03.30 A.M.

Ringgggg

Kyuhyun groaned while feeling his hand around on the bedside table looking for his phone. He answered the call sleepily without checking the screen.

"—ello…?

"K-Kyuhyun…"

He was wide awake within a second at the grave tone of the caller. He got up and the lamp while focusing on the call.

"Hyukjae? What happened?"

"Kyuhyun… Hae-ah… He…"

There was a short period of silence followed by a quiet sob.

"He is dead."

*****************************************

03.45 A.M.

Kyuhyun stepped out of his car into a freezing night. A white mist came out along with his breath as he strode towards a crowd of people in a police uniform. Some officer noticed him and gave him a salute.

"Inspector Cho, Sir!"

"What happened? Where is Hyukjae?"

"Sir, Officer Lee Hyukjae is currently having his wound treated at the ambulance. As for the situation, around half-past two, the station received a report from Office Lee Hyukjae that he saw a suspicious man in an alley. He and Officer Lee Donghae chased after the man to District Nine where they had a run-in with the culprit. According to Officer Lee Hyukjae's testimony, the culprit started the gunfight after he was cornered and shot them. Officer Lee Donghae was shot three times; two at his stomach and one at his left chest, possibly the cause of death. Officer Lee Hyukjae was shot at his upper left arm but the bullet only grazed his skin. After calling for a backup and ambulance, Officer Lee Hyukjae chased after the culprit but got ambushed. The culprit knocked Officer Lee Hyukjae out by hitting his head with a rock and got away. Then, the backup arrived here at ten past three but Officer Lee Donghae had already passed away…"

"I see, thank you. Have you already spread out the force to search around the area and look for any witnesses?"

"We did, Sir, but we found nothing so far."

Kyuhyun swept his gaze around the crime scene. Not only is it a deserted area with no sign of houses, but it is also completely dark out here without any street lights. Right now, the policemen relied on a small beam of a flashlight to search through the ground, although he doubted they could find anything in this condition.

"Halt the search for now but keep patrolling. Focus on asking around and find if any homeless people live in the area. Then, I'll personally check around the crime scene tomorrow and call in the team later."

"Yes, Sir!"

Kyuhyun nodded at the officer and strode towards the ambulance where his friend was sitting with his head hanging low. There was a blood-stained bandage on his upper left arm and around his head.

"Hyukjae."

The man slowly raised his head up. Then, after seeing Kyuhyun, tears quickly formed in his tired eyes as he broke down into a pitiful sob.

"K-Kyuhyun, Hae-ah… because of me… It's my fault! I'm his patrol partner, I should've protected him! N-Now he is gone… because of me…"

"Hyukjae, I'm sorry… I promise I'll catch the culprit for you and Donghae. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Y-Yes," Hyukjae used his arm to brush his tears away, "I guess you probably know most details from the officer, right? What else do you want to know then?"

"First and foremost, why did you two chase after them?"

"Right… So, we were patrolling the main street as usual. Hae-ah saw a suspicious person in the back alley. At first, we tried to approach him peacefully but he ran away. The rest of the story is as you know."

"Did you see his face?"

"No, it was too dark. Though I can tell that he's taller than us, probably as tall as you, and looks like a white young man."

Hyukjae grabbed the inspector's hands and looked at him with a tearful gaze.

"Promise me that you'll catch the culprit."

"Don't worry. You two, along with Ryeowook, are my closest friends. I'll never let whoever responsible for this get away unpunished. For now, you should go to the hospital and have that head injury checked."

"I will. Kyuhyun, thank you."

The injured officer forced a weak smile at his friend. Then, Hyukjae went with the medic team to the hospital while Kyuhyun sent him off with a worried gaze. The young inspector looked up at the night sky and sighed.

White snow slowly fell down from the moonless sky, freezing everything it touched with its cold embrace.

******************************

09.45 A.M.

Kyuhyun arrived at the crime scene to look for clues. Last night, he told the officers to patrol the area but left the crime scene alone. He always preferred working alone because he needed to focus. He searched around the ground first and clenched his fists after seeing a bloodstain on the dirt ground. Donghae is a good friend and good officer. He didn't deserve to die like this. He shook his head to chase out personal feelings. He needed a sharp mind if he wanted to find the culprit.

Around dawn, the autopsy of Donghae's body was conducted by Ryeowook; their forensic pathologist who cried his eyes out for almost ten minutes before he was able to cut open the body of what was once their friend. Kyuhyun was there too to observe everything (and kept an eye on Ryeowook just in case he fainted). The autopsy told them that Donghae's cause of death was internal bleeding by a bullet wound that pierced through his left ventricle. They also found out that the fatal wound happened before the other two shots at his stomach. Either the culprit was really skilled or really lucky. There was no other injury so it aligned with Hyukjae's testimony that they only engaged in a gunfight. They also found a trace of gunpowder on Donghae's hand and the three bullets inside him. However, the bullets would be useless if they couldn't find a gun to pair up with. In conclusion, the autopsy did nothing much except confirming Hyukjae's testimony.

That's why he came here to look for the clues himself.

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After searching around the area, Kyuhyun found four bullets on the ground a bit far away from where his friend died. They were probably shot by the two police officers during the gunfire. He picked them up after wearing gloves and dropped them in an evidence bag for inspection later. Then, he continued to look around, even went as far as checking the bank next to the Han River, but found nothing noteworthy. So, he turned his attention to the next searching area— an abandoned house not far from the crime scene. Last night, it was too dark so he didn't notice it. It was a rundown, one-story wooden house that seemed to have gone through many seasons. He searched around the outside first but found nothing, so he got inside the house.

Kyuhyun carefully pushed the old door open and cringed at the slight squeaky noise the rusty hinge made. Tiptoeing inside, he walked with his back facing the worn-out wall while scanning the house. He took his gun out just in case while stepping further inside. He stepped into the living room bare of furniture and moved to the next room after finding nothing. He headed to the bedroom and adjacent bathroom next but also found nothing—

Thud.

Kyuhyun's ears instantly picked up the noise from the kitchen, the only room he hadn't checked yet. Gripping his weapon firmer, he carefully tiptoed into the dusty kitchen full of spiderwebs. There was no one in the room but the door connected to the backyard was left open. Instead of checking the backyard, Kyuhyun observed the kitchen first and quietly sneered after he saw footprints on the dusty floor leading to an old large refrigerator, its door was left open ajar.

"My gun is pointing at the fridge now. Don't do something stupid and show yourself!"

"Ah! Don't shoot me!! I don't want to die a !!!"

A charming baritone voice came from the fridge. Then, the fridge door slowly opened and a man crawled out of it to kneel down on the floor. Kyuhyun punched himself in his head when the first thing he noticed about the stranger was how cute he is (and totally his type). The cute guy who was smiling at him sheepishly seemed to be around his age. He wore a simple, white long-sleeved shirt with black trousers and sneakers. He had short black hair perfectly framing his oval face. His dark brows tied into a knot while his dark eyes stared at him with puppy eyes. His small nose and chubby cheeks were stained by grey dust and spiderwebs probably from hiding in the fridge. His rosy full lips pouted adorably as the man begged him, his magnetic voice causing Kyuhyun's heart to skip a beat.

"Inspector Cho, please, I beg of you, don't hurt me! I've never been on a date before nor have I dated anyone. I don't even have my first kiss yet despite turning thirty this year! Please, you have to let me live! I still have to continue my journey in search of my true love and first kiss and amazing and a happy family and my own happy ending! You're a genius guy since you saw through my trick so you should know that killing me won't benefit you righ—"

"Shut up! Who the hell are you, what businesses do you have here, and how did you know my name?"

"Oh, where is my manner! Normally, this is where I stand up and bow gracefully at you while introducing myself but I guess I'm not in a position to do that? What a shame! My family has always taught me the importance of poise and manner. Did you know that our family's motto is 'Manners Maketh Men'? And I was forced to remember it since I was—"

"Do you really want to become a ghost?"

"I-I'm Kim Jongwoon and I'm just your average innocent homeless man! I saw your inspector badge on the belt. Plus, there is only one inspector in the city who is this young and you're quite famous so I know who you are!"

Kyuhyun swept his gaze up and down the stranger's slim body (and ignored the way his brain temporarily focused at the slim thighs). Although Jongwoon's clothes were a bit dirty, they looked too good to be something a homeless person would wear. Most importantly, his skin looked so smooth and flawless as if he had never faced any difficulty before in his life. Jongwoon definitely isn't a homeless man.

"—Though I can tell that he's taller than us, probably as tall as you, and looks like a white young man."

The suspect! Kim Jongwoon is the suspect!

"Lie down on your stomach with your hands on the back of your head, now!"

"Wha!!?" Jongwoon blushed slightly, "isn't that too fast? Shouldn't we go on a date or two fi— ouch!"

Annoyed by the neverending chatting, Kyuhyun decided to take the matter into his hands. He kicked the stranger's flank and sent him flying to the floor. While Jongwoon was whining in pain, Kyuhyun sat down on the man, held his small wrists behind his back, and handcuffed him.

"Christ, Inspector Cho, is this your kink? I mean, I'm very open about even though I never have one yet. But don't you think you've skipped too many steps? We should hold hands and kiss first before—"

"You're going to the police station with me, Kim Jongwoon."

"What?" Jongwoon's face suddenly turned pale, "no! Anywhere but police stations! T-That's right! There is a motel not far from here! Although it's in a bad condition, it's still far better than the police sta— ah!"

Jongwoon yelped when the inspector picked him up and slung him on his wide shoulder like a potato sack before leaving the house. He was quietly appreciating his handler's amazing behind when something smacked his own bottom.

"Inspector Cho! You touch my !!"

"You were too quiet. It can only mean that you were looking at somewhere inappropriate so you deserve it."

"Staring is different from touching! You must take responsibility and take me out on a date now!"

"You're so noisy."

Kyuhyun slapped the soft and round meat again to shut Jongwoon up.

************************************

10.47 A.M.

"Get out of the car. We've arrived at the police station."

"Nope. You beat me to a pulp that I can barely lift my limbs! If you want me to get out then do it yourself."

Kyuhyun groaned and slapped his forehead. This guy is so annoying! During the ride to the station, Jongwoon didn't stop chatting at all and kept demanding a date from him for "ually harassing" and "kidnapping". Like hell he did any of that! (Okay, he did hit that soft bottom a few times and squeezed it once but that was because Jongwoon didn't cooperate with him!) He glared at the black-haired man who had the nerve to pout cutely at him despite being suspected of murdering a police officer.

A suspect, huh…?

Kyuhyun glanced at Jongwoon who was now complaining about cramps in his arms. He started to suspect that Jongwoon isn't a culprit. He didn't reach this conclusion because he was attracted to the cute guy (believe him). Rather, it was his detective sense that told him that. On their way to the station, Jongwoon kept talking non-stop but not even a single word revealed who he was. If anything, it was Kyuhyun himself who almost revealed more than he was supposed to. Jongwoon knew how to talk and act to get the information he wanted. He definitely isn't an ordinary person but he isn't the culprit…

What an intriguing man…

Kyuhyun kept his interest in the man hidden while slinging Jongwoon over his shoulder again, and slapping Jongwoon's bottom when the man complained about being manhandled.

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"Kyuhyun? Who is this guy?"

"A weird guy I found at the crime scene."

"Yep! 'Tis I, a fine gentleman kidnapped by Inspector Cho because he couldn't resist my charm. Ah, the sin of my beauty!"

"Should I call a mental institution?"

Kyuhyun stopped Ryeowook before the man called a mental institution for real.

"Don't be fooled by his nonsense rambling. He isn't an ordinary person."

"Then who is he? What did he do at the crime scene? Unless he—"

"I'm not responsible for what happened to Officer Lee Donghae but I can help you find the one who did."

Jongwoon cut them. Both men turned to look at the black-haired man in surprise. Then, Kyuhyun cursed when he saw his badge in that small hand. He looked at his belt and found out that the badge had indeed gone. That cheeky guy probably stole it when Kyuhyun was carrying him. Damn it, he shouldn't have taken off the handcuff!

"So?" Jongwoon threw the badge up and caught it, "need my help?"

Ryeowook banged his fist on a table, "stop spitting bull! You're just trying to get out of trouble!"

"Pfft, if I want to do that, I probably won't be here in the first place. No offense though, Inspect Cho."

"Kyuhyun! Just throw him in the jail!"

"Wait, what do you mean by that?"

Kyuhyun ignored the furious Ryeowook. He did meet Jongwoon at the crime scene so he might know something.

Jongwoon smirked, "Oh? So, you want my help? Hmm~ I see! Inspector Cho, if you let me keep your badge as a souvenir then I'll help you!"

Kyuhyun nodded impatiently, "anything, just stop beating around the bush."

"Aye aye~" Jongwoon put the badge in his left shirt pocket, "well, you see…"

Bang!

"Kyuhyun! Is it true that you caught the culprit!!?"

Kyuhyun and Ryeowook turned around to see Hyukjae panting by the door to the interrogation room. The policeman still had a bandage around his left arm and head, but his complexion had improved a lot within a night.

"Ryeowook, did you call him?"

"Of course!" Ryeowook fumed, "Hyukjae deserves to know it."

"So? Kyuhyun? You got the culprit?"

Hyukjae strode into the room and noticed the black-haired man sitting at the table. Kyuhyun kept a close eye on Jongwoon's reaction but those beautiful dark eyes showed nothing. He couldn't tell whether Jongwoon recognized Hyukjae or not. So, he decided to ask his friend instead.

"Hyukjae, have you seen this man before?"

Hyukjae snapped out of his trance, "no, I mean, I'm not sure… It was really dark last night… Who is this guy?"

"He is—"

"I know where the bullet is."

Jongwoon once again cut them in. His statement shocked everyone to the core, especially Hyukjae.

"W-What do you mean? A bullet…?"

"Yep, a bullet. I told you, right? I'm a homeless guy and I lived in that abandoned house. This morning, I went home and saw a bunch of policemen around my house, so I knew that something bad happened. I snuck around to avoid them and got into my house. I found a bullet in the kitchen while I was checking my house. If I recall correctly… There is a bloodstain on the bullet too. That should help you with the case, right?"

Jongwoon said while playing with his bang in boredom, unlike the three policemen who were rendered speechless. They had already found all three bullets in Donghae's body so this bullet could be the one that hit the culprit! If they tested the blood on the bullet, they might have more chances of finding them!

"Where is the bullet?"

"It's still at the house. I was thinking of throwing it away because it might bring bad luck to me, but then you barged in and kidnapped me here."

Jongwoon replied and flopped down on the table while the three men discussed their plans.

"Kyuhyun, I'll go with you. I must bring justice to Hae-ah with my own hands."

"No, Hyukjae, go home and sleep. I know just looking at your face. You didn't have any wink of sleep yet, right?"

"But…"

"You know what? Kyuhyun is right. You need to rest, Hyukjae."

With both Kyuhyun and Ryeowook saying that, Hyukjae couldn't win against them. So, the injured officer sighed in defeat and obediently left; but not before chuckling weakly at Ryeowook's "eat something that isn't instant noodles!"

"Now, you," Kyuhyun looked at the black-haired man, "come with me to that house. Don't forget that you're still on a suspect list."

"Suspect, suspect!" Jongwoon pouted, "I have a name, you know!!? Also, I'm not a suspect because I can prove that I wasn't at the crime scene when it happened. I was at Mouse and Rabbit Cafe at District Seven!"

"Bull," Ryeowook scoffed.

"Later. We must go get the bullet first."

"I'm not going!" Jongwoon pouted harder while crossing his arms on his chest, "how can I leave my precious life in your hands when you don't trust me? Let's go to the cafe first to prove my innocence! Besides, the crime scene is packed with police patrols so it's not like someone will get the bullet before us."

"Oh! For God's sake, Kyuhyun, tell me that you won't listen to this idiot, right?"

Theoretically, he should go straight to the crime scene and get the evidence. However, his detective sense and his heart told him otherwise…

"... That cafe is on the way to the crime scene anyway so it's fine if we stop there."

"Kyuhyun!" Ryeowook shouted angrily, "are you out of mind!!?"

"No, believe me, Ryeowook, we did the right thing."

"What right thi—"

"Ahem," Jongwoon faked a cough, "I'll wait for you in the hallway then."

Ryeowook openly glared at the black-haired man in hostility while the man walked out of the room whistling happily. Then, the forensic pathologist warned his friend with caution obvious in his tone.

"Kyuhyun, I have a bad feeling about that Jongwoon guy. I know he's your type and that you're attracted to him, but don't let it cloud your judgment."

"Thank you for the warning, Ryeowook, but I'll be fine."

Kyuhyun tapped his friend's shoulder to reassure him before going after the weird guy. Stepping out into the hallway, he saw Jongwoon staring at a vending machine in awe. Those black orbs sparkled so brightly with curiosity as his small hands kept touching the glass panel displaying various drinks.

"Inspector Cho, give me some money! I want to buy a drink from this amazing machine!"

"What? You act like you've never used it before."

"How can this poor me have money to do that? Don't forget that I'm just your typical homeless guy!"

Although he didn't buy the homeless bull, Kyuhyun found himself shaking his head fondly and inserting a bill into the vending machine. Jongwoon's eyes lit up almost at the same time the buttons lit up. After thinking for a while, the slender finger finally pressed one button and the drink dropped to the receiving compartment.

"A tomato juice?"

"Yep! It's good for your health and skin!"

Jongwoon pulled the shirt collar sideways to reveal his milky collarbone before winking at the inspector.

"Wouldn't you agree so?"

"... Hurry up and let's go. We've already wasted a lot of time."

Kyuhyun quickly averted his eyes from the temping skin before his mind supplied him with useless ideas. He walked ahead of the weird guy while trying his best to ignore the charming giggle behind him.

Even though his heart didn't cooperate with him at all.

*************************************

11.43 A.M.

"Get out of the car. Do you want to be carried like a potato sack again?"

"But it's so cold outside… Look! I can barely lift my hands to open my tomato juice!"

Kyuhyun sighed in annoyance looking at Jongwoon's pout. However, his iron heart melted down at the sight of the lithe man hugging himself against the winter wind. Jongwoon only wore one layer of a simple shirt without anything underneath (don't think about that milky skin), no wonder those shivering red lips kept complaining non-stop. Sighing again, Kyuhyun took off his earthy-brown overcoat and draped it around the black-haired man's slim figure.

"Inspector Cho…"

"I still have my sweater and shirt so I'll be fine."

"I see~" Jongwoon checked the overcoat, "by the way, is this the famous YS brand?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Nothing~"

Nodding enthusiastically, Jongwoon happily put on the overcoat and pulled it tighter around himself. He then put the tomato juice in the overcoat inner pocket and smiled sweetly at the taller man.

"Inspector Cho,"

"What now?"

"Thank you, truly."

Ba-dump

"It's nothing. Let's go."

Kyuhyun spun around on his heels and stepped into the cafe first. At the same time, he was having a hard time trying to calm his erratic heartbeat that wouldn't stop acting up ever since he saw Jongwoon's beautiful smile.

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"Oh my, young ma—"

"That's right! This young man is here to enjoy your amazing cup of coffee again, auntie!"

The old lady looked slightly taken aback by Jongwoon's cheerful greeting, but soon smiled kindly at him after seeing the inspector who stood beside him.

"Of course, of course! Come on in, gentlemen, I'll prepare a cup of tea to warm you two up!"

"Thank you for your kind offer, ma'am, but I'm afraid we don't have time for that. May I check the security camera from last night?"

"Of course, please follow me, dear inspector."

Kyuhyun followed the lady owner into the backroom while Jongwoon casually poured a cup of tea for himself. He eyed the black-haired man who settled down on a comfortable sofa with suspicion. This cafe is located in District Seven which is known as the upper-class area of the city. What businesses did a self-proclaimed homeless guy like Jongwoon have here?

"Here, inspector, this is the footage from last night."

Kyuhyun smiled politely at the old lady and played the footage. The red number at the lower right corner indicated the time at two in the morning, thirty minutes before the crime. The camera caught Jongwoon who wore the same outfit sitting in a seat in the middle of the cafe. He was reading a book with a cup of drink in front of him. There were three other customers in the cafe that caught Kyuhyun's attention: one black-haired man whose beauty surpassed even some famous actress, one black-haired big-build man with a witty look, and one light brown-haired man with a worried look. They got his attention because of the way they sat, each person sitting at each corner and creating a perfect triangle surrounding Jongwoon…

Who exactly is Jongwoon?

Although he was really curious about it, Kyuhyun didn't forget his main concern and fast-forwarded the footage. Jongwoon barely moved except when he turned a page and occasionally took a sip of the drink. The other three customers, however, weren't as calm as Jongwoon. By the time the red number indicated four in the morning, two of the three customers had already fallen asleep on a table; while the last one kept switching between dozing off and waking up with a start. It was only when the time reached four fifty that Jongwoon finally left the cafe, followed by the other three customers who left the place ten minutes after Jongwoon…

Although he had more questions regarding Jongwoon's identity, at least it was clear now that Jongwoon is innocent.

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12.22 Noon

"Inspector Cho, I'm hungry! Let's go eat something~ I wanna eat ramyeon!"

"Are you intentionally slowing us down? No, no more detour."

"Ehh! But it's lunchtime now! Come on inspector Cho… How long does it take to have just a bowl of ramyeon? You should eat something too! I bet you haven't eaten or slept yet since last night! You won't be able to think clearly on an empty stomach!"

"Sigh… Fine. You said that you want ramyeon, right? I know a good place not far from here."

"No!" Jongwoon pouted, "I wanna eat your homemade ramyeon!"

"Kim Jongwoon…"

"Ah! You finally use my name! And stop looking at me like you want to strangle me! I didn't want something fancy, just normal instant noodles, but made by you! Inspector Cho, you should have some friends living around here, right?"

He did, in fact, have a friend living not far from here; Hyukjae lives in District Eight. Although it annoyed him to no end, seeing Jongwoon's happy smile did make him feel less upset. Actually, it made him smile unconsciously too.

He must have gone crazy.