The Witness ➳ Taegyu

2. Captain Kang

A/N: I think chapters will be this short for a while so I can get them out quickly.

"Listen, Chief Kim, it's not like I don't like my job. But to call me in on my first day off in two weeks is kind of over the top..." were the first words Beomgyu heard when the chief brought him over to his apparent "protector".

His first day off in two weeks? Beomgyu looked down at the ground in guilt and he heard Chief Kim sigh. "Don't be like that Taehyun. We're dealing with Black Reaper right now. That's why you need to protect the witness of this murder."

Beomgyu made eye contact with Taehyun whose tired and irritated eyes had softened a bit. "So that's why it's urgent..." he sighed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't told that part." He laughed a bit and walked past them to a nearby coffee machine. "When Ms. Hana told me that it was an emergency, I thought Taeyong was throwing a fit because he couldn't find his phone again or something."

He made himself coffee and Chief Kim just shook his head. "You are absolutely unbelievable."

This was the man who was protecting him?

He was wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants, had messy hair and dead-looking eyes, and he talked in either a rude or funny way. Beomgyu didn't like judging books by their cover, but he felt he had a right to fear for his life right now.

"Why don't I stay here?" He asked. "Won't there be more protection at the station?"

"Unfortunately, no. Taehyun is the captain of the witness division and the budget for his section has skyrocketed because of the Black Reaper. The house you will be staying in is basically a safe-haven, and the only person who has been living there for the past month is Taehyun. But now, you will live there too." He finally noticed how nervous Beomgyu looked. "He's been working nonstop for two weeks. He was probably asleep before coming in since it is close to midnight now. He's our best officer. I promise. He just... has a bit of an attitude problem sometimes."

The way he rolled his eyes at the last part made Beomgyu almost smile, but he couldn't. Maybe soon, but not today. Right now, he just had to get somewhere safe and trust that they knew what they were doing. He imagined he would have time to be happy again after the stressful day passed.

After Taehyun did some paperwork and Beomgyu signed a few forms, the former escorted him out. As they walked through the parking lot, Beomgyu looked up at the night sky that was covered in bright stars and stopped. They were only faint since the streetlights ruined it, but still, they were so pretty.

"What do you think happens to a person after death? The complication of this question leads people to argue a lot. While the disagreement is understandable since different religions say different things, I like to think of it in the simple, cheesy way that you all see on Facebook. I think that whenever someone we love dies, they become a star in the sky to look over us."

A tear rolled down Beomgyu's cheek as he thought back on his teacher's words. Maybe one of these faint stars was her. Maybe she was watching him cry over her and begging him not to. If she knew why he was crying, she would tell him that nothing that happened was his fault. He couldn't have known what was going to happen, and it wasn't his fault that he couldn't help against an entire gang of violent people.

Even though Beomgyu imagined her saying that, he couldn't find it in himself to agree with any of it. At first, he was too in shock and too upset to think or speak properly, but now, the harsh guilt was setting in.

"Are you okay?" Taehyun asked, grabbing his hand to get his attention. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm just... thinking of her." He looked forward and brought his other hand up to wipe his tears.

"Were you close to her?" Taehyun asked, guiding him to his car and opening the door for him.

When they were both in, Beomgyu answered his question. "She wasn't my favorite teacher, but I cared about her a lot, and she always helped me with stuff, even if it had nothing to do with her class. She was just always sweet and cheerful." He took a shaky breath and leaned his head on the window as Taehyun drove away.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

***

Beomgyu looked up at the house in confusion. There was a tall security fence around the yard and a gate at the front that would be very hard to get through until Taehyun explained it to him.

The house itself looked too expensive for the police force's budget though. He could have understood that money being spent on higher security, not for a house in a relatively rich neighborhood. It wasn't one of the insane mansions that you would see pictures of online, but it was still a nice, modern-looking two story house.

Taehyun led him down the lit up sidewalk to the front door and put in even more passwords to get it inside. "I'll tell you all of the codes tomorrow. Let's just sleep for now," he said while walking inside.

The interior was, unsurprisingly, very nice too.

How much money were they putting in to protect people from that group?

"We'll go collect your things from your dorm tomorrow also, but there are fresh clothes of sll sizes in your room. You'll be able to go back to school in a week. Are you fine with that?"

Beomgyu looked at him with a blank stare after he said that. "I-I can't miss an entire week."

"I'll figure everything out. They have to make special accommodations for you.
We'll go over rules tomorrow too. It's unfortunately necessary to ensure your safety."

The boy nodded in understanding, having already thought about how differently he would have to live now. Taehyun brought him upstairs, showed him his room, his bathroom, how to work the shower, and finally bid him goodnight before going to his own room down the hall.

He stared at the door for a while, fear washing over him at the thought of being alone right now. Chief Kim said that Taehyun is the best officer, but what could he do if he was down the hall? What if someone came through Beomgyu's window to kill him before Taehyun even knew what was happening?

After that thought, he looked around. The room had no windows.

They really went through a huge effort to make sure this house was safe.

It took hours for him to finally fall asleep, not being able to until his eyes forcefully shut themselves out of exhaustion.