In Your Bones: Chapter 2

[julyfix]

[Previously...]

Two Months Later…
“Freeze!” Jongdae has his gun drawn, barrel pointed at the back of a man hovering over a young, terrified woman. “Back away from the girl.”

The man in question is frozen and Jongdae can’t see what he looks like; the woman, however, can’t tear her gaze away from his face, her whole body trembling. Her eyes are watering, nostrils flaring, lips trembling to keep any noises at bay, and Jongdae wishes he could see what she sees. Wishes he could take it away from her.

“Hooo?” The man’s voice gruffs in amusement. “Or what, Detective?”

“Step away from the girl, Kai!” Jongdae yells, his calm facade breaking momentarily.

The woman backs up a bit, so shaken that she doesn’t bother to hide her modesty, her skirt up around her thighs, milky skin and cotton panties exposed. It looks like all of her joints are about to break with the velocity of their trembling. Above her, Kai’s back straightens and he lets his hands drop to his sides, inky black hair shifting slightly over the nape of his neck.

“Aren’t you curious, Detective Kim…” the man says, his voice low and hitting an octave Jongdae has never thought possible. “...as to why I let you catch me, today?”

Jongdae sees the opportunity when Kai shifts his weight, and he makes eye contact with the woman. She gets the message immediately, bless her, and she shoots up like a rocket, sprinting as fast and as far away as possible. It’s dark tonight, this alleyway secluded, and Jongdae can only hope the woman will come into the station tomorrow to give a statement. Unlikely, but he holds onto the hope.

“Ahh~” Kai’s voice pitches a bit, turns slightly pouty. “You let her get away. But~ that’s ok. She wasn’t the one I wanted.”

Jongdae’s blood runs ice cold, and his grip on his gun is sure even though his eyes blink a bit more than necessary. “You lured me out here?”

“How else was I going to talk to you?” Kai asks, his back still to Jongdae. He’s wearing all black, a tattered tee and skinny jeans with worn out Converse. From behind, he looks like a kid.

“Why do you want to talk to me?” Jongdae asks. Keep him engaged long enough for backup to arrive so they can take him into custody. By the book, no rules broken.

Kai turns, then, and faces Jongdae. His face is blocked by a simple white mask, only his nose and lips exposed. There doesn’t even appear to be eyeholes, but Jongdae swears he sees red flash.

Demon.

“You seem much more fun than the last guy,” Kai amends, his full lips turning into a smirk. He’s pale in the moonlight and as he turns to fully face Jongdae, Jongdae is struck that maybe Kai is a teenager. But there’s no way someone that sleight, that tall and lanky could be responsible for all of the murders.

“You mean Joonmyun?” Jongdae asks, tepid.

“My, my~” Kai gut laughs, arms wrapping around his slender middle as he doubles over with amusement. It takes a few moments for him to calm and when he does, he straightens and lifts a hand to wipe a nonexistent tear from where an eye would be on his mask. “Yes, that’s the one! Joonmyun. Another Detective Kim. Your office is teeming with them, isn’t it?”

Clenching his teeth, Jongdae tries not to show that he’s being mildly affected by Kai’s observations. This guy is sharper than they originally thought. Then again, he killed Joonmyun, who was working on his file in secret. He has to have some ins somewhere, somehow.

“But you~” Kai takes a step forward and Jongdae takes a step back, tightening his grip on his gun, finger flexed alongside the trigger. “You’re the most interesting one of all. Don’t you know?” Kai grips the front of his own shirt passionately, “Don’t you feel it?”

“I can’t be the most interesting Kim in Seoul city,” Jongdae hedges. Five more minutes and reinforcements will be here. Just five more minutes.

“Oh! But didn’t you hear me? I’m talking about your department~ Let’s see,” Kai starts ticking off on his fingers. “Detective Kim Joonmyun, Detective Kim Jongdae, Detective Kim Minseok…” his smirk sends chills down Jongdae’s spine. “Chief Kim Jongin. I know it’s such a common name, but~ honestly, isn’t it so coincidental that you all are in the same force?” He laughs, maniacally. “Perhaps I am Kim Kai!”

Drugs. That’s the only reasoning Jongdae can come up with, as he watches Kai dissolve into a fit of giggles. No one is truly this insane and unaccounted for, right? Craziness like this is institutionalized, locked up in a padded room and given medication every day. There’s no way someone like this exists in the real world, out with real people day to day.

“Are you Kim Kai?” Jongdae asks, fishing for clues about Kai’s identity while he bides time.

“Are you Kim Jongdae?” Kai asks, lips revealing white, pristine teeth.

This rhetoric is getting nowhere. Where the hell are the officers he paged in?

“If I’m right,” Kai says, taking another few, surprisingly non-threatening steps towards Jongdae. Jongdae holds his ground, “Your backup should be here in about two minutes.” He sighs. “That’s no fair. I wanted to have some fun with you.”

“Sorry, but I’m not into your kinds of games,” Jongdae says, offering a little smirk of his own.

In the blink of an eye Kai is suddenly behind Jongdae, lanky arms coming up on either side of the detective’s body, hands sliding down the sleeves of Jongdae’s suit to trace their sure line as they hold the gun out in front of him. Jongdae is frozen to the spot, rigid, Kai’s presence like ice behind him. Kai’s fingers close around Jongdae’s wrists and his lips are against the back of the shorter man’s ear, breathing softly.

“On the contrary, I think you are,” Kai whispers, his chest flush against Jongdae’s back.

Jongdae feels like he’s going to puke. He’s terrified and nauseated. This must be how Kai got so close to Joonmyun to do him in - Jongdae didn’t even see him move.

“What are you…?” Jongdae breathes.

Kai chuckles, deep and throaty, before his hot, wet tongue slides over the shell of Jongdae’s ear. “I am what you’ve always wanted.”

The coldness against his back disappears and when Jongdae turns around he’s alone in the alley, his gun pointed into the darkness.

Kai’s laugh echoes in his head.

-

The woman never comes in to give a statement. Jongdae doesn’t care. He’s at his cubicle staring at his laptop; another murder happened last night, shortly after Kai had left him in the alleyway. The news is reporting on it and Jongdae is watching the news anchor’s mouth move, but he can’t hear a thing she’s saying. Jongin had already made a file and put it on Jongdae’s desk before he even clocked in that morning.

“Jongdae…” Sehun’s head peeks over the divider. He looks concerned. And he has a right to be: Jongdae hasn’t said a word since he sat down at his desk.

He hasn’t told anyone about his encounter with Kai. He doesn’t even know where to begin.

“Jongdae,” Sehun tries again.

When Jongdae looks up at his friend, he sees tiredness in his eyes. It’s been there since Joonmyun’s death, and while the initial mourning period has passed, Sehun still feels the weight of the burden. Carries it with him, and feels partially responsible.

“Sorry,” Jongdae rubs the back of his neck and tries to send Sehun a reassuring smile. “It’s just that every time we get a lead the trail runs cold. I’ve never been so discouraged in my life.”

Sehun sighs, “I know. The stack of files keeps growing and nobody's getting any rest-”

“Jongdae.”

Jongin’s voice cuts in, and both Jongdae and Sehun look up at the Chief.

“Good morning, Chief,” Sehun says, before seating himself back in his seat.

Jongdae is about to give the same greeting, but Jongin lifts a hand and gestures.

“Come to my office, Jongdae.”

It takes a great amount of effort for Jongdae to stand up and pause the news story playing in his browser. He follows Jongin through the cubicles, past the desks and into his office, where Jongin closes the door and offers Jongdae a seat. It’s not Jongdae’s first time in Jongin’s office, but lately it’s been a lot more… heavy.

“Why did you call officers for backup last night?” Jongin cuts to the chase as he sits down at his desk, loosening his tie a bit.

Jongdae sighs. Of course, he’ll have to tell Jongin. “I caught Kai in the act.”

Jongin looks alarmed, “You were instructed not to make any moves.”

“It was an accident,” Jongdae insists. “I saw a girl at the supermarket all by herself and I just kept thinking about the victims and I just… unconsciously followed her. And I’m glad I did, because Kai came out of nowhere and-”

“Jongdae.” Jongin sounds exasperated. “What happened? Why didn’t you shoot him?”

Jongdae is taken aback by the question. “Shoot him? Kill Kai?”

Jongin is massaging his temples, his elbows on his desk. “Why did you call for backup that you knew wouldn’t get there in time? Kai could have killed you, too!”

“But he didn’t,” Jongdae says, a bit alarmed that his Chief asked him why he didn’t kill someone, criminal or not. “My life wasn’t in danger and that woman got away.”

“Kai is a serial killer, Jongdae,” Jongin says, a bit icily. “And after your call was made, an hour later we discovered another one of his victims.”

Blinking rapidly, Jongdae feels his face heat up with anger, “Don’t try to blame me for the fact he killed that night!”

“You could have stopped him from ever killing again,” Jongin says, voice still firm.

“I am not a killer, Jongin, I’m a fucking cop and I arrest killers!”

Silence blankets the room and Jongdae sits back in his seat, averting his gaze and clearing his throat. He’s never raised his voice at Jongin before, and although he’s older than Jongin, the man is still his superior and Jongdae was just completely out of line.

A sigh comes from Jongin, and Jongdae chances a glance at him. The Chief has his arms folded over the top of his desk, head pillowed against them, face hidden. He looks like a pouting child.

“I’m sorry,” Jongin mumbles after a few tense seconds of silence. “I was out of line in saying something like that to you. You’re right. You’re not a killer.”

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Jongdae leans forward in his seat a bit. “Jongin… I want to catch him so we can bring him to justice and give the victim’s families some closure. If Kai dies… we’ll be doing the victims and their families a disservice.”

“I know,” Jongin lifts a hand and waves it, before he sits up and then slouches back in his seat. He stares at an empty spot on his desk, “I just- I was so worried about you.”

Jongdae goes a bit rigid. Something about the tone of Jongin’s voice isn’t… professional. It’s not a Chief’s concern over one of his detectives. It twists in his gut and Jongdae is suddenly reminded of all the tender smiles, gentle touches, the favor that Jongin has always treated him with.

He’s going to be sick.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Jongdae says, abruptly standing and straightening his tie. “I can take care of myself.”

Jongin looks up and smiles a bit ruefully, running his fingers through his hair. He’s boyishly handsome, Jongdae thinks. Despite being almost thirty he still retains some of his youthful features. And now that Jongdae thinks about it, he was an idiot to not realize Jongin’s feelings sooner.

“I know you can,” Jongin finally murmurs, his gaze once again falling to the desk.

Without another word, Jongdae bows and excuses himself from the room.

He hopes Jongin hadn’t noticed his revelation.

-

“We have got to stop meeting like this~”

Jongdae is too smart to yell in surprise or pull his gun out in the middle of a crowded street. But Kai’s icy presence behind him is enough to make him feel the slightest amount of panic, even as he continues walking towards the corner store he had been heading to.

“You’re a stalker now?” Jongdae asks dryly, keeping his gaze ahead. “That’s a change in our profile I’ll have to make note of.”

Suddenly Kai is at Jongdae’s side, an arm looped through the shorter man’s, accompanying the detective like they’re two good ol’ friends heading to the corner store for some beers.

“I like you~” Kai sings. “I want to know more about you.”

“I’d rather you kill me,” Jongdae says, a bit bravely. Kai is touching him. Physically linked with him.

But Kai seems to take it as a sarcastic joke, tossing his head back with a laugh. He’s not wearing the white mask, but his sunglasses are large and his hair is too unruly to really make out any features.

“Now now, Jongdae, don’t be so mean,” Kai pouts. He smells like cologne and freshly fallen leaves. “I was going to the store, too! Why can’t we go together?”

“I can think of one good reason,” Jongdae mumbles. He wants to throw up.

“Now you’re just being prejudiced,” Kai pouts again. Jongdae feels nauseous - it’s an act full of aegyo that is totally wrong coming from a man who basically guts people for fun. “What were you getting? Beer? Food?”

“It’s none of your business,” Jongdae snaps, stopping at a crosswalk. It’s dusk, the sun already hidden behind the tall skyscrapers of the city, but Kai looks like he’s ready to bask in the afternoon of a hot summer’s day.

“I’m going to find out anyway,” Kai drawls as he pulls away. His hands slide into the pockets of his black skinny jeans as he rocks back on the heels of his worn Converse, waiting patiently for the signal. He looks like any other kid. It’s maddening.

The light turns green and Jongdae looks both ways before crossing, Kai trailing behind him. The crowd this evening is moderate, given that this part of the city is where a lot of apartments and condos are - Jongdae’s included. The last thing he needs is Kai figuring out where he lives. Unless he already knows… and that thought sends a shiver down Jongdae’s spine. How else would Kai have known Jongdae would be in this area? Seoul isn’t a small city. It’s rather hard to just ‘bump into’ someone if you’re not purposely seeking them out.

Shaking his head a little, Jongdae clears his thoughts. His precinct is in this district. Kai knows that much - he probably doesn’t know where Jongdae lives specifically. Right? He can’t. He’s just here because he knows Jongdae’s office has the case. Knows Jongdae has the case.

Jongdae knows better than to fool himself, though.

They make it to the corner store and when they enter, the dinging of the door is surprisingly innocent. To anyone looking on, they’re two guys heading to the store together to get odds and ends. Roommates, maybe. Jongdae would rather eat his own foot. Saw it off with a rusty blade and then consume it raw.

“Ah, I love these!” Kai suddenly says.

The exclamation has Jongdae turning curiously, watching as Kai picks up a bag of American sour gummy candy. Even though they’re in a well-lit store, Kai’s features are still shrouded in darkness and it’s entirely too eerie. Jongdae can see the white of his smile, though, as the other flips the bag over and (attempts to?) reads the English on the back.

Shuddering, Jongdae heads towards the section that contains the sole reason he came here: instant coffee. His barista was way too worried the last time he visited the shop with bags under his eyes that almost reached his chin, and Jongdae doesn’t want to put her through that. Not when he kind of likes her - doe-eyed, a bit stand-offish, but one of the most generous people Jongdae has ever met. No, he’ll save her the hassle of worrying (and asking too many questions) by brewing cups at home and at the office. Besides, nothing like the bitter taste of instant coffee to wake anyone up, no matter what the caffeine content is.

“Do you like dark or light roasts?” He hears Kai’s voice behind him, and Jongdae ignores him as he grabs a dark brew. Why is Kai so interested? “I don’t really like the taste of coffee. It tastes too… adult.”

A thought strikes Jongdae.

This is, obviously, the perfect opportunity. Kai is interested in Jongdae. Whether or not he did the same thing to Joonmyun before he killed the man is irrelevant - Kai is taking the time to ask questions, and, perhaps unbeknownst to him, offering up information about himself in the process. Jongdae would be an idiot to not follow along. He would be stark raving mad to not grab this chance by the horns and wrangle it in.

Kai is deadly. Kai is highly intelligent. All of Jongdae’s and Joonmyun’s reports combined confirm this. He’s also a lunatic, and Jongdae is starting to think he’s a bit naive, too.

Either that, or he’s at a level of intellect that Jongdae can’t quite grasp.

He’s going to take the chance on the former.

Jongdae decides to take the risk.

“You are an adult,” Jongdae replies, putting two canisters of instant coffee in his basket.

He can hear the petulance in Kai’s voice, “So? Coffee is gross. Besides, caffeine makes me sleepy.”

“That’s not how it works,” Jongdae says idly, pretending that he’s not hanging on to every word coming out of Kai’s mouth, no matter how mundane.

“I don’t need caffeine,” Kai continues, following as Jongdae moves towards the sugar. “Besides, it’s a drug. You’re addicted to it.”

“I don’t think you have any room to be chastising me for being addicted to something,” Jongdae says with as much patience and tolerance as he can muster. He almost feels like he should turn in his badge, playing nice with a serial killer. But information is information, and Jongdae has had enough training to know not to let this go.

Jongdae picks up a box of natural sweetener, cringing at the price but knowing it’s better for him than just straight sugar. Funny, how he’s listening to Kai berate him for being addicted to caffeine, but here he is buying Truvia instead of real sugar. Kai doesn’t seem to notice, and for a moment Jongdae foolishly thinks he’s alone - but when he glances around, he spots Kai crouching in front of the cooler, looking through the glass at the drink selections.

Pretending to ignore him (when really he wishes he had eyes in the back of his head), Jongdae moves through the aisles, fingers wringing the plastic handle of his basket. A serial killer is accompanying him on a mundane task. Jongdae wonders if Kai will try to follow him home. What will he do then? Certainly not let him. But Jongdae just can’t… not go home. He’s lost in his thoughts in front of the mixed nuts when Kai slips up to him and drops something into his basket.

Blinking in surprise and doing his best to not flinch away, Jongdae looks down at what Kai dropped into his basket. It’s an aloe drink, papaya flavored, and he looks up at Kai with an arched brow. “What is that.”

“Aloe,” Kai smiles. He looks so dark, even under the fluorescent light, almost like his aura sucks in any brightness and immediately converts it into a black void. Jongdae still can’t make out any discernable features - the other is still wearing his sunglasses, even inside. “It’s better for you than caffeine.”

“But it won’t wake me up at six a.m.,” Jongdae says, picking it up and pushing it back into Kai’s hands. Their fingers brush and electricity zips through Jongdae’s frame - he stumbles back in shock, and Kai merely smirks, his canines looking especially sharp. Jongdae tries to pull himself together, “Will you just leave me alone? Jesus.”

Again, Kai pouts, and Jongdae does his best to ignore it. “I can’t leave you alone.”

“Of course,” Jongdae grumbles, turning around and heading to the register. When he glances around the store, he’s very disturbed to find Kai… gone. Not a trace of him anywhere. Puzzled, Jongdae politely asks the cashier if she’s seen his ‘friend’, to which the cashier offers him an equally puzzled expression.

“You came in here alone, sir.”

Jongdae feels his guts turn to lead. He pays for his groceries and heads home, feeling a little dazed. He had touched Kai. He had felt his presence, and that presence had shocked through his entire nervous system. Kai had been there. Kai was real.

When Jongdae gets to his apartment, his feet knock something over as he unlocks his door. He glances down, expecting someone to have left the newspaper on his doorstep; a bottle of papaya aloe juice is rolling innocently away from his feet, and this time, Jongdae can’t contain it.

He pukes into the azaleas by his door.

-

A week later, Jongdae is at the scene of Kai’s latest attack, a hand over his mouth as he stares at the lifeless body of his barista. Her doe eyes are open and unseeing, staring up at the endless grey sky, her name tag splattered with blood. Another strange symbol is cut into her stomach, and Jongdae feels intense remorse. Surely Kai knows where Jongdae used to get his coffee. Kai knows where he lives, for God’s sake. Did Kyungsoon get caught up in the crosshairs?

Even in death, she’s beautiful. Her skin drained of color, her full lips pale, her hair lackluster from its usual shine.

A hand on his shoulder makes him turn to see Sehun looking sadly down at Kyungsoon.

“How many have to die?” Sehun asks softly. He had been partial to Kyungsoon also, although perhaps not at the level of fondness Jongdae had.

Jongdae doesn’t have an answer. He hasn’t seen Kai since the corner store. He waves over the crime scene photographer, “Get a picture of her stomach and have it sent directly to me, please.”

They’re in the alley behind the coffee stand. Kai is never discreet when he dumps bodies after he mutilates them; Jongdae has no idea how no one witnesses the crimes. As he and Sehun turn to head back to the car, Jongdae is surprised to notice that Sehun’s hand hasn’t left his shoulder. Glancing over at his friend, he looks at the lines in his face; Sehun is the youngest detective in their firm, the most vibrant, the one with the brightest future. He’s a good man with a pure heart and a sense of moral justice like no other. Even Jongdae feels outshined by him sometimes.

But right now, walking away from Kyungsoon’s dead body, Jongdae knows that Sehun is wearing thin. The side effects of this job are worming their way into his every bone and Jongdae feels awful that someone once so bright has now been dimmed to a dull ember.

After they get into the car, Jongdae in the driver’s seat and Sehun riding passenger, Jongdae puts the keys in the ignition and turns the car on but leaves it in park. Sehun glances over, thin brows furrowed a bit - Jongdae reaches over, putting his hand on Sehun’s knee.

“Are you ok?” Jongdae asks, eyes searching Sehun’s.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Sehun asks, letting out a small, hollow laugh. “You went on a few dates with Kyungsoon, didn’t you?”

Jongdae lets out a slow breath. “You should ask to be reassigned.”

Sehun looks alarmed, “What- why?”

“Because I see what this case is doing to you,” Jongdae says.

Sehun’s gaze narrows, and he grows rigid under Jongdae’s placating hand. “You say that like it’s not affecting you at all.”

“Sehun-”

“I’m not a fucking kid, Jongdae. This isn’t police academy, ok? I don’t need you watching out for me.”

Flashbacks of carrying Sehun through an obstacle course because he tripped and sprained his ankle filter through Jongdae’s mind. Images of staying up late at night helping one another study, eating enough instant ramen to give them stomach problems for a week, drinking in celebration when they passed their exams - Jongdae is suddenly struck with the fact that he has been looking out for Sehun this whole time, whether on purpose or just instinctually. He hadn’t ever meant to treat Sehun like a kid. Sehun is smart and talented, and Jongdae had always wanted to see him succeed.

But now with Sehun sitting in the passenger seat of his car, a dead body less than fifty feet away… Jongdae realizes that no, Sehun is not a kid, and no, Jongdae does not need to hold his hand and tell him what to do.

It’s an unsettling thought. Jongdae has always looked out for Sehun like a brother. From high school, to college, to the academy and even working in the same damn office in neighboring cubicles, Jongdae has always kept a watchful eye on Sehun. He had no idea that he was suffocating the other. Guilt starts to creep up Jongdae’s spine.

“I’m sorry,” he finally says, fingers flexing their grip on the steering wheel. “I didn’t- I didn’t mean to be like that.”

Sehun lets out a breath. “I know. And hey, I really- I appreciate all you’ve done for me, ok?”

Jongdae has a feeling that Sehun is putting on a false sense of bravado to save Jongdae’s conscience. Sehun has grown increasingly worried for his sake over the past few weeks, especially since Jongdae is heading the Kai case. He knows he shouldn’t be hiding things from Sehun, like the fact that Kai has sought him out twice, but he also knows that telling Sehun (or anyone, really) would just cause a riot.

“I know,” Jongdae finally says. He offers Sehun a small smile. “To be honest, I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else, anyway.”

Sehun sends him a wry smile, “You’re stuck with me, no matter how much of an asshole you are.”

Jongdae reaches over to ruffle Sehun’s hair, “That’s my boy.”

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