Grey clouds loomed over head, small droplets of rain falling in a slow rhythmic fashion as Junmyeon waited for Jongdae to text him. Unlike most people at the department, Junmyeon worked considerably later as to him, perfection was everything. To him, he was the holder of the people of Seoul's safety and believed that one mistake on his part meant that the safety would be in jeopardy. Junmyeon fished his phone out of his pocket and looked at it, the screen lighting up with no indication of a message. He sighed and shoved it back in his pocket - cursing Jongdae slightly as he could've gotten half an hour's work extra done in this time. Rolling his eyes, Junmyeon pulled out his notebook of thoughts and began to flick through, writing as he went along, theorising ways to solve ongoing cases.

It took the younger another twenty minutes before he sent a text to Junmyeon, the latter muttering, 'Finally Jongdae-ah,' to himself as he unlocked his phone and was given the address to Jongdae's house. The drive, though lengthened by traffic, was considerably short - about fifteen minutes from the station compared to Junmyeon's twenty-five. As he drove deeper into the Seoul downtown area, he took note of the nightclubs and brightly lit buildings that were peppered between normal apartments. People from all races seemed to gather in this area and as he neared the road that Jongdae had said to turn down, he noticed growing numbers of Mandarin buildings. Junmyeon concluded that Jongdae had to be a frequent in the aforementioned in order for his Mandarin to be better than the average Korean's. 

To say that Junmyeon was shocked when he turned into the street that contained Jongdae's house was an understatement. He was appalled; appalled that an area of Seoul, his Seoul, could be so dirty and crime ridden. Garbage bags were piled high against streetlamps with even the odd one or two having split and it's contents messily strewn across the road. Around the drains and in the cracks of the sidewalk grew various weed plants, untrimmed and wild. Naturally, Junmyeon slowed his car down to get a better look and, when he did, he found that there seemed to be a permanent layer of dirt on every surface. As he looked at the buildings themselves, ignoring some of the broken lamposts as they were too stressful at that time to fathom a thought of, he was greeted with chipped paint and broken bricks - some missing on some of the corners and around the windows. Junmyeon wouldn't be exaggerating if he said that every row of windows had at least one broken with the glass cracked in a spider web fashion. Around the window frames it seemed a common thing to have cracks encircling. So far, he hadn't seen a resident but from one of the windows a man poked his head out - teeth missing and being as equally dirty as the road, he gave Junmyeon a warning glare as Junmyeon inched closer to Jongdae's house. As if the man was a lookout, more and more people emerged from houses and ajoining alleyways with their gazes fixated onto Junmyeon's expensive vehicle. Junmyeon began to wonder if it was such a good idea letting Jongdae go back home but, as he turned into the younger's drive, the crowd that had congregated around him scattered and vanished. As soon as they appeared, they left as if the house of the intern struck fear into them. Junmyeon, through his mirror, caught a glipse at the face of a runner - he could clearly see the panic recreated that he'd seen so many times before on the faces of convicts.

Slowly, and with a newfound sense of apprehension, Junmyeon got out of his car and ran a hand over the creases of his jacket, smoothing them out as if he was Officer Kim on his job, rather than Junmyeon. Despite the crowd dispersing, he still walked to the door with a brisk step as he didn't fail to take in Jongdae's yard. Unlike the rest of the road, it was clean and neat just like the exterior of his house - it was clean and modern without any signs of damage. He rung the doorbell once and cracked his knuckles as the sound of foodsteps approaching the other side of the door became louder and louder until the familiar face peeked through the gap in the door. The first thing Junmyeon noticed was that Jongdae's demeanor resembled that of a small schoolboy who was about to get a scolding from his teacher and to counter this, for it'd been a long battle for him to admit he was attracted to the intern, Junmyeon smiled warmly, "Jongdae-ah, I'm glad to see your home is cleaner and nicer than your neighbours."

Jongdae nodded slowly as he inched his head out of the door and looked around at the nearby houses, "Cleaner's an understatement hyung," He moved to the side and pulled the door further in to create a bigger gap, "Come in."

Joonmyeon continued to smile as he stepped through the doorway and past Jongdae before waiting for the other to lead him through the apartment. Junmyeon hadn't expected Jongdae to be the type who adhered to the minimalist aesthetic but all around him there was barely anything. Jongdae's apartment seemed to consist of the bare necessities and a few objects such as plant pots and framed pictures here and there to add some sense of personalisation to the otherwise generic feeling interior. The house was so cold yet Jongdae's presence made it oddly warm, confliction arising within Junmyeon because for a brief second he forgot he was there to question Jongdae about last night's events. Sehun was dead, killed in the evening and Jongdae claimed he had been out. Anyone could connect the puzzle pieces and, given the two had an altercation, it would seem obvious that Jongdae would be a prime suspect.

'But it can't be him,' Junmyeon thought to himself as he sat down opposite Jongdae at the dining room table, 'We don't hire murderers as interns.'

Junmyeon ran through the possibilities meticulously, leaving no explanation untouched. Maybe Jongdae was out clubbing with his friends. Maybe he was visiting a family member. Or maybe, just maybe, he had tried to help Sehun in his final moments? He couldn't be sure.

"So," Jongdae spoke up, eyes casted downwards as Junmyeon's head shot up, "You're here to question me, right?"

Junmyeon nodded, clearing his throat, "I, uh, yes. That's what I'm here to do."

Jongdae looked up, their gazes meeting each other. A tension was definitely settling between the two, one Junmyeon hadn't expect to occur, "I see."

Junmyeon remained motionless for a few seconds before reaching into his bag and pulling out a small notebook and a pen, opening it and writing neatly at the top of a page 'Kim Jongdae Interview.' Again, he cleared his throat and gave Jongdae one quick glance before writing down the first question, "Where were you last night?"

"Downtown, meeting some old friends," Jongdae said, words slowed as if he didn't want Junmyeon to miss a single one. He was calm, collected. A definite contrast to the hyperactive and bubbly Jongdae that Junmyeon had often seen.

Junmyeon scribbed down the answer, "And what was your relation to Mr. Oh?"

"I think we can both answer that Junmyeon," Jongdae replied, a hint of sarcasm creeping into his tone, "Not the best. But from the sounds of it, many people share my view."

Junmyeon had to fight back a chuckle because, although the situation wasn't the best nor ideal, many would agree. "Of course your fight with him at the headquarters in the afternoon makes you suspicious-"

"Why would I want to kill him?" Jongdae asked, interrupting Junmyeon, "I can handle spoiled brats. Just because me and him had a fight doesn't mean I'd go out and kill him."

Maybe it was the fact that he knew Jongdae seemingly better than most suspects or maybe it was the unnverving atmosphere but Junmyeon felt defenceless, "I'm not saying you did I'm ju-"

"I was out clubbing with my friends,"Jongdae repeated. His tone was agitated, clearly showing he didn't need the interview nor the accusation.

Junmyeon sighed, nodding, "Is that your final statement?"

"Yes."

Writing the answer down before closing the notebook and returning it to it's place in his bag, Junmyeon gave Jongdae a sympathetic smile, "I know it's not ideal, but we just have to interview you, nothing too bad. Trust me, I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to be. I don't want to do this either."

Jongdae nodded, not saying anything for a few seconds before coughing, "Is that all? Can I go back to researching for the other case?"

It took Junmyeon a few seconds to think of an answer but he nodded, "You can."

Jongdae smiled, a fake smile, but a smile all the same and motioned to the door, "I'd see you out but I really need to get on with this."

Junmyeon laughed airly and got up, sending another smile at Jongdae, "Will do. Please don't take this the wrong way Jongdae-ah, we don't really think its you."

Jongdae said nothing and left Junmyeon to stare at him for a while before the latter decided it would be better to go. Waiting until he heard the door slam, Jongdae got up and went to the window, checking to see if the expensive car had vanished. And, sure enough, it was rolling out of the road and Jongdae was left all alone again.

With slow, purposeful steps, he walked to the washing machine in the utility room and pulled out the single article of clothing. Red stains still peppered it and he cursed to nobody in particular. He took it to the sink and placed it there before pouring bleach over it.

Everyone knows that step one to being a good, reliable friend is helping them in every situation, right?

omg this update is so late i'm so sorry ;-;

lets just say i lost inspo so many times and this is why the chapter might be a bit choppy

i'm gonna try and update more (same with my other fics) so wait for me!!!

i'll beta this later tbh

ily all <3

comments make me happy~!!