"나 괜찮을까 . 이렇게 계속해 달리면 . 숨이 멎을텐데 ."
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"Will I Be Okay . If I Keep Running Like This . I'll Run Out Of Breath ."

🎶Shoebox - Epik High🎶

➡️At the small, one-story house of Euiwoong and Euisoo, Hyungseob stared at the framed picture of him, Euiwoong and Euisoo. Though, it was probably taken about 10 years ago, it felt as if it happened yesterday.

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"Hyungseob! Look, it's a snail!" a 7-year-old boy exclaimed. "Can I touch it?"

"Why not?" the 10th grader replied. Proceeding to bend down to where Euiwoong was currently, under a big tree, he watched in amazement as the younger had no fear of touching the slimy creature. Unlike the older, who was scared of many things, Euiwoong always seemed like the older brother. The one who reminds Hyungseob of his older brother. It wasn't until Euisoo came into the picture, where her brother has no control over her. Euiwoong was, instead, protected by her; just as a mom would protect her child.

"Hey! Kids!" a lady's voice reached their ears from far away. "Come take a picture! I want to use this new camera I bought today!" The two boys ran in race to the source of the sound.

"Ha! I beat you!" Euiwoong told off Hyungseob.

"Yeah, alright. You win."

"Here. You two stand here. I'm going to take a picture of us to print!"

"Okay," which was said in unison.

With the fast feet of Euisoo returning to her spot in front of the camera, there was a sound of confirmation that the picture was taken.

Click. Hyungseob may even remember a flash as the photo was being taken.

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"What're you looking at?" Hyungseob could've sworn he didn't hear Woojin approach him.

"Oh, just an old picture of me and Euiwoong," not moving from his position, where he was peering down, with his body too, at the picture on the desk. What he wasn't expecting next was Woojin's face to pop up besides his own, in the same position looking at the photo.

"Is that Euisoo?" Hyungseob turned his head left to face Woojin after his question was heard. Not only did he aspire for Woojin's skills, but he liked Woojin's physical. In short, Woojin was perfect. Wow, even his side profile up close is pretty nice.

His smile did not go unnoticed as Woojin turned to the other as well. "Hmm?" Crap. Their faces just mere inches away from each other. Just like a scene in a movie. Hyungseob was the first to move out of the trance and stood up straight.

"Um...What did you say? I didn't hear you well, sorry." He hit him up with one of those Park Jihoons and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"Hmm, I said it pretty loud and close enough for you to hear. I asked if the girl in there was Euisoo."

"Oh, um. Yeah. That's her." He pointed to the frame.

"Maybe you were caught up in the memories." A shake of his head followed right after. "You can't be getting distracted like this, Ahn Hyungseob. You have to pay attention while you are working, okay?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Woojin. I'll keep that in mind." By now, the sweat that formed on his head was probably dribbling down the side of his face. His head laid low as he was getting 'scolded'. Without him knowing, Woojin let out a small smirk before walking towards the bathroom. Hyungseob did also. It's gonna be a late night.

"I can't believe there isn't a single piece of thing out of pla-Oh! Seob!" No one gave you permission to call me that. "I found a some pieces of hair near the window."

"How can you be so sure that it's something suspicious?"

"I'm a profiler. In this town, you suspect everything. It might as well be Gotham City."

"Yeah, you're right. But, still, it could be one of their hairs. How could you just assume an intruder came in?"

"Alright, time to get lessons on being a profiler 101." Finally! With a nod of Hyungseob's head, Woojin spoke his tips. "I've looked around this house, and there are no traces of anyone else besides the two of them living here. Not even a single trace of other family members." More nodding and an 'o' shaped mouth was in response to Woojin's words. "Two, that hair is not long or wavy enough to be Euisoo's. Besides, it looks like her and Euiwoong's hair aren't blonde. And by the way, this window is too tall for Euisoo to possibly have anything to do up there. It also seems like no one comes to this window. It's much farther from anything else in this bathroom."

"Wow."

"You see, this is the thing you have to remember about being a detective. It's the small things that count. And that was only the beginning. There could be a bazillion other reasons why this hair does not belong to the people of this house!"

"You put so much effort into your cases. I can see why you can solve one so fast." He was still in shock from Woojin's monologue that he said everything in a monotone voice. What put him out of his awe was a laughter, just a tiny one, from the boy across from him.

"Yes, thanks. But," he got closer and out a hand on Hyungseob's shoulder, "I'm not the one who wins in the end." Though, Hyungseob didn't really know what he meant, all he could think about the faint touch on his shoulder. Without any further words, he turned back to the window and grabbed a plastic glove and bag from his pocket. Dang. Woojin was born ready. For the time remaining, all Ahn did was watch the former at work. Will I ever get to this one day? Will I be okay if I keep running like this?

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"Thank you to all you all-nighters who are tuning in to Yoo Seonho's 3am radio! Next up is a song dedicated to those hard-working people who get home late. Enjoy!"

Once again in the car, Hyungseob found himself texting Jihoon about the situation and that they were heading there to drop off the evidence for him to send to the forensics. The melody of the song also played throughout the car ride, in which Hyungseob took a liking to it.

"Babe, I'm comin' home.
Just wait, I'll be at your door soon.
You won't ever be alone.
If I'm late, I'll be lying at your side when you wake up"

"Hey, Ahn." Why can't he just call me Hyungseob? Gosh.

"Yes?"

"Why do you want to be a profiler? Why in this dreadful town?"

For a while, Hyungseob just stared out his window. In the midst of this night, so much has already happened. He pondered for a while. What happens when I do become one? Will I be on the same team as Woojin? There were so many questions he had, but for now, he lived in the moment. Here, on a late night drive with Woojin, he cherished it, as if it would never happen again; it wasn't even his first time traveling with him, but it just felt different this time.

"I think..." he trailed off. As it was currently at a red light, Woojin tore his eyes off the road to face Hyungseob, waiting for his answer.

"It's okay. You don't have to answer it now," the other assured him.

Though, Hyungseob's next words were mere mumbles, Woojin could hear them clearly. "I would've stop striving to be one if I never met you."

The older smiled at that, but looking out his own window. "What was that again?"

"It was nothing. I think I'm just too tired right now to think of answer."

"Ah, alright. You can go to sleep for now then. We still have another thirty minutes til we get to the station." Hyungseob must've been really sleepy at that point. He was knocked out with the last sentence he heard. "Don't worry, Seob. I'll make your dreams come true." Was that real? No, I'm probably dreaming right now.

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Finally at the station, Hyungseob woke up to the stop of the car's engine. "You awake?" All he replies with is a grumble. "I'll go inside and give this to Jihoon. Just stay in here, okay?" Another mumble. After closing the door of the car, Woojin proceeded to the doors of the station, where Hyungseob's eyes followed. Through the windowed doors, he could see Jihoon's head just above the horizon of the tall desk he was behind. He didn't see much dialogue between them, so he wasn't surprised to find Woojin jogging back to the car as quick as he came out.

In the car, Hyungseob was anticipating the other to say something, as he sat there for about a minute, thinking; he was right. "Heeeey, Ahn?"

"Hmm?"

"My house is kinda far from here. And it's already about to be 4am."

"Yeah?" Hyungseob was still trying to comprehend everything, as there was still fatigue.

"Could I stay at your apartment for tonight? And since you live closer to the station than me, we can access things in there easily for our case." Our case.

"Oh, that's fine. But, I only have one bedroom and I wouldn't want you to sleep on my couch. Euiwoong also is there."

"You have a floor, right?"

Now flustered and awake, Ahn was quick to respond. "Oh, no! You can't sleep on my floor. I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable."

"I think I would rather sleep on your floor than in my car."

"Well..." At that moment, the car was again and off they were to the apartment.

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In the morning, Euiwoong was the second to wake up to the smell of toast. Indeed, it was Hyungseob's cooking he had smelled; however, he feared the possibility of there being eggs on the table. The next thing that rang throughout the flat was the scream of a certain 17-year-old.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to step on you!" Woojin had just had the most bizarre, and painful, wake up call. With a foot in his stomach and a pillow thrown sharp to his face, not to mention a scream, he immediately sat up with a hand clutching his abdomen. "Are you okay??"

"Ugh- Yeah... I'm fi-"

The door swung open, revealing a worried Hyungseob with a butter knife in his hand. "What's wrong?"

"I accidentally stepped on your guest." Sighhhhhh.

The figure that was on the ground now stood up, still a hand lying on top of his stomach. "No, no I'm fine. Hyungseob, do you have any clothes for me to change into?"

"Yeah, I prepared clothes and a towel for you in the bathroom. You can wash up while I'll catch up with Euiwoong. There'll be buttered toast for you when you're done. I can't cook anything else, ha."

Woojin laughed at that. 'How cute,' he was probably thinking. "Thanks, I'll be back in about 15 minutes then."

As Woojin was doing his thing, the other two discussed in the kitchen. "So, will we be able to find Euisoo?"

"Well, that depends on those pieces of hair. I honestly don't know how or why Woojin thinks this will give us a lead, but I trust him. I always have."

"Hmm, alright. Thanks Hyungseob. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't working at the police station."

"Anything for you, Woong. You're letting me in on a favor too. So, much appreciated."

Euiwoong had a piece of toast hanging from his mouth, as he then asked, "Huh? How am I doing a favor for you?"

"This may seem sad, but I learned some things as I was working on Euisoo's case with Woojin. I might become a detective around this time."

"Why is that sad? I'm glad to 'help'! But, please... find her. I'd appreciate that too." The older of the two laughed, as he poked his toast with a buttered spoon.

"Alright, Woong. We will." A comfortable silence followed after, until it was interrupted by another voice.

"Ahn Hyungseob!" Woojin shouted from afar.

"Yes?" he yelled back, walking towards the closed bedroom. "Did you need som-" oHHHHh my-

"Hyungseob!" he cheered, shirtless. "Hey, this shirt you gave me is too small, sorry. Do you have a sweater or hoodie?"

"Oh, um, le-lemme check!" He avoided the other when he walked to the closet, face full of warm red. Just as he was looking for it, he jolted at the sound of a ringing noise.

"Hello, dad?" It was only the sound of Woojin's phone going off. "Yes. Yes? Right now?" Hyungseob took a glance at Woojin while still attempting to find the pieces of clothing. "A-All of us? Um...Yeah. Okay. We'll be there in a few. Okay. Goodbye." After the call ended, a gray sweater was finally delivered to Woojin from the hands of Hyungseob, who was both curious and still blushing. "Thanks, I'll return it later."

"Yeah, no rush!" For a minute there, the shirtless one stared at the shirt that was given to him. "Um, do you want me to go out?"

"Ah, no...It was just..." Their eyes finally met, even after the other avoiding what's in front of his eyes currently. Put the dang shirt on, Woojin. With a tilt of his head, the other finally started speaking again. "The cheif said he looked at what the forensics sent back. And he discussed it with a few people at the station."

"So...?"

"They said. It was someone with a past criminal record. Of robbery and kidnapping. So, if my hunches were right. She was," in order for the guy in the kitchen not to hear, he continued in a whisper, "really kidnapped." Hyungseob was very uncomfortable about the position they were in now. A shirtless Woojin close to his ear, while he just stood there, even redder than before.

"O-Oh, really? T-That's great Woojin! Ha, good j-job, I guess." Nothing about the seriousness of this case affected Hyungseob, as he was still thinking about the fact of their proximity right now.

"Yeah, thanks but...He wants us to solve it."

"Us?? But he hasn't even promo-"

"Us and some other folks. We're going to be in a team, he said. If we do good, we can become a permanent team. And we'll all get promoted." All Hyungseob could answer with was a drooped, open mouth and a blank mind. "... Hyungseob?"

"No, I'm fine. Totally," again, with his monotone voice.

Once again, the older found himself laughing at the other. "Alright, let's go then!"

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In the station, there gathered 6 figures sitting at a conference table, along with an Euiwoong in the room next door; Hyungseob claimed he couldn't let him stay at his apartment alone. "Alright," with a clap of a hands, Chief Park--the Head Chief of Wenara's Police Station and Father to the only child, Park Woojin--stood at the front of the room, where there was a slideshow projected into the wall. "I gather all 5 of you here today to present a case I believe you are all worthy of completing. Of course, with Mr. Park Woojin being the head example for you." He then cleared his throat to speak the rest of his words. "I'm sure you all may not know each other, so I'll take the burden of introducing you to each other." Pointing to the guy across from me, the elder started. "This is Park Woojin, who is apart of Wenara's Violent Crimes Team as a profiler. He is not a rookie, but he'll be here to assist you in this case." Said person stood up to now in respect and smile. "Over here to the left of Woojin is Park Jihoon. He works at the front desk, usually helping walk-ins. In this team, he'll be your cyber detective. He'll work with the technology and stuff of that sort." Jihoon stood up to greet everyone.

"Hello, I'm Park Jihoon and I'm 25!" A few claps from Hyungseob and Woojin followed after.

"On this side of the table," the side in which Ahn sat, "we start off with Kang Daniel. He doesn't actually belong to this station, but he has helped us blindly with the forensics, which is what he'll be doing here." Daniel wasn't someone Hyungseob had seen before. Maybe he was the one who conducted tests on the hair? "Now, here is the medical examiner of the group. Ong Seongwoo. Though, he isn't a detective, he will conduct tests on evidence. Similar to what Daniel will be doing."

"Hi! My name is Ong Seongwoo. Not Gong, Hong, but Ong. Thank you."

"And finally," Hyungseob's excitement was continuously rising at the moment. "we have Ahn Hyungseob, who is the actual detective of the group. He's what you'll call, an all-rounder. The one who solves the problem, with his mind." Yes!

"Hello, I'm Ahn Hyungseob. 25. A traffic cop." Before sitting down, he caught Woojin's eyes looking at him with a smile, in which he returned it.

"Alright, yes. This is, temporarily, the Violent Crimes Team of my station in Wenara. If you do well, you will be rewarded. So, I'm sure we all know what this case is about, so get started. This is a serious case of kidnapping, so please, within 5 days." And with the ending remark, the Cheif walked out of the room, leaving the 5 of them to discuss. Just as that happened, Woojin stood up and put his two palms in the table.

"Hello, I will be the leader of this team. So, let's go through this slideshow and get to solving." Several nods confirmed the beginning of this new start. It's finally happening. And Woojin's on my team.

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After the meeting, they all found themselves in the living room of Jihoon abode; Euiwoong was to be kept here for Jihoon to protect for the time being. Hyungseob also thought he had heard something about having another guy, who lived there, named Guanlin to help Jihoon watch him. He was a lawyer in this town, and also tied to Jihoon.

Because they only had 5 days, they began to investigate right then and there. Right then and there, it was about 5pm. They had spent the morning and afternoon creating a plan to follow for now. First thing, was to find this criminal who had taken Euisoo. It was an undercover plan, with Jihoon and Seongwoo staying at his house to monitor and guide the other members, through technical stuff--things only Jihoon knew how to work. Other members were to split up in different places around an area to hopefully find this guy, or a lead for the next day. "Okay, so this how we will go," Woojin spoke. All eyes were on him. "Hyungseob, Daniel, and I will go to the streets closest to where the suspect had been seen last. Remember, it was around yesterday afternoon, he was seen around a underground club. Daniel will be the one to check in that club, while me and Ahn will stay outside around it. Jihoon and Seongwoo. You two will have the responsibility of watching from the CCTVs to look out for us, and to analyze anything we send to them. Also, to keep Euiwoong here and safe. So, onward we go. This is only day one, but let's not waste our times too much."

"Ayee, let's do this!" exclaimed Daniel, who was dressed in a nice suit and styled hair, to fit right into that club.

"Alright, good luck out here guys!" Seongwoo wished them. The three were now out the door and in Woojin's vehicle.

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Now, it was dark enough to see the lights of the streetlamps shining on the sides of the roads. From the back wall of the building that disclosed the party scene underground, Hyungseob spoke into his earpiece. "Anything yet, Daniel?"

"Yeah. I can see him perfectly from here." Hyungseob didn't actually know what 'here' was, as he wasn't the one in the club.

"Where's he now?"

"Oh! He's going out the back way. It leads upstairs! You might have to hide Hyungseob!"

"What? O-Okay!" He proceeded to go behind the giant, horrid-smelling dumpster because it was really the only place to hide. Another voice came in from his earpiece.

"Hyungseob! He's going left, where the alley deepens. Go follow him, carefully." It was his one and only best friend, Park Jihoon.

"Alright. I'll go now."

"Ahn!" a whispered voice came from behind him. He almost screeched, but then remembered what situation he was in, so only a sharp jolt buzzed through his body.

"Woojin. What're you doing here?"

"I'll go with you to follow him."

"Oh, alright." The both of them crept from wall to wall, until they found the guy again. With their backs to a wall, they saw the guy just around the corner, but he was stopped. He just stood there, looking at the ground. It wasn't until he turned around, Woojin popped his head back around the corner, hoping he wasn't caught.

"Is someone there?" they heard. Footsteps slowly got louder. It sometimes dragged on the gravel. "Hello?"

Swiftly, on the side of the corner where the two stood, Woojin grabbed Hyungseob and placed him with his back on the wall. "Woojin?" he whispered. "What-" Next, Woojin placed Hyungseob's on his shoulders, but he was still confused.

"Shh," was all Woojin said. Another surprise came up, and Hyungseob had absolutely nothing to do about it. Just as the suspect rounded the corner, Woojin put his left hand on the back of the younger's neck and the other on his waist. He rapidly pulled his body close to Hyungseob's, where their faces we're less than a centimeter apart, lips barely, just barely, touching. Hyungseob had his eyes shut tightly, while Woojin stared at him, half-lidded. The moment lasted a life-time for Hyungseob, and he didn't know what to do at this point.

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A/N. Not Edited At All Man. But Oh Well. Hope You Enjoyed This Chapter. The Plot Will Definitely Intensify In The Next One. :) (p.s. ot7∞ forever. support hoya and infinite 💛)

170830. Briefly Edited. It Seems Like The Plot Is Going A Little To Fast At This Point, But I'll Make Sure To Pace It Through The Next Chapters. 🙌🙌