Jihoon lets out a exasperated sigh as he looks at the files in front of his body. The police office was dead silent and an eerie pitch black except for the little lamp on Jihoon’s desk, illuminating the desk he was sat at. Recently in the small town of Masan, there has been a countless string of murders all done by the same person. They could tell they were by the same person because on the victims body, the murderer would leave the initials ‘KD’. The weird thing about the murders were that the victims were always males that were 5’9” and under.

 It made no sense to Jihoon.

 Why would anybody attack short males? Jihoon thought that it may be for the assertion of power but that still made zero sense to him. 

Jihoon lets out a sigh as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head, “KD… what the hell could that mean.” He rolls his eyes at himself.

 “Can’t figure anything out?” He jumps at the voice. He wasn’t expecting anyone to be at the office this late. Jihoon lets out a dry scoff once the figure made himself visible. Out of the shadows comes Park Woojin, his enemy if you may.

 They were always enemies. Even from the first day of kindergarten. It all started when Woojin wouldn’t share his snack cakes with Jihoon and then from that day on, they were always trying to outdo each other and make each other mad.

 It was a super petty and long streak, but it always made them strive to do their best so it was honestly a win-win situation.

 In middle school, Woojin joined the debate club so Jihoon joined the monologue AND debate club just to one-up him. Then in high school, Jihoon joined the track and dance team to finally get in shape but when Woojin noticed it was giving Jihoon female attention, he had to join something too.

 Woojin decided to join the swim and tennis team meaning the two of them toned up and glowed up at the exact same time causing the girls in school to go wild over them.

 

It didn’t end there though.

 

 In college, Jihoon decided he wanted to be a detective or police officer since he had just gotten into crime. Woojin knew it was petty to drop his dreams of becoming a PE teacher but he couldn’t help it. Seeing Jihoon doing something that would put him at an advantage in life made his blood boil so he decided to drop education and go to the police academy.

 Jihoon almost when he saw Woojin saunter in on the 2nd week of school.

 Even in the police academy, they were still at each other's necks. One week Jihoon was the number 1 student and then the next Woojin was the number 1 student. At the end of their training, neither of them made it to the number 1 position though as it was stolen from the quiet but studious Bae Jinyoung.

 Thankfully, they both work on different units now. Woojin works at the crime scene while Jihoon tries to put the pieces together and get the suspect caught.

 

They still heads most of the time but now they actually have to work together to figure things out.

 

“Nope,” Jihoon shakes his head, “Maybe find some more useful information for me, yeah?” Jihoon gives a fake smile before standing up, gathering his jacket.

 Woojin scoffs loudly, “Maybe be a better detective, huh? You ever though of that, Wink boy?” Jihoon rolls his eyes while walking out of the office.

 “See you tomorrow, Chamsae~” He singsongs before shutting the door to the office, leaving Woojin to stand there with a defeated look spread across his face.

 “God,” He rubs his hands across his face, “I’m so in love with him.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jihoon hops up the stairs to his apartment. He just wanted to go home, take a warm shower, maybe watch some Momoland fancams and then go to sleep but god literally hated him. This was a fact Jihoon had accepted a long time ago.

 

As he was about to enter his apartment, his neighbor came running up the stairs, blood dripping off of his face and sweat pooling around his forehead.

 

“Holy !” Jihoon yells out when Daniel collapses on the wall in-between their apartment doors. Jihoon  looks at Daniel with a worried expression as his heart rate started to increase rapidly. Daniel looks up at Jihoon with half-hooded eyes and his chest rising and falling rapidly.

 “Jihoon….. can you help me?”

 

 

 

 

“Who did this to you, do you know?” Jihoon worriedly asks Daniel as he gently wipes away the blood on his forehead. He just shakes his head, tears welling up into his eyes.

“I-I think it may be that murderer that everybody is worked up about…. I’m not sure though.” Jihoon drops the cotton pad that was in his hands at what Daniel said.

“The murderer?!” Jihoon exclaims making Daniel wince slightly. He already had a headache from the gashes and Jihoon’s loud exclamation didn’t make it any better. Daniel nods his head slowly, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. 

Jihoon runs over to his work stuff in the living room, leaving Daniel in the bathroom alone. Jihoon shuffles through the papers and folders on the coffee table before locating his folder for this case.

As he was looking for the folder for the ‘Masan Murderer’ case he remembered something. The murderer usually attacks males under 5’9”, so why did they try to attack Daniel? And why did Daniel let it happen before he fought back? Daniel could have easily took the murderer and beat them up. It confused Jihoon but he decided to go with it. Maybe the murderer didn’t notice Daniel’s stature until he got up close.

Jihoon shrugs as he grabs a pen that is laying on the counter before jogging back to the bathroom. 

“Tell me everything you remember about him,” Jihoon looks at the smaller guy who is sitting with his arms crossed at his stomach, “Anything at all. His smell, hair color, what he was wearing. Anything.”

Daniel nods slightly before looking up at the much larger male in front of him, “H-he smelled kind of like….. a bakery? He smelled sweet and kind of like bread. His hair was a sandy blonde color and was cut in a sort of bowl cut.” Daniel stops, looking around the bathroom in a panic.

“Daniel?” Jihoon questions his older neighbor.

“I suddenly don’t feel too well,” Daniel stands up from the toilet and pushes past Jihoon, “I’ll tell you more things tomorrow if I remember anything. Thank you for helping me.” Daniel gives a bow before rushing out of Jihoon’s apartment, slamming the door shut.

Jihoon sighs, throwing his head back, “Is this going to be the case that finally kills me?” He asks nobody in particular before heading back to his living room.

 

 

 

 

 

Woojin slams another folder on Jihoon’s already crowded desk making the older boy groan loudly.

“Another one?” Jihoon shakes his head as he can literally feel the stress creeping up on him. 

Woojin sighs, crossing his arms across his chest, “Another man was murdered last night, Jihoon. Can you try and be respectful for once?”

Jihoon whips his head up, “Another man? What was his name?”

Woojin looks over at Jinyoung’s empty desk, signaling who is was. Jihoon feels his heart drop all the way to his toes and smash through the floor.

“Lee Daehwi?” Woojin nods his head with a heavy heart. He felt like he was at fault, if only he provided Jihoon with better clues, maybe, just maybe, Daehwi would still be alive today and Jinyoung would still have his first love.

“Don’t blame yourself, Woojin-ah,” Jihoon reaches out and rubs his hands through the younger’s red hair, “You aren’t at fault. I will catch the murderer.”

“I-“ Woojin is cut off by the door ringing, signaling someone walking in. Jihoon looks past Woojin to see Daniel standing there with an oversized grey hoodie on, looking extremely nervous.

“Oh! Daniel!” Jihoon stands up with a smile stretched across his face, stabbing Woojin in his heart. Woojin looks down at the ground as his heart swells for all of the wrong reasons.

Seeing Jihoon smile at another boy like that made him want to fall into a pit of lava and never come out again. Too bad that would never happen.

 

“Do you remember anything else about the murderer?”  Jihoon asks, hands resting on Daniel’s broad shoulders. Daniel nods slightly, making his blonde flop in front of his eyes.

 An intense looking person walks over to him with a furrowed brow and a folder in his hands, “Come with me. I will ask you some questions-“

 Jihoon shakes his head, pulling Daniel closer to him, “Woojin, I got it. You can be a bit scary for some people.” Daniel sees Woojin tense up when his body brushes against Jihoon’s

 Woojin bites his inner cheek before nodding and stepping backward, “Try to remember everything, kid. This could help solve this murder case.”

 Daniel nods at Woojin, who points the two in the direction of the interrogation room with a bitter look on his face.

 

Daniel almost felt bad for him.

 

Almost.

 

Jihoon leads the way down the dark, narrow hallway. There was a door at the very end and Daniel just assumed that was the interrogation room. His assumption was right. Jihoon turned the door knob after unlocking it with his key card and opened the door wide.

 “Go in and sit down.” He smiles at Daniel. who looks nervous. Well, who wouldn’t be? He was about to be interrogated by the police. 

 Daniel sits down on the uncomfortable leather seat and taps his foot, waiting for Jihoon. There was one single light hanging above the table, making it look like a cliche interrogation room. If Daniel wasn’t so ing nervous at the stupid action he was doing, he would've scoffed.

 “So, Kang Daniel,” Jihoon sits across from Daniel with a smile, “How has your mom been recently?” 

 Jihoon and Daniel have been neighbors for 4 years now. They know each others families and often eat together when they have the time. It’s safe to say that the two of them are more than acquaintances which is why Jihoon was so shaken up at Daniel’s state the previous night.

 

Daniel lets out a small laugh and Jihoon feels his heart swell at the sound. It was so cute.

 

“She is good but she is pretty scared over the murderer that is lurking,” Daniel looks down at his hands while shaking his head, “She almost fell out when I told her I was attacked by him.”

 Jihoon’s smile slowly falls off of his face when he remembers that Daniel was attacked. It made shivers go down his spine. 

 “Daniel,” Jihoon starts off, intertwining his hands and placing the on top of the table, “I don’t want to force you to recall any bad memories or anything. If you want to leave because this is triggering, there will be no hard feelings whatsoever.” Jihoon looks at Daniel with concerned eyes but the younger just looks up with a small smile fixated on his face.

 “I am here for a reason,” Daniel looks into Jihoon’s eyes which makes his heart flutter, “I am here so you guys can catch that sick bastard.”

 

A smile breaks out on Jihoon’s face once he sees the determined look in Daniel's eyes, “Well, hyung, tell me everything you remember then.”

 

“I already told you about his smell and hair style,” Daniel nods his head, looking down at the table once again, “I remember him having pretty broad shoulders and muscular thighs. He didn’t have monolids and his lips were a really bright pink, almost as if he was wearing makeup. He was super pale like…. almost ghostly pale.”

 Jihoon nods while writing down every single detail, “Do you remember any more defining details of him? Like did he have any freckles or anything of that sort?”

 Daniel shakes his head, “He didn’t have any moles or freckles that I can remember, sorry hoonie…” Daniel laughs awkwardly while scratching the back of his neck. Jihoon waves his hands rapidly.

 “No, no, no! Don’t feel sorry at all, hyung. You have helped us tremendously with your description.” Jihoon stands up and Daniel follows his actions.

 “Do you think you guys will catch him before he kills anyone else?” Daniel bites his bottom lip, making Jihoon’s whole body go completely numb.

 

Jihoon felt his face flush immediately. How could one human be so cute while just asking a question? It didn’t make any sense at all. Jihoon was falling for the slight charms of Kang Daniel.

 

“I hope so,” Jihoon reaches out to pet his soft, sandy blonde hair, “Thank you once again, Daniel. You are helping us a lot.”

 Daniel waves his hands bashfully, “It’s no problem, hoonie!” He blushes while looking at the ground.

 Jihoon feels this automatic feeling of confidence rush over him, “Do you want to eat dinner at my place tonight? I’ll make chicken.” 

 Daniel looks at Jihoon with glimmering eyes, “Yes, of course! I would love to eat dinner with you tonight.”

 The two boys smile at each other and exchange small giggles of embarrassment.

 

 

 

 

“Anything good? Did he give us any leads? What is his face shape? What was he wearing? What about any moles?” Woojin bombards Jihoon with questions as soon as he sits down at his desk.

 “Jesus Christ, Woojin! Can you just let me breathe for a second?” Jihoon sighs as Woojin slinks down in his chair.

 The silence in the office was almost deafening. It made Woojin want to hurl himself out of the window and onto the concrete street below. He looked at the stressed looking Jihoon who was cradling his head in his hands while reading over files again.

 “I need to go home early.” Jihoon stands up while grabbing his coat. He reaches over and turns his desk light off, making the corner of the office dark.

 “What? Are you just going to leave me here? You are going to leave me here to figure this out?” Woojin mimics Jihoon by standing up and grabbing his jacket that was slung over the back.

 “Woojin,” Jihoon stops, looking at the younger with sharp eyes, “I don’t need this right now. I need to go home.” Woojin throws his hands up in the air, scoffing at Jihoon’s tone.

 “And I need your help! I can’t do this case alone!” Woojin’s voice goes up in pitch, something that happens whenever he is mad.

 Jihoon shakes his head, “You can do alone otherwise you wouldn’t have graduated from the police academy. Now if you excuse me-“

 “You are going to see Daniel, aren't you?” Woojin’s voice was suddenly quiet. Jihoon looks back at him to see Woojin standing there with his head looking at the ground.

 “Yes, I am,” Jihoon answers quietly making Woojin’s heart slammed against the ground.

 Jihoon continues out of the door once again leaving Woojin to stand in complete silence.

 

“What does he have that I don’t?” Woojin breathes out into the cold police office, shoulders slumped and his heart heavy once again. 

 

 

 

 

Jihoon paces back and forth nervously in his living room while waiting for Daniel. He could hear his heart slamming against his chest at a rapid pace.

 They eat together all the time, so why was he so affected by this time? He never dressed up for Daniel and he definitely never actually cooked either. 

 When he finally hears the small, almost silent knocks he felt his heart jump straight out of his chest. A smile formed on his lips as he skipped towards the front door.

 “Niel!” He greets with a smile but when he looks out the door, his smile fades significantly. A delivery man stands there with a package in his hand and a confused expression on his features.

 “Is this Park Jihoon?” Jihoon lets out an embarrassed chuckle as he takes the package gently from the delivery man’s hands.

 When he shuts the door, he wanted the earth to literally swallow him whole.

 “Why were you so enthusiastic? GOD!” He pats his flushed cheeks with his small hands before taking a seat on the couch.

 He took a look at the clock above his TV stand to see that it was already 20 minutes after Daniel was supposed to meet him at his apartment.

 

Jihoon’s heart drops, “Could he have been attacked by the Masan Murderer? No way….” Jihoon ticked his head to the right before reaching out to grab his cold, untouched phone.

 

He slides it open and opens the contacts app, hovering over Daniel’s name. He nods as his finger goes down to press it but before the call could go through, Woojin’s display name popped up along with his picture they took at the police academy.

 Jihoon’s eyebrows dip in the middle of his forehead. Woojin NEVER calls him unless they found a new lead or something terrible had happened.

 “Woojin?” Jihoon answers the call with a hesitant tone of voice. He hears loud panting on the other end before Woojin’s deep voice comes through the line.

 

“I’ve found the murderer. Come to Winchester’s Warehouse. He is located in warehouse number 12. Please, hyung, hurry.” With that, the line clicked off leaving Jihoon in a deafening silence for once. Woojin sounded truly terrified for the first time in his life. Jihoon felt his heart drop as his body automatically stands up from his seat on the couch.

 He storms out of his apartment and down the stairs with shaky legs.

 

 

 

 

The warehouse was such a cliche moment that it made Jihoon want to laugh but once he realized this was his real life and not a drama, he suddenly didn’t care for the cliches. Jihoon could feel the sweat falling down the back of his neck from the pure nerves he was experiencing at this moment.

 “Woojin?” Jihoon calls out quietly, grabbing the gun secured on his belt. He had never had to use his gun as a detective before and he was hoping this wouldn’t be the first time.

 Jihoon looks around for warehouse number 12 for a couple of minutes before he finally locates it in the very back of the plot of land.

 His hands started to shake even more as he reaches out to open the door.

 The large metal door creaks open to reveal a dark and cold warehouse.

 “Woojin? Are you here?” Jihoon steps onto the concrete slab with caution, looking around and his gun pulled up.

 The silence in the warehouse was so eerie that Jihoon almost bailed until he remembered how scared Woojin sounded. He squeezed his wet hand into a fist, shaking away all of his nerves before proceeding into the warehouse.

 His whole body was now inside the warehouse and he had never felt so vulnerable in his whole entire life. The sound of light rain that just started made the warehouse echo. It was so dark he could barely see. He hadn't felt so chicken in his whole entire life.

 “J-jihoon…” A small voice calls out from behind one of the crates, startling him but also giving him some hope.

 “Woojin-“ He was cut off by the sound of the door slamming and a single gunshot in the warehouse. Jihoon, startled, falls backward onto his back with fear striking every single vein inside his body.

 “Park Jihoon,” A deep but familiar voice starts, “I’ve never seen you so scared less in your whole entire life. Isn’t it a bit sad? It’s very pitiful seeing you like this, hoonie.”

 

Hoonie.

 

“Daniel? Is that you?” Jihoon lifts his head to see Daniel holding Woojin against his chest with a gun pointed at his temple.

 Jihoon felt his whole body go numb. It was like a punch to the gut seeing someone you thought you could trust holding someone you thought you hated hostage.

 It completely changed his opinion.

 “Daniel,” Jihoon sits up, “Let go of Woojin, please. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Daniel lets out a small, menacing chuckle before tightening his grip on Woojin who was now struggling.

 “Jihoon, tell me why! Why did you just now notice me, huh? After all these years of middle school and high school, why did you just now start to notice me?” Daniel asks, his voice constricting with anger as time goes on. Jihoon can practically hear his teeth grinding together in anger.

 Jihoon looks at Daniel incredulously, “Let go of Woojin, now! I won’t hesitate to shoot you, Kang Daniel.” Jihoon tries his hardest to sound stern. Jihoon can see the small smirk appear on the badly beaten up and bruised Woojin’s lips.

 ‘How can that smirk in a situation like this?’ Jihoon thinks to himself as he pulls his gun up to face Daniel. 

 “Just tell me why damn it!” Daniel pulls his gun off of Woojin’s temple and points it at Jihoon now, “I ing love you, Hoonie… but you always ignored me!” Daniel’s finger tightens on the trigger causing Jihoon to take a deep breath in.

 

This was it.

 

This was how he was going to die.

 

He was going to die at the hands of the Masan Murderer aka Kang Daniel aka someone he thought he could fully trust.

 

Isn’t life an actual show sometimes?

 

The gunshot goes off but after a couple of seconds of not feeling anything, Jihoon peaks his eyes open.

 Daniel was on the floor, whimpering in pain as Woojin stood over him. He looked so badass in this moment that Jihoon could practically feel himself falling for him.

 “Now isn’t the time to be gushing over me Jihoon,” Woojin turns around with a smirk, showing off his bruised face and snaggletooth, “Go call back up so we can get this murderer in jail.”

 

 

 

Jihoon tightens the blanket around his body as he watches the paramedics take away Daniel on a stretcher. 

 “He won’t die, you know that right?” Woojin hands Jihoon a small plastic cup of warm water before taking a seat next to him.

 Jihoon shrugs, “Why would I care if he died anyways. He is a murderer.” Jihoon can hear Woojin scoff next to him, “Why are you scoffing?”

 The two lock eyes before Woojin starts to speak, “I know you liked him. Well hell, maybe you still like him. I have no idea.”

 Jihoon shakes his head rapidly, “Why the hell would I like him? He tried to kill you, Woojin!”

 “Again, why would you care? I thought you hated my guts-“

 “When I saw you with a gun pointed at your head, I finally realized how much you mean to me and how much I actually love you.” Jihoon looks over at Woojin’s shocked but in disbelief face.

 “You…. love me?” Woojin asks, heart pounding against his chest and his face flushes a deep red color. 

 Jihoon looks down at the gravelly parking lot as he nods his head, “I really do… I can’t believe I just now noticed.” They both let out a chuckle while looking at each other’s flushed faces.

 Woojin runs his tongue over his teeth cheekily, “So, would this count as our first date?”

 Jihoon looked over at his friend, or crush, or boyfriend, or whatever with a look of pure horror before punching him in the side.

 “No, you crazy bastard! I want our first date to be at Pizza Hut.”

 Woojin laughs, throwing his head back, “Consider it done, baby.”

 They both felt content in this exact moment. They didn’t have to worry about the insane murder and they no longer had to deal with the strained emotions between them.

 

Everything was finally okay.