“Didn’t I tell you no sleeping on the job?” I mumble as I prod Baekhyun’s shoulder. Garbled noises escape his mouth and he shifts slightly in his chair. I’m about to shake him awake, but then I notice the large open thermos of coffee that’s almost empty on his desk, and I examine the heavy dark shadows beneath his eyes. He looks exhausted and I retract my hand.

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. The reason I’m in forensics is because Tao supposedly had visited Baekhyun a couple of days ago and brought along his stuffed panda that said something every time the button in its stomach was pushed. And Baekhyun didn’t like that, so he took it away. When I asked him what Kris was doing about it, Tao shook his head and replied, “Kris said I probably deserved it.”

And then he turned to me with wide eyes and a pout, and pleaded, “Please, Daeun. You’re my last hope, I can’t sleep without it.”

Normally, I would’ve about how he was already grown and he didn’t need stuffed animals anymore, but you see I’m a big er for adorable things and if Tao pouting and doing that buing buing gesture isn’t adorable, then I don’t know what is.

With another sigh, I set out to sort through the office in search of the glass eyed kids doll. I sift through drawers and bookshelves, glance under the piles of paper haphazardly placed about the desk, but I come up with nothing. “It shouldn’t be this hard.” I say to myself. Then, “Oh.”

Now that I think about it, Baekhyun was never the type to do something absolutely pointless. He isn’t going to go through the trouble of hiding a doll someplace up high where Tao (being at the height he is) can easily reach. No, I’ve been looking in all the wrong places.

I find it quite quickly this time around. It’s on the floor next to the bookshelf and shoved into a filing box that almost blends in with the other boxes full of documents, except the lid is blue and it’s in the green column. For as long as I’ve known him, Baekhyun is actually OCD about filing documents in a neat and orderly fashion so I wonder why I missed this stray detail before. In normal situations, I’m sure he’d lose sleep if he even thought for a second that something was out of place.

Tucking the stuffed animal into my side, I start out of the room but something catches my eye. A book sits in his lap, and many pages are torn out it. Remnants of the pages stick out near the spine of the book, jagged and rushed. I really didn’t want to wake him, but my curiosity gets the better of me.

“Baekhyun. Baek. Wake up.” I demand quietly, and when I receive no response, I tap my fingers against his neck. I’ve noticed that a lot of people are sensitive by their necks, and today this piece of information does not fail me as he shoots out of his chair.

“Huh-oh, Daeun. Hi, yeah, uh, I wasn’t sleeping. I was resting my eyes. Yeah.”

“It’s fine.” I brush it off. “What do you have there?” Motioning towards the book, I lean in closer to catch a glimpse of its contents, but Baekhyun slyly removes it from my view.

“A book.” He shrugs.

“Yes, I’m aware. But why are you ripping the pages out of it.”

He seems at a loss before responding. “Special orders from Suho and Kris. I trust that you won’t tell anyone about this.” The playful lilt in his voice is replaced by a cool edge that is strange coming from him and it leaves me momentarily stunned.

“Alright.” I nod. “Well, I just came for this so I’ll be off now.” I shake the panda in my hands and head for the door. 

“Daeun.” Baekhyun calls out. “Be careful, okay?”

I nod once more before I leave. Sure, it was weird for him to say something like that, but it definitely hadn’t been unusual. I wouldn’t realize the underlying message of it until later on.

Tao looks at me expectantly when I return to my office. I hand him the stuffed animal and he lifts me into the air. Panicking at the sudden loss of gravity, my grip tightens around his neck. “Okay, okay. Yes, you’re welcome, now put me down.”

He repeats his thanks numerous times until I pat his shoulder and tell him to run along. Tao leaves and I’m left wondering why I spent twenty minutes looking for a doll, and why a person his age still acts like a little kid. An adorable little kid, but a kid nonetheless. 

I barely have time to take a breath before a knock sounds at the door. “Are you busy?” A voice I recognize all too well asks.

“Nope. Why?” I breathe as I settle onto my chair.

“Because it’s one o’clock.” Jongin enters the room holding a plastic cup. “Figured you’d need some caffeine right around now.”

Oh, that’s right, I think to myself as I start to feel fatigue fog my mind. One o’clock. The hour where my morning cup of coffee starts to wear off and my motivation takes a sharp decline. “That would be great.”

He hands me the iced drink and I sip on it contentedly. Jongin leans against the wall to my left, arms crossed and muscles well defined. I sit back in my chair as he gives me an unreadable look.

“What?” I ask between sips.

He shakes his head and looks away. “Nothing.” I give it a moment. “It’s just, Daeun, you need to know that we can’t stay here for long.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, and he rubs his neck before moving to stand in front of my desk.

“They’re going to find out about you soon, and you can’t be here when that happens.” His shoulders stiffen and he glances towards the door. “We might have to leave a little earlier than expected.”

Someone knocks once on the door before swinging it open. “Oh Daeun.” I hear my name voiced out in a gruff tone.

Tilting my head to peer behind Jongin, I see three officials standing at my door. “Yes, is there something wrong?”

The one in the middle steps forward. His face is set into a cold, hard expression and his red cloak flutters around him, stark against his light grey uniform and a symbol of his rank.

“Your presence is requested in the council meeting immediately.”

short chapter  OTL

thank you for reading this and commenting and just dealing with me in general. I love you all >//<