home, kim jungwoo

26

i'm okay, but are you?

NEW PEOPLE

Her sight was blocked from the three heads, one of them particularly flashing a bright smile that contrasted ethereally with his raven hair.

The other two had less excitement on their face but still had traces of curiosity. The one in the middle spoke, "You're really pretty."

He was nudged quickly from the one beside him, coughing as he made suggestive eyes. Akina found no problem with his compliment, "Thank you."

The other one, who had thin brimmed glasses and crescent moon eyes smiled briefly before he informed slyly, "You're dating Jungwoo right? The two of you are soulmates correct?"

The one who held a bright smile faded quickly from the news as it was now Akina's turn to cough from what the other one said, all the while the third one just smirked, leaning into his chair.

"I'm Renjun, these two are Jaemin and Jeno," he leaned pointing to the two correspondingly as Akina's cough subsided.

"Akina," She responded, reaching out to shake his hand, "We're soulmates, not dating." Her clarification wasn't truly necessary but for some reason, she felt that if she didn't say that there could be awkwardness later- and she did not want that.

"Are you doing okay, we all were informed about what's happening with the case-" Jaemin, the one with the pearly white smile asked, sincerity laced heavily with his words even if they had just met.

She puffed her cheeks out involuntarily as she looked back down to her hands, taking in that her nails were chipping and all different lengths. Was she okay with everything going on?

"Umm... I think I'm okay━" She murmured as the bell of Sora's collar ringed by her feet. "━but I don't really know." She answered honestly, the three looked at her with pity.

She honestly felt numb when it came to this never-ending trauma she had to succumb to. Problems just kept on coming, continuous loss but somehow Akina still managed to keep living, and she didn't know how she managed.

Wanting to change the topic, Jeno looked down at the crate beside her, smiling as he saw the white ball of fur. He ducked his head trying to get a good look at the cat. "What's her name?" He asked.

"Sora; you like cats?"

"Yeah, well... I'm allergic to them but I can't help but want to cuddle them," He responded shyly, his crescent eyes shining as he looked down at Sora's big curious eyes. "Hi Sora," He voiced, excitement filling his voice.

She smiled at the interaction, before her eyes went back up to see Renjun and Jaemin facing away from her, then mumbling something important as a laptop stayed between the two.

Her mind wandered to where Jungwoo was, curious as to what they were talking about. Luckily, she didn't feel worried, she felt at ease at the moment. Maybe it was the soulmate bond's longer-lasting effect.

Tranquility.

In Taeyong's office, six sat recalling evidence and interpreting the letters. When Ten, Yuta, and Jungwoo went to the other victim's houses they found that all of the women received those letters that were encased in black envelopes.

So when Jungwoo found the letter in Akina's house he felt like his world was spinning, he never felt so scared for someone's life ever. Jungwoo was a good detective, he always did his best and stayed calm with witnesses and such.

There weren't many moments when he felt this much worry in his chest, this current case making him feel scared and a small amount of doubt in the back of his mind stayed apparent as everyone searched through the new evidence.

You're the reason she's being targeted.

It could be true, no one would know exactly how the unsub found Akina. But Jungwoo attacking himself would only make things tougher, especially since Akina did not blame him for any of this.

"The handwriting matches on all of them," One of their newer recruits, Sungchan mentioned as he stared at all the letters side by side. "Even the materials are the same."

"So it's not a question if he's targeting Akina, it's when he'll attack." Ten grimaced, hating to recognize the true danger she faced. Nonetheless, the rest nodded, even Jungwoo who harshly gulped, a stinging sensation pricking at his throat once he did.

"We'll catch him, we'll make sure he doesn't hurt her kid," Yuta attempted to comfort Jungwoo, squeezing his shoulder after he spoke.

Although Jungwoo tried to sit straighter and nod confidently, his eyes still held fear and it was obvious to everyone in the room.

"Kun, I want you and Lucas to scout outside Jungwoo's apartment at night, so follow them tonight and do a stakeout," Taeyong commanded nicer than some would expect.

"Got it," Kun responded, standing up with files in his arms to go find Lucas to notify him of their task.

"Ten, Yuta, and Sungchan take all the evidence and analysis out to the main room, I want everyone in there working to find this guy," Taeyong continued the three noddings in unison somehow before leaving the room.

Now it was just Jungwoo and Taeyong and although his judgment was clouded and he was anxious he still wanted to help find the unsub. So he asked, "What about me?"

"Kid your mind is frazzled, you wouldn't be able to focus right now." Taeyong looked towards the door, "You need to be with your soulmate, I believe you can protect her the best, and separating you two would only make things worse."

"Go home and get some rest," Taeyong finished, his tone stern enough for Jungwoo to understand that there was no way to persuade him to let him stay and help.

"Yes sir," He stood up heading to the door, but before he could leave Taeyong spoke one more time.

"Next time you decide to activate the soulmate bond at work make sure to do it more privately... unless you don't care for your privacy to be invaded," Taeyong teased, remembering before their meeting began Ten coming in and exposing everyone in the room of Jungwoo's and Akina's romance being displayed.

just a lil filler chapter to lead us into some great bonding and action ;)