IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE DISCLAIMER, READ IT HERE. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS. 
 

[Black or White - Cross Gene]
 

Mina is very good at what she does. Excellent, even. Everyone in the building knows that. And Junmyeon is relying on that in order to make some connections in this case. She looks more tense than usual with her hair neatly tied back, a crisp button-down tucked into well-tailored pants, and fingers wrapped around a coffee mug. Underneath all that, Junmyeon knows that she’s in her element.

“How do you feel?”

She shrugs. Normally she’s energetic, even eccentric in the best possible way, but right now she’s focused and deathly calm, despite the weight on her shoulders. “Is Donghae here yet?”

“He’s dealing with the superiors.” Junmyeon massages the back of his neck, musing at the fact that Donghae is somehow able to pacify them when he specializes in violence analysis and Irene is much more qualified to give updates. Nobody on the team likes how Irene has been treated, but their hands are tied and Irene herself has stopped them from giving the superiors a piece of their minds.

Mina wrinkles her nose. “This is going to take all day.”

“Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Donghae will be here. Yifan and Kai, too.”

“As if I’m going to let them get their hands on this.” Mina throws Junmyeon a wry smile. “This is my area of expertise.”

Junmyeon lips twitch up. Mina wouldn’t let them pull this opportunity from her with her cold, dead hands. She’s the most capable interrogator, and to be fair, he isn’t sure that the case would hold without the information that only Mina could extract.

There’s a problem with police interrogations, because under a lot of pressure, it can force interrogees to give false confessions, or even agree to lines of logic that make no sense. That being said, they’re all sure that Chen is guilty of being involved in crime, but it’s up to Mina to find the full extent of his connection in order to build a case. If nothing connects, the arrest would be for nothing and the team would be in trouble.

Chen could refuse to talk without his lawyer, but he’s had several days and had made no request for one. With the information that Donghae had coaxed from the Swiss bank under the issue of a crime, and the analysis of the evidence in Chen’s bar and den, there’s definitely enough proof for the indictment, but not enough to connect to the Kyrie.

Mina knows all this, and she cheerfully swirls the dregs of her coffee and gulps before handing the mug to Junmyeon. “See you in twelve hours. Or however long this takes.”

Amused, Junmyeon watches her walk away and roll up her sleeves. He turns and heads toward the break room, so he can put the used mug in the dishwasher. The loud laughter from outside the space makes him frown. There’s an unspoken policy that the detective floor is to remain quiet, and that’s why the majority of conversations are either hushed or in meeting rooms.

Irene and Donghae are smiling, awkwardly, as a superior is boisterously speaking. Their meeting with the superiors must be over, but it’s clear that this man, who Junmyeon recognizes to be Shindong, doesn’t consider it so.

“Donghae, I expect the updates about the museum in a few days. Ah—this coffee is hot!” He hisses, burning his tongue.

Donghae’s clears his throat, “Actually, that’s Irene’s job. She’s been doing a great job with the communication of the team while I’ve been helping on the background investigation on Chen.”

“Right.” Shindong nods, clearly not caring. “Speaking of Irene, are you free this Friday?”

Irene, startled, stammers. “Ah, what?”

He leans forward, into her personal space. “Can you leave early? I’m sure Donghae would let you. We can grab dinner.”

Donghae’s smile flattens and Irene leans slightly away. “I deal with all the communication on the case. I can’t leave early.”

“Come on,” he smiles, trying to convince her. “We can get Korean barbeque.”

“No.” Irene is very firm. “I need to report back to Junmyeon—”

“I heard rumors about you swinging with both.” Shindong is no longer smiling, and his lips are curled into a cruel sneer. “No wonder. I’m too good for you.”

And that’s when Junmyeon has seen enough. He’s about to drop the mug and firmly tell the superior to stop harassing his team, but Donghae gets there first. He slips in between Shindong and Irene, and growls. “You better hope that I don’t report you for ual harassment. The way you and the rest of the superiors have treated her is terrible, and she’s keeping this case together.”

Shindong stutters, “I—you—I am older than you. Don’t be disrespectful.”

“You may be older,” Junmyeon interrupts, striding into the room, “but you will not get in the middle of the investigation and take away a member for your own selfish wants. Now, you’re ruining the quiet of this floor, so please leave.”

He does so, almost tripping over his own feet, clearly embarrassed at the confrontation. As soon as he’s out of eyesight, Irene immediately scolds the two of them. “How many times do I have to tell the team not to say anything when people talk down to me?”

“But Joohyun—”

“But nothing,” she snaps at Donghae, and then sighs. “I’m grateful, but if he takes it out on the case—well—we’re already facing enough of an uphill battle. We can’t fight the National Police Agency and the National Forensic Service too.”

“Speaking of which, do you think you can go over the forensic analysis very quickly with Mina before she starts the interrogation? I know she’s prepared, but maybe some last-minute details would help,” Junmyeon suggests, knowing that the work would take her mind off the superior and his comments.

She nods, briskly walking out of the break room, leaving Junmyeon to sigh and rub at his forehead.

“You said that to distract her.”

“Maybe.” Junmyeon adds, “Just in case, write that ual harassment report. I don’t want to have to use it, but if his ego is badly bruised, which it probably is, he is not going to disturb her work nor the work of the rest of the team.”

Donghae murmurs, “I don’t know who has been spreading rumors about Irene, but her orientation is not a topic up for discussion.”

“No one’s is. It’s a personal topic.” Junmyeon rinses the mug out before putting it in the dishwasher. “It means a lot that she shared with the team.”

When the full team was assembled, they had spent time together, bonding and sharing about their lives. Irene had revealed that she is panual. The team had gone quiet, and she had looked nervous as seconds ticked by without conversation, before Donghae had softly said, “Thank you for telling us, Irene. I hope you didn’t feel pressured to.”

The entire team had been reassuring, and Chanyeol had even blurted out, “Byul, if either Irene or I asked for your number, who would you give it to?”

“Both of you have my number.” Byul’s mischievous answer made the rest of them laugh. “We’re coworkers and on the same team.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Irene.”

“What about you, Mina?”

“Irene.”

“Ah!” Chanyeol ruffled his hair. “How am I supposed to get a girlfriend if Irene is more attractive than me?”

Irene had covered and laughed, and that had brought them closer together as a team. Donghae and Irene had started a quiet friendship, mostly marked with lunchtime bakery runs and jokes between meetings and case files. The two of them had become quite close, although you wouldn’t necessarily think that at first glance.

It makes sense to Junmyeon, though. Irene comes across as cold at first, but in reality, she’s organized and structured, and her no-nonsense attitude stems from her inclination of feeling in control. Donghae is a bit of the opposite, sunny and a bit of a mess, but always wanting to help. It’s natural that they stick to each other, because Irene is the last person to ever admit she needs a helping hand, and Donghae is the first person to extend one.

If any person had talked down to Irene, any and every member of the team would have come to her defense, even though she had warned them to do otherwise. But Donghae? He would be the first.
 

The store is bright and colorful, and the smell of vanilla makes Sehun inhale deeply. The door has a bell tied to it, and it jingles merrily as it shuts, leaving him warm in the bakery. Everyone knows this is the best bakery in town, and it shows. The line has at least fifteen people, but the mood is cheery, mainly thanks to the person behind the counter making small talk with customers as he boxes up their requests.

Sehun ruffles his hair, patiently waiting his turn as he looks around. There’s a few tables and chairs sprinkled throughout the small space, all fully occupied, and he catches a girl looking at him, trying to be discreet but peering over her book. He smirks, combing back his hair with his fingers, shuffling forward in the displaced line.

When he gets to the front, his eyes follow the employee behind the cashier. It’s his first time at this bakery, and even though he’s seen the reviews and has been planning to come for a while, he didn’t know about the eye candy as the face of the store. His black hair is swept into a comma hairstyle, and his jaw is sharp, and it’s a sharp contrast with his flowery apron and bright eyes.

“Welcome to Suga! What can I get for you?”

You, Sehun wants to say, but that would be far too crude and beneath him, so instead he combs back his hair again and smiles. “What cupcakes do you recommend?”

“All of them are well liked, but our most loved flavors are strawberry and green tea.” The man has the ability to make the air around him seem brighter, electric even, and a cute dimple flashes on his cheek along with a smile. “My personal favorite is the tiramisu.”

“Other than the cupcakes, what else would you recommend?”

“Our lemon tarts are great, and so are our assorted chocolates, or if you like more savory things, our quiche.” He points out things on the large glass display, and Sehun must admit that they’re beautifully decorated.

“I’ll take four each of all three types of cupcakes, and a dozen assorted chocolates.” Sehun slides his card across the counter, and the man, whose badge reads ‘Hoseok,’ busies himself with Sehun’s order. Something about him is similar to Luhan when Sehun first met him, almost pure and radiant. “Are your tables usually taken?”

“Hm? Oh yes, people find the bakery calming.” Hoseok neatly stacks the cupcakes into a white box decorated with gold lettering of the store’s name, the cupcakes gently nestled into divots of sturdy paper. “Any particular chocolates that you want?”

“Surprise me.” Sehun watches as Hoseok’s smile grows wider, reaching for random trays of chocolate in the glass display with tongs before deftly tying ribbons around both boxes. He swipes Sehun’s card, and the entire time, Sehun’s eyes are locked on his face.

“I think I’m different from most people. I think this bakery would be quite distracting for me.”

“Why?” Hoseok hands Sehun the bag with his purchase, along with his card. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed, and his mouth is turned down into a delightful pout.

Sehun traces his eyes along the parts of Hoseok not hidden from the counter, from his dark hair to his long fingers and back to his eyes. Sehun smirks, “You.”

Sehun turns away from the counter, but not before he sees Hoseok’s eyes widen and he takes a step back out of shock. Sehun even winks at the girl still watching him over the edge of her book on his way out. She flushes, dropping her head behind the pages, and satisfied, Sehun hums to himself as the bell jingles merrily as he exits the bakery.
 

Byul notices Irene is quiet during the ride to the museum. She’s usually quiet, but not this quiet. She’s looking through the window watching the concrete of Seoul whiz by, only turning and smiling when Minseok passes around a picture of the baby from the sonogram.

“I heard about what the superior said to you,” Byul whispers, voice low so that Minseok and Junmyeon couldn’t hear.

Irene shifts, turning to Byul. “It was Shindong.”

Byul wrinkles her nose. Shindong is a nuisance, who had apparently highly advised against her joining the team, saying that a young, inexperienced “girl,” would detract from the entire case. Matter of fact, he had been the same person asking why she hadn’t done anything productive in the days after confirming the Kyrie’s identity. “That bastard.”

Irene isn’t trying to be subtle anymore. “He needs to look in the mirror. I’m not good enough for him? Honestly. Who does he think he is? I could be hit by a truck, die, and still be too good for him.”

Byul laughs, but she secretly wishes she had that level of confidence. “If it makes you feel better, I would still give you my number over Chanyeol.”

“Thanks,” Irene deadpans. “What an honor.”

Junmyeon and Minseok snigger in the front seats as they pull up to the National Museum of Korea, all concrete and glass, and a pond beside the main building. Byul’s stomach twists as she steps out of the car, wind blowing back her loose hair. She tucks her long coat a little tighter around herself, fighting down a shiver that doesn’t come from the cold.

Going to the National Museum of Korea has always been special. The first time she went, she had been sandwiched by her parents, each holding one of her hands, as they led her around the exhibits at the age of seven. It had been a day of laughter and fun, and even though she doesn’t remember much of it now, she remembers going to the Children’s Museum and frolicking in the nature exhibit, mainly because she had gotten loose of her parents and they had chased her around.

Both her parents worked and were always busy, but days they got to spend together were near and dear to her heart. Sometimes it was night markets, sometimes it was watching a movie, but it always ended with her parents playfully arguing.

And the last time she went to the National Museum of Korea? Well, it had been a warmer day than today. She had walked into the exhib