I know the sound of your voice

The Rose Artist

TW: Murder

"Please!" Her cry went unheard through the empty streets. Her attacker slapped a palm over her mouth as he dragged her into a dark alley and easily snapped her neck. Her body would be discovered there several hours later but that gave him more than enough time to do his work and slip away from the scene. He pulled out his tools and began the long process of carving his art.

-Time skip-

"My sister is what?" Namjoon choked out. His head felt like all the blood in his body was rushing into it and his ears were ringing.

"I'm so so sorry Joon," Yoongi replied. "As of right now, we believe she is the latest victim of a serial killer known as the Rose Artist. Her body was discovered this morning in a side alley in Itaewon. We're still working on the crime scene but you'll be able to give her a funeral sometime within the next week. We'll have more information as it comes in." Namjoon's hands shook as he thanked him and made to walk back to his desk. His baby sister was truly gone, just another victim that the police let die. All because they couldn't catch the murderer. "Oh and Namjoon?" Yoongi's face softened at the defeated look on his friend's face. "Take the rest of the day off. I know you want to avenge her but I'm taking you off the case for now. It's gotten too personal for you."

"But-" he began, then sighed. Yoongi was right. It was too personal and he'd probably be useless as part of an official investigation now that his sister was one of the victims. But that didn't mean he was going to sit around and do nothing. "Ok, should I tell Hoseok to take my place as part of the investigation team?" Hoseok had just gotten back from vacation and was one of their best investigators. He'd even been nicknamed J-hope by some of the interns who knew that any case he was put on had high chances of being solved before too many bodies piled up.

"Please do," Yoongi said, "and you know where to find me if you need anything Joon. If you want me to tell your family so you don't have to." Yoongi was one of his oldest friends, they'd known each other back when they were underground rappers just trying to make it through high school without being killed by any of the gangs that roamed the seedier parts of Seoul. But telling his family was something Namjoon had to do himself. Just as he had to find the killer and bring him to justice.

"No, Yoongi. I can do it. It's only Ma and Gran that I'll have to tell in person, the rest of the family can find out through email." He paused for a second to make sure he wouldn't give anything away with his facial expressions. "And can I take two weeks off? Or at least until after the funeral?"

"Of course, take as much time as you need. And if you want me or Hoseok to sleepover so you're not alone then we will. Just call and let us know. Or I could ask Jimin if he, Tae, or Kook are available. Or-"

"No, not- not him." He swallowed painfully as memories rose up like bile. "And I don't want to bother the rest of you. I need to tell Ma and help her plan the funeral, ok? I'll call you to let you know the date. Just tell me when we can have- have her body back."

"Yeah, I'll tell you right away. Just please remember to take care of yourself, ok? Please? If not for yourself then for the rest of us?" Namjoon nodded and Yoongi let out a breath. "Then I'll see you soon." He nodded again and walked out, grabbing his laptop and bag on the way. He wasn't technically supposed to keep classified information on a laptop that he brought back and forth between work and home but Yoongi let it slide. And now that information was going to help him avenge his sister.

-Time skip-

Namjoon hadn't slept in two days but he just couldn't care about himself while his sister's killer ran loose. Telling his mother and grandmother had gone exactly as poorly as he'd pictured and he could still hear his mother's haunted cries if he blocked out the police reports his phone was reading out loud on repeat. He'd started his hunt for the Rose Artist as soon as he'd finished emailing all his relatives and hadn't stopped for more than a few minutes since. He could tell that he was close to some sort of breakthrough but he just needed a few more hours to get there. Yoongi and Hoseok had stopped by and all of the maknaes of their group had called him but he'd told all of them he needed time and space to grieve and they hadn't pushed, leaving him alone with the time to investigate privately.

"-Rose Artist takes their name from the roses they carve brutally into their victim's skin after killing the victim. Police have not been able to capture him as of yet." Namjoon shut off the radio in disgust. It had been replaying the same few facts over and over for the past 48 hours and he was sick of it. Sure the wording was different but there was no real expansion on the facts he already knew. He squinted at the markings on his map of where each body had been found and frowned. He still couldn't figure out a pattern. It wasn't really a spiral but it wasn't concentric circles either. The paper slipped out of his hand and down under the table. Namjoon's eyes widened as he bent to pick it up and he straightened up so quickly he hit his head on the underside of the table with a loud bang.

"Oh my fucking G-d!" His voice was near shouting but there was no one in his apartment to care. "Of course it's a fucking rose! Goddamnit!" He quickly checked his watch to see that it read 11:24. His sister had been killed at approximately 1:47, meaning he could probably prevent another killing if the Rose Artist was out to carve another victim that night. He quickly traced out the rose shape on his map and made a rough estimate of where the next victim would be found, then he unlocked his safe and holstered his gun. He was hoping he wouldn't need to shoot it, he wanted to capture the killer-not kill him, but arming himself was the best plan to ensure his own safety. He slid a knife into his boot and another into his pockets before sliding on gloves and a jacket and rushing out the door.

-Time skip-

This time his victim was a boy. Probably only a few years younger than the killer himself. He wasn't picky about his victims, he simply picked the easiest target near the area he was going to leave the body. It was more efficient that way.

"Don't hurt me!"The boy sobbed, "please! I have a girlfriend and my parents would be heartbroken! I'm their only child!" The Rose Artist had had enough of the pleading. It was useless and all it did was alert people that something was happening. Not that there was anyone around to hear. He pulled the boy back towards the dim sidestreet even as he fought back weakly. The killer wasn't the largest person but he was taller than average and his broadness worked to his advantage in subduing his victim. He was just about to snap the boy's neck when he heard footsteps coming up behind him.

"Stop!" A familiar voice shouted, "I'm armed and I'm not afraid to shoot if I need to!" The Rose Artist turned around just as the man stepped out of the shadows. He took a step back and shifted the victim in front of him but froze when he saw who was pointing the gun at him.

"Namjoon?" His voice was barely above a whisper but it carried loudly through the empty street. His victim shook himself free but he barely noticed as he stared at his attacker, the gun now shaking slightly in his hand.

"Jin?" Namjoon's voice broke into a sob as he realized who the killer was. "Why?"

-fin

Author's note: Posting two days in a row?! I'm on a roll lmao! Thanks for reading!

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