No one likes to be woken up so early in the morning by a phone call. In fact, no one likes to be woken up at all, so you can imagine Amber’s annoyance when she heard her damn phone ring at 5.00a.m in the morning.

                “Hello?” she answered with a gruff voice. Anyone who didn’t know would have thought it was a man on the other end. She rubbed her eyes and tried to turn on her bedside lamp.

                “Amber? I’m sorry for disturbing you so early in the morning but I have an urgent request and I want you to get started on it when you come in to work today.”

                “What the do you want Chanyeol?”

                “I want a second autopsy on The Dame and for the record normal people would be terribly insulted at that.”

                “Normal people wouldn’t try to call me at 5 in the morning you dumb piece of .” Amber growled out. “Get off the phone now.”

                “I want the second autopsy.”

                “And you’ll get it. Get off the phone now.”

                “Amber…”

                BEEP

                “She is definitely not a morning person.” Chanyeol sighed as he put down the phone. He really didn’t want to disturb her (usually those who do don’t live very long) but Chanyeol couldn’t sleep well. He had a habit of sleeping lightly when he’s working on something, which would explain the layers of dark circles that have accumulated so heavily over the years. In fact, he hasn’t even gotten a holiday in a very long time. His commitment to his work is honourable, but somewhat deathly. That would also explain why he has been single all this time. Who would want to be with a man who’s having an affair with his work?

                Jongin was knocked out like a baby, and Chanyeol tip-toed around the apartment, trying not to make any noise. He made himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a piece of bread from a loaf on the counter. The bread is a bit stale but Chanyeol has learnt not to complain. You eat what you can get, especially if you’re too lazy to get groceries.

                Today was the day he would meet and interview Kris Wu. Kris and his ex-wife were supposed to be estranged since the divorce, but you never know what happens below the surface.

                The sun hasn’t even risen but Chanyeol felt anything but tired. He wanted to get started as soon as possible but time wouldn’t permit him. Then, a knock came on the door.

                “Baekhyun?!?!? Kyungsoo?!?!?!?” Chanyeol reeled back in shock when he answered the door.

                “Couldn’t sleep eh?” Baekhyun smiled. He was dressed a little more casually today, in a dark blue T-shirt and jeans. Kyungsoo was wearing a dark sweater and black slacks. He had on round glasses and looked like a Goth version of Harry Potter.

                “What are you guys doing here?” Of all the people who would come knocking on their door, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo would not rank high on that list.

                “Kyungsoo spent all night back at headquarters working on a new cutting edge technology project with the developers there. I, on the other hand, was up to go to the gym but forgot that the gym was closed today for repairs, so I went to meet Kyungsoo. We didn’t feel like going back and your apartment was the closest in proximity.” Baekhyun explained as they entered the apartment.

                “Your location is impeccable.” Kyungsoo smiled.

                “Well thank you, that’s what I keep trying to tell my supervisor.” Chanyeol went into the kitchen to pour some coffee for his guests. “Coffee?”

                “Yes please.” Baekhyun said as he entered the living room.

                “I apologize for the demeanour of this shabby looking place but I haven’t had the time to pick up after it and Jongin is a lousy cleaner.”

                “He must still be asleep.” Kyungsoo said, setting himself down at the kitchen island. Only the kitchen was fully lit as Baekhyun came to sit down next to him.

                “Well, no Sherlock.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

                “Will you stop being so grumpy? Is it my fault the gym closed without telling you?” Kyungsoo glared at his partner.

                “You’d think they would have at least the very minimal conscious to notify their best and most frequent member about the changes they are making. Thank god I don’t have a class to teach today or I would have screwed Youngbae’s head in.”

                “You teach at a gym? What do you teach?” Chanyeol asked as he served the coffee.

                “Yoga. Sometimes at least. I’m more of a substitute.” Baekhyun sipped from his cup.

                “Does that pay more or less than your current job?”

                “If I tried to live off of teaching yoga I would be dressed in tight yoga pants and carry mats with me wherever I go. How do you think I could afford my new boots?” Baekhyun lifted his leg up as high as possible, to show off his new boots. Kyungsoo pushed the leg down.

                “Have you had breakfast?” he asked.

                “Uhm no.”

                “What’s for breakfast then?”

                “I think I’ll just get some cereal or something.”

                “If you have bacon or eggs you can have something a little more fulfilling.” Kyungsoo stood up and dusted imaginary dust off his pants. “Let’s see what you have.”

                “Kyungsoo is a great chef. He does all the cooking back at our place.” Baekhyun smiled, pointing at him.

                “That’s awesome but you really don’t have to…”

                “It’s not about whether he has to, it’s about whether or not he wants to.” Baekhyun stopped him. “And trust me when I say he wants to cook.”

                “Oh…I…”

                “It’s fine, just go and relax. I know my way around a kitchen.” Kyungsoo smiled, taking out eggs and some frozen bacon.

                “He can’t stand watching people eat boring meals. It’s a of his.” Baekhyun whispered. “He wants to cook and food the whole world if it’s possible.”

                “Well I wouldn’t mind a little help. I don’t really get decent meals much with all the work I do.” Chanyeol confessed, wiping his hands on one of the dish rags.

                “You serious? That explains why you’re so skinny.”

                “Well you’re on the skinnier side too.”

                “Don’t be fooled. This skinny boy here can whip your the same way Kyungsoo whips cream.”

                “It’s true.” Kyungsoo turned and beat some eggs with a whisk. “During the last mission one of the bad guys we attacked got sent to the hospital with a twisted arm, broken ribs and a fractured hip.”

                “What did he do to you?”

                “He tried to touch my hair. Can you believe the ?” Baekhyun ran a hair through his glorious locks. “As if they think they are worthy of touching anything on my body.”

                “And who is worthy of touching anything on your body?” Chanyeol asked, planning to a little.

                “Anybody who has at least the faintest amount of respect and someone who appreciates fine beauty. I am a rare gem after all.”

                “Yeah, that’s why gems like you are rare for a reason.” Kyungsoo deadpanned. Baekhyun glared at his friend and mocked him.

                “I better go get Jongin.” Chanyeol chuckled. Jongin’s room was right around the corner. Past years of experience has taught him what a deep sleeper Jongin is, so he barged right in and shook him. “Jongin! Jongin! Get up!”

                “Not now…”

                “Yes now and don’t you dare argue with me! Get up you lazy !”

                “What is it?” Jongin mumbled, shifting around in his sleep.

                “We have guests.”

                “Tell them to come back in an hours time.”

                “It’s Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.”

                “I’m up.” Jongin sat straight up when he heard their names. He scratched his belly like an old man that woke up from slumber and his long hair was tangled up to look more like the flames upon Hades’ head rather than just a bed head.

                “Good. It’s not polite to sleep in with guests.” Chanyeol opened the curtains in Jongin’s room, watching the sky brighten up slowly. The sun wasn’t fully up, but already people in the streets below him were starting to move around.

                “And it’s okay to greet them without a shirt on?”

                “What are you talking about?”

                “Dude, look at yourself in the ing mirror.”

                “!” Chanyeol panicked when he say his reflection as he immediately ran to open Jongin’s closet and took a shirt of his to wear. “ I cannot believe I was not wearing a shirt !!!”

                “Relax, I’m sure the guys were impressed with your non-existent abs and useless arms.” Jongin cackled as he got out of bed and took out a fresh set of clothes. “How did you not notice?”

                “I thought I had one on all this time!!!”

                “See, hallucination is one of the side effects of not getting enough sleep.” Jongin sighed. “You seriously need to…”

                “Shut up and put on some pants. You don’t want them to see your Frozen boxers do you?” Chanyeol snapped, trying to hide his red face.

                “Aw why did you do that? I was getting used to your chicken shaped birth mark and the dimples in your back.” Baekhyun scrunched up his face cutely, teasing Chanyeol when he emerged from the room in a shirt that was obviously a little small on him.

                “You have a chicken shaped birthmark?” Kyungsoo asked with eyes wide and round as he flipped the bacon sizzling away in the pan.

                “Oh my god yes he does! It looks like the chicken from Chicken Little!” Baekhyun giggled. Chanyeol glared at him. “So what? Lots of people have oddly shaped birth marks.” He felt his cheeks heating up.

                “Stop making fun of Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo chastised. If no one knew him, people would have thought he was a domestic parent, what with the glasses, cooking and the chastising tone that parents use on their kids.

                “Quit being such a buzzkill. It’s only for fun.”

                “As if you don’t have any oddly shaped marks on your body.”

                “Excuse me my body is hella fine and everything on it is 100% fabulous if not perfect. FYI, tickets to the pre-show cost 2 dates at a fancy restaurant, lots of roses and maybe even fireworks.”

                “Does he always do this?” Chanyeol turned to ask Kyungsoo, who was plating breakfast.

                “Unfortunately he does. It’s in his blood. If it gets annoying let me know, I’ll just stun him with our new stun pen and he’ll be out cold for a couple of hours.”

                “Hahahahahahaha!” Chanyeol laughed loudly. He laughed and laughed and laughed, until he realized Kyungsoo was just staring back at him.

                “Wait you’re not joking? But I…”

                “Good morning everyone.” Jongin walked into the kitchen area, looking much more kempt than before.

                “Good morning.” Kyungsoo smiled at him. The little twinkle in Jongin’s eyes did not go unnoticed. Kyungoo handed him a plate. “Breakfast is served.”

                Kyungsoo’s breakfast was probably the best they had in a while. Scrambled eggs, bacon and baked beans alongside Chanyeol’s earlier made coffee. “Thanks for the meal Kyungsoo.” Jongin said.

                “No problem. Glad to help.” Kyungsoo smiled back and the two exchanged glances before concentrating on their food. Baekhyun looked between and a sly smile appeared on his lips. Chanyeol nudged him but the latter ignored him.

                “Okay guys, I called Amber to request a second autopsy.” Chanyeol said, wiping his lips with a napkin. “You guys know the plan. Jongin and I have an appointment with Kris Wu at 9 over at his penthouse. In the meantime, you guys go over to The Dame’s mansion and search her room and office for any clues.” He stood up and walked over to one of the cabinets. “This is one of my detective passes. Use them to enter the grounds.”

                “This is nice.” Baekhyun held the pass in his hands and pocketed it away. “Usually we either have to disguise ourselves or break in and sneak through back corridors. Now we get to go through the front door with no fuss at all.”

                “That’s the current plan. We’ll meet back at P.I.E headquarters around noon to discuss our findings. Let’s go.” With the dishes dumped in the sink, it was time to get back to work.

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

                “Kris Wu is a private man and I don’t think he would appreciate you coming with me as a member of the press so let’s just go with the fact that you are my colleague.” Chanyeol told Jongin as they entered the glass lift that would take them to Kris Wu’s million-dollar penthouse.

                “Got it. My job is to record the interview and take down any noticeable details.”

                “Good. You ready for this?”

                “Wouldn’t do me any good if I said I wasn’t.” Jongin sighed. The lift came to a stop right in front of beautiful white mahogany door. There was a small intercom panel at the side and Chanyeol pressed the call button.

                “Yes?” a cackled voice came through the speakers.

                “I’m Detective Park. I have an appointment with Mr. Wu.”

                “Come on in.” they heard a beep and something clicked. It was the door being unlocked. The two men entered the penthouse and Jongin gasped at the majesty of the beautiful place.

                The whole place was decked in white. The white columns, ceilings and even walls contrasted the dark wooden floorboards. Long white sofas sat around a black rectangular table in front of a giant flat screen TV. Glorious, and probably priceless, pieces of artwork adorned the white walls and a glass staircase could be seen at the far end, leading to the second floor. Indeed, this was the place of a real estate mogul.

                “Detective,” a tall man walked down the glass staircase. He was dressed very plainly in long khaki pants and a dark blue sweater. “I am Kris Wu, thanking you so much for coming.” He greeted the two men with a warm handshake before turning to the maid behind him.

                “Fetch these two men something to drink.” He ordered. The maid nodded immediately and scurried off.

                “The pleasure is ours Mr. Wu. Thank you for sparing us some time to interview you. This is my colleague Jongin. He will be taking down notes as we go along with this interview so that we don’t miss anything.”

                “No problem.” The three men moved to the living room and sat on the sofa. Jongin and Chanyeol sat on the long settee while Kris placed himself in one of the matching white armchairs. Jongin made a quick glance at Kris and took small notes on his profile. Kris Wu. 50 years old. Dark hair with short sides and combed upwards. Tall, roughly 6 foot or taller. Slim, large hands and handsome. Doesn’t look fifty except for some noticeable wrinkles and a small belly. Deep set eyes and strong gaze. Lives in fancy white penthouse. Rich.

                “First of all I want to pass my condolences onto you for the passing of your ex-wife.” Chanyeol dipped his head politely while Kris managed a small, comforting smile. “I’m sure these must be trying times for your family.”

                “We are managing as best as we can.” Kris sighed. “My son is handling the funeral arrangements as we speak and my daughter is holding up I supposed. She was very attached to her mother.”

                “Could you tell us what you were doing at the time of the crime on June 28^th around 8pm to 9pm?”

                “Well I had actually arrived in Seoul from a business trip in Hong Kong. My plane landed at 3.45p.m and I came straight here to rest. I was going to my son-in-law’s charity event late that night.”

                “What time did you leave the penthouse for the event?”

                “I left around 7.30p.m with my partner Tao. I have a habit of arriving earlier at any one of my family’s events so I arrived at Jongdae and Hani’s place around 8.00p.m. The event was supposed to start at 8.45p.m. I noticed my ex-wife did not show up and around 9.00p.m I believe, someone had called my son saying that she was found dead.”

                “Yes that would be one of us.” Chanyeol nodded. “So you were at the event during the time she was murdered.”

                “Yes I was.”

                “Are there any witness who can account for your and your partner’s alibi?”

                “There is the staff getting ready for the event and my two kids and their husbands. Practically my whole family.”

                “Is your ex-wife’s mansion on the way to Jongdae’s place?”

                “Yes it is. And it used to be our family mansion. After the divorce I moved out and found a place here.”

                “How is your relationship with your ex-wife?” Jongin asked.

                “We are somewhat estranged I would suppose.” Kris breathed out, crossing his legs. By this time the maid had already arrived with their drinks. Jongin picked up the cup and got a whiff of the aroma of the coffee. Cuban coffee beans. Rich, aromatic and flavourful.

                “We haven’t really talked much since our divorce, only greetings during holidays or when we see each other at events.”

                “You had an affair during your marriage.”

                “I’m not proud of my actions but I will not deny that I was in love with another man. And still am.” Kris sat up. His actions became a little bit defensive as Chanyeol noticed.

                “Quite frankly I never really did cheat on her nor have the ‘affair’ that everyone was accusing me of.” Kris raised two fingers in the air and did the air apostrophe. “An affair indicates that I had a ual relationship with Tao while I was married. I didn’t. Tao and I had feelings for each other but we never acted on it.”

                “How were you found out?”

                “Apparently the love letters Tao and I exchanged were discovered.” Kris explained. “My wife wanted to press charges against me for adultery, but we managed to settle it out of court and charges were dropped.”

                “I’ve read the files. That was quite a hefty alimony.”

                “It was practically no contest. That lawyer she got put up a real good fight. Short, black hair with big eyes. Really young too.”

                Kyungsoo. Jongin looked down and scribbled some more.

                “You said that you were in a romantic relationship with Tao. At that time have you ever thought that you would want to split with your wife?”

                “At first I thought my relationship with Tao was a passing fancy. He was a young and very attractive lad so I thought it was just ual. But quite honestly my relationship with her had started going down the drain then and I relied on Tao more.”

                “What do you mean by ‘going down the drain’?”

                “She started becoming more distant. Like she was in her own world all the time. We used to be able to discuss all sorts of things, but then it became only about business. She had started investing in all sorts of things without telling me, like putting in hundreds of thousands in some brand new company and even certain science experiments.”

                “Science experiments?”

                “There were researches done on cancer and cystic fibrosis as well as HIV and just all sorts she wouldn’t tell me. Our relationship soured after that and then she became interested in Hani’s love life, trying to set her up with Jongdae.”

                “She set Hani up with Jongdae?”

                “She introduced them. She really wanted them to get married. She claimed that Jongdae was a good husband and pushed Hani to go out with him. Let’s be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if she set them up purely for her own business benefits.”

                “Was it a forced marriage then?”

                “No, Jongdae did propose to Hani on his own so I figured the marriage was consensual. Su-en just helped introduce them I guess, but she was almost paranoid about her daughter marrying him. I think Hani just said yes to get her mother of her back.”

                “So she started doing investments without consulting you, distanced herself, almost forced her daughter’s marriage and then she discovered you were in love with someone else?” Jongin summarised.

                “Yeah, that’s about it.” Kris sat up and adjusted himself. “I was glad to be out of that marriage. Su-en was driving the whole family crazy. She didn’t take it lightly that I was in love with someone else and her son was gay.”

                “Did Sehun come out at that time?”

                “He did. He and his mother fought all the time, and eventually he moved out of the house and stayed with me for a while.”

                “Would it be fair to say that your son sided with you during the divorce, and perhaps Hani sided her mother?”

                “If you want to put it that way. I was always closer with my son. I trained him to take over the family business while Hani stayed with her mother. In many ways I think my son sympathised with me more during the divorce. He knows what a piece of work his mother is and how it feels to be anything but straight.”

                “When did Sehun get married?”

                “Around January 3 years ago. That was after our divorce.”

                “Did Su-En show up at the wedding?”

                “She did, but I can’t say she enjoyed herself.” Kris simply raised an eyebrow and a hum of frustration.

                “If anyone would be likely to murder your ex-wife, who do you think it would be? Is there anyone who has a grudge against her?”

                “I can’t think of anyone at the moment. I don’t know much about her since our divorce.”

                “Has Su-En met Tao?”

                “Yes and uh…” Kris chuckled, a little scoff hidden in there somewhere, which meant it wasn’t funny at all. “You can imagine her reaction.”

                “I think I can.” Chanyeol looked over at Jongin. Jongin looked down at his notebook and shook his head. “I think that’s all the questions we have for today sir. If you don’t mind we will contact you as the investigation prolongs and if we have any further questions.”

                “No problem. You have my 100% cooperation.” The three men stood up from their seats. Jongin’s knee knocked against the table in front of him, shifting it a little and something slipped out of it.

                “Oops.” Jongin bent down to take a look. It was a gold invitation card to something called The Dame: Remembered.

                “I’m sorry but what is this?” he held up the invitation.

                “That’s a charity dinner party that Jongdae is organizing in memory of my late ex-wife.” Chanyeol did notice the hitch on the word ‘late’. “It was supposed to be the launching ceremony of his company’s brand new invention, but since the tragic news he has decided to convert it to a dinner party where all proceeds go to the charities she has supported.”

                “The event is this Saturday, will you be attending?” Jongin asked.

                “I’m afraid not. I have another business trip in Shanghai on Friday, but I have sent my donations. It is a worthy cause after all.”

                “What is the cause?”

                “For the victims of the Nepalese earthquake.” Kris said.

                “Ah.” Jongin flipped the invitation a few times and put it back down on the table.

                “Yifan!! Have they left yet?” Chanyeol and Jongin whipped their heads to see someone else bouncing down the stairs. A blonde male in shorts and a tank top stopped halfway and covered his mouth with one hand. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

                “Not all Tao, you came down just in time.” Tao came back down and Kris stood up to pull his hand over. Once again Jongin looked down and scribbled in his notes. Tao, tall-just a few centimeters shorter than Kris, quite young-perhaps in his early forties or late thirties, tan skin, fit body-possibly indicating he worked out a lot, blonde, cat-shaped eyes, nice smile, also very handsome.

                “This is Tao. His real name is Huang Zitao.” They shook hands as Kris introduced them. “He was my secretary and now live-in boyfriend.”

                “And a very happy one at that.” Tao smiled, wrapping his arms around Kris as Kris kissed him softly on his forehead. “Tao these are the detectives I was telling you about.”

                “Was she really killed?” Tao asked, loosening his grip on Kris.

                “That’s what we plan to find out. Don’t worry, we will do our very best to solve this case.”

                “Detective,” Kris paused a little before continuing. “Even though we are divorced and I’m very happy with someone else,” he paused again and looked at Tao, who gave him a small reassuring smile. “Su-En was, and forever will be, the mother of my two children. I hope you do find her killer, it seems to be the least anybody can do for her.”

                “Yes sir.” No matter what happened, Kris and Su-En were together and Kris did love her. To hear that someone you knew-or in this case once loved-was murdered is a harrowing experience. And Chanyeol can only imagine the grief he has for her and the responsibility to bear towards his family.

                “Thank you detective.”

                “Yes, thank you.” Chanyeol reached forward to shake Tao’s hand. In that brief moment, the two men exchanged glances. Tao’s eyes were coloured with grief, but a small sparkle was seen when he turned his head.

                The Dame’s death wasn’t an entirely sad occasion for some people.

A/N: Happy Eid Mubarak to all Muslims!! And of course once again thank you for reading, subscribing and commenting on this fic!! For those of you who are new here, please don't hesitate to leave your comments below and tell me what you think!

Chanyeol and Sehun's photoshoot for Ceci magazine is my fave so far! God those two look amazing but I think this is my fave picture:

Probably because I just wanna jump into my bed and uh...cuddle XD