ALL IN BLOOM || VMINKOOK ?

16

"You think Jimin left the night before?"

"Not willingly.Whoever shut bam in the bathroom didn't even put his water bowl in there with him."

"Jimin would never have left him like that. I think Ryan is lying."

"Why would he lie?" Will demanded.

"He wants to follow in his father's footsteps and become a journalist. Chances are, he knew Lisa was missing before anyone else. Maybe he just wanted to create a sensational headline?"

"What better than Princess Lisa abducted by rogue omega'?"

"I'll call the guards and ask them to bring Ryan here to speak with us," Joon said grimly.

"We'll get to the truth, one way or another."

He stepped out to make the call.

"Why did you select Jimin for the contest?" Jin asked.

"He seems like a strange choice."

Again, the difficulty.

How much to admit to?

"We actually met him, on his island," Jungkook explained.

"We were on leave for a few days, our boat broke down right next to it," Tae added.

"Whose idea was it to make him a contestant?"

"Mine," Jungkook admitted.

"Not Jimin's?"

Tae laughed. "Jimin didn't even know who Jungkook was."

"Think about it. Seven years with no TV, no internet, maybe a newspaper now and then."

"He's so far removed from current affairs he could be a time traveler."

"So, not likely to be a member of the underground omega rights group the media have been scaremongering about," Jin concluded.

Tae made a face at that but stayed silent. Jungkook shared his opinion; that those politicians who were against loosening of the omega laws conspired with those in the media to do any thing they could to stoke public fear and move attention away from reforming the punitive laws.

"No," Jungkook said firmly.

Namjoon returned.

"They'll have him here in a few minutes."

It was a tense wait for the knock on the door, and then a guard was leading Ryan inside.

The beta's eyes went wide when he saw who he was facing.

"Your Majesties, Lieutenant Winters." He stared at them, belatedly giving them a clumsy bow.

"You're lying about seeing Park Jimin leaving the guest wing this morning," Joon said in challenge.

"Why?"

"I...um... what?" Ryan paled, his eyes going wider.

"Ryan," Jungkook said quietly, the menace clear in his voice.

"You're in a lot of trouble right now. You're about to be charged as an accomplice in the abduction of Princess Lisa."

" You need to think very carefully about what you say and do next."

"I didn't even know she'd been abducted when they asked me about Jimin," the beta rushed to say.

"I'd never have said I'd seen him if I'd known why they were asking."

"Then you didn't see Jimin?"

"Not this morning. I saw him last night, right before bed, as he was heading into his room."