The first thing Jaejin sees as he pulls up to the office is the silhouette of his lieutenant. Minhwan is leaning against the wall of the building adjacent to the front doors, and Jaejin can easily tell just how nervous the younger officer is. Minhwan's usually neat and flat hair is strangely tousled, as if he's been repeatedly running his hand through his dark locks; his pearly teeth are sinking slightly into his bottom lip; and, the most obvious of all, he's impatiently tapping his fingers against the side of his leg. It's obvious that Minhwan's waiting for something, and Jaejin was damn sure that his loyal lieutenant was waiting for his late to finally show up.

Jaejin parks his car at the curb and takes a quick glance at his watch. 2:04pm. He's only an hour late, which is hardly anything worth worrying about, but Jaejin is well aware of just how much of a punctilious person his lieutenant is. The lieutenant is the type of person to wake up at 5am every morning - never a second earlier or later - and plan his day in routine blocks and schedules. Jaejin thinks that it's amusing that him, the lazy superior officer, was ever paired up with such a meticulous young man like Choi Minhwan.

Bracing himself for a lecture, Jaejin steps out of the car with ease, approaching the lieutenant with an apologetic grin playing on his lips.

Minhwan spots him immediately, and his look of worry and concern flips 180 degrees, becoming an expression not unlike an angry mother would have.

"Sir!" He begins, running up to him, "You said you would arrive here by one--"

"Yes, Lieutenant," Jaejin cuts him off as he swiftly sidesteps the man and walks towards the entrance doors, "I always say things. You've been with me for, what, a year and a half now? You should know by now--"

"Sir, the day is half over!" Minhwan interrupts him this time, and Jaejin pauses in his footsteps, sending a sharp glance at the younger man. 

"Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to interrupt." Minhwan apologizes immediately, bowing the upper half of his body forward in a perfect ninety degree angle, before swinging himself back up. "But, in all due respect, sir, I sincerely advise you that you get to the office earlier! We have much work to do, and we're always overwhelmed. It'd be nice if you could show up for more than a couple of hours per day."

Minhwan's eyes are wide, like those of a pleading puppy. In fact, all of Minhwan's features are cute and childlike. He resembles an angelic, innocent young man - not a twenty-two year old police lieutenant who was the best shot in the entire Seoul force. With eyes like a hawk and a steadfast determination and will rivaling the strongest, most patient man in the world, Lieutenant Choi Minhwan with a gun is one to not mess around with. Even with his breathy voice and kind features, Minhwan can shoot, and can shoot well. 

Jaejin merely grins and shrugs his shoulders before opening the doors to the office and stepping inside.

"Sir," Minhwan says, falling into pace a couple of steps behind Jaejin, "You didn't wear your uniform again today."

"Yeah," Jaejin sniffs in reply as he walks briskly, "I prefer this trenchcoat. Makes me feel more detective-y, you know?"

"Yes sir," Minhwan replies, even though he really has no idea how Jaejin's reasoning can possibly ever be understandable, "But, today, we have a visitor who would like to meet you."

"Do they have an appointment?" Jaejin asks, pausing to stop at a intern's desk to pick up a stack of paperwork.

"No," Minhwan replies, stopping in his footsteps in tune to Jaejin's, "But...er, they're sort of...important enough to not need one. And, besides, they say have urgent news about--"

"Not interested," Jaejin replies, rifling through the papers, "Tell them to make an appointment."

"But, sir--"

"Lieutenant, bring the files of the cases we're working on this week to my office. Also, give me the latest report feeds from the Insadong district. And, uh, a cup of coffee might do some good, too--"

"Sir--"

"--Two sugars, Lieutenant--"

"Sir, they say they have a lead about Choi Jonghun's murder."

Jaejin freezes immediately. His grip slackens, and the file of papers in his hands slip soundlessly to the ground. The entire office, with all of its interns and deskwork officers, falls into a hushed silence almost instantly.

"Are they here right now?"  Jaejin asks, his voice dangerously low.

"Yes," Minhwan replies, his voice wavering.

"Who is it?"'

"Lee Hongki, sir. He arrived in a flight from Japan just this morning, sir."

Jaejin grimaces at the name. Hongki? Why the hell would Hongki be here? Jaejin growls, "Is he in my office?"

"Yes." 

"Alright, then." Jaejin says, picking up the stack of papers from the ground and stuffing them into his lieutenant's arms, "You don't have to follow me. I'll go myself."

"Yes sir, but..."

"What now?"

"...S-Song Seunghyun is with him, as well." Minhwan's voice hitches, only for a slight second, at the name. Jaejin stares at his lieutenant's expression, the computers in his mind whirling as he searches and sifts through Minhwan's eyes. Jaejin lets out a breathy sigh and raises an eyebrow, "So?"

"Nothing sir, it's just...it's just that..." Minhwan's voice seems to falter.

"Stay outside of my office, Lieutenant. It is an order. This is a private conversation between Mr. Lee and myself." Jaejin says, and heads to his office.

He cracks open the door warily, as if he's scared to enter his own office. When Jaejin finally pushes open the rest of the door, he sees Lee Hongki and Song Seunghyun immediately. The two are sitting comfortably in the armchairs that are placed in front of Jaejin's desk. He seats himself behind his desk wordlessly, his eyes fixated on anything other than the two men in front of him. 

The first thing he hears is the loud, almost melodic, voice of Song Seunghyun.

"Eh? Where's Minhwan?" Seunghyun drawls, resting his head on his propped up arm, "I thought he'd be here with you, Chief! Where is he?~ ♪" He whines childishly. Jaejin feels goosebumps rising along the length of his arms. Seunghyun had an innocent face, not unlike his lieutenant, but there had always been something strangely creepy about him.

"Seunghyun, shut up." Hongki speaks. His voice is rough and hoarse; it sounds as if he's stuck in an eternal cold. 

Jaejin forces a smile upon his lips, "It's fine, Hongki. Just say what you have to say and then you can both leave quickly."

Hongki's fingers pulls at the tie sloppily made around the collar of his stained dress shirt. He doesn't speak for several long moments.

"Seunghyun," Hongki finally begins, "Wait outside. I need to talk to Jaejin myself."

"Sure, hyung." Seunghyun says easily, all melody gone from his voice. He shrugs his shoulders indifferently, "I don't give a about a dead guy like Jonghun anyways." 

Jaejin tenses. Hongki clicks his tongue. Seunghyun stands up and leaves, a goofy smile playing on his lips, his eyes crinkling cheerfully. 

"See you, Chief," He says, waving at Jaejin lightheartedly before exiting the room.

When Seunghyun closes the office door behind him, he sees Minhwan, standing perfectly straight  right outside the office door. Seunghyun's grin widens. 

"There you are, Minhwan-ah," Seunghyun whispers softly, "I was worried I wouldn't be able to see you."

"Leave," Minhwan mutters immediately, diverting his gaze, "I don't want to look at you."

"You don't miss me?" Seunghyun asks.

"No," Minhwan replies firmly, sending a glare up at the taller man, "I don't. At all. I serve the chief now. I am loyal to him, and I plan to remain by his side as his subordinate for a long time."

 A look of hurt flashes across Seunghyun's expression, and his smile falls from his face. Minhwan notices it, and he bites at his lower lip, his eyes still refusing to meet the other's. 

"I miss you," Seunghyun admits quietly, "We all miss you."

Minhwan doesn't reply. He thinks that if he even opens his mouth, he might say something he regret.

"I'm jealous," Seunghyun says loudly as he begins to walk away, "I'm jealous of that chief of yours."

"Good," Minhwan shoots back, lifting his head, "He's an amazing man. He's nothing like Hongki and his band of thieves. We're better than that. We always will be."

Seunghyun opens his mouth, contemplates for a second, and then closes it. Instead, he smiles once again, and he waves his hand goodbye as he leaves.

As soon as Seunghyun's out of sight, Minhwan loses his composure immediately. He slides down to the ground, burying his head in his arms. God, he hated Seunghyun. He hated Seunghyun so much.

---

Hongki leans forward, one leg folded over the other. He rests his palm against the bare wood of Jaejin's desk. Jaejin stares.

"So, what are you here to tell me?" Jaejin asks steadily, cocking his head to the side. 

"That lieutenant of yours must have already told you why we're here," Hongki begins, "It's about Jonghun, of course. We found out why he was killed."

Jaejin freezes, his fingers shaking. 

"Jonghun was murdered almost two years ago already," Jaejin states, his voice unsteady, "We have almost no leads to this case other than the fact that he was found dead in a ing park!" His voice rises uncontrollably as he stands up. He bangs his clenched fist angrily on his desk, his entire body shuddering as he glares at Hongki, "I am Lee Jaejin, South Korea's youngest police head ever. I am a genius; I have solved some of the most agonizingly difficult cases in the world. I have found murderers without batting an eye, I have captured countless terrorists without even trying -- I have outdone America's top detectives in seconds flat -- but it's been ing two years since my best friend has been murdered, and I haven't been able to find ANYTHING. Anything, do you hear that? ANYTHING. I've tried every single day, I've tried so hard and I've done so many things--and I still can't find a single. ing. CLUE." He leans forward and roughly grabs Hongki's tie, yanking him forward to meet his face, with only several inches between their noses. Hongki remains quiet, but his eyes remain unblinking as they meet with Jaejin's.

"And you're telling me," Jaejin growls, "That you found something? How the hell can you, a worthless leader of some pathetic street gang, know what the hell to do?"

"Jaejin," Hongki whispers in his hoarse voice, his breath tickling Jaejin's skin. "Jaejin, calm down."

"Tell me, then!" Jaejin whispers, shoving Hongki back into the chair angrily, "Tell me what the hell you've found out! Because the last time we met, one of your little men tried to put a bullet through my heart. I don't exactly think that you, of all people, should be coming here to tell me about what happened to my best friend, because I'm sure as hell that we aren't on the same side at all!"

Hongki rolls his shoulders, but he isn't in the least fazed by Jaejin's roughness. "Jaejin," He starts again, "I know how touchy you get--I know how sensitive you are about this, but you have to listen to me--he loved you, did you know that? He loved you."

"Shut up."

"He did, Jaejin. You know that already. He was in love with yo--"

"Hongki." Jaejin seethes, "Cut the crap and tell me already."

Hongki hesitates slightly before he opens his mouth.