“You look sad,” Junsu remarked as I sat on the chair.

“I am,” I sighed, putting both hands on the table.

“Why?” Junsu asked. “Look how red your eyes are.”

“Because...”

“...”

“I broke...no Chae Won broke up with me,” I confessed, hanging my head low.

Junsu’s mouth formed an O, looking completely stunned.

“That’s unfortunate...”

“It is...but...it’s better like this. It’s actually better that she broke up with me...”

“Did...she find out about you and Jaejoong?”

“Yes...”

I pulled out the envelope containing Jaejoong and I’s photographs. “All because of this.”

Junsu took the envelope, soon drawing out the glossy photographs. His eyes widened as he went through them.

“Someone’s stalking you...”

“Yeah...” I croaked.

“And...there’s a message on the back of one photograph,” he said as he flipped the picture over. His eyes widened as he read the message, seeming taken aback.   

 “It seems that someone’s blackmailing you...but I wonder who? This could possibly be connected to the fire I’m guessing...” Junsu said, returning the photos back in the envelope.

“But who would it be?” I asked. “Do you...think it could be my abouji?”

“Anything’s possible...”

“I’ll take a further look with these pictures...I’ll send them to a forensic team. Once they match the fingerprints, we’ll find the real culprit...and hopefully it could help us...”

“Thanks...I can call you Junsu right? You know, since we’re just the same age and all...”

“Fine. You can call just call me Junsu. I’ll call you Yunho.”

“Deal,” I said.

 “Anyways,” Junsu said, straightening his back. “I got a bunch of things for you.”

Junsu bent over, putting his briefcase on the table. The latched clicked as he opened the case. The suitcase was stuffed with papers, showing Junsu’s messy tendencies. “Sorry...I’m not the best cleaner in town.”

“Same,” I said.

“Anyways,” he said, drawing out stacks of stapled paper. “I managed to get the transcript of the day that fire happened. Jaejoong’s records are in there too.”

“Sweet.”

 Junsu returned the briefcase back to the chair, leaving the table clear. He placed the papers down, soon going through them.

“In the transcripts, it states that Jaejoong got drunk, which was the primary cause of setting the house on fire due to improperly discarding a cigarette.”

“I know that,” I said, nodding.

“Also states that he wrote a suicide letter.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” I confirmed.

“But there’s something strange.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s listed here that Jaejoong’s blood alcohol level was 0.2, which isn’t even enough to knock somebody out.”

“But...the thing is...Jaejoong didn’t even drink alcohol yet at the time,” I said. “He even winced at the sight of it.”

“I see,” Junsu said, nodding. “But haven’t you noticed something weird?”

 “The transcripts state that Jaejoong-hyung was in the study room...”

 “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Is Jaejoong-hyung always at that study room?”

“Well...not really. He only goes there if my abouji tells him too...” I replied.

“If Jaejoong did start the fire, then why did he do it specifically in your abouji’s room? There’s his room, the kitchen, the bathroom...but why your abouji’s room?” Junsu wondered.

“You’re...you’re right...it does seem strange,” I agreed.

“And...if Jaejoong was the one who started the fire with that cigarette, his fingers would’ve been burnt, considering the fact that the cigarette was planted in his hands. The real culprit would have burnt fingers...Yunho, have you taken a close look your abouji’s hands?” 

“No...not really...”

“Check his hands...meet him...and inspect it...”

“But...I don’t want to see him...I can’t stand the sight of him!!” I cried.

“Do you want to prove Jaejoong innocent?” Junsu asked.

“Yes...” I nodded.

“Then...do it...just take one glimpse of your father’s hands...”

Another thought comes to mind; a piece of evidence I was curious of.

“Then how about...the suicide note?” I asked.

“Your father or someone else could’ve wrote it to make it seem like Jaejoong intended the fire.”

“Wow, you’re better than those corrupt detectives at the station,” I remarked.

“Well...I am a lawyer,” Junsu stated.

“...”

“Apparently in this report, they found it in Jaejoong’s jacket pockets,” Junsu said, glancing at the paper.

“Which means?”

“Which means it doesn’t make sense at all...why would someone hide a suicide note in their pocket, right? Wouldn’t most people put it beside their dying body?”

“You’re...right!” I beamed.

“Lee Mi Ran probably stole Jaejoong’s jacket and wrote the letter and put it in his pockets so it would remain in perfect condition for the police to see!”

“But...then there’s the receipt too...” I said.

“That’s why we need to find evidence that Jaejoong didn’t buy the cigarettes. Thankfully, there’s a picture of the receipt in these files...”

Junsu held up the paper, pointing to the picture of the receipt.

“But that won’t act as a good alibi...since they could go against our statement and say could’ve Jaejoong stole a cigarette from someone...”

“...”

“But, we can use your abouji,” Junsu said, putting the picture down.

“How?”

“There’s an address of the convenience store...if we go to that convenience store...maybe they have a footage of your abouji purchasing goods from the store at the very exact date of the incident...”

“Wow...” I said, gasping. “That’s a great idea!”

“Don’t get your hopes too up, we still need more evidence than that.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re a genius,” I said, holding my thumb up.

“Let’s go Yunho-yah...we don’t have time to waste.”

“Where...where are we going?” I asked as he stood up.

“The convenience store...duh.”

I guess this Junsu had a humorous side after all.

Junsu and I strode into the convenience store, eager to discover the hidden truth. While Junsu looked like a prim, proper business man with his suit, I looked like a complete hobo with my ripped jeans and t-shirt.

Whatever, I wasn’t here to look good. I was here to find evidence and shove it up my abouji’s , whether he likes it or not.

“Hello,” Junsu said to the cashier. “Do you mind if we check the survilliance cameras?”

The boy looked up, meeting eyes with Junsu. “Um, are you police?”

“No, but I’m a lawyer,” Junsu said. “I’m highly qualified for this.”

“Why do you want to look in them?” the teenage boy asked.

 “For this case I’m working on.”

“Follow me to the back room,” the teenage boy said, leaving his post.

Shoving my hands in my pocket, I trailed behind the boy and Junsu. My chest pounded of excitement, knowing that this could prove Jaejoong’s innocence.

“Here,” the teenage boy said, opening a door to a dark room. A computer screen glowed within the darkness, remaining idle. Three monitors were mounted on the wall, displaying current footage of the convenience store.

“Do you know how to work this thing?” Junsu asked. “We need footage from ten years ago.”

“I’m not sure if we still have that,” the teenage boy said, sitting on the chair. “Let me check,” he said, holding the mouse.

The boy opens up a program in the computer, exhibiting a bunch of confusing-looking buttons. The cursor hovers over to a list of files, scrolling through numerous file names.

“What date did this happen?”

Junsu looked at me. “December 23rd, 2006...right Yunho-ssi?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding.

“What time?” he asked.

“From the receipt, it said around 7:30 PM.”

“Okay...it seems that we have it. Tell me when to stop if you see anything that catches your eye,” the boy said, turning to us.

Inspecting the grainy film, a man entered in the shot as he walked through the doors. Looking closer, I immediately recognized the figure of the man, judging from his short and chubby structure. “That’s him.”

“Film it with your phone,” Junsu whispered.

I nodded, soon pulling out my handphone. I aimed the camera at the screen, setting it to record.

In the other camera angle, the man approached the cooler, pulling out three bottles of soju. It was strange, considering the fact that my abouji preferred expensive drinks like wine.

“He’s...he’s buying the soju,” Junsu pointed out.

I put my phone closer, improving the clarity of the video. In the surveillance footage, my father stood in front of the camera, paying for the drinks and a pack of cigarettes.

“That’s perfect,” Junsu said. “This footage was filmed at 7:30, right?”

“Yup,” the teenage boy responded.

“You can close it now,” Junsu said, stepping away from the computer.

I shoved the phone in my pocket, overridden with giddiness.

“Thanks,” I said as the boy stood up. “I owe a lot to you.”

“Me? I just showed you guys a footage.”

“No, it’s not just a footage, it’s a life changing footage,” I clarified.

“Well, no problem,” he said, scratching his head.

“Here kid, have a chocopie,” I said, grabbing his palm, soon putting a package in his hands.

“Um...it’s okay...” the boy stuttered, eyeing the chocolpie.

“Nah kid, keep it. Cause of you, people are going to be innocent.”

“Let’s go Yunho-ssi, no need to overdo it,” Junsu gritted.

“Yeah, we should get going,” I said, walking out of the dark room.

“Now we need Jaejoong’s side of the story. Things will start making sense by then,” Junsu said, pushing the glass door.

“I guess so. Hope he’s not sleeping,” I said, walking into the outdoors.

We headed to the curb, soon stepping inside his Mercedes Benz. Damn his guy was rich as hell. Even the seats were leather. Everything in this car screamed ‘rich boy’. Or high-tier working class.

“So...are you fully committing yourself to Jaejoong now?” Junsu asked out of the blue. 

 “Yes,” I replied.

“Well...that took ten years...”

“It did...” I sighed.

“Do you regret not being able to protect him at the time of the fire?” he asked.

“I...do...a lot. But...I guess it kind of helped him grow as a person.”

“...”

“He used to be so dependent of me...but, looking back from when I had amnesia...I realized how much he’s changed...”

“...”

“In a good way or bad way?” Junsu asked.

“A bit of both,” I replied.

“Time really does change people, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

 “Calm down Jaejoong-ah,” I said as Jaejoong chomped on the chicken. “You’ll get indigestion.”

“Sorry. Food in the hospital...no good...” he stammered, his mouth full.

“Why is he talking like that?” Junsu asked, whispering to me.

“The...the brain tumor,” I answered.

“Oh...” Junsu said, casting a sorrowful look towards Jaejoong. “That’s sad...”

“It is...” I said. “I don’t know if he’ll ever be the same again...”

“Hopefully things will get better after his surgery,” Junsu said.

“Me too.”

In a span of three days, Jaejoong got transferred to the general ward after showing stable health. Which also meant his restrictions were lifted, letting him have the freedom of eating whatever he pleased.

We sat at the center of the cafeteria, in hopes to get information from him.

“So...Jaejoong-ah...” Junsu said, placing a hand on the table.

“What...you want?” Jaejoong looked up, tossing the bones into the box.

“Um...I wanted to ask you about something.”

“Okay...ask...” Jaejoong said, his fingers.

“The...the fire,” Junsu said.

“No...Jaejoong doesn’t want to talk about the fire,” he said, shaking his head.

Oh god, was he speaking to himself in third person?

“Please Jaejoong...this is important,” I said.

“No...please...” he whimpered, covering his ears. “I don’t...I don’t want too...”

“I...will hold your hand...this will help us...” I pleaded, holding out my hand.

He retracted his hands from the side of his head, soon linking his hand with mine. “I will tell...if you hold on to me like this Yunho-yah...” Jaejoong pouted.

“Don’t...don’t worry...” I stammered, tightening my grasp. “I will hold your hand...as long as you tell us, okay?”

Jaejoong scrunched his eyebrows, soon nodding. Within my hold, his hands trembled underneath, reeking of fear.

“So...it started.... wh... when I came ...home ...from...the grocery...store...” he stumble