I had always known that this would happen one day, so I was only mildly surprised when I opened the door to a young man I didn't know after my doorbell rang several times. Even if I had never seen his face directly, I knew who it was.
"Oh," I uttered monotonously, the door handle still firmly in my hand.
"Min Yoongi?" He asked in a rather deep voice. I nodded. "May I come in?"
I nodded again and took a step aside to let him in. He was quite a bit taller than me and could seem intimidating if he wanted to. Perhaps it was because I came into contact with people like him every day that I didn't panic. Nevertheless, I kept an eye on my possible escape routes just in case. My visitor took off his shoes in the entrance area and then followed me into my small living room. I was reluctant to turn my back on him, but even less wanted him to think I was afraid of him.
"Do you know who I am?" He asked after I silently asked him to sit down.
"Kim Namjoon, if I'm not mistaken," I answered him. "I'm sorry I don't offer you anything to drink, but murderers are not served in my house."
A serene smile settled on his face, the same one that Park Jimin had shown.
“I am not thirsty. How about we get straight to the point? "
I nodded and sat down in an armchair across from him. "What do I owe this unusual visit to?"
"Park Jimin."
I nodded. Of course, I wasn't expecting anything else. I thought for a moment of Hoseok who had warned me that 'Karma' might have me on their list, but Kim Namjoon didn't make it seem like he was here to finish me off ... not yet.
"Jimin told us you were after Hollan ... just like us," he said finally.
I snorted. "Really? I thought he was one of your lap dogs? "
He looked me over with disapproval. “We don't keep dogs ... but it seems like you barely understand Hollan and his approach. Shame, I really had hopes when I got here. Maybe Jimin just exaggerated when he said you were determined to find this lunatic.”
"That I am but none of this explains why you're here," I snapped.
Kim Namjoon put his head back thoughtfully, as if he were thinking about how he explained his visit to me as understandably as possible, since I still hadn't put one and one together.
“Hollan is a thorn in our side, as he is to you. I'm here to firstly share information and secondly to make it clear that Hollan has nothing to do with 'karma'. He's a lonely lunatic ... admittedly a highly intelligent lone lunatic, yet he acts alone. I can assure you that Hollann has not been part of us for a long time but since we are partly responsible for his actions-"
"What do you mean?" I interrupted him immediately.
“Well, Jimin will have told you that it was us who recruited Hollan. Before that, as far as I know, he had a clean slate ... well, except for minor evils. He was smart enough back then to not give us any tangible data about himself and just as suddenly as he showed up, he disappeared again when he realized that he did not agree with our convictions ... better said, we had him kicked out when he began to murder indiscriminately without really knowing whether his victims deserved it”, he explained slowly.
"You just let him go like that?" I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.
“Of course not, he was at the top of our list and still is. I don't know how many more times I have to say it as you seem to think he's a simple serial killer, but this boy is far from normal and he's smart. He could trick us and he could trick you so far. I don't know about you, but I'm getting impatient and want him to finally disappear! "
I grinned mockingly. "Why? Is it like a dark eyesore on your oh-so-holy beliefs that just can't be removed? If it weren't for my job, I'd be happy to see how he keeps you on your toes. "
Namjoon made a face. "Really ... you don't seem to be completely normal either, Min Yoongi."
I shrugged my shoulders casually. He wasn't the first to tell me, and he wasn't going to be the last.
"What ever. I am not interested in your offer. I'll take care of Hollan on my own ... my conversation with Park Jimin has already shown me that- "
The high-pitched ringing of the doorbell interrupted me. Confused, I looked over my shoulder and then at Kim Namjoon, who seemed calm but at a loss. So it couldn't be any of his friends. I got up slowly and went to the front door, before I could even check the video intercom to see who it was, I heard the annoyed voice of my work colleague and friend.
“Open up, Min Yoongi! I know you're there!” Seokjin called and the bell rang again. "Hello?! Did you think you could rest on your day off? "
"Hyung!", mumbled a quiet voice next to him, which I recognized as Hoseok's. "We should really go!"
“I brought Jung Hoseok with me, do you hear?! So make a good impression and open the door for us immediately!"
I didn't know if it was an annoyed moan or a grin that I suppressed.
"Time to go, your visit here was unnecessary anyway," I said to Kim Namjoon, who had already got up and was now putting on his shoes.
"Oh no, I like to know beforehand who I'm dealing with ... well then, Min Yoongi." He said goodbye with a slight nod, before abruptly opening the door and a surprised Seokjin fell towards him.
"Hey, what's that supposed to be!" The older one complained.
I saw how Namjoon looked at him in surprise as he put him back on his feet. Seokjin knocked the non-existent dust from his jacket indignantly and made a grimace as he walked past Namjoon to enter my apartment. Neither of us had noticed how Hoseok had already slipped in silently and was now facing the wall, as if the antics of his friend embarrassed him . After all, he had tried to persuade Seokjin to leave.
"I didn't know you had visitors," Seokjin mumbled and stared after Namjoon, who disappeared into the onset of the snowstorm with his coat blowing.
"Not important," I dismissed the whole thing and waved the two in. "Why are you here?"
"Well," began Seokjin, breaking free and slamming the front door. "I just wanted to have a coffee after work and Seokseok here just missed you."
“Hyung!” Shouted the youngest of us. "I'm here to keep you from bothering him on his day off!"
I laughed while Seokjin rolled his eyes and was already strolling into my kitchen to put the water on the stove for the coffee.
“Did you know that this Neanderthal still doesn't own a coffee machine?!” he called over to us after a while, when Hoseok and I had gone into the living room. "What simpleton, if you please, doesn't have a coffee machine these days? As if he had time to boil the water every morning and all that !"
"Who would have thought that you could be so upset about the lack of a coffee machine!" Hoseok called back.
"Watch out or I'll poison yours!"
Hoseok laughed and I looked at him confused. I knew that he and Seokjin got along well, but it was new to me that they were so close.
"Did something happen when I was gone?" I asked, puzzled. "I've never seen you talk to anyone like that before."
Hoseok shook his head with a smile. "Seokjin-hyung and I just had a lot to do today."
"To put it better", said Jin, who came out of the kitchen with a tray at that moment. "Hoseok here saved my a lot today and he did a much better job than you, Grandpa."
"I wrote his report," Hoseok told me when I looked at him questioningly. "The boss almost freaked out this morning because it was apparently the dozenth time this month and Seokjin-hyung is working on a case that is also interesting for the press."
"Again?" I asked, looking up at Jin in despair.
“As if I had nothing better to do than type reports! I'm a profiler and not a business administration student!” He said indignantly and sat down with us. “In any case, Hoseok saved me with his puppy eyes and even wrote and submitted my report. After such a near-death experience, we decided to be friends."
"Admit it, you just want me to help you with your other reports too," Hoseok muttered into his cup and I laughed.
I didn't think that these two would go so well together, but apparently I was wrong because they got along great and I almost felt a little excluded when they laughed and joked together, which was of course completely silly.
To my relief, the two didn't seem to want to stay long, because after two hours, Seokjin got up with a groan and stretched.
"I have to go", he said looking at his watch. “Taehyung should be back from university and I swear this boy has pure chaos in his blood! Wherever he goes, nothing stays in its place."
I giggled and walked my friend to the door. "How long is your brother going to live with you?" I asked.
Jin shrugged his shoulders with a snort. “As long as this idiot is finally finished with university! I swear, if he wasn't so cute as a kid, I would have kicked him out long ago! Oh, what you do for the family."
He finally left my apartment cursing himself. Actually I had expected that Hoseok would also be on the way, instead he seemed to be waiting for me in the living room.
"Was your day very exhausting?" I asked him, amused.
He shook his head and looked at me seriously.
"What's up?"
"Why did that guy visit you, Hyung?" Suddenly shot out of him.
I looked at him in surprise and looked for an excuse. I didn't think I could tell who he was and why he was here. While I was still thinking, Hoseok stood up still with that serious expression on his face.
"I know it was Kim Namjoon, one of Karma's people so save yourself the trouble of making up a lie, Hyung," he said.
"How do you recognize him?" I cocked my head in surprise.
“I've been working with you again recently, have you forgotten that? This means that all of your cases are mine, and I've looked at every file on your case for the past few weeks. So it would be easier for both of us if you tell me the truth. How am I going to be of use to you if you continue to work alone?” He pouted. The corners of his mouth pulled down and he avoided my gaze, but I was surprised by how determined he was on this point.
"If we had something solid against him, I would arrest this guy and his gang immediately!" I grumbled and let myself fall into my chair. "I hate that they can always box themselves out of trouble and we have no evidence!"
Hoseok nodded and sat down again too. "I don't really like them and their double standards either ... so what do they want from you, Hyung?"
"Information about Hollan ... they are also looking for him and want ... something like an alliance? I don't know, at least I said no.” I explained briefly and peeked at Hoseok with interest to see how he reacted.
His expression went cold and he pressed his lips together so tight they turned white. Finally he raised his eyes and looked at me. "What if they want to get rid of you now?"
I giggled. "Wouldn't that be interesting?"
"Hyung-!"
I put my head back and grinned at him. “You're cute when you get upset. Completely different from what I would have expected ... "
His ears turned red, but he tried to be serious.
"This is not the time to give me weird compliments!" He complained.
Maybe the fact that we were in my own four walls made me braver and more open than I usually was with Hoseok.
"I'm glad you came to our department."
Speechless, he looked at me with his mouth slightly open and a wild look. Maybe I should say what I was thinking more often so that it wouldn't be such a surprise all the time. I smiled slightly.
"Let's not talk about karma or work ... please." I muttered, closing my eyes. "Today is my day off, I should relax."
I heard Hoseok's clothes rustle as he moved.
"Then ... then I should go. I've bothered you long enough and you want to be alone.” The words left his mouth in a whisper and he sounded like I accused him of stealing my time. Hadn't I just paid him an obvious compliment?
"Stay." I said simply as he walked past the chair I was sitting in.
"Pardon?" He asked in amazement and I opened my eyes to look at him.
"You should stay ... of course only if you have time."
He eyed me as if he was wondering if I meant business. Finally his face lit up with a smile.
"For you always," he said softly and a smile crept onto my face.