I think Kris was still talking, but I didn't hear any of it because he'd lost me. Luhan? Dead? Somehow, it was a little too easy to imagine. After all, I'd seen him with his eyes flutter shut as his breathing slowed, his skin already pale as a corpse. It wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine his heartbeat grind to a halt and his breathing become labored and- 

I shivered. "What is it?" asked Kris. 

"Nothing," I murmured. 

"I'm just saying, you better have a very good explanation for what happened while you were at his apartment," Kris said. 

"How did he die?" I asked. 

"Answer my question first." 

I shook my head. "I need to know. What happened?" 

Kris slammed his hand down on the table and I flinched backwards a bit. "The signs are consistent with alcohol poisoning, but his blood alcohol content wasn't at the level we would expect to see for someone of his size. So you better tell me everything you know because as of right now, you're a person of interest." 

"I am telling you everything!" I protested, holding my hands out as if somehow that would make him believe me. "I carried him to his apartment and dropped him on the couch to sleep it off. He thanked me and I turned to leave. Right as I opened the door, he called out to me and said that what we did was wrong. Then I closed the door behind me and went to the subway station." 

"Did you lock it?" 

I shook my head. "No. I left the keys on his coffee table." 

"What time was it when you left his apartment?" asked Kris. 

"I'm not sure. It was after midnight. Probably closer to 1am. The subways were still running, but I had to wait about ten minutes for the next one to arrive." 

"Is your ticket time stamped?" 

I nodded eagerly, nearly smacking myself for not thinking of it first. Digging my wallet out of my pocket, I pulled it out and handed it to him. He examined it for a moment, then handed it back to me with a nod. 

"Your story checks out. You're free to go, Chen."

"Thanks." I got up from the table. Before leaving, though, I glanced at Kris. A thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it in favor of the more pressing issue of breakfast.

The line for the cafeteria was absurdly long (and the prices were probably ridiculously high), but I got in it anyway, behind a broad-shouldered cop. I was craning my neck to look around him at the menu when out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone rise and come towards me with his hand raised.

"Is that you, Chen? Fancy seeing you here."

"Chanyeol?" Grinning, the man opposite me nodded and held out his hand, but I completely ignored it as I narrowed my eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Let me just take a moment to say that Park Chanyeol is one of those people I'm supposed to hate. I think reporters are scum, even worse scum than unemployed bums like me. He's got no problems with butting into people's personal lives and making up lies when he can't get to the truth. He started off writing obituaries, but a year later, he's got articles on the front page and even some above the fold. Like I said, I should hate him, but he's just so charming that it's kind of hard to. I suppose that's what makes him good at his job. He's smart, too, and can smell a story a mile away. My advice to anyone who he talks to is to run away from those bright puppy dog eyes and don't look back.

So naturally, I didn't take my own advice at all as I stepped out of line to talk to him, tripping slightly as the person behind me bumped me in her hurry to rush into my empty spot. 

Chanyeol shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "I heard about a mutual, uh, friend of ours."

"And you smelled a story?"

He just laughed. "Actually, no, not this time. I was thinking about being a good citizen for once and helping the police out a bit."

"Helping? How?"

"They were asking for information about what happened to Luhan," he replied. "I saw him." 

"You did?" I frowned. "When?"

"Very late last night. He rang the buzzer for my apartment as I was getting ready for bed and begged me to let him in, saying he had something really important to tell me. I asked him to come back later. Today, when I heard that the police were asking for anyone who had seen him last, I decided to come over and tell them my story."

"You're sure it was him?"

"Yeah, he said it was Lu Han. That was the kid's name, right?"

"What time was this?"

Chanyeol shrugged. "Around 12:30. 1am at the latest." 

"That's impossible," I said, narrowing my eyes. "I was with him at his apartment then. He lives over by the university-" 

"Which is across town from where I live." Chanyeol pressed his lips together for a moment, before abruptly turning towards the door.

I ran after him. "Hey! Wait! Where are you going?" 

"I changed my mind. I'm not getting involved in this. They're going to either think I'm lying, or they're going to think I killed him. If he was with you, then I probably just imagined the whole thing anyway." 

"But-" Damn his long legs. I struggled to keep up, panting slightly because I was low on fuel and still a big hungover. 

"I knew I shouldn't have said hi to you," he muttered to himself as I managed to latch onto his arm. 

"I have a bad feeling about this, Chanyeol. What are the chances that I'd run into you, Luhan, and Kris in less than twenty-four hours?" 

He frowned. "Kris? The foreman?" 

"He was questioning me about Luhan just now." I shook my head. "My point is, yesterday was exactly a year after the man we convicted was executed. Our names were leaked to the press during the trial. Everyone knows who we are. And you remember the rumors." 

Chanyeol yanked away from me. "Don't ever bring that up again. We examined the evidence and found him guilty." 

"Except we didn't." I lowered my voice to match his. "I don't like this. I think someone's messing with us." 

"There's no evidence of that." 

"There's no evidence he was guilty, either." 

He glared at me for so long, I thought his eyes might pierce a hole in my skull. But then he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. It'll be a complete waste of time, but fine. I've got the day off, anyway." 

"Thank you." 

"Let's get this over with as soon as possible." 

"Okay." My stomach growled loudly in annoyance at that moment and a smile touched his lips. "After breakfast?" 

I paced around Chanyeol's apartment as he drummed his fingers against his desk, clearly as impatient as I was. "What's taking your source so long?" I grumbled. 

"Hey, cut him some slack. He has a lot of work to do." 

I continued pacing, staring at the articles taped up on the walls, all of which had been written over the last year or so. "You're not modest," I muttered and he grinned. 

"Nope. Journalists don't go into the field to make sure the truth gets heard and all that. We do it for recognition." He clicked his mouse a few times. "Okay, here it is. The file on Luhan's death." 

I leaned over his shoulder as he opened the document, but lost focus as he began skimming it quickly, his eyes darting back and forth across the screen while I couldn't even hope to keep up. "Here we go." He stopped on one page. "The coroner's report. Time of death was at approximately 1:45-2:00am this morning. Cause of death is listed as alcohol poisoning." 

"Oh." I felt vaguely disappointed, though I didn't know why. 

"Yeah, see? I told you." 

"Well, what if we check the security cameras in your building? Maybe they recorded him ringing the buzzer at 1am." 

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. "Hello?" He pointed at the screen. "Alcohol poisoning? I doubt he was even conscious at 1am." 

"Kris said his BAC wasn't that high-" 

My phone rang and I pulled it out. "Hello?" 

"Chen. Is that you?" 

I frowned. "Kris?" 

"Detective Wu," came the testy reply. "Listen, I'm going to need you to come back down to the station. "A witness just came in to say that Luhan was nowhere near his apartment at the time you said you were with him." 

"What? That's impossible. Who said that?" 

There was the briefest of pauses before he answered me. "A Park Chanyeol. I think we're both familiar with him." 

"Wait, what?" I stared at Chanyeol, who raised an eyebrow back at me. 

"He says that at 1am this morning, Luhan was knocking on his door, begging to talk to him. I'll need you to come in-" 

"Wait, wait, wait." I waved my hand, even though he couldn't see me. "Did you say he just came in?" 

"Yes. Why does that matter?" 

"Because he couldn't have. He's standing right next to me." 

Chanyeol narrowed his eyebrows as I heard Kris go silent on the other end of the phone. The next moment, there was a bang so loud, it left my ear ringing. I switched the phone to the other side, just in time to hear Kris swear under his breath. When he spoke again, his voice had a slight shake to it. "He's gone."