The Reflection We Fear || Taekook

Chapter 14: Cats And Mice

The wind at night seemed cooler than usual. It really was beginning to feel like winter with each passing day they got closer to December and left November behind them. Everything seemed to have settled back into the circle that was this time of year. With Christmas and all-around celebrations becoming the focus of everyone's attention, even if said celebration was still weeks away. Decorations and lights already being put up and Hoseok couldn't have found it more annoying. He loved the weather change. The cool air biting into his skin but this he hated. The hype around lights and décor.

The young man often took a walk, out in the cold in recent days. He thought it would help him. Help clear his mind from all the shit that has been going on, that has been fucking with him, but it didn't. It didn't help at all. He shouldn't be surprised really that this small little advice he did take from the useless therapist didn't help him either but there was nothing else to do. Even if he did enjoy the cold and the air that shifted around, he knew he would still not go back to therapy again. Not after he had tried a second time just because Lim had told him to give her a second chance, but he didn't want to go back. Not after that first encounter. Besides he had something else to figure out. Like a lot, more important things than trying to figure out what his shitty self was dealing with in the moment.

For one the "Asset" called. Which was odd. He never called; never before did he call this often at least. This was too many calls. Something was happening fast, too fast because it seemed like after months of silence, months of just quiet waiting for the phone to finally ring with update this is what they have been waiting for. But Hoseok still couldn't do shit with it. He was still counting on Kim Taehyung; he was still counting on the boy and without him he couldn't act. Hoseok had to talk to him. He had to talk to Kim Taehyung again, but the "Asset" advised against it. Which loosely translated meant that "The Rook" had no intentions of letting him out of his eyes. Could be, he finally claimed the boy, or it could mean Taehyung finally fucked up bad enough to become suspicious. Either way it wasn't good for them. They still needed him.

According to the "Asset", Jeon Jungkook has left the country and went to Tokyo to deal with something there. But he didn't know anything more than. He didn't know the specific reason as to why they were going and according to him, besides Taehyung and Min Yoongi no one else knew about it. He knew when the flight was. When they landed and when they were supposed to come back. But they knew nothing about the visit which severely annoyed Hoseok because it meant they couldn't do anything...yet again.

Hoseok walked along a small path next to Han River. It was funny how differently he had looked at the stream of water when he first came here. He found it beautiful, calming He could remember he used to take pictures on old Polaroid cameras to store away in a shoebox to look at when he had the time. He didn't know where the box was now, he hadn't looked at the pictures in years. He didn't even know where his camera had gone. He liked that camera. It was old and vintage, but it was perfectly usable. The pictures coming out a lot lighter than they should with a camera that people used nowadays, but he didn't mind. He thought it looked better that way somehow. Special. But he didn't know where it was anymore. He hasn't taken pictures of anything in years. He hasn't thought of it either in years, which was sad because once upon a time, he had even considered photography as a career. He used to love doing it for most of his teenage years even when he entered the academy. He would sneak out at night just to take some pictures of the life in Seoul. Capture people, their lives, their friends, their surroundings, their dislikes and likes...all of these things, he would take a photo and he would store it away and would later find a story in every single shot.

He remembered the conversation he had with his father when it had come to choosing a career. How proud he was to be a police officer. Even if all he did was patrol work, he was still very proud. Told Hoseok how he had saved a girl once, and an old man, and that other couple who were in trouble. And Hoseok loved it. Loved that his father was a man like that. The stories he would tell over and over again, the way he spoke, the way he held himself. He made everyone feel like what he was doing was changing the world. Hoseok wanted to be like that. He wanted to be like his father. He wanted to be able to be that proud of what he was doing. He wanted to be like him even more after his death. He wanted to honour his legacy.