⚠️ W A R N I N G S ⚠️ (for the whole series)

!! murder !!
!! blood !!
!! trauma !!
!! corruption !!
!! sexual references (mild) !!

_____

december 02; 15:38 hrs

lost murmerings crawl around the room, flashes are evident around the man laying on the floor– his arms open either side of him, dressed decently in a white button down and beige colored pants with a pair of timberlands on his feet. even his hair looks fine, despite the contrast his surroundings is showing, a cracked flower vase, cushions from the couch are also on the floor.

oh the only thing making the man look abnormal than sleeping, are the big red stains on shirt and some on his pants. his dead fingers are curled slightly with a torn piece of fabric stuck between.

on the other side of the room sits a girl. quiet and lost. her eyes are fixated on the floor, hands resting loosely on her lap, still stained with the blood. a large hand strokes her hair, hoping she would look up and tell them what happened and how it happened. but she keeps mum, eyes boring into her feet which hide inside the white sketchers, now stained in red from the side and bottom. even on her t-shirt and shorts there are stains of semi-dried blood.

the man next to her sighs, standing up from the couch and shakes his when the senior turns to him in search of any words from the child. the murmerings fall silent as a few running footsteps enter the room, having all the heads turning to the door. the men straighten themselves, saluting the two males and shuffle aside to let them pass to the girl.

"aera," the shorter breathes out, sitting on the couch next to her as he wraps his arms around her smaller figure. the other kneels down, about to hold her hand, but keeps himself from touching when his eyes notice the blood on her hands and clothes.

"what happened here?"

"noah was stabbed, she had the knife." one of the officers say, getting full attention from the two. brown eyes shuffle past the man, scrunching together with the brows as he scans the child from head to toe, making sure she wasn't hurt.

"officer kim, please call the cwc. we need a councellor for the child,"

he nods, glancing at the elder male before pulling his phone. his eyes watch the movements around the room, noticing the closed windows and curtained up to faintly allow the sunlight from tiny creeks. other than the cushions and flower vase, he finds nothing suspecious– well, if you ignore the dead body puddled up with blood and a traumatized thirteen-year-old.

informing the child welfare comission officer about the incident wasn't that hard since the lady sounded cool about everything as though these type of cases were normal to them. oh. yes they were.

"tae," his head turns back, glancing at the elder still holding aera near him. "did you call jimin?"

ah yes he did, and even heard the brother screaming on the phone once he grasped that taehyung was serious and aera did witness a murder in the living room of their own house. it was more dangerous than it was weird, the police too, needed a minute of pondering when they arrived and found the child near the lifeless noah, colored in blood which nobody knew was of noah or a mixture of both of them.

when a screeching sound is heard, followed by a call to one of the senior officers, taehyung's heart doesn't help but race, seeing him walking towards aera. he holds her hand, keeping straight face that doesn't even bother looking at her, "get up, the car is here."

"yoongi hyung," taehyung whispers, "do something... stop him,"

the said male stands up, feeling pressured as much as taehyung for he could foresee his fellow officer locking aera up and start with the questioning as soon as they arrive at the police station. so he invades, standing in front of the man who arches a brow up at him, "officer kang, we should head out first. taehyung can get her with him. the documents still need to be completed,"

the man hums briefly, walking side by side with yoongi as the latter gestures taehyung to take care. the inspector and rest of his men salute to the two, seeing them getting in the car waiting right in front of house and drive away. taehyung sighs deeply, turning to aera and takes her hand, making her stand up, then he leans down and presses a kiss on top of her head, "everything will be okay,"

his voice whispered into aera's ear, sounding so tender as though it was an assurance for her to hold on and they'll make everything okay. despite the warmth, the child doesn't look up. her hand is curled into his palm, his fingers wrapping around it in a delicate manner as they head out of the house which taehyung knows will be sealed for it's a crime spot now.

a buzz in the pocket of his pants, averts his attention from the policeman locking the door and putting on a red seal near the lock. he sighs softly, pulling out the phone in which jimin's id is flashing.

"jimin-ah, i–"

"where's aera?" jimin's voice breaks out desperately, "goddamn it! tae, the traffic..."

"it's okay," taehyung glances at the girl, "i'm here, don't worry too much. uh we're heading to the police station right now, you can get there straight."

"police sta– where's aera? let me speak to her please. she must be scared,"

"i'm sorry, i don't think she'll talk. she hasn't uttered a word since the incident,"

"what?" jimin breathes out, "no, tae please jus- just give her the phone..."

taehyung hums, his one hand patting aera's head as he leans near her, holding the phone on speaker in front of her, "it's jiminie oppa, do you wanna talk?"

"hello? aera? baby, are you okay? don't be scared, i'm coming in a few minutes alright?" jimin says, going quiet for a moment as he probably waits for aera to say something. "hello? can you hear me?"

taehyung stares at the girl with a sympathetic gaze, noticing her eyes on the phone and tears still streaming down her cheeks that have her lips look tiny bit into a pout. he wipes the tears again, pressing a kiss instead, the way jimin or jungkook would've done if they ever saw her crying. this place is for a kiss, not tears, princess.

"hello?"

"yeah," taehyung stands straight, guiding aera to the car and sits on the backseat with her.

"why is she not talking to me?"

"she's traumatized, jimin. witnessing a murder is too much," he hushes out, "we've called for a councellor from the child welfare comission. they'll be at the police station too."

"okay..." jimin sighs, "please take care of her,"

"yeah, don't worry."

how can he not? taehyung felt weird just saying it. how can anyone not worry about their thirteen-year-old sister being taken to the police station after witnessing a murder– especially when the sister is more like their daughter whom they raised since she was a baby? of course jimin would worry, and anyone telling him otherwise has to have a completely stupid brain functioning.

yet formalities are formalities.

when the car is speeding through a highway, just ten minutes away from the police station, taehyung feels the tug on his hand tightening as he never left aera's hand. and now he turns to her, seeing if she has anything to say. instead her hand moves to her stomach, clutching over the blood-stained fabric, she leans forward, cupping her mouth with her other hand and taehyung gasps.

"stop the car!" he orders the driver, opening the door and makes the girl lean down outside as she throws up whatever she had had for lunch. she coughs and whimpers, holding the side of the leather seat tightly with her hand while taehyung is rubbing circles on her back.

he grabs a bottle of water, helping her take a sip, "it's alright, don't cry," he whispers assuringly, stroking her hair and wipes her mouth with his handkerchief.

the car starts moving again, and the next stop is the police station itself. there, a familiar white car is parked, having a sigh of relief hanging halfway from taehyung's lips as he recognises it's jimin's.

heading inside the police station, they're met with a television blasting out the news of a murder in the jeon mansion, some reporters claiming that their youngest child is involved in the case and has been taken to the police station. a hiss fills his ears, followed by a few footsteps, then the television is turned off.

"oh the kid is here," kang says, stopping in front of taehyung and aera, with yoongi and jimin beside him. the brother, ignoring the lawful manners of the officers, wraps his arms around the sister instantly, kissing the top of her head. although two of the men, pull him back, and kang shoots a displeased look.

"you cannot touch the suspect. we need those clothes and even her medical is due."

"are you–"

"yes, now officer kim, please hand her over to the officer from cwc and inform us once she's clean and ready to talk." kang tells taehyung, ignoring jimin's raging presence beside him.

"sir, she's n–"

"you won't decide that. do as i say officer kim, any problem?"

taehyung looks down, his jaw clenching in anger as he shakes his head slowly and bows his head, "i'm sorry, sir."

"good, get to work. make sure they don't mess up and," kang glances at jimin, "–nobody meets her for now."

the rest salute him too as he heads to his office, while yoongi stays behind, cracking his neck. he gestures the men to get back to their work and taehyung to take aera inside where the child welfare officer is waiting already. jimin blinks a couple of times, tears blurring his vision of aera looking so lost and scared and him not being allowed to touch her.

"hyung, why can't i..."

"i'm sorry, jimin. kang's got her as a suspect."

"but– why? she's just a kid! how can you guys even think she could do something like this?!"

"i know," yoongi sighs softly, "trust me nobody here is enjoying this. every once in a while there comes a case when none of us like our jobs because some people mess up the lives of someone who isn't even at fault."

"i don't care," jimin rubs his eyes, breathing in deeply and faces yoongi, "i want my sister back, without any of your officers bothering her about this case."

"we need to complete the le–"

"how much?" the brother grits, glancing at the officers around the hall, "how much for each of them? i just want my sister back,"

"this is wrong, jimin. kang is a crazy man, if he wants to be involved in this case. nobody can stop him. not even money. you can't buy him."

"i can," jimin mutters, "just tell me the amount. hundred thousands? a million? ten million? how much?"

yoongi shakes his head, giving a gentle squeeze on jimin's shoulder, "don't waste your money like that. instead, get a good lawyer. tell jungkook we need him."

"this should not go in court, hyung. just think about aera... her whole life is at stake, please. do anything you want, but don't take this to court. i don't want her to live a life that miserable– between police and court sessions."

"i understand that, but it's important. call jungkook." he nods assuringly, withdrawing his hand back and gestures towards the room where taehyung took aera, earning a confused look from jimin which makes yoongi smile. "according to the juvenile justice system, a child cannot be interrogated without the presence of their parents or guardians. so please, you're needed."

"but kang..."

"i'm here, don't worry about him. he would agree too."

jimin smiles in relief, hugging the elder before following him inside the room. taehyung is standing by the couch on which aera is sitting quietly, not changed yet, and across her is a girl. she stands up, shaking hands with jimin and yoongi, greeting them with warm smiles as if it weren't a case of a child linked with a murder but a friendly gathering.

"i'm chelsea, from child welfare comission."

"i'm min yoongi, senior inspector." yoongi says, then gestures his hand towards jimin, "he's jeon jimin, aera's eldest brother."

"jeon... jimin... the ceo of jeon holdings?"

"yes," jimin nods, taking a seat with yoongi and the lady, leaving aera to sit alone on her couch. the door opens and came in two more ladies, much older than chelsea. they slide in a panel– the kind present in hospitals – and have a pair of clothes. taehyung steps aside, letting them get near aera as one of them make her stand and the other starts taking off the bloody clothes from her body.

jimin stares at their shadows on the green panel fabric with restless eyes, not wanting some strangers to be undressing or re-dressing the child. though he kept himself quiet, knowing aera wouldn't do it on her own and he wouldn't be allowed to touch those clothes.

once the ladies are done and declared that aera didn't have any injuries except for a tiny bruise on her arm, jimin exhaled the breath that was caught in his throat, feeling relieved for at least aera wasn't hurt.

kang joins them soon, exchanging glances with jimin, maintaining his posture as he sits on the chair in front of aera, shifting his attention to her. "is she okay?" he asks, eyes staring at the girl nodding as she looks fine to him.

"sir," chelsea nods briefly, "but please don't pressurise her to answer anything."

kang hums, "officer min... sir, the commissioner told you to lead."

an unnoticed sigh of relief heaves out of jimin's lips as yoongi shifts forward, facing aera and nods. one thing jimin and taehyung could both be sure of now was that at least kang won't push aera to speak and she'll be comfortable with yoongi.

"hey, do you want something? water?" yoongi asks, not waiting for a response and nods for taehyung to ask someone to bring a glass of water. "aera, you need to talk kiddo,"

aera stays quiet, staring at her lap– not moving, not looking up, not speaking– just sitting like a breathing statue. the elders sigh at her as yoongi tries again, "alright, don't speak of you don't want to. just nod your head for a yes and shake it for no, is that okay?"

no response

"is she even listening?" kang frowns, then glances at the lady in the room, "you wanna try something, madam?"

"it's quite common sir, what she witnessed today is too traumatic even for an adult. she's still just a child. give her some time,"

"we don't have time," the officer stands up with yoongi, heaving out a deep breath. "once we receive the permission from the justice board, she'll be taken to the court. and before that we need to get something out of her."

"i'm sorry, we cannot do anything. i can't let you interrogate her if she's not okay." chelsea states, "i hope you understand, it's my job sir."

"and investigating is our job," kang stares at her with his head tilted, "get this girl to speak by tomorrow. noah's brother wants us to find out the murderer. so the faster she confesses, the faster we all will be done with this."

jimin glares at the man for the words he dared to choose, but before he said anything, kang had turned to him and smirked, "call your brother, mr jeon. being mad at me won't do any good, especially when your kid is in my custody.... if you know what i mean?"

"you–"

"jimin," taehyung stops him, shaking his head subtly as he grabs jimin's hand, "don't. at least until you have a lawyer." kang chuckles and exits the room with yoongi, discussing something about the case with him.

"fuck it! how the heck is he given the case?!"

"he's the senior y'know?" taehyung sighs.

"yoongi hyung is too,"

"he's just supervising things because of the commissioner's order. he has nothing to do with the case otherwise." jimin sighs at the words, shaking his head and just ends up hugging taehyung who pats his back sympathetically, "trust me, jimin i can understand it's hard. that's why we're telling you, call jungkook."

"i did, when i was on the way. he didn't an–" jimin hisses, stopping as his phone rings in the middle. when he pulls it out and glances at the coar id, it's his brother, the only one everybody said could get aera out of this mess. "it's kook," he hushes out, quickly answering the call.

"what the heck is on the news?" jungkook exasperates, "park noah and riri and police– what is all that?"

"yeah it's true, come to the police station jungkook. there's this officer kang, he isn't letting aera go."

"kang... kang leo?" jungkook rambles, "is anyone there? tae or yoongi hyung?"

"yeah, tae is here." jimin says, putting the phone on speaker, "he's listening."

"ah tae hyung, is it kang leo? the daegu trafficking case from last year?"

"yeah, him." taehyung nods, nibbling on his lip, "we found noah's dead body at home, and aera was there. the murder weapon has her fingerprints... it's a mess."

"what? how? what was she do– jesus! where is she?"

"she's here. they'll take her to the cwc office for now. noah's brother has filed a case,"

"aera's involved..."

"unfortunately, yes."

jimin gulps, listening to the two men of law talking. jungkook hums deeply, with some honking in the background which gives it off for the elder that he's on his way, "she's under custody right now?"

"yeah, kang's."

"alright, i'll get the bail and everything ready. might take a bit long though, it's already evening!" he groans.

"are you serious? get it right now, i'm not letting her stay in this freaking police station."

"she won't stay there hyung," jungkook assures, "is there anyone from cwc?"

"yeah,"

"they'll take her with them in your presence. so don't worry. i'll take some time, trynna get the bail papers ready as soon as possible."

"yeah, no problem. we're here." taehyung hums,

"call the others though, jimin hyung might need them. you and yoongi hyung will be busy too."

_____________

a/n: i'm so excited to see your reaction for this series 😍 i've never written crime and court scenes before, so do tell me if i'm doing it okay or not.