Twenty

A few days had passed since the small party at Hakyeon's apartment. If you could call it a party to begin with. Ken and Leo were back on the job, now visiting the work place of Nam Young-Mi, the forth life to be claimed by the Demon, that they knew of at least. 

The store was nothing special, just another generic corner shop, with a glowing red sign that read 'Open'. It was small, almost looking cramped between a pet shop and dentist on each side. The shop itself was covered in chipped paint which had faded over the years. 

When Ken pulled up to the front of the store he sighed and looked at it eyebrow raised. To put it bluntly, it looked dead. There was no one entering nor exiting the store, people merely rushed past it or avoided looking inside. They all knew about what had happened here and no one wanted to take the chance of being there, not because they weren't sympathetic. More because they were scared. 

Leo pushed open the door and stepped out from the passenger seat , gazing up at the dainty little shop with controlled curiosity. Would it be here that they found something important? That would crack the case wide open? Or would it be another dead end that lead to no where. Leo imagined it would be the latter of the two, considering the woman, Nam Young-Mi had been found half a mile away from the shop and even further from her house. 

Ken was the first through the door, the small bell above the entrance ringing shrilly to signal their entrance. To anyone else it would seem like an average corner shop, you couldn't guess that it held such sadness in it's walls, not unless you knew of course. After stepping inside he felt a shiver go through him because it was even colder in here then it was outside, though he reasoned it was because it was winter and Christmas was approaching quickly. 

At the sound of the bell there had been a fast scurrying of feet on hard wooden floor boards coming from the back room. A young man appeared, almost tripping over his own feet from the door that was behind the counter at the back of the shop. He was young looking with a mess of strange brownish red hair on his head. His eyes were friendly and his smile was kind, though he looked to be a mix between relieved yet surprised, probably because they were more then likely to be his first customers all day. He was dressed in a white uniform, with a simple black apron, the standard cashier uniform for such a small shop of course. The aprons only feature was a name tag that read 'Mark'. 

"Is there anything I can help you both with?" he asked, stepping up behind the cash register, smiling as well as he could given the time. It had only been a few weeks since Nam Young Mi had been found and by the look on the younger boys face he probably knew her. Leo's features softened at this. The cashier couldn't be much younger then him but Leo decided to tread carefully on the subject. 

"Actually, we're here to follow up the investigation...just to check things over-" Leo began but was cut off when a cardboard box was set on the counter before the boy by his partner, surprising both of them. 

Mark seemed to stare at the box in question, noticing it was a box of White Heim before he turned his gaze to the other detective curiously. He slowly picked up the box and scanned it, taking note of the other mans smile and the small, nearly insignificant one that his usually stoney faced partner tried to hide. 

"I figured that before we started you'd like to feel normal again, if only for a short while." was Jaehwan's explanation. It also had nothing to do with the fact that he'd skipped breakfast in order to watch another episode of One Piece. However it was a win-win situation in his mind. After Mark had regained his composure, a more confident smile replaced the older and more worn one as he gratefully took Ken's money, giving him back the change quickly after. 

Leo rolled his eyes as his partner started noisily munching on the sweet treats. Of course he'd found a way to make buying cookies sound like it was for the greater good. He wouldn't admit he was amused by it though. 

"What my partner was going to say is that we're here to go over everything that you talked about to the others that were here before us." Ken said, thankfully after swallowing the cookie in his mouth. Mark nodded in understanding and hopped onto the counter, sitting camly whilst his legs swung casually below him. 

"So what do you want to know?" he asked, head tilted to the side. He was sure he'd already told the police everything he knew. But he guessed it couldn't hurt to check everything. If it got them closer to catching the Demon then Mark would help in anyway he could. 

"Did you notice anything strange in the days leading up t her disappearance?" the questions started, most coming from Leo with a few added comments from Ken every so often. Each time a new question was asked, Mark's throat seemed to tighten even more. However Ken was excellent in calming the tense atmosphere with his small jokes and smiles. 

"Did Young-Mi always work on a Friday night?" Ken asked curiously. If he remembered rightly that was the last night she was seen, so it couldn't of been Saturday when she was abducted as even her neighbours claimed she hadn't returned home that night. 

Mark's eyebrows scrunchted together in thought before his face drained of colour in a matter of seconds. He seemed to tense up and then freeze. He shook his head. "N-No....that's usually my shift." he choked out and covered his mouth in realisation. "I-I..took the day off for my brothers birthday...a-and Young-Mi was just c-covering for me...." he stammered and held his head in his hands for a moment. If he had been working that night then it would of been him that they'd found, hanging in a far off alley way, limp and unmoving. But it wouldn't have been Young-Mi. Maybe if he had been working then she wouldn't be dead right now...

Ken's hand was on his shoulder, providing a small slither of comfort for Mark whilst he calmed himself. Leo looked on mutely, watching the interaction with calculating eyes. Mark was lucky he guessed. However did this mean that Mark was the real target? Perhaps the Demon had come for Mark but had settled for Mrs Nam instead? This new information could mean nothing at all but it could be important. So Leo stored it within his mind for further use later on. They'd asked enough questions now.

Whilst Ken was finishing up with the assistant manager, Leo ventured into the back room, which doubled as an office. It was painted a light blue, actually looking half decent. Leo supposed that the investment was worth it. He walked over to the monitors stacked on the far desk, besides a window that faced a brick wall. He had a perfect view of the front desk and the door from this monitor. He noticed a few tapes stacked up, probably footage from previous nights. Leo shifted through the pile and as expected found the tapes he was looking for missing. He knew this already but he'd had to check for himself, just in case. 

Shortly after Ken and Leo left, Mark had called a taxi and had gone back to his apartment after Ken had bulled him into closing up early. Though the younger was silently thankful for that. Ken and Leo hadn't spoken yet because there were no words to be spoken between them. They were both realising a vital point to this horrid murder case. It went far deeper then anyone had ever imagined. 
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Sat at his desk in the HQ, Hakyeon shifted through some paperwork, skimming over the words but seeming to understand it perfectly. He signed his name when needed and didn't even notice until his forth time that his current pen had run out of ink a while  ago. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't hear Ravi enter the room. Nor did he see the younger before him, frowning in concern over his hyung. 

"N-hyung give yourself a break..." the taller mans words went straight into one ear and out of the other. Ravi would get a better response from a deaf man before he managed to get N on his side.

"Maybe in just a few minutes..." he muttered tiredly still writing on another piece of paper. Though his head was slightly drooping. 

"Look you can't overwork yourself because of the bomb case okay? It's not healthy for you. You need a break, maybe just a few days at home would do you some good." Ravi said and sat besides N on his desk as the elder finally put down his pen and stretched uncomfortably in his chair. "I know your worried about G-Dragon but it's not gonna be helped with you sitting down here slowly dying." he added. 

"I'm just...worried. Our own case seems to be going no where and now there's another case that needs attention. And I know I'm not going to like the end of this case because it will surely put one of my friends behind bars." he said and ran a hand over his face. 

Ravi's eyes softened again and he sighed and patted N's shoulder. "If that's what your worried about then I'll help you, I'll do everything I can to help solve the case. I'm your partner remember? I'll be by your side for all of it." he said and grinned at the criminologist. He'd protect him as best as he could. Because the older had already had enough grief from other things. He didn't need something like this weighing him down as well. 

Hakyeon's smile broke his former facade of tiredness and some of that childlike innocence that Taekwoon had seen returned to his features once again. "Thanks Wonshik-ah...I think I'll take that break now..." he muttered, resting his head on his desk. 
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A/N: Hi everyone. Sorry for another delay in this story >_< I've actually lost the plan or this story so I've had to write up a new one. I can tell you there are 10 chapters left. Also Happy New year to everyone! Even though it's already passed. Haha Thanks for Reading and Subscribing!