Brown Piano | yoonmin [ON HOLD]

One

A lament for a lost boy - Ornstein

"I don't think this is a sensible idea," muttered the rookie officer, darting his wide eyes around.

"Our job always puts us at risk so you're going to have to toughen up, boy," said Officer Park, shifting his phone around the dark place.

Their heels colliding onto the floor created a loud echo every time they took a step. The abandoned apartment building had been scheduled for demolition the next day. Therefore the place was stripped to it's core, exposing dark concrete all around them.

Sunlight occasionally peeked through the windowless holes in the wall, other than that the pair had to settle with the light from their phones to guide them around.

"Stop sticking to me and search for the bag," instructed Officer Park, "The quicker we find it, the quicker we leave."

After hesitating, the young guy felt convinced by the idea of leaving the place enough to separate from him.

"Don't leave me!" Officer Jeon called back as he walked away.

Officer Park chuckled at his antics. He had initially planned to go there on his own however his young assistant insisted on tagging along. In fact, where ever he went whether it was work related or not he always tailed him around. He began to think that maybe the rookie officer had taken the concept of shadowing an experienced officer a bit too seriously.

Officer Jeon hummed a happy tune to calm his racing heart as he stepped into the room right next door. He paused and sucked in his breath as he heard a quiet rustling. Normally he would've missed it but during that moment, his senses had heightened due to how anxious he was.

A brown rat scurried through his legs. His loud high-pitched scream bounced around the walls as he jumped almost as high as the ceilings. Officer Park rushed to him, his eyes alert.

"Did you find it?"

"I really think we should go now!" he insisted.

Officer Park sighed and shook his head as he walked back out. He followed him.

"Seriously, sunbae, let's go before we get murdered," he continued, shivering at the haunting sight of the abandoned place.

"If you keep bothering me, I will be the one murdering you," he scolded, "Now where is this damned bag of money? If we find it, this will be another proof of his crimes."

"This guy is so good. We've been tailing him for four months and we still haven't caught him."

"No matter how basic your crime skills are, if you have the right connection and a large bank account, it's easy to get away with things. Just like this guy."

Officer Park Jimin let out a frustrated sigh, running his hand through his hair. Countless of times, he had been only a blink away from catching this mobster. But every single time, he managed to get away so quickly.

His phone vibrated and he took it out to accept the call.

"Return back to the station," a low, deep voice spoke.

"We haven't found it yet though, Sergeant Mun."

"Don't argue with me and leave that place right this second!"

He ended the call and forcibly shoved his phone back in his jacket pocket. He held the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath in to calm himself down.

"Damn this guy. He is getting away again," said Officer Jeon.

Without replying, Officer Park left the building with his assistant following closely behind. In silence, they drove back to the police station. He had been bottling his anger the whole ride.

Before Officer Jeon could even turn off the car ignition, Officer Park was already out. He marched into their office and made a beeline for a desk centered in the opposite side.

"Do you know how close we are to finding this guy?" he shouted.

Sergeant Mun sighed as he closed the folder in his hands. He leaned back on the cushioned chair and looked up at him.

"He has already been identified to be innocent so we are going to have to drop this case."

Jimin let out a disbelief laugh before planting his hands on the desk.

"Me and you both know this guy is nowhere near innocent. Is he bribing Lieutenant Jung?"

"I am simply following Lieutenant Jung's orders. He is my boss so I have to listen to him," he said as he stood up to place the folder in the cabinet behind him.

"What a beautifully corrupt justice system we have!" Jimin shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

"One more thing," The older man turned to look at him. "He told me to demote you to road traffic officer for two weeks as punishment."

"Bullshit!"

"Give me your badge," he said extended his hand.

Jimin scowled before pulling the lanyard from his neck and chucking it to him. He turned around to walk away.

"This is why you shouldn't be such a lone wolf. You thought you could catch the guy on your own but you couldn't. Your arrogance isn't going to get you anywhere, Freedom Fighter," said a young officer, who was slouching at his desk, clearly enjoying Jimin's misfortune.

"Your lack of police skills definitely not going to get you anywhere, Officer Na," he fired back before walking out of the office.

To celebrate his wonderful day he went to a pop-up tent to drink alone. He greeted the old lady and asked her to make him some chicken before taking his usual seat in the corner.

"Another bad day at work?" she asked, placing a can of soju on his table.

"Yup, as always," he chuckled.

When the sky darkened, he made his way home. Instead of taking the bus, he chose to walk. For the past few weeks he had taken a liking for walking home because of the tunnel he always passed.

It wasn't any less creepy compared to other tunnels. However, there sat an abandoned piano right at the end. Every night, always around the same time he would see a mysterious guy sitting on it to play classical music.

Normally, Jimin wouldn't have cared the least about the creepy tunnel or the strange guy. Neither was he interested in classical music.

However he always found himself going out of his way to take this same route home just so he could pass by the guy playing on the piano. This was because very often, he played a familiar sad piece.

Jimin couldn't pin point why he had instantly recognised the tune. He couldn't understand why it evoked such strong emotions towards him. Whatever those emotions were, it was strong enough to feel attracted to this man whose face he had never even seen. A man who he didn't know the name of, someone he didn't know anything about.

That night he was there again. Playing the same song that felt so extremely familiar to Jimin. It was like deja vu and it frustrated him to not be able to understand why this memory felt so vivid yet vague in his mind.

The guy was dressed in all black as usual. He always wore the same hoodie with three red stripes decorating the side of the arms. His hoodie was over his head, concealing most of his face. The melody echoed through the tunnel, making the dark foreboding place less eerie.

Jimin desperately wanted to know the identity of the guy but every time he tried to approach him, he always ran away in the opposite direction.

The guy swayed to the music, letting his fingers run up and down the keys. Even from the distance, he could feel the passion radiating from him.

Suddenly he pressed the wrong key, adding harshness to the beautiful song. He let his arms drop to either side of him. Slowly, he turned his head and Jimin's instincts was telling him to run but still his feet stayed planted in the ground. For the first time, the strage pianist stared right back at Jimin down the tunnel.

A/N: Here is my first try with a mystery thriller story. I was inspired by that angsty trailer for Yoongi's song First Love. So frigging excited for this story AHH!!
- Panda