Conversation or Confrontation?
Right To Remain Silent
Eleven
N considered himself to be an upbeat sort of guy. He hoped that he'd make someone smile at least once a day. So when Wonshik came into the police station looking deflated, Hakyeon made it his goal to make him smile that day.
"Why so blue Wonshik-ah?" Hakyeon meant it literally and metaphorically. Because he could swear that Wonshik's hair was orange yesterday, however now it was a slightly messed blue hue on the ballistics expert's head. Wonshik seemed to notice Hakyeon for the first time since he entered the room before shrugging slightly.
"I guess I wanted to try something new." was his only response. N merely nodded and waved him over to the door. They were going to have to go off to the school now. The school that Kang Jun-Seo attended was a public school completely out of the way, neatly tucked into a corner of the Gangnam district.
Ravi had insisted on using his car opposed to Hakyeon's motorcycle, so Hakyeon had plenty of time to think over what Ken had told him before they left.
'The bruises on Jun-Seo's body are older then his time of death.'
'So what exactly does that mean?'
'Just...watch out for anything suspicious...'
The words that the two had shared stayed on the elders mind. There was something that seemed off to him. The bruises must have really caught Jaehwan off guard. Hakyeon knew he usually didn't let what he saw bother him. Ken was the sort of person to battle through hardships and struggles, Hakyeon could tell just from knowing him for a little under a week.
He just sighed softly, already feeling tired so early in the day and was suddenly aware that the engine was off. They had stopped.
Hakyeon blinked out of his daze to see Wonshik looking at him concerned. The bluenette raised an eyebrow in question but Hakyeon merely smiled and waved him off realising that they were parked outside of the school by now.
The school was nothing special, it only had one level and was as big as a small supermarket's car park. Though it looked like it was ready to fall apart, Hakyeon noticed the red paint pealing from the walls and grimaced slightly.
The bells let it's shrill ring sound, announcing that school had just begun. Wonshik shivered at the sound. It had been a long time since he'd gone to school, but he still hated the sound of the bell ringing.
Wonshik had never really enjoyed his high school life much. He'd always been compared to his older brothers so people avoided him a lot. He knew it wasn't his fault, people were just afraid of the Kim family. Ravi blinked and snapped out of it as he heard the car door slam as N got out of the car.
Wonshik followed and ran a hand through his hair trying to relax himself. Before they could step inside he felt N's hand touch his shoulder and turned to meet the elders concerned gaze.
"Are you sure that your up for this Wonshik-ah?" Hakyeon asked, not breaking eye contact with the bluenette for even a moment. Wonshik stared back at him before slowly nodding his head, a cross between a smile and a grimace on his face.
"Of course I am."
The reception was almost no problem, they let them through with a frown and a simple nod of the head once their badges were shown. though that's the reaction they got from everyone. They passed hallway after hallway until they came to a somewhat brighter one, filled with flowers and decoration from left to right. Then came a picture of a small boy with dark hair, smiling on a school photo. He was missing one of his front teeth but it strangely made him look more charismatic.
"Kang Jun-Seo." a new voice interrupted both of the detectives thoughts as they turned to see a man wearing metal wired glasses. He looked like a teacher, well at least that's what Wonshik thought that he was supposed to look like. He was dressed in a grey suit, with shorts instead of pants and had a red bow tie tied around his neck. He was young, so he kind of suited the appearance.
"Ah forgive me. I'm Kim Taehyung, a teacher here, may I help you?" he asked pushing the brown locks of hair away from his eyes. His posture was relaxed, he was in his comfort zone it seemed, well at least he got straight to the point, was Wonshik's thought.
Hakyeon managed a smile and pulled out his badge to show Taehyung. The latter seemed to straighten up at this and coughed slightly. Wonshik narrowed his eyes slightly. "We're here investigating the murder of Kang Jun-Seo-" Hakyeon began before being cut off.
"I know..." Taehyung mumbled, gulping slightly as his face turned pale from the memory of the young boy. Hakyeon tried to give him a comforting smile in return, he of all people knew how bad remembering stuff like this could get.
"We're just here to follow up, ask a few questions." Wonshik said slowly trying to ease the tension of the situation. He didn't want this teacher to end up fainting on them.
"Questions?" the youngest man voiced. He was confused. Taehyung was positive that the police had already asked members of staff questions. Yet here they were again, different faces with the same intentions. He sighed and run a hand through his hair before nodding to the two detectives. "Whatever you need..."
"We just wanted to know if there was anything out of the ordinary that day...was there anyone hanging around the school or any incidents that we should be made aware of...?" Hakyeon trailed off before he let his eyes look over the teacher again.
Taehyung pushed his glasses up his nose as he thought, trying not to get irritated by the sweat on his brow. "There were a few rumours circulating through the school about Jun-Seo..." he said quietly, suddenly finding that his shoes were the most interesting things in the world.
Wonshik raised a fine eyebrow at this and exchanged a glance with Hakyeon who didn't seem as surprised as he was. Hakyeon quickly took a step towards the teacher and caught his attention again.
"What were the rumours?" he asked firmly. He needed a confirmation on his suspicions before he could investigate further. Hakyeon had already suspected something more complex about the bruises left on Jun-Seo's body and now he just might have evidence to his theory.
Taehyung finally looked back at the police officers, a somewhat guilty look crossing his face before he spoke again. "I think his father was hitting him."
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Hongbin didn't usually jump to conclusions but he couldn't come up with another reason why he'd be outside this daunting warehouse that had his attackers inside.
Hyuk seemed to find amusement in Hongbin's shock before he rolled his eyes. "Don't look so shocked. Nothing bad is going to happen." He said and shook his head as Hongbin shot him an offended look. "Listen, I've been doing some research on this Infinite gang that attacked you. Turns out that these guys pretty much run the streets around here, they've got a bad reputation too." Hyuk explained, placing a comforting hand on Hongbin's shoulder in attempt to calm him down.
Hongbin sighed in relief and let himself relax a little more under the younger mans touch. "So why are we here then..?" he asked meeting the blonde boys gaze once more.
Hyuk sighed and then removed his hand looking out the window at the clouded sky. "I know that it may be hard for you but..I need you to come inside with me. I need you to ID your attackers." he said and then looked back at Hongbin who had paused so what caught between relaxation and panic.
"But what about-?"
"I didn't get a good enough look at them binnie...." Hyuk muttered and sighed trying to shake the guilt the he felt for putting the man through something like this. But he had no choice. He wanted-no needed to do this. He wouldn't watch someone else turn up mauled or dead like Hongbin would have if he hadn't shown up. These guys were dangerous, too dangerous to be left on the streets.
Hongbin seemed to understand this as his hands fidgeted and fumbled together, clasping and unclasping as he had an internal battle within his mind. He wanted to be useful to Hyuk...but he didn't think that going in there was a good idea either. His mind reeled before it came to a stop and he let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding.
"Okay..." he muttered and closed his eyes for a moment to recompose himself. "Alright. Let's do it."
When Hongbin opened his eyes again he saw Hyuk checking on his gun, in the holster inside his jacket and stared for a moment. He'd almost forgotten that the younger male carried a gun. Although somehow it didn't surprise Hongbin that much. Hyuk caught his gaze and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry. I've got your back remember?" Hongbin smiled at this and then nodded.
"Let's go."
The building itself had three doors. Surprisingly it wasn't hard inside the building as one of the windows on the doors was so conveniently broken. Hyuk had wasted no time in unlocking the door and going inside making sure that Hongbin was following close behind him.
The interior didn't fair much better then the outside of the building, the walls looked just about ready to collapse and there were stacks of card board boxes slung across the place randomly. There were signs that someone had been here recently though. There were seven chairs that surrounded a large table and a few glasses here and there. The Infinite symbol was everywhere, on banners and on the walls. It was almost hypnotic to Hongbin.
His mind snapped back to reality when Hyuk suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and Hongbin walked into his back. The lights had come on, lightening the whole of the warehouse. Hyuk's eyes darted, looking for the switch and the person who had turned it on until there was the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind them.
It was not Sunggyu, L or even Sungyeol. No it was a tall man that with pinkish red hair that looked a little too messed up to be on purpose. His face was sharp yet his expression was confusing. He looked surprised yet amused as well. Hongbin decided he didn't like his expression.
"Can I ask what your doing here?" the man asked, folding his arms against his chest and wrinkling his shirt. He seemed condescending to Hyuk. Was this guy really trying to intimidate him? He felt like laughing at the thought but chose not to.
"I could ask you the same thing." Was Hyuk's immediate response. He guessed that this wasn't anyone Hongbin had seen before, otherwise his reaction would of...well. It would of been a lot more panicked.
The door opened again and two more men entered the room, stopping short of the two strangers in the room. One had spiked brown hair and the other had a head golden blonde hair. They looked at the first man, probably for instruction to which he waved them off.
"Don't worry Woohyun, Hoya. They were just about to tell me why they're here." he said smiling widely.
Alarm bells went off in Hongbin's mind when he heard that name. Hoya.
"Can we hurry this up Sunggyu? We need to get back on time. Who knows what Hoya is doing all by himself...."
This was the place. And they were a part of Infinite. There was no doubt about it.
"We're here investigating an attack on a police officer, we have information leading us to believe the perpetrators have been or are in the vicinity." Hongbin suddenly found his voice and surprised even Hyuk by the authority in his voice. He didn't know where it had come from. But Hongbin thanked wherever it had.
The man seemed to frown at this and walked closer before offering his hand to Hongbin to shake. The younger hesitated before grabbing it and shaking it slowly whilst meeting the mans gaze. He smiled at the younger and realised his tight grip.
"I'm Dongwoo, the owner of this warehouse. I'd like to help you as much as I can. But I'm afraid that there's no criminals here." the words sounded rehearsed and stiff coming from Dongwoo. Hyuk narrowed his eyes in suspicion staying close by just in case it was a trick. He wouldn't forgive himself if Hongbin got hurt here.
Hoya and Woohyun who had hung in the background for the time being suddenly appeared behind Dongwoo, almost as if to back him up if there was any force necessary.
"We're just looking around, kicking over rocks to see if any rats scatter." Hyuk's voice sounded from besides Hongbin and he turned his gaze to younger giving him a grateful look for standing with him.
Dongwoo's eyes narrowed slightly at this and the smile dropped off his face at the indirect insult. He sighed and looked at Hoya and Woohyun once more.
"I believe that to investigate a building you need the correct paperwork. A warrant so to say." Hoya, the blonde man spoke for the first time catching everyone's attentions and making Sanghyuk curse from besides the older man. He had a point. They did need a warrant. "Otherwise you two are tresspassing.."
Woohyun seemed to snicker at this and shook his head. "For cops your pretty unorganised...." he muttered almost as if it were a joke. But of course Hyuk and Hongbin didn't find it all that funny. They actually found it rather annoying that Hoya had pointed it out to them so early in the conversation. Well it was more of a confrontation then a conversation.
"I'm going to have to ask you both to leave-"
Dongwoo's words were interrupted by the door that Hongbin and Hyuk had come through opening again, echoing through the warehouse and alerting the five other people there that someone else was coming into the warehouse.
Another boy approached, though he had a lot of feminine features. His brown hair fell over his left eye and he had a surprised expression on his face as his cheeks flushed.
"Ah...Hyungs I'm sorry I didn't realise...I'll just go..." he muttered softly and quietly. Dongwoo's eyes softened as he grabbed the boys hand and pulled him away from the door and towards the group.
"It's okay Sungjong....just go wait in the back room for us..." he said gently before smiling at the boy sympathetically. Hoya and Woohyun also seemed to become more tense around the boy. Perhaps everyone had their weaknesses, Hyuk thought. He took hold of Hongbin's elbow and started leading him to the door. They were done here.
Hongbin didn't protest as he was lead away but was suddenly pulled back before they reached the door. He froze in the tight grip and released the breath he'd been holding in ever since his small outburst.
"Take good care of that scar Hongbinnie~ we wouldn't want it to be reopened..." Dongwoo's words reached him before the man was gone from behind him and Hyuk pulled him outside the warehouse. Hongbin gasped for air as he felt like he'd been suffocated. They all knew exactly who he was.
Hyuk grunted in frustration and chewed on his bottom lip in though before turning to Hongbin with a frown. He slung his arm across the olders shoulder and looked at him sadly.
"We are gonna get these guys okay? Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you." Hyuk's words made Hongbin feel better. The older managed a small smile. He felt his cheeks heating up, Hyuk was still treating him like a damsel in distress. Despite this Hongbin found that he didn't mind as much he thought he would.
At least he had a friend in the world like Hyuk. A friend that made him feel safe.
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A/N: Thanks for all of the comments and subscriptions and even upvotes ^^ I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time
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