“How is my favourite coroner?” Chanyeol smiled his classic 10 megawatt smile at Dr. Amber Liu, whose blonde hair was expertly tucked under a surgeon’s cap as she jotted something down on her notepad.

                “Peachy, if you enjoy cutting open bodies and sinking your fingers into their organs.” Chanyeol never got Amber’s sarcastic and grotesque sense of humour but he figured he shouldn’t argue or question someone who has enough tools to kill you. Amber gave him a small smile before gesturing over to a body under a blue sheet. Amber revealed the head and Chanyeol nodded.

                “She looks so peaceful.” Chanyeol eyed The Dame’s figure as she laid on the cold operating table, still and unnerving.

                “My mother used to say that you always look your best when you’re asleep,” Amber, pulled the sheet down and off the corpse. “I guess when you die you look amazing all the time.”

                “Okay,” Chanyeol shook his head and breathed in deeply. “Tell me what you got.”

                “Well, as expected, her lungs were filled with water, since you found her in the bathtub. Organ and body temperature tells us that the victim died a little after 8.00p.m, perhaps around 8.10p.m.” Amber read off her clipboard. “There is the presence of pulmonary edema, which is common in most drowning cases.”

                “Anything on the surface that might indicate struggle?” Chanyeol asked.

                “I wish I could help you with that but apparently not.” Amber lifted the body for and Chanyeol noted that the victim’s skin was smooth and no signs of struggle were evident. The test was inconclusive.

                “I’d like to say there was foul play going on, but so far nothing supports that.” Amber put her clipboard down and grabbed the sheet to cover over the body. “I’d file this under accidental drowning.”

                “Thanks Amber.” Chanyeol sighed as he grabbed the autopsy report from the coroner and left the room. So the autopsy was a disappointment, maybe the site report would have something conclusive.

                He was wrong.

                “This is the cleanest crime scene I have ever seen.” Officer Choi Minho said as they scanned through photos of the crime scene. “My team and I found no unknown fingerprints, forces of entry or even anything that could be seen mysterious. This is an accident.”

                “Just tell me about The Dame’s family.” Chanyeol sat down at the meeting table, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

                “Right, this is The Dame’s ex-husband, Kris Wu.” Officer Choi handed over the first file. “50 years old, founder of Wu Constructions Group. They have been divorced for a couple of years now. Their relationship appears to be somewhat estranged. The two of them don’t really talk except for certain family functions.”

                “Reason for divorce?”

                “Adultery. Kris admitted to cheating on his ex-wife with his secretary, who is now his live-in boyfriend. The two of them settled out of court and apparently The Dame got a pretty hefty alimony from it.”

                “I’ll say. Almost 2 million USD a year for the next 5 years.” Chanyeol read their divorce papers found in the file.

                “Her daughter, Wu Hani is a famous model and fashion designer. She also has her own cosmetics company.” Officer Choi handed him the second file.

                “Marital status?”

                “Married, unfortunately,” Officer Choi sighed heavily as Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “She is married to Kim Jongdae the technology mogul.”

                “I know that. Isn’t he the one who pioneered the smart-watch before patenting his invention and selling the rights to various companies?”

                “That’s the man.” Officer Choi handed him the third file. “Wu Sehun is her son. Eldest in the family and now runs the family construction business. He is married to his long-term boyfriend Luhan.”

                “Has The Dame’s lawyer come forward with the will?”

                “He has but it all depends on the executor as well, which in this case is Wu Sehun, her son.” Officer Choi sat down opposite Chanyeol. “He will only execute the will once we draw a close on this case, according to what his side is saying.”

                “Fine.”

                “If you don’t mind me saying,” the officer sighed. “I think this is a very simple case. The Dame took some sleeping pills, and drowned in the tub. Case closed.”

                “And this is why you will never become detective.” Chanyeol stood up and tucked the files under his jacket. “But you are right, this case is easy.” He left the room and dug into his pocket, he fished out the name card he found in The Dame’s purse. The three bold letters nagged at him for hours.

                This case is easy. Too easy.

*****************

                “The look on your face says you have gotten nowhere with this case.”

                “You know me all too well.” Chanyeol sighed as he drank his tenth cup of coffee for the day. His plate of spaghetti stared at him right in the face, untouched and glistening. Usually Chanyeol would scoff down the plate and ask for seconds but that day was not a typical day. Inspector Nam wanted to close the case, but something inside of Chanyeol stirred in him. He felt uneasy, as if there was a tsunami wave high up above his head, waiting to crash down on him.

                “You better eat your food.” Jongin said, taking a bite out of his pizza. “You can’t solve crimes on an empty stomach.”

                “I read your article for the The South Korean Times. Not bad, very well written.”

                “Thanks. The paper wants me to continue with this story.” Jongin sneaked a bite of spaghetti away and Chanyeol pushed the plate towards him.

                “How much are they offering you?” Chanyeol asked.

                “I haven’t figured that out yet.”

                “Why you still send your story to a paper that doesn’t even pay you is beyond me.”

                “Why you are not eating this very expensive plate of aglio-olio is beyond me too.”

                “You eat. I have a phone call to make.” Chanyeol pushed the plate towards Jongin and left the café. He stopped at the curb and pulled out the name card. He dialled the number at the bottom and waited for someone to pick it up.

                He could feel every ring time itself with his heart beat.

                “Hello, this is Angel Delight Bakery, how may I help you?” a woman’s voice answered.

                “Um,” Chanyeol scrunched up his face in confusion. “I’m calling about a uhm…”he peered at the card. Something in his gut told him what he needed to say “A…pie?”

                “One moment sir.” A loud beep passed through and then silence. Chanyeol waited for a while before another voice came through, this time a man answered.

                “Your appointment is in 20 minutes at Angel Delight Bakery in Gangnam. Ask for the chef’s special icing.”

                “Wait but I…”

                “Thank you and we expect to see you soon sir.”

                BEEP

                Chanyeol stared at his phone, and then at his watch. 20 minutes to get to Gangnam. That’s not a lot of time.

                “I’m sorry Jongin, I gotta go.” Chanyeol dashed back in to grab a final sip of his drink and a bite of his spaghetti. “I have got to get to Gangnam.”

                “Gangnam? Why? Is there an emergency?”

                “It’s fine, I’ll call you.” He left a few dollar bills on the table and left the café. He got into his car and drove off.

                Chanyeol could feel his heart thumping. The phone call…it was so mysterious. What is this P.I.E? Some secret organization? And if so, what is The Dame doing with them?

                The mystery is beginning to unfurl itself. Chanyeol was so focused on his thoughts, he almost didn’t see the young lady that was trying to cross the street. He almost ran into her as she let out a piercing scream. Chanyeol slammed the brakes and stared at her in horror upon realizing what he just did.

                “I am so sorry!” He apologized repeatedly as the young lady just covered her face and ran away. Chanyeol watched her cross the road and drove off.

                It wouldn’t be the last he would see of her.

************

                Angel Delight Bakery was the pinkest building he had ever seen. Seriously, how can one person love so much pink? It was even worse than the Hello Kitty café. When Chanyeol entered, a young man was behind the counter, serving coffee to another customer. He nodded at Chanyeol and smiled. “Welcome to Angel Delight Bakery, can I get you anything?”

                “Uhm…” Chanyeol looked around at some of the pastries and they do look really good. He remembered that he didn’t have much of a lunch, so he might as well get something to eat. “I’ll have a slice of apple pie.”

                “Would you like any cream or toppings?”

                “Er…” there was no mention of the chef’s special icing anywhere on their menu board. “I’ll have the chef’s special?” he hoped that was right.

                The waiter smiled. “Certainly sir, have a seat.” Chanyeol took a seat on one of the chairs and looked around. A few girls were sitting in another corner, playing on their phones and eating cupcakes. They laughed loudly at something while eating.

                This can’t be an evil place. There’s nothing strange about this ugly bakery.

                His apple pie came and for 10 seconds he had forgotten about his mission. The apple pie smelled so good and the dollop of whip cream on it looked tantalising. He dug into the pie and almost moaned out loud at the flavour combinations that hit him. Chanyeol had a thing about food (well, desserts to be exact), and Jongin said he moaned louder with food than he did with .

                Well duh, what’s more important than food?

                A piece of paper got caught in his mouth and Chanyeol grimaced at the unpleasant feeling. He opened the tiny scroll and read the words: Ask for the bathroom.

                “Excuse me,” Chanyeol asked the same waiter behind the counter. “Where is the bathroom?”

                “Right this way sir.” The waiter lead him past the counter and through the kitchen. There was a small toilet at the end and Chanyeol opened the door to go in. There was barely enough room for his tall stature and the waiter placed his hand on the mirror. Chanyeol could see a red laser from inside the mirror, scanning the waiter’s hand. The waiter pulled his hand away and closed the door. “I will see you soon.”

                Chanyeol felt a shift in the floor and he fell backwards against the toilet. The floor shook and before you know it, it started to descend.

                A secret elevator. Nice.

                The secret elevator descended a few meters down below the ground. The ride was slow and Chanyeol was getting impatient. It felt like they were more than 50 feet below. Finally the elevator came to a stop and Chanyeol came to a long corridor with the words P.I.E at the end.

                “Good afternoon Mr. Park Chanyeol.” A lady greeted him as he came out of his elevator. She was dressed curtly in a blue blouse and black pencil skirt. She had an earpiece that was connected to her iPad as she teetered in heels.

                “How did you know my…”

                “Right this way. Your consultation will begin immediately.”

                “But I…” Chanyeol was going to explain, but then he decided it would be safer to play along (just like everything else in this world) and find out exactly what was going on. His jaw dropped and his eyes nearly popped out when he saw what was going on when he turned the corner.

                Hundreds of similarly dressed employees, walking around on their phones or riding in Segway PTs dominated the two storey underground facility. Security cameras were in every corner and the employees were decked in cutting edge technology behind their computers and laptops. This looked like the epicentre of the Seoul’s technology and communications system.

                This is some kind of secret organization! Chanyeol couldn’t decide whether to be horrified or impressed.

                “This way sir.” Chanyeol was lead into someone’s office, where a man was sitting behind a sleek wooden table, his head buried in his laptop. “Suho, Mr. Park has arrived.” Suho was dressed in a suit and looking very smart. His shoes were shined brightly and a limited edition Rolex flanked his left wrist. I think I'll go with the latter.

                “Good afternoon, Detective.” Suho stood up to shake Chanyeol’s hand. With the tilt of his head and the smile on his lips, Chanyeol knew that Suho had done a background check on him and knew beforehand who his ‘client’ was, but he had to ask anyways.

                “How did you know it was me?”

                “We found your location through your phone’s GPS when you called us. Picked up your face through our satellite imaging and had a quick background check on you.” Suho offered him a seat as the two sat down. “I apologize if you find it an annoyance but its standard procedure that we check our client’s background before arranging a consultation.”

                “I take it this comes from experience.”

                “A rather harrowing one I must say,” Suho nodded. “Would you like anything to drink, sir?”

                “Uhm…” Chanyeol gulped. “I didn’t finish my pie.”

                “Ah yes,” Suho laughed. “Ara, fetch Detective Park’s pie, and throw in another slice. Don’t worry, it’s on the house.”

                “And so is the consultation?”

                “Depends on what we are actually discussing about. We don’t get a lot of detectives down here, usually we are the detectives.” Suho explained, leaning back in his chair. “What is it that we can help you with, detective?”

                “I want to know what is your connection to The Dame. She was…”

                “Murdered. I have read the news.” Suho sighed. “It’s a shame. She was our first client.”

                “What exactly do you guys do?”

                “Detective,” Suho looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Did you come here without knowing what we do and who we are? Usually our clients come recommended from other clients who we have worked with before.”

                “I found your name card in The Dame’s purse and it took me here.”

                “Well, we are…” A slamming sound shook both men out of their chairs as the person who interrupted them came forward.

                “For ’s sake Suho you do not pay me enough for this ty job. Delivering methamphetamine to an old lady near Hongdae?” a young lady dumped her bag on the couch at the side of the room as Chanyeol’s eyes grew wide.

                “You guys…”

                “That’s all I can offer you after your little ‘accident’ in Hawaii.” Suho rolled his eyes. “Take off your disguise and get changed. Your clothes are on the table.”

                “That was a disguise? I…” Chanyeol bolted out of his seat and caught a good look at lady. Both of them gasped in realization and pointed accusing fingers at each other.

                “YOU!”

                “YOU!!”

                “You two know each other?” Now Suho was confused.

                “This er almost ran me down today!”

                “I said I was sorry and if I had known you were delivering meth I probably should have! And this was a disguise?”

                “Yeah! I’m a dude okay?” the wig came off and a head of beautiful brown hair appeared. Chanyeol’s eyes widened even more.

                “This is Byun Baekhyun. He’s one of our best agents.”

                “So this is how you treat one your best agents? Making me wear this ugly costume that no legit teenage girl would be seen dead in only to deliver powder to an old lady who’s watching reruns of Happy Days. You could give any kid on the corner a dollar to get this done.”

                “Watch your mouth Byun Baekhyun.”

                “I don’t have to watch my mouth. This is my mouth and I can say whatever it is I want!” Baekhyun threw his wig in a corner and proceeded to remove his makeup and uncomfortable heels. “All you do is sit here and warm up that chair with your big fat and what are you looking at?” Baekhyun whipped his head to look at Chanyeol (who didn’t realize he was staring) with his hands on the hem of his shirt.

                “Uhm…I…you’re a dude.” He stated blatantly. Baekhyun stared at him like he was an idiot, before curling his lips into a small smirk.

                “Are you disappointed or happy?”

                “Happy. I mean disa…what’s it to you?” Chanyeol quickly recollected himself. His eyes darted to Baekhyun’s fingers (his eagle eyes took notice that Baekhyun’s fingers are gorgeous) that were on his hips now and sat back down, trying not to look anymore.

                “Shut up Byun, I’m in a middle of a consultation here with the detective.” Suho snapped at Baekhyun who gave Chanyeol a look-over. “Detective eh?”

                “I apologize Detective. Where was I?”

                “You were trying to tell me what you guys do.”

                “Ah yes. Well P.I.E stands for Private Investigators Extraordinaire. We started as a small private investigator business but now we are a worldwide organisation in the field of espionage. We have over 300 spies, or P.Is as we call them here stationed in almost every country. This place that we are in is our main headquarters and we have over 200 employees here, working behind the scenes and developing weapons and gadgets. We have worked for quite a number of politicians, celebrities and sir are you listening to me?”

                “Huh?” Chanyeol’s head snapped back, his eyes wide with innocence as he crossed his legs several times. Suho shook his head. He had caught Chanyeol’s wavering eyes that kept crossing over to the right, where Baekhyun had stripped himself of his crop top and was now trying to remove his jeans.

                “Baekhyun, take your clothes into the other room and call Kyungsoo out.”

                “Oh come on, I was just getting started here…”

                “Go.” Suho ordered with a wave of his hand. Baekhyun grabbed his clothes and moved into the next room, just in time for Ara to be back with Chanyeol’s apple pie.

                “You know, secret organization aside, the bakery on top does make good pie.” Chanyeol chuckled, trying to make a joke to cover his initial embarrassment by stuffing his face with pie.

                “Thank you, my fiancé makes them.”

                “She does?”

                “He runs the bakery while I’m down here.” Chanyeol swallowed a piece and nodded, desperately trying to avert eye contact with Suho.

                “You don’t have to be ashamed detective. This isn’t the first time anyone has been caught ogling Baekhyun. He is very easily one of the most attractive agents I have ever had.”

                “I shouldn’t have done that. It was rude.” Now Chanyeol couldn’t even lift his head from the pie.

                “Are you straight, Detective Park?”

                “Me? Oh no, I’m uh…bi.” Chanyeol cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks getting warmer. Who in heaven’s name confesses their ual orientation in front of the boss of a secret organization after getting caught ogling at his really cute (wait, what?) agent?

                “Perhaps we should get back to the matter at hand.”

                “I agree.” Chanyeol sat back up, shaking his head and trying to maintain his composure. “I want to know what your connection to The Dame is.”

                “She was our first customer, our first high-profile one at least.” Suho explained. “We were the ones who found out that her husband was having an affair. As a matter of fact, Baekhyun was the agent involved. We also helped to settle her divorce with quite a hefty alimony paid to her.”

                “You guys have a law team?”

                “That we do. Kyungsoo is one of them, who you will meet later.”

                “Is there anything about her that you remember? Would there be anyone out to kill her?”

                “Unfortunately I can’t answer that because I didn’t handle the case myself, but why wouldn’t there be anyone out to kill her? She’s a rich woman with a lot of power. Her children are also rich and famous whose spouses are just as influential. The Dame could pose a threat to a lot of people who didn’t see eye to eye with her or even potential business rivals.”

                Suho had a point. Chanyeol bit his lip and rubbed his temple. He heard the door open and out came Baekhyun followed by another male. Baekhyun was dressed in a black shirt with leather pants while the other male was also dressed casually and had a pair of headphones around his neck. He hid his eyes behind a pair of glasses and tucked his hair under a cap.

                “Detective Park, this Do Kyungsoo, he’s on the law team and also one of our best agents.” The duo shook hands. “Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, this is Detective Park Chanyeol of the South Korean Police Force. He is working on The Dame’s murder case.”

                “Ah, The Dame.” Kyungsoo sighed heavily.

                “How far has the police gotten with this?” Baekhyun asked.

                “That’s the thing. We haven’t been able to get anywhere.” Chanyeol went on to describe the crime scene and explained how they couldn’t find anything. “My lack of leads has lead me here. If I had more clues I wouldn’t be here.”

                “Detective,” Suho sat a little closer to the desk. “I am about to do something I have never done to anyone else before. I would like to offer our services to you.”

                “Me? But you see…”

                “It’s no coincidence that you found us here. I would like to think that fate has aligned all this for us. The Dame was our first high profile client. Thanks to her, we were able to push the business forward and end up where we are now. She opened a lot of doors for us.” Suho sighed deeply. “You can imagine how indebted we are to her, and now she is dead. Please detective, let us help you with this case.”

                “I appreciate the offer but this is official police business.” Chanyeol tried to smile. He really didn’t see the need in a secret spy organization meddling in police affairs.

                “The Dame is someone with a lot of secrets.” Suho said. “All high-profile clients would prefer someone who respects their privacy, and understand that whatever that is dug up can buried back, without getting the public involved. You will need someone who is unrecognizable, someone who can blend in or even better, someone who has done it before.”

                “He’s right, let us help you Detective.” Kyungsoo spoke up for the first time. Chanyeol looked at him, then over to Baekhyun, whose face is plastered with a particularly sombre and serious expression. Chanyeol couldn’t help but notice how pink his lips were.

                “Think about it detective. There is a reason why The Dame hired us, and it’s because we’re good.”

                “I’m sure the South Korean Police Force can handle the case just as well.”

                “If they could then we wouldn’t exist now would we?” Suho stood up just as Chanyeol did. He slipped a name card into Chanyeol’s hand as he shook it. “Think about it detective.”

                Chanyeol didn’t answer. He just shook Suho’s hand and gave a small polite smile. “Baekhyun, please show Detective Park out.” Baekhyun nodded and guided Chanyeol out of the room. Suho spun in his seat and sighed as he leaned back down.

                “Do you think he will say yes?” Kyungsoo wondered.

                “I believe so.”

                “How do you know?”

                “I’m counting on it Kyungsoo. I’m counting on it.”

**************

                “I hope you call us soon detective. To be given an opportunity on a case like this would mean a lot to us.” Baekhyun said as he guided Chanyeol through the bakery’s back entrance. Chanyeol squinted at the light and realized it had been hours since he saw sunlight. He looked back down at the smaller man.         

                “We’ll see.” Chanyeol sighed. This was not as easy as turning down an annoying salesman that came up to your door. Usually they sell you stuff you don’t need, and no matter how much they talk you into it you know deep down you don’t need it. This was very different. Suho’s words were etched deep inside Chanyeol’s mind and tugged at the figments of his brain. He knew Suho was right, in a way at least, and the way Baekhyun’s alabaster skin glowed in the sunlight did not help his predicament.

                “Is there anything I can do or say that would convince you to return?” Baekhyun stepped forward and Chanyeol stepped back. They looked at each other for a while before Baekhyun took another step and wiped off non-existent crumbs on his coat. His long, slender fingers rested briefly on Chanyeol’s shoulder before he looked up at him with his signature puppy eyes.

                “I will not be swayed through means of seduction.” Chanyeol insisted, his feet rooted on the ground and his back abnormally straight, like a rod.

                “And yet there you were, watching me strip myself in my boss’s office.”

                “No one told you to strip yourself then and there. Do you get off of other people watching you?”

                “That’s for me to keep secret, and for you to find out.” Baekhyun smiled coyly, before tucking his hands into his jean’s back pockets. He stepped backwards a few times, eyes never leaving Chanyeol’s before letting out a small wave and turning around completely. He opened the door to the bakery and walked back in.

                Chanyeol watched the shorter blonde return to the headquarters. He could almost feel Baekhyun’s fingers ghosting atop his shoulders. Chanyeol was so very confused. He couldn’t decide which was tighter, his mind, his heart or his pants.

A/N: Warning: lots of frustrating ahead. XD

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