Taehyung
Jimin and I got back into the car, ready to go and bring Chanyeol in for questioning. ‘You’ve gotten used to me driving your ass around, haven’t you, you lazy ass?’ I asked, wanting to tease him a bit.
‘Come on, I drive us around sometimes,’ he replied, laughing. ‘But I have to admit, you’re the better driver and I like riding shotgun with you,’ he said.
‘Well we’ve been partners for a long time now. Who would have told us years ago, when we joined the academy, that years later we would be here huh?’ I asked. He nodded as he smiled fondly.
‘Back then, we were two, scrawny little kids. Do you remember how much the others used to tease us because of our dialects and because we were skinny?’ Jimin asked.
‘Oh definitely. We were the underdogs, or at least, that’s what everyone thought until we started making them notice us,’ I replied, remembering our memories.
‘Everything changed during the first practice round. We had been paired up because we were two who stood out from the rest and we had done it before everyone else,’ he added.
‘Not to mention, we made a new record, even of trainees before us and no one had our accuracy. They quickly realized how well we worked together,’ I said, smiling.
‘We’ve gone through a lot partner,’ Jimin said. ‘You know, I don’t want to get all sentimental and *, but I’ll be honest, I can’t imagine myself not working with you or not having you as my partner,’ he said.
‘Aish, we’re delving into the deep stuff,’ I said chuckling, only to earn a roll of the eyes from him. ‘Jokes aside, likewise and I’m glad Misun instantly recognized that and is using that,’ I said.
‘She seems smart. She knows it will help the investigation and team to keep us working together, although I won’t be surprised if she pairs us up with the other members,’ he said.
‘I expect her too and in a way, it would make sense. It’s no longer you and me, we’re part of a bigger team now so we need to learn to work together, as a team,’ I said.
‘What do you think about her so far?’ Jimin asked. I smiled and nodded.
‘I like her. She seems like she knows what she is doing and has taken leader role quickly but in a way that is not, how to say it,’ I paused trying to find the way.
‘Without being bossy or making you feel inferior,’ Jimin said while I nodded.
‘Exactly. Do you remember when we had worked with a team in Daegu and there was that team leader who thought he was better than everyone else?’ I asked.
‘God, how can I forget? I don’t know how I survived until the end without punching his lights out! I really hated how he talked to his own members, especially the females. That guy was a sexist *,’ Jimin said, a little angrily.
‘You can say that again. It’s such a pity you know, that just because they’re women, they always have to work thrice as hard as a man to earn some respect or be followed,’ I said.
‘I agree. For a moment, I thought it might be a problem when they said Misun was going to be team leader. I was thinking she might face problems, but I don’t think it’s going to be the case, at least not for the team,’ Jimin said.
‘I don’t think so either. Everyone looks pretty cool actually,’ I said. ‘Yoongi made me laugh though. I get what he was saying, about her being really young, but the poor guy looked so flustered,’ I added.
‘Ohh he turned into a tomato. He’s already really pale, so he looked as if he was a glowing Christmas light,’ Jimin said laughing. ‘Seems like we’re almost there,’ he added.
‘Do you think we’ll have a runner or not?’ I asked as I pulled into the driveway.
‘I don’t think so but we’ll be ready for anything. Besides, you’re good at running and tackling down suspects,’ he said with a wink as we got out of the car. We walked to the house and both of us exchanged a look. ‘Well, we certainly have a Halloween lover,’ he said with a smirk.
The front of the house is completely decorated with Halloween stuff – skeletons and fake cobwebs covered the front lawn. There was a black “ghost” flying in the wind, attached to the house. There were banners with “BEWARE” or “DANGER” and pumpkin heads decorated as well.
‘I had forgotten Halloween is almost approaching,’ I said as we reached the door. I rang the doorbell twice and a few seconds later Chanyeol came and opened the door.
‘Lee Chanyeol?’ Jimin asked as the man nodded while he looked at us confused.
‘Yes, who are you?’ he asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.
‘I’m Detective Kim Taehyung and this is my partner Detective Park Jimin,’ I said. ‘We would like you to come down to the station with us to answer some questions,’ I said.
‘About what?’ he asked, snapping a little at us. I frowned a little but maintained my composure.
‘Related to the murder of Kim Dong-Hyun and Park Han-Gyeol,’ Jimin said. Chanyeol looked down as he shook his head.
‘I can’t believe what happened. Han-Gyeol and I weren’t exactly best buddies but they still did not deserve that,’ he said. ‘I’ll come with you and answer any of your questions, but you’re barking up the wrong tree with me. You’re wasting your time,’ he said.
‘We appreciate your concern, but let us decide that Mr. Lee,’ I said as he shrugged.
‘I’ll just get my keys,’ he said. He went inside, just by the door and grabbed his keys from the keyholder. He closed the door and followed us to the car.
Jimin
Taehyung and I arrived at the precinct along with Lee Chanyeol. We led him to the interrogation room as we sat down, settling inside the room.
‘We will be recording everything that is being said,’ I said as he nodded. Taehyung walked in with a folder in his hand.
We all sat down, Lee Chanyeol in front of us. ‘This is Detective Kim Taehyung with Detective Park Jimin along with Mr. Lee Chanyeol. Today is Sunday, 24th October 2021. Time is six o’clock in the evening,’ Taehyung began as I nodded.
‘So, Mr. Lee, can we call you Chanyeol?’ I asked. He shrugged but nodded. ‘Great. So, can you tell us how you know Mr. Park Han-Gyeol?’ I asked.
Chanyeol frowned as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the chair. ‘We’ve known each other for quite some time since we work in the same company,’ he explained.
‘Of course, but it’s a big company and you work in different departments,’ Taehyung asked. ‘So, I’ll ask again, how exactly did you get to know him?’ he asked, a certain edge to his voice that bordered on intimidating. That was one of the things about Taehyung – he could make almost anyone talk – either by charming them, or intimidating them.
‘Okay, fine, I admit, I had a crush on him. I mean, how could I not? I mean did you see how hot he is – well, I guess, was,’ Chanyeol said with a sad smile.
‘Did Mr. Park Han-Gyeol know of your crush on him?’ I asked and he nodded.
‘He did but he always told me he saw me as a friend and I guess I was fine with it, especially because he told me that he loved someone else. At the time, I didn’t know it was our boss, but I guess now it makes sense. Those two were always together,’ Chanyeol said, with a frown.
‘So, how did you go from having a crush on him to sending threatening messages saying you will make him pay?’ Taehyung asked.
‘That’s a misunderstanding and taken completely out of context,’ Chanyeol quickly said, going on the defensive.
‘Then explain it to us because from where we are sitting, it looks like motive,’ I said.
‘Look, a couple of weeks ago, Han-Gyeol was very upset. I met him at the bar, he was crying and told me he had a huge fight with his boyfriend. I didn’t know it was boss, but anyways, that’s irrelevant. He got drunk and I stayed with him. He was too drunk and I didn’t want to let him drive but I didn’t know where he lived so I took him home,’ he explained.
‘And so the plot thickens,’ I murmur to myself, only loud enough for Taehyung to hear. He nodded as he shrugged.
‘I um…I might have started to lead him on. I liked him, a lot, and had for a long time so it looked like an opportunity to finally make him mine but he sobered up pretty quickly when I kissed him and he realized I was not his boyfriend. He got super mad, saying I was taking advantage of him,’ Chanyeol said.
‘You were. He was drunk and hurting because of an argument with his partner and instead of being a good friend, you were trying to get into his pants,’ Taehyung said with a bit of venom in his voice.
‘Whatever, it’s not like you can understand. I’m sure if you were in my spot, you would have considered it at least. Besides, I liked the guy for so long and finally I had him. How was I supposed to let him go?’ he asked.
‘By being a good friend and not a selfish *. Anyways, what led to those messages?’ I asked and Chanyeol sighed.
‘He left the apartment and then we met the next day at work. I went to confront him but he was still mad. He wasn’t just angry, he said he felt hurt and betrayed. We got into another argument and that’s when Dong-Hyun came. He asked what was going on and Han-Gyeol told him everything. Next thing I know I was fired. Now it makes sense why,’ he said.
‘Do you realize how bad this looks Chanyeol?’ I asked and he sighed.
‘I know but I didn’t do it,’ Chanyeol replied.
‘Were where you last night Chanyeol? Between midnight and one in the morning?’ Taehyung asked.
‘I was um…’ Chanyeol stopped as he looked down, biting his bottom lip, almost as if he was embarrassed.
‘Chanyeol, it’s better to say the truth than to be caught in a lie later on,’ I said.
‘Fine. I was having a three some. I can give you their numbers and you can confirm my alibi,’ he said.
‘For your sake, I hope you’re telling us truth,’ Taehyung said as he stood up. ‘You’re free to go as soon as you give us the contact details we need, but you cannot go out of Seoul. We might contact you to come again,’ he added.
‘Well, I’ll actually might be looking forward to hearing from the two of you,’ Chanyeol said with a winke which made me roll my eyes.
‘Just stop,’ I said as I stood up and stopped the recording. ‘Let’s go,’ I said as I led him out to the office. I grabbed a notebook and handed it to him.
We watched as he wrote down the numbers and then handed the note to us. ‘Remember what we told you,’ Taehyung said as Chanyeol nodded.
We watched as he left, just as Namjoon walked in. ‘Do you think Misun and Jungkook got the brother?’ he asked.
We shrugged as we looked at the clock on the wall. ‘They should have by now,’ I said.
‘Unless, he gave them trouble and—’ Taehyung began but stopped as we heard the door opening. We looked up to see Jungkook pushing Jae-Hyun towards the interrogation room with a *ed off face.
‘Seems like he did,’ I said as Taehyung, Namjoon and myself headed towards the interrogation room just as the rest of the team came to watch as well.
‘I feel like we should have some popcorn or snacks,’ Jin commented, making me laugh a little.
‘I am kind of hungry. All I ate was an apple today,’ Hoseok grumbled just as we all began to facing on what was happening behind the mirror, into the interrogation room.
