PROBE | ongoing (v.slow updates)

16: One Final Week

10:03 am
Hanjeong Precinct

★★★

"I didn't know you read webcomics."

Jimin flinched. Fidgeting with the mouse, he managed to minimize his screen. "Oh, hi, hyung!"

Hoseok chuckled. "It's okay, man." He sat beside Jimin, elbows placed on the armrest of the chair. "Which webcomic are you reading right now?"

"Jut this manhwa about a high school introvert who's actually his classmate's guardian angel."

"Wow, dude," Hoseok pursed his lips. "Which one is it—"

"Guys!" Taehyung came jogging into the precinct. "Chief Gwan is here." He panted, a look of terror in his eyes.

Jonghwa trailed behind him, as disinterested as always. Her eyes met Namjoon's fed up ones and a smirk crept up to her lips. "Hey, Team Leader. I'm guessing you're going to get your ass handed to you?"

Namjoon let out a sigh. He was being visited by his boss. His mind couldn't make an accommodation for Jonghwa's snide remarks just yet.

Jonghwa, now standing next to Taehyung's desk, was about to follow up with another taunt when the air in the station thickened. Three police cars rowed up outside Hanjeong Precinct, a black SUV sandwiched between two police sedans.

An older man, presumably in his late-forties or fifties, stepped out of the SUV, succeeded by three more officers younger than him. The sedans remained parked for what Jonghwa assumed to be lookout.

As the older man entered the precinct, all seven boys stood before their respective desks, upright and erect. The signature laziness of the precinct was nowhere to be seen as this sudden discipline flooded the little station.

Jonghwa found the perfect opportunity to go unnoticeable even as she found her place next to a random shelf.

The boys raised their hands to salute the older man.

I guess he's the chief. Jonghwa thought to herself.

"Good morning, Chief." Namjoon greeted. "How may we be of help to you?"

"Team Leader, Kim." The older man gave the younger a professional smile. "I'm disappointed that this is how we meet."

Namjoon felt this throat go dry. Calm, collected and rational as he usually was, Namjoon was now feeling nothing but timorousness. He predicted the statement his chief was about to deliver. And he was not prepared for it—neither by mind, nor by body.

"I'm not following, Chief Gwan." Said Namjoon, only making the contemptuous run smoother for his chief.

"I've read your file. You were quite the candidate during your days in the academy." Chief Gwan's lips tugged downward in a look of disappointment. "All seven of you were. You all graduated amongst the top ten in your batch. And here you are, incapacitated with just your first case."

There it was. The arrow of derision. Right in the bull's eye.

"I have genuinely lost count of how many days it's been, to be frank." Chief Gwan shoved his hands into his pockets. "All the while, you do not have even a lawyer by your side, let alone an attorney. You failed your preliminary hearing, and you have no leads."

Heads hung low. The truth was harsh and bitter; it was still the truth. The feeling of incompetence that the boys were trying to ignore for so long, was now catching up to them with each word that came out of Chief Gwan's mouth.

The boys received scathing smirks and scoffs from the younger officers that decorated Gwan's tail. It was less of an interaction and more of a monotonous narration. It was as though Chief Gwan came with a script and was elocuting his speech to the seven men.