Seven

Shin Jiho knew exactly how his partner was: intelligent, impulsive, spontaneous and a tad bit eccentric. The guy would usually try to keep everyone around him in a good mood, sometimes even by acting silly, but when the times called for it, he would turn into one of the most serious men he had ever seen. He would almost always be in one of his ‘moods’, but Jiho was well aware of just how much Jeong Inseong loved having breakfast at the café every morning. Even if their schedules differed, the taller guy would not go for a single day without stopping by at Seungjun’s café. He had even revealed the reason for that to Jiho one evening: it was because he could see the loving, happy, smiling face of the owner before starting work every day, and that would more often than not turn out to be a good luck charm for him, that would last the whole day.

He had said that everything was alright, and that there was nothing to worry about. But that was exactly what Jiho was doing. This wasn’t like Inseong at all, to completely skip on the café visit, and along with it, the chance to meet his dear Seungjun-hyung. Not to mention that the other guy had messaged him even before six in the morning, and Jiho wondered just how early Inseong was planning to go to work. To be honest with himself, the detective was afraid that his partner was hiding something from him. In such circumstances, there was no way Jiho could calmly think everything through, and checked his watch for the ninth time on the way to the police station, practically running all the way there.

To his surprise, he arrived at least an hour earlier than his usual timing, panting lightly as he looked around the area. His shoulders sagged ever so slightly as his gaze fell upon his partner, who was hunched over his desk, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. He didn’t even bother looking up as Jiho walked to his own desk – noisily so – hand scratching at his head as he wrote furiously on a piece of paper with the other.

“Good morning, Inseong,” Jiho greeted calmly, waiting for a response, but his face fell as he received none. He cleared his throat, staring at the other.

“Good morning, did you have breakfast today, Inseong?” He spoke in a louder tone, putting emphasis on the last few words as he gazed pointedly at the guy. As if awoken from a trance, Inseong’s head moved up, and he blinked before finally setting his gaze on the other guy.

“Oh, good morning, Jiho,” he replied with a faint smile, that turned slightly sheepish as he shook his head. “I didn’t, I came here right away,” he admitted, going back to doing whatever it was he was doing. Jiho raised an eyebrow, leaning over to peek into the paper, but it was all an illegible scrawl to him; as expected of Inseong’s handwriting.

“What’s wrong, had an argument with Seungjun-hyung or something?” He asked, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Inseong looked up again, frowning as he shook his head once again.

“No, of course not. Why would you think so?” He said, eyes widening as realisation dawned on him. “Ah, that,” he continued, “I just wanted to work in peace, so I decided to just come here. There weren’t many people when I arrived, and I could continue my line of thought in complete silence.”

The other detective sighed, taking his thick overcoat off and draping it over the back of his chair as he sat down. “And may I ask what was so important about this work of yours?” He asked, not letting Inseong talk as he continued. “Let me remind you that we are junior detectives, Inseong, and our job is to write case reports, follow orders from our seniors and the Chief, and do nothing else. It is the job of the seniors to tackle the cases as field agents, so why are you getting involved in something that wasn’t even your job to begin with?” He concluded, voice getting a harsher edge.

The taller guy stared back at him, slightly taken aback for a few seconds before responding calmly. “Look, as a police officer, it is my duty to protect the citizens, and I’m not going to let my rank stop me from doing that. Please try to understand, I need to talk to our seniors about these murders, can you ask Detective Kim Taeyang?”

“And I need you to stop thinking about this case now, can you do that?” Jiho retorted, glaring at his partner. At the back of his mind, he wondered where this sudden hostility had come from, he wasn’t usually like that. Sure, he could be a bit short tempered at times, but he had never argued with his partner before except for when he did it playfully at times.

Inseong leaned forward, glaring back at him with the same animosity, all signs of the usual kindness having vanished from his face. “No,” he replied, “I can’t.” In any other circumstances, Jiho might have been a bit scared of the other, but this time, neither of them was backing off.

Jiho was the first one to look away, huffing in anger as he shook his head. “Why are you being so weirdly stubborn?” He questioned, eyebrows set in a deep frown as the guy in front of him visibly loosened up, slumping back in his chair, his eyes never leaving his partner’s.

“And why aren’t you trying to understand?” he half whispered, half yelled. “Listen, Jiho, these killings are very different from the ones ten years ago, and I don’t think any of you have realised the gravity of the situation yet. I really need to discuss more about this case with the ones who are actually handling it, because they’re the only ones who can convey my suspicions to Chief Han. He won’t listen to me, but he will definitely listen to them.”

The other guy stayed silent for a few seconds after Inseong’s little monologue, letting out a faint sigh. “It’s not that easy, you know,” he began, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. “Look, I do want to help you with this, honestly. But you have to understand that involving Taeyang in this – more than he already is – will just add to his burden. There are a lot of things regarding your investigation that he will have to explain to the Chief, which will eventually land you in trouble.”

The taller of the two opened his mouth, only to promptly shut it, frowning deeply as he finally lowered his gaze to his desk. “Sometimes, I really hate it when you’re right,” he muttered, absently scribbling in the corner of the paper lying in front of him. His partner let out a soft chuckle at that, which led to Inseong’s upset expression melting away into an easy smile. The tension between the two detectives now having subsided, Inseong looked up from his work to meet the other’s eyes, regarding him with newfound respect. Words didn’t need to be exchanged between them verbally as their argument ended with equally apologetic looks, although after a while, it was evident to Jiho that the guy sitting across him was still mildly unhappy.

His eyes wandered for a few seconds in thought before he stood up, planting himself next to Inseong’s desk. The other looked up from his computer screen, puzzled, which was a slight surprise to Jiho; he had been half expecting the guy to still be working on his doubts regarding the organ trafficking case.

“Let’s do this: instead of letting someone else know that you’re working on this case, how about I help you with it?” He proposed, while his partner just stared at him, bewildered. “Despite the lack of credit you usually give me, I might end up being pretty handy. Just tell me what you’ve figured out so far, and we will work on it together,” he added with a grin as his hand moved towards the paper full of scribbles and notes. His grin faded the next moment as Inseong slammed his palm on his notes, covering them completely.

“Don’t be crazy, Jiho,” he said, voice uncharacteristically deep and low, eyebrows set in a stern scowl. “I know I’m already putting quite a few things at risk for myself by snooping around, but I’d be more of an idiot to involve you in this,” he explained, taking a deep breath. “Especially after yesterday–”

He gasped, eyes widening, before turning around sharply in his seat to face the computer. His partner was clever, though, and tilted his head in suspicion as he gazed evenly at the other guy’s back. “What happened yesterday?” He asked, not receiving any answer. Inseong inwardly cursed at himself for having blurted the words out, and felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder firmly, before being turned around forcefully to face Jiho.

“Inseong, what happened yesterday?” Jiho repeated, his voice taking on a hard tone.

Well, Inseong realised, there’s no getting out of this now.

To make up for skipping their breakfast, the two men found themselves in the café for lunch. Jiho had gone ahead and sat at their usual table, giving Inseong some privacy with his housemate as the two talked at the counter. During moments like these, the shorter guy wished he had cat-like sensitive hearing, because currently, he could hear nothing. Of course, his intention wasn’t to snoop or eavesdrop, but the look Seungjun had given his partner was one Jiho had never seen before. He had had no idea the café owner could look so strict and serious.

“All right, our lunch will be here soon,” Inseong said brightly as he appeared from behind Jiho and sat down in front; his voice was in stark contrast to look he had exchanged with the chef right after they had entered. The guy sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Are you going to tell me, or not?”

“You will have to promise me that you won’t shout or yell at me,” Inseong countered, to which Jiho just gave him a confused, utterly baffled stare.

“Why would I yell at you- fine, I promise,” he gave up, upon witnessing the other’s strong, compelling gaze.

“You know, I really want to break that promise now,” Jiho said between gritted teeth, trying his best to maintain his composure. He took a deep breath, letting it all out slowly as he momentarily closed his eyes. “This,” he began, “is exactly what I had been warning you about from the beginning. I was worried about you getting hurt, but it’s even more worrying when someone close to you becomes the target instead.”

“Will you please relax?” Inseong replied calmly after a few seconds of silence, which just angered the other guy further. “This just shows that I’m on the right track. Believe me, I won’t rest until I catch this guy. By trying to replicate the previous killings, all he is doing is starting to leave a noticeable trail, and it won’t be long before–”

“Are you even listening to yourself?!” His partner exclaimed, staring at Inseong as if he had gone completely crazy. “Your best friend was hurt by this... this guy who you claim to be the one behind all these serial killings, yet how can you be so nonchalant about the whole thing? What if tomorrow, someone else you’re close to shows up at your doorstep, not just injured, but d–”

“That’s enough.” Inseong interrupted, in a voice cold enough to freeze water. “You think whatever happened to Jihun hasn’t bothered me? That I’m so hellbent on stopping this guy that I won’t care about what he does to anyone else around me?” His eyes, set in a hard glare, bored right into Jiho’s. “When I said I will catch the murderer, I will do it. Even if I’m driven by revenge for what he did to Jihun. I don’t need you to lecture me about it, and I certainly don’t need your help.”

With that, he stood up, storming out of the café before the food could even arrive at their table. Jiho could do nothing but speechlessly watch his partner leave, mouth slightly agape. He had half a mind to run after the other guy, but was sure it would just anger him further. With a long, exasperated sigh, he decided to give Inseong some time and space to cool off, and instead focused on having his lunch that had just been served.

“I think I’m in the wrong profession; I should have been an actor,” Inseong muttered to himself while walking back to the police station, a bitter, wry smile gracing his lips. In hindsight, however, it seemed like he had gone a bit too far with the sudden display of anger. Anything to keep him from interfering, it’s for his safety.

Now that Inseong was alone again, he could finally continue his line of thought as he reached his desk. The copycat killer had already targeted Jihun, so now there wasn’t really anyone else he would need to worry about. It was not exactly due to his line of work, but the blond dancer was literally the only friend the junior detective had. Then what about our three housemates? He questioned himself, before quashing that thought the next second. They were just that: housemates, and nothing else. He hadn’t even known any of them before they had all started living together.

For some reason, Jeong Inseong found himself thinking about his relationship with Park Seungjun, Kim Youjin and Oh Heejun, instead of focusing on the case.

“I don’t think this will work,” Jihun said in a slightly disappointed voice, turning to his friend who was still regarding the place with wide, enraptured eyes. “It’s too expensive for just the two of us.”

“But it’s such a nice apartment, Jihun, I can already imagine us turning it into a cozy home,” Inseong complained, pouting at the other. The blond merely shook his head, chuckling.

“As much as I admire your enthusiasm on a regular basis, don’t you think you’re getting way too excited for something we can’t even afford?”

Grudgingly, with a cute little pout, Inseong agreed. Even if it hurt to admit, it was true; his job as a police detective and his friend’s as a dance instructor wasn’t enough to pay the rent for such a spacious apartment with two bedrooms. Not to mention that Jihun had started saving up money to be able to start his own dance school someday. They would have to give up on this place as well, which increased their count of ‘cannot afford’ to five in the past couple weeks.

“Excuse me, have you guys finalised this place?” A polite, gentle voice fell on his ears, and both guys turned around to find two tall men in front of them, one of them slightly taller than the other.

“We haven’t, it’s a little too pricey for us,” Jihun replied, shaking his head.

“We had the same problem,” the taller guy spoke up, his voice sounding a lot deeper than the other’s, making him seem somewhat intimidating given his perfectly chiseled face and towering height. “We were just about to leave, but saw you two coming here. What we thought about was proposing that the four of us live here together. It’s not too small a place for four people, plus we can share the rent.”

Inseong and Jihun exchanged wary, unsure looks, the former being more cautious as a police officer. “Doesn’t that seem too sudden?” He asked the two new arrivals. “We know nothing about you, nor do you know us. We don’t even know your names.”

“Well, let’s change that, then,” the tallest offered, hands tucked together behind his back. “My name is Park Seungjun, and I am the owner of a café a few blocks from here. This guy,” he added, gesturing towards the other, “is Kim Youjin, a doctor. We met in medical college, and have been best friends since. Although, I dropped out because I felt that food was my true calling, not medicine,” he added with a bright grin, much to the total surprise of the two in front of them.

The one called Youjin chuckled at the looks on their faces, taking a step forward. “Seungjun has always been a good judge of character. If he thinks we can trust you, then we definitely can. But of course, it’s completely your choice whether you want to trust us or not.”

“Just one question,” Inseong said, crossing his arms over his chest. “What do you get out of this?”

An amused frown graced Youjin’s kind face. “Nothing except for the fact that all four of us can save money, and maybe get to know each other a bit more.”

Looking back, it had undoubtedly seemed weird at first, but it had been too good an offer to pass up on. Sure, they had had some differences of opinions at the beginning, but none of them had really been the type to quarrel over unnecessarily small things, and they never kept grudges about little arguments they might have had sometimes. The day they had met Youjin and Seungjun now felt like it had happened a couple years ago, at the very least, but it had been only a few months in reality. Inseong had never thought that soon, their group of four would have another member.

The day was comparatively quiet, with very few customers in the café. Hearing a deep and loud sigh, Park Seungjun turned around to see a young man standing hunched over the counter, staring down at the wooden surface. Oh Heejun. The guy had been frequenting the café since a few days ago, and Seungjun had ended up memorising his name by just looking at his credit card when he had paid the first time – something he had become an expert at doing within a few weeks of having started his business.

Oh Heejun looked like someone straight out of school, with delicate facial features and a cute, boyish smile – if it weren’t for the worrisome frown plastered on his face. The owner blinked a couple times before walking closer, placing both hands on the counter.

“You do know that I charge customers for every service I provide them with, don’t you?” He said, the boy giving him a blank look in response.

“I mean, they have to pay for the food and the drinks, so I might as well start charging for lending them my ear as well. Although, since this is your first time, I’ll listen to you for free,” the chef joked, feeling relieved as he saw a barely noticeable smile make its way on Heejun’s lips.

“Never mind, I wouldn’t want to burden you with my troubles,” Heejun began, to which the other guy raised his hands slightly in a vague gesture of ‘try me’.

The younger one seemingly hesitated, but took a deep breath. “I just moved to Seoul a couple weeks ago, and already, I’m having problems finding cheap accommodation.”

Seungjun could only smile at the other as Heejun looked at him for a possible solution. “I live with three other men, in an apartment nearby. I believe we can make room for one more person.”

“Wait, how can you trust me that easily?” The boy questioned. “I could be anyone. A thief, kidnapper, murderer, or any random guy with questionable character.”

“Are you, though?”

Heejun blinked, stunned, before retorting, “Well, no I’m not, but–”

“That’s good, then.” Seungjun smiled that warm smile of his. “I’m glad we both agree.”

It was impressive how easily the younger guy had adjusted to being around four completely unfamiliar men, and in a way, Inseong was proud of Heejun. The boy had his fair share of difficulties, especially with his current job, but he never let anything show on his face. The detective always found himself doting on the kid like he was his own younger brother, and he was sure the other three shared the same sentiment. Within the span of those few months, the five of them had grown extremely close to one another, and regarded each other as family. With a start, Inseong realised that they were not just his housemates, they were his closest friends.

Author’s Note:

This... chapter certainly did not progress the way I had originally planned (I forgot what that was, though). I had started writing it exactly a year ago, on 14^th June, and while I had written about the argument between the detectives at the beginning, I hadn’t intended for it to blow so out of proportion.

Although, yes, I’m satisfied once again with what my brain cooked up. I get the feeling the previous few chapters were a bit too fast-paced for my liking, what with dead bodies turning up every now and then.

This was also a very difficult chapter to write, since it more or less marks my “comeback” (KNK, where’s yours?), and I’m sorry that it’s even more slow-paced than the last. But I wanted to include the brief history of the main stars of the show, and it would have just been a hindrance to write about it later than this.

On another note, one of the readers had asked me about this, but I just wanted to specify that: 1. I won’t be including Dongwon in the story, since all the roles had been already fixed when I had planned this story two and a half years ago; 2. I will be keeping Youjin in this story, I’m sorry. He’s one of the important characters, and I can’t remove him, or worse, replace him with Dongwon; and 3. I’m keeping Seungjun’s name the same, I won’t be changing it to Seoham. But if I ever write any other KNK fics, I might just call him Seoham.

As always, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and I love all of you for staying!