Hyeon let Jin out near supper time.

Jin knew it was to avoid suspicion from Namjoon. If Jin didn't make supper, the Officer would definitely find out something was off, since it was something he had made ever since he came home. Hyeon got rid of the letter, as Jin decided that it wouldn't have helped him anyway even if he showed it to Namjoon.

You always believe the person you love... And he didn't love Jin.

So Jin made supper, listening to Hyeon talk to somebody on the phone. He wasn't sure who, but he figured it was a friend. She was talking about Jin like some filthy stray they picked up on the streets and could potentially harm him. She even purposefully put her friend on speaker, hearing their insults fly to Jin's ears. One of their subjects were about Jin being locked in the room; they rooted when she said she found Jin with red eyes, curled in a ball on the bed, under the sheets like a scared weak coward.

He knew this was to get under his skin. She probably wanted to get him to leave in any means necessary.

Why didn't Jin leave? Other than being a murder suspect, he wasn't sure. Namjoon made him feel things he'd never felt before, and he supposed that was one reason why he felt like he wanted to stay. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

He would rather shove her out of the door, though... He wouldn't mind killing her if it meant happiness for Namjoon. That's how he saw Jimin and the rest of the kids he rescued. Even Rosé and Lisa were grateful.

"Why are you so quiet, scumbag?" She snickered, painting her toenails. Jin ignored her, finishing cooking the pierogis and a big salad. He had ignored her stupid insults so far, but he could feel himself get a little more irritated each and every time she said something. And he wasn't sure how long he could last in a few more months.

How the hell did Namjoon face this?

Maybe she placed a façade on. It always seemed that way; the slap after being rejected, only speaking ill in front of Jin, wanting him to fuck off... She'd never say any of that in front of Namjoon.

As if she was really trying to make him the bad guy.

"Hey, Jin." Jin spun around with doe eyes at the familiar voice. Namjoon had come home? He looked over on the clock, noticing it was about a half an hour later, after he had started thinking. He was shocked at how deep in thought he was.

"Hello. I made you both supper, I hope you will enjoy." He copied a smile and bowed his head, handing him a plate. Namjoon let out a little 'oh', and Jin blinked. He wasn't good at emotions, but he presumed that meant it was not satisfactory. "Is there something wrong?"

"You don't need to keep passing me a plate every night you know." Namjoon placed a hand on Jin's big shoulder, mainly out of impulse (who wouldn't want to touch his shoulders?). Jin tensed up under his touch and stared at his hand, feeling uncomfortable and nervous.

"Why are you touching me?" Jin asked, purely out of curiosity.

Namjoon noticed the innocence in Jin's eyes and how he was expecting a serious answer out of this action. Namjoon pulled his hand back, feeling heat creep up his face. Was this guy for real? "I-It was to comfort you... People do that kind of stuff. Y'know, even when people love others, they hold their hand or hug them and tell them nice things to make them feel better." Jin looked so intrigued Namjoon forced himself not to laugh at the cuteness he emitted.

"In your case, I just wanted you to know you don't need to always pass us our plates. We have arms for a reason." Namjoon chortled lightly.

Jin nodded, thinking it over for a minute. "Okay. I understand." And that's when he felt a nasty presence in the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Hyeon, staring at him from the couch with complete disdain. Jin stared back with an unreadable emotion, but none of it was actual hate. Not yet.

-  -  -  -

"How's your head?"

"It's great. Thank you for asking." Jin replied out of practice. To act human, you must always say vague answers. Nobody liked deep and thoughtful ones. At least, that's what he had gotten out of a lot of conversations these days.

Right now, Namjoon and Jin were in his room. Namjoon wanted to listen to Jin start speaking of his past again however Jin was being very quiet today.

"Do you have any friends, Jin? Anybody you care about?" It felt like Namjoon had asked that out of nowhere, because Jin did not expect it. Or what to say.

Should he lie? Of course he should. It needed to be a good lie so he didn't suspect anything. "I have one. But that's it."

"Oh, who's the lucky friend?"

His ears felt tingly as the accustomed red colour filled them up. Jin tried shaking it away but Namjoon noticed it before he could hide it. "Why are they lucky?"

"To be your friend, duh."

"... Why?"

"I swear you're like a six year old!" Namjoon smiled. Jin wasn't sure if he should laugh or not, resulting in his lips twitching clumsily as if battling inwardly to smile and not to smile. Namjoon only laughed further at the weird face Jin was making, knowing fully well he was tensed and confused about it.

"You're so cute when you act this way." This time they both had blushed faces. Namjoon scratched the back of his head, clearing his throat to quickly change the subject. "Erm... I think you're a very kind person even though you're strange. That's why they're lucky to be your friend."

Jin was too busy trying to figure out if he liked what he was hearing or if it disgusted him. What was the difference between the two? It was hard to distinguish since they seemed to both feel the same way. Both very painful...

"T-Thank you." Jin swallowed harshly. The air was thick with awkwardness now, as they did not know what else to say, but it was obvious they wanted to share many things with each other. Or maybe that's only how Namjoon saw it.

"Y'know... Why were you looking at those boys? Back when I found you the second time? Did you know them...?"

Jin looked on his bed, calculating some sort of answer. "I did. We just aren't on good terms anymore." He pretended to pull a sad face... But he actually felt a pang in his heart when he thought about Jimin.

"Oh... Damn, that's really rough. I hope you guys figure it out some day." Namjoon tried reassuring him, placing a hand on top of Jin's. Jin looked down at the hand and considered the gesture. He was finding a pattern to this now.

Touch somebody whenever they needed comfort. Got it.

"Thank you." He didn't know how else to reply. It felt so fucking strange; he was being so nice to him and he didn't know how to react. It upset him because he actually wanted to try to get in a nice conversation, talking back and forth without complications...

"How do you feel about Hyeon? Is she treating you well?"

And here was where he should tell the truth or not. "She's a handful." Half honesty.

"Yeah, you could say that." Namjoon laughed, but it sounded dry and not heartedly at all. Jin wasn't one to pry into someone's life unless it meant finding ways to bribe somebody to do his 'dirty work'. No, unlike what many believed, he did not kill as much as people thought. He didn't actually kill most of his victims with his own hands. After Jimin's parents' death, he had found a lot of ways to use other people then on.

But either way, Jin had a strange interest in Namjoon that not even he could explain. And he wanted to know everything about him with the sole purpose of just... wanting to get to know him. Was that wrong?

"Do you believe my story?" Jin asked, changing the subject.

Namjoon was taken aback, hesitating to answer. Jin assumed it meant he didn't, but Namjoon soon spoke. "I'm supposed to get more concrete evidence about it – as a cop, y'know... But I kind of believe your words. I'm not supposed to get this personal with you, either. That's pretty much really illegal..."

Jin let a little 'hah' escape his lips, actually finding that kind of funny. Namjoon heard it and did a half smile, finding it really cute. "Did you just laugh at me?"

Jin's humour faltered and he shook his head furiously. "No."

Namjoon looked him up and down with a hum, as if thinking. Jin didn't know what he was thinking but he wanted to know. He wanted to be one step ahead. He couldn't even understand what the expression on his face was. "Namjo—" And then he felt hands on his tummy.

"What are you doing?!" Jin asked with an alarmed tone in his voice. Namjoon wiggled his fingers onto Jin's stomach and sides, a big grin plastered on his face.

"I'm tickling you! Are you ticklish?" He scooted closer and continued his act, while Jin sat there watching with wide eyes. Nothing was happening... Oh wait. What was this feeling? Jin started twitching awkwardly, moving back so Namjoon could stop touching him. But Namjoon was stubborn and moved forward, making googly baby noises while he tickled Jin.

"I don't know! Why do you keep insisting?!" Jin's eyes were bulging out of his face, staring at Namjoon as if he were a crazy man and then ran to another corner of the room. Namjoon was quick to follow, still moving his fingers against his body.

"You gotta know what being tickled feels like! Let some stress leave your body!" He laughed when Jin tapped his hands every time he tried touching him, however Namjoon still won when he finally managed to touch his sides again.

Jin's lips curved into a smile for a single second, and the two men stared at each other with wide eyes.

Jin was thinking, 'What has this man done to me!?'

And Namjoon thought, 'I did it!'

Then Namjoon went and attacked his sides and tummy, watching Jin started laughing and curling his body as a natural reaction to the tickles. Namjoon started wheezing at Jin's windshield wiper laugh but he kept tickling Jin until they both fell to the floor.

"Tookie tookie too~!" Jin was in tears, unable to make any noises as Namjoon continued to make strange noises literally sitting on top of him. He kept going until he noticed Jin's face turning a little blue, so he stopped and let the boy breathe. 

He kept laughing until he could finally regulate his breathing, staring wide eyed at Namjoon like he had done something strange to him. "What did you do to me?!"

Namjoon wiped a tear from his eye, "I just tickled you! Have you really never been tickled before?!"

"Never! I will never let anyone tickle me ag—" Namjoon turned around and grabbed onto one of Jin's feet, gently rubbing his fingertips against his skin there. Jin bellowed another laugh and attempted to stop him but he was laughing too hard. "Stop it! Stop it please! I can't br- I can't breathe...!" He wiggled his body and his other leg spasmed, trying to kick Namjoon off, but he just managed to snatch it up and lock it in place with his other foot. Now he was tickling both of them and he couldn't do anything but cry and beg for him to stop.

Finally he stopped, dropping Jin's feet on the ground and grunting as he stretched, standing up. He looked down at the blubber of jelly on the ground, glaring up at him with hate but his giggle fit was still there. "I hate you."

Namjoon pressed a foot on top of Jin's back, lifting an arm as he flexed triumphantly. "I have defeated... The beast!" Jin wriggled away and stood up, wiping his face from the tears that leaked down his face.

"Why did I cry? What atrocity is this?" He looked at Namjoon with a little bit of fright and anger, and Namjoon just found this entire situation ridiculously hilarious.

"A lot of people cry when they're tickled to death."

Jin's eyes were still wide open like a fish, "DEATH?!"

"No! Not literally!" Namjoon fell down in a fit of laughter. Jin didn't know what was real anymore. Was being tickled good? Or not? Why did he use that figure of speech if it didn't actually kill you?!

"What is anything anymore?!" Jin shook his head and pointed at Namjoon fiercely, still laughing like an idiot. "YOU ARE NEVER TO TICKLE ME AGAIN." He demanded. Namjoon didn't listen, catching his breath as he sat on the floor. 

"C'mere," Namjoon waved his hand. Jin hesitantly crouched down, staring at Namjoon with distrust. "It was fun, wasn't it?" The brown haired boy didn't except that to come out of his mouth.

"So what if it was?"

"You should loosen up a bit more. It suits you better." Jin gulped. Did he like what he heard? Did he hate it? He didn't have enough time to think about it when from the corner of their eyes, they noticed a figure he could always only describe as... Venomous.

"Namjoon, come with me please." She tapped her finger against her arm, looking rather expectantly. He looked at Namjoon, seeing how his face had carried on a shadow and his smile was gone. Jin wasn't one to pry...

He wasn't one to pry... But he really felt like it now.

"Sorry, I'm having a little talk with Jin right now." He retaliated. Hyeon glared at him, slowly walking up to the two. She stood in front of him, not uttering a single word as she crouched down with them.

Then she faced Jin, a smile on her face. "We are going, now." She grabbed Namjoon's arm and tried pulling him up as she deepened her nails in his skin. Namjoon didn't want to cause trouble – he didn't feel hurt by it. He followed her out of the room.

Jin heard the door close in their room, and for the first time in a long time, he felt troubled for a person who was not a child. He wanted to save Namjoon.