𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 | namjin

= 5 =

namjoon awoke to mid afternoon sunlight streaming into his windows, and sat up and yawned. he looked over, and realized in horror the state his cottage was in.

books were piled everywhere, papers were strewn about, his journals of the stars were upside down, it looked like a whirlwind came into his cottage while he was sleeping.

"jin!" hissed namjoon. "what the hell did you do?"
a book picked itself up from the top pile and flipped itself open, hovering in midair. "well, i read everything, of course." jin's voice said.
"in one night??" namjoon's jaw opened.
"i've always been a very prolific reader." jin boasted.

namjoon sighed and threw his legs over the bed, staring at the mess. "care to help me clean up before we go into town?"
"...clean up?" jin's voice echoed.
"yes?"
"you don't have people for that?"

namjoon laughed out loud, holding his stomach.
"jin, look at how i live right now. how rich did you think i was?"

jin stayed silent.

"alright, well, i do need your help." namjoon yawned, picking up a stack of books near him.
reluctantly, papers on the floor began shifting and filing themselves, slight grumbles coming from different corners of the house as they moved.

namjoon peered through different books, seeing certain pages folded and some parts even underlined with charcoal. jin wasn't lying. he did read all of them.

suddenly, a broom went sweeping behind namjoon by himself. "oh, sweep everything just out the front door, will you?"
the door flew open, and namjoon watched in amazement as dust flew out the door, as if his house was sneezing.

shortly after that, namjoon changed into his best clothes (which jin had opinions about) and the two set off for the town.

as they walked down into the outskirts of the small borough, namjoon quietly began pointing out people's houses. the edge of the town is where most of the wealthy people lived, in their large estates complete with acres of field used for horses, outdoor games, and other pleasantries.

"...that was miss jeon and mr. kim's house, before mr. kim inevitably...went into debt. over here, we have-"
"who's this?" jin interrupted, turning namjoon to look.

the house, though large and fancy, had been overrun by an alarming amount of vines and weeds, as well as it lacked upkeep. the paint was peeling, the windows looked dirty, and the garden was overrun with-

"-anise." jin hummed, the flowers dancing and swaying, as namjoon assumed jin ran his hand over them. "my favorite flower."
"this is min yoongi's house." namjoon said, sighing softly.

"min yoongi?" jin's voice said.
"mm. terrible loss, he's been through. lost his wife and son about three years ago." namjoon held his hands behind his back, staring at the house.
"c'mon, let's not linger. yoongi's very bitter." namjoon walked on, and within a few silent minutes they finally reached the town.

it was a weekday afternoon, where most people in the square were wives rushing to run errands, while their husbands began to stream from the bank, the town courthouse, and smaller businesses where they found employment.

the coroner's office was a small wooden building tucked against the police department. namjoon now realized he had never met the coroner. he only interacted with wooyoung as he brought bodies up from their funerals or autopsies.
namjoon opened the door, walking into the front office which consisted of a desk with a candle and a filing bookshelf, and two doors in the back.

wooyoung was sitting next to the front door, and immediately stood from his chair upon namjoon's arrival. "i'm glad you made it." he smiled, shaking namjoon's hand.

"the coroner should be out soon, he began looking at the bones early this morning and-"
wooyoung was cut off as the door swung open.

there, black hair parted neatly and wearing a white button up with the sleeved rolled to his elbows, was min yoongi.

he looked up, the corners of his mouth twitching as he saw namjoon. "ah. you were the one who found the bones?"
"yes, sir." namjoon said stiffly.
"mm. very well. come to the examination room with me, i'm finished with as much of an autopsy as i can give." he looked at wooyoung. "you as well."

the three of them went into the right door, which brought them to a marble top table, which had jin's bones splayed across it.

"this wasn't a natural death." yoongi said, as he shut the door behind them. "the skull-" he picked it up, turning it to the back. he pointed to a fracture. "this was a blow, likely by a weapon such as a club or..."
"a shovel?" namjoon interjected.

wooyoung and yoongi stared at him.
"i suppose." yoongi said hesitantly. "anyhow, i have to label this a murder, and have already sent a telegram to the police station next door."

a knock interrupted them from the front door.

"ah, perfect timing. excuse me." yoongi said, slipping out of the door and opening the front office door to reveal a tall, muscular police officer, who's badge labeled him sheriff.

"wooyoung, namjoon, i'm sure you've met sheriff jong-in." yoongi said.
"hello, men. i'm going to need to ask you two a few questions." the sheriff said straight forwardly. "if you would follow me to the station, please?"

as namjoon started to walk to the door, he heard jin's voice in his ear. "psst- namjoon- i'm going to stay here with the rest of my body. i don't trust this yoongi character. i'll be back later."
namjoon nodded curtly, making sure jin knew he heard him.

wooyoung and namjoon were led into a dim interrogation room, lit only with a lantern.
"alright." the sheriff asked. "so tell me how you came upon these bones here."

namjoon and wooyoung recited the whole story of the night before, namjoon telling his part of tripping on the rock and how he went to get wooyoung because he was squeamish around bones.

"alright," the sheriff sighed. "we're marking you two as witnesses to the body. we're looking into missing person's cases, however we can't do much else with you two since the bones are years old, so you're off the hook."

wooyoung and namjoon thanked him, shaking his hand. as they walked out of the interrogation room and the building, namjoon ran right into a very flustered park jimin.
"what happened?" he asked. "i was worried, heard my best gravedigger found bones in the woods!"

"it's alright, sir." namjoon smiled at his concern. "do they know...who?" jimin asked.
"no, sir. the bones are years old, so they're looking at missing person's cases." namjoon responded.

"ah...okay." jimin said, rubbing his chin. "since they're so close to church property i'll have to look into it. anyhow, would you like to come over for dinner and tea? my chef is cooking pork cutlet, topped with a delicious dessert of crème brûlée."

"oh, sir, i would, but i have to get to work-"
"nonsense. the bodies will be there tomorrow morning. don't turn me down, it will be delicious!" he said, putting his arm around namjoon and walking away with him.

namjoon cast one last look over to the coroner's office, hoping jin will know where to find him.

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