𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 | JJK | ✓

39

"Court is adjourned."

* * *

Prosecutor Jeon brought his hands together in quiet claps appreciatively and mouthed 'K.O' but Heiran was quick to ignore the gesture as she breezed right past him and out of the courtroom. Her partner, it seemed, was determined to get on her nerves as he followed her outside and caught up with ease.

"You were incredible back there, partner. Especially when you said, "Seems like you weren't as clever as you thought." You floored him with that comment!" He commented, striding by her side.

He might as well have been talking to thin air as his comments fell on deaf ears. Heiran marched on with her gaze trained straight. She was just as determined to ignore him as he was to make her react.

"You got the whole jury with that one sentence and if I may be so bold, it was hot." He enthused, ecstatically. Heiran kept her pace.

"Heiran."

Silence.

"Ran."

Silence.

"Partner Ahn."

She paused. A glimmer of hope fluttered in Jungkook's chest but it was soon extinguished rather coldly.

"Prosecutor Jeon," Heiran's voice had never taken such a strong husky turn before. It was cold. Bone-chilling as her gaze found him, eyes guarded like the Pentagon. "The court just ended. Both defendants are sentenced to 5 counts to a lifetime in prison with no hope for parole or appeal. The case is officially over. I assume you're smart enough to figure out what that means. If you're not, let me spell it out for you. We. Are. No. Longer. Partners. So..."

She inclined her head to the side, gesturing to the exit as she held out her hand to show him the way out.

He winced. Anything but that shutting out, Jungkook could bear. It would have been less painful had she taken out the hacksaw from the Yeongsan Murders and sawed a hole straight through his heart than that indifferent stare she aimed at his soul. As if he were a mere stranger uttering absurdities she didn't care enough to bother with.

He sighed, squeezing his eyes shut, begging. Pleading. "Heiran, please. Let me explain. I need you to—"

"There he is! There's the Silent Wolf!"

The cry of a reporter from a distance made them swivel around to face the oncoming swarm, flashes alighting and blinding the area. Jungkook grit his teeth at the worst timing of the century. Of course, they had to interrupt the most decisive moment of his entire life. However, before they could get to him, he decided he wasn't ready to answer their questions and that he should risk it all. Taking a deep breath, Jungkook made to catch the wrist of his partner and run away from the swarm only to grab onto empty air. Confused, he turned to look only to be disappointed. Heiran had slipped away at the momentary distraction.

All he saw as he stood there watching in utmost betrayal was the tail ends of her prosecutor's robe vanishing around a corner.

The swarm closed in like rabid dogs and he could feel himself beginning to drown. He could feel her slipping away and he knew as each second he wasted, the distance between him and her was growing farther apart. And so he turned away from the reporters and ran.

Too long. He had been letting himself ride to the will of fate for too long. It was finally time to take control of the reins, make his own decisions, act on his free will, and get back what he had once lost.

The reporters were hot on his tail, screaming his name as he strode away, entering back into the labyrinth of the court. My, my can't they take a single hint or what? But it was alright. Jungkook had enough field experience in the art of losing tails.