When Red Means Danger

008

The room was empty when Dahyun came in, but she heard the rustling of water in his bathroom. Placing the sliced apples she brought on the desk, her eyes then caught sight of the notebook on his bed. She grabbed it and quickly scanned through it, trying to find a page in which he wrote a name.

Hansung, Dahyun read in her mind before tearing the page.

But as she tore it, another view caught her attention. On the paper was a drawing that triggered her curiosity. She was starting to decipher its meaning, but the sounds of water stopped. She quickly tore the page, and she folded both neatly before putting it in her pocket. Placing the notebook back to the bed, she sighed and composed herself, ready to play innocent. The door of the bathroom then clicked, revealing a fresh and clean Taehyung.

He smiled upon seeing her, but Dahyun on the other hand, gulped upon realizing he looked more attractive with his wet hair.

"H-Hi," her greeting came in a stutter, "Uhmmm. I've brought some apples."

The male in turn just walked towards her and sat on the bed. The two just stared at each other, and when Taehyung figured out that she wouldn't talk anytime soon, he patted the space beside him making it a clear invitation. She smiled at him, before taking the offer.

His lips then curved into a playful smile and which made Dahyun ask, "What's funny?"

He took the notebook and Dahyun silently prayed that he wouldn't notice the torn pages. Luckily for her, he just proceeded on writing,

            The apple skin has exactly the same colour with my hair.

"I've been curious about that too. Why red?" she giggled.

            Just. I thought I'd look good.

Dahyun started laughing aloud, and Taehyung mirrored her. When she heard his laughter, she was awed on how happy he looked. He was comfortable at her up to the point that he had already started cracking jokes, and at that time, Dahyun thought that it would be a pleasure to protect that bright aura of his.

"But you do actually look good with that kind of hair," she had blurted out without thinking.

When his cheeks started blushing and she felt her own cheeks heating up, she knew that she had created an awkward atmosphere. Her eyes then quickly scanned the room, looking for something they could talk about instead.

"Why Seoul?" Dahyun asked as her eyes averted to his masterpiece at his wall.

There was a calm smile on his lips before he wrote,

            Seoul is a beautiful place, especially at night.

"Why night-time?" Dahyun asked again as she munched on a slice.

            The dangling lights are clear when it's dark.

"You like seeing the lights?" she questioned further. "Have you ever been in a lantern festival before?"

            Yes. I saw it once in Japan.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? The sight of thousands of lights dangling in the sky," Dahyun said with excitement written all over her face. "Let's watch one once you're released."

He was smiling – but his eyes were full of sadness. He played the crayon in between his fingers, as if contemplating on what to write. Dahyun's gaze on him softened because she knew that he was about to bring up getting out for everyone's safety, but she also realized that something in Taehyung was causing him to hesitate.

"Are you still thinking of escaping?" she whispered.

            Yes.

"I promised to keep you safe. Don't you believe in me?"

He turned towards her, and his eyes momentarily widened, flabbergasted by her words. Dahyun too then suddenly realized the weight of what she said, but she stood firm in her ground. There was something in her that stirred not just wanting to keep him safe but wanting to keep him beside her.

A sad smile played again in his lips.

            I do.

Dahyun smiled as she knew that Taehyung had fully placed his trust now at her.

            But I want you to be safe too.

----------

Jungkook saw Dahyun in their living room, staring blankly at the two papers in front of her.

You're involving yourself too much, he thought.

"Hey," Jungkook greeted her with a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey," she greeted back as Jungkook took the seat beside hers.,"Could you... speak to me about his case?"

Jungkook sighed before starting, "The case against him is strong because the prosecution has a witness and a video footage. It turns out that their unit has a CCTV at the doorstep, and the last scene captured was Taehyung covering it. The prosecution proposes that he was perhaps trying to conceal the crime he was about to do at that time."

"But then, it means there's no actual footage of him killing those people, right?" Dahyun asked hopefully.

"There's none," Jungkook looked at her straight in the eyes, "But as I've said, there's a witness. The witness was a neighbor who upon hearing multiple screams, went to check it out for herself and found Taehyung killing the youngest victim. In fear, she ran away and fortunately, the police was on patrol to hear her concern. The police's statement says that in a matter of seconds, there was an explosion and the building was already in fire. Taehyung was one of the survivors and the witness was the one who pointed out to the police that he was the criminal."

When Dahyun started burying her face in her hands, Jungkook sighed again before asking, "Is that enough to convince you to drop the case?"

"No," she shook her head. She then handed one of the papers to Jungkook and said, "What do you see?"

"Uhhhh," Jungkook's eyebrows were knitted, "Red scribbles?"

"That's Taehyung," Dahyun said, "He was drawing himself but then he only stopped at his hair and the edges of his face. He didn't put any defining features in the drawing."

"So why are there two supposed-to-be-faces?"

She answered by showing him the other paper and upon seeing it, Jungkook asked, "Who's Hansung?"

"It's what Taehyung calls his reflection," she explained, "He didn't draw the face exactly because he's afraid of himself. I think he could have multiple personality disorder."

"Do you think that would work in the court?" Jungkook asked in a mocking voice.

But Dahyun answered firmly, "Yes. Taehyung is innocent while Hansung is not. Basically, there are two personalities in one body. He could be aware of the existence of his other personality, but Taehyung has no control or knowledge of what Hansung is doing. This was the same with the Billy Milligan case, and he was acquitted. Insanity is a valid defense in the law."

"How sure are you that Hansung is his other personality and not just a figment of imagination? What if he's just really a psychopath using it as an excuse for all his crime?"

Dahyun's eyes were full of determination as she answered, "Then I would need to meet Hansung."