The Symbol Of Darkness

②Who Is This Guy?

A dissonant jumble of sounds — a buzz of mixed voices, the clicking of fingers hitting against keyboards, and the subtle screech of chairs rocking — floated in the air but slipped through Jeon Jungkook’s ears undetected.

He added to the mix a throaty sigh without being aware. It had become a habit now to release unconscious sounds when his brain fell out of touch with reality and wandered far afield in mangled thoughts. 

His broad, bulky back rested against the bouncy cushion of his chair as he practically lay there, delicately swaying from side to side, elbows attached to the arms of the chair, hands interwoven and perched on his solidly built abs. 

Where could they be? Where could their hideout be? We found them in Gangseo-gu six months ago, but we only found some sidekicks and not a single piece of evidence. No evidence about their boss’ existence either. Fuck. I’ll catch you, Jin Mo. I promise. I—

A stinging pain on his forehead terminated his wandering thoughts and jolted him out of his comfortable seat. “Ouch,” he grumbled, rubbing the abused part of his body and scowling at the one who flicked his forehead. 

“What are you daydreaming about again?”

The flurry of vexation subsided and melted into mild sulkiness as he flopped back, his eyes focusing on an empty spot in the air. “About Jin Mo.”

Namjoon seated himself at his desk. “Stop torturing yourself like that. You’re our team leader. You have to focus on the cases we have right now.”

His stony gaze dropped on him, another coil of irritation braising in his chest. But the said second round of irritation was conjured by the disappointment in himself that he was incapable of capturing that man for so fucking long. And he was forced to deal with other cases instead of giving his all to that case — the most significant one of his career and life. 

“The cases we have right now?” Jungkook spat out, not trying to conceal his annoyance. “The minor thefts and damage of property? We’re fucking detectives. We shouldn’t be dealing with this crap.”

“Detective Jeon.” His voice was hard with sarcasm and an undertone of condemnation. “Maybe to you these thefts and damages of properties aren’t important, but they mean the world to the victims. And it’s our job to help them. So get your shit together, hmm?”

“But we’re the violent crimes unit! This doesn’t make sense.”

A raucous bang carried far, silencing most of the chatters and obtaining Jungkook’s attention. He regarded the detective across him — the newbie — with an arched brow, not missing how the glint of frustration raging in his eyes dispersed at his visual inspection.

Seung Ho sorted through the pile of papers he just slammed against his desk, a muted sigh squeezing out of him at his impulsive, short-tempered mood. But since he had Jungkook’s undivided attention on him, might as well let his tongue run wild. “Detective Jeon, I’m here only a month, but you’ve been complaining every day about the same things. And I’m sorry, but it’s your fault the chief assigns us these crimes you hate so much. You spend more time in his office getting scolded than actually doing your job and solving cases. You even spend more time flirting than—”

“Okay, Seung Ho-ya!” Hoseok tittered as he draped an arm over his shoulders and tapped his bicep with cautionary force, shaking his head at Jungkook in a wordless statement of ‘don’t pay attention to him’. 

Jungkook leaned on his desk and slid the screen of his computer to the side, giving him a full view of the riotous look cloaking his traits. “Do you want me to beat your ass?”