4 O'CLOCK - K. TAEHYUNG

六

"what is all of this?", taehyung questioned as luna fixed her glasses. the two were once again at the library, this time sat at a desk as luna had a stack of books and newspaper articles in front of her.

"it's all the articles of our family's murders, along with other murders that had happened in the same area at the same time", luna explained as taehyung scanned the papers. "but something's a little strange."

"what is?", he questioned, seating himself next to the girl. she took out her phone, bringing out the maps app.

"well we're here in daegu, where two murders occurred, and only two. then there's another article in jeonju, again two murders. then the same in daejeon, then cheongju and finally in seoul. it completely stopped in seoul for a few years, until two years ago. there was another murder similar to seoul, and then there was another in cheongju a few months later", luna explained.

"so, are you saying that the murderers must still be around?", he questioned.

"not only that, if they're following the same route as before, then they'll be back at daegu in about three months. and i'm sure that they're after us this time round."

taehyung's eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at the girl in confusion. "w-what do you mean by that?", he questioned.

"well, i'm not exactly sure if it's right, but the murders that happened almost fifteen years ago, each murder had a survivor. i don't know if it was the murderer's intention, but it was the same for every incident", luna sighed, taking off her glasses to rub her eyes. "and we're next on the list."

taehyung suddenly shot out of his seat, surprising luna. "we have to tell someone. let's go tell hoseok hyung, what if we die? aren't you afraid? come on, let's-", taehyung grabbed her arm, trying to pull her up out of her seat but luna pushed him away.

"go back to that crappy officer? they wouldn't even help us when we asked them. i'm sure that they must have already figured out this much too, and if they have then they should've told us by now. the police are useless, we're going to have to do this ourselves", luna sighed, putting her glasses back on.

she stood up, grabbing her things. "clean up the mess." she said before leaving the library. taehyung stood at the table, he was completely surprised. he didn't want to believe it, but luna was right. if they were able to figure out this much, then so could the police.

he chuckled, shaking his head. he was going to find out what hoseok's hiding, one way or another.

***

"taehyung, what are you doing at my house at 4am in the morning?", luna questioned, releasing a yawn. she wasn't exactly fast asleep, but she also enjoyed the deafening silence where she could overthink her life quietly.

"i know, i'm sorry for coming without notice, but i couldn't stop thinking about what you had found out this morning and all i could think was what if they come sooner, plus i live by myself and i kept hearing weird creaking sounds, and not gonna lie, i was pretty scared, i probably should've been more scared about walking to yours so late at night, but i wanted to see you and-"

"okay, okay, woah", luna held up her hands, making him stop as he looked at her with a sheepish look. "i get that you're afraid... i am too." she confessed.

"really? you have a funny way of showing it", he pointed out. luna chuckled.

"i know, but what i'm trying to say is that i understand. do you want to stay with me and joon for a few days?" she questioned. he nodded, pulling her into a hug which surprised luna.

"you're the only real friend i have. thank you for being there for me", he whispered, as luna melted into his touch. she hadn't ever hugged anyone so tightly before, she had never felt so secure in someone's arms either.

"hey, it's no problem. we're in this together." she smiled, wrapping her arms around him. she couldn't help but feel soft, he was too precious and melted away luna's strong barriers that she had put up around herself a long time ago.

"can i come in now? i'm freezing", he mumbled, causing luna to chuckle as she pulled away. she allowed him to enter and shut the door behind him, shivering at the cold breeze that suddenly pushed through.

she led him to the living room. "we have a pull out sofabed, so i'll just go get some blankets and pillows." taehyung hummed in agreement as he moved their coffee table so he could pull out the bed.

luna opened up the closet and took out the duvet cover and pillows. a few minutes later, taehyung was finally in bed and luna was about to leave before he called for her. "yeah?", she questioned, turning back.

"if i'm being honest, i can't actually fall asleep." luna chuckled, walking over and sitting next to him.

"me neither", she sighed, leaning back against the arm. "when i close my eyes, i see that night again", she explained.

"same", taehyung mumbled. luna sighed, shaking her head.

"well then, how about we learn more about each other?" and that was how their night went. the two spent it together, whispering and giggling quietly so they wouldn't wake up namjoon. and somehow, at the end of it all, the pair had fallen asleep next to one another without realisation.