Paper Masks | ᴊᴜɴɢᴋᴏᴏᴋ

14 :: currant red

You stir in the bed, sheets crumbling with you as you stretch your hand to feel for Jungkook only to find void by your side. You open your eyes, rubbing the corners as you look at the clock by the table. 

4:10 AM.

You sigh, brushing your hair away and tying it into a messy bun before stepping out of the bed and stealing one of Jungkook's shirts. You button it up and take a step forward, wobbly on your feet after last night. The outside is still dark enough and you see the dim yellow lights seep through his room from the living room. 

You take easy steps towards the hall only to find Jungkook sitting on the floor, looking at pictures on the table, his shirtless back against the sofa. His hair is messy and his glasses are balanced at the middle of his nose as he flips through pages.

"Hey," you whisper, the sound echoing in the silence of the early morning.

"You look good in my shirts," he comments looking up through his glasses, his eyes checking you out. "You definitely do."

You walk towards him, sitting by his side, your back against the sofa and your arms brushing against his, opening another beer by the side of his half empty one and sipping at it slowly.

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Can't sleep," he mumbles, looking through the pictures of the victims. "It bothers me enough that the entire of San Francisco thinks Dr. Ross is the killer." You look at the pictures sprawled across the table before you.

"What's all this? Are those—" You gasp. "Detective Jeon Jungkook, why do you have case files at your home? You could get into trouble."

He smiles at you sheepishly, "Captain Kim loves me."

"Captain Kim probably does know," your eyes glint in mischief. 

"Perhaps that too."

He pulls out all the pictures, laying them out in order, explaining to you, "It's all the information we have on the Maskmaker. I was reviewing the evidence and trying to figure out who the real killer is."

"But our orders were to concentrate on finding Dr. Ross," you meekly say, looking at the corpses of the women.

"I know they are," he frowns. "But I know that he isn't our guy and you know too that he isn't the Maskmaker," he sighs loudly, pushing his hair back, "And every minute we spend chasing Ross is a minute the killer is still out there with innocents' lives at stake."

"You're suggesting that we go against the orders?"

He stays silent, worried for a minute if he has upsetted you, "Yeah."

"Let's do it," you smile confidently. You pull Jungkook's shirt closer to your body, seeking warmth from it and taking in the earthy smell of his being. "I don't want another girl dying in this city, even if it means having to go against orders."

He leans closer to you, close enough to see the glitter in his eyes and his eyelashes, "That's the spirit."

He hands over a few files to you happily. He winks at you and you blush. Jungkook asks, "Where do you want to start?"

"Well, psychological trigger plays a huge part in who the killer targets," you say, stretching forward to take the beer can. Taking a huge gulp, you place it down and continue, "All of these victims must have something in common."

"That's what I thought too," he frowns deeply. "I've been sitting at this from two," and you gasp, hitting his arm and mumbling, "You're crazy."

"I'm fine," he insists and continues as he points at the pictures, "Two of them were prostitutes, one a college student, and the last victim a high school student."

You take the pictures, observing carefully, "So, the connection isn't their occupation. Maybe it's something physical."

"They were all Caucasians, petite…"

"There's got to be more than that," you whine. Jungkook takes the autopsy report of all the victims and informs you of their physical attributes.

"So our first victim was five feet eleven with strawberry hair and green eyes," he scans through the second one and continues, "Our second victim was five feet seven with auburn hair and brown eyes. Our third victim was five feet two with chestnut hair and brown eyes. Our fourth victim had burgundy hair, was five feet eight in height and had blue eyes."

"Oh shit," you rub your forehead. "It's the hair color."

"Oh fuck," Jungkook swears. "Now that you mention it— That son of a— Yeah. Strawberry, auburn, chestnut, burgundy are all shades of red." He slams the autopsy reports on the table, the beer can jumping slightly and spilling a bit on the table.

"It's not a lot to go on, but I think we've identified the killer type," you smile. "Redheads."

"The city's blondes can sKimp well tonight," he throws his head back, resting it on the sofa.

You analyse as you look at Jungkook, "So, the Maskmaker's trigger was physical. He stalks clubs and bars, looking for women with vibrant red hair."

"Except the last victim, Brittany," Jungkook points out. "She was killed on impulse."

You take a sip from the beer can, the droplets of water on the outer surface from condensation, "Exactly. We know that the murder wasn't exactly planned out in Maskmaker style and that he didn't have time to complete his full rituals."

Jungkook groans in frustration, "See, Y/N, that's another thing I don't get. How can you just run into a redhead high school student by chance? Those kids were partying on an isolated stretch of the beach and none of them noticed any stranger."

"Which means that the killer must have seen the party," you mutter. 

"Seen the party?" Jungkook scoffs. "It was held on an isolated stretch of the beach, Y/N. Focus!"

"Maybe so, but that's the only way," you huff out, finishing your beer. "If the Maskmaker had known about the party, he would have definitely been prepared, Jungkook."

"Fine, we'll go with your presumption," he agrees. "He must have seen it but from where?"

You point to the cliff on the map laid out before you on the table below all the pictures. You push past the files to show it to Jungkook clearly. You raise an eyebrow, "What about here? Those cliffs would definitely give a great view of the party.

It flashes Jungkook's mind suddenly and he moves forward, hovering over the glass top and speaking fastly, "You're right. I know that place! That's Pacific Heights. It's one of the nicer neighborhoods in the city. He could have definitely seen the party from around here. Oh Christ."

"Then, there we have it," you smile at Jungkook. "We'll look there when the sun rises, alright?"

You lean back against the sofa looking at the files scattered on the tae when you feel Jungkook's head resting on your shoulder. You open your mouth to protest but Jungkook quickly mumbles, his eyes closed tight and his strands of hair tickling your neck, "Let me sleep here for a while. Till the sun rises. I don't want this night to end."

And you let him, your fingers brushing his and lightly touching them, your head filled with the very same thought.

You don't want this night to end either.