The Red Cosmos

Hyacinth

Hoseok leans against the door frame of the dingy basement door, his head is pounding and he's sure the liquid that drips down the side of his face isn't sweat.

Doing his best to stand his ground he takes in the sight before him, gun held tight in his grasp as he levels it at Taehyung.

Da Hye is crouched down near Seokjin who is tied up with a gash upon his lip, and Taehyung is eyeing him with a smug expression.

There's a horrifying stench in the air that makes him want to retch, cover his nose with his sleeves he glances at a figure to the far right of his line of sight. The moment his eyes land on it he does retch, dry heaving at the disturbing corpse, mutilated and rotting.

Isn't that Seokjin's girlfriend, Mina?

The girl is barely recognizable, her skin is deathly pale, and the flowers protruding from the poorly stitched together skin makes him sick to his stomach.

"HOSEOK!" comes Jin's pained shriek, glancing over he finds the man frantically trying to back away from Da Hye's reach. Taehyung makes a move to grab her but the click of his gun stops him in his tracks.

Taehyung holds his hands up in mock surrender, a sly grin upon his lips, "I'm surprised you're still alive after everything, officer Jung".

"Hobi" comes that soft voice, sickeningly sweet, coated in faux fear.

Da Hye is watching him, her eyes are teary as they meet his, but he knows better. He's known better since the moment he found out the truth about who she really was.

🥀

Office Jung Hoseok had been transferred from the bustling city of Galatea to go undercover in the small town of Cosmos seven months ago. Being the best in his field, he'd been confident that he would be out of there in less than three months. Cue six months later he'd become used to his mundane everyday life in the quiet town.

He had been tasked with catching the serial killer who had murdered all those women in the past few months. The most recent being Risa Kim, the college student who was murdered brutally. To say he was baffled at the lack of evidence was an understatement, the precinct in Cosmos was full of amateurs, to begin with, no one took anything seriously and for fucks sake the criminal behind the murders could have easily walked out of the here alive and unharmed with how careless these people were. From mishandled evidence to sloppy forensic work he had taken the task of solving this case on his own, the cops in this town were useless.

Cue months of coming up with bare minimum evidence. Along the way, he'd met Seokjin, the kind bakery owner who always sent him away with free pastries whenever he stopped by.

Da Hye, the coy new neighbor who appeared too timid to be on her own. He couldn't help the brotherly instinct he felt to protect her.

And then there was Kim Taehyung. The famed photographer whose work was impressive he had to admit. The man was always out of town doing gigs for events. The times he returned to town, he'd always spent it lingering at Seokjin's shop or following Da Hye around like a lost puppy.

Except, he was far from a lost puppy.

It was rather creepy, the way the man would look at her. His eyes would bore into her unsuspected figure as she walked to work in the mornings, walked home in the evenings, and mostly when she settled within the bakery where she'd sit and chat with Seokjin to pass time. He even spotted the man snapping a few photos.

Hoseok didn't like it, didn't like the way Taehyung eyed her hungrily.

Going through Risa's phone records indicated that she was in frequent contact with a person she referred to as Vante. A man with whom she was in a secret relationship. Tracing this "Vante" person wasn't easy. It took months before he could finally lead it all to a phone booth situated not far from Taehyung's studio.

Taehyung, who could use his photo gigs as his constant alibi, became his number one suspect. On one particular gig, Hoseok had waited hours for the man to leave his studio. He broke into it that night, dug until he found what he was looking for.

Evidence. There was so much of it, too much.

Pieces of Risa's belonging, articles of clothing from his past victims. Photos, hidden in plain sight.

One particular belonging caught his eye, this one had a certain face he recognized all over it. It was a newspaper clipping of an article dated from months ago from a city he's sure he's heard of. Taking a small trip to said place leads him to a truth he hadn't expected. There was not one but two killers residing in the town of Cosmos. Both of whom had danced across his eyes more than once, dangling before him their true nature.

The face that stares up at him from the newspaper clipping is the same one that eyes him innocently a mere few inches from him.

Da Hye.

The one he assumed was as innocent as flower, the one who could never hurt a fly he had convinced himself, was a cold-blooded murderer.

"Hobi please help us, Taehyung kidnapped us and brought us here" she pleads, eyes glistening with tears.

He scoffs, disgust in his heart for the other. Taehyung hadn't kidnapped her nor Jin.

Taehyung had caught him snooping around Da Hye's home one evening and all hell broke loose from there. He had attacked him, tied him up, and planned to dump his body somewhere to decay when he found out Hoseok was onto him. It was a matter of luck that he was still alive.

"Why don't we quit the games already Hye, I know why you came to Cosmos" he sneers watching as her eyes go wide with shock.

"W-what are you talking about?" she says with a convincingly shaky voice.

"I mean I know what you did to Park Jimin".

The change in her face is instant, the mix of emotions swirling in her eyes goes from pure shock to rage to passive in seconds.

Standing up, she levels him with a blank stare. One that lasts eerily long before tear drops replace those dead eyes. They slide down her face, a deranged sort of aura coming from her.

"You know nothing about him" she hisses, fear clouding her words, "you don't know a single thing!!" she screams.

Seokjin meets his eyes, confusion and fear swirling within his red-rimmed eyes.