When Woohyun had been younger, back in junior high school, he had been an all-star basketball player. He'd also been a talented soccer player, baseball player, martial artist, and just really athletically gifted in general, but those were tales for another time. Back to basketball. What had made Woohyun so good at that sport was his ability to predict oncoming moves. He could tell what the opponent was planning to do next, and he made his own move according to that. Sometimes, it was purely instinctive. It wouldn't be his mind, but rather his body that reacted to the motions happening around him.

So, even if his mind did not process what was happening, when the hooded figure pointed the gun in his direction and pulled the trigger, Woohyun's body knew exactly what to do.

He snapped his head to the side and dove out of the gun's target range. The bullet still managed to graze his cheek in a downward curve, leaving a sharp, stinging sensation behind. But Woohyun barely acknowledged the pain. Instead, he focused on his unknown opponent and removing the source of danger in front of him. Take him down. He can't win. End this pointless game now.

Oddly enough, his assailant hadn't shot at him again. He seemed to be hesitating, as if he'd realized it was an authoritative figure he was attacking and not some local gang thug. But that was fine, it all worked to Woohyun's favour. Taking advantage of his opponent's distraction, the inspector lunged forwards once again. He rammed into the armed figure, who in turn grunted and raised his gun once more- but still, he wasn't pulling the trigger- hesitation was clear in his actions- why wasn't he shooting?

"Woohyun!"

In the midst of the brawl, Woohyun hadn't noticed Sunggyu coming around the alley corner. It was only when his partner rushed towards the two struggling men and yanked the shooter away that he realized Sunggyu had caught up to them.

In one swift move, Sunggyu pulled the attacker to his feet and twisted his arms behind his back. The gun fell from his hands, landing on the ground with a quiet clatter. "CSI," the brunet snapped, not bothering to give his name. "Things aren't looking so good for you now. Any reason why we shouldn't arrest you for assaulting a crime scene detective and disrupting an investigation?"

"Ow, ow, ow, my arm! Ease off, would you? I'm sorry, jeez! I didn't mean to do it!"

Woohyun blinked. Slowly, he got up from the ground, bemused at the sudden turn of events. Whatever response he had been expecting from his assailant, it certainly hadn't been that. "Who are you?"

The shooter turned his head in Woohyun's direction. His hood had fallen off when Sunggyu had grabbed hold of him, baring his face for the world to see. Like his words, it was quite the opposite of what the agent had expected. He was... innocent-looking, Woohyun thought as he studied the man's exposed face. With a smooth, baby-like complexion and delicate cheekbones, there was nothing but guilt and slight panic showing in his eyes.

"My name's Luhan." The captured man tried to break free from Sunggyu's hold, but the inspector only tightened his grip. "Ouch! Lay off the arm, okay? I already said that I was sorry!"

"That doesn't forgive the fact that you attacked my partner."

Luhan winced. "Sorry, sorry. I seriously am. But hey, in my defence, he started it. I wouldn't have pulled out my gun if he hadn't chased me."

Speaking of the gun... Woohyun walked over to where the revolver lay on the ground. Reaching down, he picked it up and brushed the dirt off of the barrel. He made no attempt to return it to its owner, though. Woohyun may have been impulsive, and yeah, maybe careless, but he wasn't stupid. "I wouldn't have chased you if you hadn't been snooping around. What were you doing back there?"

"And why do you even have a gun with you in the first place?" Sunggyu added. Deciding it was now safe with said weapon in Woohyun's hands, he released his grip on his prisoner. But he still made sure to keep a wary eye on him, just in case he pulled another dangerous move. "You're looking more and more suspicious by the second, you know."

Luhan rubbed his wrists. "I guess we're getting right into the interrogation part. You guys really are a part of the CSI, aren't you?" he laughed. When the two partners gave no response, he let out a sheepish little chuckle.

"Sorry. I have a bad habit of joking at the worst possible times."

"You still haven't answered our questions. What are you doing here? Why did you shoot at him?"

The baby-faced male gestured towards the entrance of the alley. "You probably won't believe me, but I just happened to be passing by. I live not too far from here, and I felt like going out for a walk. Wanted to clear my head about some stuff... Anyway, while I was walking by this place, I noticed the girl's body over there. Naturally, I wanted to take a closer look. But I hadn't even been there for a minute when you guys appeared. I thought maybe you were the killer, and came back to finish the job or something-"

"If you had heard our conversation earlier, you wouldn't have made that assumption," Sunggyu interrupted. "And sound echoes in here. It would have been almost impossible to miss us talking."

"I was listening to music," Luhan defended himself. He pulled out a small iPod and pair of earphones to prove his point. "And I never exactly put it on low volume, you know. It's a miracle I haven't become deaf by now."

"And the gun?" Woohyun twirled the revolver in his hand. "Want to explain yourself there?"

Shrugging, Luhan stuffed his belongings back into his pocket. "If you lived in this area, you would know. It's only for protection. I swear to you, that's all. You can never be too careful around here. If I had the choice, I would rather be the one holding the gun than the person facing it." He cast an apologetic look at the still-bleeding wound on Woohyun's face.

"But seriously, I really am sorry. I just reacted without thinking, I guess."

Sunggyu sighed. "Where have I seen that  before?" he muttered, almost to himself. He ignored the confused expression Luhan was giving him. "You. Go home. You've seen more than enough here. We can't get to work with you hanging around."

"So... You're not arresting me or anything?" Luhan looked from Sunggyu to Woohyun, as if he was afraid one of them would slap a pair of handcuffs on him.

"No, we're not arresting you. But we are  confiscating your gun." The older agent reached out and took the weapon from his partner. "Accident or not, we can't afford to take any chances. And besides, I doubt you're even old enough to own one. How old are you, eighteen?"

Luhan snorted. "I'm twenty-six, thank you very much." At the startled look on Sunggyu's face, he added, "It's fine. I get that a lot, so I'm used to it. I suppose that's the downfall to having such youthful good looks, huh?"

Recovering from his surprise, Sunggyu jerked his head behind him. "If you say so. Now go. We've wasted enough time with you."

Woohyun watched as their new acquaintance began walking towards the exit. He had only made it a few steps before he stopped, looking over his shoulder at the pair of detectives.

"Take care of the gun." Luhan nodded at his confiscated weapon. "I'd be complaining like hell right now, but you probably let me off a lot more easily than you were suppose to. Thanks for that. I guess I'll see you two later, if you ever drop by again."

Luhan turned back and continued with his walk. It was only when he had rounded the corner that Sunggyu sighed again, finally addressing his quiet partner.

"Come on." Not meeting Woohyun's eyes, he gripped the revolver in his left hand. "We're behind on our work."

Woohyun wordlessly followed Sunggyu back to where the dead girl was waiting. For once, there was no lecture about his carelessness, nothing about how stupid he had been to rush in the way that he had. There was no yelling, no scolding, not even any sighing or looking on in frustration. All Sunggyu gave him was silence, which wedged between them like a fifty feet-high wall made of unbreakable steel.

And that, for some reason, brought a little frown to Woohyun's face.

--------

Six hours later, the two men were back at HQ. Investigating the murder scene had taken a lot longer than usual. Woohyun wasn't sure if that had been because of Luhan's unexpected appearance or Sunggyu's irritation with him. Maybe a bit of both.

Presently, he was situated in the staff lounge room. He had entered with the intention of having a hot drink, but all Woohyun found himself doing was staring blankly at the table he was sitting at. A clock ticked loudly on the wall beside him. Its hands moved around the numbers, obnoxiously letting him know exactly how much time he was wasting in the lounge.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick-

"Here. Drink this. You're probably tired after everything that happened today."

A cup of steaming coffee was abruptly set in front of him. Raising his head, Woohyun saw that Sunggyu had sat down in the chair across from him. Without another word, Sunggyu studied Woohyun's injured face. He reached out and ghosted his finger on the crescent-shaped wound. It had stopped bleeding, but the brunet still frowned at how red and angry it looked against his partner's skin. "Does it still hurt? It doesn't look too deep... I think we have some disinfectant in the medical room. Come on, I'll help you clean it up-"

"No," Woohyun interrupted lightly, moving away from Sunggyu's touch. "Forget about it. Luhan didn't get me too hard. Besides, I'm a fast healer, remember?"

His partner sighed. If one were to listen carefully, they would have heard the sad and slightly guilty note hidden beneath it. But to Woohyun, it was the sound of irritation, finally fed up after all of his brash misdoings. "I wish you would stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Woohyun asked, humourless smile still in place.

"That. Acting like everything in life is a joke."

The dark-haired man was silent. When it was clear that he would give no response, Sunggyu heaved another sigh. "Why? Why do you keep acting like this? Every single day, I feel like you insist on hurting yourself in some way. You never care about injuries, you never take account of possible threats, and you're always running head-first into danger. Like today. Did you even think about how dangerous and completely stupid it was to tackle Luhan like that? Or what about the fact that he had a freakin' gun in his hands?" With every word, Sunggyu's voice increased in volume.

"He had a gun, Woohyun. He was ready to shoot and everything. You... You could have died today."

Still, Woohyun said nothing.

A minute passed. After staring at his partner with an upset expression, Sunggyu released another heavy breath. "Of course. You're not even listening to what I'm saying. I should have learned by now that talking to you is just a waste of breath."

Rising from his seat, the brunet began making his way towards the door. When he reached the doorway, however, he paused and looked over his shoulder.

"You're just like the Tin Man, you know."

"Oh?" Woohyun finally broke his silence. He met his companion's steady gaze, ignoring the hurt and pity in his eyes. "From the Wizard of Oz? I thought you said talking to me was a waste of breath. Why would you bother comparing me to a character from a children's book?"

Sunggyu dismissed his mocking tone. "Exactly like the Tin Man. Both of you are empty shells, missing the one thing that makes you fully human. Only you're not incapable of loving. You're just incapable of living."

Woohyun stared at him. There wasn't anything in his expression- no surprise, no annoyance, nothing. It was simply a blank. But just as Sunggyu was about to turn and leave the room, the agent flashed him a crooked grin. "Ah, is that so? The Tin Man?"

Standing up from his chair, he began walking towards the door. He waited until he was right in front of Sunggyu, the amused little smile never leaving his face. 'You're a fool, Kim Sunggyu. Why don't you give up on me already? We'd both be better off if you did.'

Woohyun appraised his partner. "So I'm the Tin Man, huh? What does that make you, then? The Cowardly Lion? I suppose it fits you well. No spine, no courage, and no balls, either. Seeing as you never do anything during chases, that's really the only character that suits you."

He leaned in closer until his mouth was right beside Sunggyu's ear. "The Tin Man and the Lion. We make quite the pair, don't we?"

Sunggyu stiffened at the close proximity of his partner. "I suppose we do," he said tightly. A muscle twitched in his jaw. "It amuses you, I can see that. But I hope for your sake, you realize soon that it's not the joke you think it is."

He sharply his heel and strode out of the room. Leaning against the doorframe, the dark-haired agent watched as Sunggyu's figure moved further and further away, until finally, he had disappeared completely from his sight.

Woohyun closed his eyes.

"You idiot, Kim Sunggyu."

[A/N]  Okay, I know it's near impossible to dodge a bullet from a range that close, but for the sake of the story, let's pretend it can actually happen. A lot of you were expecting (or hoping, I don't know) that Woohyun would actually get shot here. Not to worry, I promise he faces a real near-death crisis later on! And, because I love creating suspense: What's Luhan's part in this? Exactly who is he? Will he have anything to do with the "near-death crisis" Woohyun will be facing later? 

See you at the next chapter~