One

Letting out a sigh as he massaged his shoulder and the back of his neck, Jeong Inseong rolled his shoulders back in an attempt to loosen and relax the aching muscles. Spending almost all day seated at his desk, working his off as he hunched over the keyboard typing out reports for various cases, he would almost always end up with his nape and back paining at the end of the day. Another day done and dealt with, he thought as he saved his typed up files, then stretched his arms above his head. A quick look around told him that most of the people on their floor had gone home for the day, save for a few of his colleagues. Being a junior detective often required him to stay at the police agency for longer hours than the higher ranks, and sometimes even work overtime.

He reached out for his brown shoulder bag that was stashed away in a corner of his cluttered desk, and began stuffing his belongings inside. Notepad, a couple pens, mobile phone, bottle of water, everything was thrown into the bag as he stood up, and he picked up the gun assigned to him, holstering it at the back of his waist. Inseong put on his jacket that had been slung over the chair, quickly patting the pockets to ensure that he hadn't lost his badge or his wallet.

"Jeong Inseong?" A voice called out, and he resisted the urge to groan as he turned around, looking at the senior detective -- quite possibly the only one of his rank who was still working -- questioningly.

"Yes?" He asked politely, although he knew exactly why the guy had stopped him. Guess who has to make a trip to the chief's office, he pondered. For some reason, their police chief always liked to call them in the evening, and never before six in the evening.

"The chief is asking for you," the man said, jerking his thumb towards the office to a side of the floor, before giving Inseong a little wave, signaling that he was leaving. Once the junior detective was sure that the senior was not watching him anymore, he rolled his eyes, sighing as he set his bag back down on the desk, and briskly walked over to the cabin. He knocked on it softly, going in after hearing a "come in" from within.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" He said, hoping that he hadn't done anything wrong to invoke the older man's anger. Looking back on his actions, he didn't think he would be reprimanded for any bad behaviour; he always worked diligently, rarely giving any of his superiors the chance to complain. There was, however, always a little doubt in his mind if his work was as per the expectations of the chief.

"I did," police chief Han Junseo said with a short nod as he set his pen down on the desk, and Inseong could see that the man had been working on a few case files. To be completely honest, Chief Han was the only senior he knew who worked for long hours, his dedication towards the country truly admirable. He could be a little strict and harsh sometimes, but the younger guy knew it was for everyone's benefit.

Chief Han got up from his chair, and Inseong stood a little straighter, watching his posture as the man walked away from the desk. "Detective, what is the status of the report for the Choi Hyeon robbery case?" He asked, gazing at the junior intently as the latter cleared his throat.

"I'm almost done with it, Chief," he replied, wondering where the older guy was going with this.

"Good. I want the finished case file on my desk tomorrow morning, all right?"

Inseong barely held back the urge to widen his eyes, nodding hurriedly, a neutral look on his face. "Definitely, sir."

With his head hung low, Inseong trudged out of the police station, all the required papers of the case stuffed inside his shoulder bag. He had stayed inside for another hour and a half, completing as much of the report as he could. The rest, he would have to finish at home by pulling yet another all-nighter. After entering into this profession, he had lost count of how many nights he had to go sleepless for, be it because of field work, or desk work. Now, it was already past ten at night, and he wondered how many hours he would have to spend on this one case file only. It had been quite a confusing case, with the robbers going into hiding for three months after the incident.

The junior detective let out a yawn, covering his mouth with one hand as he walked home. Thankfully, the apartment where he lived with four other men was not too far from his place of work, and it took not more than fifteen to twenty minutes of brisk walking to reach home.

As he was walking through a darker, quieter area of Seoul, his eyes fell upon the road ahead of him, illuminated faintly by the lone streetlight in that block. He halted, however, as he saw a shadow run across the block. Inseong blinked, whoever or whatever it was, hadn't been visible for more than two seconds. Shaking his head, he let out the breath he had been holding; for all he knew, it could have been just a cat. Stop being so paranoid, silly, he scolded himself as he resumed the walk back home.

He had seen everything very well.

The blood having seeped out of numerous wounds on the body, now dried up. The flesh spilling out where the cuts had been made. A red, gaping hole in the lower part of the man. The hand that lay limp in his own, having been separated from the rest of the body, just like the other limbs. Hands all over him, trying to take him away from the gruesome scene. But most importantly, that dull, lifeless, cold look in those hazel eyes as they stared at him unwaveringly, staring into his soul.

Seeing your role model lying dismembered in front of you was never a good thing.

"-yung... -jin-hyung... Youjin-hyung?" A soft, gentle voice fell on his ears, and he jolted awake in his chair, turning to look at the blond-haired young man watching him worriedly. "Are you okay, hyung? You're sweating a lot," Kim Jihun pointed out, straightening up slightly, his hand on the older guy's shoulder.

Kim Youjin brought a hand up, wiping off beads of sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. No wonder Jihun was surprised, the weather in Seoul was turning colder by the day, and there was no reason to sweat. He glanced around, struggling to get a bearing of his surroundings.

"Looks like you fell asleep while working again," the other provided helpfully, pointing towards the desk where Youjin had dozed off, propping his chin up on his hand, with his elbow on the surface. Scratching his head, the brunet leaned over the desk, peering at the papers lying on it, scattered all over. Oh, that's right. He was going through the files of a couple of his patients. "Ah. I really need to get this done with by tomorrow," Youjin said, dragging his chair closer to the table.

"Hyung, come on. You need to sleep," Jihun insisted, not letting go of the elder's arm, "you can continue this in the morning. Have you even had dinner yet?"

"I knew this is what I would get for becoming a doctor, Jihun. I must do this right now," he protested, trying to get back to his work, but the other guy was not having any of it.

"How are you even going to treat your patients if you're not feeling well yourself? Now come on, get your off that chair, you've been glued to it ever since you came home," the blond said, successfully pulling Youjin up and out of the room. He had a firm hold on the older man's arm as he dragged him to the dining room, that faced the kitchen, forcefully making him sit down at the table. Youjin just gave up on his attempts, burying his face in his hands with a soft sigh.

"I'm supposed to be older than you, yet you manhandle me around like that," he joked, peering over his shoulder at the blond, who was heating something up in the microwave oven. The younger chuckled, shrugging even as his back was to Youjin.

"I guess being a dance teacher and choreographer helps in improving my strength, too," he replied, turning around to glance at the clock on the wall. A few minutes past ten-thirty.

"Hasn't he come home yet?" Youjin asked right as they heard the sound of the front door opening. The two exchanged smiles, the older shaking his head.

"Speak of the devil," Jihun said, loud enough for his best friend to hear.

"I heard that!" Inseong shouted back from the entrance, quickly walking inside to peek into the dining room as Jihun laughed. "Are the other two asleep already?" The oldest of the three nodded in response, followed by a yawn that he didn't even try to conceal.

"Have you eaten anything?" The dancer asked Inseong as the latter walked over to the bedroom the two of them shared, dumping his bag on top of a desk. The detective came back out towards the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the dining table.

"Not really, but I'm not hungry."

"Nonsense," the blond replied sternly as he took another bowl, adding a generous helping of ramyeon and shoving it in the microwave, before handing Youjin his own bowl of the noodles and a pair of chopsticks. "You're not sleeping on an empty stomach. Besides, I know you can't resist Seungjun-hyung's ramyeon," he added, cocking an eyebrow at Inseong. The other stared at his friend silently for a few seconds as the doctor began eating, then shook his head with a sigh, giving up on arguing.

"True."

The phone kept on the nightstand next to the bed vibrated loudly, the vibrations breaking the silence of the night as they rang annoyingly, waking up both men from their deep slumbers. Jihun groaned audibly, shifting in his bed till he was facing away from the phone.

"What time is it even right now?" He mumbled as Inseong reached over for the device, squinting at the display through the darkness of the room.

"It's barely past five," he said, answering the phone as soon as he read his partner's name on the caller ID. "Detective Jeong Inseong."

"Inseong, you need to come over here, this lady is convinced that her dead husband is, in her words, very much alive," came Shin Jiho's voice from the other end, as well as faint sounds of a woman wailing. "Please hurry up, we need to do everything we can to persuade her that he died a year ago." He disconnected the call, sounding more and more desperate at the end. With a loud sigh, the junior detective sat up and shoved himself out of bed, switching on the light of the bathroom connected to their bedroom as he brushed his teeth, and began to wear his uniform.

"You've got to be kidding me, Inseong. A call at five in the morning?" Jihun asked incredulously, his voice rising slightly in frustration. After all, the other had been awake till almost two at night, working on some police reports. Inseong merely shrugged, fastening the buttons of his shirt as he looked over at the younger.

"We're some of the most junior ranked officers of the agency, so it's always us who have to take care of such calls," he explained, fishing around in his bag for his notepad and a pen, as well as his gun holster that he wore around his waist.

"And? What is it this time?" Jihun sounded sleepy, already starting to fall back asleep.

"Apparently some middle-aged lady who thinks her husband is still alive. I'm sure she is being delusional, most probably because she couldn't cope with his death a year ago," Inseong deduced, knowing that he was just speaking to himself, judging by the soft snores being emitted from his roommate's side of the room. With a low chuckle and a shake of his head, he quickly but softly padded out of the room on his socked feet, drinking some water from the kitchen before heading out of the house while wearing his jacket and pocketing his phone.

Author's Note:

Finally! The first chapter is done. I had to think a lot about what to include in this one.

I couldn't be too greedy and reveal any of the main plot, that's why I just decided to show what their everyday lives are like. I hope it didn't seem too rushed.

Did you guys like it? I really, really hope you stick with me till the end of this story (it might take very long, almost a year, or maybe even longer, depending on my schedule), because I have big plans for it. I'm already done with all the main plot points, now only the execution of the story is left.

Updates for this story won't be scheduled and regular, I'll update it as and when I type each chapter up. I would love to read comments from readers about your opinions!