV about three cars back and to the right. It’s been there for a while.”

          “I’m calling Jimin.” I tap at the speed dial, willing him to pick up.

          He greets me with an, “I’m hungry-”

          “Not the time. A car may be following us.” I put him on speakerphone, grateful that he picked up immediately.

          “Can you see the license plate?”

          “Only the first two digits, which are 4 and 9.” I crane my head, squinting. “Can you use the camera in the back of the car?”

          “There’s a camera in the back of the car?” Jungkook attempts to slow down to decrease the distance between the two cars.

          “Yeah, I installed it when we all moved in. I thought you knew.”

          “Not the time!” I remind Jimin, slightly frantic, and I can hear the clicking of keys through the phone.

          “Okay, I have access to the camera, but you have to decrease the distance and maybe change the angle. If you can, try turning on to a road with curves and semi-light traffic.” Jimin instructs us.

          “Easy to say, hard to do.” Jungkook stops at the intersection, signaling for a turn, and sure enough, the black SUV is a few cars behind, waiting to take the same turn. The light turns green.

          “Yup, he’s turning on to the same road,” I confirm to Jimin. “Next two digits are 5 and 2.”

          “If you continue on that road, what do you pass by?” Jimin asks.

          “A mall, a hospital, and a small university if we continue far enough.” Jungkook frowns, changing lanes.

          “Stay on the road,” Jimin instructs, voice firm as he scans his computer. “I can see the rest of the plate. I’ll have it identified in a few minutes.”

          I let out a breath of air that I didn’t know that I had been holding. Jungkook cracks his knuckles, which he tends to do when he’s anxious. “Don’t do that,” I remind him gently. “It gives away your thoughts.”

          His smile is tight. “Yeah, I’m working on it.”

          We wait for Jimin’s response in silence, occasionally checking in the mirror if the car is still there.

          “Guys.” Jimin interrupts the tension.

          “Give us some good news, Jimin.” I practically plead.

          “I can’t. It’s a fake plate.” He growls into the phone. “There’s no ownership information attached. The safest thing to do is to go to the hospita