16 Days Until the Auction House

Getting past the door was the easy part. A sheepish smile and a quick explanation about forgetting his key card was enough to convince any passing tenant to help him out just this once. From there, he simply waited until Eunhyuk showed up and then let him inside.

In fact, getting into the surveillance room wasn’t difficult either. Given that Ryeowook was boarding with some low-key folks and retirees, it wasn’t particularly high-level security. Kyuhyun grimaced at the thought, knowing that if Ryeowook had had even an inkling of what sort of man he had married so many years ago, maybe he would’ve been more cautious about his safety. Instead, he was living like any other civilian.

“This is it? Why isn’t there any security in here?” Eunhyuk looked around the cramped room with only two monitors. There was a rickety chair situated in front of them, collecting dust.

“My guess is that it’s a recording room, not a room for guards,” Kyuhyun responded, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. “There aren’t a lot of crimes in this area of the city, and so there would be no reason for the apartment building’s owner to waste money on a security guard. These videos would record any petty crime. Can you extract the recordings and make copies starting from 90 days ago?”

Eunhyuk began hooking ups his equipment, opening his laptop and making a face. “That far back? What are you looking for?” Despite asking questions, he diligently and rather swiftly began extracting files from the automated recording system.

“Ryeowook might be a civilian, but he’s quite smart. Whoever came after him wasn’t doing so on a whim and they definitely were provoked into action somehow. I want to see what Ryeowook has been up to the last few months that may have made him a sudden target.” Kyuhyun paused for a brief moment, and then added in a smaller voice, “…I was checking his bank records the other night as well.”

“You were what?” Eunhyuk gawked, whipping around in the chair. “That’s actually a federal crime, Kyuhyun.”

“Calm down,” he huffed, “Ryeowook still uses our joint bank account. I just tried the old user information and he never changed it.”

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes. “Okay, but why would he be continuing to use a defunct joint bank account if you left?”

Kyuhyun stared at his associate for a long moment. “You’ve never been desperately in love, have you?”

“What does that have to do—” Eunhyuk cut himself off, lips, jaw suddenly slacking. “You’re kidding me.” He paused, waiting for Kyuhyun to nod, but when the other man simply shrugged, Eunhyuk exhaled heavily. “He was waiting to see if you would use the bank card. He was always waiting for you. Alright that’s enough talk of love for me.” Shaking his head, he turned back to the laptop rapidly downloading the videos. “So, what did you find?”

“He wrote a check to Kang Ho Dong. He’s a detective and quite pricey as well considering the excellent work he does,” Kyuhyun explained. “I have no idea what prompted Ryeowook to hire a detective all of a sudden, but it’s pretty obvious what he was looking for. Whether or not they found anything on me is mostly irrelevant right now. What’s important is that this act put Ryeowook on someone’s radar. Someone who previously didn’t know about his connection to me. If that Detective Kang found even an inkling of me and verified mine and Ryeowook’s relationship, then I’m betting whoever kidnapped Ryeowook got their hands on that information, too.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Why would they trouble themselves with kidnapping someone based on a hunch?” Kyuhyun frowned. “They would want to verify Ryeowook’s importance to me before acting on their plan.”

Eunhyuk glanced at the standing man. “You’re really giving this supposed kidnapper a lot of credit. What if they’re not as smart as you’re building them up to be?”

“I’d rather overestimate them, than think they’re a petty criminal. It saves me a few potential fumbles.” Kyuhyun peered down at the laptop. “How much longer will this take? We still have to get the security tapes from Ryeowook’s workplace and the street cameras.”

“Both of those systems should be linked to an online account,” Eunhyuk responded, “these days, that’s the easiest way to transmit information from street cameras. Checking the individual cams would be a pain in the . Point being, I can hack the street cameras from anywhere. As for his workplace, it will most likely be a closed system despite being online.”

“What’s the easiest way to get the workplace cams then?” Kyuhyun tapped his foot subconsciously, fingers drumming to a meaningless beat in the fold of his arms.

Eunhyuk watched the final video recording download and then closed his laptop. “We sneak in, get into their security room and use their server to access the camera footage.” He grinned. “The other option is to tell them we’re federal agents and need access to the tapes because we’re investigating your husband’s disappearance.”

Kyuhyun shot him a look. “Kim Ryeowook’s disappearance. And let’s go with the second option.”

“Both are technically correct.”

Kyuhyun ignored him.

***

It wasn’t his first time per se. Of course, he knew where his ex (sort of)-husband worked, but it was going to be the first time he interacted with any of the workers. What struck him immediately was the large plot of land the studio took up. He had passed by it a few times, but beyond the gates, it extended further than he originally imagined. By all means, it was a certified, fully functioning studio in the middle of their city. Finding the main building was a bit of a challenge as he and Eunhyuk roamed down the long stretch of studio road.

After several minutes, they still hadn’t reached their destination and paused to ask for directions. Kyuhyun was starting to think that maybe the security footage would be a bigger pain to sort through than was worth it for the little information they’d probably get out of it.

“Excuse me, sir, we’re lost,” Kyuhyun tapped a slender man on the shoulder.

The man’s tailored suit hugged him in all the right places and his posture was pristine despite the haggard expression he wore when he turned around to face them. “Who are you?” His eyes narrowed, pretty features screwing up with distaste.

“We’re investigating Kim Ryeowook’s disappearance,” Kyuhyun pulled out his identification badge. It was a rare chance for him to use it.

The man froze. Looking around first, he then jerked his head toward a building. “Follow me.”

Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun exchanged a look as the stranger started off on his own, not checking to see if they were following. Figuring there wasn’t much else they could do, they went after him.

They entered an office down the first hallway on the left. It wasn’t particularly decorated, but it did seem private. From a quick sweep, Kyuhyun noted that there were no cameras. Before they could continue talking though, he wanted to verify those thoughts.

Sauntering around the small office slowly, he brushed his fingertips along a bookcase shelf, the windowsill, and along the edge of the glossy wood table. The stranger was rummaging around in a box for something and still hadn’t addressed them. Eunhyuk double-checked the door lock and then cleared his throat.

The strange employee shot him a glare. “I’ll get to you both in a moment.” With that, he returned to his pressing errand, digging deeper and deeper into the cardboard box.

Kyuhyun finished his examination of the room and then settled down in a chair, waiting for their potential informant.

A shout of success came from the man and then he turned around, holding up a slip of paper. “This was in Ryeowook’s work desk. They collected his personal belongings into a box for the police investigation and it was only returned a few days ago,” the man explained.

Kyuhyun scrutinized the crumpled paper. Slowly, he stood up, taking it and reading it. “From Heechul-hyung to Ryeo-ah?”

The employee impatiently rolled his eyes, turning the paper around. Kyuhyun read again. “Next time?”

He nodded. “Right.”

Kyuhyun peered up at the man. “Are you Heechul-hyung?”

“I am,” he grimaced, “I did send him food one night because he was really exhausted and seemed frazzled. I told the restaurant to write that note. But I didn’t tell them to write whatever was on the back. Given what’s happened, I don’t think it was a flirtatious ‘next time’.” He scrubbed his face with a hand, jaw tense.

The agents exchanged a look before slowly and calmly shifting around to sit down on chairs. Kyuhyun pulled a third chair over and patted the seat, nodding at Heechul to rest. “Can you please tell us what happened the last time you saw Kim Ryeowook?” Kyuhyun asked firmly, voice steady.

“It was a normal work day,” Heechul responded slowly, frustration darkening his gaze. “But rather than starting from the last time I saw him…I think it’s more significant that things took a turn for the weird weeks ago. Ever since that note probably. I don’t know.” Taking a long pause, he exhaled and started again. “He didn’t say it directly, but something spooked him. At least a month and a half ago, he had stopped going back to his apartment during the nights. He said it was because he was really dedicated to a music score that he was working on, but that excuse started looking really thin after…well, after this one day when I was going to take him out to lunch.”

“As coworkers, or as something more?” Eunhyuk piped up.

Kyuhyun shot him a glare.

Heechul smirked wryly. “Depending on who you were talking to, it could’ve been a date or it could’ve just been friendly. Anyway, it didn’t happen.” He shook his head. “I went with Ryeowook back to his apartment before we headed out because he wanted to shower and get a fresh set of clothes. It was the only time he would go home. Well, he came out of the shower look tense and said his friend was dropping something off. We waited for this friend way past lunch break. It was over an hour and a half, I bet. Ryeowook just told me to leave and apologized. I was pissed, so obviously I left without a fight.”

His clenched his jaw, head lowering. “I didn’t see Ryeowook until that evening and he was pale. Really pale. I couldn’t get anything out of him, but he had an overnight bag and was looking determined not to leave the company dorm.”

“Was he sleeping at the dormitory consistently?” Kyuhyun inquired.

Heechul nodded. “No doubt about it. The last time I saw him was at a company party. We were celebrating the end of post-production on a film. Ryeowook seemed to only agree to go since we were staying near the company and there were several guys who lived at the dorm too. Point being, they could all go back together after dark. I don’t know what happened, to be honest. Around 11pm, he left the party. He had barely drank. Another guy was going to walk with him. I saw them both leave but…yeah.” He swallowed hard, clenching fists. “If he had just told me what was going on, I would’ve done anything to help him.”

“What day was it?” Kyuhyun responded, voice flat. Eunhyuk gave him a sideways glance, wondering how he was holding it together. Instead, he saw the fine lines at the corners of his associate’s eyes and lips. He noted the tense vein pulsing along the curve of his throat. He saw the burning guilt in that normally calm and collected gaze.

Kyuhyun…

“It was October 30^th.”

“Were you the one who filed the missing persons’ report?”

Heechul nodded, eyes falling. “Something wasn’t right. I just had the worst feeling the next morning. I called but he didn’t respond. Around noon, I went to the dorms and no one had seen him. That’s when I started panicking. I filed the report in the evening when I knew for sure he should’ve shown up or at least responded. The guy who was supposed to walk home with him the previous night said he figured Ryeowook went ahead. They were going to meet in the lobby of the dinner hall we were using for the party. Ryeowook didn’t show.”

“Is there anything else?” Kyuhyun asked softly.

“No. That’s all I know.” Heechul his lips, shoulders tense. “What do you think happened? Are there any leads?”

“At this time, we can’t say anything for certain,” he answered carefully, “but you’ve helped a lot. If you remember anything else, please contact me.” Kyuhyun passed the other man a business card. Plain black text on white cardstock. Standing up swiftly, the agent headed for the door.

“Hey.”

He paused, one hand on the doorknob. “Yes?”

Heechul looked up from the card, eyes narrowing faintly. “I didn’t get a clear look at your name on your badge earlier…but I can see it now.” He slowly lowered the card. “You’re the husband, aren’t you?”

Kyuhyun stiffened.

“Ryeowook mentioned your name once. Said you worked out of town.” The older man’s lips pressed into a hard line. “You’re a ing government agent and you couldn’t protect your spouse? How could you let this happen?” Heechul spat, getting to his feet now. “It’s probably your fault he’s in danger. He’s a civilian. Does he even know your job? Clearly not if he doesn’t have any security detail on him.”

Kyuhyun returned the man’s heated glare. A pause. Lowering his head, he shook it once. “I’m sorry.”

“You better find him.”

He gritted his teeth. “I will.”