APR 5, 2019.
9:38 AM
KIM TAEHYUNG.

"if you just listen to what i have to say—" taehyung presses persistently, hands practically clasped into prayer-mode as he hurries behind an irked kim namjoon. "—you won't regret it, please, mr. kim. i am begging you."

"please stop," namjoon says affirmatively, distressed. "mr. kim, i already told you to leave me alone. this is the twentieth time—yes, i counted—and i'm going to say it one more time. please leave me alone."

"the past few days i've literally been digging into this case," taehyung emphasizes, frantically gesturing to his oversized leather bag slung over a scrawny shoulder. the inside is filled with filecases and ragged folders with heaps of old newspaper articles. "and i think—no, i'm certain—i'm onto something!"

"you're on something alright," namjoon mutters.

the street is bustling with pedestrians, and taehyung could practically feel his heels drag themselves on the concrete pavement as he chases after the investigator. they cross the road, with taehyung having to basically clutch onto namjoon's blazer considering the swarming amount of people on the road (kim namjoon is a self-ceritified pole—you can see his head in an approximately eighty head count mob).

"do you want coffee? i'll buy you one!" taehyung persists as they step onto the sidewalk. "or two? depending on your taste. um, how about a frappucino? maybe an americano if you're not on the sweet side? or do you want a latte? perhaps?"

"i will get an americano under my own terms," he replies as polite as possible. taehyung can see namjoon's internal struggle to shade over the annoyance practically bubbling into the surface.

"ha! so you are the americano type."

"yes." namjoon sighs. "yes, i am."

taehyung follows namjoon into a cafe (Extra Dose to be exact—it's a famous cafe around this area considering it's right at the center of the city. it's practically a pedestrian-first choice).

he trails behind him as the investigator orders an americano with extra sugar. feeling a bit useless, taehyung offers a smile at the cashier (he looks like a newbie—taehyung knows that newcomer look all too well).

"so as i was saying," taehyung starts.

"as i was saying," namjoon interrupts. "mr. kim, we've been over this. mr.kim, please."

"just call me taehyung."

"taehyung, please."

"don't you want to know what happened to jimin?"

"don't bring jimin into this," namjoon sighs as he approaches the window booth. taehyung follows suit. "this is jeon jeongguk's case, not his—why are you sitting at my booth?"

"just hear me out," taehyung pleads. "why won't you hear me out?"

"because you went through my files," namjoon says curtly. "private files. mr. kim, they were confidential. my agency doesn't allow that—i'm already in trouble for bringing you in. they think you're suspicious. keep this up and you're gonna get pinned as a suspect eventually."

"who cares about the agency? why are you refusing information that may possibly help not one, but two cases?" taehyung pushes. "not only is this about jeongguk, this is also park jimin we're talking about. didn't you know him?"

"let's not go there."

"right," taehyung says sheepishly. "sorry."

silence.

"jimin," namjoon starts. "jimin... wasn't well. he suffered from severe paranoia, taehyung. he couldn't even leave his house most of the time. it fucked up his entire career—his entire life. and there was something about those fucking newspapers. those newspapers just pushed him over the edge, made his paranoia even worse. it was just unbearable to watch."

"like jeongguk," taehyung whispers. "the newspapers."

"i'm saying," namjoon says carefully. "the obsession over the newspapers is a symptom—"

"symptom?" taehyung repeats, then he looks at him in disbelief. "mr. kim, jeongguk wasn't unwell—"

"taehyung," namjoon interrupts gently. "did he ever get diagnosed?"

taehyung pauses.

"he never went to get checked up, did he?"

"you can't just assume that," taehyung spat. "you don't even want to hear me out. i didn't come here for shits and giggles, y'know? i came here because i genuienly think i have a lead and i have a gut feeling you can help me out with this. what are you so afraid of, your fucking secretary? your fucking agency? even then, that surely isn't enough for you to disregard a case like this."

"taehyung."

"you're treating me like they treated jeongguk. i know that look. how do you explain me seeing him, then? back at my house? clearly that wasn't a fucking hallucination too. you better not think i pulled a mistaken fucking identity back there because i didn't—"

"we're looking into that, so please calm down—"

"i am calm."

"the agency thinks the way you acted—how do i say this—denounced your credibility... in a sense. we're reopening the case and we're digging into this. it's just... we're doing it without you—"

"listen, i'm literally not the crazy person you people think i am," taehyung retorts. "the whole thing about park jimin and my apartment—or whatever the fuck that was—is the truth. i am credible. so if you just let me in—"

theres a thud beside them, the sound of a try falling onto the floor.

"i'm sorry, did you say jimin? p-park jimin?"

it's the cashier from earlier, eyes wide with a puddle of spilled americano pooling around his shoes.

both taehyung and namjoon look at him, utterly confused and a bit scared.

"i saw him!" the cashier yells. taehyung's eyes drift towards his name tag—jung hoseok. "i saw him! park jimin! i saw him!"

taehyung and namjoon both look at each other at the same time, both obviously alarmed. their eyes are wide.

and then there's a click.

namjoon stares at him. "are you still up for that coffee offer?"

-
OOOOOO
when words collide
shits gonna get real in a few chapters sooo