warm like a gun | ot23 nct; ot5 red velvet

Chapter 12

Jaehyun isn't sure how long he's out. The last thing he can recall is sitting on his couch at home, and then he's blinking against harsh, artificial light. He tries to turn to look around, but finds himself restrained shoulders down, strapped into a chair in a small, featureless room.

Panic flares in his chest, and he's breathing like he's just run around the whole city. He closes his eyes, shaking himself a little, and forces his breathing to slow. If they wanted to kill you, they would've done it already, he reasons with himself.

Jaehyun hears the click of a door handle, and snaps his eyes open. A masked officer is closing the door behind him. Jaehyun gives him a wary look as he approaches.

"I'm not here to hurt you," the officer says, adding, "necessarily."

"Makes me feel like you're gonna hurt me," Jaehyun replies.

"Up to you." The officer taps his wristband, and a video pops up. The holo shows Jaehyun walking home the day he handed in his badge. "You quit the force this day. Why?"

Jaehyun almost laughs at the absurdity of the question. "I realized being a police officer was no longer the right path for me," he replies, keeping his tone even and delicate.

"And why is that?"

"Does it matter?" Jaehyun asks, deciding to feign ignorance. "Why am I here?"

"I think we both know why you're here." The officer taps the wristband again, and the holo disappears. "You visited a tattoo shop shortly after your last day. What were you doing there?"

"I was thinking about getting a tattoo," Jaehyun says.

He doesn't even see the taser before he feels it, stuck against his side. He's lucky police training includes getting used to tasing, but he still convulses a little in his restraints, squeezing his eyes shut and gasping in shock.

"What were you doing at the tattoo shop?"

"I'm serious," Jaehyun gasps. "I was asking about a tattoo, and then changed my mind."

"Yeah? What kind of tattoo?" the officer asks.

Jaehyun scrambles for an answer. "A flower," he says quickly. The taser comes again, on his other side, but at least this time Jaehyun is ready for it. He grits his teeth and tries to keep his breath. "My friend has one," he gasps out when he can. "What, you think a flower's not my style?"

The officer doesn't answer. "You kept to yourself after you quit, even though normally you're quite social. Why?"

"Didn't want any of my friends involved." Jaehyun shrugs. "I didn't think it'd help, to tell them what was going on."

"And what did you think was going on?" There's a note of humor in the officer's voice—either he doesn't know, and thinks Jaehyun is a crazed conspiracy theorist, or he does know, and thinks it's funny to watch Jaehyun chase his own tail.

Jaehyun just gives him a look. "You and I both know it wasn't Jeonghun who killed Eunji," he says.

"Do we?" He leans closer. "Then who did?"

"How should I know?" Jaehyun asks. "One of your colleagues, probably."

He's slapped this time—backhanded, the man's knuckles striking his cheekbone with such force that Jaehyun's eyes water. "Taser wasn't personal enough?" he asks, a little too derisively.

"Why would the police, the government, kill an innocent person in her home?" the man asks.

"Good question," Jaehyun says. "Kind of sounds like taking an innocent man from his home and detaining him."