That dinner was turning into the most awkward of events. Eunhyuk couldn’t believe he really did invite Donghae… They used to do those evenings as a gathering of the family that they were, but Donghae? He wasn’t family; he wasn’t even a friend, so why the hell Eunhyuk listened to his ex-partner and invited him? Maybe because he was curious to see what the analyst was like outside the office… And he hadn’t been disappointed until now. Thorough the evening, the thin detective observed the brunet interacting with everyone. He was very social and friendly, and he surprisingly would smile a lot. A very beautiful smile he had… Eunhyuk also wanted to go to him, and try talking, but he didn’t know what to say or how to do it, so he just stayed apart, staring at him from afar.

And now they were at the table finishing dinner and Donghae had asked the weirdest question ever.

“How did you two meet?” he asked Boa and him.

Alright, it wasn’t such a weird question. But the other wasn’t expecting to be talking about his love life in front of someone he barely knew… Boa threw him a look, to know if it was ok to talk about it, and Eunhyuk just shrugged his shoulders.

“Actually, I introduced them.” Siwon said. “At the time Boa wasn’t a prosecutor yet, and we did a case together, I thought she was a brilliant person, so one day I invited her to dinner and introduced her to Hyukkie.”

“Actually we had already crossed path a few times with Hyukjae during cases, when I had to go to the precinct. He wasn’t easy for starters, but once I passed that, I just fell for him.” Boa said with a loving smile.

Now that was getting embarrassing. Eunhyuk didn’t even dare to look up and see Donghae’s reaction. Why did people like to tell their personal lives like this? What was the point?

“Alright, alright, I think he got the point.” Eunhyuk interjected. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Awwwww look at his face he is red as a tomato.”

Eunhyuk would’ve smacked Sungmin if he wasn’t at the other end of the table and already wounded. Donghae was the one to save him from his embarrassment.

“Why did you want to become a prosecutor Boa-shii?”

“My dream had always been to become a lawyer, I could never stand injustice. And then one day they promoted me, and I thought that being a prosecutor I would be able to put more criminals behind bars.”

Donghae nodded and turned to Siwon.

“You also always wanted to become a lawyer?”

“No, my parents kind of forced me into it. I was actually very bad with numbers, so to remember the whole penal code… it was hard. But I ended up liking what I do.”

Donghae nodded again. He suddenly seemed lost in his thoughts. That’s when something happened.

“What about you?”

Everyone turned to Eunhyuk surprised. Even he was surprised, it had just slipped his mouth. It was the first time he addressed Donghae since he arrived tonight, and the man was now staring at him with eyes wide open.

“I mean…” the detective cleared his voice. “You always wanted to become a cop?”

Eunhyuk was careful not to meet Donghae’s eyes, and waited for his answer. When he didn’t hear any, he looked up, and saw that the brunet was in deep thought.

“I saw something terrible when I was little… It disgusted me to the point where my only goal in life was to become a righteous person. And what more righteous job than the one of protecting people from the horrors of the outside world.”

Everyone around the table stayed silent. Suddenly the atmosphere had become serious. Eunhyuk was impressed though, he seemed so sincere, and this kind of thinking had been lost, now people became cop for other less honorable reasons. The analyst would never stop impressing him. He was happy to have put his trust in someone like him. In the end it was Sungmin who broke the silence.

“But you could’ve become anything right? Because of your memory.”

“Ah right…” Donghae laughed, a bit embarrassed. “My brother wanted me to become a doctor or something less dangerous, but I guess nothing was best fit for me.”

After that, the conversation diverged into other subjects and Eunhyuk returned to his silent treatment. It’s not that he didn’t want to participate in the conversation but rather that he liked to observe, and see the different expressions of the brunet. The more he knew about the analyst, the more he got curious about him and discovered bit by bit how much they were alike.

They finished dinner, and then moved to the living room to take a coffee, Eunhyuk sitting on the couch, his girlfriend in his arms. He noticed Donghae furtive glances, but tried ignoring it and the pit in his stomach. Then something in the conversation drew his attention.

“Aish yeah, Kcf1 case was an annoying one.” Boa was commenting with Siwon.

“What did you say?” Eunhyuk interrupted his girlfriend.

“You know, I told you about that case, the guy that had murdered his neighbor’s wife because she was just too loud.”

That wasn’t what interested Eunhyuk; he was surprised by the name that she gave the case earlier. But seeing that everyone was looking at him and that the attention was turned to him, the detective deflected.

“You’re right I remember! A real pain in the … But that made me think of something. Donghae…” he turned to the brunet while getting up. “Remember the thing I told you I wanted to show you?”

The brunet looked at him confused, and Eunhyuk stared at him hoping his eyes would deliver the message. In the end the brunet understood it what something the others couldn’t know.

“Ah right the thing…”

“We’ll be back in a minute.” Eunhyuk said, kissing the tip of Boa’s head.

The others didn’t seem bothered by the two men’s behavior and continued talking, while Donghae followed him into his bedroom. In this room there was also a window, a king sized bed taking most of the space, and a wardrobe in the wall facing the bed. Once he was sure they were out of range he turned to Donghae.

“Did you hear what she said?”

“About the case?”

“No before that! Kcf1 case.”

Soon, Donghae’s eyes widened, finally understanding.

“Chess moves…” the brunet whispered.

“I mean, we assumed that the Checkmate killer was someone from the police because he knew my history and because you said he was close to me but…”

“… he could actually be a lawyer or a prosecutor.” Donghae finished his sentence.

Eunhyuk nodded, smiling that they were on the same page. Donghae seemed to be in deep thought.

“I never thought about that but indeed, lawyers have access to police case files to be able to build their cases.”

“And in that case, he must know Siwon and know who his wife was and what happened to her, it’s another explanation for how he knows about my sister.”

Donghae looked down, his face serious. Something wasn’t right, Eunhyuk could feel it.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Someone who knows Siwon, or…”

The brunet looked up and stared at him. No… Eunhyuk understood what he was implying but that was just not possible.

“No.”

“Think about it. He was traumatized and devastated after your sister’s death maybe that triggered something in him and…”

“And he became a cold blooded killer?”

Donghae looked down again. Eunhyuk’s heart was about to burst, he didn’t want to think about that possibility. Leeteuk, Sungmin and now Siwon? Did he really have to suspect everyone around him? Was it really someone he loved? And yet again Donghae’s arguments were irrefutable. But he had a counter argument.

“It could be me then.”

“What?”

“I’m the one who was the most messed up after my sister’s death. What if it triggered something in me and I became crazy? Maybe I killed all those women without knowing. Maybe I became a freaking schizo and my second personality is trying to punish me for not being able to save my sister in time!”

 It’s been a little while since Eunhyuk started questioning his mind’s health, and after seeing the pictures of his sister’s murder and him in it, he doubted even more. He didn’t know about anything anymore, he was completely lost. He was at the edge of giving everything up and just accepting to lose the game. And Donghae saw that in his eyes. Eunhyuk hit his chest hard, repeatedly.

“Maybe I’m the freaking killer!”

“Enough!” the brunet exclaimed grabbing his wrists, to stop him from hitting himself.

Eunhyuk was at the verge of crying. He felt so powerless… But he didn’t want to burst in front of Donghae or with the others just a few meters from him in the other room. The analyst didn’t let go of his wrists but instead tightened his grip and made the detective look at him in the eye