He watched attentively at the swimming chunk of ice in his glass that like an oasis, drifted achingly towards the rim of the crystal tumbler clenched in one hand. Crusted fingertips imprinted on the glass in a stippled sheet of cold art; frost greeting the warmth of his hand that burned like a star on the outside.

It was a still night. Cool air lingered comfortably within the tavern where dim lights glowed. Stars scattered the sky and a clear dusting of diamonds could be seen on further inspection, creating an otherworldly spectacle. The tavern on the corner, however, was unlike the richly occupied sky. Save for the scattering of customers present in the small rustic corner of the town, the bar was empty. Which gave the bartender a chance to whip up a drink for himself.

He leaned forward casually against the dark rosewood that gleamed opulently under the golden pools of light against the red walls, and sipped coolly from his glass. He watched as the contents of the room floated lazily from one end to the next – customers slowly filing out as the clock neared the early hours of the morning – when his eyes fell on the large wooden door across from him that creaked ajar.

A large, bulky coat entered the tavern. It couldn’t even be called a form with how big the coat appeared to be, smothering the form it clothed that glided towards the bar with eyes downcast.

‘What’ll it be?’ the bartender asked; eyes grazing the sparkling remnants of liquid amber at the bottom of his glass.

‘A closet.’

The man cocked an eyebrow questioningly, taken aback by the request. ‘Excuse me?’

The figure revealed a hand; a milky white wrist that was propped over the bar table and their chin settled into the fleshy skin of their palm. It was hard to notice anything about the stranger because of the long, dark curtain of hair that veiled their features with a dripping shadow like running ink on a blank canvas.

‘A closet. One without skeletons.’

The bartender scoffed, returning to his drink. ‘Well that’s a new one. Sorry, but I can either sell you a drink or lend you an ear.’

‘Then I think you should listen.’

The man’s ears perked at the statement and almost instinctively, he strained them for the faintest of sounds. He knew it was most likely some sort of ramblings from a miserable soul, but nevertheless, he felt compelled to oblige with the bizarre request… and for a moment, there was nothing. He threw the individual a look the combination of irritation and puzzlement, however, just as he readied a comment on the matter, he heard a noise fade in.

He frowned – a hand quickly reaching for the back of his neck in concentration – and as the sound gradually eased in, the person ahead of him raised their head. The sound was faint, but somewhat familiar. He couldn’t explain where he’d heard it before, but it filled him with an odd sensation he suddenly grew uncomfortable with. He stopped listening… or at least he tried to. But the faint buzzing was hard to ignore for a long time thereafter, even as the mysterious figure left the bar.

Minseok had raced to the hospital faster than he ever had in his life. He’d received a call in the early hours of the morning from Luhan – darkness still cloaking the city as he poked a finger between the curtains, blinking with heavy lids – and was surprised to hear it wasn’t, however, the boy’s familiar voice on the line.

It was the ambulance. ‘Are you a family member of his?’

The older male wiped his eyes, frowning in confusion as he pulled himself up from under the sheets to keep himself from falling asleep again.

‘No, I’m a friend of… wait, what is this about? Did something happen to…’

The words following his confusion winded him. Minseok wasn’t prepared for what he’d heard.

Whatever activity followed the paramedic’s distressing announcement was a blur. Minseok couldn’t even remember how he got to the hospital. All he knew was that his mind swam with all sorts of negativity and the only thing he could think of was Luhan’s safety.

Kris had accompanied Minseok in his disoriented state to the hospital without much question. The members who’d heard their clatter and stirred awake stared at them with questioning eyes and blurted out where on earth they were going, but being one of the two leaders, Kris quickly appeased their concern with a flimsy excuse he didn’t remember as they stood in a blinding white hallway of the city hospital.

He didn’t know the finer details. But as they waited, pale-faced, in the hallway of the ICU ward, Kris noticed Minseok tremble visibly.

‘I knew this was a bad idea…’ he whispered shakily from time to time; his dark eyes glazed over with visible apprehension.

Kris was about to respond to his statement when a figure emerged from one of the doors further down the hallway. Their heads whipped up in the direction of the form that approached them with steady strides, and quickly, they noted it was a woman carrying a clipboard in her hands.

‘Mister Kim?’ she asked, pointing between both Kris and Minseok with one finger and the older one stood quickly, facing her with wide eyes and parted lips.

‘That’s me.’

‘Oh, hello. I’m Doctor Lee,’ she greeted, however, Minseok responded with nothing but a swift nod of the head. ‘And this is…?’

‘Kris,’ he quickly added. ‘I’m a friend of Luhan’s too.’

The doctor nodded in acknowledgement, and he bowed his head in response. Noting the strained look on Minseok’s face, however, as he trembled with fearful anticipation, the taller one’s eyebrows furrowed just as quickly.

‘Doctor, what’s his status?’

Minseok quickly intervened with a step closer. ‘What happened to him? Is he OK?’

The genuine fright and concern on their faces was so visible that the doctor felt her heart plummet. She lowered her head into her clipboard and a few pages, leafing through a couple before pressing them and returning their attention with an unsettled look on her face.

‘Um… before we continue, there are some officers here who’d like to speak with you.’

Kris and Minseok shared the same bewildered expression at her announcement. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Officers? Are you saying he was…,’ Kris gulped anxiously at the thought of his next words. ‘Was he attacked or something?’

The doctor hung her head low. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t…’

As if on cue, the large doors at the end of the deserted hospital hallway swung open; the clatter bounding off the walls in eerie echoes. A pair of large men dressed in black – remnants of snow scattered across their broad shoulders and backs – with somber faces approached them; confident, steady strides carrying them closer to the three who stood staring at them in silence.

‘One of you is Kim Minseok, I assume,’ one of the two said; his voice gruff but clear as the young men quickly repeated their introductions and Doctor Lee excused herself from the group.

Kris didn’t like where this was going, and neither did Minseok. More than officers, the men looked like detectives straight out of a pulp fiction film. They were clad in meticulous double-ed coats and the tall blonde watched as the quieter of the pair pulled out a notepad and pen from his deep side pocket, balancing it in his other palm before scribbling something at the very top of the yellow page.

‘We understand this must be hard, but unfortunately, we can’t risk losing whatever fresh information on this there is in your minds at this point…,’ the one on the left said, eyeing the two members of Exo levelly who stared back at him impatiently.

‘So let’s get straight down to the point: does Mister Lu have violent tendencies?’

‘No.’ Minseok answered swiftly.

The detective continued with a nod of the head. ‘Does he have any enemies? People who’d want to physically harm him in any way?’

‘No,’ Kris answered this time with an ounce of irritation as his impatience took a further leap into a dreadful anxiety that stir