psychotic - taehyung ff

08. interview V

"you will never understand the damage you did to someone until the same thing is done to you. that's why i'm here." - karma
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"hey babe, what's up?" jimin asks, walking up to haneul's desk. she allowed herself to smile at his presence, grateful to have a light in the dark days that laid before and ahead of her.

"baby.. jimin," haneul began, her head hung low. she's had to dig deep into the lives of friends in order to get the job done. but now, this was different. involving her husband, jimin? back to a time he dreads? back to a friendship he's probably long forgotten? it was draining her. it was killing her slowly and she didn't know if she could do this anymore. that's why she had practically begged seokjin to do it for her. he obliged, with no issues of course. he seen the toll this case was taking on his lifelong friend and partner. it was killing her. the same way taehyung had tried to not that long ago. he felt for her and that's why he happily agreed to interviewing her husband.

"baby, what's the matter? have you eaten yet? slept?" jimin asked, kneeling before his exhausted wife. haneul had been holing herself up at the station for far too long. jimin tried on occasion to bring her multiple meals throughout the day, and each time he saw her, she looked more dead than before. he knew the dangers of reinvestigating taehyung's case. he knew it would take an emotional toll on her. she was a caring and thoughtful person. and while that was her biggest strength, it was also her biggest downfall.

"yeah, no. i'm good, i promise. but what i'm about to ask you is really difficult," haneul began, her eyes glued to the floor. jimin felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"anything my love," he said, placing his hand gently against her cheek, stroking his thumb against her cheek bone that had begun to be prominent.

"will you let seokjin give you a cognitive interview of the night... the night that your mother died? and your friendship with taehyung?" haneul murmured, her voice a near whisper. jimin's actions faltered, a hiccup in the way he calmed her. was this really happening? must he really encounter that awful night all over again? he didn't want to. god, he would rather do anything else. but the desperation in her eyes and the stress on her features caused him to reconsider his immediate answer.

he would do anything for haneul.

"of course baby. of course."
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"okay jimin, i want you to relax. this will only work if you try your best to stay calm, and to not force anything. forcing your memories to come will only result in a false memory recollection. do you understand?" jin offers, dimming the lights a bit and walking to his seat. he leaned into it, watching jimin do the same, his hands resting on the metal table.

"yeah, i get it," jimin answers, trying his best to remain as calm as possible. to be truthful, jimin had tried his best to forget that nigh even existed. though he did have occasional nightmares, they were all deformities of the truth. that night was unlike anything he ever experienced. and now he was going to have to for the sake of his wife and the other lives that were at stake.

in all honesty, jimin knew why he agreed to it. it was partially due to relieve the agonizing stress haneul was enduring, but he wanted to know why taehyung targeted him the way that he had. though he knew that it wasn't him necessarily who killed his mother, taehyung covered up evidence that could have prevented him from locking him up.

"we're gonna start with how you and taehyung met, if you don't mind," jin states, his tone collected and calming. jimin laughs to himself when he thinks about how jealous he was of how close jin and haneul was, not knowing that jin was happily married to his lawyer.

"close your eyes." jimin closes them.

"do you remember the weather that day? what you were doing when your eyes landed on taehyung?" jin asks, becoming an echo within jimin's mind.

it was already a month into school and jimin was tired. he was sitting underneath a shady tree during lunch, trying to embrace the cool october air in peace. jimin scanned the perimeter of the school's soccer field, indulging in the concept of people watching. his eyes landed in a face he wasn't quite familiar with. he was sure that they had the same class, but the two had never spoken. jimin was a friendly person, knowing the names of everyone in his class. but not this boy.

he sat alone on the bleachers, his hands fidgeting in his lap. jimin noted that the boy had no lunch with him, wondering if he already ate. jimin stood from his comfortable spot under the tree, gathering his belongings and waltzing over to the boy.

"mind if i join you?" jimin asks, the boy jumping from the sudden sound. he looks up at jimin with cautious eyes, revealing a fading bruise on the boys cheekbone.

"uhm... sure?" he responds, unsure of himself and jimin's intentions.

"don't feel obligated to say yes. i know i can come off as intimidating and pushy, but there his the free will to say no," jimin teases, watching the boy chuckle at this.

"nah man, it's good. i'd like that actually," he smiles. jimin smiles back and sits next to him, opening his lunch sack. his mom always packed him extra food just in case jimin stayed late and couldn't make it to dinner because of his constant need to stay late and study hard for school. he pulls out the tuber ware and a pair of chopsticks and hands them to the boy next to him. the boy stares at them as if he was debating on whether on he wanted to take it. he was hungry but he didn't want to be greedy.

"take it. my mom always packs too much for me to eat anyways," jimin smiles, pulling out a second container and chopsticks. the boy smiles at jimin and shyly takes the box.

"i'm park jimin," jimin smiles as the two began to dig into the food.

"kim taehyung. it's nice to meet you."
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[unedited and not proofread]