"I'll be there in ten minutes hyung," Hyukjae deadpanned as he walked the streets of town with Donghae right beside him; hand-in-hand together. The former was speaking through his cell phone at the now clearly irritated Jongwoon, who had been waiting under the branches of a willow tree for what seemed like centuries now.

This slight altercation via phone call wasn't really helping clear the black-headed male's mind either.

Hyukjae and Donghae were busy occupying themselves in the warmth of each other's hands, the greening scenery that seemed to grow even brighter as the day emerged anew, and the fact that Hyukjae was a bit, inevitably;

Lost in street translation.

The blonde being the way that he is, hadn't set foot in an actual park for quite a number of years now; at least, not since he was only a mere child.

He simply didn't see the need to; what with all the work schedules and overtime plus now that he's taking care of Donghae on top of everything.

A park was the last place he would go.

A park was also the last place he knew where to go.

Jongwoon had planned earlier that same morning that discussing what was on his mind in a calm setting like the park could make the blow of the news that he was about to expose a bit more tranquil.

It was about Donghae, but exceedingly pertained more to Hyukjae; information that couldn't be passed through a phone.

However, at the pace things were moving right then, all of this seemingly important information wouldn't be acquired until dawn.

Jongwoon had told Hyukjae to turn streets half a mile ago from the younger's exact location; but apparently, the blonde had taken the wrong turn.

The streets and signs turned into a flurry of unidentifiable crosses and lines; Hyukjae had no idea what the hell he was doing and where the hell he was going; Donghae wrapped his fingers around Hyukjae's in a vice grip, for fear that they would never find their way back.

Hyukjae could sense this immediately; when the brunette's fingers tightened upon his own, the blonde tugged at the younger's hand to get him even closer to his own body. There was no way he was going to lose Donghae in these streets straight in broad daylight, but the whole commotion with The Chaser left him with the impression that you could never be so sure.

Donghae let Hyukjae lead willing fully, happy to just be by the other's side.

He felt warm all of a sudden, the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom all around town. They reacted perfectly to the rising sun, falling in dewdrops as the world consisted of nothing but bright skies and soft white blooms.  The overcast of sunlight from above laid beautifully across the expanse of trees; it was almost like Heaven was reaching down on them.

Donghae had never seen something so beautiful.

He had never even remembered the last time he felt like this; the little memories he did have of life before Hyukjae were unclear and still foggy.

Sometimes though, Donghae thought it didn't even really matter anymore.

The brunette loved life with Hyukjae and he wants this dream to just last forever. It was a fantasy in which Donghae hoped he would never wake up from because Hyukjae made him feel like he was special.

Donghae loved sunsets with Hyukjae, and tickle fights with Hyukjae, and eating Chinese food with Hyukjae, and "speaking" to Hyukjae in the special way that only they could understand, and Hyukjae always knowing what he wanted even if he hadn't said anything, and making paper cranes with Hyukjae, and hugging Hyukjae;

Best of all,

Waking up to Hyukjae's beautiful face in the morning and knowing that, with all of his being, the kisses the blonde graced upon his forehead and cheeks are something very exclusive and defined.

Donghae loved Hyukjae.

Maybe the past was better left forgotten because Donghae knew that Hyukjae was his future.

He didn't know how to say it yet and maybe it was a bit early. Although, living with Hyukjae and being close friends with him for the time that has already passed made him realize that the blonde was everything he wanted out of anything.

Hyukjae with his smiles and tickle fights, hugs and kisses, sign language and bank notes.

Donghae couldn't ask for anything or anyone more perfect.

And he felt it.

Because he just knew.

"I think we're getting closer Sungie," Hyukjae expressed as he spoke to Jongwoon who was still connected on the other line, "the cherry blossom trees mean we're getting close right? Well, there's a million of them everywhere."

Donghae smiled at that true statement; they certainly were everywhere. He didn't mind though, they looked amazing in contrast to the already beaming day.

"Listen Hyuk, take the next right and it clears up into this opening with a bunch of benches everywhere," Jongwoon tried explaining again his relative location with a clear tone,  "The further you go in, the benches shift over to all these picnic tables spread apart every few yards or so; you'll find me when you see me."

"Thanks hyung," Hyukjae said in return, before slowly taking the phone away from his ears to press the red button that ultimately hung up the call.

He was stopped however by a buzz on the other line and the elder's voice came back into earshot;

"By the way, the next time we go here, I'm freaking driving all three of us."

There was a small click heard followed by nothing but silence.

Best friends alright, Hyukjae snorted. He really hasn't changed since high school.

As it turned out, Jongwoon was right.

The road eventually turned straight, preceding the row of solid wooden benches that the black-haired male described before shifting into the gradual scattered picnic tables only measures away from each other.

Hyukjae found Jongwoon sitting by himself at the center of the field of picnic tables, perched upon an oak seat and toying with his cell phone.

The eldest barely caught sight of the two coming in,  Hyukjae and Donghae gradually sitting straight across the seat Jongwoon was currently on.

"So..." Hyukjae awkwardly broke the ice, shifting his hands under the table so as not to look so obviously in love with Donghae as he held his hand, "We're here because you wanted to talk to us about...Donghae?"

"I've been sitting here for centuries!" Jongwoon sneered, explicitly motioning to the seat he was sitting in, the surface almost left the shadow and mold of his cheeks as he stood to get his point across. " What the hell happened to you two? You guys are like a fail Lewis and Clark!" he finished off, glaring at the two males in front of him.

"I got lost, okay?" Hyukjae said truthfully, raising his tone in annoyance. " Those directions were pointing everywhere! Plus the streets didn't correspond to the signs, it was like I was navigating through downtown India! The street names were worthless, might as well not have named them."

Donghae could sense the prominent tension in the air between the two, gripping Hyukjae's hand tighter and shoving his face into the crook of the older's neck to mouth the words

Stop it.

Hyukjae sighed.

It's amazingly unhealthy how Donghae could bend him to his own will whenever he wanted.

Hyukjae couldn't help it though.
 
His love for Donghae had only grown stronger throughout the passing time, which left the blonde male unable to say no to any of his requests. Donghae had him wrapped all the way around his adorable little fingers, and there was nothing Hyukjae could do about it.

God I love you, Hyukjae thought, feeling guilty of having these strange but wonderful sensations that coursed throughout his veins whenever he was around Donghae.

"Whatever," Jongwoon finished the argument off submissively before pulling a notepad out from his messenger bag, "I'm still on work duty right now, but I was able to convince my boss to let me investigate a new case that was brought up just yesterday."

"A new case?" Hyukjae asked, genuinely curious.

"Your case." Jongwoon stated, retrieving a pen from one of the pockets of his bag, "There was a report sighting two men being chased around the shopping district of Seoul; one brunette and one blonde. Near the end of the chase, the offender apparently drove off in a van, probably losing track of his victims."

The black-haired male raised his eyebrow in inquisition,

"Sound familiar?"

Hyukjae held onto Donghae's hand impossibly tighter. Nerves were starting to kick his mind into gear, however, he still seemed a bit skeptical.

"How do you know this is-"

Jongwoon cut Hyukjae off mid-sentence. He knew the blonde would get around to asking that question first.

"It was reported yesterday, but the entire event occurred exactly a week before anonymous spotting."

Hyukjae blinked, casting a glance down at the shorter brunette whose eyes were peeled straight into Jongwoon's, ears attentive to the enlightenment him and the older were receiving.

Hyukjae blinked again; it's true, this was them.

Anonymous spotting or not, someone had caught sight of the whole catastrophe and cared enough to say something about it.

"Which is why," Jongwoon concluded, positioning his pen in his hand and looking straight at the two in front of him, "We need any more information you can provide to us that can help jump start the case."

Donghae's eyes sparkled with tears, his mind reeling with things to say and information to gather, anything he could conclude as somewhat helpful to the case at hand.

Anything to stop the mad man that had attacked him.

Neither of the two knew anything about the absolute magnitude of the investigation and how much it was soon to impact their lives.

As Donghae tried signing and Hyukjae interpreted everything he could to Jongwoon, the darkest-headed male scribbled the words and scoop down onto his notepad.

Hyukjae unknowingly pulled Donghae closer and closer to him as the minutes dwindled by, happy to be in the other's presence and comfort.

Donghae snuggled his head deeper into Hyukjae's shoulder when he was finished, unable to get enough of the Hyukjae's fresh aroma and sheer warmth that radiated off of him, Hyukjae's soft pulse that thumped all throughout his veins, Hyukjae's milky blonde hair that shined platinum silver in the sunlight;

all the things that told Donghae that Hyukjae was his.

"Hold on Yesung," Hyukjae broke the silence once again, inquisitively tilting his head to the side, "How did you get ahold of this case when this happened all the way over in Seoul?"

Jongwoon paused, a bit startled by the question.

"I have my ways." Jongwoon smiled slyly, winking oddly before going back and scanning all the obtained written information.

It was only then that Hyukjae noticed Jongwoon's undone belt buckle and unusually tousled hair; the older male's ironed white shirt starched with something yellow that reflected in the sunlight, his eyes astray and painted with a bit of what appeared to be dark circles.

Hyukjae rolled his eyes.

My best friend is a hoe.