Twelve
I Remember
[A/N]: It’s been a while since I last updated, and you’ve probably forgotten some of the plot. It might be helpful to go back and skim the last few chapters to remember what is going on. Just an idea ~
Being stuck inside the same house all day pretty much drove Niel crazy. For him, an athlete, not being allowed outside was the same as taking away his oxygen.
“It’s for your own safety,” Yongguk had insisted.
“They want noona, not me,” Niel had muttered under his breath. His comment was met by a smack upside the head, and he moved to sulk in the living room in front of the tv.
Yongguk, too, had been working from the safe house for the past two days. He had left once to grab some clothes and file an update report at his office, before returning with groceries so we could cook real food instead of surviving on pure ramen.
By then, we had managed to go through most of the manila envelope, and had sorting everything into piles, trying to make sense of it all.
“We’re missing something,” Yongguk groaned, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Goddammit, Ara, why am I not seeing the big picture?”
I was even more frustrated than him, especially since I was the one who had put the folder together before the accident. “I’ve gotta take better notes from now on,” I sighed, putting a sheet of what seemed to be a graph of impoverished families in Seoul by districts. I had no idea what poor people had to do with my investigation what so ever.
“Let’s go back to these pictures, and look for clues,” I decided, clearing the dining room table that Yongguk and I had turned into our work space. “I’m a photojournalist, so the photos should be of most value.”
“I tried to look up the blond kid this morning but couldn’t turn up anything. I’m not surprised, since there is nothing in the picture to even suggest where to look. Even that school uniform is not unique enough to distinguish anything,” Yongguk said, moving the picture aside.
“Niel said it was a private school uniform,” I tried. “Does that help?”
Yongguk shook his head. “Still, there are hundreds of private schools in Seoul, and this picture might even have not been taken in Seoul. Hell, it could be anywhere in South Korea for all we know. You did take a trip to Busan about a month before the accident. This mysterious kid could even be in Busan.”
“Next picture,” I sighed, sliding a picture of the park bench onto the table. “What about this?”
“This bench is in a park located on the south side of Seoul,” Yongguk answered. “I had my men go there and look around; there was nothing suspicious.”
“Then…this?” Hesitantly, I pulled out the picture of Jaejoong.
“It feels out of place here,” Yonggul admitted, picking it up. “I almost wonder it got mixed up with some personal photos for a scrapbook or something, but it’s impossible. I’ve seen you when you work, and you don’t make mistakes like that.”
I nodded, agreeing with him.
“And half of the restaurant's name is cut off. Something- Pizzeria. But there are tons of Pizzeria’s in the city,” I said.
Yongguk was silence for a moment as we both continued to stare at the picture. Jaejoong’s side profile was really amazing, with sharp eyes and high, defined cheek bones. What reminded me…my phone had be off for two whole days and I’d more or less disappeared off the face of the earth. Was he worried about me? Did he miss me as much as I was finding that I missed him?
Suddenly Yongguk straightened up in his seat. “Ara, can you see the name of the this place next to the restaurant? It looks like a dry cleaners, but there seems to be a name in front of it.”
I squinted, trying to make out the blurry characters. “I think…it…either Kim or Lim. Do you know of such a place?”
“No, but my techies probably do.” Yongguk whipped out his cell phone, and started to dial.
“Your techies?” I asked, confused.
“The tech team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Departments’ special tasks force,” he replied, waiting for the dial to pick up. Seeing my confusion, he grinned. “Don’t worry; they like the nickname.”
A moment later, someone on the other end picked up. “Deh, Changmin hyung,
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