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Love is a rather funny little thing. It tends to stretch its roots in the soil of the most strangest places and under the most strangest of circumstances.
Every single first meeting is unique, even if it can be considered similar to other's.
You might meet your lover in the aisle of an overcrowded grocery store; make awkward eye contact with them across a pile of avocados in the produce section.
You might meet them while you're out for the night; barrelling into your third bar of the night and seeing them having fun on the dance floor. You might give them a few sultry looks across the bar and then end up sharing a drink or two, then the rest is history.
Or, you might just end up meeting your lover in the dark and musty study of an abandoned building while you try to solve the murder of their relative.
Yes. Every single first meeting is unique, but some meetings are clearly more unique than others.
Detective Kim Taehyung of the Seoul Detective Division can definitely say that his first meeting with the love of his life could top the list of "most unique first meetings", and the speed with which their love bloomed can definitely compete with the speed that some Formula 1 racers have in the track.
Here's the story of their first meeting and the blooming of their love, told one installment at a time.
******
Taehyung walks around the table, stepping over numerous pieces of paper; white pages with hundreds of random black scribbles thrown messily all over the creaky, dirty floorboards.
It's chilly in the room. The window has been left wide open and the curtains are dancing in the breeze of the night. Jimin follows Taehyung with his eyes, taking in the way the slightly younger detective swipes his finger across the surface of the desk.
"What are you doing?" Jimin asks, eyebrow raised in a perfect arch. "You're messing up the crime scene like this."
Taehyung regards him with a neutral, cool gaze.
"Not really," he says, lifting his index finger up and showing Jimin the dust that collected and splayed itself across the expanse of Taehyung's skin. "No one's been in this room for a long time before the murder happened and no one has touched this surface."
Jimin clicks his tongue.
"Alright then." He looks at the blood stain on the floor and grimaces. "What do you think he was doing here? Before him, this place clearly hadn't seen a single living soul in years, if not decades."
Taehyung snorts.
"He was an egotistical, prideful literary genius who used to be relevant and then lost that relevance and started drinking way more than his old body could handle." Taehyung drawls;. his voice a weirdly soothing and haunting sound in the empty, dark room. "His entire family said he was losing his mind due to the alcohol and his need to become relevant and famous again. He came to abandoned places in hopes it would give him inspiration for the next big horror classic. Instead, it got him killed."
Jimin blinks.
"So, basically he came here to get inspiration?"
Taehyung nods. Jimin huffs.
"Damn, you could have just said that one sentence instead of giving me an entire backstory that I am not even remotely interested in."
The young detective just chuckles, stepping over a knocked over lamp and crouching down next to it. The body of the writer has been taken away already and Taehyung and Jimin are just here to look over the crime scene before returning back to their office. He notices a fountain pen laying on the floor, close to the blood puddle.
"You always have to know everything, my dear partner," Taehyung mumbles, pulling a white napkin off the table and carefully pinching the stained pen between his two napkin-covered fingers. "Details are incredibly important in each case."
Jimin rubs the back of his neck. He feels a bit spooked, to be quite honest. The building they are in right now is almost completely empty; the medics and the rest of the crime scene investigation team having already packed up and left. The window is still open and Jimin can feel the cold breeze and hear the gurgling croaks of a raven somewhere not too far from the house.
There's a damn circle of blood staining the dirty floorboards and the entire scene is just too eerie for the assistant. Just as he is about to speak up again (most likely to tell the detective that this place is too creepy and they should probably get out now), there's a creak somewhere down the hall and Jimin almost jumps out of his own shoes.
"What the hell - "
Taehyung seems unphased by the silently approaching footsteps.
"Calm down, I invited someone over."
Jimin blinks rapidly a few times.
"You invited someone here??"
Just then, the door creaks open - the person who has arrived gently pushing it open wider so they could walk in - and a young man appears in the doorway. He cannot be older than twenty-five. Jimin's ever so sharp eyes take in the man's appearance.
He's dressed rather wealthy and his shiny black hair is carefully styled; fluffy strands gently parted, making him look very innocent to the naked eye. His features are manly and sharp, but his eyes are round and wide, betraying a sweet and gentle innocence that Jimin doesn't really see often in his field of work.
There's silence in the room, before the young man seems to snap out of it. He quickly gives a curt bow that confirms Jimin's suspicions that the man is younger than them.
"Good evening!" He greets, a bit nervously. His eyes remain on the two men, stubbornly refusing to look down at the ground.
"Jeon Jeongguk?" Taehyung asks and the younger - Jeongguk - nods. The gears in Jimin's head shift, trying to remember why the name seems so familiar until it dawns on him and his face slightly pales.
Jeon Jeongguk is the nephew of the dead writer. And he's standing in the room his uncle was murdered in cold blood a few hours prior. Jimin whips around to snap at Taehyung, because honestly, what is this man even thinking? Does he not have a single tactful, compassionate bone in his body?
"Thank you for coming, you didn't have to." Taehyung says, finally raising up from his crouched position and taking a step towards Jeongguk.
Jeongguk looks at the detective with a wide-eyed gaze - as if he's slightly in awe, slightly nervous to be in his company - and takes the hand that Taehyung has offered. Taehyung's palm wraps around Jeongguk's and he squeezes the younger's hand gently.
"This is my partner and assistant, Jimin," Taehyung introduces, and Jimin extends his hand out for a shake that Jeongguk immediately accepts.
"Nice to meet you," Jeongguk says softly, still keeping his eyes stubbornly on the two men and most certainly not looking at the ground.
"You too," Jimin says back, giving the younger man a warm smile. Jeongguk smiles back, then lowers his gaze slightly. That is the exact moment that Jimin uses as an opportunity to give Taehyung a sharp, "if looks could kill" glare. What is the detective thinking - bringing the family member of the victim to a gruesome scene as such?
He is, however, surprised to see the look on Taehyung's face. The young detective is looking at Jeongguk intently; his eyes taking every single feature of the other's face with striking attentiveness. And Jimin knows. Oh, God, does he know what that look on the detective's face means.
Jimin has been Taehyung's assistant for a good three years now, and while the man is not exactly an open book, Jimin has picked up on the few clues that allow him to understand - even if only a few times out of thousands - what the other is thinking or feeling.
Jimin has seen this only once over these three years, but he immediately recognizes the look. This is the look Taehyung gets on his face when he is interested in someone. A slight crease appears on his forehead - as if he himself cannot believe that he is actually interested in someone - and his upper lip curls in a way that is barely noticeable.
Jeongguk lifts his gaze then, meeting eyes with the elder detective, and blinks owlishly. Taehyung seems to snap out of his staring stupor just as the younger man parts his lips to speak.
"Why did you want me to come to this place?" He asks, nervously glancing towards the desk and then immediately looking back at the two other men. Jimin has a sinking suspicion that Jeongguk saw the blood stains on the ground, but has simply chosen not to comment on it.
There are, however, a few tears that glisten in his eyes and it's quite alarming. Jimin has never had to deal with relatives of the victim in such close proximity to the place in which they took their last breath.
"I usually come to a crime scene after the body is taken away to look at any and all possible details," Taehyung says bluntly, and it would be a harsh thing to say, to a relative of a victim, but he is reaching forward and taking Jeongguk's hand into his once again, leaving Jimin a bit surprised, because, well...Taehyung never does that. "I often find that the most obvious clues are hidden in corners of the room."
Jeongguk blinks owlishly up at the detective, then nods his head slowly.
"That sounds...kind of smart."
Taehyung smiles. Jimin feels like he's been kinda forgotten, but he doesn't mind all that much when he sees the attentive and somewhat gentle look in Taehyung's eyes. He's definitely not complaining to be forgotten for the second when he realizes that Jeongguk is much more focused on Taehyung and his words than he is on the sheer stench of an attack that occurred in this room previously.
"Before I came here, your mother said that you were very close to your uncle." Taehyung continues, voice surprisingly gentle. Jeongguk just gives a curt nod, his fingers tightening around Taehyung's. "I was wondering if you could help me."
"What?" Jeongguk and Jimin echo in unison.
This is...incredibly rare. Despite being only twenty-seven years old, Taehyung has made a name for himself as one of the best detectives in the country. Taehyung never asks for help with cases. Honestly, he threw a massive fit and almost quit his job three years ago when his superior assigned him an assistant (Jimin). It took him over a year to finally stop being difficult with Jimin just for the sake of being difficult.
Taehyung has - in the past four years of being a detective - solved more cases than most detectives do in their entire career. He's never really asked for help and only accepted the help of hid assistant because he was basically forced to.
So, why the absolute hell is he asking for the help of the victim's family member?
The detective gives Jeongguk a sheepish smile.
"You were very close with him and...I must admit, I've never understood the minds of writers, so I believe that..." he sighs, and it's painfully clear to everyone in the room that it takes a lot out of the young detective to admit it; to force the words past his lips, "I believe that I might need some help in understanding the way your uncle's mind worked."
Jimin gapes. Jeongguk just blinks. Then a small smile breaks across his pink lips, and he looks down at their joined hands.
"Alright."
Jimin raises an eyebrow. Taehyung smiles.
'Alright?"
Jeongguk nods.
"I'm not sure how much help I actually will be - my uncle was very guarded in the last few months of his life - but I will do my best to help you."
Taehyung nods and finally lets go of Jeongguk's hand; albeit rather unwillingly, it seems. He steps back over to the table and picks up the fountain pen wrapped in the white napkin. Jeongguk's eyes follow the detective's movements around the room, and his brows furrow once he spots the object.
"Did your uncle use fountain pens?"
Jeongguk is shaking his head immediately.
"No, he hated those. He did use them in the beginning of his writing career, but he quickly dropped them because they smudged his pages."
Jimin looks at Taehyung, who is smiling now.
"Is that so?"
Jeongguk nods, looking down at the floor and carefully stepping over the stains with a grimace. He stops in front of Taehyung and reaches towards the napkin covered pen with an inquisitive look in his eyes. The detective allows the younger man to take it.
The two detectives in the room watch as the nephew of their victim lifts the pen up towards the light and carefully twists it between his fingers - careful not to pull the napkin too far away so as to not stain his fingers - as his eyes strain on the design.
"Oh," he mutters, his face twisting for a second; something painful flickering across his face, as if he saw something specific and realized exactly what that "something specific" means.
Taehyung leans in closer to Jeongguk, his chin almost brushing the younger's shoulder.
"What is it?" He asks, and the expression on his face reads something like he already knows exactly what Jeongguk has noticed; he's just simply waiting for the younger to be the one to say it.
"The initials on the pen," is all Jeongguk says, turning around and almost crashing into Taehyung, who is standing very close to the other male. "This pen belongs to my uncle's biggest rival."
Jimin gapes, watching the gears shifting in Taehyung's head. The detective reaches towards the pen and takes it from jeongguk, who gives it back all too willingly; looking sick to his stomach now. Taehyung allows Jeongguk to walk a few steps away, most likely to compose himself.
It dawns on everyone in the room; the heaviness of the air, the truth staring them all dead in the eye. It's honestly surprising, how fast it seems that the case has been solved.
"Jimin," Taehyung speaks up quietly; his eyes intently trained on the initials that are half hidden by the blood staining the pen.
The assistant looks over at the detective, both of them pointedly ignoring the quiet sniffles coming from the corner of the room that Jeongguk has parked himself in.
"Yes?"
"Call the police unit and direct them to Lee's residence, please."
Jimin nods, already fishing his mobile out of the pocket of his dress pants; the number of their police unit one of the first ones that appear on the screen. Before leaving the dark room, he chances one last glance towards the writer's nephew; his heart aching for the poor young man who not only saw the room his uncle took his last breaths in, but also helped solve the case of his murder.
He leaves Jeongguk and Taehyung alone in the room.
*****
Jeongguk does his best to compose himself, he really does.
He doesn't want to cry in the presence of the young detective, not after showing such a brave face to both the detective duo and his own family all night long. But it all closes in on him - the room, the knowledge of who did the crime, the fact that his uncle (who was always his favourite family member, no matter how eccentric he could be) is gone.
He sniffles quietly, wrapping his arms around his body and feeling emotionally vulnerable and fragile like never before. The room is cold. Why is it so cold?
He doesn't hear the silent footsteps approaching him, but he doesn't jump either when he feels an arm awkwardly wrap around his shoulders. He knows who it is, and he can't say he's complaining about being embraced by the handsome young detective. Besides, he really does need some comfort right about now.
"I'm really sorry," Taehyung mutters, patting Jeongguk's back a little stiffly. Jeongguk lets out a watery giggle.
"You're kind of bad at comforting people. No offence, of course."
Taehyung shrugs.
"Believe me, I know. So none taken."
Jeongguk sniffs again and then does something that he will later internally scold himself for. He twists around and brings his arms up, wrapping them around the elder's shoulders and snuggling his face in the side of his neck. Taehyung's hand on his back freezes for a good few seconds, but then rests fully on his back between his shoulder blades; his other arm tentatively coming to wrap around Jeongguk's waist, and wow, he's got a small waist.
"I'm sorry for crying."
Taehyung shakes his head, tightening his arm around the younger's waist.
"You don't have to apologize at all. You just lost someone you were very close to. I honestly think I made the wrong choice bringing you here."
Jeongguk sniffs into Taehyung's neck.
"I solved the crime."
The elder smiles softly, burying his nose into the soft strands of Jeongguk's hair without much thought. It's like his body is moving on its own, without any real orders from his own brain. He feels strangely familiar with Jeongguk, even though the first time they ever talked was around an hor ago on the phone, and the first time they ever met was just around twenty or so minutes ago.
"Yes, you did. But still..." He trails off. "I do apologize for bringing you here when the wound is still so fresh. I wanted to solve this case as fast as possible, and when I heard that you were the closest to him in the family and you were also very smart and analytical, I thought that bringing you out here would be best; I didn't stop to think how much it might affect someone, which is ridiculous that it wasn't my first concern."
Jeongguk chuckles.
"You suck at feelings, then?"
Taehyung huffs a laugh.
"Yeah, I'm definitely not praised for my sympathy."
Jeongguk sighs softly and then slowly pulls himself away from the other's embrace, looking up at the detective.
"Can we please leave this dreadful room?" He asks quietly, still stubbornly avoiding looking around too much. The detective immediately nods his head.
"Yes, of course."
They step out of the study room right as Jimin hangs up the phone and looks over at them.
"Some members of the crime scene investigation team will come around soon to clean up the rest of the mess." He says, tentatively eyeing up Jeongguk for any signs of upset.
Taehyung nods, quietly closing the door to the damned room.
"Mr. Jeon - " Taehyung begins, but the younger shakes his head.
"Call me simply Jeongguk." He corrects, a small smile painting his features and he looks beautiful, even if the tip of his nose is a light shade of red and his eyes look a little too glassy still.
"How did you come here? Do you need a ride home?"
Jimin blinks, then smiles. He knows. This is Taehyung's way of asking Jeongguk to spend time with him for a bit longer. Jeongguk seems to pick up on that as well.
"I had a taxi drive me before, but yes, I do believe I need a ride home."
Taehyung nods, a determined look on his face that almost makes Jimin burst out laughing, but he holds it down. Wow, he never thought he'd see Taehyung this way. The ever so serious and hard working detective who is utterly dense when it comes down to having feelings or responding to feelings suddenly offering to drive someone home. Suddenly seeming so determined to do this right and get to know someone.
"Alright, my car is right out front." He says, pausing for a second, then slightly awakwardly offering his arm for Jeongguk to take, like a Victorian age gentleman.
Jeongguk smiles and Jimin's heart warms knowing that, even if this night has been utterly disastrous for the young man, there is at least someone who can make him crack a small smile and feel lighter, even if only a bit.
"Goodnight," Jeongguk says to him, wrapping his hand tentatively around Taehyung's forearm. Jimin tips his head in a nod, smiling at the young man.
"Goodnight to you two." He says, tone a bit cheeky, to which the other detective responds with a glare and Jeongguk responds with a light flush on his cheeks.
Jimin stands at the end of the hall for a bit, watching the two walk off; engaging in shy small talk. He smiles, knwoing that there might be at least one good thing that came from this terrible, terrible night.
******
See, didn't we already establish how unique some first meetings can be?
Taehyung and Jeongguk met under terrible circumstances, in a place that not many people would happily be in. The reason for their bringing together was definitely gloomy and unpleasant, but it was unique; it was something special. This first meeting sparked something gentle; something beautiful and long-lasting. It sparked a love that blooms fast and lasts through the ages.
Their story is only just beginning.