Taemin sighed out happily as he climbed out of Kibum's car the next morning with a cappuccino in his hand.

“Oh, you should've seen it, Kibum! It was just so lovely!” The blonde said with another dreamy sigh, “he cooked so much food, and we kissed and cuddled all night...”

Kibum didn't want to be rude and say he didn't care, but actually, he really didn't. He was more than happy to not hear any more of this (since he had endured it the whole way to the station), and it was making him a bit gloomy.
He simply kept quiet as they walked into their workplace where everything was busy and bustling as usual.

“Ah, you two have arrived. Good. We're about to release the suspect's profile to the squad,” Jinki said; he had just left his office when the two walked in. They gave him confused glances, “they have one already?”
“Yes. Well, it's very bare and can definitely use a lot more fleshing out, but we have things we can work with, at least,” Jinki explained. Kibum and Taemin weren't the only ones shocked to hear there was already a profile waiting to be released - everyone else thought this was still a step far away in the distance since they had no real leads or clues. However, everybody thought the same thing; Jinki was desperate to get this murderer off the streets in case they struck again.

Kibum and Taemin sat in the large room designated for meetings with the whole squad; about fifty steel chairs, all in neat rows, faced the front where a whiteboard stood. In front of the whiteboard was a table, mainly used for when Jinki had evidence (like a sketch) to show the squad.

As expected, there were murmurs that filled the room as everyone waited to be addressed.

“I just think he's rushing it way too much. We don't have any leads on the suspect!” One of the traffic officers said. Kibum didn't see why 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 were worried - they weren't even involved.
“Of course he is. It's a murder, after all. Did you expect him to let it slide like it was a normal parking ticket?” The officer beside the traffic one muttered, and they continued their conversation as Kibum turned a deaf ear.
However, on the other side where Taemin said, Kibum knew conversation there wasn't going to be much better. Even though the constant talk about Minho was making him grumpy, he didn't want to snap at Taemin for it. It wasn't his fault he was so excited.

Luckily, Jinki walked in at just that moment, and with him came his regular air of superiority and seriousness that hushed the room immediately. He didn't have to say anything; his presence was commanding enough.
Kibum wondered why this was so - why was everyone so intimidated by Jinki if he had never yelled at anyone? Or suspended or fired anybody? He was only firm with his workers, but even then, he still sprinkled in encouragements like everyone was his children. Kibum guessed it was because of his near constant serious exterior.

“As I'm sure you are all aware, this case has taken top priority, even though it happened only a few days ago. We cannot take a crime like this lightly. And that is why we've already worked out a very simple profile for the suspect to hopefully narrow down the suspect pool when we eventually find one,” Jinki explained as he stood by the front of the room, his hands folded behind his back. His deep voice reached even the corners of the room, and no one dared to say anything while he spoke.
“But sir, if I may ask...” One of the quieter girls from forensics spoke up, “is it not too soon? We have no idea who the suspect could be,”
“That's a very good question. Yes, it's very soon. But just late last night, we received some damning evidence which helped boost this case and its progress,” Jinki grinned; it was the first time he had really done so while working this case.

The room burst into murmurs again. This time, they were excited ones.

“We received some footage from a nearby CCTV camera belonging to a store in the vicinity of the victim's house. They didn't catch the suspect's face, but they did manage to get a good look at his build and height. We can identify a lot from this alone,” Their leader said as he showed everyone the footage from the computer that was connected to a projector, the footage lining up perfectly with the whiteboard.

It showed the suspect walking very fast past the store; this was probably after Taemin lost him since he didn't seem to be in such a hurry. It was almost like he was trying to blend in as much as possible.

“Just from this, we can tell he's about 165 - 170 centimeters tall, of average build, and approximately around 20 to 30 years old. And definitely male, if anyone was unsure about that,” Jinki said as the video finished, and everyone hummed and murmured amongst themselves again.
Taemin stiffened beside Kibum.
His partner noticed this, but he didn't want to ask in case it was something silly like the blonde forgetting his phone in the fridge. It sounded outlandish, but Taemin had really done it before.

“Has anyone spoken to the shop owner for an interview? Maybe he saw the suspect's face somehow,” Someone chimed in.
“We asked, but he said it was so dark and early in the morning that he didn't take much note of the person passing by. He said he wouldn't have even noticed the suspect if he hadn't watched the news and heard the murder was in his neighborhood,” Jinki said with a shake of his head.
“Is this the only CCTV footage we have? Did anyone else manage to catch a glimpse of him?” Someone else chirped. This was how it usually went here in this room when there was a debriefing; everyone brainstorming and asking many, many questions. How Jinki had all the patience for it, Kibum really didn't know.
“Yes, this is the only CCTV footage we have right now. We're asking anyone around the neighborhood who has cameras set up if they saw anything odd,”

“What about asking people in other neighborhoods close to this one? Can't we just trace where he walked off to?”
“Unless we can be sure he continued in the south direction all the way from here, it might be a waste to try approaching a whole new neighborhood which might not have anything pertaining to the case,”
“Is there any way we could enhance the photo and get a look at his face? Even a little inch would help, surely,”
“He was smart enough to keep his head lowered so the camera couldn't get a view of his face,”
“How do we even know if this is the right guy? This could just be a normal thug. As far as we know, nothing was stolen from the house,”
“An excellent question. Since detective Lee Taemin was the one who tried to apprehend the fleeing suspect, why don't we ask him?”

All eyes were on Taemin now. His face tightened; his lips pressed together and his eyebrows dipped just a little bit. He soon parted his lips, and everyone anticipated his answer.

“Y-yes, I think that's the man I saw running...” He finally whispered. It seemed to take a physical toll on him to do so, as he slumped against his chair as soon as everyone went back to asking Jinki questions. This time, they seemed more eager than before.

“Hey, what's up? Shouldn't you be happy? You just about solved this case all on your own,” Kibum nudged him, unable to ignore his brain nagging him to ask Taemin about his unusual behavior.
“I would, but I think I know who this man is. Seeing this footage reminded me of what I forgot when I was being interviewed,” Taemin groaned, his one hand rubbing his forehead.
“What? We have to tell Jinki right now!”

“So you say you might have an idea about who this man is?” Jinki asked after the debriefing. Kibum was quick to approach him and tell him about Taemin's confession.
“Yes,” The blonde fiddled with his cup of water. He stared at it for a long, hard moment, but Jinki gave him the time to think. Kibum had to wait outside so that Taemin could think clearly - he was a witness, after all, and having his close friend hovering over him would only put him in distress.
“I know this man. I mean, I used to. We used to date. I think I couldn't comprehend it that morning when I was chasing him down, but seeing the footage, I think it's undeniable...” Taemin eventually spoke again, then took a long gulp of water that nearly emptied the little cup.
“Jonghyun. Kim Jonghyun. That's who I saw that morning. That's who I saw leaving Park Sooyoung's house, I'm sure of it!” Even as he cried this information out, it seemed to be painful for Taemin to say.
“But how can you be so sure?” Jinki asked, concern knitting his eyebrows.
“I know that jacket. He wore it all the time when we were together. And his build is exactly the same as back then. His height, too. I know his walk anywhere,” Taemin said as his eyebrows mirrored Jinki's; meeting in the middle of their foreheads.
“I heard the screaming, so I went over to the house. He was just coming from the back, but I couldn't see his face so well because it was dark. But I still got a little glimpse! I called out, and that's when he looked at me. I saw him. Then he ran, and I tried to chase him, but he was too fast, so I lost him,” The blonde explained, tapping his hands on the table with each end of a sentence to emphasize his point.
“I don't want to have to do this to him because a small part of me still loves him, but...” He grimaced before he gave out a defeated sigh as his head fell forward, “he took a life, and it's my duty to bring him to justice,”

Jinki stared at Taemin for a while longer before he stepped closer to the younger one, offering him another small polystyrene cup of water.
“You did well. I'm proud of you for coming forward with this. I can see it's hard for you,” He said in a soft, comforting, and encouraging voice, and Taemin glanced up with some tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe he was doing this to Jonghyun, but he had no other choice.
“Thanks,” The blonde whimpered before he gulped the cold water down again.

“So? What happened?” Kibum was simply dying to know as Jinki left his office. Taemin had headed straight for the bathrooms, clearly in a state, so Kibum guessed he needed a few minutes to calm himself down and freshen up before accepting comfort from his friend.
“He remembers who it was that he saw. An ex boyfriend of his. He said he got a good look at his face, even if it was just a glance. He's sure it was this Kim Jonghyun, so we'll go pick him up and hold him for his 72 hours so we can hear what he has to say,” Jinki said, a determined look in his eyes.

Kibum blinked once or twice - Jonghyun. Hadn't Taemin mentioned that name before? It seemed familiar...what if Taemin was remembering him as the suspect back then already? It would make sense why he was hesitant to speak up about it. If he still had feelings for Jonghyun, he definitely wouldn't want to get him in trouble. Maybe with the CCTV footage on display today, Taemin realized he had to confess instead of trying to keep this fact hidden. The blonde was always like a deer caught in headlights.

Kibum entered the men's bathroom where he saw Taemin splashing some water on his face.

“Hey, I came to check on you. I saw you weren't doing so well when you left Jinki's office,” The elder man said, leaning against the wall with his shoulder just beside the basins.
“Yeah, it was harder than I thought it'd be,” Taemin gave a dry chuckle as he dried his face with a paper towel, staring at himself in the mirror.

“It doesn't feel right, Kibum. To expose him like this...I don't know if I can go through with it...” The blonde whispered after a while, and he was quickly spun to face Kibum as the elder one grabbed his shoulders.
“What are you talking about? You're doing the right thing by coming forward!” He exclaimed, but Taemin only seemed to wither more.
“I know this is difficult, especially if you loved him once. But you broke up for a reason, remember? You have Minho now. Will you really protect a murderer?” Kibum demanded, and his partner sighed as he shook his head. He opened and closed his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, he nearly fell into the other one's arms for a hug.
“I just loved him so much. I-I thought we'd get married and everything! I never thought that...that we'd end up like this,” The blonde croaked out before he began to sob, “I got over him, but I never wanted things to turn out as cruel as this. I didn't know he could be a man like this,”
“Somehow, it made me feel better knowing he was okay out there. It brought me peace knowing that. Now, I...I'm the reason he won't be okay anymore,” The blonde hiccuped, and Kibum cupped his slightly chubby cheeks with a small smile.
“Even now, you're thinking of others instead of yourself. It's okay to be selfish sometimes,” Kibum murmured, wiping away his friend's tears. He knew his words could only do so much, and he wished he could do more to help Taemin feel better.

They stared at each other for what felt like a very long time, and Kibum felt those sparks in his stomach again. He was so close to Taemin, so close to his warmth...it made his heart flutter like crazy. He wanted to kiss the blonde, or confess about how wild his feelings for his partner was...

But Taemin was vulnerable and overwhelmed now, and it wouldn't be fair to do something like that. It was okay to be selfish sometimes, but not when someone else was hurting.

“How about we go grab some waffles for breakfast? I'm sure Jinki wouldn't mind letting us leave for a half hour...or an hour...or two...” Kibum trailed off as he let go of Taemin's soft, warm and tear-stricken face, and the blonde laughed through his tears. Kibum's jokes never failed to help him feel better.
“Yes. Can we get some with strawberries? You know how much I love those,”
“Of course we can. Whatever you'd like today is all yours,”

For only a moment, Kibum could imagine them as more than friends. Only for right now, he allowed himself to imagine that pleasure. Just for that hour, he allowed himself to be selfish.