Taehyung POV
The garage smelled of burnt rubber and gasoline, the scent was thick in the air as Taehyung leaned against the counter. Face pouted as he watched the mechanic tinker with his car.
"You're looking at least two days, maybe three," the man muttered, wiping grease from his hands.
Taehyung sighed, running a hand through his hair. Of course. Just when he needed his car the most it had to have a problem. This bad luck. This always happens to him. Once his friends called in for an ice cream party. He was fine in the morning even. But just from 2 hours before the party, he caught cold for no reason. Thus Taehyung missed the chance to get unlimited ice cream.
After settling the payment, he stepped onto the street. He sighed as he put his hands in his pockets, exhaling into the chilly night air. It was nearly 12 and there was no cabs.
No choice but to walk home.
He was lucky that he knew the mechanic and he knew him too. Because he doesn't know what garage stays open after 10?
His mind drifted as he moved through the streets, his pace slow but steady.
He was the command in the field, the one leading the operation firsthand, and now, with the new intelligence on the Black Veil, he had to decide the next move carefully. The information was promising, an encrypted message, a possible hideout. But none of it guaranteed a break through.
The syndicate had been way too silent and very careful. If they made a mistake, it would be because someone pushed them into it. And Taehyung was more than willing to be that pressure. He thought about what could be in the safe house." Who could be there? Will the leader of the syndicate, Agust d be there? What do they do in the safe house? How do they know for sure that the safe house is not a trap?" Thoughts like these clouded his mind as he walked towards his home.
He walked past the dimly lit storefronts, the neon signs buzzing faintly, but his thoughts were elsewhere. They were wrapped in calculations, possible strategies as he tried to a plan form before he even reached his apartment.
He he was so caught up is his thoughts that he didn't notice someone watching him.
??? POV
The man stayed in the shadows. His steps were measured and gaze sharp. He had no valid reason to follow him, the young detective at this ungodly hour. None at all. But still, he couldn't resist the chance of seeing hi in person, following him, taking in his delicate features from behind.
Now, seeing the young detective, the man could differentiate the two males even better. The one in front was even prettier than him. Though the man wouldn't like admit it or not say it out loud.
The presence of the man following was undetectable, his movements were light, slipping between shadows with ease as though he was trained to do this only . He watched the way the other carried himself. Calm, not caring, unaware of the eyes trailing him.
There was something about the detective. He felt so like him and at the same time very different. It was not familiarity, no. Not recognition either, but something else entirely. Something that made a man like him linger longer than he should. Something that made a man like him who didn't have a care in the world, to whom emotions were nothing but the a far concept after that happened, who wouldn't get out from his room without meal time and important meetings get out of his room, abandon his prized sleep and walk in the streets just to see him.
Hoseok would have laughed at him for this. Wasting time. Admiring someone he barely knew. Who barely held any importance to them. But the man clouded in mystery didn't turn away. Couldn't actually, as he wanted to cherish the view in front as long as he could. He found him in the detective. And he wasn't going to let him slip like last time.