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animeniacss · 5 years ago

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6 Years - Hoseok x Reader - Chapter 32 - How Did We End Up Here

Synopsis: 6 years. That’s all it can take to take another look at someone and see that they have completely changed. You were once an eager 20-year-old, with your dreams all in view, and Jung Hoseok at your side to view them with you. However, after a break up the end of your junior year of college, everything seemed different. Now, you’re a recently divorced single mother of two, and your life is nowhere near what you thought it would be. However, after reuniting with Jung Hoseok, you may just be able to capture a little bit of that exciting youth you once knew so long ago.

Feat. BTS Members, Nayeon (TWICE), and Yuna (itzy)

Genre: Romance, SingleMother!AU, Past Relationship, Drama, Some Depictions of Violence/Domestic Abuse

Length: approx. 4.9k words

Chapter 32 - How Did We End Up Here?

Shin-Il had no frame of reference at midnight that night. All he knew was that as soon as the flames were visible in the window of the apartment, he flew down the hallway, rushing past the elevator and practically flinging himself down the emergency stairs. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he could barely see in front of him, due to the darkness and the fact that he forgot to bring a flashlight with him to either scene. He was wondering how much if at all, the fire had spread at the dance studio. Did someone call the fire department? Did someone try to put it out themselves? Were there people inside that he didn’t think would be there; that he didn’t expect to get mixed up in the crossfires? As Shin-Il got to the ground floor and exited the building, he doubled over, taking multiple struggles gasped for air. As he looked back up towards the apartment he was just in front of, he saw little hints of smoke poking over the front railing.

The fire must not have spread outside the door yet…. Shin-Il thought to himself, looking down to check his watch. It was still the dead of night, just barely past 2 that morning. Just as Shin-Il was preparing to make his way back home, he heard distant voices from where the fire was coming from. Other families, most likely, exiting their homes to see what had suddenly gotten so hot. When they realized a fire had broken out, they began shouting. Shin-Il heard a woman call out four names, Min Ja, Hoseok, Hyo Bin, and another name he could barely make out through the sea of frantic tenants attempting to solve this problem until the fire department arrived. Shin-Il knew he did not want to be around when that happened, and he darted down the street just as soon as he heard more people leaving their homes to examine the scene.

Shin-Il had thought about that night ever since it occurred, watching the news like a hawk and reading the papers the day after. He cradled little Hyun in his arms, as she greedily slurped down the contents of a sippy cup. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting them to say, other than the contents of the fires and the possibility that they may have happened by the same person, for reasons unknown. He watched as they interviewed the owner of the dance studio, a soft-faced handsome man named Park Jimin, who was puffy-eyed and distraught at the destruction of his business, before cutting back to the newscaster back at the studio.

“We are fortunate to announce that while Dance Canvas Studio, as well as the Apartment Complex less than 10 miles away, were both harmed by the flames, all tenants of the building made it out safely, including all four who lived in the targeted home. Boyfriend Jung Hoseok, aged 27, was in critical condition, but he is expected to make a full recovery. His girlfriend and her two young daughters were rushed to be treated as well, but are assumed to not of inhaled as much smoke as the boyfriend. We will keep you updated as information is received.” Shin-Il felt relief wash over him, though he knew Weong-Bin may be furious that Shin-Il didn’t do what he asked. Deciding it was time to change the channel, Shin-Il turned off the tiny TV in his apartment. Leaning back on the couch, he looked down at Hyun, whose tiny hands were trying to set the empty sippy cup on a surface, since it was empty and of no use to her. Shin-Il grinned, leaning down to kiss her forehead as he set the bottle down, before hoisting her up on his shoulder to tap her back and burp her. Shin-Il closed his eyes as he did so.

When he opened his eyes, he no longer found himself sitting on his poorly upholstered couch, across from his tiny TV, with his tiny reason for living in his arms. Instead, when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was sitting inside a jail cell. Tilting his head over, he saw Myung-Dae, Chun-Hei, and the rest of his force working around a small, circular table, making phone calls and pacing the room as they worked. Shin-Il blinked, lifting himself up from his bench and walking towards the row of metal bars in front of him, blocking his path to the police.

“Officer.” He called, and the group all looked up. “Where’s Hyun?”

“We placed her with a temporary foster home until all of this is sorted out,” Myung-Dae said simply. “After I arrested you, you lied down there and passed out for a few hours, and the lawyers all told me she needed to be put somewhere soon when we started filling up with work.” Shin-Il let out a shaky breath, gripping the bars of the cage. Myung-Dae looked at Chun-Hei, nodding his head. The woman nodded as she headed towards the desk, and picked up her cellphone, dialing a phone number. Myung-Dae walked towards the cage, crossing his arms. “…Like I said when we first talked…we found your prints on the canisters and your phone number matched with the one Weong-Bin has been talking to in prison….” He said. “I could see in your eyes you looked out of it. Now that you’re well-rested, are you ready to tell me how this all came about?” Shin-Il nodded. “Alright…” Myung-Dae opened the cage door, leading Shin-Il out of the room. He saw the cops watching as Myung-Dae led Shin-Il down towards one of the rooms, where they could talk privately. He could see one of the other officers following behind, most likely to listen in and assuring Myung-Dae was following code.

As the duo entered the room, Myung-Dae and Shin-Il sat down across from each other. Shin-Il looked up at the policeman, waiting to see if he would be prompted to speak. Myung-Dae flipped open a notepad, slipping a pen out of his vest pocket and clicking it open.

“You ready?” Shin-Il asked. Myung-Dae glanced up, nodding. “Okay well…I met Weong-Bin when I started interning about 3 years ago. He was really nice and helpful, taught me everything I knew about the company. When my interning ending, he helped me get a low tier job so I could work my way up. I knew his wife and kids a little bit, and I tried to help him after he got divorced because he seemed really broken up about all of it. I never expected he was abusing his wife…” Shin-Il sighed. “I got let go right around the time my daughter was born. The pregnancy went wrong because she was tiny, we were only 19, and she had lots of surgeries. She ended up getting hooked on the pain medication they gave her afterward. I used whatever money I had to help raise Hyun and keep her safe, but it didn’t work….” Myung-Dae nodded, saying nothing and letting her continue. “When Weong-Bin first got arrested, a few people I knew from the company ended up telling me. I was nervous, I wanted to see him and show my support, but before I could, he called me.” Myung-Dae nodded.

“What did he say?” He asked. Myung-Dae had already heard all of the phone conversations between the duo from beginning to end, but he wanted to hear Shin-Il say it.

“Well, we talked the first few times just about whatever. I told him I didn’t think he would do that, and he thanked me. He asked about my daughter, I told him we were struggling with debt. Then he told me about his ex-wife and her boyfriend…and how he didn’t want the boyfriend around his family. I thought that being in jail was stressing him out, I thought he was kidding when he told me to kill Hoseok….” Shin-Il sighed. “But he told me he would pay me a lot of money, almost 500 million won, and even more if what I did helped him get proven innocent. I -.” Shin-Il sighed softly, leaning back in his seat. Myung-Dae could see his eyes were watering again and he waited patiently for the boy. “I didn’t want to…I really didn’t. But he assured me if I did everything right, I would never be caught. But he didn’t tell me what I should do, I’ve never lit anything on fire before!”

“I can see that…” Myung-Dae said softly. “So, what happened?”

“Well, he found a way to wire some of the money into my bank account, to show me he was serious….” He sighed softly. “So, I told him I would do it. The days passed and he told me where Hoseok worked, and where they lived.” Shin-Il gulped as he thought about what he would say next. “Then, the night before I told him I could do it, he called again. He sounded so frantic like he was having a mental breakdown. I still hadn’t even decided what I was going to do that night, how I would do this…then he told me that he didn’t think he would ever have his family back again, especially if he ended up in prison…” Shin-Il sighed. “He asked me to kill them all. I panicked; I had no idea what to do. When I asked how I should do it, he shouted ‘I don’t know, just burn them all’ or something like that….” Shin-Il bit his lip.

“So that’s what you did?” Myung-Dae asked. Shin-Il nodded his head.

“I had no clue where Hoseok would be, that’s the only reason I hit both places. I felt so bad when I saw the studio owner crying on TV.”

“…But not for the family you almost burned alive?”

“No, I felt horrible! When I was heading to the dance studio, I kept saying I should turn back, I should go home to my little Hyun…but then I thought of all the money and everything I could do to support her with it…then I thought back and forth and back and forth…next thing I knew, I was already at the apartment door. In a way, I was so relieved none of them were really hurt…” Shin-Il sighed. “But I called Weong-Bin through the jail and told him I finished….He said he’ll pay me when he sees proof…but I know now that he knows none of them died in the fire, so I wouldn’t be getting paid even if I didn’t speak right now…” Myung-Dae nodded.

“I’m glad to know you’re doing this because you know you won’t get paid,” Myung-Dae said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Shin-Il glanced up as he watched Myung-Dae get up, walking over and standing the boy upon his feet. “It’s a shame a kid like you got roped into this, but it’s like you said, you told yourself to turn back and you didn’t. That’s where I lose all my respect for you…” Shin-Il couldn’t respond, nothing he could say would counteract what Myung-Dae said, because Myung-Dae was right. “However, you have been helpful. What you’ve said, along with the evidence, will help us keep that prick in prison for a long time.” Shin-Il nodded.

“…Okay…”

“I’ll make sure you don’t end up rooming with him,” Myung-Dae said, nudging Shin-Il back out the door to complete the paperwork.

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Hoseok was watching TV in one of the hospital chairs he had in his room. His belly was full of chicken and rice, he had his favorite show on, and he couldn’t be happier. As he used his arms to attempt a bit of freestyle to the music playing on the TV, he looked over at his bed, which held another reason that he was so happy right now. You were laying down on your side, eyes closed as your chest slightly rose and fell with every soft breath you took. After eating, you both had lied down, but only you had fallen asleep. Hoseok, deciding that you should have enough room to do so comfortably, gave up his bed in favor of the less comfortable, yet still manageable, chair. As he glanced over to you, he saw you nuzzle your head into the pillow, your eyelashes slightly fluttering a bit as you mumbled something in your sleep. It made him chuckle, and he scooted the chair closer to you. A hand reached out, placing itself into your hair as he ruffled it gently.

The tranquility of the moment was interrupted by the sound of vibration.

“Hm?” Hoseok looked around, his eyes falling on your handbag, which was placed on one of the side tables. He got up, walking over to it, and pulling out your phone. One the screen, he read Officer Chun-Hei. Glancing over at you, he saw that you were just barely starting to wake up. He sat beside you, handing you the vibrating cellphone, as you took it into your hands.

“I wonder what she needs…” You mumbled softly to yourself, before answering the phone call. “Hello?”

“Miss. Cho?” Chun-Hei hummed. She could hear the grogginess in your voice. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m sorry…” you said softly. “I just woke up from a nap…is everything okay?” Chun-Hei was silent for a moment, making you glance at Hoseok with a curious expression.

“Well, I just wanted to inform you that…we found and arrested the man who burnt down the apartment and the studio.” You felt your heartbeat speed up at the thought, taking a few slow, deep breaths in an attempt to calm yourself down. “I think it might be a good idea to come down here…If you want.” For a moment, you thought about it. Did you want to see his face? You didn’t know if you could handle it. However, you knew that it would only be a matter of time, as you were expected to be at the trial for this man when he stood accountable for his crimes.

“I’ll be right there…” you assured, before quickly hanging up the cellphone. You let out a shaky breath, looking at Hoseok, who only offered a small smile. “I wish you could come with me…” you said softly. “I don’t want to go alone.”

“I’ll be out of the hospital soon…” he assured, running a comforting hand through your hair again. “You can do it….” Placing a gentle kiss on your forehead, Hoseok smiled. “Call me when you’re there, alright? And thanks again for the food.”

“Okay…” you said, getting up off the bed. Turning to Hoseok, you smoothed out your dress and grabbed your pocketbook. “Get some rest, okay?” You said. Hoseok nodded, waving a hand as he watched you head out the door. As you reached the exit, you stopped for a moment and turned to him. “…I’m scared. I don’t want to see him.”

“I know,” Hoseok said simply. “But with everything you’ve been through, this will be a walk in the park~.” He smiled happily. You nodded. “We’ll celebrate everything once it’s all over. I promise.” He said happily. Letting out a shaky breath, Hoseok put a hand over his mouth. As he leaned forward, he flung his hand in your direction, the sound of a loud kiss being sent to you. You giggled a bit. “Use it as courage! You’ll be okay! Fighting!” Playfully, you lifted an arm and caught the kiss midair, and Hoseok cheered. “Hell yeah!”

“Alright, I’ll see you later.” You said simply, waving him off as you finally exited the room. Once you were gone, Hoseok lied back in the bed and let out a deep breath. He hoped that kiss would provide you with enough, but he wouldn’t know for sure until he finally was released from this awfully lonely place.

---------------------------------------------

The trip to the police station was silent. The entire time, you sat in the empty cab, looking out the window as the world passed by. Your hand was clutched in a tight fist, pressed against your chest. Though only air, the idea that a little bit of Hoseok was making its way to the station with you helped give you some sort of comfort. You had no idea who would be at the station, waiting to come face to face with you. What was their story? Why did they do it? Would you ever have it in your heart to forgive him? These thoughts raced through your mind as you saw the cab finally pull up to the precinct, with cops and legal workers walking in and out constantly.

Myung-Dae was sitting at his desk when you walked in, and he almost immediately stood up, calling your name and hurrying over to you. He was quick to embrace you in a comforting hug, one you immediately returned.

“I heard about what happened this morning at court. How are you doing?”

“Better.” You admitted. “Chun-Hei told me you…caught the guy?” Myung-Dae nodded. “How?”

“Well, we found tons of…” Myung-Dae stopped himself. “This is going to be a lot to take in.” You forced out a sigh as you looked at the cop.

“Not as much to take in as the smoke that entered my lungs, Myung-Dae. I want to know.” You said quickly, clutching your purse tightly. Myung-Dae nodded. “Who was it and how did you find him?” Without saying much else, he led you over to his desk, handing you a manila folder. He began to explain everything to you.

“We found the prints of the man on canisters, and his face on cameras around both scenes at the exact times of the fires.” He said. He pushed a small SD card toward you as well. “We also…found phone calls…between him and Weong-Bin…” You blinked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Weong-Bin?” you asked softly. “…What does that-?” Almost immediately, your hands lifted up to cover your mouth. “…No. No.” you shook your head. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to say…Weong-Bin was the one who encouraged the arsonist to…attempt to harm you and the girls.” You leaned forward, gripping the desk with tight fists, meaning that whatever part of Hoseok’s little flying kiss was still in your clutched fist, it was not anymore. “Miss. Cho. Are you alright?”

“There’s no way. I know he hated Hoseok, I know he hated me…but the girls? He’s done awful things to us but….” You trailed off, trying to piece everything together.

“The conversations are on the card. You’re free to listen if you want to since we’ve submitted them as evidence and will be played at trial.” You shook your head.

“I don’t know…” you said. Myung-Dae nodded.

“Chun-Hei and I are going to talk to him now, his lawyer is on his way there as well. I wanted to make sure I told you first, though…” he said gently. He saw you were still absolutely stunned by what you had just been told. “I’m so sorry this is so sudden. But we have enough evidence, and the testimony of the man who did it, he will be going away for this….” You lied back in your seat, covering your face. Everything Myung-Dae was saying only seemed to be going into one ear and out the other, muffled behind the sound of your ears pounding and your heart racing. Everything on your body felt it was burning into your skin, and you could barely breathe, your body shook with every attempt you made to breathe. The next thing you knew was that a water bottle was set in front of you, and when you looked over, Chun-Hei was handing it to you. Taking it into your trembling hands, you quickly forced yourself to drink some. “If you want to listen to them, I’ll have a detective help you.”

“I want to come with you to see Weong-Bin.” You said. “I want to hear it from him…”

“I don’t think that’s good-.”

“Then I’ll go myself. But I want to hear from him why this is happening.” Weong-Bin and Chun-Hei shared a glance. There was a moment of silence, and the officers could see your face getting paler with every second you were left with your own thoughts. “I…I might throw up first.” Quickly, you got up and hurried into the bathroom, slamming the door behind you. As you entered the first stall, you doubled over against the bathroom and threw up all of the chicken and rice that had just digested, coughing and gagging and sobbing as you tried desperately to pull yourself together. You knew this trip to the station would be a difficult one, coming face to face with the man who harmed you and your loved ones.

But WEONG-BIN?!

“There’s no way…” you choked out, wiping your face as you trembled. “I can’t believe this is happening to me right now….He couldn’t have….told someone to do this….” As you sat there, for what felt like forever, you waited until your stomach had stopped doing circus acts, and you were able to force yourself up onto shaky legs. As you headed towards the mirror, you were quick to wash your face and clean yourself up. If you were just this sick at hearing this, you had no idea how you would react if you looked Weong-Bin in the eye now. But you knew you had to. Not for Hoseok’s sake, or even for the girl’s sake. You had to do this for your own sake. He needed to know that his control over you, as of now, was officially over.

When you walked back out, you saw Myung-Dae and Chun-Hei preparing to head out to their patrol car and head to the penitentiary. They saw you approach, and Chun-Hei approached you.

“Do you feel okay? Maybe not coming with us is the best option now.” She said gently. You shook your head.

“I need to go.” You said simply. “I need to, or I don’t think I’ll be able to handle anything else.” Chun-Hei nodded. Looking over, you saw one man sitting on the bench of the cage, running a hand through his hair You blinked, staring at him for a moment. “Is that him?” you asked curiously, making the cops look over.

“Yes,” Myung-Dae said simply. You nodded, walking over towards the cage despite Chun-Hei trying to stop you. Shin-Il looked up when he saw you approach, and his eyes widened. He stood up immediately and hurried over to you. He could see your face was wet, most likely from a mix of tears and the sink water you had used to try and clean yourself up. The top of your dress was a bit damp as well, and your hair was no longer in a nice, sleek ponytail, but instead currently frizzing at the ends.

“Miss. Cho.” He said softly. You blinked.

“You’re Yoo Shin-Il? You worked with Weong-Bin, right?” you asked gently. Shin-Il nodded. “…Do you feel good about what you’ve done?” You asked.

“No…not at all…” he said softly. “I tried to hide it…but I told them because I regret what I tried to do. He manipulated me by using my little daughter, Hyun. I don’t even expect you to forgive me….” You sighed, gently lifting a hand out and placing it on top of one of Shin-Il’s that was wrapped around the bar. He looked at you in slight shock.

“He’s…got an amazing way with words, doesn’t he?” You smiled a bit. Shin-Il could see the sadness in that smile, all the years of regret and pain showing behind those slightly exposed teeth. “I’ll be sure…that I smack him for both of us, okay?” Shin-Il blinked.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” he asked softly. “I don’t deserve it.”

“You don’t. This isn’t for you,” you said softly, finally retracting your hand. “I’m a relatively good person. I hate to see others suffer, especially at the hands of Weong-Bin. I dealt with it for years, and I’m sure every single girl’s before and after me know what I have felt for almost a decade. I just…I hope your daughter grows up to never make the same mistakes you have. I’m sorry you were led down this path, but I’m even more sorry that your little girl has to grow up knowing what her father would stoop to for her.” You looked him dead in the eye. “It’ll shame her for the rest of her life, and it pains me that she will suffer that way. So when I smack him, it’s going to be for me and her.” Shin-Il let out a shaky breath as you stepped away. Without another word, you followed Chun-Hei and Myung-Dae out of the precinct. Shin-Il sank down onto his knees, bursting into an ocean of strained and painful tears.

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“Cho Weong-Bin?” A cop hummed as the door to the cell opened. Weong-Bin looked up from the chessboard, decorated with different black and white pieces. In-Ho glanced up at well, being Weong-Bin’s opponent. “Your lawyer is here with some cops. They need you.”

“…What the fuck for now?” he groaned, getting up. “I’ll be right back, In-Ho.” He said. In-Ho shrugged, waving his friend off silently as he pulled out a book, resting against the wall to read it. When Weong-Bin left, In-Ho laughed a bit.

“Well, that’s that it seems,” In-Ho mumbled to himself.

Weong-Bin was led to a different room on the other side of the jail. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, as he had no intention of meeting with his lawyer today, nor any cops that were focusing on the assault case, or any that were dealing with the fires. However, he kept his cool, assuming that if anything, they just expected it would be an intimidation tactic by the police, and Weong-Bin was not going to fall for this. As he entered the room, his lawyer was already sitting with Myung-Dae, the duo talking in short sentences.

“Hello, Officer,” Weong-Bin said. “What’s going on?”

“Have a seat, Weong-Bin.” His lawyer said, motioning to the opening seat beside him. Weong-Bin took a seat, nodding his head politely to the cop. “Myung-Dae apparently has some news about the fires.”

“Did you find out who did it?” he asked curiously. “I need to know. I’ll kill the guy.” Myung-Dae rolled his eyes.

“Cut the crap, Weong-Bin,” Myung-Dae said. Weong-Bin blinked. “Enough games, it’s time to come clean.”

“Come clean? What, you think I had something to do with it?! I’ve been locked up!”

“What’s with the sudden accusations, Officer Kim?” The lawyer asked, an unamused look on his face. “You trying to point fingers because there’s no lead yet?” Myung-Dae couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh no, that’s not it.” He said simply. He pulled out his trusty envelope, setting it onto the table and opened it for the others to see. The first picture was the face of Shin-Il that was taken from the local security footage and fixed to expose his face. Weong-Bin blinked.

“So…what exactly is this?” he asked curiously. “That kid looks like a kid that worked with me a while back, Shin-Il. Did he have something to do with this, is that why you’re asking me?”

“Well, yea. What we really want to know is out of all the people you chose to ask for help, how you chose him?”

“I told you I had no involvement! I hate Jung Hoseok, but if this were the case, and I did do it, why the hell would I also involve my kids?!” Weong-Bin shouted, crossing his arms.

“Speaking in hypotheticals, of course.” The lawyer quickly injected.

“Because, much like any control freak partner, if you can’t have them, nobody can. Am I right?” Myung-Dae asked curiously. Weong-Bin watched as Myung-Dae reached forward, pushing the top papers away to reveal the documented phone calls between him and Shin-Il. “Do these…look familiar?” He asked curiously. Weong-Bin watched as his lawyer lifted them up and read them over. “We have the audio for those as well, which we confirmed is Weong-Bin’s voice in all of them as well as Shin-Il’s. You can’t claim it was faked or that it wasn’t Weong-Bin that made the calls, so don’t try.” Myung-Dae could see the façade finally begin to crack on Weong-Bin’s face. No longer did he see the face of a concerned father trying to prove his innocence. Behind that he began to see the eyes of the blood-thirsty, controlling monster that Weong-Bin really was. A specific sentence was running through his mind that Shin-Il had said when explaining what had happened.

He sounded frantic like he was having a mental breakdown.

Weong-Bin could see his lawyer’s face express some concern the more he read the call transcripts. He huffed.

“It must be a set-up. You can’t really believe this; you’re supposed to be my lawyer!” Weong-Bin snapped. His lawyer set down the papers.

“I want to hear the audio.” The lawyer said, and Weong-Bin groaned. Myung-Dae smirked.

“Okay then. This is perfect, we can all watch it together. There’s someone else that decided to hear it for the first time as well.” Myung-Dae looked towards the cop, motioning for him to grab someone who was waiting out of view of the rest of them. Weong-Bin raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he waited to see what all the commotion was about. It took a moment, but Weong-Bin saw Chun-Hei walk into the room, with you walking beside her. His eyes widened as you bowed to the lawyer, and the cops as well, thanking Myung-Dae for allowing you permission to join. When you looked at Weong-Bin, you held up a small SD card in your hand. He could see it was shaking.

“I bet you never thought these would make it into the home video collection, did you?” you asked softly.

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