On-Way Passage || ᴠᴍɪɴ

Chapter 25

Jimin was shell-shocked for a good while.

After voicing his question, Eun woo fell silent, picking up his cup and quietly drinking his tea.

Sleeping pills. A car accident. Taehyung… Jimin’s mind was a jumbled mess. He recalled how, on the night of the accident, the last meal he’d had was at the Kim’s.

Had someone slipped him sleeping pills, or had he taken them himself?

“Would you like to report this to the police?”

When Eun woo uttered this sentence earlier, Jimin had taken his phone out on reflex. His eyes bore upon his phone screen as his finger slowly slid across it. He meant to call the police at first, but for some reason, he opened his contacts and was greeted by a capital “K” at the very top.

All of a sudden, his phone rang, the screen displaying an incoming call from “K”.

Jimin answered the call and heard the sound of his own voice going, “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Taehyung asked him in his usual detached tone.

Jimin seemingly snapped out of his trance. He cast a glance at Eun woo, who sat across from him, but the man was not looking at him at all, his head bowed and his gaze fixed on his phone as he sipped his drink. “I told you, I’m having dinner with my classmate,” he said to Taehyung with no noticeable difference in his tone.

“I know, I’m asking where you’re eating.”

“What do you want?”

“I’m picking you up.”

Jimin hesitated for two seconds before giving Taehyung the restaurant’s address.

Taehyung directly hung up without uttering another word.

When Jimin turned back to Eun woo, Eun woo had already put away his phone. He was sitting upright and looking at him.

“Could you detect the dosage of the sleeping pill in my blood?” Jimin rested his arms atop the table, slightly leaning forward as he asked in a small voice.

Eun woo shook his head. “They didn’t test for it at the time.” He quickly added, “The blood’s already contaminated by now.” Which meant that there was no way to retest it.

Jimin frowned as he contemplated that. “Maybe I took the sleeping pills at noon—might there be some residual effects in the evening?“

“We can’t rule that out,” answered Eun woo.

Jimin didn’t continue, his gaze fixed on the dish before him. A while passed before he said, vexxed, “Even if I did report this, wouldn’t it be difficult to gather the evidence?”

A troubled expression graced Eun woo’s face. “Right… It’s been quite a while since then.”

When police test for drug and alcohol content in the blood, the samples are sealed before being submitted for testing; otherwise, they can easily become contaminated before being tested. Of course, lab results may not necessarily be able to serve as evidence, and without a definite concentration, it would be even more difficult to indicate any issues at hand.

Jimin was mute for a moment before saying to Eun woo, “Thank you, I think there might’ve been a mistake.”

Eun woo nodded, seemingly understanding what he meant. Holding the cup in his hand, he said, “I think so too.”

“Either way, thank you,” said Jimin.

Eun woo laughed. “Don’t stand on ceremony, we’re old classmates after all. Plus, strictly speaking, you’re my patient. I have a duty to immediately inform you of anything concerning your health.”