"I promised you, didn't I? That I would make your victory feel miserable."
Life sucks when you've got a lot of demons in your head to deal with. Add fucked law system and constant crimes all over the world to the list. And there's nothing you can do...
Secrets may be lethal— quite lethal, to be sure. Taehyung would know, for he was the finest keeper of all those dangerous secrets. He always was. That's why people most often called him unpredictable and never often trusted him to be a good person. Even if they did trust him, Taehyung always had the knack to prove everyone wrong. Taehyung always had strong protecting skills, which came quite handy to him when it came to protecting his secrets at all costs and keeping them safe.
But, perhaps it was about time to hand all his secrets over to Park Jimin, putting all his trust on Jimin and hoping he won't betray him like he did in past. Trust was something Taehyung always struggled with. Who could really blame him, considering the fact that his own brother kept stabbing him in his back, not once, but more than he can actually count? Now, Taehyung wouldn't play victim to get sympathy. Taehyung would never admit that he was a good person. He was fucked up in his own way.
Taehyung disinfected the graze on Jimin's arm with a practiced efficiency, his brow furrowed in concentration. The antiseptic stung, drawing a hiss from Jimin, but Taehyung barely registered it. His mind was a whirlwind, replaying the events of the past night like a broken record. Jaesoo's words echoed in the sterile silence of the safehouse⏤ accusations laced with truth, a twisted version of events that gnawed at Taehyung's conscience. How much had Jimin believed? Did the detective see Taehyung for the monster Jaesoo portrayed him to be?
A pang of guilt, sharp and unexpected, sliced through him. He shouldn't care what Jimin thought. Jimin was just a pawn in this twisted game, a liability Taehyung had been a fool to get close to. Yet, there it was, a flicker of protectiveness that had surprised even him, urging him to push Jimin behind him, to shield him from Jaesoo's venomous words.
He finished cleaning the wound and applied a bandage with a practiced ease, the silence between them stretching taut. He stole a glance at Jimin, catching the detective's gaze flickering over him, a mixture of curiosity and something deeper, something Taehyung couldn't decipher.
Look away, a voice urged in his head. Don't get attached. People always leave, and the only one who gets hurt is you.
But the voice was faint, drowned out by a strange sense of. . .obligation? Responsibility? He couldn't explain it, but the thought of letting Jimin walk away, of losing the fragile trust they'd built, sent a jolt of unease through him.
He cleared his throat, the sound rough in the quiet. "You should get some rest," he said finally, his voice gruff. Jimin tilted his head, his dark eyes searching Taehyung's face. "After you tell me what's going on, Taehyung."
