The woods are alive with the warm, dusky twilight that only comes in summer. The air is thick with humidity and the sounds of the nighttime creatures coming alive. The underbrush rustles as animals dart to and fro.

Jongin spares little thought for them as he trudges along the familiar path. He’s fairly certain that they’re the only ones who use it, but they’ve been following it for enough years by now that there’s a small trail worn in the brush where the plants don’t dare to grow for fear of being trampled by ever-growing feet.

He can’t help but smile at that. This place has been theirs for so many summers he can’t even keep track; he takes it for granted that things will always be like that.

Kyungsoo glances over his shoulder, that quirky little heart-shaped smile flashing in Jongin’s direction. “What are you smiling about back there?” he demands. “Hurry up, will you? It’ll be dark soon.”

“Keep your on,” Jongin grumbles, but he’s not really mad. It takes a lot for him to be mad with his best friend.

Kyungsoo only laughs and plows on, pushing aside the encroaching branches.

It’s not much further to their special spot. Jongin refers to it as their hideaway, but it’s not really. It’s an old dilapidated house deep in the woods, abandoned for who knows how many years. The roof is still intact enough that it protects them from the elements – summer storms are frequent in this part of the country – and they’ve repurposed the only usable room for themselves. They’ve pulled in an old mattress – covered with sheets that Kyungsoo had swiped from his  mother’s linen closet when she wasn’t looking – and several pillows, along with an old radio that runs on batteries so they can listen to tunes while they hang out.

Kyungsoo flops down on the mattress with a contented little sigh, putting his arms behind his head and letting his eyes close. What’s left of the afternoon sunlight filters through the dusty blinds on the window, casting dancing shadows on Kyungsoo’s serene face.

Jongin takes his time, turning on the radio and fluffing the pillow, before he settles down beside his best friend. He s his backpack and pulls out a little wooden box, opening it to reveal his pot stash. He rolls a joint with nimble, expert fingers and then lights it with the little blue lighter Kyungsoo passes to him.

They’re cocooned in an amicable world of fading sunlight, sweet-smelling smoke, and oldies playing on the radio. This is Jongin’s favorite part of the day, the time when he gets to spend alone with his best friend. There is no pressure, no concerns. He is happy, genuinely happy. It’s a feeling he never has with anyone else.

“What are you thinking about?” Kyungsoo’s soft voice breaks into his thoughts.

When he turns to look, Kyungsoo is propped up on his elbow, looking at Jongin with those big eyes that seem like they can see straight into Jongin’s soul. “How happy I am,” he answers honestly. “This is my favorite part of the day.”

“Mine too,” Kyungsoo agrees with a contented little sigh, taking a long drag off the nearly finished joint. Though they’re laying close enough to one another that their sides are pressed together, he reaches for Jongin’s hand and laces their fingers together. Jongin doesn’t mind; in fact, he revels in the comforting and familiar heat of Kyungsoo.

“I can’t believe we’ll be going to separate schools next year,” Jongin says, stubbing out the joint in their overflowing ashtray. “You should fail a year and be held back so we can be in the same grade.”

Kyungsoo laughs at that, his hand warm in Jongin’s. “You should study hard and skip a grade, so then we can be together.”

Jongin snorts. “Yeah, like that’ll happen.”

The peaceful silence falls between them again, and Jongin smiles. There is no pressure when he is with Kyungsoo like this, no need to talk or do anything other than just enjoy each other’s company.

This time it’s him who breaks the silence. “It’ll always be like this, right?” he asks.

Kyungsoo raises his head sleepily to look at the younger. “What do you mean?”

“You and me,” Jongin clarifies with a little blush. “We’ll always be together, right?”

Kyungsoo looks at him for a long moment, so long that Jongin thinks that maybe he’s said something he shouldn’t have. But then Kyungsoo leans forward and brushes their lips together.

The kiss is soft, chaste. Jongin is surprised, too shocked to pull away or reciprocate or do anything really.

Then Kyungsoo is pulling away again, an earnest look on his face like he’s terrified of Jongin’s reaction.

Jongin swallows the lump that has suddenly formed in his throat. “Kyunggie,” he says, and his voice is hoarse and dry and not at all like what he usually sounds like.

His voice is enough that Kyungsoo knows what he’s going to say. He forces a little smile to his face even though it’s obvious that he’s crushed inside. “It’s okay,” he says quickly. “I didn’t really expect you to feel the same way. Sorry for kissing you.” And he quickly gets to his feet, gathering his things. “I’ll go back first. See you tomorrow.”

Jongin wakes up as the Kyungsoo in his dream disappears out the door. Even though it’s a dream he’s had often, he is still caught off guard. His chest is heaving, breath coming in short gasps.

Beside him, Sunyoung rolls over and gives him a look that is both sleepy and worried at the same time. “Babe?” she says, voice thick with sleep. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jongin lies quickly. “Go back to sleep.”

She ignores him, sitting up. Her face is lined with concern. “Was it another nightmare?” she asks, laying a gentle hand on his arm.

Jongin shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t a nightmare.” That much is true. His dream had been more like a memory than a nightmare, though it’s one that plagues his thoughts even when he’s awake. It had been one of the last days he’d gotten to spend with his childhood best friend.

Sunyoung doesn’t believe him. Her frown increases. “Babe, you’ve been having these nightmares a lot. Don’t you think you might be working too hard?”

He laughs and shakes his head again. “I’m not working too hard, Sunyoung. I hardly have anything to do at the precinct. I’m fine, really. Let’s just go back to sleep.”

Sunyoung doesn’t seem particularly placated by this, but she snuggles back down in his arms and falls asleep again. It takes Jongin quite a bit longer to join her in slumber.

He’s dragging the next day at work. His partner Minseok has given him a load of paperwork to do, but it’s pretty mindless and so he spends the majority of his day slumped over his computer, thinking back to that summer evening a few days before Kyungsoo had disappeared.

For the past ten years, he’s wondered if perhaps it’s his fault. Maybe if he hadn’t pulled away when Kyungsoo had kissed him, hadn’t hesitated and made his best friend regret his actions, maybe then Kyungsoo wouldn’t have disappeared the way he did. Maybe he’s to blame for everything that has happened.

There’s a light knock on his door, more sharp knuckles than anything, and then Victoria comes in, carrying a big box with a case number labeled on the outside. “Rise and shine,” she chirps, her red lips curving up in a smile. “I come bearing presents.”

Jongin’s heart leaps somewhere in the vicinity of his throat and lodges there. “Are those the files I asked for?” He hardly dares hope.

“All of them,” Victoria nods, plopping the box down on his cluttered desk with a loud thump. “I nearly died coughing from all the dust. These files are ancient.”

“They’re only ten years old,” Jongin replies defensively. His fingers are itching to open the box and start going through the files, but it feels like something he’d rather do in private and Victoria doesn’t look like she’s planning on leaving anytime soon.

She her head to the side, long hair tumbling over her shoulder. “Why are you so interested in this case anyway?”

Jongin hesitates. “It’s sort of a personal matter,” he finally says. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to anyone.”

“I know, I know,” she agrees, miming zipping her lips up. “I’m not going to say anything to anyone. Just remember: you owe me now. Tootles!” And, waggling her fingers at him, she leaves the office, closing the door behind her.

Jongin rips the lid off the box. Though it’s full of paperwork, one box seems like not enough for a case that’s ten years old. He has to remind himself that the case went cold after Kyungsoo had been gone about two years and no one had bothered looking into it anymore.

He pulls the first file folder out of the box and opens it. Like Victoria, he coughs violently from all the dust. It’s clear that no one has looked through these papers in years.

He sighs and starts reading the first paper in the file, which is the police report Kyungsoo’s parents had filed the night he’d failed to come home from school. It doesn’t give Jongin any insight into the truth, stating only the facts that he already knew: Kyungsoo had gone to school and never come back home. He’s mentioned in the police report as the last person to see Kyungsoo alive, when they’d parted ways at the bus stop and made plans to see one another the following day.

Jongin lets his head fall onto the desk. He’s definitely got his work cut out for him. 

Dawwww. First flashbak of Kyunggie and it was so bittersweet TT.TT