The Diamond Race | discontinued

chapter 11

05:00 Seoul, South Korea 37.5665° N, 126.9780° E

"Detective Kim any word on possible suspects?"

"Detective Kim, who do you think killed Park Haeil?"

"Detective Kim, can you speak on whether the issues within the police department will affect the outcome of this case?"

"Detective Kim, was the death a suicide?"

"Detective Kim! What do you have to say about investigating the death of one of the biggest names in Seoul?"

"Detective Kim!"

"Detective Kim!"

"DETECTIVE KIM!"

Sighing Namjoon leaned back against the side of his car and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. No amount of coffee or lollipops could keep his ears from ringing after what had probably been the worst press conference of his life. His eyes itched after being flashed by so many cameras, and the headache that had been building from the night before, was hitting him full force.

"Detective Kim?"

Namjoon turned on his heel, preparing to give the annoying reporter the throwdown of their life and instead saw someone else. Holding out a cup of coffee to him, with a cheery look on his face, is none other than junior detective Jeon Jungkook. His cheeks were red, and his chest was heaving, and Namjoon wondered how fast the kid ran from the coffee shop down the street and back to the police station.

"Oh, thanks kid." Namjoon takes the steaming cup from Jungkook's hands, noting how the younger managed to get his order right. "Why are you here so early? You don't start until seven."

Jungkook bounced on his heels, smiling sheepishly at the cracks in the pavement beneath their feet. He wasn't entirely sure how to tell the elder that he was a huge fan of his work. While a cadet in training, Jungkook had often heard about the incredible detective Kim Namjoon and all the criminals he had put behind bars. After graduation, Jungkook had applied to work at the Seoul police headquarters and had gotten the job, hoping he would one day run into his role model, and here he was.

Kim Namjoon looked vastly different from the polished photo Jungkook kept beside his bunny mug on his work desk. The Namjoon in the photo had been younger, polished, more ambitious looking, and incredibly alive. The man in front of him now, was more like a washed out version. Kim Namjoon's shoulders weren't straight, his head wasn't held high, and he definitely didn't look alive. There was a grey aura around him. It tugged at the color of the world around him, sucking the color away and making all things grey, like himself. It was like he was under a perpetual raining cloud. Jungkook's role model looked tired and frayed. His brown hair was dull, lacking any gel or style and it lung limply in his eyes. His eyes looked dull, with bags underneath them and a permanent frown was set on his face. Even with his height, he seemed quite small, even smaller, since his shoulders hunched. Kim Namjoon didn't look like the photo Jungkook had beside his bunny mug, but he was still the younger's role model. Nothing could change that.

"I heard about the case you got assigned. I was hoping you'd pick me to be your partner."

Namjoon coughed into the cup, nearly spilling the scalding coffee down his front. He hastily rightened himself, playing off the near disaster, by blowing quickly on the coffee to cool it down.

"How'd you know I got a case?"

Jungkook scratched the back of his head laughing lightly. "I may have--- er, I might have hung around the station before getting you coffee? I saw the reporters. It looks like a big case."