Role Model | Lee Taeyong

Twelve ☻

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"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't fire you right now, Taeyong."

Silence.

"Really, is that how it's going to be?"

More silence.

"I'm only going easy on you because this is your family's case. If you don't do well on this, we might as well have to let you go from our precinct."

And even more silence.

"I'm hanging up now. Goodbye, and I'm sorry for your losses."

All the words in his head that he wanted to say weren't leaving his mouth. He couldn't move, he couldn't do anything. All Taeyong could do was stare into the dark abyss of his hotel room in utter quietness.

When he was young, his karate mentor was the only person who could keep him going. Karate was his escape from this cruel world that he lives in. His mentor made sure that he kept up that hobby, even when he was at his lowest. He owed it all to her.

But she was gone. And it was Narae's fault.

Everything is her fault. She killed your parents.

Shut up...

She's a murderer, and she isn't going to stop anytime soon.

Please stop...

Do you know who's fault this is? It's all yours, you stupid mistake-

"I SAID STOP!" Taeyong suddenly screams, grabbing the lamp closest to him and slamming it against the wall in fury. In a fit of rage, he took the other lamp and did the exact same thing, both lamps shattering onto the floor into a million pieces.

He flops onto the bed, and soon the waterworks start to escape his eyes. He wasn't a crier, as he had never shed a single tear since the incident occurred years ago. But he was crying, and it felt painful every time another sob left his lips.

His life, that he had spent so long trying to make up for his past mistakes, was starting to fall down and break. His errors were coming back to bite him in the ass, and he couldn't even deny the fact that he deserved it. He was a monster that hid behind the mask of a detective.

He did the next thing that came into his mind, which was run. He ran and ran and for a second he felt just like how he did when he was 12. A worry-free boy whose biggest problem was whether he or his sisters would get to the TV first.

When times were simpler for him, Narae, and Jeongyeon. Before he got caught in the bad crowd. before the incident happened. Before he became a cop. Before Narae started killing people. Before all of this mess started because of him.

"I want to be 12 again."

He says to himself when he reaches the outside of the shabby hotel, facing the dirty pool water being only lit up by the old sign on the wall. "I WANT TO BE 12 AGAIN!" He yells again, this time to get all of the stress out of his system.

Little did he know that someone was watching him.

"Why do you want to be 12?" Yeri asks, her hands in the pockets of her jeans as she slides in next to him. Taeyong bites his lips, an awkward atmosphere being created as he had just screamed out his thoughts out loud and she heard him. Oh, and also because the two still weren't on speaking terms exactly.

"J-Just... Everything is better when you're young. Being an adult is scary. I wish I could be a child forever." Taeyong quickly comes up with a reason, too afraid to tell her the real reason. He will never let anyone know the real reason.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I can't imagine how hard everything's been for you." She says. Despite Taeyong acting like a total dick to her last time, she still took the time to comfort him when he needed it. And Taeyong knew that he should never take a girl like her for granted ever again.

"You're a really good person, unlike me."

"What do you mean? You're a good person. You're trying your best to stop Narae from committing any more murders. Don't be so hard on yourself." She says, placing her hand on his. If only she knew that wasn't why he said that.

There was a comfortable silence between the two. They both looked up in the sky, the Gimsan air being far less polluted than Seoul's so the stars shone brightly in the azure above them. He could name all the constellations, and he might have even seen Saturn by his bare eye.

"I'm a bad person. That's why Narae is doing this. Her real intention isn't to murder all of these innocent people, it's to murder me." Taeyong says, still staring at the sky. "That's not true, Taeyong-"

"It is, trust me I know. And I just want you to know that if it ever comes to a point where she decides I should die, don't try to save me or anything. Let me die." Taeyong explains to her.

Yeri's eyes tear up. at his words. "What are you talking about? You're completely safe. We have some of the best detectives and swats teams watching us at all times. You're not going to get hurt." Yeri reassures him.

He didn't believe her, but he pretended that he did so she didn't have to worry for him. He turns back to her, the blue lights being emitted onto her face as her round eyes stare at his. She was really perfect from head to toe.

"You're really beautiful. Like honestly, you look like a masterpiece painted by Da Vinci or something. You're art, I could stare at you all day shamelessly. I really like your face... And I really like you, Yeri." He says.

Yeri looks taken aback, but then bites her lip down with a smile spreading across her face. "I like you a lot too, Taeyong."

"No, you shouldn't. You're an amazing, smart, gorgeous woman who deserves to be put on display for everyone to see. Don't lower your expectations for a scum like me." Taeyong corrects her, jumping up to his feet.

"What do you mean?" She gets up at the same time. Taeyong looks down to meet the petite girl's face. Whoever marries her in the future will be lucky. He thinks with a grin on his face.

"...I mean that liking me is almost as if you're liking the dirt on the ground. You don't deserve that, ever."