Min Yoongi

"A lead? That seriously the best excuse you got for putting Soomi in danger? I can't believe you right now—or you know what? I can, because this is just like you to not take any of this seriously—"

"Look, I'm sorry."

I paused hearing these words I never thought would leave Hoseok's mouth. I expected him to get defensive, to fight back like he always does, but not this time. This time, I saw a trace of sincerity and remorse in his eyes.

"I know I messed up, but at least she is safe. And now that I've found a lead, the best thing we can do is bring a stop to all of this."

I noticed the unwavering seriousness on his face, and I knew I had to at least try and cooperate with Hoseok.

"Alright, what do you know?"

"His name is Yang Byungchul. Prosecutor Park put him away years ago for drug trafficking charges, and he was released a few months back. From what I found, he was aggressive and unhappy with the prosecution at the time of his case."

"Where is he now?"

"Nearby. I was working with local law enforcement, and we secured a warrant for his arrest. I'm interrogating him first thing tomorrow.

"Then, I'm coming too. But we leave in the next few hours," I insisted. Hoseok's eyebrows furrowed at my request.

"Why?"

"The sooner, the better. Besides, I need to be back at the house before Soomi wakes up."

Please don't leave me alone again. Her words still rang in my head.

...along with the image of her terrified face...

...the echo of her scream throughout the alleyway...

...and all I could think about was my promise to her, my promise that I would not leave her side again.

"I'll just go alone." Hoseok's words shattered through these memories, his tone and demeanor shifting back to his normal self.

"I don't exactly trust you to handle the investigation on your own."

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't know who to be investigating in the first place. And from—personal experience," Hoseok taunted, a clear mocking tone in his voice, "I'd do a much better job interrogating than you anyway."

"It's not my fault your god-awful attitude makes me want to punch your stupid face every time—"

"Well, it's not my fault you—"

"Okay, enough!" I shouted, the sudden outburst even surprising me. "We could go at each other's throats for forever, but right now, we need to focus on the more important thing. When Jungkook and Jimin get back, we're going to pay a visit to Byungchul, together."

The two of us had calmed down, but Hoseok still silently shot fiery daggers at me. Eventually, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine. We'll leave soon."

⋆⋅❈⋅⋆

We drove in silence, though it was difficult to ignore the tension between us. I tried my best to silence the urge to lash out at Hoseok once more.

"What happened yesterday at your agency check-in?" Hoseok unexpectedly asked.

"Why do you wanna know?" I couldn't help the snarky snap in my voice. He just brings it out of me, I guess. Just something about him...

"Do I really need a reason to want information on my own case?" he said with a scowl. "But, if you must know, I knew that Prosecutor Park was paying a visit. I wanted to know if you learned any valuable information that'd be useful for the interrogation."

"Nothing, just that the man's a complete ass."

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," Hoseok grumbled. Hearing this, I remembered how Hoseok had complained about him in the past.

"But it's nothing I would've imagined from what I've heard from you. He clearly doesn't care too much about his own daughter."

Hoseok turned to me briefly, faint confusion written all over his face.

"Why would you say that?"

"He makes it obvious he only cares about Jimin..."

And then, the conversation died out, silence creeping in as we pulled into the parking lot of the police station.

"If we're asking questions here, why don't you tell me what evidence you got on this guy in the first place?" I asked.

"A security camera caught the license plate of the vehicle that hit Kim Taehyung. I traced the car ownership back to Yang Byungchul. And given his past, it's a bit too much to be just a coincidence." He slowed the vehicle to a stop. "But why don't you save your questions for the man himself?"

As we entered the building, we briefly greeted the officers before heading to the interrogation room. I examined the man as we walked towards him.

He didn't look too old, but his graying hairs showed signs of draining years in prison. His face displayed a combination of confusion and fatigue.

"Yang Byungchul?" Hoseok asked.

"Yeah?"

"We're here for an official investigation," I said while taking a seat in front of him.

"Mind explaining what you're investigating? 'Cause these officers haven't made it very clear why I was arrested."

"I'm sure you know Park Kangmin?" I asked.

"He was the prosecutor for my old case," he answered. I studied his facial expressions and tone from the mention of Prosecutor Park. He didn't sound or appear hateful.

"He's been receiving threats these last few months, and his daughter was just recently attacked—"

"And we believe a certain vengeful someone is responsible. Someone, say, like you." I was shocked by Hoseok's straightforwardness.

"You're accusing me of attacking his daughter?"

"Not directly. We're asking if you're involved in any way. See, just a few days before, there was a hit and run that's tied to this case. CCTV identified your car as the vehicle involved." I explained.

Byungchul looked genuinely shocked at this information.

"My car was stolen weeks ago. I swear, it wasn't me—"

"And you expect us to believe that?" Hoseok snapped. "Why didn't you report the vehicle stolen?"

"I-it was old, a pile of trash. I didn't understand why anyone wanted it in the first place."

"Look, Byungchul, even if you're not behind all this, it's best you tell us everything you know now. What were you doing on June 14th?" I asked, trying to figure out where he was the day of the hit and run.

"June 14th?" He paused for a moment to recollect. "I was in Daegu. That was the day I went to see my little girl for the first time since getting out. She's eight now, just the sweetest little angel." I noticed how his eyes shimmered while talking about his daughter.

"We're not idiots, Byungchul. We could easily disprove any fake alibi," Hoseok said.

"Not if it's the truth!" he shouted, his handcuffed hands slamming into the table. Neither Hoseok nor I even flinched at the sudden movement.

"Look," he continued, his voice now softened, "I know what kind of guy I was before, but I've changed. I would never hurt someone's daughter, not when I know how much it hurts to have your daughter taken away from you. Don't you understand the feeling of loving someone so much that you want to be a better person for them? I'm not trying to plan some revenge scheme. I'm trying to make sure I can stay by my daughter's side, to make up for lost time."

I wasn't sure why, but his words hit me hard. He just wants to stay by her side...

I noticed the look in his eyes, like he was begging for us to believe him.

And so I did.

But it seemed like Hoseok didn't.

"Thank you for your time," I quickly intercepted. "We'll see if we can verify your alibi. If no new evidence comes up, you'll be out of here soon." I practically had to pull Hoseok out of the building with me.

"What the hell are you doing, Yoong—"

"He's not our guy."

"You've got to be kidding me! The Yoongi I know would never have fallen for such a pathetic sob story! You're seriously going to believe him so easily?"

"Yes! When he's telling the truth! And if he's not, why don't you prove me wrong then, huh?"

Hoseok groaned in frustration, fingers pressed against his temples. But I simply ignored Hoseok's outcries, replaying Byungchul's words over and over.

I looked off into the distance, seeing the sun peek over the horizon, the orange hues beginning to blanket the surrounding darkness.

"Let's get going. The sun's starting to rise," I said. Hoseok continued to mumble angrily to himself, but all I could focus on was one thing.

I need to stay by Soomi's side.

——
{a/n}
For those more interested in the romance, I'm sorry this chapter was probably boring 😭 But next chapter will get back to the romance!

Also school sucks so much :c I barely had time to be on WP this week but I will be online more this weekend responding to comments, reading, and all that! 😊