Donghae scanned the printed document from top to bottom, noting the words ‘attn’, ‘murder cases’, ‘transferred’ and ‘immediately’ highlighted in bold throughout the paper. Taking a look at the other documents also attached along with the letter, from HQ, the chief inspector leaned back against his chair and rubbed his forehead. A few photographs each consisting of different victims lying on the ground with fatal gunshot wounds through vital parts of their body, Donghae noted, with dark blood oozing from the torn flesh, probably killing them in an instant. A couple of loose leaf papers held all the data and information thought crucial to solving this series of seemingly unrelated murders, although he was pretty sure that they all had to tie in somewhere, if that was what his past experiences have told him for so long. Donghae briefed through the papers, biodatas, autopsy and crime scene reports, forming some sort of plot in his head to get a clearer picture of the case. So far as he observed, many of the victims were killed with a clean shot to a vital organ, pointing out that the shooter was highly-trained in that field and had perfect aim, needing only a single bullet to end a life. Ruthless too, to have killed so many people in just over a span of two weeks, he thought.

A blood-curdling scream suddenly sounded from the main office, and Donghae was rudely jerked from his train of thoughts. As expected, sinister guffaws exploded right after the scream, prompting a sigh from Donghae, as he tried his best to get his mind back on the case. He did all he could to ignore the frightened whimpers and evil chuckles echoing from behind his office door.

Some people just don’t want to grow up.

* * *

“Alright, what did he do this time?”

Donghae walked in on Sungmin holding Hyukjae down on the floor in a death grip with knees digging in his back. Raising an eyebrow at how Hyukjae could still manage to laugh, although out of breath, on the floor with his arms twisted uncomfortably behind his back. Kyuhyun was at the side comforting a very pale and shivering chipmunk, while Amber was trying her very best to hold back a grin.

Sungmin eased up his grip on the prankster when he realized that Donghae had just entered the scene, but still refused to let go. He nudged his head towards Henry’s computer screen, and Donghae immediately understood. There, displayed on the screen for all to see, was the infamous grinning ghost picture haunting the so-called ‘maze’ game.

“What have you got to say for yourself, you brat?” Sungmin demanded, digging his fingers into the arm he was holding. Hyukjae let out a painful whine, and somehow that tiny sound managed to tug at Donghae’s heartstrings.

Against his better judgment, the chief tapped the senior officer on the shoulders. “Let him go.”

“But boss, he—”

“Donghaaaaaae!!” Hyukjae wailed from the floor. “Save meeee!!”

“Shut up, you,” Sungmin growled, begrudgingly letting go of the prankster. “The next time I catch you pranking us again I’m not going to hesitate to snap your arm in two.”

Hyukjae sprang up from the ground and hid behind the chief inspector, eyes wide, innocent and pleading, but Donghae knew better even if he never caught that tiny glint of mischief in the other’s eyes.

“I think a threat like that is totally unnecessary, Min. Especially since he just recovered from his injury last time,” Donghae said with a sigh. “I’m sorry for your trauma, Henry, but honestly even a baby would know that the maze game was a trick, and you still fell for it.”

Henry looked like he was about to cry. Kyuhyun shushed him and blocked Donghae from his view. “Shush baby, don’t listen to the bad old ahjusshi inspector now.”

“Excuse me?” Donghae was offended.

“Daddy complex,” Sungmin hissed.

Amber burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching her stomach with one hand and pounding the table with the other. In no time at all Hyukjae erupted into another fit of laughter again, and at Sungmin’s increasingly agitated face, Donghae had no choice but to intervene.

“Alright, that’s enough,” the chief inspector ordered in a stern voice. “You guys, back to work. And you, Lee Hyukjae –” Donghae took a hold of the officer’s ear and began dragging him out of the office with mild protests, “—are coming with me.”

* * *

Hyukjae sulked in his chair as he rubbed his smarting red ear, while the chief told him off for the nth time that week for pulling pranks on his staff. Donghae might as well have been talking to a monkey since the officer wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to him at all.

“—Do I make myself clear?”

“Mmh, yeah,” Hyukjae drawled, half-yawning.

“No complaints?” Donghae smirked. “Good. No backing out then.”

The officer jumped out of his chair. “Wait, what? What did I just agree to?”

“Just an hour extra at the office for every prank you’ve played on them since the start of this month. Oh, and maybe the laundry and breakfast in bed for me for the next two consecutive weeks.”

“WHAT.”

Donghae blinked sweetly at Hyukjae with a sly smile on his face. “Thank you Hyukkie, I love you,” he pecked the stoned officer on the cheek before pinching both his cheeks.

Hyukjae grabbed his fiancé by the neck and assaulted Donghae’s thin lips with his mouth before the other had a chance to protest. “I don’t mind, baby, but mark my words, I’ll have my revenge on you soon enough, in bed especially,” he growled in a husky voice, making sure his words had an effect on the inspector. Donghae pushed the other off with a scoff, trying to avoid the lips that were chasing after his but settled for on his neck instead.

“Hyukjae please, we’re in an office.”

“So? Never stopped us the last time we did it, not stopping us the next time we do it.”

The chief firmly pushed the leech off his neck and pinched the other’s ear until Hyukjae surrendered to the pain. “Not gonna