Chapter Text
his life’s not easy. never has been and, deep inside, even if he wished with every single breath for it to be easier, he knows it won’t be.
he wakes up earlier than the city, during most of the days. five in the morning and he’s already up, drinking a strong but not lethal dose of coffee to get his brain working again. he leaves his place usually at 5h30 and, after the half-hour drive to the station, his work starts precisely at 6. sometimes, he’s the one opening the place. but sometimes, when jackson gets too excited with some case or when something happens at night and he isn’t called (which is a pretty rare situation, he’s the police officer in charge of the whole station and therefore the one being called when things happen at nighttime), he just goes in through the door and everything looks like it has been functional ever since he left. and that usually feels weird.
today was one of those days. he coughs a little harder when he enters the station and all the lights are on, along with the unusual excess of working people at 6 in the morning. his coughing fits have become smaller and less frequent ever since he finished his medication and due to his resting period, but there’s still something bothering his lungs and he can’t tell what. his ears, hidden in the middle of his poorly brushed hair, turn down when he coughs.
everything looks oddly familiar, from the people at the front desks to the smell of coffee coming from the machine near his office. it’s weird, the sun isn’t actually up and most of the officers that work the afternoon and night shifts are there. he can’t tell if it’s because he’s been out for two weeks or it’s just his mind playing tricks on him, but even the air smells different. looks like it’s already time to go back home, and there’s an unsettling and also really plausible feeling in the pit of his stomach.
shit has happened. and it’s not gonna be pretty.
“welcome back, chief im!” he hears from the secretary at the front desk, while she smiles at him. “are you feeling better?”
“yeah, you can say that. did something happen? i haven’t seen so many people here ever since we had kwon on the loose”.
her expression shifts into worry. jaebum shivers – and his tail twitches in a way he knows is not good.
“well, about that...” she starts, swallowing dry before continuing. “we have another case. big thing. you’re not gonna like it”.
“were any of the other officers called?”
“both of them, sir”.
jaebum’s the one swallowing dry this time. if jackson and jinyoung were called, it’s because the scenario is definitely not good. he nods a greeting and she nods back while he walks in, through the cubicles and the people walking and typing and writing quickly. some of them wish him a good return to work. he doesn't understand them, though - coming back to an apparently difficult case was the last thing he was expecting to happen. he sees the lights on in his office and can hear two muffled voices discussing. it doesn’t take him much to find you who’s inside.
“it’s the best option we have, if it’s really him we have to get the word out, jackson!” jinyoung says, impositively. technically jackson is older than him, but that doesn’t stop him from speaking like the officer he is.
“we can’t do that! if we do that, it’ll lower our chances of actually finding him, he’ll start hiding and we’ll have to wait another ten years to find him!” jackson answers, in the same intonation and with the same expression, severe but still not threatening.
jaebum observes the discussion in silence, taking in the thick air around them and filling in his whole room until jinyoung notices the open door and gets up from the place he was siting (on top of jaebum’s desk, with his right leg near the edge). jackson notices the colleague’s change in posture and follows his stare towards his chief, turning around with a surprised expression. jaebum doesn’t know what’s happening, but his tail is twitching stronger and that is not a good sign.
“chief, i’m... i’m sorry for-“
“don’t worry jinyoung, that’s not a problem” he answers, walking in. “can i walk in?” he asks, in more of a sarcastic tone (it’s his personal office) rather than a questioning one. neither of the subalterns open their mouths while jaebum hangs his jacket and sits at his chair. they still observe him attentively, especially jackson, who has been working a lot lately because of jaebum’s absence.
jaebum takes a deep breath. “ok, start explaining”.
it was gonna be a hell of a week.