Jongin’s fingers are aching as he types up yet another report he’s been neglecting. He’s been so busy slaving over Kyungsoo’s case the past few weeks that he’s let his actual work pile up and now he’s having to pay the price. He’s hit a dead end with the investigation into Kyungsoo’s disappearance anyway. He’d been sure he would’ve found something in the old time capsule, but, even after figuring out what the letter says, he’s no closer to finding Kyungsoo than anyone had been ten years ago.

With a frustrated groan, he lets his head fall forward onto his keyboard.

“Rough day?”

Looking up, Jongin finds Luhan standing in the doorway to his office, arms crossed, eyebrow quirked in amusement.

“I’m just frustrated,” Jongin admits, deleting the random letters and numbers his face-smash had pulled up on his word document. “And I think I’m developing carpal tunnel. My fingers hurt like hell.”

“You should do some finger and hand exercises,” Luhan suggests, coming all the way into the office and closing the door behind him. “I have pain in my hands sometimes too. It happens when you’re stuck typing all day. It’ll help.”

“Thanks,” Jongin mumbles, but, honestly, his aching fingers are the least of his problems at the moment. Then he notices that Luhan is carrying the reconstructed letter in his hands. He’s kept it in the hopes of figuring something out, but thus far they’ve all been unsuccessful with that. “Did you find something?”

“Not really,” Luhan admits ruefully, setting the letter down on the desk so they can both look down at it. “But the more I study it, the more convinced I am that there’s something here. Something we’re not seeing. I think maybe it’s a message that only you are supposed to be able to figure out.”

Jongin looks at the letter helplessly. He’s read and re-read it so many times by now that he’s sure he knows it by heart, but he can’t think of anything that would be a message to him. “I can’t think of anything,” he says with a sigh. “If there’s a hidden message in there, it can’t be for me.”

“But what if-” Luhan starts, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of Minseok.

He stops when he sees Luhan there. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he says. “I was just bringing you a few more reports that need to be typed up. I didn’t know you were busy. I can come back later.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” Luhan says with a falsely bright voice, folding the letter up once more. “It’s not important. I was just having Jongin look over something for me.”

But Minseok is not stupid, and he’s more than aware that half the precinct has been sneaking around working on Jongin’s secret project the past few months. He holds out his hand expectantly. “Let me see it,” he says.

Jongin feels his insides twist up into knots. If Minseok finds out what’s going on and tells the Chief, it’s all over. Not just for him, but for Luhan and Sehun and Chanyeol and probably even Victoria. And he’s pretty sure that the Chief won’t go easy on him. Especially since he’s technically broken the law several times. God, he even broke into Kyungsoo’s parents’ house to steal the time capsule! He’s more than likely going to jail, and what will Sunyoung say? What will Jongdae say? Hell, what will his father say?

But Minseok only looks over the letter with a thoughtful expression. “Why are you looking into this? Is it something personal?”

“Yeah,” Jongin admits, a little taken aback that Minseok isn’t yelling at him or taking the letter back to the Chief. “M-my friend disappeared ten years ago. I just recently found this letter, and Luhan is helping me to see if I can figure out what it means.”

“Hm,” Minseok says, and he hands the letter back to Luhan before turning to leave.

Jongin can’t stop himself. “You’re not going to tell the Chief, are you?”

Minseok gives him a look that is very nearly amused. “Look, as long as you’re still getting your work done and nobody gets hurt, I don’t care what you do. It’s when you don’t get your real work done that we’re going to have a problem. Okay?”

Jongin feels so immensely relieved that he can’t stop himself from chuckling. “Okay. Got it.”

“Oh, and by the way,” Minseok says in an offhand sort of way. “That letter of yours seems to be quoting pretty extensively from Tennyson.”

“Yeah, I saw that,” Jongin agrees. “Kyungsoo was always obsessed with Tennyson. He read everything the guy I ever wrote and he memorized whole poems. I never saw the appeal in them, to be honest, but Kyungsoo loved them.”

Luhan smacks him over the head, none too gently.

“Ow!” Jongin exclaims, rubbing his head where he’d been hit. “What the hell was that for, hyung?”

“You dummy!” Luhan exclaims in exasperation. “This is the hidden message that was meant for you! You idiot!” And with that he storms from the office.

Minseok quirks an eyebrow at Jongin before chuckling. “I don’t think you’re an idiot, if that’s any consolation.” Then he winks and leaves the office.

Jongin sits in his chair stupidly, trying not to let himself get hopeful again.

But what if Luhan is able to use this information to find something out about Kyungsoo’s disappearance? 

So Minseok is a good guy and Jongin is an idiot. 

And the letter is a clue, quoting Tennyson. 

Cupcakes to those of you who recognized it was Tennyson!

Cookies to those of you who realized he was quoting old English literature haha

I love Tennyson myself. 

Also, SO SORRY IT'S SO SHORT! I'LL UPDATE AGAIN SOON!