@sultrykookvie: #taekookau a/b/o where forensi...

#taekookau a/b/o where forensic anthropologist Taehyung is assigned to a task force, formed to investigate a series of serial killings with alphas as targets.

As the only omega on the team, he is eager to prove himself.

Now, if only the lead detective weren't his ex husband.

Or, bitter exes taekook are forced to work together on an important case, and it's absolutely imperative that they maintain professional decorum at all times.
But it's hard, when old feelings were never laid to rest and new romantic rivals are waiting right around the corner.

Tags :
Alpha Jungkook/ Omega Taehyung.
Exes to Lovers.
Co workers.
Jealousy/Pining.
They're both very petty and possibly immature
Angst/ Violence/ Graphic depictions of said violence.
Murder and Mayhem
Minor Character Death.

💍💍💍CHAPTER ~ 1💍💍💍

"Wait ! Wait! Wait!! Please for the love of God, hold the fucking elevator!! "

Kim Taehyung's shrill cry of desperation rang through the lobby of the Seoul Police Department, a daily occurrence if one was being honest, but still... fascinating to watch nonetheless.

For one thing the omega was still wearing the same clothes as he had on the previous evening, and that meant he hadn't gone home. Which implied he had gone bar hopping on a work night like the reckless idiot he was, and had either ended up crashing on some park bench,

Or going home with yet another stranger, who wouldn't give a fuck about him come morning.

And Judging by the livid purple marks blooming under the misbuttoned shirt, it was definitely the latter.

But as his best friend, Yoongi tried not to judge.

He pressed the hold button.

Taehyung skidded straight into the elevator, knocking the briefcase out of old Mr Han's spider like limbs, making the man tremble in fright.

"Sorry, sorry.. " The omega apologized, bowing a dozen times, before turning to Yoongi with a sheepish look on his face.

"I'm so-"

"Save it. " Yoongi rolled his eyes, pressing the top floor where the forensic anthropology department was located, his eyes narrowed and lips set in a thin line because he was still mad.

"My phone ran out of battery life. " Taehyung whined, pawing at him, " I was going to call!"

The people in the elevator were staring and nothing bothered Yoongi more than being stared at.

Which is why he had no idea why he had decided, at the tender age of eight, to become friends with one Kim Taehyung. Because his goal in life seemed to be just that: being a spectacle.

Don't get him wrong.

Yoongi loved Taehyung deeply. He would do anything for him. But sometimes, just sometimes, he wished his best friend would grow out of the impulsive recklessness of a teenager. Taehyung was so dismissive of his own safety, it terrified him.

They rode up to the twelfth floor and Yoongi waited till they were out on the deserted hallway before rounding on the omega, whacking him with the strap of his messenger bag.

"You need to fucking get your shit together Kim Taehyung!! It's a Wednesday morning !! "

"Ow ow ow... " Taehyung whimpered, holding both hands over his head in defense.

"I know.. I know... I'm sorry, GiGi... " He pouted, the childhood nickname melting off most of Yoongi's ire in a second. The older omega sighed before hugging him close.

"Don't scare me like that."

Taehyung relaxed in his hold for a second before pulling back to grin at him.

"You won't believe what I got last evening.. "He said excitedly.

Yoongi smiled.

" An STD?"

Taehyung frowned smacking him in the arm.

"Shut up. I got a letter from HQ. It's about the taskforce."

"Oh.. And??" Yoongi grinned, the excitement on Taehyung's features already telling him what the news was. But he waited, knowing how hard Taehyung had worked for this.

"And I got in!!! I'm going to be a part of the taskforce!! I'm going to work with all those amazing officers!"

Yoongi laughed, ruffling the younger's hair though he was so much taller than him.

"And I was so excited but you know who's going to be heading the taskforce.. " Taehyung pouted.

"El Diablo? "

"The very same. So I texted him right? Like the civil, mature adult that I am... "

"Debatable but go on... "

"Do you know what he did? " Taehyung demanded, shrill and petulant. " He blocked me! Blocked me! " He sighed. " So then I got really mad and I called him from my work phone and screamed at him. " He grimaced, " Then I felt bad and got drunk. "

Yoongi sighed.

"You need to get a grip on yourself when it comes to that man. " He said quietly and Taehyung nodded.

"I know... I know... I'm sorry.. It's just that he makes it so hard you know. And do you know he's dating, that bitch from the prosecutor's office now? "

"Taehyung.... "

"The same person who called me unprofessional in front of all those people in court..." He glared at the memory of it. " Like I knew his taste was terrible, seeing as he dumped me... But to sink that low? Now I feel bad I ever let him touch me. "

Yoongi stayed quiet, pretending he didn't notice the very obvious hurt in Taehyungs eyes. If he did the omega would only deny it, but Yoongi knew him well. The divorce had taken a toll on Taehyung, a huge toll and Yoongi knew that the wound may have aged but it hadn't healed .

He wrapped an arm around his waist, keeping him close.

"It's fine, Tae. He shouldn't have blocked you without hearing you out. Just remember, if you got picked it's because you're amazing at what you do. You earned your spot in that taskforce and you should focus on that. "

Taehyung sighed deeply at that, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. If only it were that easy, he thought miserably. Despite the messy break up, despite how vicious they had been to each other, Taehyung still had an undercurrent of feelings for the alpha flowing through his heart.

He couldn't help it.Jungkook had been everything he had ever wanted in a mate and for 3 glorious years they had been so madly in love with each other. And then, Jungkook had taken over as the head of the homicide division and Tae had watched his husband turn into a cold stranger.

"Hey." Yoongi nudged him gently. " You alright?" he asked again and Taehyung smiled at his best friend.
"I.. I think so." he said finally. " I mean... Its going to be hard , seeing him." he swallowed. " Seeing him with someone else." he felt a sharp lancing pain in his heart,

"But I'll get through it." he added, confident. " Besides, like you said, I have other things to focus on, right? This job... I worked hard for it. I want to do my best hyung. I want to be happy too, even if he's not with me anymore."
Yoongi smiled and pulled him in for a hug.

"Now go in there and show those arrogant alphas what an omega can do." he winked, making Taehyung laugh. He smiled and nodded, waving goodbye as Yoongi walked the opposite way to where he worked as a detective in the Organized Crime unit. He took a deep breath,

glancing at his reflection on the glass paneled walls. He looked terrible but he was running late.
He walked over to the large mahogany door at the end of the hallway and knocked.
Showtime.
💍💍💍

"....what we're looking for is an extremely meticulous, careful and organized criminal , who knows not to leave any kind of forensic evidence. But he also has a ritual , and that is exactly what-"
The knock on the door made Jungkook pause in the middle of his briefing.

One of the junior detectives jumped to his feet, moving to open the door and Jungkook frowned. Who the fuck-
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I missed the bus.." The whirlwind of chaos and confusion that spilled in through the door was distressingly familiar, as was the sweet scent.

Jungkook watched as many of the alphas in the room perked up, staring at the door in curiosity. He couldn't even blame them, although he felt irritation flare. Even for an omega, Taehyung smelled way too delectable to be in a room full of alphas and not be a distraction.

He glanced morosely at his boss, who sat at the front of the conference room. He had tried to dissuade him from including Taehyung in the team, but the mad had brushed aside his protests, claiming that Taehyung would be an asset.
Jungkook glared at the omega.

Taehyung's eyes met his from across the room and the omega's jaw went taut, eyes narrowing into slits.
But Jungkook had an advantage here.
He was Taehyung's boss, technically.
And yes it would be petty and unprofessional to make use of that but then, he wasn't a saint.

"Kim Taehyung ssi." he barked out loud, " Did you not receive the text about when the meeting is supposed to start?"
Taehyung stiffened.
He bowed awkwardly before staring down at his feet.
"I apologize, Inspector Jeon." he said quietly. " It won't happen again."

Jungkook went still as Taehyung's scent turned sour, something he knew only happened when he was hurt and he felt guilt bloom inside him.
Fuck. He closed his eyes.
"Its fine..just..." he sighed. " Take a seat please. You can catch up with what you missed later."

He turned back to the projection screen, pointing at the three crime scene photos placed there.
"All three of the victims were well built , tall and strong. If the perp managed to overpower them, we're looking at someone strong and physically powerful." he hesitated." An alpha."

Taehyung stuck a hand into the air.
"Sir." he said sharply.
Jungkook glanced at him.
"Yes?"
"Are you saying that only alphas could be strong enough to overpower a man? Isn't that a bit of a generalization?"
Jungkook blinked even as the other alphas started scoffing.

"No, not at all. Profiling isn't an exact science by any means. Its merely a way for us to narrow down our search .And no, I'm not trying to offend you by saying an omega may not be able to take down 6'6" tall alpha. I'm just being practical."
"What if the alpha was inebriated.?"

"He wasn't." Jungkook said quietly. " In fact, our second victim, Lee Chung Soo ssi, was a trained martial art teacher attacked on the way to his gym. He weighed in at almost 210 pounds. How much do you weigh, Kim Taehyung ssi?"

Taehyung's eyes went wide , lips parting in surprise even as the other alphas laughed a little.
"A lot less now that I got rid of a 160 pounds of dead weight I was carrying around before." the omega snapped, eyes flashing.
"Okay, that's enough." Chief Jung growled.

"Come see me after this briefing " he snapped, " And for now I suggest both of you rein it in and keep it professional. Or we're going to have a problem. Understand?"
Jungkook fought to get his pulse under control.
"Yes sir, " he muttered.
Taehyung mumbled an apology as well.

Jungkook returned to the screen, explaining the crime scenes and the weapons used as well. He followed up with the list of suspects which was practically none, and then went onto assign duties .

"So , we will have three officers working on the field with me and two of you offering us tech support from here. The task force will be operating from this floor. We're sharing resources with the guys from Organized crime, so please, play nice." he turned to Taehyung.

"You'll be working with .." he glanced down at the list," Where's Ms Kim Yuna? Wasn't she supposed to be here?"
"Oh," one of the alphas in the back stood up." Yuna ssi recently found out she's expecting. I'll be taking her place Sir. I'm Park Jimin."
Jungkook stared.

First at Jimin.
And then at Taehyung.
Taehyung who was also staring at Jimin with a slightly slack jawed expression on his face.
Wait.
He felt his stomach curl a little.
"Why wasn't I informed of this?" he demanded.
"I believe you were. I sent you a mail myself." Jimin smiled.

Jungkook felt his own scent turn sour as he reached for his mailing folder and sure enough , there it was. He had even read it. Except he had assumed that Jimin would be an omega.
Sighing, he managed a smile.
"Well, in that case, You'll be working with Taehyung ssi."

Jungkook watched as Jimin turned to look at the omega. And there really was no mistaking the flirtatious, amused smile on his face.
Or the deep pink blush on embarrassment on Taehyung's.
Did they know each other?
Jungkook swallowed.
"We'll end this here, for today."

💍💍💍
"Hey..." Park Jimin's low voice came right near his ear, making him jump a little. " You weren't there when I woke up."
Taehyung closed his eyes, regret churning deep inside him.
He turned to glare at the alpha.
"You didn't tell me you worked here." He accused.
"Did you?"

Tae sighed shaking his head in disbelief.
"This is so messed up... We can't.. " he took a deep breath. " I had to work so hard to get into this task force . I can't mess this up." he muttered.
Jimin held his hand up.
"Hey, same here. Work and personal life separate. I get it."

Taehyung stared at him, lips pouting. Then he glared at him, tugging the lapel of his shirt to the side. Jimin stared down at the scattering of purple bruises all over his chest and collarbones.
"Are you some kind of an animal?" Taehyung demanded. " What is this?"

Jimin grinned before leaning closer, reaching out and running a thumb over a particularly bright hickey, just under his clavicle. He rubbed at the skin with a hum.
"I definitely remember putting this one on you. I think it was when you were riding me and ..."
"Taehyung ssi?"

Jungkook's low growl made Taehyung freeze.
Oh fuck had he heard?
How much had he heard...
"The Chief wants to see us both." Jungkook muttered, shooting daggers at his chest and Taehyung pulled his shirt close, face burning.
"Right." he muttered, glaring at Jimin.

Jimin smiled, bowing to Jungkook before walking away and Tae turned to walk towards the Chief's room but Jungkook grabbed his wrist, yanking him back.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The alpha demanded. " You're fucking your co workers now? You want to lose your job?"

Taehyung glared at him, trying to tug his hand away.
"Let go of me." he muttered.
"Are you going to be this reckless?" Jungkook demanded." I know you like making terrible choices but this is a bit too much, don't you think?"
Taehyung closed his eyes.
"Okay. Report me then."

Jungkook went still.
"What?" he muttered.
Taehyung sighed, shaking his head and scoffing.
"You heard me. If you think I'm breaking the rules, report me. Do it now, we're heading to the Chief's office anyway. Get me fired, Jeon."
Jungkook exhaled.
"Are you dating him, then?"

Taehyung shrugged.
"Maybe I am." he looked up at him. " Why do you care?"
Jungkook looked taken aback, hand dropping from his wrist. He stepped back, face losing color a little.
"I don't." The alpha muttered, looking away.
"You found someone else. I shouldn't?"

That made Jungkook recoil.
Good, Taehyung thought bitterly.
The alpha turned away and Taehyung felt his heart break all over. Hos did things come to this, he wondered.
"Let's go see Chief Jung. " The omega said quietly. " And let's stay away from each other hereafter."

💍💍💍

“Take a seat, both of you.” Chief Jung said quietly , pointing at the chairs in front of his desk. Jungkook and Taehyung moved to sit down, both of them avoiding each other’s eyes, gaze fixed on the floor in front of them. Chief Jung sighed.

“Look at me both of you.” He said sharply. The two of them flinched but looked up nonetheless.
“I shouldn’t have to tell you two to behave right, because you’re both over thirty years of age,” He muttered,

“ But apparently, neither of you cares enough about your job to put aside your differences and act civil in a professional environment.”
Taehyung made to respond but Chief Jung held his hand up.

“Kim Taehyung.” He said gruffly. “ Your father was the Commissioner of Police. One of the most decorated men in the force, known for how disciplined and dignified he was at carrying himself.

One would think, that as his son, you would at the least try to be on time on your first day ?”
Taehyung felt heat rise up his face at that.
“Jungkook.” The man continued, turning to the alpha.” I know you two have history.

By all accounts that alone should have discouraged me from putting the pair of you in the same task force. But I did it because of your credentials.

Mr. Kim here is exceptionally brilliant at what he does, and you are easily one of the most intelligent detectives on the force. I would hate to see you both, squander your talents because you want to score some petty points,

one upping each other in terms of playground insults. Is that clear?” he demanded.

Taehyung wilted, because that was probably directed at him.
“ Yes, chief.” He mumbled under his breath.
“Good.” Chief Jung took a deep breath.

“ Now, both of you know, how hard it was for me to set up this task force. The higher ups don’t like the idea of a deranged killer running around Seoul , killing and mutilating alphas. So, I want you people to put in as many extra hours as possible.

If you need more manpower to comb for evidence , let me know. No matter what happens,” the chief took a deep breath, “ There should not be another victim. Is that clear?”
Jungkook stood up straighter.
"Yes, Chief." he said firmly. Taehyung didn't miss the worry in his tone.

He glanced sideways at his ex husband. He couldn't help but notice the streaks of silver in his thick dark hair and the way his dress shirt fit him a little too loosely around the shoulders. The telltale shadow under his eyes was a giveaway too.
This case was taking a toll.

Whoever this bastard was, they had to catch him and catch him quick.
"Yes sir." he said determinedly. " We'll do that."
💍💍💍

Jungkook followed him up to the door of the room where Taehyung's lab was set up, stopping in the hallway and turning to look at the omega.
"I had copies of all the three cases sent to your desk. You can go over them and let me know if something jumps out to you."

Taehyung cleared his throat.
"Jungkook." he said quietly. " I'm sorry for what I said. Back there." he exhaled, shoulders slumping a little. " You were never dead weight. You never held me down or..."
"Tell that to your father." Jungkook said coldly. Taehyung flinched.

"Jungkook...Please just..."
"It doesn't matter ." Jungkook said curtly. " It doesn't matter what your father thought of me and it certainly doesn't matter what you think of me anymore. We're not together, Taehyung. You don't have to worry about my feelings." he scoffed.

"You should have done that when we were together."
Taehyung clenched his fists.
"Of course. King Jeon, his royal majesty who has monopoly over all feelings and emotions. Who is the only person ever capable of feeling hurt or misery. " he scoffed. " you know what, fuck you."

Jungkook laughed, shaking his head.
"You know what Taehyung. This is why I broke up with you. Its impossible to stay married to a spoiled brat who is so used to getting his way, all his life that he cant bear the thought of someone else having needs of their own."

( Warnings 🚨 : Graphic Depictions of violence, crime scene photos( blurred) )

Taehyung stared at the alpha in disbelief. It had been long enough since they broke up for the words to stop stinging but they did. He didn't want to back down and the urge to retort , to defend himself was strong, but he reined it in. He had just promised Chief Jung.

So, instead of hitting back at the alpha the way his heart screamed at him to, Taehyung closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, calming himself down. He set his mouth into a thin line and nodded.

"Good that you broke up with me then." he muttered." Hope your new squeeze treats you better."
Before Jungkook could reply, Taehyung turned on his heel, walking into the lab and slamming the door shut in his face. He half expected Jungkook to follow him in. Thankfully he didn't.

Instead, Park Jimin looked up from when he was slumped over his desk, examining what looked like a number of x rays.
"Hey. Everything alright?" the alpha asked curiously and Taehyung nodded, head still aching from his encounter with Jungkook. He made a beeline to his desk.

There was a small cup of coffee there still a little warm. And a small box with half a muffin. Taehyung looked up at Jimin who gave him a sheepish smile.
"I feel bad I couldn't make you breakfast." He explained. " I bought the muffin for myself but figured you might like some."

Taehyung felt some of his ire melt away and he smiled, genuinely touched. It was quite a rarity, him sleeping with someone who was a halfway decent human being. So he took a sip of the coffee, although he loathed the drink to be honest. The muffin at least was good.

The omega settled into his seat, and pulled his chair closer to the desk. Sure enough there was a small pile of files he hadn't see before. These must be the case files. Taehyung glanced at Jimin , who had gone back to his work.
"What are you doing?" he asked curious.

"Oh.. I'm just going running our John Does' dental records through the system once again, just to be sure there isn't a match." he explained.
Taehyung nodded.
Jimin was a Forensic odontologist and he usually played a key role in identifying victims.

As a forensic anthropologist,Tae didn't have much of a role when it came to victims who were recently deceased. He had been called in simply because of the 1st case, which was possibly linked to the same suspect. The only case with skeletal remains. The only case he had examined.

Because it was the one he was most familiar with, Taehyung grabbed that file first, opening it up to stare at the reports.
He felt a sick sense of revulsion as he did. He could still remember that day, fresh as anything. It was his first case involving something so brutal.

The case file (pg 1)

April 7th, 2022 ; 5.30 AM
Taehyung's Apartment :

Taehyung woke up to the shrill sound of his phone ringing , his head throbbing something fierce. He blinked his eyes open, legs moving and making contact with someone else on the bed. Jungkook, his half asleep mind said.

But as he sat up straighter, the figure moved and the dark blonde hair told him it wasn't Jungkook at all. Who was it? He tried to remember. Fuck, he had no clue, honestly. Groaning, he nudged the man with his toes.
"Hey. Hey, blondie. Wake up." he muttered.

Blonde boy gave a low grunt before perking up.
"where am I?" he sounded half dead. Taehyung felt a pang of sympathy. He knew exactly how blondie felt at this moment. Pathetic and a little regretful but not ashamed enough to try and better his ways.
He glanced at his phone.

It was his department head calling. He glanced at the time, feeling a sense of foreboding. This could mean only one thing. Someone somewhere had found a bag of bones and now Taehyung would have to go examine them.

The omega sighed.

He loved his job but why this early??

Blondie was already dressed and Tae watched as he offered him a half wave before stumbling out towards the door.

The omega waited till the door shut behind him before getting dressed.

He checked with dispatch for location and casually asked,
"Is inspector Jeon there? "

The lady said she wasn't sure .

Well, one could only hope that he wasn't that unlucky.

💍

He was.

Of course he was.

It was the way of the world after all.

The sun was barely up and his head was throbbing and his back was aching from whatever the hell blondie had done to him last night, but of course, the universe wouldn't cut him a break.

"You look like death"

Taehyung turned to the detective leaning against the door, smoking a cigarette as he began suiting up. The low sound of bella the cadaver dog, barking her head off made him wince. Poor bella. Probably missed her warm bed just like him.

"So rough night? " Kang leered at him.

Taehyung ignored him. He didn't have a cordial relationship with the homicide boys, because frankly, all of them were a bunch of annoying little pricks. And all of them had hit on him even when he was married to Jungkook. And now that he wasn't, it was intolerable.

"How many so far? " He asked instead.

Kang stood up straighter.

"Only one. Found in three bags though. " He muttered.

Ah , dismemberment. His favorite.

Taehyung wanted to throw up a little.

"Where's Jungkook? " He asked gruffly.

"He's with bella, over there. "

Taehyung looked around and finally caught sight of a familiar mop of dark hair, talking to one of the dog handlers. He all but ran over. Jungkook looked up when he saw him, but his face showed no emotion.

Taehyung wilted a little.

"You didn't pick up my call. " He mumbled.

Jungkook stared at him for a second before shrugging.

"Must've been busy. Did you sign the papers? "

Tae clenched his fists.

"Jungkook, can't we talk about.. "

A low whistle made him pause.

"Sir we've covered pretty much most of the park. I don't think there's any more."

"Good morning, Dr. Kim." The handler smiled at him, way too bright and cheerful considering the time and reason they were here.
The man held up his metal detector.
"I'll go over it once more, just to be sure?"
"Yes. Take Dr. Kim to the remains." Jungkook said quietly.

Taehyung sighed.
So that was a clear no. He played with his wedding ring. Was he just supposed to give up on them, just like that? Their relationship? Their marriage? Why was Jungkook being so unreasonable.
As Taehyung started following the man, it began drizzling.
Great.

"It's this way, Dr. Kim." The man pointed out a small break in the wood, leading deeper in and Taehyung felt his skin go cold at the sight. It was dark and damp, the stench of rotting foliage high in the air, the loose earth sinking under his weight.
What a lonely place to die.

Taehyung felt his senses come alive, as he glanced around, his eyes taking in the walking path, a few dozen meters away. The suspect hadn't strayed too far from the actual path. Maybe he wasn't too familiar with the place. The moved between trees and then Taehyung smelled it.

The scent of death was like nothing else. Distinct and unique in how pungently repulsive it was. And Tae was on a first name basis with it. He felt his breath hitch as he saw the plastic bags, his anger surging inside him. It always horrified him, the lack of dignity in death.

Especially loud, violent death done to someone with malice. There was so much pain, anguish and suffering. A stripping away of every basic human right, and the violation didn't end even after death. There was no rest, for a victim of violent crime he felt. Even after dying.

And Taehyung was a part of it. He would be one of the people dissecting the victim down, laying them out like a spectacle, while camera shutters went off, capturing all of it.

But it wouldn't be in vain, he told himself. He would give them a name. And then they would find the monster who did it.
Taehyung moved closer to the bags, and he saw his assistant already there, laying the bones down in anatomical order. Taehyung crouched low, helping him.

It didn't take him long to examine the remains. He went through the bones, making note of the distinct cuts and abrasions in his mind.
"Hyoid looks fractured." he said quietly, glancing up at the assistant who quickly made a note of it, He stopped short. "Fractured jaw."

"All the bones are intact." The assistant said quietly.
Yes. They were. Taehyung remembered the time they had found just the toes missing, only to find them in the killer's freezer along with frozen pork chops .
He closed his eyes for a second.
He picked up the pelvic bone.

"Alpha." he said quietly, running his thumb over the ridges. He reached for the long bones, the femur. " Late twenties to late thirties, approximately. We'll get a more accurate estimate in the lab."
"They definitely used some kind of a motorized saw or something to cut him up."

"Post mortem?" his assistant asked tentatively, eyes wide.
Taehyung grimaced.
"Hopefully." he muttered. The rain came down harder. "We should wrap this up. I'll do the rest of my examination at the lab. Come one."
He took the notes from the assistant, standing up quickly.

He moved towards Jungkook's side, where the alpha was on his phone.
"Jungkook.." he began but stopped short when he heard what the alpha was saying.
"I had fun too." Jungkook was smiling. " I know. I miss you already."
Taehyung felt his mouth go dry.
He stood rooted to the spot.

"Yeah... Let's meet for dinner tonight and uh... maybe I can stay over?" The alpha was grinning.
Taehyung closed his eyes.
He tried not to focus on the pain lancing straight through his heart. It was fine. Whatever. They had broken up almost a whole year ago.

Taehyung had been dragging his feet with signing the divorce papers, because a part of him wanted them to talk. To give it another chance.
Jungkook looked up then, eyes meeting his.
Taehyung didn't say anything. The alpha whispered something into his phone , hanging up.

He turned to Taehyung, and they stared at each other for a few seconds.
Taehyung couldn't bring himself to speak/
Jungkook sighed, running a hand over his face.
"Taehyung..." he hesitated. " Sign the papers. Please."
Taehyung bit his lips.
He held the note out.

"Preliminary findings : You can see if they match any missing persons report filed around six months ago. Alpha, tall guy around 6 feet at least, and early twenties to late thirties ."
Jungkook took the notes, nodding.
"Dental records, I'll send it in by the end of the day."

Jungkook nodded again, pocketing the sheet. The rain was growing stronger. They were already soaked to the skin, both of them. Everyone else was scurrying about. Taehyung heard the sound of the coroner's van here to help transport the remains.
But Jungkook didn't move.

Taehyung breathed out, eyes starting to water. But he didn't try to stop the tears, because the rain would offer a perfect cover for them anyway.
"So... that's it? you're going to see someone else?" he asked , voice shaking.
Jungkook took a deep breath.
"Yes, I am."

There was so much he wanted to say to that.
But the look on Jungkook's face told him that it wouldn't matter what Taehyung said to him.
Because Taehyung himself, didn't really matter anymore.
So he took a step back, nodding.

That evening when he went over to Jungkook's office to drop off dental records, he placed the divorce papers too.
He saw a small framed picture of him, Jungkook and Bam tucked into the side of the Alpha's computer.
Grabbing a marker , he blacked his own face out before leaving.

💍💍💍

Present Day, 12 March, 2023

"Is that the case from the Park? The one with the skeletal remains?" Jimin's voice came from over his shoulder, pulling him out of his reverie. Tae glanced back at the alpha and nodded.
"You were there, right?" the alpha asked , curious.
Tae nodded.

"Yes I was." he nodded, before pulling out the second sheaf of documents, with his own report after the examination.
"What do you think of the PMI?" Jimin asked quietly.
Taehyung reached for another file.

(* PMI ~ Post Mortem Interval / Time since death )

"I made a rough estimate of around seven months. And then I had hair and soil samples sent to the lab in Busan for carbon dating and analysing whatever microbe growth is there. Look at these results."
Jimin whistled.
"At least 8-12 months." he sighed." That's almost a year."

"The body's been there almost a year... So we tried cross referencing with people who went missing around that time. Alphas specifically, over six feet and matching that age bracket. We narrowed it down to three possible people. But that was it." he sighed.

Jimin was staring at the report.
"Broken hyoid." he whispered.
"He was strangled. Could have been the cause of death." Taehyung explained. " And look at this , fractured jaw. Which I assumed was from a punch but..."
"Missing molar." Jimin flinched. " Ouch."

Taehyung sighed. " Yes . And it was definitely perimortem. it wasn't post mortem because there's sign that he struggled. There's no sign of any healing, so he died soon after the injury happened."

"So someone used a plier or something and wrenched his molar out with enough force to fracture his jaw. When he was still alive."
Jimin looked up at him with eyes wide.
"Yes. Which is consistent with the other two cases as well. Hence the task force. " he sighed.

Jimin shook his head.
"Wow.. that's.... sickening."
Taehyung grinned.
"Don't tell me the big bad alpha is terrified." he teased.
"How are you so blasé about it? Its terrifying to think someone like that is out there."
"I know....Which is why I'm here trying to help catch him."

Jimin smiled at that.
"You're very cool, Taehyung ssi." he winked , making him laugh.
Then he reached for all three files, standing up and moving over to the large board behind him.
"So far we have three victims." he said firmly.

"Now if we were to go chronologically, the first victim would be our John Doe, who was killed sometime around april of 2021. Almost two years ago."
Taehyung wrote down J. D and a number of arrows from the name.
"Cause of Death : Strangulation? possibly. Right lower molar missing.

Dismembered skeletal remains." Taehyung tilted his head.
"Alpha, early to late thirties, over 180cm tall ." Jimin supplied.
Taehyung wrote it all down.
"Yes. And next is our second victim... "
"Lee Chung Soo ssi." Jimin whispered. " This is a detective's job I am bored already."

Taehyung rolled his eyes.
"Lee Chung Soo ssi . His remains were also found in plastic bags in a field. About nine hours after he was killed. He was also dismembered post mortem. But... the style of cutting..." he paused. " Different."
"Different? you mean someone else did it?"

Tae turned to point at him.
"Or.." he said quietly, " the killer has learned a more efficient way of doing things. Look at the first case.."
Tae pointed out the skeletal form of Jane Doe.
"Only a saw was used. But here.." he tapped the second case, " A saw and a knife."

Jimin stepped closer, surprised.
"What? How can you tell..."
Taehyung smiled sweetly.
"Come here alpha." he beckoned him closer. " How do you do your bite mark analysis?" he asked casually.
Jimin frowned.
"Well, we compare dental records to teeth impressions."

"And these are unique right? the alignment of my teeth are going to be different to yours and so on. The same goes for saws and knives. Depending on what's doing the cutting, we usually have very distinct marks left behind on the bones. "
"So you can tell what was used to cut?"

"Yes. Now, there are hundreds of different kinds of saws. You have crosscut saw, hacksaws, bone and metacarpal saws , keyhole saws. And they're powered differently too. Some run on man power, some on electricity. Some move back and forth, some go round and round..."

Tae paused.
"Now even if you take just your every day handsaws which run on muscle only, you have so many different criteria to classify them on like the dimensions of the blade, the spacing between the teeth, and even the way the teeth are set in the blade. Are you with me?"

Jimin nodded.
"Now all this is to say that these saws leave a very distinct impression on bone. And depending on the kind of marks they leave behind its possible to narrow down the class of saw that was used to make the cuts. And guess what." Tae grinned. " All three. Same saw."

Jimin grinned.
"That's brilliant."
Taehyung grabbed the file where he'd written up his findings.
"Chief Jung told me a couple of weeks ago that the Commisioner has been giving him a hard time about making this a serial killer case with just two victims. " he sighed.

"And well, the higher ups want to turn this on Jungkook, saying he messed up by jumping the gun and calling it a serial killing before getting all the facts. They're still pretty mad and Jungkook's being called for a disciplinary hearing next week. Chief Jung mentioned, that

we need more solid proof that this could be the same person so..." Taehyung patted the file. " This is for him."
Jimin stared at the omega in surprise.
"You did all of this for Jungkook?"

Taehyung blinked rapidly at that.
"What.... no." he swallowed. " That's not what I meant. I ... Its important that we catch this guy before he does more damage and its going to be hard if we're fighting out own people too. " he smiled . " We need Jungkook to catch the guy."

"And well, disciplinary hearing and all that is going to stress him out. His brain should be working at optimal capacity so he can help us crack the case and that's not going to be possible if his emotions are all messed up because of a possible reprimand coming his way. Right?"

Jimin gave him a thoughtful look and a small smile.
"You know... For someone who acts so tough, you really wear your heart on your sleeve." He whispered.
Taehyung blinked, surprised.
"What?"
Jimin shook his head.
"Nothing. So, do you want me to go give this to Jungkook?"

"Um... yeah. And if he asks just tell him you did it. " He muttered, looking away.
"What?"
"Just tell him you were the one who made the connections . He might misunderstand that I'm trying to make him owe me or something else and well, I don't want that to happen."

Jimin looked surprised but didn't protest.
Nodding he walked out of the door and Taehyung watched him leave.
And then he turned back to the board, putting up the rest of the case details on it.
He stared at his empty ring finger, sighing.
It was going to be a long day.

💍💍💍

Three days later, in the early hours of the morning, Taehyung woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He blinked awake, aware of a heaviness in his head, throat scratchy and nose running a little. Oh, great. What a convenient time to fall asleep.
He glanced at the time.

It was a little past four in the morning. The sun wasn't up yet. But the call came from Chief Jung. Taehyung rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hands.
"Chief?"
"We have another one. Shallow burial. Close to the woods near xxx Avenue. Do you know the way?"

Taehyung shook his head a little, trying to clear away the last cobwebs of sleep. He groaned, low and miserable.
"I know the Avenue, yes." he muttered.
"good, I'll have one of the men stand there to tell you the way. Be here as soon as possible. Just to confirm if its our guy."

Our guy.
Implying the murdered they were currently chasing.
Taehyung wasn't sure he liked thinking of him as their guy.
"Be there in fifteen Chief." he muttered, already throwing his legs over the bed, heading for the shower. He washed his face and threw on a tshirt.

He paired it with blue mom jeans and his favorite scuffed sneakers.
It took him a little less than fifteen minutes thanks to the lack of traffic, and sure enough, a constable stood on the side of the road, pointing the way out for him.

Taehyung parked next to the coroner's van, and stepped out, only to feel his feet sink straight into the ground.

He blinked.

Wait, was this a mire?

Taehyung groaned , heart sinking even more than his feet. A body in a swamp was the worst.

Taehyung followed the man standing there, taking care not to trip and fall right into the boggy soil. There was a small group of people there.

Tae caught sight of Jungkook almost at once.

After all these years, his eyes still sought him out in a crowd.

Probably always would.

Okay.

Now was not the time to be miserable about his ex husband. He had a job to do.

"Hey." Jungkook greeted him first and when Taehyung stepped closer the alpha held his hand out to him. "Here, hold onto me. "

Taehyung glared at him.

"No thank you. " He said primly.

Turning his nose up, Taehyung took a long step onto the side of the mushy looking soil and promptly lost his balance, starting to fall head first into the bog.

He closed his eyes throwing his hands up, bracing himself for dirty, mossy possibly decayed corpse water all over his face.

But it never came.

Instead there was a small splash and he fell into a pair of strong, familiar arms.

Taehyung blinked up at Jungkook in shock.

It took him a second to realize Jungkook had jumped into the bog just to catch him.

"What are you-" He choked out. Jungkook swore.

But the moment he tried to move to the side, the alpha lost his footing as well, and down they both went into the murky green waters.

Taehyung came up first, kicking and screaming, possibly catching the alpha around the chin with his foot.

"What the fuck are you two idiots doing? " Chief Jung's furious voice made Taehyung wince.

Oh god.

"Sir." Jungkook stood up first, spitting dead leaves out of his mouth and gagging a little.

"Fancied a swim did you, inspector? " The Chief asked with a glare.

"No, sir. " Jungkook said seriously.

"And you? Gonna tell us the time of death from the taste of the water? "

Taehyung flushed.

"No sir. " He muttered.

"Then get the fuck out of there and get cleaned up. We need to get this done before the media get a wind of.. "

The sound of a car driving up the road made him groan.

"Too late. The vultures are already here. "

The man growled and walked away and Taehyung shivered. The white t shirt he had on was completely soaked and he was naked underneath it.

He looked around trying to find a way to out when he caught the look on Jungkook's face.

The alphas eyes were trained right on his nipples.

Taehyung squawked hands coming up over his chest as he glared daggers at the alpha.

"Where do you think you're looking, you fucking pervert? " He hissed, voice high and shrill.

Jungkook looked shell shocked.

"Did you.. Get them pierced? " He was gawking at him.

Taehyung turned completely red.

He glared at him, before looking away.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes. " He snapped. " I did. "

He started waddling over to the side but Jungkook, annoyingly more agile and faster, got onto the bank before him, holding a hand out for him to take. Tae let him pull him up this time.

"Garbage bags again? "

"Three of them yes. You told me you would never get them pierced."

"And you told me you would have and hold me till death do us part. Funny how people change their minds, right Jungkook? " He smiled, before pushing past him. He was stinking to the high heavens and the people around him balked.

"You two. " Chief Jung yelled. " Go get a fucking shower and report at lab afterwards. You can't work when you look and smell like swamp monsters."

"Fuck.... I can't drive all the way back. " Jungkook muttered under his breath.

Don't do it.

Hoe, don't do it. Don't you dare-

"My place is just fifteen minutes away. "

( Cue jk and tae singing : Let's make some bad decisions )

The silence in the car was stifling. Taehyung kept his grip on the steering wheel, his eyes on the road, refusing to so much as look at the alpha. Jungkook for his part kept staring out of the window.
He cleared his throat.
"So how are things with you?"
Tae swerved in shock.

"Shit, Tae... What the fuck?" the alpha swore. " You still drive like a maniac, God."
Taehyung glared at him.
"its your fault." he snapped.
"what did I do? It was just a question!" Jungkook shouted.
"A question that implied interest in my life. Which you do not get to have!"

Jungkook groaned.
"Fine Jeez. Screw me for wanting to talk." he muttered.
Taehyung gripped the steering wheel even tighter.
"There was a time when I would beg you to talk to me. And you didn't want to. And now you do?" he scoffed. " Fuck off, honestly."
Jungkook stayed quiet.

Taehyung took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
"Maybe I just wasn't ready then." Jungkook said quietly.
Taehyung felt his mouth go dry.
"Jungkook, just... don't. Please. Stop it."
The alpha sat up straighter.
"Thank you for the report on the cut analysis thing."

Tae didn't respond.
"I don't know what you're talking about." he said primly.
"You know. The one you had Jimin pretend he did himself."
Taehyung glared at him.
"How do you know it was me?"
"Because there was a whole shelf full of books in our home talking just about saws."

Jungkook sat up a little more straighter
" Also, remember you had me cut up a large pig using three different types of hacksaws? " he paused, " On a weekend when we were supposed to be on a beach in Jeju."

Taehyung felt his pulse kick up a little.
"Pigskin has epidermis and dermis which is really similar to that of human skin. The regeneration time is also pretty close, with like thirty days for pigs and 28 days for human-"
Jungkook reached out and touched his knee.
"Taehyung."

Taehyung drew his legs together, pulling away from the alpha.
"No." he said quietly. " Whatever it is you're trying to do... Don't." he whispered. " I... I don't want to talk. Not anymore."
Jungkook sighed.
"I just wanted to -"
"It doesn't matter. I'm over it."

Jungkook didn't respond right away.
Then after a few seconds he settled back against the seat and stared out of the window again. Taehyung wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or say. All he knew was that he didn't want to get hurt again. He couldn't survive more.

Jungkook stayed quiet as Taehyung got out of the car. The alpha followed him quietly to his apartment and Taehyung grabbed towels and a spare set of clothes for him before pointing out the guest bedroom.
And then he went to clean himself up.
When he came out, Jungkook was

standing in the middle of the living room, shirtless and towel drying his thick black hair. Taehyung watched him for a second before moving to the kitchen.
"Do you want some banana milk?" he asked hesitantly. " Uh..or coffee?"
Jungkook was staring at him.
"Banana milk is fine."

When Taehyung moved to the kitchen, Jungkook followed right behind him.
"Tae..." The alpha began quietly and Taehyung groaned.
"Seriously, what is your problem?" he demanded. " You made it really clear that you wanted nothing to do with..."
"Your dad came to see me last week."

Taehyung went quiet at that.
There wasn't much to say. Not really.
There was no telling what the former commissioner had said. Whether he had made things worse for their relationship or not.
"He apologized to me." Jungkook continued," And he told me to tell you that he's sorry."

Taehyung didn't respond.
"You haven't bee t see him?" the alpha asked and Taehyung hesitated.
"Not since the divorce." he said quietly.
Jungkook's eyes went wide at that.
"Taehyung are you serious?"
"What?" he demanded. " Why would I? He destroyed my marriage."

Jungkook looked distressed.
"Tae, I know I had my issues with your dad , but I didn't.... He loves you. A lot. I don't want you to cut him off because of what happened between us."
"He made you feel lesser than. He made you feel like you weren't good enough. He had no right."

"He was just worried for you." Jungkook said quietly. " Back then I was hurt. And really scared that the things he said were true. And that's why I reacted that way to his words, Taehyung. In hindsight," he sighed, " I should have been more understanding of him."

Taehyung stared at him.
"Are you really standing there defending the man who pretty much directly led to our marriage ending?"
Jungkook shook his head.
"It wasn't just him." he said quietly. "It was more than that. We were both too busy, too ambitious."

There was a beat of silence , during which Taehyung could only stare at the alpha. Jungkook's words felt oddly dismissive to him. Casual and easily said and it hurt him in a way.
"When you say things like that , all I remember is that you didn't want me enough to work on it."

The words spilled out of him. " There's nothing wrong in being ambitious or being busy because of your work. That shouldn't be enough to split up two people, supposedly in love with each other." Tae pointed out.
Jungkook looked at him and then sighed.
"I suppose you're right."

The alpha shrugged lightly, rubbing his damp hair again.
"I guess our love just ran its course." Taehyung said quietly. " You fell out of love before I did which was a little unfortunate for me. But don't worry. I'm getting there too." he said quietly.
Jungkook's jaw went taut.

"With Jimin?" he asked casually.
Taehyung scoffed, shaking his head.
"Are you done? Just change into those clothes, we'll head down to the lab."
Jungkook stared at him.
"You know, I came looking for you about three weeks after we broke up." he said casually.
Tae frowned.

"What?"
"After we broke up, two years ago... i came looking for you. I still had the key and I let myself in and uh... you were busy." Jungkook looked away. " with that waiter from our favorite restaurant."
Taehyung suddenly felt nauseous.
"Jungkook..."
The alpha shrugged.

"You didn't see me. " He laughed. " Which... small mercies I think, because I don't know what I would have said or done." He closed his eyes. " And you know, technically, I know you didn't owe me anything. We weren't together but still.

"We were together for so many years and just... three weeks later... you're getting railed by some other guy in our bed...." Jungkook closed his eyes, " you can't blame me for being hurt."

"I was hurt too." Taehyung whispered back. " I was hurt and I .. I was drunk probably.. i don't even remember what I did those first few weeks... I was breaking down , Jungkook...."
"Hey." the alpha said quietly. " I know. I know okay and like I said I don't blame you."

" But even now there's this part of me that still thinks you belong to me. That only I should get to touch you like that. That you shouldn't find pleasure with anyone else but me. I just need to work on that and stop giving a fuck . Don't worry I'll get there too." he smiled.

Jungkook grabbed his drink and the change of clothes on the couch, heading back into the guest room. Taehyung stood still in the middle of his apartment, mind running in circles around him.
💍💍💍

"What the fuck is that?" Jungkook's voice was laced with disgust, his eyes wide and his nose scrunched as he stood a good few feet away from the examination table on the lab. Taehyung gave the alpha a glare.
"You wouldn't look much better if you spent several months in a bog."

Jungkook shook his head.
"I mean... I've seen bodies.... Its not... Why does it look like a ducking wax doll or something..." he muttered.
"Ah." Taehyung grinned. " Adipocere formation."
Jungkook blinked.
"What now?"
"Have you ever made soap, alpha ?" he smiled .

Jungkook stared at him.
"Is this one of your long winded explanations that's going to have me wanting to throw up inside my own mouth?" he muttered.
Taehyung rolled his eyes.
"Saponification simply put, fat being turned into soap. That's what's happened here."

"swamps have certain chemicals and bacteria which act on the body's fatty acids and turn them into acidic salts and what we have as a result is this grayish, wax like cast on the body. It makes them look like a wax mannequin." he hesitated. " Its takes a long time."

"this guys' been dead for a really long time." he glanced up at Jungkook. " How did we find him?"
"Anonymous tip in the early hours of the morning."
Taehyung frowned, glancing at Jungkook.
"That's odd."
"It is. Is this our guys though?"
"I'll need to look into it."

Jungkook nodded, moving away but Taehyung grabbed his wrist.
"What's going on with the investigation? Do you guys have any suspects?"
Jungkook hesitated, before shaking his head.
"Not yet. We're pursuing all.."
"Oh don't use that cop talk with me. Can I come sit with you?"

Jungkook frowned.
"Come sit with me where?"
"You know in the investigation room. I wanna see what you guys are upto?"
Jungkook hesitated.
"I'm not sure the Chief will like that."
"Who cares, I wanna be there."
"Tae..."
"Please," he squeezed his wrist. " Please, Ggukkie."

Jungkook tugged his hand away glaring at him.
"Put those damned big eyes away." the alpha snapped. " I need the report about this one as soon as possible. Work on that and identification so I can go give this poor fellow's family some closure. In other words, do your job."

Taehyung pouted, lower lips jutting out even as he glared at the man.
"I hate you." he muttered clearly and Jungkook blinked.
"Taehyung..."
"Even if you weren't my ex husband I think I would still hate you because you're rude and awful and..."
"Fine." Jungkook groaned.

"Bring the report to my desk and I'll show you what we have till now." he said tiredly.
Taehyung grinned at him and gave him a double thumbs up.
""Yes, sir. Mr. Alpha, sir." he smirked.
Jungkook lips quirked up for a second before the alpha turned around and left.

Humming, Taehyung went back to the body, and across the room Jimin gave a small chuckle.
The omega glanced up at him.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing. I just can't tell if you guys are fighting or flirting?" he tilted his head. " Very confusing to be honest."
Taehyung shrugged.

"I'm neither flirting nor fighting , Jimin ssi." he said quietly. " I'm just trying to pretend like it doesn't kill me to be within five feet of him and not be able to tell each him the truth of what I feel without the fear of being rejected."
Jimin stared at him eyes wide.

Taehyung laughed.
"Too much emotion for your alpha brain to handle?" he chuckled. " Sorry about that. Well, this is why I love my job." he shrugged. " The only honest alpha.... is a dead one."
💍💍💍

Taehyung always thought the phrase, dead men tell no tales was ridiculous. Because he had made a life out of listening to the dead, and they always, always told him the truth. They told him how they died, they told him what their last moments were life.

Sometimes, they even told him a little bit about how they lived.
Taehyung spent the entire day working on the body from the swamp, along with the technicians, taking samples of the waxy deposits to be sent for analysis. He then went about examining the dismembered parts.

Time of death was tricky. Because adipocere could take anywhere between weeks to years to form and once it did, the body pretty much stayed in that state for hundreds of years. And while he was sure this one had only been there in for a few months , he still wanted to be sure.

Taehyung wasn't very well liked in his own department. Mostly because most of his methods sometimes went into the loop of unconventional. But here in the task force there were no uptight superiors trying to bog him down with technicalities. He was free to do as he pleased.

"There it is. Look!" He said eagerly, pointing at the part of the x ray which showed the knee. Jimin smiled.
"That's an artificial joint."
"Exactly. An external medical implant, which without a doubt carries an identification barcode, which will trace right back to our bog boy."

"Please don't call him that." Jimin chuckled.
"Its temporary. I can get the implant and we'll have an actual name. And well, depending on when he got the implant and the healing of the bone, we could narrow down PMI." he smiled and leaned back. " I did good, right?"

Jimin grinned at him before glancing at the door and moving closer, caging him against the desk right behind him.
"You asked me the exact same thing after you sucked the soul out of my body with that smart little mouth of yours..." Jimin whispered, lightly touching his waist.

Taehyung blinked, blood rushing to his face and hands coming up to rest on the alpha's shoulders, eyes wide and lips parted.
"Oh..." he flushed. " Jimin... we're at work, we can't..." Jimin leaned down, grabbing the back of his thighs and lifting him onto the table.

"I know." he muttered. " I just think. Because you did so good... You deserve a little reward." He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, and the the curve of his ear and then the delicate skin of his neck. Taehyung's eyes fluttered shut, body humming.

Just as Jimin reached for his belt buckle, the door slammed open and a horrifyingly familiar voice went,
"Taehyung, did you send Inspector Jeon the report for-"
Taehyung yelped, eyes going wide as he stared at the man by the door.
Chief Jung stared at them, frozen.

"You two." he said quietly. " in my office . Now."

Taehyung felt his heart crash straight to the floor.

💍💍💍

"I put you in charge of this damned task force, with the belief that you would know how to keep your subordinates in line, Jeon. Is this the way you're going to handle them? "
Jungkook kept his head bowed.
Taehyung felt like death.
"No sir." the alpha whispered.

"i don't think any of you realize the gravity of what we're facing right now. " Chief Jung continued. " There's a crazy bastard out there, running around chopping alphas into little bits and you..." he pointed at Taehyung, think you've got a nice fun science project going on."

"These are people Taehyung. " Chief Jung said quietly. " They're actual people who were killed violently by some maniac who thinks he has the power to play god. We're trying to catch him. Do you understand that? Or is this all just a game for you?"

"Sir." Jungkook said quietly. " Taehyung has been working really hard and he's helped us identify the victims and the possible weapons used on the bodies post mortem. Its only been a day but he's already close to identifying the remains we found yesterday. We need him ."

Chief Jung looked back and forth between them .
"This will be the last time anything of this sort happens in this building. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir." Taehyung mumbled.
"Get out. And send Park Jimin in." Chief Jung sighed. "Bunch of horny gremlins." he muttered under his breath.

Tae stepped out of the room, feeling week in the knees. He looked at Jimin , who was pale as a sheet.
Tae watched as the alpha stepped into the office , before turning to Jungkook.
"Jungkook, I'm..."
"Bring the report to my desk, Kim." he said , before turning and walking away.

💍💍💍

Taehyung watched as Jungkook went over his report, brows furrowed in concentration.
"We already have his last known address, Inspector Jeon. There was no missing persons report filed and we're trying to track down the next of kin."
Jungkook nodded.
"Let's go."

Taehyung stepped back giving him space, as Jungkook reached for his holster, checking his gun. The alpha glanced up at him , his face unreadable
"Thank you for your hard work. You did well. " He said quietly. Taehyung reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Jungkook, I'm sorry."

Jungkook sighed.
"A formal apology. One my desk by tomorrow. Chief Jung almost fired Jimin by the way. Both of you are way too brilliant to be throwing away your careers and reputation for something like this. Don't apologize to me. Apologize to the Taehyung of three months ago

who worked his ass off to be on the task force. Because that's the guy you're letting down right now."

Taehyung felt his throat clog up a little, ears burning from the reprimand. He felt doubly worse because Jungkook was right.
There was another brief pause when Jungkook stared at him.
"You want to ride along with us?" he asked after a second.
Taehyung blinked.
"What?"

Jungkook gave him a smile, grabbing his jacket and slipping it on.
"We're going to check on your bog boy's last location. " he said softly. " Which by the way, maybe change that name on the report before you send it the Chief."
Jungkook walked away with a grin.

"Wait! Jungkook , wait for me!!" Taehyung yelped, running after the alpha as fast as he could.
💍💍💍

Yang Ki Tae had been 41 years old at the time of his passing, almost four years ago. And while no one had filed for a missing person's report on him, someone had been living at his tiny bed sit apartment located in a shady part of the city, tucked between two alleyways.

Taehyung was asked to stay back in the car while Jungkook and Jaesoo would go check the place out, before calling for back up if necessary.
Taehyung agreed.
But the moment Jungkook disappeared into the building, he felt restless.

The omega sat in the passenger side, tapping his foot restlessly against the floor of the car, trying not to give into the instinct that told him he should definitely get out of the car and follow Jungkook.
But before he could do something that stupid, Jungkook appeared.

The alpha stood on the doorway to the apartment, looking back and forth for a few seconds, before making his way over.
"Landlord took one look at our badges and closed up like a clam shell. " He muttered. " Jaesoo's gonna go get that warrant sped up."
Taehyung blinked at him.

"Can I get out of the car" he asked quietly. Jungkook stared down at him through the window, eyes narrowed.
"You know the answer to that, so don't bother asking."
Taehyung whined, scratching at the window pane with both hands.
"Please. I'm claustrophobic." He whimpered.

"Really?" Jungkook grinned. " You sure weren't claustrophobic when you were begging me to fuck you in the hat closet at your brother's wedding."

Taehyung turned red and then glared at him.
"Let me out." he pouted, knocking on the glass again.
Jungkook grinned.
"Hmm.."

"What ?" The omega demanded.
"Maybe if you ask nicely." He shrugged. " Without all the glaring and angry eyes."
Taehyung exhaled at once, eyes going wide and bright, lips parting in a beatific smile, hands up in a pleading gesture.
"Please, alpha." he begged prettily.

Jungkook's breath hitched a little and he chuckled.
"That face, " he said quietly, " Kim Taehyung is a weapon of mass destruction. " He shook his head. " Just stay there for a few seconds, Jaesoo will get the warrant and-"
A shot rang out and Jungkook slumped forward.

Taehyung screamed , watching in horror as the window pane dripped scarlet, the alpha's body going limp against the glass.
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End of Chapter 1

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hello.

Since there's some confusion about their relationship :

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💍💍💍 Chapter 2💍💍💍

"Jungkook...!" Taehyung panted, eyes wide as he watched the paramedics lift the alpha onto the stretcher, his clothes soaked and his breathing raspy. Jungkook was looking right at him, his blood stained hands gripping the fabric of Taehyung's shirt.
"The apartment-"

Jungkook choked out, voice breaking a bit. " Don't let him get to the apartment..."
Taehyung blinked, stunned.
"What do you mean? What..."
"Get to the apartment, bag everything..." Jungkook choked out. " You... You have to go with them. Everything is evidence..."

"I'm coming with you-" Tae choked out as they wheeled him to the ambulance but Jungkook shook his head.
"please... he shot me for a reason... there's something there... you'll see it. I don't think my men will, but I know you will.." he said sharply. " And thats an order, Kim."

Taehyung went still at that, throat completely dry and heart pounding as he stared at him.
"I'll be okay..." Jungkook whispered, with one last look at him and the omega watched as the door slammed shut behind him. He stood rooted to the ground, the thick metallic

smell of blood all over him and he stared down at himself, the site of the scarlet liquid making him want to retch, not because of what it was but because of who it belonged to.
But he turned on his heel, already looking for Det. Jaesoo who was standing away to a side.

Taehyung ran to him, eyes wide.
"We need to check the apartment!" He cried out and the detective frowned.
"What?!"
"The warrant ! Did you get the search warrant?!" he demanded furious. Was this man a complete fool.
Jaesoo rolled his eyes.
"Jungkook is shot. This can wait-"

Taehyung felt his heart drop and he realized that Jungkook was right. These idiots would ruin everything. Without stopping for a second, Taehyung turned on his heel, running right for the apartment entrance. The building guard was no longer there but Taehyung had memorized

the address on his way over and he lost no time, dashing for the stairs, right up to the fifth floor. He was panting by the time he reached the landing and his eyes went wide as he saw the apartment door ajar.
Without thinking he threw himself into the surface

toppling into the living room and nearly gagging. He stared around in stunned disbelief. His eyes taking in what had to be the most crowded hoarded up room he had ever seen in his life. Rows and rows of shelves lined the walls filled with books and files. The carpet was filthy.

He blinked, coughing as dust flew up into his nose from his fall, eyes watering as he took in the surroundings. Piles of newspaper sat on the floor, along with worn down furniture, some of them covered in plastic sheets but with inches of dust coating them.
Bzzz.

The low sound made him look around, heart pounding. The apartment seemed empty but he wasn't an idiot. The door was ajar. Someone had come in, in a hurry. He pulled himself onto his feet, stumbling a little, as he took a few steps towards the hallway that led from the living room

Bzzzzzz.

The low buzzing grew in volume and Taehyung felt his heart start to pound. He wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, was pretty sure this was not what Jungkook meant when he said he had to look into the apartment. But he couldn't back out now.

The buzzing grew as he stepped into the hallway and walked across it, his feet feeling like they were filled with lead. But as he moved closer to the inside, he smelled it.
Tae was on a first name basis with the scent of death. He could pick out the smell of dead flesh with ease.

As he stepped into what was clearly the kitchen, he realized where the buzzing came from.
Flies.
Hundreds and thousands of them, all of them converging around the island on the other side and Taehyung blinked, finally picking out the scent.
There was blood, everywhere.

Horrified, Taehyung took two steps towards the counter but before he could fully process what he was seeing, a tall figure barreled out from behind the door, knocking into him with enough force to send him sprawling to the floor. Taehyung's head hit the side of the cabinet.

Taehyung felt his head swim from impact, eyes watering as he felt the skin cleave, warm wetness soaking the back of his neck in a second. He rolled over, and his eyes caught the figure heading for the window. His head swam as he watched the man climb over the railing.

The man turned, for a split second and their eyes met. The rest of his face was masked but the eyes were all that he needed. One look at them,

And Taehyung knew.

This was him.

This was who they were hunting.

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"You're lucky you don't need stitches." The medic said quietly, while Taehyung sat on one of the low ottomans, letting him dress his wounds while the rest of the forensic team went about processing the room. " That was very reckless."
Tae groaned.
"Just hurry up." he demanded.

"I'm going to recommend that you rest at least for the rest of the day, Taehyung ssi... Head wounds bleed a lot and I would feel better if you get yourself tested properly for a concussion-"
"I'm fine." he said sharply, " Please just get this over with. I need to go."

It took another five or so minutes for the medic to be done with it and the moment he moved back, Taehyung stood up abruptly , only for his head to swim.
"Be careful..." The man said sharply and Taehyung nodded, holding his hand up and closing his eyes to steady himself.

Taehyung walked right for the kitchen, where Daesoo stood with the other men.
"Taehyung ssi..." the man said calmly. " Are you sure there was someone here? Or maybe you took a fall and imagined things after?" he smirked.
Taehyung ignored him, moving to the counter instead.

He stared at the large knives , all of them stained with blood. The kitchen sink had stains as well.
To the right, the refrigerator stood open and Tae watched as the technicians bagged small boxes of tupperware.
"What's in those?" He asked shakily.
"We're sending it to your lab."

the man hesitated. " They look like internal organs."
Taehyung felt sickened.
"Internal organs?"
"Would you like to take a look?"
Taehyung flinched but nodded, already moving behind him. The man pulled one box out, opening it for him.
Tae nearly retched.
But..
"Its not human."

"Its too small to be human." he explained, motioning for the man to put it away. " But send it to the lab anyway."
The man nodded, before moving away and Taehyung took a deep shuddering breath.
"He may have used this place but I doubt he lived here." Daesoo said casually.