Chapter 27 – Release
Chapter 27 – Release
Jimin helped Jungkook slip into his white dress shirt. It was still difficult to get clothing over his injured shoulder. Both Jimin and Jungkook chose to ditch their slings for the day in order to wear their full black suits for the funeral. They didn't want to bring attention to their injuries. Making things too noticible would have been a rude reminder of the events of that night.
Jungkook was unusually quiet. Jimin could only imagine the grief and guilt that must have been swirling through Jungkook's mind. Instead of trying to make him talk about what he was feeling, Jimin decided to take another more light-hearted approach.
"Jungkook-ah, tell me how you and Jackson met. I never knew." Jimin said lightly as he tied Jungkook's black tie.
Jungkook was surprisingly receptive to this approach, despite knowing full well what Jimin's true motives were.
"We were born in the same hospital just three days apart. Our Mother's shared a hospital room. They would put us in the crib together and we would keep each other company instead of crying all the time. Our families only lived about one mile away from each other, so our family would visit their family all of the time since we were babies. We would play every day. When we started school, we went to the same school. We even had the same classes and teachers. We were never separated. That's how he became my best friend. We had so much in common back then. But over time, we kinda just grew apart. By the time I audtioned to become an Idol, he had started to change. He was still a great guy, but he was having trouble in school and such." Jungkook stoped talking.
Jimin took this time to encourage Jungkook and reassure him. "Wow, so since you were babies? That is a very long time. What did you guys do most of the time when you would hang out?"
"We would dance a lot. He was a good dancer. Not the best of course, be he held his own. We would watch a lot of the latest videos and try to imitate the moves we saw. That's when we would have our most fun." Jungkook reflected. "I remember this one time, we entered into this underground dance contest. We lied to our parents and told them we were going to get tutoring in math. We won first place and $200. That was a lot for little kids. We ended up having to hide the money. If our parents found it, they would have assumed we stole it or something. We were so nervous. We couldn't spend it because we were scared that people would have been suspicious. Jackson finally broke down and told the truth to his parents. His mom put $100 for each of us into a bank account. Jackson took his money out a year later and spent it. Mine is still in my account to this very day. You know it's grown to over $3000? When we were first accepted as Idols, it was bitter sweet. I was accepted first and then Zico and Chris came a few years later. Jackson was the only one who didn't get in. That crushed him. It seemed like all of his dreams were tied into that one dissappointment. He was never the same after that, especially when we all moved to Seoul." Jungkook exhaled. He felt lighter after saying what was on his heart.
Jimin was happy to see Jungkook releasing his thoughts and sharing his feelings. Jungkook was an extremely emotional being and he didn't always know how to express himslf.
Jimin pulled Jungkook into a hug. They both winced slightly from the soreness in their bodies.**
Soujin folded her orange jumpsuit and placed it in the bag. She was already wearing the matronly black dress that her mother brought to the jail. Soujin's beautiful waist length hair was pulled carelessly into a tight bun on the top of her head. Her usual color-coded locks were a faded pink. The black roots were invading her pink highlights creating a hombre effect throughout.
"Soujin, please look at me," Soujin Mother's pleaded.
Soujin continued looking straight ahead. She slid on the black heels that were in the bag her mother provided.
"Soujin, please, honey, no one blames you. You have to stop blaming yourself. Soujin please. I've already lost one child, it feels like I'm losing another. Please come back to us sweetheart. Don't shut us out," Soujin's mother tried desperately to get through to her daughter.
Soujin stared at the back of the door. She tapped on the door to the visiting room and called the guard to take her back to her cell. The guard took Soujin's arm and began to walk her back to her jail cell. Soujin held her head low in shame; her grief defining her.
Soujin's mom burst into tears. She cried on her husband's shoulder.
"I lost my sister and my son in one week and now my eldest is slipping away too. She won't even fight for herself. How are we supposed to fight for her? I can't take anymore, I can't." Soujin's mom continued to weep.
Anderson, Soujin's youngest brother sat speechless. The situation was too big for him. He wasn't sure how he felt, who was guilty or who was innocent. He wasn't even sure he knew how to grieve. In Anderson's mind, Jackson had been gone a long time; years in fact, every since they lost him to drugs. His physical death was just the next step. But knowing that his brother was gone forever and it was his sister who killed him was a surreal circumstance that Anderson wanted desperately to escape. Anderson put his arm around his mom. It was the only thing he knew to do. Only time and reflection could help him figure out the rest.*****
Jungkook parked his new SUV in the first parking space available at the funeral home. He seemed lost in reflection thinking about his friend. Jimin held his hand.
"How you doing?" Jimin said with a beautiful smile.
"I just want this to be over. He was once a good friend Jimin, but in the end, he tried to kill you – us and I will never forget that. My emotions are all over the place. I just want this over with," Jungkook shook his head and rubbed his temples.
"And it will be over very soon, I promise," Jimin smiled the smile of a thousand diamonds.
They exited the vehicle and headed inside. Jimin suggested they sit far in the back of the funeral home. They didn't want their presence to distract from Jackson's tribute. The funeral home was small. There were about 30 people in attendance. Jungkook didn't know if they were family or friends. It was a great mystery what the mourners had been told regarding the circumstances of Jackson's death. Jimin and Jungkook had no idea if people knew they were involved on not. It was an uncomfortable showing, considering that Jimin and Jungkook were part of the fiasco that ended in Jackson's death.
Anderson sat on the front row with his parents on either side of him. Soujin was not there. Jungkook thought he recognized some of the faces in the crowd, but it had been so long that his memory was weak. He once knew this family so well, but now they were all strangers with no names.
Everyone settled and prepared for the service to begin. The side door to the funeral home opened. A deputy from the Seoul 4th precinct police department stepped inside. He held the door open for Soujin as she walked in, head down, wrists in handcuffs. The deputy escorted her to the front row where she sat next to her father. Soujin lifted her wrists and the deputy unlocked and removed her handcuffs. She rubbed her wrists and dropped her hands woefully into her lap.
Jungkook looked to his left at the far entrance. He saw two familiar faces walking into the funeral home. His old friends from Busan, Zico and Chris immediately saw him when they entered and redirected themselves to sit with him and Jimin. Jungkook stood and embraced both of them in a long hug. Jimin could feel Jungkook's relief. Finally, his best friends were there to share in his grief. Zico immediately began to sob. Chris was crestfallen and dazed.
"Is it true? His sister really shot him? He shot a police officer and a couple other bystanders?" Zico questioned Jungkook as if he knew all of the answers.
Before Jungkook could speak, Jimin interceded, "We really don't know the full story. It would be useless to speculate because there were no witnesses, so who knows?" Jungkook looked appreciatively at Jimin. He'd forgotten how sensitive this subject was and how revealing just the slightest bit of information could implicate their involvement. Sgt. Kwang and the Seoul police department had done a good job keeping their involvement confidential. No doubt in part to Yoongi and Namjoon threatening to sue the police department for negligence due to the way they handled the botched pick up.
Many speakers came and went throughout the service. Each of them reaching back into Jackson's childhood to extrapolate whatever positive memories they could. Jackson's adult life may have been a mess, but as a child, he was truly a treasure. The last speaker to rise was Jackson's father. He stood. Instead of facing the audience, he turned to the casket to face Jackson. He placed his hand gently on the top of the closed casket and tried to say a few words. His shoulders trembled and everyone from behind could see that he was falling apart. His head dropped and the tears began falling in rapid succession to the funeral home floor.
Jackson's folder spoke to him, "I never stopped loving you, I hope you know that. I never got to tell you how much I loved you."
Soujin was rocking back and forth crying. Witnessing her father's pain rubbed at the raw emotion that she was already struggling to contain. Her once silent cries began to grow until her grief exploded,
"Nooooo, Bub, Noooo! I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Soujin stood up and draped her upper body over Jackson's coffin. She continued to scream, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, please forgive me, don't hate me please, I'm so sorry Jackson, I'm so sorry. God take me instead, please take me instead, bring him back please!" Soujin's screams set off a wave of sobs throughout the mourners. Soujin's heart was breaking and every heart in the building broke along with it.
Jimin fought back tears. He held Jungkook's hand tightly. Soujin was experiencing a burden of pain and guilt that was too heavy to bare. Soujin's father gently pulled her away from the casket. He hugged her tightly as she continued to scream. At the worst possible time, the police stepped forward and placed Soujin back in handcuffs.
"I'm sorry, but she was only cleared for thirty minutes. We have to take her back now," The officer said as he led her towards the side door.
Soujin seemed to find comfort in being placed back in handcuffs. She felt it was what she deserved. Her screams were muted and turned into silent sobs. She never made eye contact with any of her family. She dropped her head once again and walked away.
Jimin jumped up suddenly and excused himself.
"Where are you going?" Jungkook withdrew his question the moment he looked into Jimin's eyes. He knew exactly where he was going.
Jimin darted towards the side door where Soujin exited. He walked quickly to catch up with her and the police officer. He was fighting back tears as he drew nearer to them. The police officer saw him approach, "Sir, please stand back, she's not allowed visitors during transport."
Jimin stopped and called her name, "Soujin."
Soujin turned around and for the first time, lifted her head as she spoke his name, "Jimin?" She said it softly and gently like it was magic.
"Hi beautiful. Love what you're doing with your hair." Jimin offered a little compliment to break the ice.
Soujin's expression lightened ever so slightly. Even the police officer seemed taken aback by the effect Jimin was having over Soujin's otherwise sullen persona.
"Soujin listen to me. We need to talk to you. Ok? Will you agree to talk to us if we come and see you? You have to agree, otherwise, they won't allow us to see you? Will you agree?" Jimin was firm and giving more of an order than making a request.
Soujin stared at Jimin, "I'll agree to see you," she said sadly and turned to continue walking towards the police car.
Jimin wiped away a few rogue tears and then headed back inside of the funeral home. When he arrived, the service was over. Chris, Zico and Jungkook were holding each other in another embrace. Jimin walked over quickly to be closer to the situation. He made a slight display of holding Jungkook's hand.
"We need to spend more time together. Promise me that we'll spend more time together?" Chris asked Jungkook.
"I promise," Jungkook replied. Jungkook always kept his promises.
Chris and Zico stepped into their Uber and drove away. As soon as they were gone, Jimin looked at Jungkook and spoke urgently,
"Baby, there's something I need to ask you." Jimin said timidly.
"You want to go see Soujiin? Yes, I agree, we can go." Jungkook said
Jimin grabbed Jungkook and pulled him into a full mouthed kiss much to their chagrin of the funeral attendees.
"I can't believe we were thinking the same thing?" Jimin was amazed.
"Really, the fact that we had the same thought surprises you? Bone of my bone remember? It's bound to happen," Jungkook said.
Jimin pulled his phone out of his pocket and began dialing numbers.
"Who are you calling?" Jungkook asked.
"Yoongi. We need some serious back up here." Jimin stated.
"Yoongi is a contract lawyer, he doesn't know anything about criminal law." Jungkook reminded Jimin.
"Nope, but remember his new girlfriend is the District Attorney. If anyone can make her listen, it's him, don't you think?" Jimin smiled.
Jungkook rubbed his temples again and made a point of his own, "True. Jimin we can get all of these people involved to try to help but ultimately Soujin has to be willing to talk and to help herself. I think you need to talk to her. She'll listen to you."
"Yes, she will listen to me," Jimin smirked a bit.
Jungkook smiled back. His fiancé was very convincing and charming when he wanted to be. It was going to be enjoyable watching him work his magic on Soujin.
Yoongi answered.
"Yoon, don't yell. Hear me out and then give me a slow yes instead of quick no." Jimin began giving Yoongi the details of their plan to help Soujin.
By the time Jimin and Jungkook arrived at the Police station, Yoongi was already there waiting in the lobby. He was not in a good mood. He yelled at them at first sight.
"You two are the gift that keeps on fucking giving aren't you? It's one thing for me to make my peace with Soujin. It's quite another for me to ask my new girlfriend to help my old girlfriend get out of JAIL! I hate this plan. I hate this plan so much. Do you know how much jewelry I'm going to have to buy her to get out of this dog house? She already has kept a lid on this whole debacle, now you want her to drop the charges against Soujin." Yoongi vented for a full three minutes without allowing Jimin or Jungkook to speak. When he was finally done, Jimin was the first to go,
"She saved our lives. We're the only two witnesses who can tell the police and DA what happened. Give us that chance, that's all we're asking." Jimin was very unapologetic. "They need to know that she wasn't involved in this and she only killed Jackson because she had to. She had to stop him since they didn't." Jimin stated his case.
"We've kept your names out of this. We've made a bunch of bullshit statements to the press and to ARMY to cover up this shit. We've managed to keep this quiet. No one knows you were involved and no one knows that you two almost died. Now you want to risk all of that?" Yoongi was beyond frustrated.
"Yes please," Jungkook innocently answered Yoongi's question. He went on, "We know what happened and we need to tell the police. She's not capable of protecting herself right now. So we have to do it. You're either with us or not. But we have to help her. It's the right thing to do."
"FUCK, I hate this plan! Find a way to keep your names out of this. I don't care what it takes, keep your names out of this!" Yoongi stormed off cursing to himself, "I never drank until I met those two. Now I need whiskey every fucking day. First they want to date, then they want to fuck, then they want to get shot, then they want to get married, now they want to save people from jail, fuck me!"
Jimin turned to Jungkook and grinned, "Alright, we've got our audience. Where do we begin?"
"We have to talk to Soujin first. Like I said, if she's not on board, then nothing else matters," Jungkook walked toward the front desk to ask for visitation with Soujin.**
Soujin had been in jail for over a week. Her parents tried to put up bail to get her out, but she refused. She felt as if she belonged in jail and she didn't want anyone's help. She had already pled guilty at her arraignment despite having no legal representation. Police asked her repeatedly to recount what happened, but the grip that grief had on her didn't allow her to say a single word in her own defense. She remained unspoken. The only words she uttered since her arrest were, "I'm guilty, I belong in jail."
Soujin was back in her orange jumpsuit by the time she was delivered to the visiting room to see Jimin and Jungkook. She entered and sat down. Her head was hung low.
"Thank you for seeing us Soujin," Jimin spoke to her lovingly.
Soujin didn't speak.
Jungkook stood in the corner. He felt that his presence looming over the conversation may interfere with Jimin's approach. He leaned against the wall and remained quiet. He watched intensely as Jimin began his quest to break through.
Soujin sat at the end of the table with her hands in her lap and her head dropped.
Jimin's voice was authoratative and a little frightening. It was definitely a tone not to be ignored, he spoke to her, "Soujin look at me." Surprisingly, she looked at him immediately.
He spoke cautiously, "You don't belong in here. We're going to get you out. Jungkook and I were the only two witnesses who saw what happened and we're going to tell the DA everything. She has already agreed to speak with us."
"I should rot in hell. I hope I die in here." Soujin dropped her head again.
"Soujin, I didn't give you permission to stop looking at me. Please look at me." Jimin chose his words carefully. He knew that she would not like the use of the word "permission". She looked up again.
"I don't need your permission for anything." She snapped at Jimin.
"We are here to help you, and we're not fucking leaving until we help you. So a little gratitude please?" Jimin smiled at her. He knew how to push her buttons. Even in her grief, she was not going to allow Jimin to control her.
"I didn't fucking ask you to come here." She swore angrily at Jimin.
"No you didn't. Soujin do you remember the night of the shooting what you said to Jackson? You told him, 'Don't hurt them, they're good people.' Do you remember that? Well Soujin you were right. We are good people. We would have been here sooner but we were in the hospital fighting for our lives." Jimin withstood the pain in his shoulder in order to remove his suit jacket. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open to reveal his scar where the bullet had embedded in his chest.
Soujin stared at him without blinking.
"Soujin look at my wound. Your brother shot me. He shot Jungkook too, he almost died from his injury. Do you know what the Doctor told us? He said that if that bullet had hit just an inch or two lower, we would have both died. Soujin when you shot Jackson, he misfired and lost his aim. He hit us here instead of here." Jimin pointed to his wound and then his heart. "When you shot him the second time, he was aiming for my head. We would be dead without you. You made a sacrifice that is too horrific to even imagine. Good people don't allow those type of deeds to go unappreciated. We will not let you rot in here. We're going to fight for you and you're going to fight for you."
Soujin dropped her head again and began to sob.
"Soujin, look at me please," Jimin asked more politely this time. She looked up again.
Jungkook stood in awe. He knew Jimin's ability to connect with people was powerful, but this was amazing even for him. Jimin really did have a super power. Jungkook felt as if his heart was opening even more widely for Jimin. How could it be possible that he was falling even more in love with him? How could it be possible that he was gaining an even deeper appreciation for this man that he already adored so much? Jungkook felt a wave a warmth travel through his entire body.
The "thing" that existed between Soujin and Jimin was not definable. It was difficult to describe but it was very real. Jungkook found it alluring. Their interactions pleased him, almost stimulated him but he never felt threatened, just intrigued. Soujin had a great affinity towards Jimin. He was the only one capable of reaching her in this situation. Jungkook shifted lightly and brushed away his smile as he continued to watch Jimin work. He watched as his brilliant fiancé single handedly breathed life back into Soujin.
Jimin continued speaking, "Let's clear the air shall we? Jackson was in a bad way. The only reason he lived as long as he did was because of you. You dedicated your entire adult life to saving him. You caught him everytime he fell. Yes, we know about that. We have resources who knew all about Jackson's drug habits. Jackson set a series of actions in motion that couldn't be stopped. Things spun out of control. None of that is your fault. He gave you no choice.
Soujin made a quick movement as if she were going to drop her head again, but this time she caught herself and decided to continue making eye contact with Jimin.
"Very good, you're starting to come around." Jimin paused and went slightly off topic, "What color ARE your eyes? I just noticed them." Jimin rested his chin on his hand and grinned at her. Jimin was flirting.
"I don't want to talk about my eyes," Soujin smiled a little.
"Ok, we'll talk about that later. For now, we're going to the DA and you're coming with us. We need you to help tell the full story. Me and Jungkook have gaps in our memory because of the blood loss and both of us coding.."
"Coding? You coded? Both of you?" Soujin interrupted. Soujin being an extremely skilled nurse, knew very well what the implications were for people who's hearts stopped beating.
Jimin responded softly as he looked back at Jungkook, "Yes, both of us."
"Together," Jungkook whispered from his position against the wall.
There was definite pain in Jimin's expression and Soujin saw it immediately. For the first time she looked back and acknowledged Jungkook, "Hi Kookles,"
"Hello Soujin," Jungkook smiled with all of the love in the world.
"Ehh-Emm," Jimin cleared his throat, "Can you please stop flirting with my fiancé and give me your attention?" Jimin teased.
"FIANCE!" Soujin grinned at both of them. "Kookles you didn't?"
"I did, in Paris!" Jungkook said proudly again.
"Congratulations, yeah, I have to get out of here because I really need to come to this wedding." Soujin's eyes lit up. But her happiness was short lived. She immediately frowned and dropped her head again in shame. She couldn't bare the thought of smiling or ever being happy again while her brother lay dead. She didn't feel she deserved happiness anymore. The news from Jimin and Jungkook only provided temporary relief from her anguish.
Jimin could feel Soujin's tumultuous feelings of guilt start to rise again. He stopped it before she could fall too far back into her hole.
"Soujin, we were making such progress." He looked for her eyes again beneath her waves of curly hair. He knew she would remember the reference.
She looked up again and said, "Let's continue making progress."
"Soujin, you have to release this guilt. It's the only way you can reclaim your life. Please let it go. Release it."
Soujin allowed a few more tears to fall down her face. She wiped her eyes and looked at Jimin confidently, "When do we talk to the DA?"
Jimin, Jungkook and Soujin were successful with getting a meeting with the DA. All three of them along with Sgt. Kwang testified under oath regarding the events that took place that night. Sgt. Kwang at the behest of Hoseok had secretly been on a quest to find video footage that could exonerate Soujin and prove that she was telling the truth. After days of searching, he was able to find a camara posted on a light post about 1000 ft away from the old rail yard. The footage wasn't great, but Kwang was able to get some friends in the cybersecurity unit to enhance the quality. It clearly showed Soujin shooting Jackson in order to stop him from shooting someone else. Mysteriously, Jimin and Jungkook weren't in the footage. The angle only showed Soujin, the deceased police offer, Jackson and Min before she ran.
The testimony of Kwang, Jimin, Jungkook and the video were enough to have all charges dropped against Soujin. She walked out of jail a free woman. Jimin made one demand as a condition for helping to free her. She had to agree that she would seek therapy to help her with her guilt and grief issues. Jimin found her an excellent counselor and placed the therapist on permanent retainer to be at Soujin's discretion indefinitely.