Strawberries & Dreams | Taekook |

Chapter Fourteen

At first the Violent Crimes Division at Daegu Police Headquarters had been stumped. Such a violent attack had never happened in the rural part of the province. In fact in the last couple of years such a violent assault had not happened anywhere in the city at all. So after hearing witnesses, talking to acquaintances and connecting the dots there were two possibilities for this crime – a hate crime against LGBTQ+ members or the result of the toxic fandom within the KPop industry.

Detective Lee, a veteran of 30 years within the Daegu Police, was a conservative man and when all signs for this crime pointed towards the fact that the victim was gay and involved in a sex scandal up in Seoul, he had been willing to bury this case quickly and efficiently. However, his daughter was a big fan and when she heard he was in charge of the assault case, she begged him to solve the crime. While his daughter was already in her late twenties she was still the apple of Detective Lee's eye and so he did not drop the case.

And when he noticed that several violations had been committed for the whole scandal and attack to happen, he was intrigued. There was more to this case than simple homophobia. Jealousy, possessiveness and toxic behaviour were all mixed into one messy case. So he went to interview the victim. His daughter had asked him to keep an open mind, and he tried not to be biased.

"Excuse me," Detective Lee said when he entered the room and saw a young man slumped over in his seat, his head resting near the bandaged head of the victim.

The sleeping man, Jungkook, was instantly alert and after a quick glance towards the sleeping figure on the bed, he turned around.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a raspy voice, watching the man before him. He was middle aged, still fit for a man his age but the ill-fitting suit he was wearing seemed to add a few pounds to his frame.

"I am Detective Lee Song-Gi with Daegu PD." He quietly closed the door behind him and advanced into the room.

"Of course," Jungkook knuckled at his eyes to get rid of any sleep residue and offered the chair to the older man. "Take a seat, Detective."

"And you are ..."

"Jeon Jungkook, I am Kim Taehyung-ssi's guardian," the young man said and sat down beside the still figure on the bed, holding his hand. For a moment Lee looked away, feeling awkward even at this very subtle display of affection.

"Jeon Jungkook-ssi, I had hoped to interview the casualty – ."

"He is not a casualty he is an assault victim," Jungkook replied sternly. "He was attacked in his own home, and I want you to find those responsible."

"Of course," Lee said and leant back in his seat. He eyed the young man more closely. From what his daughter had told him and what the preliminary police report had shown him, this Jungkook and the idol seemed to be two different persons. The man he faced was not the glamorous idol from the photographs in his report but a very angry, exhausted man who wanted answers.

"Word on the street is that this was a contract job," Lee said and watched the man. "Are you aware of any enemies of Kim Taehyung-ssi or did he mention any altercation in the past due to his ... um lifestyle?"

Jungkook stared at the detective. "Lifestyle?" he inquired .

"Well, he is allegedly a homosexual," Lee fiddled with his tie.

"He is a hard working farmer, and up until ... up until he got involved with me he never had any enemies nor did he indulge in that lifestyle as you call it," Jungkook retorted. "The fact that he was attacked mere hours after I made a public apology on TV because the media had outed us, is relevant."

"Oh I already connected the dots between you and him, Jeon Jungkook-ssi. In fact my daughter, who is a fan, brought this up. That he is the reason why you had to apologize ..."