“What happened to her?” Sunggyu whispered to Woohyun. He was standing a little behind Woohyun, grasping his elbow. Hoya stood in front of them, touching Eunsol gently as Sungyeol stayed by her side in the water. “Did something happen?”

“I don’t know,” Woohyun murmured back. “But I’m scared to find out… I don’t want this to be happening.”

“Me neither,” Sunggyu replied, slinking his hand down to grab Woohyun’s. “Eunsol is too precious for any of this to be happening.”

Hoya let out a sigh as he touched Eunsol gently. “Did you guys give her something bad to eat?”

“No.” Woohyun shook his head. “We only gave her milk with the nutrients you gave us.”

“Well, it looks like she’s had something bad to eat.” Hoya frowned as he stood up. “If you leave her alone and feed her normal milk later, she should be fine. But that means to watch what you’re giving her.”

“I understand,” Woohyun replied, nodding. “She will be okay though, right?”

Hoya nodded. “At the very least, I hope she will be.” Hoya walked away after that, leaving Sunggyu and Woohyun alone.

Woohyun’s frowned deepened as they were left alone. He brought his hand up to rub at his arm and Sunggyu put an arm around him. “Hey,” he whispered, “don’t worry too much – I’m sure Eunsol will be fine.” He kissed the top of Woohyun’s head. “She’ll be okay.”

Sighing, Woohyun shook his head. “I don’t know, hyung, I just don’t know. She might be big but she’s still a baby.”

“I’m sure with Sungyeol watching over her, she won’t be able to get hurt so easily. She’s strong Woohyun, believe in her like you believed in me. She’ll pull through just like I did.”

Woohyun pursed his lips tighter as he leaned into Sunggyu’s arms. “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right,” Sunggyu laughed, pulling him closer for a hug. “So just trust in me, okay?”

With a chuckle, Woohyun nodded and tiptoed up to give Sunggyu a kiss. “I’ll trust you, baby.”

“Good. I know everything will be okay. I just know,” Sunggyu told him, holding him close. “You should always trust my intuition.”

“I’ll make a mental note of that,” the other laughed.

Sunggyu’s smile faltered for a moment as he cleared his throat. “Speaking of my intuition… did you, you know – check with Hoya? About his clipboard.”

“I haven’t.” Woohyun crossed his arms. “I trust him, Sunggyu – and I don’t think something as small as a clipboard suspicion would change that. We’ve trusted him for years here. It wouldn’t – it couldn’t be Hoya. He would never betray us.”

“Okay, but I’m just saying – it’s the only lead you have. And he was the last one who had touched the food besides you and Sungyeol, right?”

“He didn’t touch the food, he just delivered Eunsol’s vitamins. It’s not him, Sunggyu.”

Sunggyu shrugged. “I’m not detective, but just hear me out. Maybe it’s not him, but you might be able to find a lead through him.”

“I doubt it.” Woohyun shook his head. “Hoya wouldn’t have anything to do with these food poisonings. I know he doesn’t.”

“Look.” Sungyeol suddenly spoke up from the water. “I don’t really know whether Hoya is totally innocent or not, especially since I saw him in the storage room by himself, but if you really think there’s something suspicious about his clipboard, you should just check it.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Sunggyu asked.

Sungyeol shrugged slightly as he went back to rubbing Eunsol’s head. “Just ask him. I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate to let you look if he had nothing to hide.”

“He’s right, you know,” Woohyun told Sunggyu. “And Hoya’s never had anything to hide, so if we asked him to show us his clipboard, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“If you’re sure,” Sunggyu replied.

“I am,” Woohyun said. “Anyways, I have to go check up on the sea lion tank. Dongwoo needed some help with something since the other trainer isn’t here today. You want to come with me?”

“Actually, I think I’ll stay here,” Sunggyu said, shuffling his feet in the ankle-deep water. “I wanted to stay and comfort Eunsol for a little bit. And plus,” he lowered his voice to a whisper, “I wanted to talk to Sungyeol to make sure he was doing alright. Myungsoo hasn’t said anything about their breakup since it happened.”

Woohyun nodded. “Okay. Well if you need me, I’ll be with Dongwoo for the rest of the afternoon.” He gave him a brusque kiss on the lips. “I’ll pick you up later for dinner, okay?”

“Okay,” Sunggyu agreed, smiling. “See you then.”

As Woohyun left, Sunggyu crouched down to touch Eunsol’s head and smile at Sungyeol. Sungyeol gave him a short glance and a curt smile. It saddened Sunggyu to see that Sungyeol’s usual chipper and exuberant self had dissipated.

“Hey,” he began.

Sungyeol looked up at him through his wet hair. “Hey.”

“I know we don’t talk much to each other personally, but I wanted to know if you were okay.” He rubbed the top of Eunsol’s head. “How have you been doing?”

With a sigh, Sungyeol replied, “I don’t know. I just don’t know. I’m still upset, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“He hasn’t contacted you at all?” Sunggyu asked, his heart sinking. “Not even a little bit.”

Sungyeol shook his head. “No, he hasn’t. And honestly, maybe it’s better that way. Maybe this way, I can’t miss him too much.”

“Sungyeol, we both know that your relationship was something very special. It couldn’t have finished just like that.”

“It did though,” Sungyeol said with a wistful sigh. “And as much as I regret snapping at him that night, I don’t think there’s much I can do.” He chuckled humorlessly and bit his lip as his eyes grew misty. “And it kind of because I really loved Myungsoo. Like… a lot.”

Sunggyu offered him a warm smile. “I can talk to him later if you want me to. If you miss him, there’s no doubt in my mind that he misses you a lot as well.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Sungyeol replied with a smile. “But thanks anyways. I think we just need some time to get over it. And if we get back together, then we get back together. And if we don’t then – well, I guess there’s just no helping it.”

“You know, you were always so lovesick around Myungsoo all the time that I forgot you were actually really mature.”

Sungyeol laughed out loud. “Thanks, Sunggyu. That means a lot to me.”

“It’s no problem.” Sunggyu grinned. “I just needed to make sure you were doing alright.”

“Do me a favor and make sure Myungsoo is alright too.”

With a smile, Sunggyu replied, “You got it.”

“Hey.”

Dongwoo glanced up from the sea lion he was playing with and grinned. “Hi Woohyun! Thanks for spending the time to help out! I really appreciate it.”

“It’s not a problem.” Woohyun smiled back. “I have to make sure this park is always running in tip top shape! So, is there anything you need help with right now?”

“Right now it’s just play time,” Dongwoo replied. “I’m teaching some of the babies how to play with balls in the water,” he said excitedly. He tossed Woohyun a small red ball. “Let’s get started.”

With a happy shout, they both dove into the water with the excited sea lions. Woohyun hadn’t played with sea lions in a while, he had forgotten how much fun it was. The sea lions were always so energetic and ready to play.

“Jinnie!” Woohyun called out playfully, catching the attention from one of the animals. He held the ball in front of him, grinning mischievously. “You want this ball? You want it right? Come and get it!” He laughed happily as the sea lion chased after him.

“Wow, Jinnie loves you,” Dongwoo commented with a smile. “But then again she loves everybody.”

“I’m clearly her favorite,” Woohyun teased, wrapping his arms around Jinnie affectionately. “Isn’t that right, don’t you love me, Jinnie?”

Dongwoo raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I’m pretty sure I’m her favorite. Right, Jinnie? Come here – you love me the best!”

Though Woohyun struggled to keep the sea lion in his arms, she eventually wriggled free and swam her way towards Dongwoo. Pouting, Woohyun splashed at the water. “Traitor!” he sang.

“I told you I was her favorite!” Dongwoo laughed giddily, landing a wet kiss on Jinnie’s head.

“Oh, hey.”

The two of them looked up and found Hoya staring down at them. Combing his hair back, Dongwoo replied, “Oh, Hoya! You’re early! I wasn’t expecting you for another half hour.”

Hoya smiled sheepishly. “I came a little early. I hope you don’t mind.”

“What did you come here for?” Woohyun asked, flipping his hair out of his eyes.

“I had finished some reports on the health of the sea lions here. I just wanted to deliver them to Dongwoo for him to see.”

Dongwoo nodded, pulling himself out of the water. He shook some of the water off of his body and Woohyun noticed how Hoya’s gaze seemed to linger on Dongwoo’s toned body. Raising an eyebrow, Woohyun was still in the water, simply watching them.

“So, let’s see those reports,” Dongwoo stated with friendly grin.

Hoya cleared his throat and raised his clipboard for Dongwoo to see. “Uh, I placed the reports on the top. All of your sea lions seem to be in perfect health, which is a good thing, considering that fish fiasco that ended up hurting Jinnie wasn’t too long ago. But it looks like she’s recovered quickly and safely.”

Dongwoo grinned as he flipped through a couple more pages. “That’s my girl,” he said proudly. “Anything else to report on?”

“I don’t believe so,” Hoya said after a short cough. “Everything seems to be great. I can run a check on your otters too if you like.”

Dongwoo nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I’d love if you would do that for me! Sorry for adding so much work to your plate.”

Hoya smiled back, holding his clipboard close. “It’s not a problem, Dongwoo – really. I would do anything for you – I mean, for the animals. Yeah.”

“Thanks a bunch, Hoya!” Dongwoo grinned at him widely, clapping him on the shoulder. “I really, really appreciate it! Remind me to treat you to something later, okay?”

“Oh, no – there’s no need.” Hoya flushed.

Dongwoo took the clipboard from his hands, leafing through the first pages of reports. He lowered his voice and murmured to Hoya about certain things here and there. Woohyun lost his interest quickly and went back to playing with the animals in the water.

Soon enough, Hoya was saying good-bye to the two of them. Woohyun waved to him as he went down the metal stairwell. With a small laugh, Woohyun pulled himself up from the water and sat on the ledge.

“He likes you, you know.”

Dongwoo looked up in surprise. “Hm? Who likes me?”

“Hoya,” Woohyun whispered. “He’s totally into you. I can’t believe you haven’t been noticing.”

The other flushed a deep red as he shook his head. “No, no – Hoya just likes me as a friend.”

“Are you sure?” Woohyun teased. “He looks at you like he wants to be more, if you catch my drift.”

“Woohyun! Don’t start making stuff up!” Dongwoo exclaimed, placing his hands on his burning cheeks. “Besides, Hoya’s just the vet here and I’m a trainer – it’s completely platonic!”

“Oh really, because Hoya never offers to do check-ups on the whales unless we ask him to do it specifically.”

“That’s because–! Oh, look, he forgot his clipboard! I better go bring it back to him!” Dongwoo hurriedly clutched the clipboard and scurried towards the stairwell.

He didn’t make it down a single step before Hoya rammed into him. Woohyun snickered – from the looks of it, Hoya had been rushing up the stairs.

“Hoya–!”

“Dongwoo–!”

“You, uh–”

“–forgot, um, my clipboard.”

Woohyun had to cover his mouth just to stifle his laughter in the awkward silence that ensued directly afterwards. To break the silence, he called out, “Don’t keep forgetting your clipboard Hoya. Someone might find something you wish they hadn’t seen.”

Hoya froze as he heard Woohyun speak. Raising an eyebrow he slowly asked, “What makes you say that…?”

“Nothing,” Woohyun said innocently. His smile faltered as his thoughts reached back to earlier that day when Sunggyu had mentioned his suspicions about Hoya. “I mean, you have nothing to hide on that clipboard, right?”

Visibly gulping, Hoya shook his head. “Nothing at all.” He vanished in a panicked scurry.

“What was that all about?” Dongwoo asked, standing in his spot confusedly.

“…Don’t know. Or at least, I hope I don’t know.” Woohyun frowned.

When Sunggyu arrived back at his apartment, he was surprised to find it empty. Myungsoo had said he would be working from home again that day but he was nowhere to be seen. He wanted to tell Myungsoo about the incident with Eunsol and to see if he happened to have any clues on the weird happenings with the food.

“Myungsoo…?” he called out gently. “Hey, are you home?”

Walking around, he was surprised to hear muffled sounds coming from Myungsoo’s room. Stepping closer, he turned the knob and knocked on the door as he opened it slowly.

“…Myungsoo – oh, what the heck.”

“Hyung,” Myungsoo cried out. He was laying on his bed, surrounded by multiple stuffed animals of various sizes. They were all stuffed animals of whales and dolphins and sea turtles. Myungsoo was hugging onto a giant killer whale plushie tightly, tears and snot running down his face. “Hyung!”

“Myungsoo,” Sunggyu breathed out in shock, his eyes going wide at the pitiful scene before him. “What happened to you?!”

Myungsoo let out a choked sob as he fell into his sea of toys. “Hyung, I want him back!” he cried. “I made a giant mistake, I want him back. I was so stupid, what was I thinking?!”

“Whoa, hey – calm down.”

“He was literally the perfect guy – we were the perfect match. Ugh, hyung, I want him back,” he sobbed.

Had he not felt bad for Myungsoo, Sunggyu probably would have laughed at how ridiculous Myungsoo looked. But instead he decided to honor Sungyeol’s words and tried to make sure that his roommate was okay.

“Hey,” he sat down on the edge of the bed, ignoring the way it shook slightly from Myungsoo’s violent sniffles. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s not your fault–”

“But it is! It is my fault! How could I be stupid enough to forget our anniversary?! Hyung, I’m so stupid!”

“I mean, you were stressed and he was stressed and you both collided badly and–”

“He hates me doesn’t he?!” Myungsoo’s muffled cries came from underneath the layer of stuffed animals. “All these years of a relationship and I messed it all up because I didn’t get enough sleep! Sunggyu, I’m trash! Just garbage!”

“Whoa, okay, you need to calm down. Right now.” The only thing he heard in response was a strangled wail. “Oh my goodness, Kim Myungsoo, I swear–” He threw all of the plushies off and yanked Myungsoo up into a sitting position. “You need to pull yourself together.”

Myungsoo sniffed, his eyes wet and his mouth turned down into a pout. “But hyung–”

“No buts! You need to pull yourself together right this second because the longer you lie here in your own misery, the longer Sungyeol will be waiting for you.”

“W-Waiting…? For me…?”

Sunggyu sighed. “Listen – that kid misses you a lot. He might even be waiting for you to call him.”

“Really?” Myungsoo’s eyes widened and started twinkle. “He wants me back too?”

“You’ll never know unless you get up and go ask him,” Sunggyu said dryly.

With a small gasp, the other responded, “You’re right! I have to go see him! I have to go see him right now!”

“Well, hold on, that’s not exactly what I meant–”

“Thanks for your advice, hyung! I’m going to take the car – I’ll see you later!”

Sunggyu didn’t have another chance to speak before Myungsoo had bolted out of his room, tears and all. Shaking his head, Sunggyu chuckled. His best friend was kind of ridiculous. It had barely been two days since he broke up with Sungyeol and he was already a sobbing mess. Myungsoo was a little weird, but that was okay. Sunggyu appreciated that aspect of him.

“Did I just see Myungsoo run past me without any shoes on?”

Sunggyu grinned as he saw Woohyun come into view. “Hey!” he said enthusiastically. He stood up to kiss his boyfriend on the lips.

Woohyun chuckled. “Hey to you too. What were you up to just now?”

“Just giving Myungsoo a pep talk,” he explained. “I think he’s going to try and get Sungyeol back.”

“Ah, that explains why he’s got no shoes on.” Woohyun nodded.

“Does it though?”

“No.” They laughed. “But I hope they get back together.”

“Me too.” Sunggyu took Woohyun’s hands into his own. “So, what did you have planned for tonight? Are we going to go somewhere special?”

“No, I made dinner for us!” Woohyun replied excitedly, holding up a plastic bag of food. “I figured you’d like a home cooked meal since you mentioned before that neither you nor Myungsoo know how to cook.”

Sunggyu’s eyes lit up. “Really?! You cooked? Oh, Woohyun – you can’t even begin to imagine how excited I feel right now. The last time I had your cooking–”

“We kissed.” Woohyun winked as he led him to sit down on the couch. “My cooking is what seduced you that night.”

“Oh, of course,” Sunggyu joked as they sat down. “I fell in love with you through your cooking.” He kissed Woohyun’s cheek. “The best way to my heart is my stomach, after all. At least I think that’s how the saying goes.”

Woohyun laughed lightheartedly as he brought out some chicken and vegetables from his bag. “If that’s how it goes then I’ll cook for you forever because your heart should belong to me forever.”

“You’re so cheesy, I love it.”

Woohyun grinned at him appreciatively as he leaned up to rub their noses together. Sunggyu was glad Myungsoo wasn’t there otherwise he would have called him disgusting. And maybe they were being a little more on the gross side than usual, but Sunggyu was really okay with it. As long as he got to kiss and touch Woohyun like this, he would always be okay with it.

“So,” Sunggyu began as they started eating, “did you find out?”

“Find out what?” Woohyun asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Find out if Hoya’s clipboard was suspicious or not! You did ask him, didn’t you?”

“Well, I sort of did,” Woohyun murmured. “I didn’t really get an answer though.”

Sunggyu furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I hinted at whether or not he had anything to hide in his clipboard. He got kind of flustered and ran away.”

“Babe, that’s like a giveaway! He’s got something to hide, Woohyun.”

“…Sunggyu–”

“Think about it, baby. He’s always around whenever the animals get sick. He’s always not letting anyone look at his clipboard. He’s got to have something to do with it.”

“But he doesn’t have any motive!” Woohyun said defensively. “He’s worked with us for so many years, I can’t see why he would have any reason to hurt these animals at all.”

“Neither do I, but you won’t know until you confront him,” Sunggyu replied. “I don’t want you or Eunsol or any of the other animals getting hurt. You’ll have to find your perpetrator before anything else bad happens – before they do something that you guys can’t fix.”

Woohyun sighed wistfully. “I know. I know all that. I just still don’t think its Hoya. But at the same time… I don’t completely believe that he’s one-hundred-percent innocent either.”

“You should ask him then,” Sunggyu told him. “Ask to see his clipboard tomorrow. And make sure you look in the very back – he seemed to get flustered when I almost looked back there.”

“Okay,” Woohyun promised. “I’ll ask him tomorrow.”

Sunggyu nodded. “Good. Look at us, being detectives. We should totally be full time detectives.”

Woohyun laughed. “You wish.”

Woohyun bit his lip and wrung his hands nervously. He didn’t want to confront Hoya, he really didn’t. But he still needed to make sure he was innocent.

He stepped into the building where Hoya’s office was located. He greeted a couple of the other doctors there, smiling at them as he walked briskly to Hoya’s office. He didn’t wait another second before he swung the door open.

“Hoya,” he said firmly.

Hoya looked up at him in surprise. Dongwoo was there as well, looking confused. “Woohyun?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I needed to ask Hoya something,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to him about some of the sea lions,” Dongwoo said slowly.

Woohyun bit his lip. “Hoya, I know you’ve worked with us for a long time. And I know we trust each other, right?”

“…Right,” Hoya murmured. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes, there is. W-With all that’s been happening around the park, I need to make sure that all of our employees have been completely loyal. For the sake of the animals.”

“Woohyun, I understand, but what does that have to do with me?”

“I’m sorry, Hoya, but may I see your clipboard?”

Hoya’s eyes widened as he held his clipboard and pulled it closer towards him. “Why would you need to see my clipboard?”

“I need to make sure that all of your documents are dedicated to the health of the animals,” Woohyun said sternly. “S-Someone mentioned that you have been secretive with your clipboard as of late and I need to make sure it’s not for the wrong reasons.”

“Woohyun–”

“Please, Hoya – let me see your clipboard.”

Hoya’s eyes looked hurt but panicked all at once. “I wouldn’t hurt these animals, Woohyun. You know that. You both know that,” he said, looking at Dongwoo.

“Of course I know you love the animals,” Woohyun replied. “You’re enthusiasm for Dongwoo’s sea lions alone could prove that. But for our sake, please let me see your clipboard.”

Hoya was hesitant but Dongwoo spoke up. “Hoya,” he murmured. “Give him your clipboard.”

With reluctance, Hoya handed his board over to Woohyun. There were so many papers stacked together but despite Hoya’s weak protests, he flipped to the very last pages.

“Oh,” Woohyun gasped, his eyes going wide.

They were drawings. The last couple pages were pencil sketches. And beyond that, they were all sketches of Dongwoo. Dongwoo smiling, Dongwoo swimming, Dongwoo playing in the water – all Dongwoo.

Hoya flushed sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. “You caught me, okay? I’ve been hiding those. I’ve been taking art classes recently and I wanted to draw something inspiring so I drew–”

“–Dongwoo,” Woohyun finished in disbelief. “You drew Dongwoo.”

“I’m sorry if I caused any misunderstandings. But I swear, that’s all I’m hiding from you. Just these sketches.”

While Hoya’s gesture was undoubtedly sweet, Woohyun felt more stressed than ever. If it wasn’t Hoya, then who would it be? Woohyun didn’t have any clue as to who else could have hurt their animals.

( A/N ) : 

hiiiii hows it goin! i finally update after like 2 months lol 
many apologies!! school started and i have a job now so this update took longer than anticipated >< (also bc i'm working on other stories lmao)

but there you have it -- hoya is innocent. he's been innocent from the start, ive just been using him as a red herring hA they'll figure out the mystery of the in the park soon enough lol + myungsoo being a ridiculous drama queen and it's adorable and strange all at once lol 

but that's it for this chap!!! more woogyu is coming in the future, i promise!! please leave me a comment telling me what youre thinking so far!! and guys can you tell that this will be ending soon ?? who wouldve though, amiright. 

anyways, until the next update!! 

~ Quinnie
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