Jongdae was going fast. He had no particular excuse for it, other than the fact that he enjoyed it. The engine rumbling beneath him, the scenery sliding past him. His gaze unceasingly scanning the road in front of him. The thrill of the high velocity bubbling through his entire being. It all set him in some state of mind, one that he couldn’t acquire elsewhere. A state of freedom, perhaps.

The cars in front of him moved aside to let him through as he advanced forward. One of the privileges of being a cop, he supposed. The traffic wasn’t that bad at this time of the day, but as he was travelling one of the country’s most heavily populated roads there was still a considerable amount of vehicles going in both directions. The sounds of engines and the occasional honk surrounded him, yet Jongdae did not mind. He greatly preferred the independence and flexibility of travelling by bike instead of sitting shut in inside a car with the world happening just outside of him. Driving a car was like trying to fit a piece into an enormous puzzle, whereas riding a bike let him ignore the deliberate structure of said puzzle and go by his own rules. Not literally, of course there were traffic laws he had to follow, especially as a police officer. But he was not as restrained by the traffic, not as bound. He could easily swerve to place himself in front of the slow-moving Toyota in his lane, for example.

“You’re going too fast, I can’t even see you anymore”, said Sehun suddenly through the earphone in his right ear. Jongdae looked into his rearview mirror. True, he could not discern Sehun through the mass of cars behind him either.

Sehun was the case in point, when it came to being bound to a car. He was supposed to stay right behind him, occasionally letting Jongdae take a slightly bigger lead, but not lose sight of him entirely. Unfortunately, there was no way for Sehun to keep up with Jongdae’s pace as he could not squeeze his own car between the other cars. Even though it happened to be a police car. As they were only patrolling and not in an immediate hurry, it would be inappropriate for Sehun to use his sirens, even if it would make the other vehicles move.

“Right, I’m slowing down”, Jongdae spoke through the microphone of his earphones. Loosening his grip around the handles slightly, he slowed down the pace of his motorcycle by only a bit. The speed he had accomplished had not only been thanks to his fearless revving, but also the wind coming from behind giving him an additional push. He supposed it would be hard enough for Sehun to catch up with all the cars between them; maybe he didn’t need to enlarge the gap further. Jongdae relaxed a little, feeling the excitement of going at a high speed fading away.

There was actually another reason for him keeping up a steady pace, and that was their mission. They weren’t solely patrolling (which was something they rarely did anyway). Earlier that morning several government officials, including the president, had received bomb threats through their e-mail. Of course, this was not new; there would always be dissatisfied (and slightly lunatic) individuals around to send threatening messages to the ones in power. However, the uprising of international terrorism the recent years had left everyone on edge, and the alleged amount of detail in these messages seemed worrying. So regardless of the threats being serious or not, the police had nothing to lose by sending out a few groups of officers trying to locate the suspect.

The e-mails had been tracked to a public computer at an internet café in Incheon, and the man using it at the time had been tall, dressed in black and had left the establishment on a Honda motorcycle. This was more than an hour ago, and while Incheon police were dispatched on location, Jongdae and Sehun were sent out by their department in Seoul to patrol the main road between the two cities, making sure that the suspect wouldn’t be using that way to get into the capital.

Jongdae was a little doubtful about all of it. If the threats had serious intent behind them at all, there would still be a very slim chance of them catching the guy on this road. He could still be in Incheon, hell, he could be taking a completely different path to somewhere else for all Jongdae knew. Plus, it was hard to work with such a vague description of the suspect. However, these were the times he loved working the most, when he could leave his office and take his motorcycle for a proper ride for once. So he was not discontented with the mission. Not that he otherwise didn’t enjoy his job, having been born with a strong sense of justice Jongdae felt good being able to make their society better, even if just by a little. In fact, he had taken this mission upon himself, having worked as a fairly successful officer for a while he had the authority to assign himself certain tasks. Sehun, on the other had, was obliged. But Jongdae didn’t think he disliked it either. Sehun had not been a proper police officer for very long, and Jongdae could always detect a childish gleam of excitement in the otherwise rather expressionless face whenever he was assigned field work.

The blue Toyota that he previously placed himself in front of was now in a reversal of roles attempting to overtake him. The driver was probably annoyed by his sudden change of pace. Jongdae directed a glance at the car for a second, before something else caught his attention.

On the other side of the road something was zooming by him, like a predator bird diving forth to catch its prey. If Jongdae thought he was going fast before, it was nothing compared to this driver’s velocity. Above the speed limit, and not marginally so. No, this driver was aware of what he or she was doing. Jongdae felt his thoughts spin slightly, he knew this wasn’t part of their mission, but someone could seriously end up hurt if the driver continued the way they did.

Before he could control his urge to do something foolhardy, Jongdae swerved around, making a sharp u-turn as he saw an empty spot in the puzzle of cars on the other side of the road. The lane going in the opposite direction.

Accelerating quickly, Jongdae followed the trace of what was no doubt another motorcycle. Soon he passed by the familiar police car in the lane he’d just left, going too fast to be able to check Sehun’s reaction through the front window. He soon heard from the other, though.

“Jongdae, was that you?!” Sehun exclaimed through the earphone and Jongdae gathered his thoughts, knowing he could not back out now.

“Yes, yes, I’m going in the opposite direction. You saw that person going way above the speed limit, didn’t you?”

He could almost see Sehun’s exasperated expression in front of him.

“But... that’s not what we’re supposed to do... Just leave it, Jongdae...” he said in a fairly gentle manner still, knowing he couldn’t have an attitude with his senior.

“It’s too late now”, Jongdae replied loudly over the rumbling of the engines, still keeping his eyes on the spot in the near distance that belonged to the speeding motorcycle.

“No, it isn’t. I don’t know how you managed to shift directions in the middle of the road, but just return the same way”, Sehun said persistently.

“And let this reckless individual go?! Driving like that puts not only them, but everyone else on this road in serious danger!” Jongdae almost shouted. It was true, he was concerned about the safety of the people on this road with a driver like that doing as they pleased. But it was also his inner justice seeker speaking again. He could not let anyone get away with something like this, absolutely not. It was a flaw of his, he supposed, getting easily caught up in cases unrelated to him, eager to do the right thing as a policeman.

Sehun sighed.

“Right, you have any info on this person you’re following?”

Jongdae, who had through almost just as reckless driving managed to get closer to the other motorcyclist, squinted in an attempt to scan the constantly moving vehicle for details.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a Honda. I can’t see the number plate, looks like some kind of cloth is hanging down in front of it.”

“Huh, a Honda you say? And the driver?”

“I don’t know, looks quite tall, black coat, black helmet?”

“Jongdae!” Sehun exclaimed so loudly Jongdae almost let go of the handlebars in surprise. “This might be our guy!”

Jongdae squinted at the motorcyclist once again. He had not thought of that at all when he’d made his turn. Of course, it was possible. But with the quite generic description they had received about the suspect it was hard to tell. A Honda was not out of the ordinary, and most motorcyclists wore black leather while on the road. And the bit about the driver being tall had just been an assumption.

“Hm, I don’t know Sehun. A lot of motorcyclists look like this. And why would he draw attention to himself by speeding if he wants to be sneaky?”

“He might just be in a hurry, or he’s being really nervous. Not a surprise, after what he’s done. Besides, it’s our job to follow someone who matches the description. He’s even got a covered number plate, like our guy!”

“Well, of course he’s covered it if he’s speeding and doesn’t want to be reported to the police”, Jongdae argued, still not convinced it could be the same guy as their suspect. But he did agree with Sehun on one point: it would be a good idea to catch up with him in any case. “I’m still following him, though.”

“Good! Keep it up! I’ll make a turn at the next exit and follow you from behind”, Sehun replied.

Judging from where he had made his u-turn Jongdae knew it was quite a bit until the next exit, but he would just have to hold on. It was not like Sehun could do much to help him anyway. How was he going to catch up with the mysterious biker in that bulky car of his?

Said biker, who had initially slowed down a little allowing Jongdae to get closer to him, seemed to have noticed he was being followed by none other than the police. Therefore he sped up again, forcing Jongdae to do the same to keep up with his tempo. As he was now approaching a speed he definitely didn’t reach while he was racing only himself, Jongdae his warning lights. There was no need to be sneaky anymore if the other guy had noticed him, after all.

Even though he was wearing protective gear Jongdae still felt the force of the sudden crosswind, which seemed to make the chase even more difficult. Somehow the wind did not seem to affect the man on the Honda, who kept an even level of velocity and almost appeared to glide smoothly a bit above the road. The guy could possibly have sent those nutty e-mails, but he was a damn good biker, Jongdae thought.

Fortunately for him, the cars reacted to the warning lights and drove off to the side, leaving space for him as he approached. The narrowness of the road, only having two lanes for each direction, still forced Jongdae to navigate in zig zags between some of the cars while still keeping up with the speed of the other. His heart was hammering in his chest as he came dangerously close to a small pickup, but managed to veer in the last second. The black shape belonging to the Honda seemed to bounce to the left and right in front of him, treating the road like a slalom course. Jongdae’s eyes, in return, darted back and forth between the Honda and the road just in front of him. He lost sight of the other once when he ended up stuck behind a large lorry for a few seconds, but soon made up for it by twisting the throttle additionally, gaining more speed.

The distance between them didn’t seem to change that much, Jongdae could just as well be one metre closer as one metre farther away from before. Whenever Jongdae gained speed the other seemed to be gaining it too. And when Jongdae was forced to slow down the other driver almost appeared to be following suit. Strange. Was he being toyed with? Did the guy keep a constant eye on him, copying his moves just to ?

Jongdae bit his lip, never once taking his eyes off the road and the biker. That this person had the nerve to mess with the police like this, that he had the confidence to think he could outrun the best motorcyclist in the entire police force of Seoul... At least, that was what Jongdae had been told he was (he wouldn’t make such a statement about himself). But if he was, he shouldn’t be losing to this guy. Internally thanking his motorcycle for having enough torque for this daring task, Jongdae accelerated even more. His breathing felt a little unsteady for a moment as he observed the speedometer reach triple digits. What wouldn’t he do for his job, he thought.

Finally, he was gaining some ground. He was definitely closer to the other driver now than he ever had been before. The slightly ill-advised stunt seemed to have worked, then. If Jongdae’s hands weren’t so busy holding onto the handlebars for dear life he would have wiped off some of the sweat that was gathering on various places on his body. Another thing that brought him relief was the sound of the police alarm going off in the distance. Sehun must have made his way into the same lane at last, and it would be even easier for them to get the other cars out of the way with the unmissable alarm on.

“I just made a turn. How’s it going, I can’t even see you in the distance”, Sehun spoke up through Jongdae’s earphone. Trying to make himself heard through the immense crosswind and motor sounds, Jongdae shouted,

“He’s —- still —- trying to flee! I’m —- closer to him —- now.”

“Ah, you alright? You aren’t going too fast now, are you?” Sehun replied, sounding concerned.

“It’s —- cool! It’s only —- uh, 106 miles per hour... I’m doing all I can to —- keep up with him!” Jongdae said, making a sharp turn around a slow-moving car, resulting in a high pitched sound resonating from his wheels.

“That’s, Jong- I- Hyung! Be careful!” Sehun stuttered unprofessionally. Jongdae smiled a little to himself.

“It’s fine! Just —- make it here as soon as possible!”

With that, Jongdae leaned forward even more, trying to create as little resistance to the wind as possible. The other driver was now only a few metres ahead, Jongdae could even spot the way the guy moved his head ever so slightly to continuously look through the rearview mirror. It made Jongdae gain a little bit of confidence. He had locked on the Honda. And he was getting closer.

“By the way, Jongdae”, Sehun spoke up again, seemingly having pulled himself together as his voice was stable. “I called for backup when I made the turn. They’re on their way.”

“Okay”, Jongdae replied as he kept his hand steady on the throttle, not taking the risk of slowing down. As if what he was doing was not a risk. Speeding at 106 miles per hour, not to forget on a very populated motorway, was not something he did every day. Or ever, really. At such speeds, the police would usually stop the pursuit in the interest of public safety. But this was no ordinary chase, and Jongdae was determined to get this guy.

Somehow, this determination kept him from succumbing to fear and panic. Amongst all the other vehicles, the Honda was all Jongdae could see. It was almost like a game, him trying to keep up with and even catch the man, all while navigating through a very challenging environment. However, just after having that thought Jongdae felt ashamed of himself. The guy on the Honda was risking his life, he was risking his life, and if the driver truly was the same person as the man who’d sent those e-mails then a lot more lives than theirs were at risk. It was not a game.

Luckily, the sirens sounding from Sehun’s car combined with Jongdae’s lights made the cars in front of him move to the side quicker than ever. This also meant a smaller risk of a crash occurring, to Jongdae’s relief. And he was gaining additionally on the other guy. The number plate was still covered by that cloth, which even though it was flapping in the wind would not budge from its position. It didn’t matter, Jongdae told himself. If he caught the guy he could just go and check out the plate without any hindrances.

The strength of the wind combined with the force of the throttle was by now so strong it almost threatened to loosen Jongdae’s grip around his handlebars. He held on for dear life, feeling his hands starting to go numb. It was a terrifying sensation; Jongdae’s body tensed even more in response. Yet there was little he could do about it. Besides, he had nearly reached the Honda, just a little more and he could slide up next to him...

Suddenly, the road seemed to have come to a stop. The cars in front of them slowed down to the point of them almost standing completely still, and the man on the Honda was forced to do the same. Jongdae’s heart jumped in his chest as he nearly collided with the other bike, stomping his foot on the brake as quickly as possible to avoid a crash with a most likely fatal outcome. The stopping force managed to lift the rear wheel a bit off the ground, throwing Jongdae forwards to the point of him almost falling off the bike. Luckily, he kept his firm grip around the bars but the mere thought of what would’ve happened otherwise made every part of Jongdae’s body ice cold.

Trying to calm down his immense heart rate, Jongdae looked around, taking in the situation. A queue of cars had seemingly appeared out of thin air. Something was bound to be blocking the road. An accident? Jongdae did not know, however he did not have the time to ponder as the man on the Honda took the chance to snap the throttle again, trying to make his way through the two rows of nearly stationary cars.

Taking off as well, Jongdae noticed it was a difficult task, as the space between the lines was very narrow. He only had to trust the drivers not to make any sudden movements once they saw a motorcycle passing them by in the queue.

The speed of both of them had significantly decreased, as this was rather a test of flexibility rather than velocity. Somehow, it made it harder to keep up with the other, as Jongdae needed to balance the need for a high enough speed to match the Honda with the need for a slow enough tempo to be able to navigate the intricate pattern of cars without causing serious injury to anyone.

Clutching, throttling, braking and steering his way forward, Jongdae noticed a point where the cars from the left lane seemed to merge into the right. Whatever was blocking the road was only letting the right lane of cars through, and at a very slow pace at that. It was a complex situation for most of the drivers in the left lane, seeing as they had switch lanes to be able to continue, but also move aside for the approaching police motorcycle. And the police car: looking into his rearview mirror, Jongdae noticed Sehun driving towards him. The cars behind him had evidently separated to leave a space big enough for Sehun’s car to get through.

“We’ve got him now”, said Sehun in Jongdae’s headphone and at that moment Jongdae took notice of the lights in the near distance. Warning lights.

As he came closer, it became clear that the backup had arrived, and that they were the ones responsible for the blockage of the road. A barricade of police cars was covering most of the road, except a strip of the right lane where they let the cars pass through one by one. When they spotted the Honda arriving at the scene, they stopped all traffic immediately. He was stuck.

The driver seemed to realise that as well, as he slowed down to a stop. A few seconds later Jongdae caught up, closely followed by Sehun who parked his car behind them. Jongdae hopped off his bike and took off his helmet, automatically shaking his head to unstick his hair from his face, legs feeling quite unstable as he made contact with the ground again. He watched the other guy set his feet on the ground as well, mumbling something that sounded exactly like “the game is over, then” in a low voice.

“That’s right!” said Sehun, who had clearly heard him as well, and was now on his way towards them. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and the still anonymous biker seemed to have accepted his demise, not putting up a fight. However, once he was properly handcuffed he spoke up, addressing them for the first time.

“Hey, what’s the need for these, I was only speeding, wasn’t I?”

Standing in front of him, Jongdae noted that he had been right about the guy being tall. He also noticed the awfully deep voice of the other. It almost felt a bit intimidating.

“Just give me a ticket, won’t you? I’ll pay, just let me go and I’ll do it”, the man continued, still facing Sehun, Somehow, Jongdae was relieved he wasn’t the target for the guy’s bargaining. Instead, he took a few steps towards the motorcycle, swiping away the black cloth to take note of the number on the plate.

“You know what you’ve done”, said Sehun rather assertively, “and you really think we’re gonna let you keep your licence after that reckless driving?”

“Well, if that’s the case, your guy here was being just as reck-“ the guy began, then turned towards Jongdae and quieted down. It made Jongdae a bit uneasy. He directed his gaze towards the few other police officers on the scene, most of them busy directing the cars coming through.

A couple of seconds went by without anyone saying a word, before Sehun saved them from the rather awkward atmosphere.

“He was just following you. Now, you’re not opposed to being identified, are you?”

Sehun seemed to be speaking with a lot more confidence than he usually did, perhaps having noticed Jongdae’s uncharacteristically quiet demeanour and wanting to make up for it. Whatever it was, Jongdae was grateful. And he didn’t know why he was being so absent. It was like he were stuck in the headspace he’d been in while chasing the other on his motorcycle, not yet adjusting to no longer risking his life by racing at over a 100 mph on a busy road.

“Hey, watch the ears!” the guy suddenly exclaimed as Sehun started to remove his helmet rather roughly. This caught Jongdae’s attention; he wondered what that extremely skilled motorcyclist really looked like. What with the voice, the clothes, and his attitude he half expected the guy to look like a scruffy thug. Therefore, he flinched when the man’s face was revealed.

He was young, around Jongdae’s age or younger, and he had an extremely handsome face. Large, slightly hooded eyes, straight nose, full lips, and bright, smooth skin. Even with weird silver hair and icy blue eyes (they had to be contacts... right?) the guy was strikingly attractive. Jongdae simply stared at him for a short time before he felt his face grow hot when the other guy blinked and eyed him up and down. He sincerely hoped the other hadn’t noticed anything in particular about his reaction.

Feeling strangely sweaty having those electric blue eyes on him, Jongdae cleared his throat.

“So... what’s your name?”

The other guy seemed a little taken aback by the question as well, and it took a second or two before he answered.

“Uh, Park Chanyeol.”

“You sound hesitant”, Sehun remarked, “do you have any identification on you? Your licence?”

“Yeah, it’s in...” the guy began, directing his eyes towards Jongdae again, “it’s in one of the front pockets of my trousers. I think.”

Being the one currently standing the closest, Jongdae raised an eyebrow.

“What, I would’ve taken it out myself, but you’ve made that pretty difficult for me.”

Shrugging, Jongdae walked towards him and started feeling with his hands around the pocket area of those very tight-looking trousers of his, trying not to think too much about it. Normal procedure; the guy’s hands were cuffed, after all. But he felt nothing (except maybe for the hipbones of the other, which he thought nothing of; this was a professional situation).

“It’s not there.”

“Uh, it might be in one of the back pockets, then.”

By now, Jongdae was unsure whether the guy was honestly not remembering where he had put it or if he was just messing with him. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Jongdae reached his arms around the guy to feel the outline of his . Once again he tried to put any other thought than the search for the licence aside, but he still could not help the burning feeling in his cheeks.

After not finding anything except a feeling of humiliation, Jongdae distanced himself a little, sending the guy a glance.

“Nothing? It might be in the inner pocket of my jacket...”

“Stop playing around!” Jongdae snapped.

The guy at least had the decency to flinch.

“Okay, okay, but it is there, I know it.”

Jongdae tried to keep himself from asking if that was something he had known all along, and instead took a few steps forward again to open the other’s jacket. Feeling with his hands along the piece of clothing instead of the guy’s body, Jongdae soon found the pocket containing the licence.

The name on the licence was indeed the same as the guy had claimed, and even though the man in the picture had black hair it was still unmistakably the same person as the one standing in front of him. Jongdae also noted that the man, Park Chanyeol’s, date of birth was only two months after his own, and that he was 185 cm tall. Some people had it good.

“Seems to be yours”, Jongdae finally commented and the guy nodded.

“I told you”, he said while Sehun went over to take a look.

“Right. Let’s take you to the station then”, said Sehun, directing his gaze towards his car.

“Huh? Just give me a ticket and I’ll pay! No need to bring me there!”

“Sorry, it’s the procedure for a case like this. It’s not like you only drove a little too fast; you actively put everyone on the road in danger by attempting to flee an officer”, Sehun said, not sounding very sorry at all.

“But the barricade? Was that for me?” Park Chanyeol asked, bewildered.

“You’re coming with me”, Sehun replied, avoiding the question, and the guy seemed to give up.

“Okay, but can’t you take me instead? I can sit behind you”, he directed his question at Jongdae, lifting his arms in front of him as to mimic holding onto something. Jongdae tried not to blush, imagining both the guy and himself uncomfortably crammed together on the seat of his sport bike.

“Be quiet”, Sehun said, leaving the guy to instead pull Jongdae aside for a moment.

“You alright?” he asked in a slightly lower voice, “You seem so, I don’t know, strange. Did anything happen while you were chasing him?”

“No, no, nothing really. I think my brain’s just still adjusting to walking the earth again. It was quite a thrilling ride”, Jongdae explained.

“I was just...” Sehun looked away, a bit embarrassedly. “Jongdae hyung, I was worried for you. It could have been dangerous.”

Jongdae smiled. They were not actually supposed to use the more personal honourifics in a work environment, but it was not something he minded at all.

“It was dangerous... But it’s fine, Sehun-ah. I’m here now, am I not?”

“Yeah... I was just-“ Sehun began, but Park Chanyeol interrupted him from a couple metres away.

“Are we leaving or not, skinny stuff?” he asked, sounding a bit irritated. Which was understandable, Jongdae supposed, having been caught by the police and risking losing his licence.

Sehun made an annoyed sound and went to collect the other, bringing him to his car. Jongdae put on his helmet and looked around: one of the police cars had already left, and the other, a van, was currently open and the remaining men worked with carrying Park’s motorcycle into it.

“Hey, be careful with the bike!” said man shouted before Sehun shut his door.

“See you at the station”, Sehun said and got in the car; Jongdae slung his leg over his motorcycle and set off.

 

After looking through all the information so far on the case, Jongdae felt like something was off. He couldn’t really place what it was, but somehow, he was intrigued by this guy. Even if he wasn’t the suspect they were looking for, which Jongdae could not help but doubt, there was still something about him that made him curious.

That chase had reminded him of that long lost sensation of sitting on a proper bike for the first time, that mix of fear and excitement, feeling his entire being depend on the intricate chunk of metal on wheels. It was something he had not felt for many years, something he thought he’d forgotten. But that man had managed to bring it back to him. By putting them both in danger, that is, but still. Jongdae had never before had such an exhilarating experience on a bike. He almost felt like thanking the guy, but shook the thought out of his head. How moronic.

For some reason, Jongdae took it all upon himself. He looked through the guy’s bag to begin with, finding out that the black cloth that had previously covered the licence plate was an apron with a name tag on it. Park Chanyeol, again. He had checked the vehicle registry, and the motorcycle really belonged to the same guy. So he was clearly not speeding because the bike was stolen.

The rest of the bag was quite uninteresting. Some keys, a phone, and a wallet: the usual stuff. Jongdae noted that the wallet had a picture of a small, fluffy dog in it. There was also a red uniform that seemed to belong with the apron. Park Chanyeol had possibly been on his way to work, then. If it wasn’t all just an elaborate plan...

 

Not wanting to waste time, they scheduled the interrogation almost immediately after lunch. Again, Jongdae took it upon himself to question the guy. He was the one originally involved with him, after all. It was not like he had to, after all he was not one of their specialised interrogators. However, as Park Chanyeol only had been detained on the basis that he rode a motorcycle on the wrong road at the wrong time, it was not like they could classify him as their prime suspect. Therefore the interrogation was just set up to cover a few basic questions, checking Park’s reactions and to see if there was anything else that would point towards him being the man they were looking for. Jongdae knew the chance, or risk, of Park being the same guy as the one who’d sent those threats was fairly small, but he really wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Sehun was set to watch from the other room, and the interrogation room was prepared with both a camera and a tape recorder. All Jongdae needed was to ask some questions. He did not want to seem intimidated, but looking through the window of the other room Jongdae couldn’t help but feel a little impressed by the guy’s attitude. He was leaning back in his chair, feet on the table, jacket slung coolly over his shoulders, looking like the dictionary definition of the word relaxed. As if he didn’t fully grasp the seriousness of the situation he was in.

Another thing Jongdae noticed was that he was wearing a pair of slightly tinted glasses. It made him look a bit obnoxious, but at the same time, they kind of fit him. Like they contributed to the carefree vibe he had going on.

Gathering his thoughts, Jongdae entered the room.

Park took his feet off the table.

“Oh, it’s you”, he said, and Jongdae couldn’t tell if it was a positive or negative reaction.

“There’s no need to wear those glasses indoors”, Jongdae remarked.

“No, well, I need them to see. So I think there’s a need alright.”

“Okay, then.” Jongdae supposed it would be unfair to ask him to take them off if they were necessary for his eyesight.

Placing his papers on the table and sitting down on the chair in front of the other, Jongdae the tape recorder.

“Right. I am going to ask you some questions, and as you might know you have a right to silence. This means that you are not obliged to answer unless you wish to do so, but what you say will be recorded and possibly used as evidence against you. You are expected to tell the truth, and I would like your full cooperation. Do you agree?”

“Yes.”

“Also, you’re not cuffed anymore, but don’t let that make you try anything”, Jongdae said sternly, “You being both recorded and watched.”

“Oh, I won’t”, the guy replied, with something that looked like a small smirk. Or maybe it was just Jongdae’s eyes playing tricks on him. He blinked.

“So, Park Chanyeol”, Jongdae started again, gathering his papers in his hands.

“Just Chanyeol is fine.”

“Park Chanyeol“, Jongdae continued pointedly, not letting his slightly flustered thoughts take over. Just Chanyeol. Hah.

“Would you like to explain why you were driving at a speed way above the road’s limit?”

“Well, I...” Chanyeol, Park Chanyeol, began, “I was not aware of it. I was just minding my own business, y’know, not thinking about how fast I was really going. I’m sure you know that feeling.”

“But we’re not talking about a few miles per hour above the limit, it was much more than that. You must have noticed you were going much faster than anyone else in that lane.”

“Fine, you got me”, Chanyeol said, not looking bothered by that at all. Instead, he looked Jongdae in the eyes, flashing him a smile so dazzling Jongdae forget what he had planned to say next.

“Uh-“

“A perceptive cop, aren’t you?” the other continued, still smiling in an almost teasing way. Jongdae looked away, not wanting to completely lose his concentration.

“So you were just speeding for the fun of it? Or because you were in a hurry to, uh, get somewhere?”

“Yeah. And no, I wasn’t going anywhere in particular, well, except home, but I can be as late as I want for that.”

“Uh-huh”, Jongdae replied, not fully sure if he could trust this guy’s words.

“Of course, once you came around I was in a hurry”, Chanyeol admitted, “I thought I would be able to outrun you easily, but it was way more difficult than I had counted on. You were naturally keeping up with my tempo. And I couldn’t just stop and give up, having been driving like that... I severely underestimated you. You’re a good driver, man.”

That comment made Jongdae happier than he’d like to admit. For what? Chanyeol, Park Chanyeol, was just some dude who had been reckless on the road. Why would his compliments matter? Perhaps he was trying to flatter Jongdae to make his punishment more merciful; Jongdae felt ashamed of himself for even reacting to those words.

“And your bike too! I didn’t know the police had such good bikes”, Chanyeol continued and Jongdae nodded.

“Only the best for the best”, he said with a slight smirk. “Now, I take it you fled to avoid arrest? Yes or no?”

“Yeah, I guess I did. I didn’t expect you to catch me at all, and even if you did, I thought you would just give me a ticket for speeding, not detain me here. I don’t really understand, why is that?” Chanyeol replied, frowning. Jongdae knew he was supposed to be thinking critically, but he could not help but feel that the other was being honest. He just seemed so genuine in his reactions, and was being a lot more cooperative than Jongdae had expected. It almost made him trustworthy. Almost.

“So what were you doing on the road? Going home, you said? From where?”

Chanyeol looked dissatisfied with the question, taking a long time to answer. His eyes seemed to scan Jongdae’s frame instead, making him almost unconsciously pull his long coat around him tighter, to cover even more.

“... You’re not wearing a uniform?” Chanyeol finally said, his half-lidded eyes still fixed somewhere beneath Jongdae’s face. Jongdae furrowed his brows, not knowing what to make of that question.

“I’m the one asking questions here”, he countered, avoiding Chanyeol’s penetrating gaze. He could simply not deal with it.

“I was just... since you’re a cop, I mean, I thought you’d wear one. Anyway, I noticed you didn’t really answer my question so I decided not to answer yours.”

Jongdae sighed.

“I did ask for your cooperation before we started”, he said, daring to look at Chanyeol again only to end up feeling like he was being x-rayed by those intense eyes.

“Sure, yeah”, Chanyeol replied. “And I was going home to Seoul.”

“From where?”

“Work”, Chanyeol shrugged.

“So what do you work with?”

“It was just a shoot. A photoshoot, that is. I’m a model, well, part time. I was in Incheon to shoot an ad.”

Instead of writing this down, Jongdae kept his eye contact with Chanyeol. If this wasn’t an excuse to cover up for going to that Internet café, he supposed it made sense. With those looks, it was not much of a surprise that the guy could land himself some modelling jobs. However, did he fully realise what an arrest could do to his career if that was the case?

“It’s not very smart, putting your career on the line by driving so irresponsibly. You should be more careful.”

Chanyeol snorted.

“Yeah?” Jongdae continued, raising an eyebrow, “I take it you didn’t care about the safety of the other people on the road, but you could at least consider the damage you could do to your career by getting caught, or even worse, getting in an accident?”

Instead of considering his words, Chanyeol just started laughing.

Jongdae, no longer able to hide how flustered he was, let out an almost pleading,

“What?”

Having calmed down from his outburst, Chanyeol finally spoke up, his mouth still formed into an obnoxious smirk.

“No, I just, I can’t believe you fell for that!” he said loudly, letting out a few more giggles, then smiling handsomely at Jongdae. The latter felt his face heat up in humiliation.

“I’m not a model, did you seriously take me for my word?”

“May I remind you of the situation you’re in? You are currently being detained by the police and this is an official interrogation which may or may not be vital to your verdict”, Jongdae babbled, trying to regain what little authority he had to begin with.

“Fine, fine”, Chanyeol replied, “I was on my way home from work, but I work the morning shifts at a fast food restaurant. Many people are stopping by for breakfast in the mornings so they need extra personnel.”

“Mhm”, Jongdae nodded, “I suppose that’s where the apron and uniform in your bag come from?”

“Yeah.”

“You were aware that it was hanging out in front of your number plate, weren’t you? And that obstructing your number plate is punishable?”

Chanyeol shook his head hurriedly, his fluffy silver hair bouncing.

“No, not at all! I was just very sloppy, I guess, stuffing the apron halfway in and then not closing the bag. I could’ve dropped it on the road, y’know, and my manager wouldn’t be happy about that”, he elaborated, motioning with his hands how the packing of his bag must have looked like.

Jongdae supposed it could make sense for the guy to be working at a fast food joint, with the apron and everything, but it did not feel plausible for him to be able to get by very well with only that as a job. Especially not if he could afford a proper motorcycle, and those expensive-looking clothes. But what did Jongdae know, the brand trousers could be knock-offs, the leather jacket could be fake and the gold chain around his neck could be a cheap thing from a novelty shop.

“So do you have anything else that you do, apart from morning shifts at a restaurant?”

“Well, today I don’t, that’s why I was on my way home. I work at the restaurant every weekday, and after that on Tuesdays and Wednesdays it’s the ticket office at the cinema... On Thursdays and Fridays I work at a warehouse... wait”, Chanyeol told him, searching through a pocket in his jacket for something. What he took out was a card with a picture of him, his name, and a logo that said “Namdong machine parts”.

“It’s an access key for the warehouse”, Chanyeol explained. “Oh yeah, and during weekends I work at the theme park. Lotte world, you know. Actually, I can print you my entire schedule if you want. In case you’ll want to know when I’m free.”

“When you’re... huh?” Jongdae started, once again feeling puzzled, but slightly impressed by the man’s ability to work so many jobs. He himself only had one job but it was definitely enough. But then again, his was also full time.

“Never mind, I’m only really interested in what you did today”, Jongdae continued, waving it off. After looking at one of the papers with information on the suspect, Jongdae locked eyes with Chanyeol’s intensely blue ones (they really had to be contacts, right?).

“At 9:15 this morning, where were you?”

“At work, of course”, Chanyeol answered, determinedly not taking his eyes off Jongdae.

“Right. Do you have anything that can prove it?”

“Uh, well, you looked through my bag, didn’t you? There’s the uniform and stuff, why would I carry it around if I hadn’t been working?”

Jongdae had to admit that would make sense, but it could also be prepared from before. Or he could, instead of being on his way from work, have been on his way to work. From an internet café perhaps.

“Oh, and if you give me my phone I can call my manager to testify”, Chanyeol spoke up again.

“It’s in the other room, so maybe after I’m done questioning you.”

“Yeah, that’s alright... You know what, don’t call her at all. I just figured out it might not be a good idea to call her and let her know I’ve been caught by the police... she might fire me.”

“You should have thought of that before you started speeding”, Jongdae answered snappily. The thing was, that if Chanyeol really were the one visiting that internet café, he could also have made a deal with whoever he called his manager to lie for him in case someone contacted her. So something like that was not really an adequate alibi. Still, if that was what they had to work with...

“Ah, you’d think so, I suppose”, Chanyeol said, leaning forward slightly, face uncomfortably close to Jongdae’s. Was it just his imagination, or had Chanyeol moved a little closer as well? A few centimetres more and they would be making contact.

A couple of seconds, or possibly minutes, went by in silence. Chanyeol was not saying anything, only keeping his eyes persistently fixed on Jongdae, and Jongdae himself could not find his voice. Making it hard to continue with the questions.

“I’m really good at making desserts, y’know”, Chanyeol then said out of the blue, spoken in a low voice. Jongdae couldn’t help but shiver slightly.

“Like what, McFlurries?” he breathed back, making Chanyeol’s smile drop for a second.

“Well, if that’s what you like”, he replied, regaining his confidence.

Jongdae was already hot and bothered by the closeness of the other, there was really no need for the suggestive smirk on Chanyeol’s lips. They were quite nice-looking lips, really. All smooth and pink. Soft-looking. They were too close. Way too close. If Jongdae had been this close to Chanyeol during the chase, there would be no need for the barricade; he would’ve caught the other immediately. Or, well, at this distance, it was more likely that they would crash into each other. Honestly, Jongdae didn’t think he would mind crashing into the other’s lips...

But they stayed where they were. Of course, Chanyeol was determinedly staring him down too, but there was really nothing there to suggest that he had the same things in mind as Jongdae. Everything was just his own interpretation, after all. Danger, danger. Do not come closer. Jongdae’s thoughts were making no sense; this guy seemed to know how to make his head spin.

“May... may I show you some pictures for you to identify...?” Jongdae almost whispered, trying his hardest to find his way back to the interrogation that was supposed to be taking place. It proved to be extremely hard when Chanyeol said,

“Yes, sir”, and bit his lip. The heat was off the charts.

Jongdae finally managed to lean back a little bit, going through the papers he had brought with him. It then hit him. Wasn’t Sehun supposed to be watching this? Had he been watching everything unfold from the other room, how Jongdae had been trapped by the other guy, as though hypnotised by those cold blue eyes? As if the situation hadn’t been humiliating enough...

Daring to look up, Jongdae noticed that Chanyeol was now leaning back relaxedly in his chair again, seemingly unbothered by what just had gone down. Perhaps it hadn’t been as bad as Jongdae thought it. He had been right, it was all his own interpretation of the events, it was not like anything actually happened. Pulling himself together, Jongdae slid forward a picture on the table.

“Recognise this place?”

It was a photo of a street, namely the street where the internet café was situated.

Chanyeol looked at it for a few seconds.

“I... don’t know. Yeah. Maybe”, he replied.

“Maybe?”

“Yeah, I... it doesn’t really have anything that makes it stand out. I might’ve walked by it once or twice, but I wouldn’t remember. Is this in Incheon?”

Jongdae nodded.

“What’s so particular about this street?”

“Well”, Jongdae began, pointing towards the blue windows belonging to the café, “you recognise this location?”

Chanyeol squinted.

“It’s an internet café, huh? No, not really... Who even goes to those nowadays?”

“You wouldn’t be able to describe the interior if I asked you?”

“Uh, no”, Chanyeol answered, looking genuinely puzzled.

“Please remember that if you lie or hide valuable information it might make things even worse for you in the end”, Jongdae explained, trying not to sound too assertive but not too nervous either.

“I’m not! I just haven’t been there”, Chanyeol said, “and I don’t understand where you’re going with this. Why are you interrogating me for this stuff?”

Jongdae ignored the plea for information and shuffled through his papers again. Suddenly he felt something touching his leg softly. The contact only lasted for a fleeting moment but it still nearly made Jongdae jump in his chair.

“Sorry”, Chanyeol said with a sheepish smile, “my legs are just really long.”

“... Yeah”, Jongdae breathed out, realising what just had happened. It was not as though Chanyeol had just bumped his leg into Jongdae’s by accident; it had felt more like he slid it gently against the other intentionally. Feeling slightly dazed, Jongdae did not intend to accuse Chanyeol for something he couldn’t prove anyway. Besides, it was not like he had hated it. Far from it, actually.

“So, uh, what do you do at that warehouse then?” Jongdae desperately asked, almost surprising himself with the question. He just needed to continue, but he had forgotten where to.

“Well, as you saw, we deal with machine parts”, Chanyeol replied, also seeming a bit taken aback, “we ship ‘em to people ordering them online, but we also have a shop where they can take their stuff to be repaired.”

“Stuff such as...?”

“It’s mostly cars, bikes... I’m no mechanic but even I can take care of some repairs. It’s just, y’know, putting two and two together, fastening and oiling stuff...” Chanyeol made a gesture with his hands that was probably supposed to simulate one of those procedures, but in Jongdae’s eyes it simply looked obscene. Judging by Chanyeol’s expression though, he had no idea.

“Great, great, nothing dangerous though, right?” Jongdae asked, mainly to put the motion to a stop, but felt like slapping himself in the face afterwards. He was being too conspicuous.

“Dangerous? No, no, not really”, Chanyeol shook his head cutely, “just the typical machine parts. We’re not dealing with explosives, or whatever.”

“Yeah”, Jongdae simply stated, wanting this to be over with. He felt completely useless, it was like Chanyeol knew how to cloud his mind, turning off his ability of thinking logically. Which was a very useful skill to have during an investigatory interrogation.

“You’re welcome to visit anytime you need some work on your motorcycle”, Chanyeol said with a grin, and Jongdae felt the against his leg again. This time, it was less brief. Jongdae would almost say deliberate. Chanyeol still had his eyes fixed on him, Jongdae had no choice but to look down, fearing he might do something rash. The other had proven to be reckless on the road, perhaps he was open to be just as reckless in other places as well. The small room, dimly lit only by the desk lamp on the table between them, felt even tinier now. An intimate setting; a suggestive environment. There was nothing separating them. Jongdae found he wouldn’t have minded if Chanyeol had prolonged the contact with his leg, letting his own wander all the way up to Jongdae’s thigh. His thoughts were already reaching dangerous territory, but he little intention to stop. He couldn’t help but find the other extremely captivating: Chanyeol’s half-lidded eyes watching him, his broad shoulders, his long neck, his large hands; it was all too tempting. If Chanyeol was used to fixing bikes he was bound to be very skilled with those hands. Biting his lip, Jongdae briefly imagined Chanyeol doing the gesture from before, only in a slightly different context...

“What are you thinking about right now?” Chanyeol nearly whispered, and Jongdae's heart started doing somersaults. Had he caught on?

“Look into my eyes and tell me”, Chanyeol urged, putting his hand over the tape recorder as if that would keep it from recording what was being said. Somehow, it almost felt inviting. It was very unprofessional, how worked up he got over this. Jongdae couldn’t do much about it though; he was under Chanyeol’s spell. He couldn't stop this attraction. Those bedroom eyes of the other were to blame.

Jongdae looked into said eyes, putting his hand over Chanyeol's only to remove it gently from the tape recorder. As he placed Chanyeol's hand between them on the table, he kept his own firmly on top.

“I couldn't tell you”, he replied, seeing the disappointment in Chanyeol's eyes.

Actually, it was all just stupid; he didn’t know this guy. What if he, in spite of everything, really was the psychotic dude who had sent those violent threats? If that was the case, Jongdae clearly would not want to have anything to do with him, no matter how charming he might have seemed. But Chanyeol did come off as trustable. His tone was sincere, his body language not akin to a liar’s, with the steady gaze, relaxed posture and the smiling. He might just have been at the wrong place, like Jongdae had thought when Sehun had suggested otherwise. But then again, he had been committing a crime. Maybe not something to get him detained, but still bad enough for, well...

It finally dawned on Jongdae what exactly was going on. Chanyeol did not want them to take his licence. Maybe he wasn’t the man with the e-mails, but he knew he could face serious punishment anyway. The smiles, the compliments, the smarmy behaviour... Perhaps it was just manipulation. Jongdae was not the one making decisions here; it was Chanyeol. And he had been conducting the interrogation well this far.

Never mind Jongdae’s fantasies, this was by far the most embarrassing thing of all. How would Sehun respect him as a senior officer when he was easily toyed with like this?

Automatically, Jongdae shifted his gaze towards the window. Of course, he could not see Sehun, as it was a one-way mirror, but he hoped Sehun could see the desperation in his face, maybe even be able to help him...

Chanyeol seemed to follow his gaze.

“Someone’s watching us from there, huh? Is it that co-worker of yours? The one who drove me here? The one who was worried about you?”

He sounded a little annoyed, and Jongdae felt a bit embarrassed knowing he had overheard their conversation back on the road. He tried to ignore Chanyeol’s remarks, focussing on questioning the other instead. Gaining back the control he never had to begin with.

“Do you have any opinions on the government?” he asked, as a last, desperate, attempt. There were no interrogation skills to be spoken about anymore. He was being completely transparent.

“The... huh?” Chanyeol raised his eyebrows. “Do you want to know how I voted, because I thought it was my right as a citizen to keep that information to myself...”

“Just answer my question. Look into my eyes and tell me”, Jongdae said, copying Chanyeol's words from before.

“I... well, I don’t know... I don’t really understand your question. Like, they’re okay I guess? I suppose it’s a good change from corruption, or, well. To be honest, I don’t really follow politics...”

Once again, Chanyeol’s reply seemed genuine. Could this person really be that manipulative?

“Why is that relevant?”

But could he really be so clueless?

“Never mind”, Jongdae answered. It was hard, they were not supposed to let anyone know of the case but he was still expected to carry out an interrogation.

He finally let go of Chanyeol's hand to shuffle through his notes. Somehow, he was already missing the warmth of it.

“So, a recap: You were speeding, for fun, on your way home from work. You admit that?”

“Yeah, well. I guess.”

Jongdae raised an eyebrow but continued nonetheless.

“You saw me beginning to chase you, and instead of slowing down to a stop you continued to drive with the intention to evade arrest?”

“Yes.”

“Even though you were aware that you put everyone on the road, including yourself, in danger by doing so?” Jongdae stared pointedly at Chanyeol, trying not to let his nervousness betray him.

“Uh, no, I... I didn’t see it that way. Didn’t think of the consequences. I was confident enough of my driving not to think I would cause any trouble”, Chanyeol admitted. Jongdae noticed his gaze flickering a little bit, not seeming as sure of himself anymore. At least for a moment.

Because, a few seconds later, Chanyeol reached with his right hand towards Jongdae’s face, brushing his fingers lightly along his cheekbone. Jongdae drew in a sharp breath, once again feeling his face burn.

“Sorry, you had a hair...” Chanyeol said, at least having the decency to look a little bashful.

Maybe this was another part in Chanyeol’s scheme. An action to distract Jongdae from reaching the conclusion Chanyeol didn’t want him to reach. He had been speeding dangerously, driving recklessly for no valid reason, he had fled an officer and put everyone on a populated highway at risk. Something like this usually warranted a revoked licence.

Jongdae cleared his throat.

“Today, at 9:15, you were at work, and not at that internet café I showed you?”

“What? No! Sir, I can promise you I was at work.”

“Fine. So, Cha-, Park Chanyeol,” Jongdae began, correcting himself immediately, but judging by Chanyeol’s small grin he had caught the slip of the tongue. “I think we’re done here for now. You will keep being detained until a verdict has been reached, which I don’t believe will take too long, but be aware that if we find anything that contradicts your statements we will keep you here for as long as it takes for you to admit it. It might call for another interrogation, this time with professionals.”

In fact, Jongdae had no idea how long it would take to reach a verdict. In his opinion it seemed pretty clear that Chanyeol hadn’t been the one to send the e-mails but he did not have any hard proof for it yet. And besides, there was no one else being suspected right now.

“Okay, I guess... Wait, you’re not a professional?”

“Well, not really”, Jongdae said with a shrug, “I’m just an officer, not an interrogator. Which I think was made obvious.”

“But...”

“I do it sometimes, for more casual interrogations. I don’t do it with, well, the prime suspects for murders or the like.”

“So I’m not being suspected for a murder? That’s good to know. But what am I being held for?” Chanyeol asked, and Jongdae froze. He had caught on. Why had Jongdae felt the need to tell him about his job to begin with?

“Sorry, I can’t tell you”, he finally uttered, giving Chanyeol an apologetic smile. “If you really did it, I won’t need to anyway.”

He turned off the recorder and began gathering his papers. Rising from his chair, Jongdae started walking towards the exit.

“The guards will take care of you when I’ve left.”

“Ah- but- Jongdae!” Chanyeol exclaimed, and Jongdae turned around, shocked. Chanyeol looked a little surprised, too. Like he hadn’t meant to say it.

“Wh-“ Jongdae started, but quieted down, having lost the ability to form coherent words. The name had rolled off of Chanyeol’s tongue so naturally.

“I, uh, sorry. I heard it from that kid, he called you that. I just wanted to say that, whatever you think I did, I didn’t do it... Trust me.”

Jongdae nodded, not knowing what to reply. The imploring look in Chanyeol’s eyes made his knees feel weak. Those icy blue, bespectacled eyes.

Just as Jongdae was about to push down the door handle, he realised something.

“Wait... You weren’t wearing any glasses while driving...” he began, shifting his gaze towards Chanyeol suspiciously.

“No... I was just messing with you. I don’t need these”, Chanyeol took off his sunglasses and pointed towards his eyes, “I wear contacts.”

“I can’t believe you”, Jongdae let out, sighing frustratedly before leaving, slamming the door behind him.

 

Jongdae was surprised not to find Sehun anywhere once he was out of the oppressive air of the interrogation room. Instead of searching the entire floor for him, he went back to his office to gather his thoughts. It was a relief not being able to see Sehun yet; Jongdae felt it would be hard to even look at the other after what he had supposedly witnessed. But not long after that Sehun entered the office, looking a bit dishevelled.

“I’m sorry!” he said, once he noticed Jongdae acknowledging his presence.

“Huh?”

“I had to leave early, there was a really important phone call I couldn’t ignore. I trusted you to handle everything.”

Sehun looked very regretful.

“You... what? When?” Jongdae was not angry, just surprised. There had been guards standing outside the door of the room, but they could not see or hear anything. If Chanyeol had seemed aggressive they would have accompanied him into the room, but it hadn’t seemed necessary. And since they had both a camera and a sound recorder in the room there was not really a need for Sehun to watch. It was just standard procedure.

“Well, I heard something important, at least. He confessed to having been speeding for fun and fleeing to avoid arrest. After that, I disappeared.”

If that was the case, Sehun had not been present during the most bothersome parts. Jongdae felt his heart rate slow down to a much healthier pace for the first time that afternoon.

“So how did it go?”

“He was being a nuisance.”

“He seemed the type”, Sehun agreed, “he even called me ‘kid’ in the car...”

Jongdae was not surprised that Sehun hadn’t taken that well.

“You didn’t have to take it upon yourself.”

“I wanted to”, Jongdae said persistently. “Anyway, he didn’t seem like the suspect...”

“Oh, that’s what I was gonna say. He isn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“The phone call”, Sehun said. “They told me they’ve caught the real guy. They managed to track him down, and he’s confessed and everything.”

Jongdae raised his eyebrows.

“They have?!”

“Yeah. I should have told you sooner, but you know. I was busy. I hurried towards the interrogation room as soon as I could but then you were gone”, Sehun admitted.

“We detained him for nothing”, Jongdae complained, realising there had been no need to interrogate Chanyeol at all. He could have been spared from all of it.

“Well, at least we’ll know what to do with him now”, Sehun said with a shrug.

 

The decision was not something Jongdae could reach on his own, but he definitely influenced it. He was lucky to only have to play the relevant parts of the interrogation to the others; the ones where Chanyeol explained his actions and not the ones where he complimented Jongdae in the strangest of ways. As annoyed as Jongdae had been by Chanyeol’s behaviour, he was still relieved that the other had been speaking the truth. It meant Jongdae’s instincts about the guy hadn’t failed him. Perhaps there was something small inside of Jongdae that desperately did not want Chanyeol to be the lunatic behind the threats for utterly, embarrassingly, personal reasons.

 

Later that afternoon, after the decision was finalised, Jongdae made his way towards the room in which Chanyeol was being detained. Just like earlier, this was not something he had to do, but he somehow felt like it would be wrong otherwise. He had started it, now he was ending it. If he caught Chanyeol, then he was also the one setting him free.

“Hi”, Jongdae breathed out upon entering the room, spotting Chanyeol sitting on a chair.

“Oh, it’s you”, the other said, giving Jongdae a feeling of déjà-vu. Still, he could not tell if it was a positive or negative reaction.

“It’s time to go”, Jongdae said, motioning towards the door he’d just come from. Chanyeol stood up.

“Really?” he said with a smile. “About time.”

Standing beside him, the height difference made Jongdae feel a bit nervous. It had been more even when they were both sitting down in front of each other.

“You are charged for speeding, reckless driving, and unlawful fleeing of an officer to elude arrest. You’ll have to pay a fine. The guards will take you there.”

Chanyeol nodded. Then, he stared at Jongdae, looking bewildered.

“Wait, you’re letting me keep my licence?”

Jongdae nodded, not daring to look Chanyeol in the eyes.

“It’s your first offence, so... But it’s in your records now. I can guarantee you you won’t get to keep it if this happens again”, he spoke towards the wall.

“I, uh... thank you?” Chanyeol uttered, sounding unsure. Jongdae nodded.

“I’ll see you”, he said awkwardly, and with that, he left.

 

 

The following weeks Jongdae was still being haunted by the memory of that particular day. Both the chase, and its exhilarating feeling he had somehow been waiting to experience again, and the poorly conducted interrogation were replaying in his head when he’d least expect it. Of course, Jongdae had cleared the memory of the tape recorder, so that no mortal could ever hear what had gone down. As for the camera recording, those things were usually supposed to be archived, but overcome with shame Jongdae had deleted it as well. He had almost wanted to produce it into a roll of film so that he could ceremoniously burn it. Instead, he saved it onto his personal laptop before deleting it from the camera forever.

He thought a lot about Chanyeol, the person who had let him experience something long forgotten. Even though he had turned out to just be another guy on the motorway going too fast (and not the suspected individual, to Jongdae’s relief), there was still something intriguing about him. For some inexplicable reason. Jongdae would look back on the interrogation feeling both excited and ashamed. The worst thing of all was the fact that he now knew Sehun had left after a short time, meaning that he really had had the chance to do something reckless. Nobody would have noticed if the two of them used the room briefly for something else, and Jongdae could have turned off the camera and tape recorder at will. Of course, he did not expect Chanyeol to feel the same, and he would never had done something like that for real. But it was the only thing to appear when he let his mind wander. Such thoughts ended up making Jongdae even more ashamed. He was a disgrace to his occupation.

Jongdae also thought a lot about whether or not he did the right thing, letting Chanyeol off so easily. Of course, the other ended up having to pay a considerable amount for his actions, but he had still succeeded in what he wanted: he had not lost his licence. Had Jongdae really fulfilled his job as a police officer? What if he had acted just like Chanyeol had predicted, what if he only had been a piece in his game? Everything Chanyeol had done could have been part of his manipulation. And Jongdae had fallen for it.

On the other hand, perhaps he had been too tough. After all, Jongdae was the same as Chanyeol. He loved riding his bike, the freeing sensation of taking the road by storm, going at a speed high enough to make the average person feel dizzy. He enjoyed all of it. And as he was a cop, it was something he could do with only the vaguest of reasons, without facing any consequences for it. Perhaps he was being a hypocrite, judging people for something he loved doing as well. Or perhaps that was just a result of Chanyeol managing to beguile him.

 

 

About a month after that eventful day, Jongdae was on his way home after having been shopping for groceries. It was fairly late in the evening, and therefore already dark outside, which did not seem to trouble people at all as the city streets were crowded as usual. So crowded he almost bumped into someone he vaguely recognised.

He had been talking loudly to a friend beside him, but quieted down once he spotted Jongdae in front of him. Then it was awkward for a few seconds. Jongdae noticed his black roots were now showing in his silver hair, but he was still wearing those obnoxious tinted glasses in spite of the evening darkness.

“Hello, sir”, Chanyeol finally greeted after his shorter friend had given them both questioning glances.

“No need to ‘sir’ me, I’m not at work”, Jongdae replied. He noticed both Chanyeol and his friend seemed to be dressed for clubbing, but then he remembered how Chanyeol had looked that day he saw him the first time; maybe that was just how he normally dressed.

“Ah, this is, uh... Jongdae?” Chanyeol began, turning towards his friend who was still staring them down questioningly.

“Kim Jongdae”, the mentioned helped.

“Kim Jongdae. He’s the, y’know. The cop I told you about.”

The friend grinned understandingly.

“Byun Baekhyun”, he said with a bow. He was about Jongdae’s height, with light brown hair and matching contacts in his kohl-framed eyes. It made Jongdae briefly wonder if coloured contacts were part of the dress code in Chanyeol’s friend circle.

“Uh, yeah. We got to know each other pretty well that time, didn’t we?” Chanyeol said awkwardly. It ended up sounding vaguely suggestive, which did not escape his friend, judging by his grin getting wider.

“You did wrong in locking him up”, said friend - Baekhyun - exclaimed while pointing rudely at Jongdae, “he’s never done anything bad in his entire life. He wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”

“Well”, Chanyeol said, scratching the back of his head. Jongdae did not really know what to answer. He had been breaking the traffic laws, after all.

“Whatever you suspected him for, it obviously wasn’t him. You know, one time”, Baekhyun continued, stifling a laugh, “he saw a duckling on the road, it had been separated from its mother, so he stopped in the middle of the road to help it-“

“Alright, that’s enough”, Chanyeol interrupted, looking extremely flustered. Perhaps it was a blow to his cool image, but Jongdae couldn’t help but suddenly feel at ease. If Chanyeol wasn’t a bad or manipulative person, maybe he had done the right thing letting him off the hook after all.

“Anyway, we gotta go”, Chanyeol excused himself, “I’ll see you around?”

Jongdae nodded, and watched as Chanyeol almost dragged a still grinning Baekhyun with him, going in the same direction as the one Jongdae was heading for. To not make things even more awkward, Jongdae waited for a few seconds before starting to walk, a couple of metres behind them.

“I don’t get it at all, did you see his haircut? Looks like he fell asleep in the 80s and never woke up”, Baekhyun immediately started babbling, seemingly not realising Jongdae still could hear them.

“You had a similar one last year, though”, Chanyeol argued.

“Yes, exactly, last year. It’s not in anymore. Honestly, I can’t see why you think he’s so hot.”

Jongdae’s stomach jumped.

“Shh”, Chanyeol frantically sounded, but it was too late. “You can’t say that, he might still hear you!”

“What’s he gonna do, arrest me?” Baekhyun joked, and Jongdae decided to act fast. Making up his mind in seconds, he thought that sometimes, it was good being a bit reckless. Chanyeol obviously knew how to take risks, so maybe he should take a leaf out of his book.

Jongdae sped up, closing the few metres of distance between them in no time. Appearing beside them, he saw Baekhyun’s smile drop. In fact, both of them seemed a bit nervous, knowing he had probably heard them. Somehow, it made Jongdae gain more confidence.

Looking straight into Chanyeol's eyes, he started speaking.

“Hey, Chanyeol, didn’t you say you were free Monday evenings...?”

 

 

 

a/n: the (long) title is a line from tempo (that jongdae sings!) and i've also sneaked in more lines in the fic. i really like that song.
the case in this (about important people receiving threats, and the police mistakenly chasing someone committing a minor crime at the wrong time and place) was actually a big thing that happened where i live pretty recently. so i was partly inspired by that as well.

thank you for reading!