It’s been almost 30 hours (that’s a day and 6 hours which meant that Friday wasn’t Friday anymore but Saturday at 6 am) since Taehyung had last slept and his eyes have begun to water up and feel like the weight of two grocery carts filled with watermelons. The case has come to a complete stop since Jungkook’s ‘confession’ and frankly, Taehyung was back to square zero because,he had no suspects, no clues and no leads- potential and otherwise. He had absolutely no idea what to do next.

He groans loudly and pushes all his stuff into a heap on the table and lays down. He back is beginning to hurt from the hard surface of the meeting room’s table but hey, no sleep makes you do crazy things. Like try to punch your best friend when he shakes you awake almost 3 hours later.

“God, Tae, this case is driving you insane!” Jimin sighs as he pulls Taehyung off the table and into a wheelie chair nearby,” Oh my gosh, Tae, you’re unhealthily pale and you look dead. When was the last time you slept?”

“2 days ago?” Taehyung murmers unsurely as he runs a sweaty hand through his oily hair. He barely registers Jimin’s deep sigh as he feels a hand push his neck down so that his face rests comfortably on the table.

“Jimin, I’m fine,” he drawls sleepily. Jimin simply gives him a quiet shush and gives his cheek a light as his eyes begin to close against his will. He doesn’t see if Jimin is still there or if he decided to go off somewhere but damn, getting some shut eye is relaxing as hell.

The room becomes silent after that and strangely, he’s fine with that. It’s quieter now, and that meant a calm and blank mind which, eventually, leads to a dozing detective drooling all over the boardroom’s expensive mahogany table. He sort of feels a pair of hands rubbing his shoulders soothingly followed by an wonderfully soft piece of cloth bring warmth to his worn body. He hears a quiet giggle next to him and feels a hand card through his bangs, fingernails barely grazing the skin of his oily forehead until that hand draws back and the door closes softly and finally, Taehyung allows his body a very well-deserved rest.

“Taehyung, wake up,” calls a gentle voice,” Please, Tae?”

“-er you?” is the sleepy response Taehyung offers as he raises his head and forces an eye open to see Hoseok standing over him.

“Gee, after such a nice wake up call?” Hoseok scoffs jokingly and slides a glass of water toward the sleepy detective,” I could’ve poured this cup of water over your sorry head, , but out of the kindness of my heart, I decided not to- be grateful brat!”

Taehyung grasps the plastic cup in earnest and gulps down the content, washing out the cotton-like feeling in his mouth after that really nice power nap.

“Nothing to be grateful for, if you still thought of causing harm, dear senior,” Taehyung fires back with a grin. Hoseok laughs and gives Taehyung a rough smack to the shoulder along with a light pat on the head.

“How long was I out, anyway?”

“Hm, a few hours, I think. Maybe five to eight? I don’t know, I have no concept of time,” Hoseok tells him as he tosses Taehyung’s cup into a nearby bin,” Now up on your feet, we have an emergency.”

“We do?” Taehyung whines as he stands up to stretch his back.

“Seokjin is in the hospital,” Hoseok tells him as they haphazardly shove past everyone on their way to Hoseok’s car.

“Damn, why?” Taehyung gasps.

“Stress-induced panic attack and then fainting from lack of oxygen because of said panic attack after a modelling gig. His stylist told Jong that’s it’s from all the stress he’s been getting since Yoongi’s disappearance but she’s also telling us that it could partially be due to the harassment he’s been getting at work,” Hoseok explains as he climbs into the driver’s seat,” Also, he requested a meet-up with you, said he needed to discuss something important about Min Yoongi.”

Strapping themselves in, the drive to the hospital begins as Taehyung begins to flip through the stations until a news broadcast stops him midway.

“ ‘-infamous gang named X is beginning to emerge out from the shadows, yet again, after almost 10 years of hiatus after their notorious serial killings and money scams that struck fear across South Korea. Said gang has been targeting flower shops by marking them with their trademark pentagon logo after raiding and assaulting those found inside those shops. This reason for this is still unknown as the gang’s new objective is still unclear, but after the disappearance of 22 year-old, Min Yoongi -the owner of the flower shop named ‘Hidden Amongst the Roses’, there are theories that perhaps the name of said shop could be a clue as to what X is-’ “

“Holy , how did the press get a hold of this before I did?” Taehyung scowls at the radio,” And isn’t this case supposed to be a secret?”

“Well, like you said it’s supposed to be. Damn, the press are getting better and better at digging up classified cases, huh?” Hoseok sighs.

“Good for them, but not good for us,” Taehyung pouts,” Give Jae Hwan a heads-up back at dispatching if you ever bump into him, ‘kay? Poor guy is about to be receiving a ton of false reports about this gang.”

Hoseok lets out a brief chuckle which leads to the comfortable silence that follows afterwards. Taehyung leans back into his seat and starts to hum to some random tune off the top of his head, letting his body relax against the smooth vibrations of the vehicle as they make their way down the street. When the car stops at the red light, Hoseok turns to Taehyung and says,” Hey, Tae?”

“Yeah?”

“That gang we heard about on the radio,” Hoseok continues,” It’s the one your uncle was in, right?”

Taehyung doesn’t need to turn around for Hoseok to know that he’s sporting a murderous expression on his face and Taehyung doesn’t want to. It’s bad enough that he’s been getting migraines from this case, but he doesn’t need his friends hovering over him like helicopters.

“You and I already know the answer to that question so why bother asking,” Taehyung states stiffly. He hears Hoseok sigh hotly as the light flashes green and the car begins to power down the street.

“I’m just worried for you,Tae. I mean- I get that this is your first case in months but really? Almost 48 hours of no sleep and all coffee is not healthy!” Hoseok chides as he carefully rounds the corner into the hospital parking lot.

“Jimin’s the one who told you to do this, isn’t he?” Taehyung snaps,” He got worried and over-reacted when he saw me working at my desk this morning and now he’s convinced you that I’m dieing when really- I’m fine!”

“Yes!- I mean, no! I- that’s besides the point, Tae-”

“Then what is the point, huh? That the brother of my mother is a damn gangster who deserved to get shot dead the night X went under?”

“Tae, you know that’s not it! It’s just that you’re overworking yourself and that’s concerning because it’s a sign that you could be slipping back into your reclusive self like when you found out that your uncle killed your dad!”

“Hoseok, drop it,” Taehyung sighs,” I just- I can’t let someone else get hurt by the same people who hurt me.”

“But that doesn’t mean you should risking your health over this.”

Hoseok parks the car silently before turning to Taehyung with a determined expression on his face. “Please don’t beat yourself up over this,” Hoseok pleads,” Jimin’s worried, I’m worried.”

“M’ sorry,” Taehyung mutters as he glances away, wanting to drop the issue and bury himself into the ground, he hated bringing up his past. Hoseok gives him a comforting pat on the back along with a gentle,” Take care of yourself, Tae. Jimin and I are always here if you need

someone,” as they step out of the car and head into the hospital,” Now come on, Seokjin is waiting for us.”

“Mr Kim, I’m going to need you to elaborate on that please.”

Seokjin doesn’t spare the officer a glance as he picks at the shiny sweet wrapper as he tries to ignore the soft clatter of his pills on the metal tray in front of him.

“I’ve already stated that I’m only sharing this information with Detective Kim Taehyung,” Seokjin states coolly.

He hears the officer huff in irritation and he has to stop himself from launching himself onto the guy because he’s stated at least forty-seven times that Kim Taehyung is the only one he’ll speak to because he can’t risk anybody leaking this out. He even told Jungkook and Namjoon to stay away from the hospital for the time being because what he needs to tell Detective Kim is so damn important that it could get him killed- or worse, get both him and Taehyung killed.

Then he hears the door swing open and in comes Kim Taehyung along with another familiar guy- Jung Hoseok, was it?

“Finally!” the officer cries as he jumps up from his chair,” Thank goodness, Tae! I’ve been sitting here for hours trying to get him to talk but he’s insisting that only you hear it.”

“Damn, thanks for keeping Seokjin company then, Jong!” Hoseok says cheerily as slings an arm over the officer ‘Jong’s shoulders and moves to him out. Hoseok turns back with a bright smile and says,” I’ll leave you two to your devices, text me when you’re done, okay, Tae?”

When they finally leave, Taehyung turns to me and sits down with a curious expression on his face,” Jin what did you need to tell me?”

Seokjin bites his lip nervously before saying,” You have to swear that nobody outside those working on the case knows about this, okay?”

Taehyung raises his eyebrows in confusion,” Seokjin-”

“Jin.”

“Jin,” Taehyung corrects himself,” I’m sure you’ll be guaranteed anonymity if you request for it-”

“I don’t want to be guaranteed, Taehyung, I want to be sure!” Seokjin pleads.

He stares desperately at Taehyung, looking for any sort of reassurance the man can offer him but instead of getting a nod of confirmation, Taehyung just his head to the side with a blank expression on his face saying,” Why is it so important that nobody knows about this? Is it really that vital?”

Seokjin exhales and hangs his head. He puts on a calm expression on his face and says,” I know who you’re uncle is, and I also know might know someone who knows why Yoongi was taken.”