the naked face || bts

sixteen

The hospital room was different, but the nurse was the same. A glaring bundle of disapproval. Seated at his bedside, she was the first thing that Yoongi saw when he opened his eyes. 'Well. You're up,' she said primly. 'There's a Lieutenant Jungkook coming to see you.' Yoongi's heart sank. 'He's very anxious to talk to you. He's on his way over here. I'll tell the doctor you're up.'

So he could arrest him. With Jimin home sick, Jungkook had been free to manufacture evidence that would convict Yoongi. Once Jungkook got his hands on him, there was no hope. He had to escape before Jungkook arrived. 'Could you please get me some cold water?' Yoongi said. 'I'm not feeling my best yet.'

'Sure.' She walked out stiffly. The moment the door closed, Yoongi got out of bed and stood up. The two nights of sleep had done miracles for him. Now he had to move quickly. It took him three minutes to dress. He opened the door a crack, made sure that no one was around who would try to stop him, and headed for the service stairs. As he started down the stairs, the elevator door opened and he saw Jungkook get off and start towards the room he had just left. He was moving swiftly, and behind him were a uniformed policeman and two detectives. Quickly, Yoongi went down the stairs and headed for the ambulance entrance. A block away from the hospital, he hailed a taxi.

.
Jungkook walked into the hospital room and took one look at the unoccupied bed and the empty closet. 'Spread out,' he said to the others. 'You might still catch him.' He picked up the phone. The operator connected him with the police switchboard. 'This is Jungkook,' he said rapidly. 'I want an all-points bulletin put out. Urgent... Dr. Min Yoongi. Male, Korean. Age...'


The taxi pulled up in front of Yoongi's office building. From now on, there was no safety for him anywhere. He could not go back to his apartment. He would have to check into some hotel. Returning to his office was dangerous, but it had to be done this once. He needed a phone number. He paid the driver and walked into the lobby. He knew he had very little time. It was unlikely that they would be expecting him to return to his office, but he must take no chances. It was now a question of who got him first. The police or the assassins.

When he reached his office, he opened the door and went inside, locking the door after him. The inner office seemed strange and hostile, and Yoongi knew that he could not treat his patients here any longer. He would be subjecting them to too much danger. He was filled with anger at what Don Vinton was doing to his life. He could visualize the scene that must have occurred when the two brothers went back and reported that they had failed to kill him. If he had read Don Vinton's character correctly, he would have been in a towering rage. The next attack would come at any moment.

Yoongi went across the room to get Hoseok's phone number. For he had remembered two things in the hospital. Some of Hoseok's appointments were scheduled just ahead of Taehyung's. And Hoseok and Ara had had several chats together- Ara might have innocently confided some deadly information to Hoseok. If so, he could be in danger. He took his address book out of a locked drawer, looked up Hoseok's phone number, and called.

There were three rings, and then a neutral voice came on. 'This is a special operator. What number are you calling, please?' Yoongi gave her the number. A few moments later the operator was back on the line. 'I am sorry. You are calling a wrong number. Please check your directory or consult Information.'

'Thank you,' Yoongi said. He hung up. He sat there a moment, remembering what his answering service had said a few days ago. They had been able to reach all his patients except Hoseok. The numbers could have been transposed when they were put in the book. He looked in the directory, but there was no listing under his wife's name or his name. He suddenly felt that it was very important that he talk to Hoseok. He copied down his address: 617, Handong Street, Seoul.

Fifteen minutes later, he was renting a car. There was a sign behind the counter that read: 'We're second, so we try harder.' We're in the same boat, thought Yoongi. A few minutes later, he drove out of the garage. He rode around the block, satisfied himself that he was not being followed, and sped up. At the thought of seeing Hoseok again, his heart began to quicken. What was he going to say to her without alarming him? Would his wife be there? Yoongi made a left turn onto Handong Street. He looked at the numbers. He was in the nine hundred block. The houses on both sides of the street were small, old, and weatherbeaten.

He drove to the seven hundred block. The houses seemed to become progressively older and smaller. Hoseok lived on a beautiful wooded estate. There were virtually no trees here. When Yoongi reached the address Hoseok had given him, he was almost prepared for what he saw. 617 was a weed-covered vacant lot.