Donghae couldn’t be more surprised by Eunhyuk’s invite. What was happening to the man? Since they partnered up things started changing a bit, but it still hasn’t been this long since Eunhyuk hated and suspected him, so he wasn’t expecting such a drastic change of behavior. But hey, he wasn’t going to complain! Also, he was actually happy at the thought of spending more time with him. And if that meant not going home to the awkward tension that was going on back home with his brother, then Donghae was even happier about that dinner. Since he discovered about his mother, Donghae didn’t dare to talk about it with his brother… And because he couldn’t deal with facing him, he started avoiding the oldest. Going back late, or pretexting to have to stay at the office, Donghae hadn’t had a good night sleep for a few days now. And since Donghwa was as busy as him, it was easy to not cross path with him, without him suspecting that something was actually going on.

The brunet looked around, ha was alone in the pit. Where was everyone? He didn’t think he ever saw Kyuhyun anywhere else than in front of his computer, and Leeteuk would usually be sleeping on his desk. This time it was he who fell asleep on his desk… Donghae stretched, letting out a long yawn. It was time for him to get back to work. He looked at his watch; he had a few hours before dinner at Eunhyuk’s place.

Donghae then started working on the reports he had to finish and a few hours later he was done. What a boring job to do reports… but he kind of liked it, it had a calming effect on him. As he was done he looked around and his eyes landed on the second red door of the room. It was Zhoumi’s lab, and the brunet had never set foot in it. He was curious though… attracted like a magnet; the young man got up and got closer to the door. Then very softly he knocked.

“Zhoum-sii?”

No answer. The guy was a recluse and would never go out of his lab, so maybe he was sleeping? He knocked again, but still no answer. Pushed by a weird sense, Donghae opened the door slowly. It was unlocked, so he slipped in the small room that was the lab. Turning the lights on, he could finally make the surroundings. In one side of the room there was a table against the wall full of chemist stuffs like vials, flasks, a computer and a bunch of scattered papers. Then at the other end of the room were a bed and a small wardrobe. Everything in that room showed that someone was really living here. Donghae knew that, since there was no one, he should’ve turned around and left, but something caught his eyes on the table. He approached carefully the chess board that was standing there. So that was what Eunhyuk had found at the house of the victim… a message from the killer… Drawn to it, the brunet held out his hand, almost touching the board with the tip of his fingers… That’s when he noticed it. A black and white covered book, hid under the papers full of formulas. Curious, Donghae pushed aside the papers and his eyes widened as he read the title of the book. A book about Chess and its rule…

“What are you doing here?!”

Donghae jumped, turning around violently to see Zhoumi standing at the opening of the door. They stared at each other for a minute before Zhoumi frowned.

“What are you doing?” the Chinese man repeated, with his thick accent.

“I’m sorry… huh… I was… huh…”

The analyst didn’t even know what to say. Why did he come in the room for anyway? Is not like he was looking for him… Aish, he was really bad at lying. Zhoumi’s eyes went from the brunet’s face to his hand, still lingering over the book. He knew Donghae saw it! Frowning even more, the forensic took a step closer, and Donghae couldn’t help but back up a little. It wasn’t as if he could, or would, do anything to him, right? Now Hae was just being paranoid, but the book on the other’s table was bothering him. Zhoumi took another step, when suddenly someone yelled from the main room.

“Hey, where’s everybody?”

Then in a second, Kyuhyun appeared behind Zhoumi.

“Oh there you are guys.” he stopped on the spot, feeling the tense atmosphere. But then Kyuhyun being himself, he put a hand on Zhoumi’s shoulder, smirking. “Making friends I see?”

Donghae almost let out a sighed, seeing the youngest. Now with someone else, the Chinese man definitely couldn’t do anything. Letting out an uneasy laugh, Donghae slipped out of the room.

“I was wondering where everyone was and thought maybe Zhoumi-sii knew. Then when I didn’t hear a reply, I got curious, and ended up coming in, sorry about that.”

“We were all reviewing the case with Heechul and Hangeng-hyung. I didn’t wake you, since you’re not on the case anymore…” Kyuhyun said.

And during that time, Zhoumi hadn’t stopped staring at the brunet. Feeling more and more uncomfortable, Donghae cleared his throat.

“Right, well I should go take a coffee or something to boost me up.”

Then without waiting another second, the brunet got out of the NP, trying hard not to run. On the hallway, closing the door of the NP behind him, Donghae felt he could breathe again. Gosh that was awkward! It was the first time, since his first day, that he was face to face with the Chinese man, and his stature was quite impressive even if his frail looks seemed harmless. At that moment there was something in his eyes, something quite dangerous. What would’ve happened if Kyuhyun hadn’t showed up? A chill ran down his spine… he didn’t want to know. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart. That’s when he heard something on the other side of the door that caught his attention.

“Did he see it?”

It was Kyuhyun’s voice. They probably thought that Donghae was gone, and wouldn’t be eavesdropping.

“Did he see it yes or no?” he asked again, fiercely.

The imperative tone of the youngest was surprising, especially since he was talking to someone older than him, but more than that it was a tone Donghae had never heard and wasn’t expecting from Kyuhyun.

“I’m not sure.” Zhoumi answered. “When I came in he tried hiding it, but I think he saw it.”

“That’s going to be a problem…”

Then there was a silence. Donghae got scared that maybe they would open the door and find him there, so he quickly took the stairs, but when he arrived up he suddenly bumped into someone.

“I’m sorry I didn’t see you…”

“Where are you going off in such a hurry?”

The brunet raised his eyes to see Leeteuk in front of him.

“It’s good I find you here. I was meaning to talk to you, if you have a sec. Where are you going?”

“Coffee…” was the only thing he could say.

“Good, let’s go, then.”

The analyst frowned, but the dark haired man just smiled at him and put an arm around his shoulders, pulling him towards the small kitchen of the precinct. Once there, before he could say anything, Leeteuk made him sit on one of the chairs at the small bar.

“Let me do it.”

Then he started prepping for the coffee. Donghae was still trying to wrap his head around what he just heard downstairs… What did Kyuhyun mean by “problem”? And what was the thing the analyst wasn’t supposed to see? The book? But why? His train of thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Leeteuk that was waving a hand in front of him.

“You’re spacing out.”

“Sorry about that… So what did you wanted to talk about?”

Leeteuk cleared his voice and started.

“I remembered that you asked for Sora’s file the other day… did you read it?”

Donghae nodded.

“Ha…” he let out a nervous laugh. “So I guess you know that I was one of the lead detectives on the case?”

Donghae nodded again. “With Kangin-hyung.”

“Right… So you’re probably wondering why I didn’t tell you about it? One sugar or two?”

“One, please.”

The dark haired man finished up dropping a cube of sugar and then handed the cup to Donghae. The analyst took it in his hands, but didn’t drink it. He had to keep in mind that the Checkmate killer could be anyone, so he couldn’t trust the ones around him. Who knows what he had put on his drink when Donghae wasn’t paying attention?

“You’re not d