the music box killer | bang chan (discontinued)

16. connection

JIYEON'S POV:

"Come on, Chan! Don't you think we're being too suspicious? We keep sneaking away from Minho! He's going to catch on to us!" I hiss at Chan.

"Calm down, Ji. He'll totally buy it if you act it out properly. I know you can do it. We need this meeting to happen, remember?" He says, interlacing our fingers and holding me close in an effort to calm my jittery nerves. That just makes my heart beat faster, but I find it oddly comforting at the same time.

I was nervous. I had set up a meeting with Mark, the guy who had given us credible tips about Jisung's whereabouts. Looking back in time, it felt like he was foreshadowing Minho's true character when he said to keep the truth from him. I was sure he knew something that we didn't.

Unfortunately, we needed to come up with more creative ways to keep staying away from Minho to carry out our personal investigation. Which was why I was about to walk into his room and put on the most Oscar-worthy performance of falling unconscious.

Chan walks in first so that it doesn't seem like it's all happening together. He keeps Minho engaged for a few minutes, talking to him about the case like usual. I take a deep inhale before stepping into the room.

"Hey Jiyeon! How're you feeling now?" Minho asks when he spots me. Untrue to my promise, I had not rejoined them in their town research yesterday because I had to stick to the plot to be able to use it today too.

"Worse, to be honest," I say weakly, putting on my best pained expression. I catch Chan in the back stifling a laugh from spilling out of his mouth and I give him a subtle death glare. "I puked twice in the morning and I've been feeling so dizzy and out of the loop. It's never like this. I'm so sorry that I can't help you guys," I say, voice full of remorse.

"Aw, you poor thing," he says as he gives me an empathetic pat on my shoulder, earning an annoyed look from Chan. "You should definitely see a doctor if it's that bad. Your health always comes first. Either of us two could take you."

How could anyone tell that this sweet guy was the same one who assisted in the attempted murder of a teenager on the streets? He was terrifyingly good at this act.

"Thanks, you guys," I say gratefully, before suddenly clutching my stomach and buckling my knees. I yelp in fake pain as I not-so-gracefully fall to the floor.

"Ji! Are you okay?" Chan yells out, trying to give rise to panic. Minho easily falls for it and freaks out when he sees my eyes close.

"We need to get you to the hospital. Now!" He says, trying to help me up.

"I...I don't feel so good," I groan as Chan carries me up in his arms, bridal style. I pretend to faint, letting my head fall onto his chest. That part wasn't really necessary, but he was just really warm and cozy, okay?

"Hello? Jiyeon?" I catch a blurry sight of Minho frantically waving his hands in front of my face through the narrow slits of my eyes. I obviously don't reply to him. "Oh my God, did she faint?"

"I think so. I'll take her to the hospital. You should go visit the bridge. Today's the only day where there won't be much of a rush, and we can't waste time," Chan says, putting on his leader mode and directing what needs to be done. Today, we were originally supposed to investigate a spot and check footage where Jisung, according to Jaemin's research, had apparently carried out quite a few drug deals. Minho probably knows a lot more about it, but we obviously can't get any of that information out of him.

"Are you sure about this? I can come too."

"That's fine. She'll be alright soon. We still have a criminal on the loose and we can't afford to lose him at any cost. I'll be there to take care of her, so don't worry."