WARNING: Mention of murder and details

Jongin held in his hands two items: a bag of potato chips in his left and cookies in his right. This was troubling. He usually knew what to get when he walked inside the grocery store since he always made mental lists. But for Kyungsoo, what was he supposed to get? Standing in the snacks aisle already looked strange enough—the other customers were mostly mothers and their children, with tiny little fingers grasping onto whatever they could lay their grimy hands on.

The entire row was filled with delicious, sweet snacks that were bound to become diabetic reinforcers for preteens one day. Ranging from pure sugar cookies to huge Santa Claus chocolate molds, this was basically heaven for any child out there. Which suddenly hit Jongin. He was buying food for a grown man, so why was he in the snack aisle? Was it because of Kyungsoo’s small and petite frame? Or those innocent-looking doe eyes of his? He shook his head and sighed, trying to forget he imagined that.

He placed the items back into their respective spots and turned to leave, scratching his head. How was he supposed to know what “good food” is for Kyungsoo? He barely knew the man, and had already established a bad impression by shooting him on accident. Rubbing his temples, he started to head toward the exit. On the way back, he passed a couple of other aisles. Spices, wine, then breads. Those were uninteresting, but something around the corner caught his eye. At the end of the bread aisle was a middle-aged woman, probably one of the employees passing out samples. She was placing a certain brand of mandu into little paper cups while cooking the others. The aroma was alarming tempting. It was as if it had grabbed Jongin’s nose and pulled him towards the lady.

“Hello, would you like to try a sample of our new product?” the woman smiled at him as she held up a cup with a toothpick. Her expression was so heartwarming that it reminded him of the meals his mother used to make before he moved out. He smiled back and took it out of her hand. As he started walking away, he bit into the mandu. The fragrant smell was overwhelming—but in a reminiscent way. The juicy, umami flavor exploded in his mouth, stimulating his taste buds. This was...home. Since Kyungsoo is going to be staying at the hospital for a while, maybe it would be nice for him to get this feeling as well. Jongin turned back, with a piece still in his hand, and walked briskly towards the woman again. He smiled at her as he picked up two packages with his left hand, bowed at her, and left for the cash register as he finished his mandu.

After finishing the purchase, he got into his car and drove towards the hospital. There were a lot of sounds—people talking, the engine running...yet the silence was deafening. It was in the car where he was alone with his thoughts, where bad memories had no hindrance. He sighed. Reflection. The guilt started to overrun his mind once again, giving him a headache. As he neared the red light, he the radio. Some music can’t do any harm, right?

“Wow, there seems to be a rise in crime nowadays!” the cheerful voice of a man spoke, to which Jongin realized was actually one of the radio DJs he often listened to. His brow furrowed. An increase crime made him feel like he wasn’t doing his job well enough; it was not only a hit to his self-esteem, but it reminded him of that masked man as well.

“Yes, that is true. However, we believe that there is only one suspect behind this sudden rise, that is, Gangnam’s most dangerous unsub.” Jongin froze. Was that the commissioner’s voice? There was no way; this is something he would never do. Do your job and drag no one in—not even the public. We do our own work and they focus on theirs. These sentences echoed in his head. If he decided to open up to the public...then something bad must have happened.

“Ah, he struck again last night, right? According to various news articles, it seems—parents, please cover your children’s ears, haha!—he has started a spring of murders. How has the police department been working on this case? Are there any new leads?” the DJ replied, a little too cheerful this time. It was clear that the commissioner was slightly uncomfortable. He seemed to have started speaking, but his voice had a slight crack and quickly cleared his throat. It was almost as if he had a difficult time switching between professionalism and...whatever side it was that Jongin had never seen from his boss.

“That—that is true, yes. We truly are working very hard and have been rechecking the crime scenes. We are putting our best men out there for the investigation.” the police commissioner finally replied.

“Yes, yes, and the leads?” the friendly voice now seemed frantic.

“The leads?” he asked, confused. Jongin couldn’t bear the cringe and immediately turned off the radio. The Gangnam Absinthe was known for his murders through the use of poisoned absinthe, brutally mutilating the victims after. However, he was also known as a thief who raided through a range of places, from banks to small convenient stores. Jongin rubbed his temples and finally arrived at the hospital.

He picked up the boxes of mandu and walked in. After checking in with the receptionist, he started his path towards Kyungsoo’s room and knocked twice.

“Come in,” Kyungsoo’s tired voice spoke. As Jongin stepped inside, he tried to give a small smile. The patient, on the other hand, was pushing his bed up with the remote. “Is that the food?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jongin said, a nervous chuckle leaving his lips. All he had to do was throw it into the microwave.

“Is it good?” he crossed his arms and looked at Jongin expectantly. Jongin looked down at the boxes he was holding. When he tasted it, there was a feeling of euphoria...but the mandu weren’t cooked with a microwave when he tasted it. They were properly cooked in a pan. He was too afraid to look at Kyungsoo’s disappointed face, so he continued looking down. After a moment, he left the boxes on the drawer near the bed and ran out.

Kyungsoo, however, was not disappointed at all. The night before, he was fed hospital food, which included a weirdly textured slab of meat, some corn, and a small carton of milk on the side. Needless to say, he thought the combination was appalling. He had no choice since he couldn’t pass through the night without starving, so he just gulped down whatever he could and called it a day. Today, the boxes of mandu were like a godsend. The hospital was so badly cooked that anything would have been better than it.

Right as he was about to reach towards one of the boxes, he heard the door open and looked up. Standing there was Jongin; on one side of his arm held a portable stove and on the other: a small pan. This sight was ridiculous beyond belief for Kyungsoo. He couldn’t explain why it looked hilarious, but it nearly made him choke from how hard he was laughing.

Quietly, Jongin picked up the product and started heating up the mandu on the stove, causing the air to be filled with a stomach-growling aroma. After a while, he was able to make about fourteen, then placed seven on a plate. By this time, Kyungsoo had been salivating. He reached out to grab it, but his hands were bound by the bajillion wires. A huge disappointed expression came over his face, and leaned back onto the bed. He knew he was being immature, but one day in the hospital had caused him a lot of stress. He wasn’t used to being restricted before, especially because he had never been a situation where he’s dying.

Jongin looked at the other man for a moment and smiled. He pulled a chair closer to the bedside and sat down. Then, he grabbed the wooden chopsticks from inside the plastic bag and picked up a mandu, holding it near Kyungsoo’s face.

“Say ah,” Jongin grinned. Now, it was time for him to laugh. Kyungsoo stared at him in disgust and looked the other way.

“I can feed myself. Just put it on my lap.” he said, with an air of superiority about him.

“Oh, really? And how are you going to pick up the mandu?”

“That’s not your problem. Just do it.” his expression was starting to turn a bit pouty.

“I don’t mind feeding you.”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“No reason.” Now, Kyungsoo’s cheeks had a subtle blush creeping out. It was small, but still noticeable, at least enough for Jongin to smirking.

“If you’re not going to eat it, I will.” he slowly pretended to put it in his mouth, making noises of happiness. Kyungsoo’s head whipped back with a horrified expression, wanting the delicious pieces for himself. Taking the opportunity, Jongin immediately pushed the mandu towards the man’s open mouth and yelled in victory. “Gotcha! See, it’s not so bad isn’t it?” he chuckled. The blush had grown even deeper, and although he was extremely embarrassed, he chewed.

Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.