𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 | 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Chapter 33

--Jungkook--

I don't know how long I was unconscious, but vaguely I felt someone moving my body. My chaotic mind suddenly awoke.

The first thing I saw was the moon in the sky. It was a bright half-moon, shining brightly on the treetops above. Then I felt a pair of gentle hands lift my head up and stuff something soft behind my head.

I was in the dark, looking at her silhouette. She didn't notice that I woke up, and after a moment's pause, she lowered her head and hugged me in her arms.

This time it was my turn to be stunned.

My face was pressed against her neck, and her breath was soft, warm, and sweet. She whispered, "Jungkook, you're not going to die, are you? The ambulance will arrive in 20 minutes, so don't die like this. I... can't accept it."

Although my body was in pain, I suddenly felt very happy. As if by some strange coincidence, I kissed her thin and smooth collarbone.

After the kiss, I felt a little regretful. What on earth was I doing?

She froze immediately. I called out, "Lisa." She let go of me and said with a look of surprise, "You're awake!" I said, "If I don't wake up, you'll really think I'm dead." I held her arm and staggered to my feet. She looked at me worriedly, "There's a big swelling on the back of your head, and there's a cut that's bleeding!"

I said, "It's okay, I just got bumped." She grabbed my arm with both hands, her eyes wide open, and said nothing. Her usual arrogant demeanor was gone, like a nervous little animal. I couldn't help laughing again. She showed a speechless expression and said, "You're still laughing? Did you get bumped silly?"

I asked her, "How did you find this place?"

She replied: "So why were you running so fast? A lone hero? My car has GPS, and I saw you parked your car here and didn't move, so I came here to find you. Later, I called your cell phone at the foot of the mountain, but you didn't answer. I felt something was wrong, so I came here to find you. Fortunately, I came."

I looked at her calves, and sure enough, there were many thin bloodstains from the thorns, and faintly on her wrists, but she didn't seem to care at all.

I care.

I held one of her hands, stroking it gently with my fingers, and asked, "Aren't you afraid?" She didn't move, and replied, "I don't care about that." In the dim light, her eyes were so clear. After a while, she pulled her hand back, as if nothing had happened just now, and she asked, "What happened?"

I let her hold me and walked towards the forest. As expected, the lights there were off, and all the people and birds disappeared without a trace. They ran away.

I asked her to notify Suho to come over immediately, and then told her everything that had happened before and what I had seen.

We sat against a large rock while the police arrived. It was still dark except for the flashlight in her hand, which flickered on and off.

"What's so special about Zhu Zihan?" she asked.

I said, "The child doesn't look anything special."

She frowned, thought for a moment and said, "There must be a reason."

"Um."

I looked up at the sky. There were very few stars tonight, and the eternal sky seemed particularly lonely and deep. I took out a cigarette from my pocket and was about to light it when the flame reflected her eyes, which turned to look at me. She asked, "Can you really not live without cigarettes?"

I held the cigarette in my mouth and answered, "Can you see any worker who doesn't smoke?"

She smiled, and there seemed to be some deep meaning in that smile.

I took the cigarette down and asked, "Want to try it?"

She shook her head: "I don't like women smoking."

I said, "That's fine. I don't like it either."

Then I noticed her hands moving, pulling the weeds from the ground, crushing them in her palms and throwing them away. I looked at her little movements and said, "Didn't you say that everything depends on you, and you will solve the case? What do you think now, the great detective?"

She clapped her hands and said, "Look, this man didn't kidnap children for money. If he did, why didn't he kidnap a child from a wealthy family? According to what you said, there are no obvious signs of abuse or torture. It's not to satisfy his own desires. Although he looks like a mentally ill person snatching children randomly, his actions are always very decisive, and his action and judgment are very strong. Moreover, the children he snatched all follow a certain pattern. He didn't sell these children, but hid them here. What do you think he is doing?"

I said, "It's not for money, not for profit, and not for desire. I was very clear-headed when I acted, it was either for love or for revenge."

Lisa was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't expect me to say that. She said, "Well... you can put it that way. But we can get a more specific understanding of his mentality by observing his behavior. You see, I found that the victims he chose were all from the same area. The two 7 or 8-year-olds were also thin and looked like 5 or 6 years old. So the age range he chose was also very concentrated. They were all children from ordinary families. He spent so much effort just to imprison them here. It's more like... to keep them company."

I looked at her. Crickets chirped in the haystacks and police lights flashed at the foot of the mountain in the distance. The police had arrived.

I said, "Police records say he is a trained thief who has been doing this for some time."

Lisa said: "Most of the thieves controlled by the criminal gangs have no home. Some... are kidnapped children themselves."

We were both silent for a moment. She said, "But what does he have to do with that ship and our affairs?"

The image of the man directing the flock of birds and the twisted smile on his face that seemed to be both happy and sad emerged in my mind. I said, "Lisa, when you were on the boat, did you see this man?"

Lisa was stunned and said, "No, I have no impression."

I said, "Neither do I. Only when we catch him can we know the truth."