33

Everyone rushed to Seoul Multispecialty hospital ignoring the media that was hounding them. They rushed to the reception where Eileen was standing who ushered them to the floor where operation theatre was set. "Eomma...", Hoseok ran as he hugged his mother and cried. Everyone was in a mess. Jae hugged her son and cried. She looked at Jin who ran to hug her. Jae took her sons in arms and was wailing loudly. Joon walked towards Hoseok. Joon placed his hand on Hoseok's shoulder who hugged his husband and cried in his arms. "It's okay, Hobah. He will be fine. He is a fighter."

"How's appa?", Hoseok asked hiccupping in-between sobs.

"He is still in operation theatre. He heard a heart attack. I don't know what to do." Jae began sobbing loudly.

"He will be fine, Eomma." Jin consoled his mom. This was a sudden turn of events. Jin didn't predict this.

They sat down in the waiting room not knowing what to do. The situation was too delicate to handle and no one knew how to deal with it.

After a few hours, the surgeon, Dr. Song emerged from the room.

"Doctor, how is my father?" Hoseok ran towards him.

"As you know he had a heart attack. He is out of danger and his condition is stable now..."

"Can we see him?", Joon asked.

"Not right now. He is unconscious. It will take time for him to wake up."

Joon nodded. "You can visit him once he is in the room. Right now, we are shifting him to the ICCU", the doctor said.

"When will you move him to the room?", Hoseok asked his voice filled with fear and concern.

"Tomorrow. Right now, he is on observation. We cannot permit anyone else except me or medical staff." Doctor Song said strictly.

"Okay. I will be here", Jae said.

"No Eomma, I will stay back. You should go home", Hoseok insisted.

"No. Hobi. You go home. I will be here, he is my husband", Jae said.

"But Eomma"

No buts Hobi...Go home. I will be here", Jae reinstated.

"Doctor, please inform me once you move my father", Hoseok said sadly.

"Of course. But bear in mind that he is still under sedation and if he gains consciousness, he might try to speak and we don't want that. We don't want him to take any kind of stress." Hoseok nodded as Dr. Song advised him.

****************

Jackson said they could investigate Hoseok, Jin and Joon later. After all, they were at the hospital. The situation was sensitive. But Hoseok wanted answers. Plus, he wanted Jimin out. So after sometime, Joon called Jackson and said they will be at the police station much to Jin's annoyance.

Jimin was waiting in the interrogation room when Jackson arrived with some files. He wanted to tell Jackson that he had nothing to do with it regardless what they found at his home. "Just because you found it in my room doesn't mean I did it. Someone planted it. And I know who it is."

"Who", Jackson asked.

"Jin....I am sure its Jin. He is behind all this", Jimin barked. Jackson knew in all his heart that Jimin won't do it. Joon had already warned him about Jin but right now he needed to keep a close eye on Jimin as well since he is a suspect. Never once in his life did Jackson think he and Jimin would be on the opposite sides of law. "Why would Jin do this?" Jackson asked calmly.

"Why don't you ask him than questioning me? I am pretty sure he wants to get rid of Hobi so that he can have Joon hyung all by himself."

"Hmmm...even if that is, how are you in this whole scene? Why does he want to get rid of you?" Jackson questioned him again.

"Coz he knows I won't let anything happen to Hobi. He is not just my brother in law, but also my best friend."

"Hmmm". Jackson nodded as he stared intensely at Jimin. Jimin grabbed Jackson's hands taking him by surprise. "Jackson, I know how it looks, but trust me, I didn't do anything. I don't need anyone else's money. I was practically born with a golden spoon. Our parents company – Kim Corporation is one of the largest companies in South Korea. Why would I need anyone else's property? I have no interest in any of this. I joined Jung Corp only because Hobah and Hwan uncle insisted. Ask them."

"I will."

Hoseok, Jin and Joon were also questioned in other rooms by respective officers who questioned if they had any inkling of this news. Jin was questioned by one of the officers – Young-jae. He sat coolly opposite the officer who was questioning him. "Why would I plant this in Jimin's room?"

"You tell me", asked Young-jae.

"I have much better things to do than get back at Jimin", Jin scoffed.

"Do you?"

Jin leaned in staring directly at Young-jae's face. "Hey...officer....Young-jae...In case you don't know who I am, I am the son of Jung Hwan.".

"So?", Young-jae questioned coolly as he continued, "Why would that make you special?"

"Jung Corporation is one of the biggest companies in Korea. That means my family is both rich and powerful."

"But didn't your family disown you?", Young-jae asked which made Jin flinch a little but he quickly recovered. This didn't go unnoticed by Young-jae. He smirked as he continued, "And then Mr. Jung made Jimin the COO and Hoseok the CEO of the company. Phew...that must have made you mad, isn't it Seokjin?.. Really mad. I mean, Hoseok got married to Mr. Namjoon. Your brother-in-law is now the COO of Jung Corporation. Sheesh...it must have been tough watching everyone in your family stab you like that in the back."

Jin clenched his jaw. Young-jae was spot on. He glared at Young-jae, "Hey, I know you police people....Don't try to put words in my mouth, okay?", Jin warned.

"Okay...", the officer glared at Jin coolly.

"Why would I put Jimin's name? This is my and my brother's property. If I wanted it already, I would put my name, not Jimin's. If I wanted Joon back, I would have done it already. This is ridiculous. I had nothing to do with it." The officer nodded. Jin didn't realize he had dropped a hint inadvertently to Young-jae. The man kept his cool and nodded to Jin. "We understand Mr. Jung Seokjin but we just had to ask questions." Jin nodded understandingly. Though he got suspicious of Young-jae, he ignored his gut completely. Goodbye Jimin. Have a great life in jail. He smiled internally.

Hoseok on the other hand defended Jimin. He knew his best friend. Sun would rise from the West but his friend would never do such a thing. He was 100% sure of that. "He is not just my brother-in-law...he is my best friend like Taehyung and Yoongi. He would never do such a thing." Hoseok assured. The officer – Jin-young nodded understandingly. "Mr. Hoseok, I understand you are trying to save your friend but we found evidence."

"Proofs can be planted." Hoseok said sadly.

"Any idea Mr. Hoseok who could do it?"

Hoseok fell silent. "Jimin said Jin, your brother is behind all this. Do you believe Jin did it?"

Hoseok nodded. "I don't know what to believe officer...but it will tell you one thing. Jimin would never do such a thing."

"So you are saying Jin did it?", the officer asked.

"I am saying, all I want is to find out the truth", Hoseok confessed.

In another interrogative room, Joon felt his head pounding. It was one pounding on his head after another. "I believe my brother. He would never do that. Someone is trying to frame him." Joon said defending his brother. Kim Yu-gyeom sighed, "Mr. Namjoon, this is proof....it is evidence that he planned the whole thing...Not to forget, we found it in his room. Who would go to his room...his personal space and put those documents there?" Joon didn't know what to say.

Yu-gyeom placed the documents and showed a page. "This is Jimin's sign, isn't it?"

"But"

"No buts Mr. Namjoon, is this your brother's sign or not?"

"It does look like it...", Joon said half-heartedly.

"Not look like it, is it a yes or no? Is this your brother's sign or not?", Yu-gyeom asked again.

Joon nodded silently. He knew Jimin won't do it. But everything was against his brother. He knew Jimin was right. Somewhere he knew Jin was behind all this. But he had no proof. How is he supposed to help his brother?

Jackson was about to walk out of the interrogation room. "So, am I going to jail now?" Jimin asked sadly to his friend. Jackson didn't say anything. He didn't know how to console his friend. "Until we find further proof.....but this doesn't mean you are off the hook. You cannot leave the city or country." Jimin nodded as Jackson closed the door of the room and walked towards his desk. His mind was reeling with questions. "What did we find out about those messages on reporters' phones?"

"It's spoofed, can't track who it is", said a subordinate officer.

"Dammit...There must be something we can find out about these messages", Jackson cursed as he hoped to find a clue.

"I am trying...but there are lot of underground networks and apps for spoofing that makes it unable to trace them", the officer confessed.

"I know...I know", Jackson ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "How about the reporters? Why didn't they verify the source before printing the news?", Jackson asked hoping to get a lead.

The junior officer shrugged. He didn't know what to say. They need to question the reporters. Why didn't they check the source? And sadly, before they could, Mr. Jung went into heart attack. Jackson's brain was overthinking and rethinking the situation again and again. Joon had informed Jackson that he had an inkling in his gut that it was Jin who kidnapped Hoseok but he wanted to give Jin the benefit of the doubt. Joon didn't file a case much to Jackson's surprise and asked him to keep it low. But Joon said he will keep a close eye on Jin. After Jin attempted suicide in front of Joon, he suddenly had a change of heart. Joon started paying more attention to Jin not to mention asking Jin to stay at Kim Mansion. Joon's behavior confused Jackson. He needed answers from Joon.

Joon, on the other hand, had already called his lawyer, Ji-Sung, who explained that just because they found the documents in Jimin's room doesn't automatically make him guilty. Ji-Sung emphasized that the situation requires more investigation before jumping to conclusions. He assured Joon that they could apply for bail for Jimin while they continue to gather evidence and build their case. So yes, they could proceed with that plan.

Jimin was released on interim bail. It was almost midnight to complete all the procedures. By this time, their stomachs were growling with hunger. Joon suggested taking Jimin to his Kim mansion, but Hoseok insisted on going to the hospital. Jin volunteered to accompany Hoseok much to Joon's surprise. But he didn't think much as he thought maybe Jin just wanted to see his dad. Hoseok sat in the car with Jin and drove off leaving Jackson, Jimin and Joon outside the police station.

"This is planned. Someone is trying to frame you Jimin", Joon said. He looked at Jackson who gave a slight nod. "Jackson, did you find out anything?"

"No. So far, nothing's been known. The message that was sent to the media was traced back to an unknown number. Whoever did this know how to cover the tracks." Jackson said as he continued, "Don't worry. Right now, you are just a suspect. Nothing until proven guilty. Also, the media did not verify the source, i.e. the documents that they received. So, it doesn't hold much. But this doesn't mean you are out. You shouldn't leave anywhere."

"I know the laws, Jackson; I know how it works. I have seen it in movies", Jimin ran his hand through his hair. He was frustrated. He hasn't showered or had anything. Within 24 hours, his whole life has been turned upside down. He was trying to understand the whole thing of how he almost ended up in jail. He sat in the car with Joon, his mind reeling with thoughts. The entire ride was silent. Joon, on the other hand, knew he had hurt his brother. The whole scene gone so much out of hand that he had raised his hand on his own little brother. Joon tried to talk to Jimin but he kept his eyes out of the window staring into absence. "We need to find out who did it."

*Silence*

"Do you really think Jin did it?"

*Silence*

"I really hope Hwan uncle is alright."

*Silence*

"Come on Jiminah, you are not talking to me, now?"

*Silence*

"I am sorry okay? I shouldn't have...", Joon paused for a moment. This was the first time he laid hands on his brother. Apart from the silly fights between two brothers, he never fought with his brother. He wanted to kick himself but he didn't know what came over him. "Mochi...I am sorry. I shouldn't have slapped you."

*Silence*

"I know I am not the one to lose my emotions but everything was happening so fast. I didn't know what to do. I am sorry. Forgive me, brother."

"Hmm." A mild sound came from Jimin.

Joon parked his car on the side and placed his hand on Jimin's shoulder who was still not meeting Joon's eyes.

"Jiminah..." Joon pressed Jimin's shoulder who looked at him with puppy eyes. His eyes were brimming with silent tears. "I didn't do it hyung."

Joon's heart fell like it broke into a thousand pieces. "I know..I know...trust me when I say this but whoever did this will pay.", Joon promised. The last time he saw Jimin cry was when their parents passed away. He was always the strong one but to see him break was gut-wrenching to Joon. Joon wiped his brother's tears. "I promise...he will suffer." Joon unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned to hug his brother who sobbed loudly. Joon patted his brother's head and let him cry his heart out.

Suddenly, he felt his phone chime. It was from Jackson.

"WE NEED TO TALK. MEET ME AT SYZ CAFÉ AT 9 TOMORROW MORNING."

Joon felt his heart sink. What did Jackson want to talk about?

***********************

TBC....

HAPPY MAHASHIVRATRI TO ALL MY READERS....MAY LORD SHIVA SHOWER HIS BLESSINGS ON YOU.

JAI BHOLENATH.