Myungsoo was a punctual man. He was the kind of person who liked to do things on time and expected the same from others. A minute put off was a minute gone to waste, as his old academy professor used to say. Of course, on some occasions it was he  who was running behind schedule and his friends were the ones waiting for him. But that was something which occurred a few times during the year. Almost never. Other than that, Kim Myungsoo was like reality's very own CSI time keeper. 

That was one of the reasons why he was currently sitting at his desk, looking at his wristwatch with a frown gracing his features.

"He's late..." the raven-haired man murmured to himself. Still frowning, he glanced at his watch for the umpteenth time, tapping on the glass face as if that would cause the minutes to freeze. "It's already 8:47. What the hell is he up to?"

For those readers who are curious, the he  whom Myungsoo was referring to was none other than his very own colleague, Lee Sungyeol. Myungsoo was correct when he said the newcomer was late. When he'd entered HQ that morning, he had expected to see his secretive partner already in his cubicle, preparing to start another day of work (as punctual as Myungsoo was, it was usually Sungyeol who came to HQ first).

But to the agent's surprise, there had been no sign of Sungyeol for the past half hour. He wasn't in the break room, he wasn't in the analysis lab, he wasn't even in the main data room with Sungjong, who was trying to do some last minute background checks before joining Myungsoo. Nobody in headquarters had seen the rookie arrive. He wasn't answering his phone, either. It could have been that he was simply caught in traffic or oversleeping, but somehow, Myungsoo had a gut feeling those weren't the cases- and a crime scene agent's gut feeling was usually right.

Where on earth was Lee Sungyeol?

Before, it was said that Myungsoo's habit of punctuality was one  of the reasons why he was so bothered about Sungyeol's absence. The other was just as straightforward but a touch more personal: he was worried.

'No point in hiding it,' the inspector thought grimly. He could have lied to himself- if someone like Nam Woohyun was around, he probably would  have lied- but in all honesty, there was no use in denying it anymore. What good would come out of that? Myungsoo knew the truth. Sungyeol definitely knew the truth. Trying to make himself believe he wasn't worried about his partner's absence would only cause a major headache. Actually, he could feel one coming now, and that was because he'd simply admitted the truth to himself.

Closing his eyes, the agent pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stop his oncoming migraine. "Great. You're not even here yet and you're annoying me already."

"Well, pardon me for coming in to work today. I wasn't aware of how irritating my presence was to you."

"Not you, Chen." Myungsoo didn't need to look over his shoulder to tell it was the graceful, model-like man who'd entered the room. "I was... thinking about someone else."

"Hmm. I see."

He could feel Chen's eyes studying him from behind, but fortunately, the latter decided not to press the matter.

Instead, he made his way over to where his cubicle was, just a few feet away from Myungsoo's own. "So, Myungsoo. How have things been lately? Busy? We have the same assignment, but I can't remember when the last time I talked to you was."

The younger man half-shrugged his shoulders. "I'm pretty sure it was yesterday morning. And what can I say? This Mockingbird case is a tough one to crack. You could call it the worst one we've had in a while." He watched as his friend his computer and quickly logged onto the system.

"What about you? How's everything going on your end?"

"Fine, I suppose." Chen seated himself while he waited for the machine to load. "Or as fine as things can be at this point. Like you said, this case is the worst one we've had in a long time." Creasing his brows, he turned his attention back to his computer.

Clack-clack-clack. "Did you hear about the fourth murder? The one of the woman named Kim Hwayoung?"

Myungsoo nodded, although he knew that his companion couldn't see his non-verbal response. "I got all of the details from Sunggyu. Actually, I'm supposed to leave for Yangsan tomorrow. He asked me to collaborate with the agents there, so I'll be getting the information on Kim Hwayoung and-"

"- fill them in on investigation details," Chen finished his sentence. His lips curved into a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Myungsoo understood. He appreciated Chen's attempt to keep the mood light-hearted, even if there was nothing funny about their situation. "I know. Sunggyu told us the plan during the meeting. How long will you be away?"

"Around three days, give or take. Four at the most." The younger agent reached for his mug of coffee and took a gulp, before settling it back down on his desk. "I can't stay any longer than that. Can't afford to. There's too much going on for me to be away right now. We're running out of time."

Clack-clack-clack. "You're right." Momentarily looking up from the screen, Chen gave Myungsoo an appraising stare. His fingers, on the other hand, continued typing as if they had a mind of their own. Clearly Chen had an aptitude for multi-tasking, which explained why he was always the first one in the building to hand his reports in on time. "Speaking of which... Forgive me if this comes off as offensive, but what are you doing sitting around? Have you run out of leads to follow?"

Myungsoo waved his friend's apologetic look away. "No offence taken. And don't worry about it, there's reason behind my procrastinating. I was supposed to leave to speak with Lee Minhee's aunt again, but Sunggyu caught me as soon as I checked in. He said he needed to talk to me at nine about the transfer and 'other important matters.' Sounded pretty urgent, the way he put it."

"'Other important matters?'" echoed Chen. "I wonder what he meant by that."

"I guess I'll find out in-" Myungsoo checked his watch "-five minutes. It's almost nine."

"You might as well start heading down now," Chen advised him. "It's better to arrive earlier than later for most things, even if it's by a minute."

"Yeah. You're right." But even as he said those words, Myungsoo did not move from where he was sitting. His eyes, however, as if they were acting on their own accord, travelled to where the room doors stood at the front. "Just give me a second. There's another reason why I'm sitting here like a vegetable. I'm still waiting for Sung-Sungjong." The agent tore his gaze away from the doors. "I need to explain some things to him and plan out the next few days while I'm in Yangsan."

Thankfully, Chen didn't seem to have caught his falter. If he did, he would have noticed how Myungsoo had nearly spoken Sungyeol's  name instead of Sungjong's. Or perhaps he was trying to be tactful by not mentioning it at all. "I see. Well, it's already 8:57. You might want to find him after you finish talking to Sunggyu, or you'll be late."

What an ironic situation for the crime-fighting time keeper to face. "Alright, alright. You're probably right; I can find him afterwards." Myungsoo drained the last of his coffee before standing up. Then, as he was reaching for his pen, a new and rather intriguing thought struck him. 

"Hey, Chen? Mind if I ask you something?"

"I believe you just did," Chen smartly replied, clicking his mouse. It wasn't until his printer started spitting out papers that he glanced in Myungsoo's direction. "But go ahead. Is there something you need?"

"Not really. It's more out of curiosity that I'm asking." The agent paused and looked at his watch. 8:58. Sunggyu could wait another minute or two. "You have your degree in psychology, correct?"

"A master's degree, to be specific. Why do you ask?"

"I wanted your thoughts on something." The younger man gestured at his closed notebook. "This case. The murderer. He's working a bit faster than we usually see, don't you think?"

Chen inclined his head. "Well, yes. Four murders in two and a half weeks. There have been times when I wondered why this killer did his business so hurriedly- perhaps he still is. I think all of us have questioned that at one point or another."

"Have you ever tried to figure out why?" Myungsoo briefly closed his eyes, trying to remember an earlier but similar conversation he'd had. "I already asked Youngjae about this. You know, since he does the criminal profiling. He said it might be because the killer has a specific schedule to follow. He could have planned the murders out beforehand with little resting time, which is why there are such short periods of time in between the killings. Or it could be that he wants to accomplish his goal as soon as possible. The Mockingbird's a smart person. He wouldn't want this to drag on for too long, not with the chance of getting caught."

"Interesting. Those are clever theories, but seeing as they come from Youngjae, I'm not surprised." Chen's printer had stopped beeping, becoming a silent appliance once again. Gathering the freshly inked papers with one hand, he set them in a neat pile before turning back to his colleague. "I don't disagree with him. If you take into account the personality of the Mockingbird, Youngjae's theories very much make sense. As we know, he's a clever man. Clever, calculating, and far too advantageous in this game. If he has a schedule to follow or wants to finish his killing spree by the end of this month, it wouldn't shock me."

"So you don't have a different explanation for it?" Myungsoo nodded his head. "Seems like you psychology geniuses think alike."

"Well, there is one," Chen said thoughtfully, "But it doesn't quite match with the profile we have of our little mastermind." He picked up a stapler and began attaching his papers together. "I'll remind you first that not all murderers want to murder. They could be doing it out of rage, out of jealousy, but not necessarily due to the desire to take another's life."

"I rarely see cases like that," Myungsoo agreed. "It's almost always the husband who killed his cheating wife rather than the guy who killed just because."

"Correct. But unfortunately, those types of killers do show up once in a while." Chen set his stapled files aside. "It's possible that the Mockingbird is one of those rare cases. He feels the urge to kill, the primal desire to steal the life from another person with his own hands. Those urges are too frequent and too strong to resist, much like hot flashes in his head that can't be controlled. Now, the reason why I said this theory doesn't match our profile is simple. A man such as the Mockingbird wouldn't let his control slip. He'd be smart enough to find a way to keep his desires in check."

"Then it's too bad he's such a smart killer. We could have caught him a whole lot sooner if his violent urges weren't reined by his brain."

Myungsoo jerked his head up at the sound of the new voice. "Sungjong. You scared me." He glanced behind to see his childhood friend approaching, arms filled with documents and photocopied sheets. "What's all that?"

Sungjong plopped the papers onto his desk with a thud. "Hopefully, leads for Lee Minhee's death. Since Sungyeol hasn't shown up yet and you need to prepare for Yangsan, this will be my new assignment for the next couple of days." He gave Myungsoo a rueful grin.

"I heard from Woohyun while I was downstairs. Looks like you'll be making another visit to our parents sooner than expected."

"It's not like I planned it," Myungsoo said, only mildly defensive.

The younger male brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I know you didn't. I'm not mad, so don't worry about it. I just wanted to wish you luck." Pulling out his chair, he seated himself with a noticeably gloomier aura. "I'll let you know if I find anything within the first thousand papers."

Snorting, Myungsoo pushed his chair back in and started walking towards the doors. "Sounds like you'll have more fun than I will. I need to go; Sunggyu's expecting me. Thanks for your help, Chen. I'll talk to you later, Sung- Sungjong." Great, he just did it again. The name mix-up. The agent automatically glanced back at his friend, hoping he hadn't caught the little falter.

But Sungjong had. And judging by the slightly startled, hurt expression on his face, it was obvious he knew exactly who Myungsoo had been about to call him.

------------

When Myungsoo stepped past the doors to the main office, he expected to sit through a forty minute-long discussion with Sunggyu about his transfer details and the new 'important matters,' whatever those were. What he didn't  expect was a greeting from a loud, endearingly annoying man the second he walked inside.

"Yo, Myungsoo! What's up? You look as ty as usual."

The raven-haired male rolled his eyes. "Woohyun. Ever think about saying hello like a normal person?"

Woohyun snickered. "Of course I haven't. Where would be the fun in that?"

Myungsoo shook his head in response, but he felt some of the tension he didn't know he had leaving his shoulders. Good ol' Woohyun... As obnoxious as he was, he could always be counted on to ease the heaviness from a strained atmosphere. "Have it your way, buddy. What are you doing here, anyways? Shouldn't you be working on the case? We do have a highly dangerous murderer on the loose, if you've forgotten."

"And shouldn't you  be at my house, crying about my lack of self-preservation like my mother used to do? You already have the nagging part down," retorted his friend, but gave an answer all the same. He nodded towards the closed door of Sunggyu's office. "I'm waiting for Gyu. I'm about to leave with Chanyeol for the institution again- we're going to search their entire database this time- but I have to clear some things up with Boss Almighty first. Need his input on some parts of Lee Seonwoong's notes."

"Sorry. You'll have to wait a while longer for that." Myungsoo knew that Woohyun and Sunggyu used to be CSI partners. Before the authoritative director had risen up to the powerful position he was in today, he and Woohyun were allegedly the best team headquarters had. It didn't surprise Myungsoo that the cheeky man still valued his former partner's opinion. "I'm here to talk to Sunggyu, too. He'll probably want to see me first, since he requested that I come down."

"Oh, right." Woohyun leaned back on the receptionist's desk. "The move to Yangsan. Yeah, you'll want to go first. Get that load off both of your shoulders. Though he's on a phone call with the national director right now, so it looks like you'll have to do some waiting with me. Have fun over there, by the way. I'll miss seeing your ugly face here for the next week."

"Thanks." Myungsoo ignored the insulting part to what he supposed was a decent farewell. "Let me guess, you heard the details at yesterday's debriefing?"

Woohyun nodded. "Yeah. It doesn't surprise me that Sunggyu chose you to go. You know, since you're so familiar with that town and all. It'll be easy for you to conduct interviews with the townsfolk." He straightened his spine as he studied his friend's figure. Suddenly, the easy-going smile he wore became a rare mask of seriousness, one that contradicted every bit of Woohyun's joking nature.

"How's everything going with Sungyeol?"

His question caught Myungsoo completely off-guard. Whatever he'd anticipated from the older man, it certainly wasn't that. "It's alright," the agent responded after a moment. "Nothing special. I... Actually, it's more like..." His voice trailed off as he searched for a way to transform his thoughts into words.

"I can't say we're starting to bond or becoming best friends just yet, but at least there's been progress. It's slow, but I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere. He- Hold on." Myungsoo stopped short as realization sparked a light bulb above his head.

"What do you mean, how's it going with Sungyeol?  Did Yongguk tell you?" Now he knew why the question startled him: he was asking about Lee Sungyeol. Unless Woohyun had been told by the weaponry agent or he'd figured it out for himself (both of which were highly unlikely), there was no way he should have known about Myungsoo's- complicated- feelings for the newcomer.

"Yongguk? What?" It was Woohyun's turn to look surprised. "No, he didn't tell me anything. Was he supposed to?"

"No." The younger male cleared his throat. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the office clock hanging on the wall beside him. Its plastic hands glided downwards in an agonizingly slow fashion, ticking minutes away in their repetitive waltz of time. 9:08. He should have been talking to Sunggyu by now. "Never mind. Just... Back to Sungyeol. Why are you asking about him all of a sudden? You see him almost every day, don't you?"

"Not as much as you do. But forget it. It's not that big of a deal." Woohyun shrugged his shoulders, but a small flicker of hesitation crossed his expression. 

The raven-haired man narrowed his eyes. If he hadn't known Woohyun since the beginning of his CSI career, if he wasn't so adept at reading people, maybe he wouldn't have caught it. But he did and he was, so Myungsoo was determined not to let it go until he knew what exactly was bothering his usually carefree friend. "What? It has to be some  kind of deal if you're asking me about it. Did Sungjong  tell you something?"

Woohyun hesitated again. "No, but... Damn it, Myungsoo. Don't freak out or anything, okay? Just listen." He jerked his head towards the water cooler and casually strode towards it. He clearly wanted to talk without the presence of the busy but alert secretaries behind them.

Bemused at the inspector's sudden need for secrecy, Myungsoo followed. He mirrored Woohyun's actions and filled a paper cup with water. Just as he raised it to his lips, he heard his companion murmur, "Sungyeol's under unofficial suspicion. There are people who think he's the Mockingbird."

Myungsoo nearly choked on his drink. "H-Huh? What did you just say?" It was a good thing he was trained to keep calm in unexpected situations, or he was sure he would have spit his water at Woohyun's face. How charming.

Woohyun's eyes met his own, serious, grim, and strangely sympathetic. "People think he's the Mockingbird," he repeated in a low tone. "It was brought up during yesterday's meeting. Chen pointed out some coincidences between Sungyeol and our guy. I'm pretty sure not everyone believed him, but some took it into serious consideration. Kahi, for one." In the same quiet voice, he relayed the events of the debriefing and how Sungyeol had come under the agents' suspicion.

The younger male stared at him. "That's... They can't..." A part of him wanted to ask Woohyun what sort of stupid joke he was playing. Sungyeol wasn't  the Mockingbird- there was no way anybody would believe that. But underneath his shock, Myungsoo knew his friend was telling the truth. Woohyun was lazy, obnoxious, and had the ability to be a major pain in the neck, but he was never one to joke about such serious matters. "Are they really suspecting their own colleague? I mean, it's Sungyeol." But even as the words passed his lips, a quiet voice hissed in the back of his head.

Exactly. It's Sungyeol. How can you be sure there  isn't a good reason to be suspicious of him? Maybe he's not as innocent as Woohyun thinks. Maybe you should stop being blinded by your feelings. Chen and Kahi may be more right than you think, you fool.

"I know." Woohyun made a noise of disgruntlement. "I don't believe it, either. It's ed up, but to a group of crime scene agents looking for a killer with no suspect list, it sounds somewhat logical. At least Sungyeol wasn't officially named. Gyu told them to lay off the guy, but sooner or later someone's gonna bring it up again-"

It was at that moment the doors to the main office opened. The sound was immediately followed by an exclaim of, "Amber! Are you okay?" by Jooyeon, the head secretary, and the scraping of chairs being pushed back.

Myungsoo sent a sharp expression in Woohyun's direction. "We'll talk about this later," he muttered. All sorts of thoughts were swirling in his head, creating a haze of confusion he rarely ever felt. The agent suddenly wished more urgently than before that his partner had arrived to work. Was he aware that he was a suspect in the investigation? Was that why he hadn't shown up yet? No, Sungyeol was smart. If he knew, he would have figured out his absence would only make him look more suspicious.

Woohyun nodded in agreement. "Fine by me," he said. "Just make sure you don't tell anyone else about this. We don't want to give them the wrong impression of our rookie." He downed the rest of his water before tossing the cup into a nearby trash can.

Myungsoo did the same. He scowled at the metal bin, trying to ignore the unpleasant voice hissing in his mind again. Sungyeol, the Mockingbird. It makes sense, doesn't it? Chen might have a point. All along we've been looking outside of the box, when the killer might have been inside with us the whole time... Shaking his head, the ravenet decided he would be better off occupying himself than brooding over unwanted thoughts.

"This looks terrible! Let me grab the first aid kit and fix you up," Jooyeon was saying frantically behind him.

Curiosity sparked inside of him. Remembering that it was Amber, a friend of his who rarely got injured, whom the secretary was talking to, Myungsoo pushed all thoughts about Sungyeol out of his head. He tried to focus on what was happening in the office.

If he knew what sort of lightning bolt would strike after that, he never would have turned around to greet the pathologist.

"Morning, Amber!" Woohyun said loudly. He walked towards the new arrival with Myungsoo in tow. "You know- Hey. Is something the matter?"

Amber was looking at the ground, seemingly unaware of Jooyeon's fussing about. Thanks to her bangs. her face was hidden from view, but Myungsoo could tell that her complexion was pale. Greyish. It had a certain sheen to it, as well, as if she'd broken out into a cold sweat before entering the main office. She wasn't talking, either. Amber hadn't made a single noise since she'd walked inside, which was just as uncharacteristically odd as her appearance. Normally she would have struck up a friendly conversation with Jooyeon instead of keeping quiet...

The bottom line was, Myungsoo was starting to get seriously worried. Something was wrong...

"Amber?" Woohyun tried again. "Earth to Amber. Are you there? What happened to you?"

The only sound in the room was the click  of Jooyeon opening the medical kit. The secretary didn't say a word as she rummaged for bandages and disinfectant. In fact, none of them spoke. They were all waiting with tense expressions for Amber to explain what had happened, and Amber seemed to be waiting until the right words appeared in her mind.

At long last, she lifted her head. Startled by the new sight, Myungsoo could only stare. Like he initially thought, Amber's skin had a sickly sort of pallor to it, as if she'd woken up with the flu but decided to come to work anyways. Her injury, however, provided a brilliant contrast on her face. It was a bright, bloody, nasty-looking gash on the left side of her jaw. Still fresh, it didn't seem particularly long or deep, but it was obvious to everyone in the room that it hurt. It would get infected if Jooyeon didn't treat it soon.

The expression on her face surprised him most of all. Amber was a strong girl, a good-natured, lively woman who never seemed to run out of energy. She was so full of life when she did things, whether it was practice in the shooting range with Chaerin or conduct a post-mortem alongside Dongwoo. But this... The look on her face, in her eyes, reflected no part of Amber whatsoever. It was full of grief, intense shock, like her worst nightmare had come to life and replaced all of her happiness with distress.

Instinctively knowing that whatever she had to say would be terrible news, Myungsoo mentally braced himself for the blow.

But what she next said in a hoarse, raspy whisper that sounded nothing like her usual voice was something he never could have prepared for.

"Yongguk's dead."

[A/N]  Err... Surprise? Q.Q Believe it or not, it was really difficult to write this chapter. Obviously for one, there was the announcement of Yongguk's death. How many of you expected him to make it out alive from the last chapter? The emotional attachment I had with his character seriously messed with my feelings, so I was writing through tears. You shall be missed, Commander. 

Two, my thoughts are jumping all over the place. It was like I couldn't focus on writing at all, no matter how badly I wanted to get this chapter out. Kind of like writer's block meets ADHD. Every writer's nightmare =x=

Oh yeah, and I'm back from Korea. Hi. -3-