ʟᴜᴘɪɴ│ᴛᴋ [complete]

.20. ɪɴ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴅʀɪɴᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ's ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɴᴏᴏɴ ʏᴇᴛ

It was one of those rare Sunday mornings, soaked in sunlight, coffee aroma, and cheerful chatter. And Jungkook hated himself for having to wreck it all. Sitting at the kitchen table, hands delicately placed around a hot cup of dark brew, Taehyung was giggling at Lizbeth's recollection of one of Jungkook's numerous mischief as a little boy. Jungkook's eyes went briefly blind. The sun was playing with the other's golden-brown locks, and he would be lying if he said he didn't feel mildly jealous of it. But what really bedazzled him was that smile, shining bright on Tae's face. And he hated himself even more for having to erase it. "Tae, I'm sorry but you have to leave."

At that moment, the grin fell. Taehyung could tell Jungkook was being serious. And it scared him a little. He got up and walked over to him, placing his hands on the other's cheeks, rubbing softly over the cheekbones before planting a sweet coffee-scented kiss on his lover's lips. "Jungkook, you don't have to do this."

"Tae, please. Don't make this harder than it already is."

"Listen to me! You really don't have to do this! This is not our game."

"I don't know what game you're talking about—"

Taehyung sighed and pressed his forehead against Jungkook's. "They took our lives away. Now is the time to take back what's ours. If you trust me, you'll come away with me."

"You're being so — cryptic. I have no idea who you're referring to, but right now, I really need you to leave."

"Why though?"

"Our — relationship is putting this case in jeopardy."

"Drop the case, Jungkook. Do it for me. Please. Do it for us."

Taehyung was asking for a lot. They both knew that much. The young detective thought about what life would be like with Taehyung by his side, and suddenly, it was as if he was back on board the blimp, thousands of feet above the earth. Dizziness overtook him and he almost lost his balance. Obviously, this wasn't a life for him. He felt grounded in his strong sense of duty and he wasn't one to shy away from responsibilities. "I can't."

Jungkook stepped away from the other, instantly regretting the warmth of Tae's hands on his face. Yet he made no move to try and stop him as the young man turned to leave, after bidding Lizbeth a grieved farewell. Taehyung, however, halted in front of the kitchen door. He had one last question. "How come this case is more important?"

"A clown lost his smile."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jungkook realized the absurdity of it all. Taehyung chuckled. "So that's all it would take."

"What are you saying?"

"If Jung Hoseok gets his grin back, you'll drop the case?"

Jungkook raised a brow at the implication. "You mean to tell me you can fix this?"

What Tae was suggesting made him look like a strong contender for prime suspect. "What if I can, will you drop the case? Or will you arrest me?"

Jungkook gulped. He did not wish to think that far ahead. But what if it came down to it, what would he actually do?

Lizbeth, who had stayed quiet the whole time, gently pushed Taehyung out, though it pained her to have to do that. She apologized by saying: "Mr. Jeon and I must have a little chat."

Jimin, who was leaning against the wall across the hallway, handed him his vest.

"Park, feeding into the stereotype of reporters being bad news." With this bitter remark, the young bachelor headed out.

As he reached the front door, a letter slipped through the mail slot and dropped at his feet. He picked it up. The paper's grain felt vaguely familiar under his fingertips. He took a closer look and scoffed. Lupin was not going to let him off the hook so easily. He turned around and delivered the missive to the ever-observant reporter.

♠

"Forgive me my bluntness but you, sir, are a fool!"

Jungkook was so shocked at the housekeeper's words he was left dumbstruck. "Lizbeth, you don't understand—"

"No sir, I believe it is you who is currently making a huge mistake by letting happiness walk out the door like that!" The old woman was beside herself.

"My dear Lizbeth, calm down, please!"

"Don't my-dear me, sir! I cannot believe you let him go!"

"He was asking me to run away with him. What would have become of you if I had in fact left?"

"Oh no no no no don't you use me as an excuse to justify your foolish decision!" Lizbeth took a seat and another swig at the bottle of schnapps. This seemed to soothe her nerves a little. And for a short while, she forgot all about formalities as she patted the chair next to hers.

"Jungkook dear, come, sit down. Let me tell you my story, which I believe you've never heard. You see, I'm an old woman now, but the way I've tried to live my life goes like this: when faced with a decision, I always pledged to myself that whatever choice I made, I was going to live with it — even if it turned out later on to have been a poor choice — and not allow regret to pervade my life."

Jungkook felt mildly uncomfortable at the sudden venting but it did seem like Lizbeth was getting to a point. He remained quiet, silently urging her to go on. "When I got married to Herbert — bless his gentle soul — only to find out a few years later that we were never going to be able to have children, I was so devastated I thought remorse would eventually get the best of me. But we stayed married and in love for close to forty years, until his untimely death."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I never knew—"

"That's because as my employer, you don't need to know such things about your housekeeper. In any event, the day Dr. Watson brought you home, I felt my life complete for once! You weren't mine but it did not matter: I got to care for you, and bake you cookies, and teach you manners—"

She wiped another tear at the memories. "The regret that had been threatening to spill was pushed aside forever! Or so I thought. You're now a grown man and I'm now quite old. I believe I've lasted this long because I've been nurturing a very selfish wish—"

Jungkook was afraid to ask. "What wish would that be, Lizbeth?"

"I wish to see you get married."

Jungkook was eyeing the bottle of schnapps, thinking now would be a good time to have a taste of the fruity brandy. "You know Lizbeth, in my honest opinion, marriage is quite an overrated institution."

"Fine, don't get married then! Just have some kind of celebration where you exchange rings, or vows, or whatever else represents your love, and let me bake the cake! Besides, Mr. Kim already agreed to it."

That's when Jungkook fell off his chair. Taehyung and Lizbeth had discussed their wedding, and he had just basically thrown him out of his apartment. "Lizbeth, will you pass the schnapps?"

"Ahem."

Both of them turned toward Jimin, the bearer of bad news, who had been standing there, not knowing how to remind them of his presence. He held out a hand with an envelope in it. "Before you change your mind regarding your fiancé, allow me to give you these."

"What are they?"

"Tickets to go see Min Yoongi's piano recital next week."



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