“The surveillance images from the 12 o’clock station didn’t turn out, but we’ve caught something from the intersection leaving the complexes.” This new redheaded young male from the task force stated, walking around the room tailed by Hyukjae and Jongwoon both.

“If you fix the image resolution, there’s a slight something I was able to catch from your findings from quite a bit ago-“ The redhead stopped at a computer screen, putting his hand on the mouse while pulling up two fixed images, “Jongwoon.”

The eldest of the three glanced down at the screen, eyebrows furrowed as an unfamiliar van was depicted onto it.

“.” Hyukjae swore, immediately taking notice of the photo on the left.

The incident of being chased around that shopping mall with Donghae instantly relaying in his mind.

That was the van of their chaser.

“The chaser!” Hyukjae yelped out to Jongwoon, shaking the older from his perplexed stupor.

“Track it.” Jongwoon stared at the image of the black sedan, wondering why in the hell this stalker only decided to turn up now, after months of hitting a dead end with this case.

“Already have.” The task force worker smiled smugly, pulling up another definite image that held a license plate number. “Took me all the way from this morning until just before I called you to rig the photo to perfection.”

The sound of a printer laying ink uttered just from their right as the worker grabbed the sheet from the tray, handing it over to Jongwoon; Hyukjae’s red eyes and stuffy nose beginning to water again as he edged closer to his best friend to view the picture.

“The folks from the surveillance division were able to track the plate just fine., as suspected.” The redhead spoke again, eyes darting back and forth from Jongwoon to Hyukjae “From there, it’s parked at said address in the picture.”

“Unfortunately, I only work on the digital automations side of the defense team,” Jongwoon’s co-worker began to say bashfully, “I’m afraid I can’t be of much help on the actual field-”

“No.” Jongwoon cut in, lowering the picture to look at the man, “We need you with us.”

“But I-” the other reacted.

“You can help cover up the fact that I’m bending all sorts of rules to allow this to happen. On top of that, sometimes I get scared.”

The eldest of the three paused before saying the next statement.

“I love you, Ryeowook.” Jongwoon bent over just in time to give the former a swift kiss on the forehead, taking his finger and squeezing it slightly.

Hyukjae just looked on, feeling the sadness all over again at how his Donghae was the only one missing in this scene.

The black-headed male faced his direction.

“I’ll explain everything later.” Jongwoon straightened up once more, clearing his throat and letting go of Ryeowook just as fast.

Though, he didn’t miss the blush that crept slowly up the redhead’s face.

“In the car, now you two.” Jongwoon voiced.

With that, Jongwoon dug his keys out from his pocket and sped-walked to the parking lot, Ryeowook and Hyukjae both in tail.

◊

The GPS tracking system inside the van helped with the fact that Jongwoon seemed to slow down his driving for this hyperventilating boyfriend of his who had apparently never been on a field mission outside the station.

A suiting job, Hyukjae thought.

It was nearing nightfall; the fireflies outside the window dancing with the wind as the green grass of the rolling hillside of Busan gently swayed with the current draft as well, illuminating the end of an enduring day.

The end of a day spent without Donghae.

Hyukjae was on the edge of his seat in anticipation as Jongwoon picked up speed again, nearing the end of their mile-high journey.

It was then that Hyukjae began to realize he hadn’t eaten all day.

The blonde’s stomach growled, hand clutching it in an attempt to quiet the grumbling noise in order to prevent from embarrassing himself in front of the two in the driver’s and passenger’s seat.

Ryeowook smiled over at him, reaching out a hand and gracefully transferring over a pack of saltine crackers to Hyukjae.

“It’s all I have.” The redhead began to speak, sad eyes feeling sympathy for the puffy-eyed male in the back. “It would make me feel better if you ate it.”

Hyukjae cast a broken smile toward Ryeowook’s direction, mustering all that he could to put at least one cracker in his mouth.

Ryeowook’s kindness put Hyukjae in a calmer mood, although still feeling the debilitating anxiety of not knowing what the hell happened to Donghae is still plaguing his mind.

Hyukjae thinks he likes Jongwoon’s partner.

That the idiot detective needed someone like this intelligent digital genius to guide him the right direction.

Just like he needed Donghae to show him how life can be God’s blessing sometimes, and that all he ever wanted took the form of a person whose words couldn’t be spoken, but felt.

And Hyukjae missed Donghae even more.

They neared the edge of a road before turning onto the street, the pavement ending its asphalt and veering off onto a patch of dirt.

The GPS confirmed their location.

Jongwoon parked the car across the curb, not wanting to park directly at the address for the fear of arising suspicion; he called it direct protocol.

Hopping out of the car, they faced each other, each one awaiting what dire consequences can result from taking the investigation into their own hands; but there was no way either Jongwoon or Hyukjae would wait two whole days to file a missing persons report.

The chances of a person being found alive dwindles every hour you spend sitting and wasting time.

But that was something Hyukjae didn’t even want to think about right now, especially since they were already here.

Wherever here actually was.

They faced the sprawling home; eyes adjusting to the evening light, barely making out the contours and blocked lines of the house.

From the outside it looked almost derelict; the fissures creeping their way up to the wooden double doors that looked untouched, garage door slammed shut from the inside, cracked windows and glass falling onto the pavement ever so slowly, like the illusion of erosion.

Jongwoon spoke first;

“We have to inspect the perimeter of the house, make sure it’s safe to proceed. From there, I’ll knock first.”

Hyukjae nodded, eyes focused as he gathered his courage and walked the distance from the car to the door after Jongwoon and Ryeowook.

The blonde stepped gingerly across the yard, careful not to make any sudden movements that can alert anyone inside the house.

Jongwoon made forth the door.

Ryeowook stayed back and inspected their surroundings, cellular phone in hand in case of an emergency situation.

Back-up would certainly be needed by the time this case was solved.

He noted the vicinity, quiet and lifeless, no neighbors close by.

The perfect place to hide someone away.

This thought just made Hyukjae even angrier as he made his way across the dirt, edging closer and closer to the house.

Jongwoon braced himself, taking a peek inside the front window before ringing the doorbell twice with no answer. The curtains were pitch black. There was no way to see what was happening inside.

He rang again.

“I think that maybe the unit got the wrong address-” Ryeowook spoke with hushed tones, clutching the cell phone close to his chest with his fingers close to the numbers.

Reinforcements were only a phone call away. 

“Shh!” Jongwoon warned, bringing himself closer around the circumference of the faulty house, wondering what on Earth he did to deserve such deranged occurrences to appear in his job life.

Hyukjae heard a noise.

Muffled crying.

The sounds reverberating off from the first story window, somewhere behind the confines of the shed behind the house.

The blonde looked over at the detective, eyes wide.

It sounded so familiar.

Hyukjae and Jongwoon dashed over to the back, Ryeowook assuming the roll of an eye on watch as he stayed behind.

The crying got louder.

“Donghae!” Hyukjae screamed, almost leaving Jongwoon and sprinting in the direction of wherever the noises were coming from.

“Hyukjae!” Jongwoon grabbed hold of the younger male’s arm, preventing him from escaping as he held the blonde close beside him.

“No matter what happens, you have to stay behind me. Don’t stray away. This situation is high-risk and unpredictable.”

The blonde nodded, hanging onto Jongwoon’s arm even tighter as they approached the locked shed once again.

Ryeowook’s eyes grew large, this would be it.

He dialed for emergency services as well as the task force; the house would be surrounded in less than 10 minutes.

“Emergency!” Ryeowook wailed into the intercom “Abduction of a man in Busan has just been solved, reinforcements are highly appreciated! Code red!”

Jongwoon and Hyukjae reached the entrance of the outhouse, the menacing glow of a thickly chained padlock reflecting moonlight.

“This is detective inspector Kim Jongwoon. Lee Donghae, stay where you’re at. Stay away from the door at all costs. Hae, do you hear me?”

Donghae can be heard across the other side, wailing and crying; throat sore from endless sobbing.

Jongwoon lifted his feet, ramming them into the padlock over and over again; the door refused to budge.

“Hang on Hae, everything is going to be okay!” Jongwoon hollered, noting that the house had become completely surrounded and a man was being detained on spot with one of his co-workers from the station pulling the suspect’s hands behind his back.

Sirens wailed everywhere.

EMS signals casted red and blue glares.

Police reports can be heard being spoken from two-way radios and pager devices.

“Just-” Jongwoon struggled with his kicks as Hyukjae hung on even tighter “one-”the blonde shut his eyes in fear as the commotion became even louder around them “more-” Jongwoon screamed, frustration taking hold as his last kick became the strongest one “time!”

The hinge broke.

The door crashed down with a loud bash, dust rising among them as Donghae suddenly appeared on the other side.

“Hae!” Hyukjae screamed, completely letting go of all warnings and approaching the younger male, engulfing him in his arms.

Donghae screamed even louder, clawing away at the ground to gain distance between him and the older blonde.

“Hae, it’s okay!” Hyukjae tried to soothe, hands never letting go of the brunette.

Not again.

Not ever.

“Hae it’s okay,” Hyukjae spoke softer, Donghae finally realizing who it was. “It’s just Hyukkie, it’s okay.”

Donghae sat still for a moment, reaching his hands to where Hyukjae was crying, tears streaming down at the relief of Hyukjae being alright.

“It’s okay,” Hyukjae soothed, now holding the brunette in his arms, “everything is going to be okay.”

Donghae latched onto the blonde, fingernails digging marks into where Hyukjae’s skin lay beneath his shirt.

“I got you, it’s okay.” Hyukjae hushed and comforted the man he loved in his arms, “You’re okay, I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The last thing Donghae remembered were the red and blue lights of a close ambulance, followed by the screams of officers as they arrested the man who he detested the most.

Hyukjae kept his promise.

He never let Donghae go.

◊

Sitting on the back of an emergency vehicle, Hyukjae got to hold the now sleeping brunette in his arms after a long day, an offered blanket now wrapped around Donghae’s body as well as another one placed on Hyukjae’s shoulders.

Donghae’s eyelashes cast a shadow around the rims of his eyes, making his exhausted form look beautiful nonetheless.

Hyukjae had been briefed about everything that evening; how their chaser had actually been the same man that killed Donghae’s parents, how he remembered every detail of the meeting in Jongwoon’s office back when the storm surge blew in, how before he found Donghae, he had been in confinement with this man for God knows how long.

“From investigative reports,” Ryeowook began, hair ruffled and eyes exhausted as he just finished up rolling caution tape around the scene, “Donghae most likely found a way to escape the day you found him. From there, he took the nearest form of public transportation, as God would have it, stopped right at your doorstep.”

Hyukjae recounted the days when he had just met Donghae, how awkward they were and how the blonde didn’t realize that the younger couldn’t speak just yet.

“He had most likely been able to speak as a kid,” the redhead smiled sadly, aware of the way Hyukjae cradled Donghae like he was afraid he would even lose sight of him, “but from the abuse he suffered here, it could be very likely that irreversible damage had been done.”

"Oh and I have something for you-" Ryeowook began, searching through his duffel bag and pulling something out of it. "It's Donghae's new Korean passport. The state renewed it just a bit ago. You can take him anywhere now."

Hyukjae smiled in thanks, taking the passport and hanging onto it.

That was that.

Ryeowook turned away after bowing to both young men, spinning around just in time for Jongwoon to see him standing there.

Their eyes caught for a moment.

Jongwoon strolled over to Ryeowook’s spot, wrapping two strong arms around him as the redhead seemed to melt into his embrace.

Hyukjae held Donghae even tighter, pressing his nose against the younger’s brunette hair, inhaling his sweet scent once more.

The paramedics gave Hyukjae the okay to hold Donghae a few minutes ago. After taking the younger’s vitals and assessing him, only minor cuts can be found externally, other than that, Donghae was alright.

Hyukjae thanked his lucky stars and prayed again; Donghae was unharmed.

One more time, Hyukjae wrapped his fingers around Donghae’s own, bringing the brunette’s fingers up to his cheeks to warm them.

He would protect Donghae for the rest of his life.

Hyukjae remembered hearing once that love comes in all forms and during all walks of life;

It just so happened his form seemed to be a little different.

One that smelled like love in the morning and laughed like an angel with eyes as bright as the youngest star in the galaxy.

One named Lee Donghae.