12:24 PM Monday, December 18

"Detective!"

My head shoots up in anticipation as Officer Yang enters. "Yes?"  My heart pounds as I wait for his next words.

"Detective Kim has returned, he's taken another person in for questioning," the round-faced man reports.

"Just what I've been waiting for," I smirk, putting down the lunch I had just pulled out. I was getting impatient waiting for Kibum to take my advice.  I had moved all my evidence to Kibum's office shortly after our confrontation, as ordered by the Chief. I left a note with the specific times I noted down on the supermarket CCTV footage that proved Taemin innocent, as well as the screenshots from both of their Instagram pages. At least he decided to listen to me.

I rise from my seat, thanking Officer Yang on my way out, and stroll towards Interrogation Room 3, where Park Jimin himself waits, drumming his fingers on the table in front of him. He doesn't seem bothered at all by the facility he's kept in.

"So, I guess you've decided to come handle this one as well." Kibum saunters up behind me, holding the folder of evidence in his hands.

"Only if you let me," I shrug innocently. "But I think it's best because I've already met him, and I'm somewhat acquainted with him. It should help your pursuit of justice."

Kibum rolls his eyes. "I'm still coming in there with you."

I ignore his comment and open the door. Jimin turns his head slowly and follows me as I walk towards the seat in front of him. "Hello, Park Jimin," I greet him coolly.  "You remember me as Detective Lim, this is my colleague Detective Kim."

He bows his head politely. "So, what am I in here for, Detectives?"

"Jimin, we have a few questions that you need to answer concerning the homicide of Kim Seokjin. Please be cooperative and answer truthfully to all questions asked of you."  I lean forward on the table and knit my fingers together. My eyes bore into his, the man not betraying any emotion to me.  "Where were you at around 6:30 PM on December 13?"

"I was coming back from the dance studio. I came home at around 7 as I usually do," he answers naturally.

"Yes, I called your workplace earlier today," I take out my notes, "They said that on that day you asked to leave about 30 minutes early because you said you weren't feeling well and you didn't want to push yourself. If you left early from class, you should have been home around 6:30."

"Traffic was heavy that day," he shrugs nonchalantly.

Hard Headed kid. "Are you aware that your friend Lee Taemin has been taken in by our team for questioning earlier today?"

His eyebrow twitches so fast I almost missed it. "Do you suspect him of being the murderer?" he asked earnestly.

I sigh, gesturing for Kibum to give me the folder of evidence. "We can't say for sure.  I don't remember telling you this, but we have reason to believe that Seokjin's murder was planned and executed by someone close to him. There was no camera footage of the block where Seokjin was murdered, but he fits most of the murder profile."  I open the folder and read off the page the top.  "Blond hair, size 265 shoes, medically knowledgeable to perform a clean slice of a throat. His pocket knife was found in an alleyway dumpster near the scene of the crime wrapped in a latex glove along with Seokjin's jacket and mask.  He was also spotted inside of the supermarket around the same time that Seokjin was in before the murder."

"Oh, I see," Jimin mumbles. Out of my peripheral vision, I see a hint of relief on the man's face.

"But then we saw that Taemin drank a full case of beer while he was in that supermarket," I remark, sliding a photo of Taemin drinking towards him. "And he was stumbling, which means he was too drunk to do such a clean slice on Seokjin's neck.  And why would he run off and drink in the first place if he knew he had to commit a crime in less than 20 minutes?" I question rhetorically. "Besides, he's allergic to latex, and the glove found at the crime scene was a latex glove."  I level my gaze with Jimin.  "So, we eliminated him as a suspect."

I watch as Jimin's jaw clenches. "Good for him, but doesn't that also mean that you're out of suspects?" There's a slight edge to his voice now as he sits up straighter.

I try not to get excited by how worked up he's getting. "I talked more with Taemin last week.  He says that the two have been friends for a while. Your shoe sizes match and you even have matching earrings."  I pull out the picture from a few weeks ago where the two boys posed together. "Funnily enough, you had blond hair in this picture, but that's not the reason I’m showing you this photo."  I slide the photo of the single chain found at the crime scene next to it. "At first, I didn't know what to make of this piece of evidence found at the scene of the crime.  But then I saw this photo of the two of you, and I realized that this chain comes from your matching earring. Note that there are three chains hanging from the ring."

Jimin's hands clench across from me.

"And I found another recent photo of you on your social media after the crime took place," I continue, sliding forth the selca of him, "Where your earring has not three, but only two, chains on it." I boldly stare at him, waiting for his reaction.

His face struggles to maintain some semblance of calm as he glares back at me, his jaw clenched, and his lips pressed together in a hard line. "So, Detective, what are you suggesting?"  Even his voice has gone down an octave.

I tilt my head a bit, still maintaining eye contact. "You are the killer, Park Jimin," I state firmly.

The boy throws his head back and laughs. "You think I'm the killer just from this small amount of evidence?"

"There really wasn't much we could go by," I admit, "But by process of elimination, you are the only person left who this could be. The only friends of Seokjin who wear size 265 shoes are you, Taemin, Yoongi, and Jungkook.  Jungkook said Yoongi and him were already home when Seokjin was murdered at 6:30 PM, which leaves you and Taemin, but we've already ruled him out." I lean forward towards him more.  "You're the only one left, and I think I know why you did it."

"Oh?" Jimin raises an eyebrow. "Enlighten me then."

I pause for me moment, evaluating his tense posture, before simply answering, "Your sister."

That phrase alone was enough to set him off. "Jihyun has nothing to do with this," he snaps, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turn white.

"Sure, she does," I drawl casually. "You never did get over her death.  You were apparently the last person to rekindle your friendship with your other roommates after she died, despite Seokjin's best efforts. You still try not to spend too much time in your apartment, your best friend is outside of your entire group and you use that as an excuse to stay out.  I know for a fact it's because you can't stand to be around Seokjin."

"Seokjin hyung only tried to reunite us because he was lonely and tired of all the fighting. Namjoon hyung was the one who r