Diagnoses & Calls

Onew quickly took it upon himself to obtain a cab to transport the injured Kim Jongin home, and then, with typical aplomb, invited himself along to the estate. Jongin was sharp enough to give in immediately, and Taemin's words had fallen on deaf ears. He sat smiling to himself as Taemin sulked in the backseat, and Jongin appeared entirely oblivious. The cabbie, raising his hat slightly to look at the scene in his mirrors, shook his head and decided that these were passengers it was better not to initiate conversation with.

It was a wise choice to make.

He had not been entirely honest with Taemin – Jonghyun had in fact been the one out to investigate the phone call, he had simply gone along for a chance to clear his mind from distraction. Growing rather bored with the inquiry, he’d parted ways with his friend and wandered the city area, and, quite by chance, stumbled upon Taemin and Jongin. Now, in his fashion, it certainly would not have done to just leave them there - and it was perfectly acceptable to invite yourself without being asked, wasn't it? And he had been quite hungry. He was sure he hadn't caused Taemin any sort of embarrassment. 

Leaning his cheek against the glass of the cab, the image of Byun Baekhyun swam across his vision. The man smiled at him momentarily, a dead smile in a waxy face, and Onew shuddered. 

His dreams had been confusing and terrifying things, walking up in the morning in a cold sweat, hands still struggling to stop the bullet – or was it a knife? Who was it that was dying? Sometimes it was Baekhyun, but then it was Taemin, Jonghyun, Key, Minho, Eugene, and – but he was always a heartbeat too late. Every time. 

Shaking his head, and seeing that they were entering the grounds of the mansion, he returned his mind forcibly to the present. It would not to do to live in memories; they trapped you in them and tried to make you a part of them forever. He had not exorcised all his ghosts, and still they dogged his footsteps. But he would, he promised himself, he would not fail himself or his friends another time by allowing himself to remain that foolish, fragile man forever. One day.

The horror of Baekhyun's death was starting to fade from his mind - he knew logically, rationally, that there was nothing he could do to reverse it. There was only ever the way forward, to atone.  

The good doctor was waiting for them as they pulled into the gravel driveway, fussing at Taemin to return his patient to his room. Taemin gave him a little wave, supporting a protesting Jongin towards the house. Jonghyun was also waiting for him, looking nonplussed. “Is there a reason you asked me to come here instead of regrouping with what I’ve found? And it’s important, mind you!” he demanded, resting his black bag on his shoulder. His friend looked both peeved and excited, clearly aligning a visit to the estate with trouble. 

Not, mind you, that Onew ever set out to cause trouble. It just, as Eugene grumbled, followed him about everywhere. 

“I’ve mind to speak to some of the occupants of the house,” Onew explained, “And I do believe Doctor Zhang is going for a stroll on the grounds and would not at all be put out by us joining him.”

Jonghyun frowned, seeing the way the doctor was staring off into space with a smile on his face. “Are we going to be looking at flowers?”

“Of course not, where do you get these ideas from?”

“And look, Mr Onew, at those roses, why the colour!” Yixing exclaimed, pointing at a large bush. Onew gasped, immediately scurrying over on the doctor’s heels to examine the beauty of nature.  

Jonghyun scowled to himself, trudging along behind the delighted doctor and detective. He had never entirely understood why Onew required his presence for this sort of thing, since he seemed to take the role of a scruffy houseplant rather than a contributing investigator. But then, he supposed it was always useful to have multiple people around, since it allowed him to observe the actions of the doctor. And it certainly gave him a chance to question the doctor if he felt that Onew was being too mild on him. 

They had, so far, covered a significant portion of the grounds, stopping whenever the doctor or Onew spotted something of interest. Interest, it soon arose, was a very flexible definition that included, but was not limited to, every possible breed of flower imaginable, bushes, flowers, oddly-shaped stones, trees, flowers, small woodland creatures, and flowers. It had taken Jonghyun’s restraining hand to prevent Onew and Yixing from going after a squirrel. Rescuing people out of tall trees was not his part of his skill set. 

And Onew was certainly not light.

At this moment, Yixing was explaining to Onew the different meanings of roses, to which his friend was listening intently. Jonghyun listened with half-an-ear, trying to figure out what was going on behind that foolish smile. “And these, for example, you could bring home to your wife!” Yixing concluded, holding out a bouquet. That snared his attention. 

“I b-beg your p-pardon?” Onew managed. It was the first time Jonghyun had ever seen his boss so caught off guard. The feeling was mutual, and he too gaped at Yixing. The doctor blinked. 

“Oh yes – Eugene! You all mention her so frequently and how she does boss you around so! Ah, romance nowadays!” Yixing exclaimed. It bothered Jonghyun that Yixing had been paying such close attention to their private conversations. He wondered what el