Beauty and the Broken

18| 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰

Seven days had passed since the revelations about Aera's mother, and life seemed to have returned to its usual rhythm—at least on the surface. Jungkook was seated in his office, the soft hum of his laptop filling the quiet room. His mind, however, was anything but quiet. The recent events had stirred memories and suspicions he had long buried.

Just as he was about to dive into another report, the door swung open, and Taehyung entered, a folded newspaper in his hand. There was an urgency in his steps, a shadow of determination in his eyes.

"Jungkook," Taehyung said, his voice low and steady as he placed the newspaper on the desk. "Look at this."

Jungkook glanced at the headline, his heart sinking as he saw the familiar story—his parents' jet crash. But it wasn't the crash itself that caught his attention. Taehyung pointed to a section of the article, that mentioned the presence of an unidentified man at the crash site.

"Your father," Taehyung said, meeting Jungkook's eyes. "He was there."

Jungkook felt his breath catch. He had always known his father was involved in more than he let on, but this... He nodded slowly, his mind racing. "I wanted to tell you and Aera something... but first, I need to confirm something in my father's office. There's something there—something I need to see before I can say anything."

Taehyung leaned back, considering Jungkook's words before he nodded. "We'll go tonight. No one else needs to know. Especially not Aera."

***

The night was still as Jungkook and Taehyung made their way to the office. The building was dark, the only light coming from the occasional streetlamp casting long shadows. They slipped inside, their footsteps echoing softly on the marble floor.

Jungkook led the way to his father's private office, a place he had rarely entered. The room was exactly as he remembered—meticulous, almost too orderly. But there was a tension in the air as if the room itself was holding its breath.

They began their search, methodically going through drawers and files, looking for anything that might shed light on the connection between his father and the jet crash. Minutes stretched into hours, and just as they were beginning to lose hope, Taehyung found something.

"Jungkook, over here," Taehyung called, holding up a folder with a faded label. "This might be it."

Before Jungkook could respond, they heard the door creak open behind them. Both men froze, turning slowly to see Aera standing in the doorway, her expression unreadable.

"Aera," Jungkook started, unsure of what to say. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," she replied, stepping further into the room. "But it seems we're all here for the same reason."

Jungkook exchanged a glance with Taehyung, who gave a slight nod. "We're a team," Jungkook finally said, his voice firm. "We should work together, and avoid any mistakes."

Aera seemed to consider this before nodding. "Alright. Let's find what we're looking for."

They continued searching, now with Aera's help. It was Aera who found a set of old documents hidden behind a false panel in one of the cabinets. She was just about to open them when Jungkook's phone rang, the sudden sound breaking the tense silence.

He glanced at the screen—his mother. "Hello?"

"Jungkook, you need to leave the office," his mother's voice came through, sharp and anxious. "Your father... he's on his way there."

Jungkook's heart raced. "We're leaving now," he said, hanging up. He turned to Aera, who had already slipped the documents into her bag. "We need to go. Now."

They left the office in a hurry, slipping out the way they came. As they walked away from the building, Aera couldn't shake the feeling that they had been followed.

Little did they know, someone had been watching their every move, hidden in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.