feel me | yeonbin

026

Soobin has never run so fast in his life as he does when he climbs out of the taxi at his apartment complex. There's a swarm of people around it and he doesn't have time to think about how they seem to know what's happening already. He pushes his way past them and takes the stairs two at a time as cops try to calm the media circus outside and keep them from disturbing the search.

He can hear arguing before he even rounds the corner and sees Taehyun facing off with a police officer. His eyes dart over the man's head and widen when he sees Soobin.

"You need to step aside before I arrest you for obstructing an investigation. We have a warrant-"

"Yeah, you said that literally six times now," Taehyun says, and then he steps back with his hands up as though he's actually under arrest. "But now that he's here, he can just unlock the fucking door for you instead of busting it down. Sorry to ruin your action movie fantasy."

The cop glances back at Soobin and sighs, gesturing for another officer to step forward. As soon as he holds out a piece of paper, Soobin snatches it away to read it.

He's out of breath, red in the face, his throat scratchy. Soobin's eyes scan over the paper, tongue in his cheek as the cop begins to explain to him what the warrant is for exactly. He tunes it out, already knowing damn well who asked for the warrant, what they're looking for, and why they're here. It's not exactly a secret. The warrant has a list of specific items they want: computers, phone, mobile devices with any capability of connecting to the Cloud, all the usual suspects.

Soobin huffs, head shaking, and then he shoves the paper against the cop's chest. "Move," is all he says as his head spins, fishing his keys out of his pocket. As soon as the lock clicks, he feels someone ram into his shoulder, making him stumble back against Taehyun. The officers file into his apartment as Taehyun curses at them, his hands on Soobin's arms to stand him upright again.

"Fucker is lucky we're too busy to sue him for all he's got for physical assault," Taehyun grumbles, but Soobin pats his hand.

"I'm sure his life is already miserable enough Taehyun," he says, but he can hear a tremor in his own voice. He follows the cops inside as they all spread out, covering every inch of the room like they're about to pull off the biggest drug bust in history. This is overkill for a few electronics in a small apartment. It's not just a search and seizure, it's an intimidation tactic, and he doubts that KHK are the ones with the power to pull strings like that.

"Hey, hey, what the fuck are you doing?" Soobin calls out, tugging off his face mask as one of the officers opens a kitchen cabinet. He tosses his mask on his counter and points at the cop. "I saw what's on the warrant. You think you're gonna find a laptop next to my cereal?"

The cop opens his mouth to retort, glancing at another for assistance, but his peer ignores him. This guy must be a rookie.

Or just an idiot.

"You wanna take all my dog's fucking toys while you're at it?" Soobin asks. "I'm sure those will be great evidence in court."

He sighs as the officer moves on and heads for his bedroom instead. Soobin sets his phone down next to his mask, leaning on the counter as he rubs at his temples. His head aches and pounds. He's thirsty from running all the way here, but he doesn't dare move a muscle and give the cops an excuse to say he's trying to take something and hide it from them.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Taehyun says, arms crossed over his chest as he glares at the officers. He leans back on the counter beside Soobin, the muscle in his jaw leaping as he clenches his teeth. Soobin can't remember a time he's ever seen Taehyun this angry, and he's certainly never found Taehyun intimidating before. But if Soobin were on the other side of this situation, he would be terrified. "They intentionally kept us out of the loop and tried to blindside us. Yeo-They started having legal meetings without me around. They expedited the warrant and everything. Probably knew you were out of town again."