The Flower of the Dark | k.th

.Sixteen.

JIMIN's POV
The way the detective is sitting — with his emotionless face, and hands intertwined together laying on his desk — is tempting me to begin screaming and pulling at my hair. I really hate his silence.

"It's been a couple days...sir.."

He nods, "I know, but you need to understand, Mr. Park. Unless you have any other information about this situation then please tell us. We're desperate."

YOU'RE desperate? You're the one who doesn't understand here!

I want to laugh, but face away from him to hide the smile that's aching to show. They don't realize how dumb this whole thing is. They don't realize how much time they're wasting. I want to laugh, but cry.

I cover my mouth, which makes him concerned with what I'm doing.

"Something wrong?" he asks.

I gulp down my smirk. "The problem is that you haven't found anything yet, detective dude." I glance at him.

"Well, I'm very sorry that we haven't found anything, but having Ms. Han disappear into thin air with no traces doesn't seem like the most easiest thing in the world, now does it?" I can see the irritation in his eyes. He throws on a fake smile, "Unless you have any useful information this afternoon, Mr. Park, then I advise you to leave so I can get back to work."

"What about the man I described?" I ask, ignoring his question. "Have you found anything about him, or anyone that looks close to him?"

He shakes his head. "That man doesn't look human, but we're trying our best. Please respect that."

Doesn't look human?

I give him a questioning look, and he just sighs and points to the opened door.

~ ~ ~

"Why do I have such a bad feeling?..." I whisper, loud enough for only me to hear.

I can't stop thinking about what the detective dude said, about the man that was with Jieun not being 'human'. How could he not be human? He looked alright to me...What's not human about him anyway?

"Ugh.." I shake my head, "No, Jimin, you're thinking too hard over something silly. That guy is just sick and has Jieun! And once I find her, he'll pay for keeping her away."

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Jimin." Gayoon says, carrying a tray with her into her living room I sit in. She places the tray onto the white, coffee table in front of me.

The steam off the ramen floats above it, reminding me of the noodle shop — the last place I saw Jieun.

I smile at Gayoon and thank her for making me food. She sits across from me, watching me eat with a small, weary grin on her. I stop eating, finding it slightly uncomfortable.

"Is everything all right?"

Her gaze falls onto the bowl of fresh, steaming noodles. She shakes her head and I look down into her eyes to see them forming tears.

I freeze. "What's wrong, Gayoon?"

"Don't mind me, Jimin..." her voice cracks, "..just keep eating."

I stay still, unsure of what to do. My heart drops when I hear her sniffle. I get up quickly and sit next to her. I put my arm around Gayoon and push her into a hug.

"I'm sorry for crying, Jimin...I didn't want you to see me this way."

"It's alright." I rub her back, reassuring her.

She pushes away from me and wipes her eyes with her hands. "Jimin...may I tell you something?"

"Of course! Whatever will make you feel better."

She smiles weakly and nods, taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly. "Okay..." she whispers. She talks louder now, "Doseok — Jieun's father — used to have a friend who he was very close with. They would spend a lot of time together whenever Doseok wasn't feeling well about a situation..and once..he shut me out of his life for a whole year. Before he shut me out, Doseok used to have really bad heart problems and had to stay in the hospital for weeks. Jieun would visit him a lot since I had to work while he was recovering and," she chuckles, "she would come home telling me that she met a man who she befriended. I always thought that it was just her imagination because Doseok would say he never saw her with anyone but him."

Gayoon's smile fades slowly as she faces down at her hands. "I never knew why he shut us out...and I tried to reach to his friend, but once I finally tried, I found out that he was murdered. I assumed that Doseok didn't want to speak about his friend's death, and I knew how affected he was so I left him alone."

She remains silent for awhile.

"Did you find out why he shut you away?" I ask.

She shrugs and shakes her head slightly, "Not really...just assumptions. His friend's death was the second death Doseok had witnessed..and after his friend's, he just stopped talking."

"What about the second one?"

"It was a suicide he tried to prevent."

A suicide he tried to prevent....he was a good man.

"What was his friend's name? If you don't mind me asking."

She shakes her head, "His name was Kim Seokjin; Doseok just called him 'Jin' for short."

DAILY SOCKS NOTE ::
Hope it doesn't seem like everything's moving quickly. But it's okay, it's our first story.
-RightSock

  (Have a Gucci day)