Seulgi tucked the box closer to her chest as she made her way down the stairs, a heavy gust of wind tumbled into her and the book lying on top of the box flew open, page after page flew wildly in the wind; page after page began to skip in the night breeze.

Her eyes grazed across the pages, till a flash of blue ink caught her attention.

How do we forgive ourselves for all of the things we did not become?

Rings and rings of blue circled around the printed sentence, it swung around Seulgi’s vision till she saw more blue than the darkness that devoured the sky.

Her hand gripped onto the strap of her camera as shaky breaths came tumbling from her lips; her fingers imbedded themselves into the leather as her ribs began to crumble and the tender flesh of her chest tumbled downwards.

The sound of footsteps flooded her ears and the quiet pit-pat of dog paws smacking against the concrete.

“Hey,” a voice said softly, “You’re okay, just breathe.”

Seulgi shut her eyes tightly as the woman’s voice whispered quietly and the familiar pant of a dog filled the cool air around her.

“Seulgi,” she murmured, “You’re okay- It’s me… It’s just me.”

Quick breaths fled in and out of her lungs as she opened her eyes again. A familiar navy blue flooded her vision as her eyes slowly travelled upwards.

Sooyoung’s lips parted slightly while her eyes widened. “Hey.”

Sooyoung scooped the box from her hands before speaking again. “It’s been a while.”

Seulgi’s hands instantly flew towards her camera strap, they clung onto the lengthy support as she shook in the cold.

“Yeah,” she said through a shaky breath, “It has.”

“You know Seungwan’s worried about you.” Sooyoung said quietly as she rocked on the balls of her feet.

Seulgi let out a bitter chuckle, “When isn’t she?”

A limp smile flailed across Sooyoung’s lips, “She’s worried more than usual… You don’t call, you don’t even text us anymore Seul…”

“I’ve been busy.” Seulgi said quickly, the lie quickly dove between her teeth and crumbled with Sooyoung’s cold gaze.

She scoffed, “That’s a lie and we both know it.”

Silence filled the space between them before Sooyoung spoke again. “Why don’t we go out… Get some food, or watch a movie… I don’t care and I know they won’t either- We just want to see you again.”

Seulgi stared back at the younger woman; Sooyoung never begged and never asked, the world bent to her will alone, it was never the other way around.

Seulgi was always sure that kerosene ran through her veins instead of blood and a furnace sat where her heart should’ve been.

Sooyoung had always seemed so much more than human, so much more than a mortal that crumbled; she could carry the world on her back and make it seem divine.

And yet the flames barely flickered within her dark eyes, a dim spark flickered; but it was nothing compared to the blaze that once swallowed her eyes whole and boiled her pupils in a sea of heat and flame.

“Please.” she begged softly.

Seulgi sighed, glancing at her phone before glancing back at the younger woman.

Seulgi’s eyes brushed over her lightly, looking for the signs of tragedy buried within her skin. Sooyoung had always been a great actress, but the scars of tragedy always buried deep within people, like hand-carved ravines within flesh and bone.

And Sooyoung looked as if her entire body had been chipped and broken away to reveal a tragic masterpiece, beautifully eroded by the haries of life.

“Okay.”

“Thank God, I thought I was gonna have to drag your into my car.” Sooyoung said with a relieving sigh.

“Like you could.” Seulgi replied as she began to follow after the younger officer.

“Definitely could,” assured Sooyoung, “It’s been a while since you’ve seen me, I’m hella jacked now.”

“You’re not the only one.”

“Haetnim got big.” Seulgi noted as she glanced towards the large dog.

Sooyoung paused and sighed quietly, pearly smoke twirled from her lips as a bitter smile nudged the curves of her lips.

And Seulgi saw the cloudy sea that swept over her eyes and plunged them into darkness, any hint of light had already been drowned in a dark melancholy; the happiness had fled faster than it had formed.

She stared off into the distance before glancing back at Seulgi with a weak smile, “Like I said, it’s been a while Seul…”

“Look who I found!” Sooyoung announced as she pushed the creaky door open.

“Please God not another stray.” a familiar voice said with a groan.

Sooyoung scowled as she pushed Seulgi deeper into the house, the scent of spices danced gleefully within Seulgi’s nose as she hesitantly approached the living room, it was familiar and all the while completely foreign; she glanced towards the array of pictures that scattered across the walls and Seulgi swore there weren’t this many pictures of Joohyun before.

She turned towards the coat rack, a black trench coat that was too dark for either Yerim or Seungwan to wear and much too small to belong to Sooyoung, her hand lurched towards the dark fabric, the scent of a familiar fabric softener instantly leapt and kept a steady grip around Seulgi’s throat, even while Sooyoung had pushed her forwards.

“Oh look who’s alive.” Yeri chirped as she shifted on the couch.

Seulgi’s lips twitched to form a new smile, one that nearly fit the imprints of the old smiles that once grazed her face. “And look who’s still under five foot three.”

Yeri grinned as she pulled herself off the couch. “You’re such a for ghosting us.”

“I know, I know.” Seulgi mumbled as she collapsed onto the couch facing Yeri’s.

“She’s right you know.” Seungwan said as she entered the living room, a loose apron hung from her neck as flour handprints coated the pocket, Seulgi’s glanced towards Yeri’s abnormally powdered hands and chuckled to herself.

“I know.” Seulgi echoed.

“But I’m here now, that has to count for something.”

Seungwan clamped her jaw shut, swallowing the ill replies and snappy remarks that were beginning to bubble within . “It does- It’s good to know you’re alive… It’s reassuring I guess.”

Seulgi grinned at the shorter woman, “Aw, is that affection?”

Seungwan groaned yet a smile graced her face. “No- It’s-.”

“The most bare minimum -” Yeri started before Seungwan tossed a pillow into the girl’s face.

“We all know Seulgi falls for bare minimum love.” Sooyoung said as she reclined deeper into the couch.

“What can I say, I’m a romantic.” Seulgi mumbled as some of the newer pictures on the wall caught her attention.

“Correction, a .” Yeri said but the words faded to barely a mumble and eventually a white noise that echoed through Seulgi’s skull.

A picture of the five of them was hung above the couch, Sooyoung and Joohyun stood proudly in their new navy blue officer uniforms while Yeri held her first published article, Seungwan sported her white lab coat with a prideful smile and Seulgi stood with her very first forensic camera hanging loosely from her neck.

The air had gotten caught within the stringy strands of Seulgi’s throat, her breath hitched only slightly before it all flooded out in one breathy gasp.

Another picture slammed into her vision, Joohyun again stood with a smirk as flour caked her face and clothes, Seungwan stood beside her with a frown, white powder had been sprinkled across her hair and fell onto her face while Yeri posed with a smile and not a flake of flour on her.

Joohyun. Joohyun. Joohyun. Joohyun. Joohyun. Joohyun.

Seulgi shut her eyes tightly, yet the smell remained pungent and lingered near her nose; the overwhelming scent of lavender and cleanliness swept into her lungs and clenched it tightly. Her warm breath circled over her skin, her flesh exploded into a frenzy of twitches and spasms, and painful twinges of remembrance rippled across her spine.

A choked sob tumbled from her lips before she clamped her hand over .

She felt herself be pulled into a stronger set of arms, she didn’t fight the natural longing that bloomed within her chest; she didn’t fight against Seungwan’s hands slowly rubbing against her thigh and Yeri hugging her from her other side.

Yet a deep and dark hunger festered within her, she wanted charcoal colored hair to splatter across her face, she wanted to lose herself within clouded eyes and rosy lips. She wanted to drown in linen button ups and hands that were stained with the scent of leather and gun smoke.

It was unexplainably simple and yet undeniably complex; She wanted to lose herself in a world filled with smirks hidden by firm lips, hot bowls of noodle soup and fingers that were cold by nature but could be nothing but gentle when it came to her.

The words formed easily within Seulgi’s mind but they rocked within the sea of emotions that filled her skull to the rim, it was nearly buried by the foam of regret that washed over the technicolor shades of her emotions.

But the words survived and floated to the top.

“I never thought of you with a goodbye, it was always going to be sunny mornings and I'll see you agains… No abrupt endings, no endings at all, just a gentle sway into oblivion.”

Jieun stared back in her screen in fear, confusion began to bubble within her skull as she moved her cursor across the screen.

Whoever used the computer before her was organized but also seemed to lack in computer skills, the wallpaper was of a very poorly positioned picture of two women; one smiled with both her lips and her eyes while the other had a more firm lipped smile but that had been clouded by the way her eyes gleamed.

Her heart began to dance to a steady rhythm as her eyes ran over the crescent moon eyed woman, Jieun had no problem calling the woman pretty, even cute. She echoed friendliness and warmth as she clung to the other woman, who Jieun thought contained a great confusion.

The woman with the darker hair and colder smile seemed so familiar, as if Jieun could trail her fingers across her skin or that she had trailed her fingers over her skin at some point.

She pried her eyes off the image and sighed before pulling up the case file that was tucked into a digital folder.

She quickly printed it and wandered around the precinct.

The scent of faded coffee lingered within the building while the sound of the printer chugging fell alongside her footsteps.

A door swung open behind her, she turned to face a janitor standing with his mop.

“What’re you doing here?”

Jieun laughed nervously as she tugged her badge free. “I’m a detective- I’m allowed here.”

He gazed at her badge. “Sorry, no one’s been here this late in a long time.”

She chuckled, “I have a lot of work to do.”

“I’m sure,” he replied as he began to mop, “But no one except Joohyun stayed this late.”

The familiar name struck itself deep within Jieun’s chest, she looked to the janitor with eyes blazing with curiosity.

Jieun glanced around the dark and empty precinct. “I don’t think she’s here today.”

The janitor looked up with a pained expression, his lips contorted into a bitter grimace. “And she won’t for a while.”

Curiosity led Jieun closer as her nature as a detective began to fester within her chest.

“Why? What happened to her?”

“She died before you got here, I’m guessing you’re the one that replaced her.” he muttered back.

“How?”

“Don’t know, they haven’t told anyone.”

Curiosity urged her forwards.

“Was she good at her job?”

The janitor scoffed lightly as he leaned on his mop, “The absolute best, no one could do what she did, and if they could, they could never do it as fast.”

Curiosity lingered within as she walked closer to the janitor.

“Do you know what case she was last working on?”

“He didn’t tell you?” he asked, pointing slightly towards the chief’s office.

She shook her head.

“That’s rich,” he said with a laugh, “Here’s a janitor knowing more about a case than a detective.”

“Yeah, the press would have a field day with that.” Jieun replied with a smile.

He hummed lightly before speaking again. “The last thing she worked on was the case of those murdered girls.”

Jieun’s head naturally fell into a cocked stance. “Which girls?...”

He chuckled to himself, “You got a lot of learning to do.”

“A couple of months ago a bunch of dead girls were found all over town, their bellies slashed open and their necks all purple and blue. Everyone in town was scared less but then Joohyun was put on the case,” he sighed before speaking again, “But it didn’t get better, more girls died and Joohyun never seemed to figure out why or who did it.”

The printer came to an abrupt stop and a cool silence filled the precinct.

“One- One second.” Jieun sputtered as she sprinted to the printer, she took the stack of papers and shoved them into a folder before dashing back to her desk.

She skimmed over the folder, passing page after page of what she assumed to be Joohyun’s theories and possible suspects; a vivid picture caught her eye, her hand faltered and fell weakly to her side as she stared back into the sea of crimson and violet that painted the page.

She felt a burning cocktail be formed within her chest, one half bitter anger, but that was nothing new, her fury was what had always started the ravenous fire. A few drops of soaking curiosity and one half disgust; which like the anger had never left, it coiled around her ribs and nudged into her heart every time she saw bloodied bodies spilled across the ground. That was the one part she never got used to.

She gulped and skipped past the page, another bruised and bloody girl covered the page, she skipped again and another girl, she skipped again and again.

She glanced up from the folder, the darkness had been devoured and instead crimson and violet began to drip and leak into the empty spaces.

“Joohyun was dealing with one hell of a demon.” she croaked, and the sound of agreement echoed from the man as he shuffled further down the hall.

The circling of a girl’s picture caught her attention; a single word written in blue ink with erratic and sharp letters filled the page, she could only assume it was Joohyun’s handwriting.

Find. Find. Find. Find. Find. Find.

Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter, comments and upvotes are always greatly appreciated :).

I have nothing to say for myself, it’s been a long time since I’ve updated but here you go, traumatized!Seulgi and nosy!Jieun.