“Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi,” Luhans voice drones on in Junmyeon’s ear, so he flips his head over to the other side of the bed. “Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi.” He continues on, letting his finger stab into Junmyeon’s .

Junmyeon mumbles something incoherent and dives under the covers. “If you don’t get up right now, I will choke you in your sleep,” Luhan hisses and his voice seems distant. But Junmyeon realises that’s only because he’s standing up right now and pressing his foot into Junmyeon’s chest. “Are you getting up or not?” He threatens and puts all his weight onto Junmyeon.

“I’m up, I’m up, jesus,” Junmyeon gasps and flicks the covers off. He feels light headed from the sudden movement, but that’s instantly washed away with irritance as he takes in Luhan’s sneer. “Can’t you wake up a person normally?”

“Why should I even wake you up?” He spits and kicks Junmyeon in the stomach. “Get ready, we’re leaving in ten minutes.”

“I’m going to die before I leave this place,” Junmyeon chokes.

“So Jongdae was right, you actually sleep ? Ew.” He grimaces and Junmyeon springs upright.

“I am in boxers, boxers.” Junmyeon snaps and Luhan’s grimace only seems to deepen.

“Yeah....” He states finally and heads towards the door. “Ten minutes, old man.”

“I hate every single one of them,” Junmyeon groans under his breath.

It takes him ten minutes to even get out of bed, which is followed by an immense dive into his closet in attempt to find something dark and warm. He didn’t find anything dark and manages to destroy his room in a matter of seconds. He decides to ignore it, just as simply as he ignored his apartment in the city, and makes his way out of his room.

“Looking a little warm there,” He hears Jongdae from the side, and turns to see him slipping out of the door next to his.

“You’re my neighbour?” Junmyeon drawls incredulously, shutting the door behind him. He catches himself with a grimace and quickly turns his lips up into a smile. “I mean, oh joy you’re my neighbour.”

“Your sarcasm wounds me Junmyeon,” Jongdae sobs dramatically and throws his backpack over his shoulder. “Especially when we have such a close connection.”

He steps closer to Junmyeon, and in turn, Junmyeon steps further away. “Connection?” He repeats.

“Yes, you see...on the far side of your room, one of the walls slides open towards mine.” He declares with interlocked hands and batting eyelashes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“Oh no, my dear, don’t you see?” He twirls on the spot then, and Junmyeon only inches closer to the stairs. “They used to be couple rooms. The door was made for them to secretly meet. It’s called fate.”

“It’s called hormones,” Junmyeon retorts. “And I’m having none of that from you!”

“Ha, too late.” Jongdae whistles and makes his way past Junmyeon, though not before offering him a pat on the . “See you later, Junmyeon!”

Before Junmyeon is even out of the house, Jongdae is already so far into the distance it’s only a couple of seconds till the white mist swallows him up completely. He sees Luhan at the front gate, tapping his foot against the ground impatiently, and clutching at his arms in irritance. There’s a scowl on his face that deepens when he looks up to see Junmyeon.

“You’re fifteen minutes late,” Luhan snaps and turns quickly on his heels to make his way down the road.

Junmyeon has to jog to catch up to him, but even then he seems to speed walking so fast Junmyeon can’t keep up. “What’s the rush?” Junmyeon huffs, his lungs burning only fifteen minutes in.

“No rush,” Luhan replies and then slips his hands in his pockets. His arms are stiff and straight and he’s walking rather jaggedly.

“Are you cold?” Junmyeon asks, eyeing up his posture considerably. Luhan gives him a side glance and scowls a little more, but he doesn’t answer. “You are cold. Why aren’t you wearing more clothes?” Junmyeon looks to see Luhan in nothing but jeans and a short sleeved shirt.

“None of your business,” Luhan snaps, and Junmyeon notices his clenched jaw, grinding his teeth in attempt to prevent them from chattering.

Junmyeon makes a frustrated sound and sighs heavily, “Look, didn’t Minseok tell you I’d be here? Didn’t you agree? What’s with your defensive attitude? Do you want me to think you’re the murderer.” He didn’t think Luhan was the murderer, but as he expected, the words made Luhan pause in his steps.

Luhan turns to look at Junmyeon with a sombre face, his eyebrows tilted upwards and his scowl dropping into a frown. “You think I’m the murderer?”

“No or yes.” Junmyeon strides ahead. “But you’re all suspicious one way or another. You were all in the house the night Jiwon died; you all knew her well enough. These are just scratching the surface. But your attitude towards the detective also plays a big part, don’t you think?”

Luhan jogs to walk side by side with Junmyeon. “I just don’t like people butting into my privacy.”

“It’s kind of my job,” Junmyeon mutters.

“I know...I guess I am being a little stupid,” He admits in a small voice and kicks at a pebble.

“A little?”

“Don’t push it,” Luhan snarls.

Junmyeon clears his throat in an attempt to disguise his laugher. When he takes in a deep breath, he tastes the sea, where the salt clings to the back of his throat and leaves his lips feeling brittle and chapped. He wonders if he’ll ever get used to it. Do the people here simply live with the tremendous roar of crashing waves, or do they drown it out to a dull ambience? And do they never get tired of it? The constant grey clouds that loom over the town like depression, or the white mist that is always there but never within grasp.

Junmyeon likes to think he’d enjoy life here, but he probably wouldn’t. He’d miss the city lights too much.

“How do you know anyway?” Luhan continues, and Junmyeon hears him but his eyes are upon the sea. “That we were all in the house when Jiwon died.”

“No alibis, as of yet,” Junmyeon answers absentmindedly. “I’ve just assumed but you saw no one, and no one saw you all the night Jiwon die. And you’re all fully aware that makes you a suspect, so in a way that’s why you agreed to have me here. Because I can prove you guys innocent.”

“Huh, you seem better at this than I thought,” Luhan chimes. There’s a moment of silence, but not really because despite how far away from the shore they are now, Junmyeon can still hear every single movement of the sea.

“And to answer your previous question, I work in a kitchen for a cafe just past the market.” He points and Junmyeon squints in the direction of his finger but all he can make out is stalls amongst mist. “It gets too hot in there, and there’s no point in me dragging a big coat along with me so I just go like this.”

“Still, you’re freezing,” Junmyeon remarks and Luhan shrugs. “And you don’t have work today?”
“It’s always better during the day, and I’ve gotten used to it.” Luhan replies. “Although I never set foot out of the house at night. Coat or no coat, it’s too cold for anything to live when night falls.”

“What about Jiwon? Did she dislike the cold?” Junmyeon asks and Luhan looks at him with a confused expression.

“What kind of question is that?” Luhan remarks.

“Conversation.” Junmyeon shrugs, and they both know it’s a lie but Luhan plays along.

“She was always stupid,” Luhan goes on. “Sometimes, she’d run bare legs and all into the sea during winter and Jongdae would have to drag her out screaming, only for her to end up with a cold the next day.” He chuckles a little and looks up at the sky.

“She sounds eccentric,” Junmyeon muses and looks at Luhan to find him smiling to himself. Luhan notices him staring and looks away quickly.

“Don’t stare at me like that. I didn’t think of her that way,” He explains and consciously bites at his lip. “She was like family. And besides…” Luhan seems to hesitate for a moment, tucking his hands deep into the depths of his pockets before he manages to finish his sentence. “I’m not interested in women.”

It takes Junmyeon a while to clock in what Luhan really means and even then all he can muster out is a measly ah.

Silence drags out and Luhan takes it upon himself to fill it by diverting the question to Junmyeon. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Junmyeon blinks and Luhan’s lips twist into an awkward pout.

“Your...interests?” He awkwardly pushes, and he lets his head hang so low Junmyeon thinks he’s going to reside into the earth soon enough.

“Oh right yeah…I don’t really have a preference,” Junmyeon replies lamely, scratching at the back of his neck. “Why? You attracted to me?” Junmyeon grins and leans in closer to Luhan.

Luhan takes a finger and presses it against Junmyeon’s forehead. “Ha, real cute. I’d like to see how Jongdae would react when he finds out you swing both ways.”

Junmyeon retreats, mirroring Luhan’s grimace. “I’d rather not know.”

Luhan looks down at his watch then and taps at the glass. “Well, we just have to wait a bit longer now.”

Junmyeon looks up to find the area desolate. There’s nothing but empty stalls and howling wind, and it’s not quite what Junmyeon images when he thinks ‘marketplace’. Not that he’d ever actually seen one before. “I imagined more people…” Junmyeon says and Luhan scoffs from beside him.

“That’s because they’re not even open yet. I come in as early as possible to get the best groceries,” He states and not even a second later does Junmyeon hear the rattling of metal echo as security gates are unlocked and pushed upwards from the ground. Junmyeon watches with growing interest as older men and women start emerging from the back with plastic crates filled to the brim with different types of food. There’s several vegetable and fruit stalls scattered down the road, alongside fish stalls with crates of ice and seafood piled on top of each other and tanks of water for live fish. Further down the marketplace, there are the meat stalls, with sliced pork and chicken set into distinctive sections with skinned lamb and cows hanging from the ceiling.

“You can just go ahead and do your thing. I’m going to go buy tonight’s dinner,” Luhan states, but Junmyeon isn’t listening like he should. Luhan notices his dazed look and gives him a push. “Go on.” And he does, trudging to the closest stall, Junmyeon finds himself all too welcomed by the owners.

Junmyeon can’t help but find it interesting. He’s used to meat being sliced and tightly packaged in plastic, vegetables concealed in bags and everything handed to you by a member of staff. The market gives Junmyeon an odd sense of freedom, where he’s offered genuine smiles of interest rather than professional, money-making expressions he learnt to make his own.

“Oh, a new face we have here, huh?” Junmyeon hears someone coo. He looks up to the fish stall to see a fairly slim middle-aged woman with distraught black hair tied up into a messy bun. “And who might you be? A tourist?”

Junmyeon shakes his head and smiles brightly. “I’m a new resident here.”

“Oh, from the university?” She enquiries.

“Nope, I just like it here,” He replies and heads towards the fish tanks, tapping at the glass and staring at the lobsters and crabs that scuttle at the bottom.

“Oh how lovely,” She chimes. “Where do you live now?”

“I live in the boarding house by the sea,” He says and makes his way ‘round to the squid that seem to bob with every movement.

Junmyeon notices the stall keeper’s posture stiffen from the corner of his eyes, but he continues to give his attention towards the live fish. “Oh...really?” Her voice is less chipper now.

“Is there a problem with the house?” Junmyeon asks curiously.

“Well, a couple of months ago, a girl died there,” She leans and whispers, and Junmyeon lets his eyes widen in an act of feign shock.

“What?”

“Yes, yes dear, they say she committed suicide. But how could that be? She was such a bright and bubbly person, she was so happy even when the world seemed to be so sad,” The woman shook her head in dismay and settled on a stool behind her. “But really, a house like that? How could there not be problems...”

Junmyeon leans in closer. “Problems?”

“A huge house like that? Four good looking guys and one good looking girl? Imagine the things that could have happened. We don’t know what she did with them, you know? A girl with a face like hers and guys fawning over her. Temptation, I tell you.” She raises her thick eyebrows suggestively. “One of them must have done it…pushed her. Probably felt betrayed by her or something.”

Junmyeon nods eagerly as if engaged by what the old woman is telling him. But there’s something about the story that doesn’t sit right with him. “Who did you see her around mostly?”

“Mmm…that rather scornful fellow, Jongdae?” She answers, and it’s not the answer he expects. He was expecting Minseok, somewhere in the back of his mind he’d thought the two were dating. But it was Junmyeons fault for assuming things so early.

“Anyway, I’d be careful if I were you,” She says with a flirtatious tap on his chest. “If they can do it once, they can do it again.”

Junmyeon offers her a smile and says, “Oh, I know.”

An hour later, Junmyeon meets back up with Luhan to take the food back to the house. By then, it’s only eleven in the morning and Junmyeon decides to head to the docks. Luhan had told him to head to the coast and just keep walking until he saw a lighthouse, which threw Junmyeon off because he’d never seen a lighthouse here. It turns out, like everything in the distance, it was hidden in the fog.

The wind is harsher here and the sea crashing against the rocks splatter up so much water Junmyeon thinks it’s raining. It isn’t till Junmyeon sees the first sign of the docks, his feet slipping from gravel onto wood, does he finally see the lighthouse. When he looks up at its tremendous height, he finds it ridiculous he couldn’t see it before.

The sound of wood creaking tells him he’s on the main part of the dock but so does the hundreds of crates piled near the borders, the boats that are lined up and wobbling on the sea’s current and the amount of fishermen running up and down. Men greet him as if he’s been here his entire life and the smiles offered throw Junmyeon off a little. No one’s ever this friendly in the city.

He doesn’t realise it until they meet eyes, but Junmyeon had been looking for Jongdae amidst the crowd of old fishing men and university students with equipment he’s sure has nothing to do with fishing. He stops in his tracks a little as Jongdae makes his way to him, his hair dishevelled and damp and his eyes glimmering with excitement.

“My dear Junmyeon, what brings you here to this not-so desolate part of the sea?” Jongdae grins, slipping his hands into his ripped and tattered jeans.

“You,” Junmyeon answers bluntly and Jongdae blinks for a moment before his grin grows wider.

“Oh, you missed me so much already? Should have called, we could have had fun over the phone.” He winks and leans in closer, only for Junmyeon to give me a flick on the forehead.

“I came to talk,” Junmyeon informs him and starts to walk to the end of the port.

Jongdae comes up from behind him. “Ah, is this the inspecting part?”

Junmyeon turns to give him a look and in turn, Jongdae throws up his arms in defence. “Got it, got it. No fraternizing with the inspector. Hit me!”

The two of them settle themselves on the floor, their legs swinging just above the water. The taste of salt is even stronger than before and Junmyeon feels like he’s drinking in the sea.

“What do you do here?” Junmyeon asks, watching from the side of him as several men and women jump onto a boat, dragging a large net behind them.

Junmyeon hears rustling from beside him, and turns to find Jongdae munching on a chocolate bar. “I fish, fish and fish some more. Then I stack them up into crates - that’s the most boring part - and sometimes, I help deliver them to market stalls and shops.” He says between chews, a wide grin forever imprinted onto his cheeks. “What about you, Inspecter-san? Have you always been a detective?”

Junmyeon nods. “Yeah, I’d always wanted to be one since I was a kid.”

“Kiddy Junmyeon…cute,” He chuckles only to choke for a moment on his food. “What made you want to be one?”

“Nothing special. I was basically an only child when I was younger and found too much interest in mystery shows and inspector books,” Junmyeon explains, and he feels a little uncomfortable because he’s never told anyone that. No one’s ever asked him. Well, Hakyeon probably had once, but Junmyeon’s too busy ignoring him.

“Basically?” Jongdae repeats.

“Ah…I have an older brother but the age difference is pretty wide,” Junmyeon admits and bites his lip immediately because he hadn’t come here for conversations on life and family. “Anyway, I heard that you used to be rather close to Jiwon?”

Jongdae’s grin falls for a moment and he turns his face away. “Yeah...I guess.” He says and his voice is so low Junmyeon can barely catch what he says over the clashing waves. It’s only for a moment though, and when Jongdae lifts his head up again the same grin is there. “We used to be really close. We moved here around the same time and we were the same age. She was really loud and obnoxious most of the time, and knowing me, we fit perfectly together.” He laughs a little at that, and Junmyeon notices his eyes turn up in a way he hadn’t seen before.

“Did you love her?” The question slips Junmyeon’s lips before he even has time to register them, and he’s not entirely sure what motivates him to ask the question.

Jongdae even seems taken aback for a moment but he just smiles softly and shakes his head. “I loved her, but as a sister. She was the family I never had.” He bashfully admits, scratching at the back of his head.

Junmyeon finds it hard to swallow and he can’t help but stare at the pieces of hair that tickle just at the tip of Jongdae’s eyes. Junmyeon doesn’t like the fact it covers some of his face. He also doesn’t like the fact he’s noticed it.

Suddenly, a bell rings and Jongdae turns around. “Well, looks like my breaks over,” He grumbles, and hops onto his feet. Standing up, he offers Junmyeon a hand to pull him up but something catches his eye from behind Junmyeon. “Hey, you shouldn’t be carrying so many crates at the same time, they’re going to fall--” He cuts himself short when his eyes fall back on Junmyeon, and there’s a moment of silence that seems to resonate across the whole dock. And then something slams into the back of Junmyeon’s head.

Junmyeon knows there isn’t much of a fall from the dock to the water below, but when he falls, he feels like he’s falling forever. It’s almost comforting, the sound of his clothes fluttering in the air, the cool wind wrapping him up soothingly, but it all comes to an abrupt end. Junmyeon can feel the very moment his body touches the water; it’s like having a thousand needles prick you at the same time, driving ice into your veins so it pumps itself through your body and into your heart and the only thing you feel is cold. Then the water drinks you in, swallows you whole as if having your legs dangle just above it was like teasing a monster before it was fed. Your body feels heavy, water entrapping your every muscle and nerve until you’re numb and you realise the darkness impending isn’t you losing conscience, but the sea dragging you to the very depths of it’s stomach.

It’s always like this for Junmyeon, every time, there’s no one there. No one to grab his outstretched hand, to hear his silent pleas, to comfort his cries. Every time he thinks about giving up, about letting the water lock his hands and ankles into death, to drag him further and further away from the living. He could be free.

But there’s always something, something that makes him kick his legs and push past the pressure of the water pressing into his skull, there’s always something. An excuse. All he needs is an excuse, he needs to finish this case, he needs to show Hakyeon this wasn’t a mistake. No, he couldn’t let Hakyeon think he was right. And so he tries to swim up, his hands cutting against the water, his legs pushing upwards.

He forgot about his hip. The second he kicks his legs, he feels a numb ache but chooses to ignore it. The third time he kicks, he feels his hip protesting against himself. With the fourth kick, it’s screaming in pain and locks his leg in defiance. And Junmyeon can’t move his leg, can’t fight for his life. And the sickening fear that he’s going to die suddenly rings in his head, and he doesn’t know if his eyes are burning because of the salt in the sea or it’s his tears trying to escape.

Junmyeon lets go then, lets his body sink further down as his hands reach out for that glimmering light that teases him almost, as if it’s reminding him that life is not so far away and yet, he can’t do anything to keep up with it. And just as Junmyeon feels himself drift away into the darkness, he sees a hand and everything becomes painfully clear.

“Junmyeon!” Junmyeon wakes up gasping and feels the water rushing up his throat and spits it out on the side. His heart his thudding rampant against his rib cage, and his lungs scream for air, yet his mouth won’t open for it, won’t let it in. He goes black again but he still feels something damp and soft press against his lips, and he’s breathing, his lungs are expanding, his heart his beating.

He’s alive.

Junmyeon opens his eyes to darkness. His lips are dry and when he opens them, he feels the skin tear so he quickly shuts them again. His throat is sore and dry, and yet the thought of drinking water repulses him. He tries to move and only then does he notice someone’s holding his hand. Whilst the rest of his body is shivering from the cold, his hand seems to be pulsing with heat.

Junmyeon makes a strangled type of noise that causes the sudden movement of someone else in the room, and suddenly the darkness is drowned out by a blinding fluorescent light. He looks up to see Luhan at the light switch and blinks. “Jesus…” Luhan sighs and lets his body sag in relief.

Luhan’s not the only one in his room though because when Junmyeon looks down beside him, he sees Jongdae sleeping on his arm, his hands gripping Junmyeon’s tightly. “What, are we having a party?” Junmyeon croaks, and feels Jongdae rustling from beside him.

“You scared the out of us.” Luhan sighs and flops down on the ground. “We thought you were never going to wake up.”

“How long was I out for?” Junmyeon groans, and only when he tries to push himself up does Jongdae’s eyes finally flick open.

“You’re awake!?” Jongdae exclaims, startled, and gets up fast. “Oh .” Only too fast because he falls onto his back, holding his head.

“It’s been a day and a half already,” Luhan tells him and Junmyeon flops back onto his pillow.

“You okay?” Jongdae calls out worriedly and places a warm hand on Junmyeon’s forehead. Junmyeon pushes his hand away and nods.

“I’m fine, though ironically thirsty.” Junmyeon laughs weakly.

“I’ll go get you a cup then,” Luhan states before taking his leave.

“You sure you’re okay? You had a fever a couple of hours ago.” Jongdae seems nervous almost, biting his lip and shaking his leg.

“I said I’m fine, but you look nervous.” Junmyeon notices the way he’s sitting on his hands, and then gets up to sit straight. “What are you shaking for?”

Jongdae blinks a little as if he doesn’t know what Junmyeon is talking about and looks down at his legs, “Ah, god...it’s just that, since they found Jiwon’s body washed up on the shore, the thought of anyone there...drowning just shakes me up a little.” He attempts in laughing but his words come out as broken syllables. “And you looked so blue...I thought you’d definitely died.”

“So did I, how did I get out?”

“Ah! Here!” Jongdae salutes. “Jumped in and dragged you out. Should have done it quicker though, I assumed you knew how to swim enough to get back up to the surface.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Junmyeon smiles and raises a hand to ruffle at Jongdae’s hair. “I would have if it weren’t for my hip. Thanks, though.”

Jongdae brushes down at his hair in what Junmyeon thinks is a bashful gesture, but then again he could just be sorting out his hair again. “Your hip?”

“I injured it a while ago. Seems like it’s not fully healed,” Junmyeon tells him and gives his hip a pat.

“Does it hurt now?”

“No, and stop looking so worried, it’s disgusting.” Junmyeon grimaces and pushes a finger to Jongdae’s forehead.

“I can’t help it! I just can’t stomach the thought of seeing someone dead again,” Jongdae bursts out in a mini fit of anger and quickly claps his mouth shut with his hands.

Junmyeon’s eyebrow furrow together. “What’s that supposed to--”

But Junmyeon’s interrupted by the loud bang of his room door being slammed open. “You’re awake!” Minseok runs in and settles by Junmyeon’s side. “Thank god! We thought you were a goner.” He sighs in relief.

“I’m not going to be rid of that easily.” Junmyeon laughs heartily, eyeing Jongdae from the side, who seems to be turning a fair shade of green.

“You do possess parasite-like qualities.” Taekwoon comments quietly as he strides into the room. “Really, not even a week and you’re already causing so much trouble.”

“My bad, my bad.” Junmyeon raises his palms up. “Wasn’t prepared for a timber of crates to slam into me and push me over the port. Next time, I’ll be sure to put on my foreshadowing powers on,” He sarcastically replies and Taekwoon offers him nothing but a steady glare.

“That’s enough. Junmyeon’s probably really tired,” Minseok says firmly. It’s then that Luhan comes through the door with a cup of water Junmyeon is still unsure of to drink. But his throat is dry and as he chugs it down, he tries not to think about the way the water feels in his mouth.

He puts the cup down and grins. “I’m actually quite hungry now.”

They all seem to look at him in relief one way or another, and as much as Junmyeon doesn’t want to admit it, he finds it hard to believe anyone here was capable of murder. However, murderous intent doesn’t always come in forms of violence and anger. Sometimes, it resides in the calmest of people, or in the kindest, or even the quietest.

Sometimes, the need to kill another doesn’t stem from a seed and grow into a thorny bush. Sometimes, it takes a single second, the first spark of a fire to find it and to act on it.

Junmyeon’s just coming out of the shower when he sees his phone vibrating on the bedroom floor. From a distance, he can tell it’s someone he doesn’t want to talk to but he answers anyway.

“Hakyeon…” Junmyeon greets with a groan.

“Yes, lovely to hear from you too, Junmyeon.” Hakyeon sweetly replies, and Junmyeon can tell he’s pissed off. Far worse than pissed off. “Want to tell me exactly why you haven’t contacted me in four days? Hm?” His voice his calm, if monotone almost and Junmyeon hasn’t got enough to experience to handle this.

“I was...busy?” Junmyeon chokes out.

“Busy? Hmmm...yes…” Hakyeon lets his words drag out and Junmyeon feels his soul leaving his body with every ‘hmmm’. “Well then, you’d be more than happy to explain why I heard you almost drowned and died from a third party, right? I’d love to hear your excuse for that one.”

. Junmyeon had been too preoccupied with not feeling like a train wreck that he had forgot to report to Hakyeon. In more ways than one, he’s needy for reassurance and Junmyeon has always been careless with the feelings of others.

“I just--how did you find out?” Junmyeon sags down onto his futon, letting the towel on his head fall onto his shoulders.

“How did I find out…?” Hakyeon’s straining his voice at this point and Junmyeon can tell he’s controlling himself from screaming every word with every last breath he has. “I am so, so fully aware of how tactless you are when it comes to reporting to me, so I had made sure the police force there reports to me whenever you do anything…and not even a week, and something happened.”

“Do you people really have no faith in me?” Junmyeon sighs with a shake of his head.

“Faith!?” Hakyeon suddenly barks and Junmyeon flinches at his aggressive tone. He listens for Hakyeon as he takes several deep breaths before he starts speaking again. “Faith...Junmyeon, this was an accident and you almost got yourself killed. How can I not worry about you? You’re always so ing far away, it’s like you don’t even give a if you die.”

Junmyeon’s words are cut short, locked behind his lips because undoubtedly Hakyeon was right. How many times he had been knocking at death’s door willingly? How many times had he thought he’d finally be free? That he should just let the water take him, or the bullet to rip through him, or the blade to drown out every single drop of blood he had left in him.

But he’d always regret the thoughts one way or another and Hakyeon was always one of the stupid excuses. “You know, if it means anything, I’m glad your here, Hakyeon.”

Hakyeon’s breath is cut short. “Why do you always manage to shut me up?”

“Because you love me?” Junmyeon sing-songs, hoping he’s diffused the tension built up in Hakyeon enough.

“Yeah, yeah,” Hakyeon grumbles. “How are you now though? Is your hip okay?”

“It’s fine. The old thing decided to give up on me when I needed it most.”

“I told you, you need to be careful,” Hakyeon pleads and Junmyeon almost feels bad. “You make me so agitated running around everywhere doing god knows what.”

“I am a grown man Hakyeon, I can take care of myself...almost,” Junmyeon’s attempt in persuasion falls too short of himself, and he flops back into his futon with a sigh.

“How are things with the case anyway?” Hakyeon pushes on. “Are you going to beat your solve-a-case record?”

“Finish this case in a week? No way.” Junmyeon snorts and shuts his eyes. “No...everything here is too complicated...weird...not making sense, y’know? I haven’t even been here that long and I don’t even know these people well, but I feel so…” He doesn’t know what he’s trying to say but Hakyeon gets it, Hakyeon always gets it.

“You do this every time, Junmyeon,” Hakyeon grumbles, his motherly tone turned up to the max. “You’re growing attached all over again.”

“‘Am not,” Junmyeon pouts and Hakyeon laughs as if he knows it all. “God, you just love looking down on me.”

“Absolutely love it,” He chuckles and Junmyeon rolls his eyes. “Ah, Jungkook! Can you mail these papers to forensics?” Hakyeon calls out away from the receiver.

“Oh Jungookie! Tell him I miss him!” Junmyeon jokes and laughs loudly when he hears Hakyeon repeat him.

“He’s giving me a very hard glare right now, Junmyeon, what does it mean?”

“It means he loves me,” Junmyeon declares, and side-eyes his door for a moment.

“Junmyeon,” Hakyeon calls out, and the sudden seriousness in his tone makes Junmyeon’s stomach flip. “When are you going to answer your mom’s calls?”

Junmyeon finds it hard to swallow, and even harder to speak. “What made you ask that?”

“Your mom has been calling the reception desk for a while a now. They decided to direct her to me and nearly every day I have to make up some excuse to why you won’t answer her calls.” Hakyeon’s fully aware of why Junmyeon won’t answer her calls, and yet he still attempts in making him do otherwise.

“When I feel like it,” Junmyeon replies curtly. “I’m working right now.”

“Junmyeon--”

“Hey, Hakyeon, I’ll talk to you later, okay?” He doesn’t even let Hakyeon say bye before he hangs up. “You’re not very good at this. Come in,” Junmyeon calls out towards his door, and there’s a short moment of silence before the door slides a fraction of an inch and Junmyeon can see Jongdae’s eye.

“What are you doing?” Junmyeon questions him ludicrously.

“Eavesdropping,” Jongdae admits all too easily. “Who was that?”

“Hakyeon,” Junmyeon answers with a shrug, his towel barely hanging on his waist.

“Who’s Hakyeon?”

“My husband,” Junmyeon states.

Jongdae slips and bangs his head against the wooden frame of the shoji door, and Junmyeon can’t help but laugh out loud. “What a reaction!”

“Are you kidding me?” Jongdae whines and throws the door open.

“Of course I am. What are you, stupid?” Junmyeon continues to cry with laughter.

Jongdae just stands above him for a moment and Junmyeon tries to ignore the way his eyes trace down his chest, then to his barely covered groin, and down to his scrawny legs. “You’re pretty right now.” Jongdae grins.

Junmyeon’s laughter comes to an abrupt halt. “Don’t even think about it,” He warns and attempts to scramble away but Jongdae’s already inching closer and closer. “Jongdae…” Junmyeon puts a hand out as if it’s a barrier enough to stop him.

“Ah, Jongdae,” Minseok pops out from behind the door with a friendly smile and quickly goes to grab at Jongdae’s collar. “I was looking for you! Fancy seeing you here, looking like you’re about to do something stupid.”

Jongdae awkwardly laughs back at Minseok. “Well you see, I can explain--”

“Yes, yes, explain in my room,” Minseok chides as he proceeds to drag Jongdae out of the room. “Have a good night Junmyeon!” Minseok waves before sliding the door shut.

Junmyeon is left feeling rather distraught but it isn’t long till he finds himself cracking up so hard with laughter he hurtles forward and grabs at his stomach. “Oh god… the look on his face,” He cries to himself, and wipes away his tears. Thinking that if this case has any ups, one of them would be Jongdae.

It isn’t till a week later that Junmyeon finally receive Jiwon’s medical and death report from the magistry. It’s also the same day Minseok decides to throw Junmyeon a welcome party because ‘parties should be held on the weekend when there’s no work the next day, and we can therefore get drunk out of our minds.’ Junmyeon thinks Jongdae’s enthusiasm over it is only an excuse to get drunk and Junmyeon isn’t looking forward to it.

He really shouldn’t open such confidential information in an open place such as the front hallway but Junmyeon can’t control himself and grabs at the medical report first. He quickly skims through the prognosis given to him from the forensics until his eyes land upon the words ‘cause of death’. He finds out that when Jiwon’s body was first found, there was a severe blow to her head that had rendered her unconscious before she had hit the sea. When the magistrate had first classified it as suicide, they assumed that the hit was caused by one of the rocks below the cliff, but a biopsy had found that the wound to her head was too blunt and smooth for any type of rock to make. It was then assumed that a small weapon was used to struck her first. It couldn’t have been heavy enough to kill her but enough for her to lose conscience and fall off the side of the cliff.

Junmyeon lets the new information rattle in his brain a little. If the cause of death wasn’t suicide, but murder, then that means Junmyeon has a weapon to find. However, he’s slightly frustrated because usually biopsies offer enough information to state what the weapon is, but all he’d been given was ‘small’ and ‘blunt’. He lets images rack through his brain, flicking through a series of weapons like a slideshow. Junmyeon isn’t given enough time to think, though, when he hears footsteps, and quickly slides the medical report back into the envelope.

“What’s that?” Luhan asks from behind him, and Junmyeon turns away from the front door with the large envelope in his hand.

Junmyeon waves it in the air and mutters offhandedly, “Work.”

“Ah, Junmyeon,” Minseok calls out from behind Luhan. “Luhan and I are going to get some supplies for later. Want to help Taekwoon in the kitchen?”

“Not really.” Junmyeon politely refuses and tries to slip upstairs but Minseok grabs him by the collar and offers him a brutal smile he’s learnt to perfect so well, even Junmyeon feels the fear. “I mean, yes of course, I would oh-so love to help Taekwoon in the kitchen.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Minseok chimes happily and pats Jongdae on the back before heading out.

Junmyeon makes sure to hide the envelope into the depths of his closet before heading back down towards the kitchen where he finds Taekwoon. It’s the first time he’s seen Taekwoon look so concentrated, with his shoulders slightly more tense than usual and his eyebrows knitted together.

“Anyone would think you’re performing surgery on that cucumber.” Junmyeon snorts and quickly snatches a piece to slip into his mouth. Taekwoon is quick to lift his knife in Junmyeon’s direction though and Junmyeon stands frozen.

“Comment one more time and I won’t be responsible for what I do to that pretty face of yours,” He threatens and Junmyeon can’t help but laugh as he takes a finger and holds it at the point of the knife to lower it.

“You think I’m pretty?” Junmyeon repeats and slides onto the countertop. “I’m honoured.”

Taekwoon makes a frustrated sound in the back of his throat and mumbles, “You’re really just like Jongdae sometimes.”

“No, I’m not, he’s far more conniving,” Junmyeon really can’t see what everyone sees when they compare him and Jongdae together. Whenever he’s around Jongdae, he feels irritated and uncomfortable. If anything Junmyeon only makes other feels mildly annoyed.

“Are you going to help me or not?” He snaps and Junmyeon quickly hops off to grab a chopping board and knife. Junmyeon stares at the vegetables laid out onto the table and decides to pick at the tomatoes.

There’s nothing but the sound of their knives hitting the chopping board in a rhythmic sequence. Junmyeon realises it’s the first time he’s alone with Taekwoon, so he decides to make do with it. “So…” He begins and he’s not sure what he wants to ask until the question falls in the air. “What was your relationship with Jiwon?”

Taekwoon stops chopping for a moment, and Junmyeon continues on for the sake of preventing an awkward atmosphere. Junmyeon counts fifteen seconds in his head before Taekwoon goes back to cutting and answers his question, “I was in love with her.”

Junmyeon’s knife miraculously decides to fall out of his hand just then and clatters loudly on the ground. “Oh .” He picks up the knife and throws it into the sink before asking another question. “Were you together?”

“No, she was infatuated with someone else,” He replies, and Junmyeon swears he hears a tint of bitterness in his tone.

“Huh, I always thought you guys were like a family here,” Junmyeon replies, wondering if Jongdae had lied to him. Maybe he too had been in love with Jiwon?

“Those four were,” Taekwoon begins. “I was the last of us to join the house, so they had all created this family that I had no place in. But Jiwon always tried to make me feel included. She couldn’t tell that it was just my personality that wards off people.”

“Oh, so you’re aware of it?”

“Shut up.”

“Roger.”

“I never got the chance to tell her,” His voice dips, and Junmyeon thinks that this is probably as sad as he’d ever allow himself to be in front of someone. Junmyeon hears him settle the knife down and turns around to find Taekwoon staring at him. “Even though I agreed to be investigated, I don’t think it’s right for you to be here.”

“You’re the second person to threaten me,” Junmyeon laughs dryly and swings the knife in his hand.

“I’m not threatening you, Junmyeon, I’m warning you,” Taekwoon says seriously and straightens up, and Junmyeon tries not to think about how big Taekwoon is at this proximity.

“You’re also the second person to say that to me,” Junmyeon comments and feels himself nervously bite at his lips.

“Look, I know I said they saw each other as family,” Taekwoon sighs and he looks outside to the garden, his eyes skimming across the hundreds of flowers. “But I’ve always found the way they treated Minseok odd.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Jongdae, Luhan, and even Jiwon, they cling to Minseok. Every time they talk about how they arrived to this place, they talk like Minseok is some sort of God. It makes me sick.” Junmyeon notices the scowl on Taekwoon’s face and finds it’s the most emotional expression he’s ever seen on him. It makes what he’s saying far more serious than Junmyeon wants to take.

But what it means for him, he still doesn’t know.

“Ooo, what are you guys doing?” Jongdae purrs as he enters the kitchen.

“I’m going to go get the onions,” Taekwoon announces unnecessarily and leaves the kitchen.

Junmyeon returns to cutting the tomatoes, because that’s all he can do as the words fly through his head. This is the part he hates, having all the little tiny pieces of the puzzle being clicked into place, bordering on the picture but never enough to make sense of what’s to be seen.

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon calls out then, being hurtled abruptly from his thoughts. “Can you not grind against me?”

Jongdae chuckles then, his breath tickling at the skin of Junmyeon’s neck as he settles his chin on Junmyeon’s shoulder. “I’m not grinding against you...yet.”

Junmyeon grips the knife in his hands tightly, painfully aware of how Jongdae’s bent his knees into the back of Junmyeon’s, the way he tilts his head into the hollow of his neck and how when he breathes in deeply, there’s a small trace of a smile on his lips.

“You’re being creepy,” Junmyeon remarks and stabs the knife into the chopping board.

“And you’re being boring,” Jongdae pouts and slips away from Junmyeon, and Junmyeon hates how cold he feels. “What were you talking about with Taekwoon?”

Junmyeon slides the sliced tomatoes into a glass bowl and grabs at the spring onions next. “Jiwon.”

“Huh? What did he tell you?”

“Not really my place to say.”

“So he told you he was in love with her?”

“What? You knew?” Junmyeon asks and turns around to face Jongdae, whose sitting on the countertop and popping cucumbers in his mouth.

“With someone as blank as Taekwoon, he’s pretty obvious when he takes a fancy to someone,” Jongdae says between a mouth full of food.

“And what about you?” Junmyeon asks. “Weren’t you in love with her too?”

Jongdae looks at Junmyeon just as he stops chewing and swallows the contents of his mouth down his throat. Junmyeon watches as his adam’s apple rises and falls and feels tense for asking again. “I thought I answered that question. Do you not trust me, Junmyeon?” Jongdae asks with a smile but his tone doesn’t match it. He sounds too serious.

“Do I need to trust you?” Junmyeon retorts. And a second later he feels the pang of guilt when he remembers that he’s alive, standing here right now because of Jongdae. You get too attached. Hakyeon’s words resonate in Junmyeon’s mind, and Junmyeon hates to admit how right he is.

“I guess not,” Jongdae replies somberly.

“Stop eating those cucumbers, or Taekwoon will slice you up along with them,” Junmyeon says in an attempt to brush off the awkward air.

“Anyway, does it matter?” Jongdae continues. “Whether I’m in love with Jiwon or not?”

Junmyeon feels his hands grip his arms tightly, “Yes, your relationships always mean something in cases like these.”

“Hmmm?” Jongdae purrs and picks something off the countertop behind him. He makes his way towards Junmyeon, who finds himself leaning back into the counter. “Here, these are fresh.” Jongdae says suddenly and presses a pickle between Junmyeon’s lips.

Junmyeon has no choice but to bite off the tip and let it fall into his mouth, out the juice before crunching into the flesh. He winces a little and mutters something about it being salty before swallowing it down. While Junmyeon at his lips, he looks up to find Jongdae staring at him with a glazed expression and the rest of the pickle between his lips.

Jongdae swallows it down with the last crunch and wipes at his lips with his thumb. “You know what this reminds me off?” He murmurs lowly, and at his lips. “When I pulled you out of the sea and tasted your lips.”

Junmyeon swallows down air and responds, “You mean that incredibly important first aid maneuver called CPR?”

Jongdae only has to take a step closer for Junmyeon to feel his breath run down his jaw, “Mmm, I don’t know if it was because of the sea but your lips were really soft,” He mutters and he’s not looking at Junmyeon’s eyes but down at his lips. Junmyeon hopes Jongdae can see the apparent scowl on his face.

“And salty and wet because I was drowning.” Junmyeon tries to brush past him but Jongdae’s already put both hands on either side of Junmyeon, preventing him from moving away. There’s a moment of silence between them and the air is filled with nothing but heavy breathing as Jongdae leans closer and closer.

And then Jongdae’s eyes suddenly flicker up to meet Junmyeons and he watches with ragged shock as a grin grows on his face. “Scared ya’?” Jongdae chuckles, lets his hands go free and throws them up in the air.

Junmyeon releases a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding in when he see’s Jongdae inch a little further back. “Jongdae, don’t do that--”

But he did it. Without even a breath for warning, Jongdae presses his lips against Junmyeon’s. And then they’re gone all too quickly for Junmyeon to even memorize the feel of them. “Caught you,” Jongdae cackles heartily before speeding out of the kitchen.

Junmyeon reaches up to his face and rubs at his lips a little in an attempt to scratch away the warmth lingering on his skin.

He doesn’t like the feeling, he doesn’t like it at all.

By the time the clocks hits seven, the sun has already set and the table is set for a barbeque fest. The scent of meat sizzling and marinating sauce fills the entirety of the house the second Minseok starts grilling. The doors to the garden are wide open to air out the smoke and Junmyeon finds that there are lights embedded into the paths leading up and down to the coast.

Minseok pours out the first round of shots and with a small cheer, they throw it down their throats. Hisses and gasps echo across the table and they settle down their cups to start picking at the meat that’s turned a fair shade of red due to the marinating sauce.

“I was thinking Junmyeon,” Minseok calls out after drowning down the meat he shovelled into his mouth. “that you could take this opportunity to ask any questions you have. I know some of us haven’t been totally supportive of your job.” He eyes Luhan and Taekwoon but they’re too concentrated on eating. “So don’t hold back, please.”

Junmyeon nods in agreement, staring at the four of them with a curious gaze. He clears his throat before beginning. “So, what were you all doing the night Jiwon fell?” He thinks it’s a simple enough question to start with but the uncomfortable atmosphere thickens with every second nonetheless.

“I think I was asleep,” Jongdae starts. “But before that, I was raiding the fridge.”

“Around what time did you sleep?”

“Sometime before twelve, but do you know what time Jiwon must have...died?” He chokes out the last word as if it’s lodged in his throat, and Junmyeon tries to ignore the painful expression growing on his face.

“I was told she had been dead for just over ten hours when they found her body in the morning,” Junmyeon nonchalantly chews on his meat, despite noticing how everyone had put their chopsticks down. “So that means she must have fell between ten and eleven? Were you in the house the whole time, Jongdae?”

Jongdae weakly nods. “I was in my room reading until I fell asleep around that time.”

Junmyeon nods and turns to face Minseok, who gives him a look before sighing deeply and picking his chopsticks again. “I’d been in my room for the entire day because I had a cold.”

“Can anyone vouch for that?” Junmyeon asks, and he tries to make it seem light because all in all it sounds like he’s accusing him of lying.

Luhan raises his hand. “I sent him up water and medicine earlier in the after noon that day. He had a temperature over thirty eight degrees celsius.”

“And what were you doing?” Junmyeon asks and Luhan seems to visibly stiffen for a moment.

“I was in my room, tending to...something…” Luhan lets the sentence trail into incoherent mutters.

“Something?” Junmyeon pushes, and picks at another piece of meat to wrap it up in lettuce and take a bite into it.

“Just a hobby in my room is all.” Luhan clears his throat and speaks unnaturally loud then. “But yes, I was in my room the whole night.”

Junmyeon nods and looks up at Taekwoon who just shrugs and says he was “studying”.

It takes a while for all of them to get back into eating, chopsticks fly and click against each other in a fight for the best piece of meat. Minseok pours another round of soju and they all drink up. Junmyeon feels the alcohol burn as it slides down his throat and warms his chest up like someone lit his lungs on fire.

“So, do you guys not have anyone that comes to mind? Someone who wasn’t on good terms with Jiwon?” Junmyeon continues and thankfully, everyone doesn’t turn as rigid at the mention of her name this time.

“Not really,” Jongdae speaks up. “That’s what was odd. She was generally liked by everyone. A little too loud, but kind and fun.” He closes his eyes for a moment and Junmyeon stares at his lips as they flick up at the ends. “I really don’t know how anyone could want her dead.”

“Well if we think about it from a different perspective. Is there anyone who was infatuated with her? Stalked her? Felt like they wanted her bad enough to hurt her?” Junmyeon hypothesizes. “It’s not always anger that leads to killing. Sometimes, it’s accidents, like an in-the-heat- of-the-moment thing?”

Everyone picks at their meat whilst deep in thought and Junmyeon looks to Taekwoon to answer but he seems unphased by the whole conversation. He knew she was infatuated with someone, finding out who it was might mean something. But all Junmyeon gets is a series of head shakes and Minseok goes to pour another shot for everyone.

He thinks about Taekwoon for a moment. Hadn’t he said he was in love with her? He holds that brooding, mysterious persona equipped for your stereotypical psychotic murder. However, Junmyeon found him too honest, too detached from reality for him to be even seemingly suspicious. Still, he couldn’t let his guard down.

“Is it okay to ask the inspector questions?” Luhan speaks up, meat rolling around in his mouth.

“If you want, though I don’t know what you’d get out of it.” Junmyeon shrugs and takes another swig of his soju.

“To satisfy my own curiosity,” Luhan replies and Junmyeon looks up to see Luhan, and the world tilting ever so slightly. “Why are you here?”

“What kind of question is that Luhan?” Minseok interjects but Luhan presses on.

“I mean, why would a city detective come to this deserted side of the coast? We’ve got a population just under a thousand, for god’s sake. I’m sure there’s so many murders happening in the city that are far more interesting,” Luhan offers, swinging his cup around and looking at the rest of the residents. Junmyeon feels his head slowly growing too heavy for his neck, and he works to keep his concentration on what Luhan says. He still, however, takes another shot of soju. “What made you choose this case, Junmyeon?”

Despite their protests, the four of them turn to look at Junmyeon with curiosity, because inevitably Luhan was right. Despite those pesky cases on missing pets and theft, there were a series of murders, homicides, serial killings, human trafficking that had took Junmyeon’s interest so fast, he’d felt the adrenaline intoxicate his blood stream in a matter of seconds.

In the end, he had chosen this place. A quiet area by the sea where everything seems to be perfect, only for there to be that hairline crack in the side and he wanted to mend it. “Escape?” Junmyeon finally answers and he’s not entirely sure if the words that are slipping out his lips are coherent, but he keeps talking. Talking and drinking. “There was an article about this place once, about it being the most surreal and nicest place to be in all of Korea. It wasn’t much of an article but compared to Seoul, where there’s more wrong than right, it sounded like heaven. When I heard Minseok tell me that he’d let me come here for free and fix the one problem such a well reputed place had...well, what would that make me, hm?” Junmyeon’s slurrying at this point, his lips are numb but he doesn't care. “I’d be a hero!”

Luhan looks surprised by the answer, as if he hadn’t expected something so human to fall from Junmyeon’s lips. “An honest drinker, are we?” Luhan scoffs and goes to pour him another shot of soju.

“But that’s not it!” Junmyeon continues, throwing a hand up in the air. “Do you know how suffocating it is over there? The typical single man of Seoul, having women in and out, in and out. Quite literally.” He chuckles then and goes to grab at Jongdae’s drink, swallowing it down in an instant. “And over here? You guys live together, eat together, the thought sounded nice.” He nods enthusiastically, taking a grab at the soju bottle but Minseok pulls it back and gives him a pat on the head.

“It hasn’t even been an hour but I think you’ve had enough Junmyeon,\.” Minseok laughs and places the bottle on the floor beside him.

“Don’t you have a family to do those things with?” Taekwoon asks after being silent for so long.

And the sudden mention of family makes Junmyeon sober ever so slightly, and thinks about it. He thinks about all those nights at the dinner table eating microwavable food, leftovers from the day before or take out he had to call on his own. About all the smiles his parents would offer but never once were they for him, never once were their gentle pats of comfort his, or their words of love his. “No,” He finally says. “No, I don’t.”

“Well,” Luhan says and takes a swing of his soju, and he too starts to seem wobbly. “We’re all more or less orphans here!” He cheers and grabs the soju bottle from beside Minseok to pour himself and Junmyeon another shot.

“Woo!” Junmyeon hollers and drinks up.

Junmyeon doesn’t know how much time passes from then, all he remembers is the clock’s hands spinning like someone had placed the world on fast forward. He remembers Jongdae pressing himself to his side, and Luhan crying over high-priced tofu. He’s learnt that Taekwoon is a sleepy drunk, and a light weight at that too, so it isn’t long till he’s in a ball sleeping on the floor. Minseok had felt sick earlier in the night and decided to head to bed early on. So, all that who’s left still clinging to reality were Luhan and Junmyeon. Jongdae seemed uncharacteristically fine.

“Are you even drinking?” Junmyeon yodels to Jongdae, and Jongdae can’t help but laugh and wiggle his cup of soju in front of him.

“He’s a boring one,” Luhan mumbles. “Doesn’t get drunk that easily.”

“That’s odd coming from you.” Junmyeon scrunches up his eyebrows and shakingly pours Jongdae another cup. “Drink up, Jongdae, like a good boy,” Junmyeon coos and ruffles at Jongdae’s hair.

“Do you want me drunk?” Jongdae asks, an arched eyebrow peaking up from behind his shot glass.

“Hm, it’s boring if you’re the only one sober,” Junmyeon mumbles and absentmindedly grabs at leftover lettuce, picking at the leaf and shoving it into his mouth.

“I think I’m finding it rather fun just watching you,” Jongdae smiles disarmingly and brushes a hand through Junmyeon’s dishevelled hair.

“Huh, you’re pretty calm when you’re drunk,” Junmyeon comments and shrinks away from him. “Weird, weird,” He draws out childishly and crawls under the table to find an unopened bottle of soju.

“Junmyeon, what are you doing?” Jongdae calls and pulls Junmyeon from under the table to find him at the top of the still-unopened bottle of soju like a six month old baby. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jongdae laughs and hoists Junmyeon up into a sitting position.

“Don’t touch me!” Junmyeon protests and presses Jongdae’s face away from his. “Weird, you’re weird,” He snaps childishly and attempts in crawling away.

“What do you mean I’m weird?” Jongdae asks, and Luhan bursts out laughing from the side.

“Junmyeon, you might as well give in, it’s not like you don’t like !” He declares and Jongdae’s hands are frozen in mid-reach for Junmyeon.

“What?” Jongdae blinks at Luhan who's still laughing.

Junmyeon grumbles and flops onto his back. “Luhan, who said you could let out such confidential information!” He cries at the ceiling, flicking his soju bottle aimlessly in the air.

Luhan continues to laugh until Junmyeon hears a weird gurgling noise and Luhan’s laughter his cut short. “Oh ,” He hears him mumble from behind his hand. “I’m going to be sick.” He announces, and Jongdae calls his name out in warning but Luhan’s already running out of the living room.

“He’s going to regret that in the morning,” Junmyeon chuckles from the floor. He still staring at the ceiling when Jongdae slides his head over his.

“Was what he said true?” Jongdae asks. There’s a faint smile on his lips and it doesn’t seem mischievous in the least bit, which makes Junmyeon feel uncomfortable despite being tipsy.

“What?” Junmyeon groans and gives Jongdae an incredulous look of distaste.

Jongdae smiles down at him, despite the fact his eyebrows are knitted together in what Junmyeon thinks is frustration. “That face really hurts, you know?” He grumbles and goes to pinch at Junmyeon’s chin.

“Shut up, don’t touch me,” Junmyeon hisses and tries to crawl away from Jongdae but his muscles give out and he flops to the ground. “Sleepy…” Junmyeon mutters and despite feeling like the world is slipping away from him, he still hears Jongdae’s light laughter ringing in the back of his mind.

“Let’s get you to your room,” Jongdae whispers close to Junmyeon ear, and he doesn’t want to but Junmyeon feels himself shiver as Jongdae’s breath lingers against his skin. He’s hoisted up then, the entire room tilting along with him as Jongdae throws his arm around his shoulder, and puts another hand on his waist. “Jesus, you’re heavy.”

Junmyeon barely feels his legs wobble across the living room. He’s moving but he doesn’t remember getting up to walk. He looks to the side and sees Jongdae’s stiff expression as he drags him up the stairs. “You’re too close,” Junmyeon whines and tries to slip his hand away from Jongdae’s shoulder but Jongdae’s grip on his waist only tightens as he pushes him up the stairs.

“The living room is not somewhere you want to wake up with a hangover Junmyeon. Believe me,” Jongdae says seriously and his flat tone makes Junmyeon’s stomach do somersaults.

“Ugh, don’t say my name,” Junmyeon cries. “Don’t say it it, it’s weird. You’re weird. Everything is weird,” He grumbles incoherently, and scratches at his ears. Because he doesn’t like it, doesn’t like how light Jongdae’s voice is when he laughs or how softly he says his name. He doesn’t like it.

“Ok ok, Mr. Inspector--oh jesus,” Jongdae gasps. “Do you ever clean your room?”

“Shut up. You just walked in on a bad day,” Junmyeon snaps and crumbles to the ground.

“Oh come on, we’re nearly to your futon,” He says and grabs Junmyeon from under his arms and drags him towards the middle of the room before flopping him onto his futon.

Junmyeon lets his head fall onto the pillow and purrs the second his body meets comfort. He can still hear Jongdae laughing. “What are you still doing here? Out…” He shoos Jongdae away but he instead decides to flop cross-legged beside Junmyeon. “What are you doing?” He whines and slaps at Jongdae’s knees. “Go away.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Jongdae presses, letting his hand trace across the side of Junmyeon’s face despite how much times he’s already tried to slap his hand away.

“What question?” Junmyeon sighs and he hates how the world feels like it’s coming to a still.

“Was what Luhan said true? Do you have no preference?”

Junmyeon lets out a ridiculous noise of frustration out before nodding and diving under the covers. The alcohol is slipping away from him despite how hard he tries to cling to it. He can’t sober up now.

A couple of seconds pass and then Junmyeon finds Jongdae pulling the covers away. “It’s okay, right?” Jongdae asks and Junmyeon knits his eyebrows together in a form of a question. “Is it okay to take advantage of you right now?” He’s manages to place himself just above Junmyeon, and Junmyeon rolls to the side to try and hide but it doesn’t do much. “Junmyeon…”

“What?!” Junmyeon growls up at Jongdae. And he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t like how seriously desperate Jongdae looks right now.

“Did you not hear me?” He whispers and brings his face lower to Junmyeon.

“Hear what?” Junmyeon mumbles, his eyes staring out to the balcony.

“Can I take advantage of you?” He repeats, his lips ghosting across Junmyeon’s jaw, breath drawing out every hair on the back of his neck.

“Why? Because I’m into guys?” Junmyeon replies and Jongdae pulls his head back to look down at him again. This time, Junmyeon can’t help but make eye contact.

“No,” Jongdae shakes his head and there’s the grin Junmyeon missed, big and conniving, canine teeth threatening to sink into his lips. “Because I’m attracted to you,” He declares and Junmyeon feels his heart jump into his throat. He’s trying to swallow it down but the beat of his pulse won’t calm.

This isn’t new, this isn’t new, this is no different from the others. Junmyeon chants to himself. You’ll forget this the next morning, this is nothing but a fling. Junmyeon feels himself gulping and in the next moment, he lets his hands reach out towards Jongdae’s neck and wraps them tightly around him.

“Who are you kidding?” Junmyeon scoffs, and brings his lips just an inch away from jongdae. “I’m the one taking advantage of you.”

The moment their lips meet, it’s nothing like Junmyeon expects, or is used to; it’s wet and sloppy. Jongdae tastes bitter, like the salt in the sea or the vodka in a cocktail. His lips are soft and the second they feel Junmyeon’s press against them, they kiss him back in a fiery speed of desperation and lust. Junmyeon feels a growl build up in his chest as he presses himself against Jongdae harder, pulling him down by his neck, he lets his tongue trail against his round lips and sinks his teeth into them. In ecstasy, Jongdae clutches at the futon beneath him, breathing Junmyeon harshly with every kiss he leaves on Junmyeon’s lips. Junmyeon’s hands are everywhere, in the crook of Jongdae’s neck, on the small of his back, on the side of his face, on the edge of his waistband.

They break apart for a moment, their breaths mingling and their lips turning a fair shade of rose. Junmyeon watches Jongdae’s adam apple fall and drop as he swallows down and Junmyeon can’t help but rise up and let his teeth graze at Jongdae’s skin. This is the alcohol taking over, Junmyeon tells himself as he takes his tongue and drags it up from the hallows of Jongdae’s neck and across the bump of his adam’s apple. He presses his lips just under Jongdae’s jaw and feverishly at the skin he first thought looked so soft it could tear with a single touch. He was evidently wrong because here Junmyeon was, kissing at the very skin and seeing nothing but the first blush of purple form in place of his lips.

“Junmyeon…” Jongdae breathes out into Junmyeon’s ear, and he can’t help but feel his spine shiver with every syllable that slips from Jongdae’s lips. Junmyeon grits his teeth then and scrutinizes his eyes shut as he grabs at the collar of Jongdae’s shirt and pushes him down onto the futon. Junmyeon’s hovering over him now, and he’s brushing away the strands of hair that poke at Jongdae’s eyes with irritance. I don’t like it. He curses inwardly and quickly leans down to press his lips back to Jongdae’s.

Without warning, he slips his tongue into Jongdae’s mouth, and with pleasure, finds Jongdae bucking into him with surprise. Although his surprise doesn’t last long because soon Jongdae digs his fingers into Junmyeon’s upper arms and forces him closer until their bodies mold together, until their chests are pressed flesh against each other and their groins nothing but a few layers of fabric apart.

There’s muffled gasps exchanged between them and Junmyeon’s mumbling something into Jongdae’s lips but Jongdae evidently wants to hear nothing but Junmyeon groaning from above him. “You’re hot…” Junmyeon grumbles between their lips, his eyebrows inching closer together.

Jongdae chuckles and at Junmyeon’s bottom lip before saying, “Why thank you.” Junmyeon rolls his eyes despite them being shut and he pushes away from Jongdae.

“No, I mean, you’re actually hot,” He says and places a hand on Jongdae’s forehead.

Jongdae whines under him. “Yeah, you kind of did this to me.”

Junmyeon looks down at him for a moment. Sweat is trickling down the side of Jongdae’s neck and his lips are swollen. Junymeon bites at his lips, telling himself he doesn’t want to go back down and kiss Jongdae all over again. No, he doesn’t like how bitter he tastes or how his lips slide against Junmyeon’s. He doesn’t like it.

Suddenly, Junmyeon freezes up and clutches at his stomach. “Junmyeon?” Jongdae calls out and takes the back of his palm to against Junmyeon’s cheek. “You okay?”

“Nope,” Junmyeon groans and rolls away quickly. “Going to be sick, going to be sick.”

Then, everything goes black.

There’s a moment in the darkness when Junmyeon hears the faint sound of whimpers. He feels a presence from behind him rustling and kicking at the sheets that have already accumulated together at the end of the futon. Junmyeon opens his eyes to see a full moon peeking from the corner of his balcony, its light drowning the room in white.

Jongdae is mumbling incoherently from beside Junmyeon, words slipping out of dreams in broken syllables. He feels numb and heavy, and Junmyeon can feel the beginning of a hangover press into the side of his skull. Nevertheless he still manages to turn around and face Jongdae. He’s sleeping on his back, his chest rising and falling rapidly, sweat glistening against the moonlight and a name on the edge of his lips.

Junmyeon slides closer to Jongdae, and attempts to get him to lie on his side. His hands burn with the bare contact of skin, and he notices Jongdae shivering, no, shaking. He’s having a nightmare. “Jongdae?” He tries to call out but Jongdae’s eyebrows only seem to knit together tighter as Junmyeon brushes back the damp strands of hair away from his face.

He grabs him then, for the second time that night, Jongdae digs his nails into the flesh of Junmyeon’s arm, but this time there’s no certainty nor desperation in his grip. There’s only fear shaking from his fingertips and a name slipping from his nightmares.

Jiwon.

Junmyeon wakes up to the calming beat of someone else’s heart and the resonating sound of the current outside. Junmyeon doesn’t want to open his eyes, but relish in the warmth of having the other half of the bed filled with something other than wistful memories. The sun is warm against his , and Junmyeon feels himself snuggle closer to the other who has their arms wrapped around him. The faint scent of the sea is embedded in their skin and Junmyeon wonders if salt crystals can be found in the spaces between his skin. So, he presses his lips against the flesh and in turn feels the beating of their heart steadily pick up pace.

With disappointment, Junmyeon finds himself waking up, and it isn’t till he hears his room door sliding open with a bang does he finally open his eyes. He looks up to meet a nonchalant grin he’s grown to hate and enwrapped in arms he really didn’t want to be around him. “Jongdae,” Junmyeon hisses lowly, and Jongdae lets out a low chuckle before pressing his forehead against Junmyeon’s.

Someone calls out Junmyeon’s name and it’s not Jongdae but rather far closer to a voice he’s been hearing muffled through a receiver nowadays. Junmyeon looks up and, to his horror, Hakyeon is looking down at him with that condescending smile of his. “Good morning, honey,” Hakyeon sings and Junmyeon can’t jump onto his feet any quicker.

“What the , Hakyeon?” Junmyeon rubs his eyes for a moment, the world tilting all over again. Hakyeon grabs at his bare elbow and Junmyeon looks down to find himself in nothing but boxers. “Why the am I ?”

“You are still in boxers if that means anything,” Hakyeon chuckles and goes to fetch Junmyeon a pair of jeans from the ground.

Jongdae grumbles a little as he sits up and when the covers slide down his body, Junmyeon sees he’s just as as he is. “,” Junmyeon curses under his breath and aggressively hops into his jeans. “Hakyeon, it’s not what it looks like, I swear.”

“Really? ‘Cause it looks like you’re cheating on me, dear,” He jokes but by the look of absolute rage on Jongdae’s face, it doesn’t seem to be that he finds it very funny.

“Who is he?” Jongdae demands, and Junmyeon can’t groan any louder.

“Lover--”

“Shut up, Hakyeon,” Junmyeon threatens and kicks him in the shin.

“Hakyeon, your ‘husband’, Hakyeon?” Jongdae presses.

“Oh, so he knows about us and you still decided to fraternize with him?” Hakyeon continues on and Junmyeon has never felt like suffocating himself more than ever.

“God, please shut up, both you.” Junmyeon demands and slips a jumper on, the wool itching at his skin. “What are you doing here?” Junmyeon grabs Hakyeon by the elbow and starts to drag him outside.

“Junmyeon!” Jongdae calls out and he feels a tug on his sleeve. Junmyeon looks back at Jongdae, his bed hair an array mess, his lips turned down in an awkward pout and a bite mark clearly visible on the edge of his jaw. Junmyeon ignores the way his throat closes up at the sight of him and flicks his hand away.

“Jongdae, I have to work now. You can get to your room by yourself, right?” Junmyeon says and nods his head towards the hidden door at the very corner of the room.

Jongdae’s pout doesn't last long and in a second, his carefree smile has slid back onto his face as he gives Junmyeon a wink and waves him off. Junmyeon tries not to feel guilty, because he’s done it before. He’s done worse.

Junmyeon leads Hakyeon towards the garden where they sit on a lone bench by the koi pond. It’s mid-afternoon, the sun’s out, and somehow Junmyeon doesn’t seem as pleased to see it as he used to be. “Want to explain what you’re doing here?” Junmyeon grumbles, massaging the side of his temples. His body feels heavy and he wants nothing more than to go back to bed and sleep for the rest of the century.

“What do you mean?” Hakyeon replies. “It’s mandatory for someone to check on your progress.”

“That’s some excuse you got there,” Junmyeon scoffs and grudgingly squints at the sky.

“You were worried, weren’t you? Well, I’m not surprised,” Junmyeon grabs the water bottle in Hakyeon’s hands and chugs down nearly half of it. He watches as Hakyeon slips out a banana from his rucksack next and peels it, layer by layer.

“I’m only here for two days,” Hakyeon informs him. “So I thought I’d help you out as much as I can before leaving.”

“I might just need it,” Junmyeon admits weakly. He closes his eyes for a moment, the sun glowing a bright orange through his eyelids. The heat of it makes Junmyeon think of the night before, and then he abruptly opens his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Hakyeon spits, evidently flabberghasted. “Since when does Kim Junmyeon admit to wanting help? I usually have to force it on you.” Hakyeon frantically presses his palm against Junmyeon’s forehead.

“You’re still freaking annoying!” Junmyeon snaps and scoots away from Hakyeon. “I’m just hungover right now. Last night was a bloody mess.” He says with a frustrated sigh.

“Speaking of which, who was the angry guy in your bed?” Hakyeon inquires, nudging his shoulders in Junmyeon’s direction.

“Just...someone. We both got drunk and ended up sleeping in the same bed,” Junmyeon lies through his teeth.

“Really? That’s all that happened?”

“Yes, I also vomited all over myself which is probably why I was stripped .” He explains, and he knows that much is true because all he remembers before passing out is covering himself in colourful dots.

“Sounds like you're having a hell of a time, huh.” Hakyeon laughs and bites into the tip of his banana.

“You don’t even know half of it,” He mutters under his breath and takes another swig from the water bottle.

“How’s the case going so far? Got any leading suspicions?”

“I wish. The more I learn, the more confused I get,” He sighs then and lets his head hang off the back of the bench.

“Maybe a fresh mind would bring light to new things?” Hakyeon offers, and Junmyeon wants to tell him no, shut up but unfortunately, and once again, he finds Hakyeon to be right.

“Four residents in the house,” Junmyeon starts, throwing four fingers up in the air. “All likely to be the killers because apparently Jiwon had spent her years here helping Minseok out and searching for a job, therefore she never had much of a chance to meet anyone else. One resident was in love with her, but was fully aware she was ‘infatuated’ with someone else. Another one claims to be her ‘saviour’, though I’ve yet to figure out why, but that’s not hard information to obtain. We’ve got two residents threatening me that I shouldn’t be here, and another two who apparently ‘worships’ another. Then, there’s--” Junmyeon’s report comes to a halt when Hakyeon slaps a palm to his lips.

“This will really not get us anywhere,” Hakyeon concludes and lets his hand drop back to his lap. “Why don’t we start from the basics? Have you scoped her place of death, and her room yet?”

Junmyeon shakes his head.

“What have you been doing the past week and a half exactly?” Hakyeon asks.

“Trying to keep alive?” Junmyeon offers and slouches further into the bench.

“What about her medical and death report? You should have gotten them by now.”

“I got them yesterday but I only got to read as far as her cause of death.” Junmyeon flings himself upwards and leans against his knees. The flick of a tail catches Junmyeon’s attention and he finds his eyes chasing the koi fish in the pond in front of him. “She was hit across the head with something light and blunt, and with enough force to kill her. I’m going to assume it was the strength of a man, but even so, I’ve thought of all the weapons I could and nothing even comes close to the indentations I saw in her head,” Junmyeon thinks aloud, his leg jogging up and down along with his running thoughts.

“Have you got pictures?” Hakyeon gets up then and claps his hand together.

“Yeah, the report is upstairs in my room.”

The two head back up to his room and as they pass through the kitchen, Junmyeon notices the grill and table had been cleaned up, and that Taekwoon was no longer sprawled across the floor. “Who let you in?” Junmyeon asks as they make their way up the steps.

“Ah, Minseok. We caught each other at the gate and he told me where your room was,” Hakyeon answers and Junmyeon opens his room door. The two freeze at the entrance of the room and Junmyeon scopes the scene before him.

“Hakyeon, I know I can be rather messy,” Junmyeon begins. “But is my power so strong that I can make it worse without even being there?” He offers the idea and Hakyeon sighs from in front of him.

“Well, at least we know for sure now,” Hakyeon chides and takes a step into his room. “The murderer is definitely in the house.”

Junmyeon follows Hakyeon in and takes in the catastrophe for what it really is. Junmyeon is fully aware of his inability to put clothes back where they should be, but what he hates is pulled-out pockets, and that’s exactly what he sees with every pair of jeans he sees lying on the floor. Among them are a series of papers that were not within visibility the last time he was in the room. His drawers have been pulled and upturned; boxers and socks have accumulated into a mountain on the floor. His closet is wide open and at the entrance lays Junmyeon’s envelope that held Jiwon’s information, with pictures and papers carelessly thrown across the floor in a rush.

“What did you think they wanted to take?” Hakyeon wonders aloud as he starts to pick up the papers from around him.

“I don’t think they took anything,” Junmyeon says and goes to help Hakyeon. “Any information here I can easily gain again. Whoever did this wanted to find something out.”

“Any clue as to who could have done this?” Hakyeon queries.
Junmyeon groans inwardly before sighing. “Only one.”

“Well, that Luhan guy checks out - he’s been working at the cafe since he arrived three hours ago,” Hakyeon announces and hangs up the phone. “You sure no one else comes to mind?”

“I don’t know…” Junmyeon paces up and down the length of his room with his hand at the tip of the chin. As he turns around to walk back down the room, his eyes catch onto the door Jongdae had mentioned, the one that connected their rooms together. It made sense, even if Junmyeon didn’t want it to. “Hakyeon come here,” Junmyeon calls out to Hakyeon, who looks up at him for a moment before following his inviting finger.

“What’s up, got an idea?” He whispers.

“Kim Jongdae,” Junmyeon says stoically. “He was the closest person to Jiwon for several years and is obviously struck heavily by her death. He’s even having nightmares about her. Is that normal for someone whose mourning?”

“Sounds more like a guilty conscience to me,” Hakyeon interpreted, and Junmyeon can’t help but nod in agreement. “He was also still in the room when we left, so it makes sense. You think he did it?”

Junmyeon shakes his head and goes back to pacing. “Not enough evidence. I think we need to search through her room.”

Junmyeon just misses Jongdae as he heads out of the house all geared up in his fishing gear. To his luck, he now has the house to himself, so he doesn’t hold back when he heads towards Jiwon’s room at the very end of the hallways. There’s a vase of white lilies at the foot of the entrance, and the two of them step over to head into the room.

There’s something about Jiwon’s room that makes Junmyeon feel like she’s still very much alive. There are polaroid pictures hung from a screen going across the wall above her bed, and Junmyeon finds it’s the first time he’s seen her face clearly. The old woman at the stall was right, Jiwon was pretty; she had big eyes like half moons and a smile so wide and infectious, Junmyeon swears he even sees Taekwoon wearing one. There isn’t a single picture where she isn’t seen running, jumping, grabbing someone by the neck or smiling proudly. There is one however of her and Jongdae, and he’s smiling with his eyes as she presses her lips against his cheek.

Junmyeon turns away and heads towards her desk where it’s cluttered like she had just left. An ink pen had been left open and dry next to a notepad filled with list and lists of things to buy or do for the day. Amongst the notebooks are tens of photobooks, ranging from photography to art. An opened enveloped and a barely hidden piece of paper catches Junmyeon’s eyes.

“Ah, looks like our victim was an avid painter,” Hakyeon says from the inside of her closet and Junmyeon turns around to find that instead of an unimaginably pile of clothes, there are paintings in all sorts of mediums. Small paintings, large paintings, watercolor, oil paintings, charcoal, chalk, and even pencil drawings. All were tucked into her closet, behind a shut door, as if to keep them hidden.

“She’d been offered an apprenticeship as an art lecturer in Inchon,” Junmyeon informs Hakyeon as he folds the acceptance letter back up and tucks it into its envelope. “Someone clearly didn’t want her to go.”

“Sounds like we have a passive-aggressive murderer who decided that killing her was better than letting her go,” Hakyeon muses and shuts the closet door.

“There must be something though, shouldn’t there?”

“What?”

“I don’t know. Anything that’d tell us if she was in love or dating someone?” Junmyeon begins rummaging through her desk, throwing out drawers and diving into an endless amount of letters and notebooks.

“Okay, sure,” Hakyeon adds as he shuffles through the drawers at the end of her bed. “Even if we do figure out if she was dating someone, that doesn’t mean he could have murdered her. She was close to a lot of people here.”

“I know, I know, but still it’s important to know…” He trails off and shuts the last drawer of her desk with an exasperated sigh. “If you were a girl, where would you want to hide your secrets?”

“Under my pillow?” Hakyeon answers absent-mindedly answers, and Junmyeon gives him a look before feeling under her pillow. Junmyeon feels something hard but he can’t latch onto it, until he grabs the pillow itself and finds that there’s something hidden inside the pillowcase. He puts his hand in the opening and grabs a small notebook.

“Hakyeon…” Junmyeon calls out. “Why would you know that?” He asks curiously.

Hakyeon looks to the side and shrugs awkwardly before closing the drawer. Junmyeon shakes his head and draws the string binding the journal shut around to open it. Junmyeon notices how frail the pages are and how they hold a tint of brown to them as he flicks through the pages, skimming through the words and flinching every time Jongdae’s name is mentioned. Unfortunately, there’s nothing of significant importance or proof enough to establish a relationship otherwise known to Junmyeon.

“Found anything?” Hakyeon asks, coming up from behind and bumping into Junmyeon’s shoulder. The notebook slips from his grasp and tumbles to the ground with a small thud, and out slips another polaroid. Junmyeon bends down and picks the picture up; it’s of Jiwon, puckering her lips towards a rather defenseless sleeping man. “Who’s the man?”

Junmyeon flips the polaroid, and on the back reads in squiggly writing ‘Waiting for the day when he will open his eyes and look at me? Kyaaa~’ “A one-sided crush?” Junmyeon ponders and turns the photo back around. He squints to get a better look but Jiwon has covered the majority of his face.

“What’s that on his hands?” Hakyeon points out and Junmyeon follows his fingers.

Junmyeon groans inwardly. “Gardening gloves.”

“Something isn’t adding up,” Hakyeon surmises.

“No , Sherlock.” Junmyeon barks.

They’re back in Junmyeon’s room where Hakyeon is folding Junmyeon’s clothes neatly, and Junmyeon is back to pacing.

“So basically Jongdae, Luhan, Minsek and Jiwon were this big happy family that Taekwoon couldn’t fit into. Taekwoon fell in love with Jiwon because she included him, but Jiwon was in love with Minseok because apparently to Taekwoon, the three of them, Jongdae and Luhan included, are obsessed with Minseok. So, what does this mean?” Hakyeon summarizes and, to Junmyeon’s dismay, doesn’t offer any sort of helpful conclusion.

“It means that we're back to motivations, and Taekwoon. Taekwoon evidently is uncomfortable in the house, plus he falls in love with Jiwon. When he hears she’s going to leave, he loses it and begs her to stay? She can’t, though, and in turn he kills her...?” Junmyeon theorizes. “But there’s something wrong.”

“What do you know about Taekwoon so far?” Hakyeon asks as he puts another jumper into the closet.

“University student, quiet and brutally honest, likes to keep to himself and despite being rather closed off, he can be very open about his feelings.” Junmyeon stops mid-pace to stare out of his balcony. “So would he really want to keep Jiwon here, at a place where he thinks she has an unhealthy relationship with Minseok? He doesn’t seem like the type to make selfish decisions.”

“I think we’re missing an important bit of information here,” Hakyeon interjects and shuts the closet door. He walks over to stand beside Junmyeon.

“I need to figure out what Taekwoon was talking about,” Junmyeon nods. “See for myself what he means when he uses the word ‘worship’.”

“At’ta boy.” Hakyeon cheers and gives Junmyeon an encouraging pat on the back.

“Don’t touch me,” Junmyeon says seriously but there’s a smile on his lips.

“Still as brutal as ever,” Hakyeon chirps pleasantly as Junmyeon heads out of the room.

It’s the first time Junmyeon has stepped into Luhan’s cafe. There’s the thick aroma of coffee in the air and an exquisite taste in furniture that it reminds Junmyeon a lot of his grandmother’s mismatched coordinating skills. The cafe is rather empty this time of day and it doesn’t take a lot of effort to get Luhan to go on a break and talk to him.

Junmyeon settles himself at a small table in the corner of the shop where one chair is shorter and made of leather, and the one he sits one feels far more graceful with its lack of arms and long back. Luhan arrives with a cup of black coffee for himself and hot cocoa for Junmyeon before settling in the seat opposite of Junmyeon.

“How’s your head feeling?” Luhan pipes up, a small smile hidden behind the steam dancing above his cup.

“Absolutely fine,” Junmyeon sings and takes a sip of his cocoa. “Absolutely not throbbing like it’s going to explode any second now.”

“Go figure,” Luhan snorts. “You’re a horrible drunk.”

“I could say the same about you.” Junmyeon laughs and the two chuckle into their cups.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Luhan asks, nervously rubbing at the edge of his cup.

“I just wanted to talk,” Junmyeon reassures, still unsure of why Luhan always seems so agitated whenever Junmyeon wanted to talk to him about the case. As far as anyone was concerned, Luhan was the closest one to innocent out of the four of them. “I wanted to ask you about the day you met Minseok and when you came here.”

Luhan seems to relax a little bit then, and for the first time since they met, Junmyeon sees the first unconstraint smile on Luhan’s face. “It’s nothing cool. My parents...were a little out of this world.” Luhan takes a finger and circles it round his ear while whistling.

“What do you mean?” Junmyeon presses.

Luhan’s lips twitch into a scowl then but he continues on. “They didn’t care much about me and I guess me, being the brat I was, wanted attention. They liked to smile a lot, so I guess in some sort of sick way they thought letting me do what I want made me happy. It didn’t. I just got into more fights, did even more stuff, and got into worse trouble. I was coming home...bruised and bleeding,” He laughs out loud and throws his hands up in the air.

“And yet, they still didn’t care. Let’s just say one thing led to another and I was in a bad place. And then…” His entire posture shifts then. Luhan seems to straighten up, and the small smile Junmyeon once saw earlier had turn into a full blown grin as he bent forward in excitement. “Then, Minseok found me.” He lets out a little laugh, his eyes distant in memory.

“I was on the side of the road, beaten to a pulp. It was raining, all that dramatic crap and Minseok… he came with an umbrella, and offered me, me, it. And then he said,” Luhan clears his throat and puts on a deeper voice that sounds nothing like Minseok but excites him anyway. “‘Would you like to come with me? Now, he looked cool and all, but I wasn’t stupid. I thought I was going to be sold through trafficking or something, but then he handed me his card. I recognized his face on television, you know, he is the heir to that big software company, the one with one of the biggest skyscrapers in Seoul.”

Junmyeon notices Luhan’s leg shaking, his fingers drumming against the tabletop and he thinks that his excitement is almost unnatural. “You know what I thought of then? It was great--why not put my parents through the biggest test yet? See if they’d actually let me move out and leave school to go live with some random guy who picked me off the street. They did, obviously. The only thing they asked was who it was and off I was.” Luhan’s smile finally drops then and he’s gripping his hands tightly. “I mean, does it really make sense though? Even if you gave me the choice now to stay here or go back to them….I--I’d pick this place a thousand times over. I’d pick it because here, people care about you. They eat with you and offer you kindness, and expect nothing in return. In that house, I can eat with people and laugh and have fun. In that house, I’m not alone,” Luhan’s voice falls to a tiny murmur.

Somehow something becomes very clear to Junmyeon, the reason why they all seem nervous, why Jiwon’s death has distraught them more than just an important person lost. They want to protect their home, and Junmyeon was sent to destroy it.

“That’s why...that’s why I’ll protect Minseok, no matter what,” Luhan suddenly blurts out and looks up at Junmyeon with a hard stare. “I owe my life to him. I am happy now thanks to him. He’s like a God to me, and I’ll do anything for him.”

Only then does Junmyeon notice his hot cocoa has gone cold when he repeats, “Anything?”

“Anything.”

Even kill a person?

Junmyeon finds it easier to be around Jongdae when Hakyeon is there because then he has an excuse not to sit next to Jongdae at the dining table and not have his eyes fall on Jongdae with every movement he makes. He can give Hakyeon all his attention and in return, he can ignore the way his heart tightens every time he hears Jongdae laugh.

“Here,” Junmyeon mutters absentmindedly as he picks out a piece of pork from the hot pot and puts it in Hakyeon’s rice bowl. Hakyeon eyes him suspiciously for a moment but accepts the offering with a nod, and happily slips the piece of meat in his mouth.

“Hakyeon, is there really no chance you could stay a little longer?” Minseok asks politely and Junmyeon looks up to find Jongdae hiding behind his bowl of rice.

Hakyeon clears his throat and shakes his head. “I can’t. It was actually rather hard to get these two days off.”

“Who told you to come?” Junmyeon retorts with a scoff.

Hakyeon lets out a harsh laugh before throwing a large hand on Junmyeon’s head and ruffles his hair. “How can anyone not worry about you, Junmyeonie?”

“Don’t touch me!” Junmyeon huffs and grabs a large piece of mushroom to shove into Hakyeon’s mouth. He gags on reflex and spits it out into a tissue. “When are you going to grow up and stop being picky with your food?”

“You’re one to speak.” Hakyeon smirks and places a piece of seaweed in Junmyeon’s bowl. “Eat up.”

“Bastard,” He mutters in response and goes to pick at the seaweed before slipping it into his mouth. There’s an evident grimace on his face as the seaweed slips around his tongue and falls down his throat. He shivers in disgust and quickly snatches up a cup of water.

“You two are so close,” Luhan comments from the side. “How long have you known each other?”

“Eight years,” Hakyeon sighs. “And too long.”

“Woah,” Minseok adds. “How did you meet? There’s an between you two, isn’t there?”

“Yeah, he looks like he’s still going through puberty, so it’s hard to tell,” Junmyeon says with feigned worry and pats Hakyeon’s cheek. “There, there, it’s okay. You’ll grow out of it soon.”

“Oh, really? When’s that going to happen?” Hakyeon plays along.

“When you’re a rotting corpse.”

Hakyeon’s lips twitch upwards in a snarl. “I’ll kill you before you see me in a coffin.”

“We’ll see about that, grandpa,” Junmyeon jokes and pats at Hakyeon’s back gently. “Anyway, we met at a workshop my university held for those studying for a science degree in criminal justice. We met there and sparks flew.”

“No,” Hakyeon interjects. “You ripped up my thesis on the study of the correlation between racial culture and appearance and criminals being withheld in the past ten years. Then you proceeded to tell me I was making a joke of myself, all the while smiling.”

“Hakyeon, that memory of your’s really frightens me,” Junmyeon mutters monotonically. “Anyway it was because of that, I found a job under Hakyeon’s police force.”

“No,” Hakyeon interrupts again. “I suggested to the chief at the time to reject your application but you were at the top of your class so any argument of mine was rendered to a nil.”

“No surprise there, you’re not very bright Hakyeon,” Junmyeon says pitifully, and goes to scratch under Hakyeon’s chin. “I’m still not entirely sure how you got that position of yours. What exactly did you bribe your boss with at the time? Your rectum?” Junmyeon ponders and steals a glance at Hakyeon’s bottom.

“Shut up, I worked hard for it. Can’t say much for you,” Hakyeon barks between a mouthful of meat and rice.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Minseok laughs, his head resting on his hand as he peers upon the two of them curiously.

“It means he’s the type of person that can get the best grades without even trying,” Hakyeon bitterly states and Junmyeon holds a palm out.

“Not entirely true, I was breathing the entire time,” Junmyeon says with a wave of his chopsticks. It earns him a slap across the head. “Ow! I am delicate, can you not hit me with your meaty paws?”

“‘Delicate, my ,” Hakyeon snaps. “How many times have you injured yourself and insisted on going home saying you’re alright?”

“Once or twice…?” Junmyeon brushes it off and pulls out a squid from the boiling hot pot. He nibbles on the legs before biting harshly into the head.

“If only…” Hakyeon mutters with a roll of his eyes.

Junmyeon looks up from laughing and finds Jongdae grinning that stupid grin of his as he pours Minseok a drink. He watches him from across the table as he digs through the hot pot for a piece of meat and happily pops it into his mouth once he does. Junmyeon doesn’t notice how obvious he is staring at Jongdae, until Jongdae stiffens ever so slightly and looks up to meet eyes with him.

“Jongdae, was it?” Hakyeon interjects, his business smile on full mode. Junmyeon goes rigid from beside him, because Hakyeon can tell. He can always tell. “What is it you do here?”

Jongdae looks up at Hakyeon for a moment and mirrors the same professional smile. “I fish.”

Hakyeon opens his mouth to say something and closes it again before politely nodding. “Good money?”

“Fishing? On the coast?” Jongdae scoffs, his smile revealing his canine teeth. “Obviously.”

“My father used to take me fishing by the lakes, but I wasn’t very good at it.” Hakyeon laughs bashfully, and Minseok reassures him by telling him that he can’t fish either.

Luhan catches Junmyeon’s attention then as he settles a new bowl of rice beside Minseok and places a squid on the side. Minseok doesn’t notice the gesture and Luhan’s expression remains stoic, and even though Junmyeon’s seen the scene several times before, there’s something significantly different about it now. They worship him like a God. 

“Junmyeon,” Hakyeon calls out and Junmyeon turns in his direction, only to have Hakyeon take a thumb and rub at the side of his lip. “You had sauce there,” He says and at his thumb.

Something bangs against the table then, making everything on its surface wobble for a bit. Jongdae’s toppled over in pain and holding his knee. And no one notices the smile on Hakyeon’s lips but Junmyeon. Junmyeon thinks about dunking his head in the hot pot, because he knows, and he’s not going to let Junmyeon live it down.

“I think it’s about time I hit the sack.” Hakyeon yawns.

“Jongdae, show him to his room,” Minseok orders and Jongdae doesn’t look happy, but he doesn’t protest either.

“Don’t worry,” Junmyeon puts a palm out to stop Jongdae. “I’ll show him.”

“It’s fine, I’ll show him,” Jongdae protests sweetly, his eyes however are flickering nervously between Junmyeon and Hakyeon.

“I said it’s fine,” Junmyeon reassures him, and pushes Hakyeon out of the living room after saying goodnight. “Stop smiling, and move it.”

They make their way upstairs and before Hakyeon can even latch onto the door of Junmyeon’s room, the two of them hear footsteps running up from behind. “Ah, Junmyeon.” Junmyeon turns to find Jongdae at the landing and leisurely striding towards his direction.

“What is it?” Junmyeon cooly responds.

“You forgot something,” He grins, and Junmyeon doesn't even have time to question him before he presses his lips to Junmyeon’s. The warmth is gone before Junmyeon fully registers the movement and then Jongdae’s running back downstairs again. Junmyeon doesn’t know if he’s more irritated that Jongdae had the audacity to kiss him again, or the fact it was just a peck.

A frustrated growl bubbles up in Junmyeon’s throat as he turns around and finds Hakyeon with the most contorted face of amusement. His lips are twitching in an attempt to prevent them from laughing and his eyebrows are turned up in the middle. “He’s so cute,” Hakyeon giggles and looks out towards the staircase with a look of amusement.

Junmyeon grabs him by the ear and drags him into his room, a scowl etched onto his face. “Shut up.”

Hakyeon snorts despite his whining in pain. “Junmyeon, I don’t think I’ve seen you so pink before.”

Junmyeon lets Hakyeon’s ear go and quickly goes to hide his cheeks. Hakyeon laughs loudly and it results in Junmyeon flopping down onto the cold floor of his room like a star fish. “Shut up,” He snarls into the tatami floors but Hakyeon’s enjoying his time too much to listen.

“Oh god, did you see his face at the dinner table? When I wiped the sauce off your face?” Hakyeon bellows and falls to the ground beside Junmyeon. “It’s so much fun bullying someone just like you, knowing they can’t actually hurt you in return.”

“He’s nothing like me,” Junmyeon whines, pinching at his bottom lip with his thumb and finger.

“Well, you do seem to not act yourself around him,” Hakyeon points out unhelpfully.

Junmyeon stiffens at the new information. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hmmm?” Hakyeon hums and lies on his back. “You just seem angrier around him, I guess?”

“Go figure.” Junmyeon rolls his eyes, and Hakyeon laughs in response.

“Well, it’s weird to see you so openly hostile to someone, is all. Even though you absolutely hate the neighbour you have upstairs, you’re still constantly polite to him. And yet you’re totally cool with not smiling at Jongdae.” Junmyeon can hear an underlying tone in Hakyeon’s voice, knows he’s insinuating something, but Junmyeon shuts his eyes and ignores him.

“I want to go back to Seoul,” Junmyeon mutters into the floor, and Hakyeon snorts from beside him.

“No, you don’t.” Hakyeon chuckles. “Besides, is there a reason you dragged me to your room?”

Jongdae was hoping Hakyeon wouldn’t ask. “Not really. I just didn’t want Jongdae sending you up. God knows what you would’ve said to him.”

“Yeah right, you just wanted to make him jealous. That’s why you dragged me into your room too.” Hakyeon suggests and even though he’s trying to hide his smile behind his hand, Junymeon can still see the crease in his eyes. So, Junmyeon just grabs the pillow from his futon and slams it into Hakyeon’s face for revenge.

Junmyeon has taken over a dozen showers since the day he fell into the sea, and yet he still can’t help but flinch violently the second the first drop of water rushes down his back. It takes a good minute before he feels the muscles in his back relax against the pounding water. It wasn’t like Junmyeon felt traumatized over the moment--he’d been in far worse life threatening situations--but there was something about the moment he hit the water that his body wouldn’t let him forget.

He finds himself pressing his forehead against the cold tiles of the bathroom walls. His thoughts are plagued with too many things at once. His suspicions have settled on Taekwoon, but after his talk with Luhan, he seems to be a sufficient scapegoat for Minseok. However, if Minseok wanted to kill Jiwon, what would be his motive? Jiwon was evidently in a one-sided relationship with him, so the thought of her living must have been a joyous one.

Or perhaps Minseok was in love with her, and didn’t show it?

Jongdae appears in Junmyeon’s mind then and Junmyeon decides that throwing his head against the wall was the best way to get rid of him. It doesn’t work and he only remembers their drunken night with more detail. Junmyeon looks down at his hands, and grudgingly remembers the feel of Jongdae’s back pressed against his palms, listens to the shower beating against his back like how he listened to Jongdae’s heartbeat singing in his ear that night.

The water’s getting too hot and Junmyeon struggles to stay in reality, so he quickly turns the temperatures down to skin biting temperatures, and finishes up his shower all the whilst chanting multiplication tables in his head.

Junmyeon wraps a towel around his waist, and trudges towards his room.

“Are you avoiding me?” Jongdae calls out just as Junmyeon opens the door to his room.

“What?” Junmyeon cranes his neck to find Jongdae making his way towards him. He stares at him through the curtains of his damp hair for a moment before turning back into his room.

“You’re avoiding me,” Jongdae repeats. “Why? Is it because of the other night?”

“What are you talking about?” Junmyeon replies irritably, heading towards his closet to scavenge for another towel.

“You haven’t spoken to me these past two days,” Jongdae swallows harshly, wrapping his arms around himself. Junmyeon stares at him from the corner of his eye, and feels a bubble of irritation build up inside him.

Junmyeon finally grabs a towel and throws it on his head, rubbing it against his hair aggressively. “I’ve been busy.”

“Do you regret it?” Jongdae asks and Junmyeon hates how hurt he sounds.

“Regret what?” Junmyeon snaps. “We kissed, we were drunk, it meant nothing.”

“Huh?” Jongdae lets out a ragged breath and Junmyeon wonders for a moment if he went too far. “Don’t lie to me Junmyeon, you obviously felt--”

“Felt what?” Junmyeon interjects with a scowl and Jongdae flinches ever so slightly, his mouth mirroring Junmyeon’s in a frown.

“You’re going to tell me the other night was just us being ?” He offers with a scoff, throwing his shoulders in the air as if he can’t find the situation anymore ridiculous.

“Why? Were you serious?” Junmyeon jokes, and he knows it’s foul play. Despite that, Junmyeon wants to know if this thing Jongdae has for him was more than a fancy on a resident that would be out of his hair in no time. More than that, Junmyeon couldn’t trust him, and he shouldn’t. If anything, Junmyeon has to keep his professionalism, despite how hard Jongdae makes that for him.

Apparently, Junmyeon had missed the moment he broke some sort of switch in Jongdae because the next time their gazes meet, there’s no question in Jongdae’s eyes, but pure anger. “Don’t you know, Junmyeon, that people are so much more honest when they’re drunk?”

“Yeah, and intoxicated. They don’t know what they’re doing,” Junmyeon replies curtly and heads towards his dresser to grab a pair of boxers. He doesn’t get as far as opening the drawer before Jongdae latches onto his wrist. “Jongdae--”

“Oh, but you see, you’re very honest when you’re drunk, Junmyeon.” Jongdae smiles and slides a leg around Junmyeon’s foot, tripping him up enough to land on the floor. Jongdae hunches over him, his hand still locked on his wrist, and uses his other to brush away damp strands from Junmyeon’s face. “Especially your body,” He coos.

Junmyeon tries to tug his hand free but Jongdae presses it against the floor and puts his weight onto it. “Let me go, Jongdae.” Junmyeon hisses but Jongdae only seems to get closer. His hand slips from Junmyeon’s hair, and glides across his jaw.

Junmyeon tries not to look directly at his face, tries not to think about how Jongdae’s fingertips leaves his skin burning, or how he looks like he wants to be kissed. He tries not to think about it because he doesn’t like it. He doesn't like him.

“Why do you always have this expression that looks like you’re trying to control yourself?” Jongdae hums closer to Junmyeon’s ear, and with every word Junmyeon feels his resolve crumble.

“Stop it, Jongdae,” Junmyeon protests but Jongdae isn’t listening.

Instead, he’s doing quite the opposite as he slides his hand down from his jawline and across his shoulders, all the way down to his chest. Jongdae trails a single fingertip down the dips and lines of Junmyeon’s chest, an unreadable expression on his face all the while.

“Junmyeon, you’re quite the open book, can’t you tell?” Jongdae smirks, his eyes meeting Junmyeon’s with a glimmer. And Junmyeon wants to tell him he’s wrong, that he is anything but an open book, but instead Jongdae has those eyes. Those eyes he hates, eyes that can read him just as easy as Junmyeon can read Jiwon’s diary left so carelessly locked and hidden in the covers of her pillow.

Jongdae lets his finger progressively trail lower and lower down Junmyeon’s chest, until the tip of his finger is at the very edge of his towel. “Get off me,” Junmyeon mutters but this time his voice has no resolve, the words slipping out with a haggard breath.

Jongdae sets his jaw tight, gives Junmyeon a look before he quickly leans down and kisses him.

His lips are just as soft and bitter as Junmyeon remembers them, and they’re kissing him with a gentle touch that makes every muscle in Junmyeon ache. Junmyeon doesn’t know what to do because he wants to kiss Jongdae back, to drink him in and feel every inch of his body against his own. What’s stopping me?

The polaroid pictures of Jiwon kissing Jongdae’s cheek flashes across Junmyeon’s mind and it’s enough for Junmyeon to blink out of his haze and slam his free palm against Jongdae’s chest. “I said get off!” Junmyeon hisses against Jongdae’s lips, and he has no qualms about digging his teeth into the flesh of Jongdae’s mouth, tearing at the skin and tasting the iron bitterness of blood on his tongue.

Jongdae inches away for a moment, only to at the blood trickling down his lips. “Can’t you see, Junmyeon?” Jongdae grins, opening his tear wider. “You’re feeling it so much.” He murmurs and takes a finger to tap at Junmyeon’s crotch just under the thin fabric of his towel. Junmyeon curses under his breath as he feels himself harden underneath.

Math equations, math equations, math equations...

“What are you trying to do?” Jongdae chuckles and lets his hand slip underneath the towel.
“Jongdae, please,” Junmyeon spits and tries to struggle away from him but he’s trapped Junmyeon’s leg between his own, and Junmyeon really should have taken those self-defense classes.

Nothing would have prepared Junmyeon for the moment Jongdae wrapped his hand round his , his skin cold against Junmyeon and he finds himself gasping for air. Junmyeon looks up again to protest but Jongdae already has his lips pressed against Junmyeon’s and he doesn't take another moment to slip in his tongue.

Junmyeon slowly feels himself weaken against Jongdae. There’s too much to focus on: the way Jongdae flicks at his tip, the way he on his tongue, how tight he’s holding Junmyeon, the soft moans he slips into Junmyeon’s mouth. Junmyeon feels drunk and dizzy on ecstasy and he grabs onto Jongdae’s shirt with an iron grip.

Jongdae’s pace quickens with every and Junmyeon finds himself bucking up into his hand. He’s kissing Jongdae back and only then does he feel the grip on his hand loosen. He thinks about running away, but he’s so close, so close to the edge. Junmyeon calls out Jongdae’s name then, a small sound between the space of their lips and Jongdae’s harder and faster, his grip tighter, and Junmyeon can’t breathe.

He clings onto Jongdae, his fingers digging through his t-shirt and into the flesh of his chest, his teeth furiously biting at Jongdae’s lips as Junmyeon feels the pleasure heighten to the very tip. It’s only when he’s about to does Junmyeon open his eyes, and when he looks up to find Jongdae looking down at him with a stone expression and eyes void of any emotion, does he find release.

There’s nothing but heavy pants slipping from Junmyeon’s lips amongst the silence that follows. “What the was that?” Junmyeon sputters, embarrassment and guilt rushing up to color his cheeks the second Jongdae lets go of his and slides back.

He watches Jongdae rise to his feet, staring down at his hand covered in Junmyeon’s . Junmyeon feels hot as he stares up at Jongdae who doesn’t show a bit of emotion until his eyes meet with Junmyeon and he grins. “Had fun?” He chuckles darkly and goes to at his fingers.

Junmyeon feels himself shiver. “What are you doing?” Junmyeon demands in frustration and runs a hand aggressively through his hair.

“I just wanted to see your troubled expression,” Jongdae states simply before turning and leaving Junmyeon’s room.

Junmyeon lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in and flops to the side. The floor is cold against his skin, and everything burns. 

Junmyeon doesn’t notice the sun has already set whilst he shuffles through Jiwon’s death reports. He’s looking at the pictures taken of her in the morgue; one head shot shows the wound she received after a blow to the head. There were traces of blood on her scalp and a patch of missing hair but forensics say that the wound was washed out due to being in the sea for so long.

He tries to make sense of the shape from the pictures. He can get a better shape of it; it’s very wide at the bottom and progressively gets smaller as it reaches the top. He grimaces then, thinking that whoever rendered Jiwon unconscious had hit her with enough force to imprint the weapon on her head. And yet it wasn’t clear enough to make sense of what the weapon was.

It feels as if everything has been a breath away from Junmyeon’s grasp in this case.

Junmyeon picks up another picture from the deck he has laid out on the ground before him. It’s a picture of Jiwon’s face, empty and still, her lips a death blue and a jagged cut running down the side of her cheek. It makes him feel uncomfortable to see someone he can only think of as forever filled with life, smiling, and constantly energetic to lay so stiffly on a metal table. He’d never had the chance to meet her, and yet Junmyeon feels like she’s been here the whole time.

His phone goes off then, causing Junmyeon to tap around amongst piles and piles of paper for it. He sees something shake from the side, and dives amongst the mountain of papers and digs for his phone before he misses the call. “Hello?” He calls into the receiver.

“Junmyeon!” Hakyeon hollers into the phone, and Junmyeon flinches away for a moment.

“Can you not be so loud?” Junmyeon barks back. “What is it?”

“What do you mean ‘what is it?’? You’re the one that texted me to call you and I’m calling you!” Hakyeon declares.

Junmyeon rubs at his temple and lets out a sigh. “You’re right, sorry. I was just thinking I needed a background check on Minseok.”

“No direct consultation?”

“No, Minseok’s too much of a complication to simply ask him to spill,” Junmyeon ponders.

“Well, what do you need?”

“Descriptions of his family, everything from his relatives to the business his parents run. Find out where this house came from and when he officially moved in here. I also need dates for when every resident ever moved in here, and find out here if anyone has a medical condition.” Junmyeon orders, and he hears Hakyeon furiously scribble on a notepad in the distance.

“Medical condition?” Hakyeon sounds unsure. “What for?”

“It’ll help me a lot if I know that someone here has a...weaker mind,” Junmyeon suggests.

“You know that’s confidential, Junmyeon,” Hakyeon grumbles in protest.

“Just get me what you can, Hakyeon,” Junmyeon demands, sighing in frustration. He brushes a hand through his hair. “You’ve done it before.”

“You’re really pushing your luck here, Junmyeon,” Hakyeon warns. “But I’ll do what I can.”

“I knew you’d see it my way.” Junmyeon grins.

“Stop grinning!” Hakyeon shrieks and Junmyeon hears someone in the distance yell at Hakyeon to ‘shut the up’. “I’m losing my credibility as a chief because of you. I hope you feel guilty.”

“Not in the least bit, since you didn’t have much credibility to begin with,” Junmyeon retorts.

“Hang on, I’ve got a call coming in,” Hakyeon informs him, but he doesn’t switch phone calls because Junmyeon can still hear him breathing down the receiver.

“Who was it?”

“Junmyeon, give your mother a call for god’s sake,” Hakyeon says abruptly. “I’ve got a good five missed calls from her today. With all due respect, it’s getting a little frustrating. Come on, you’re not five anymore.”

“Hakyeon, stop talking,” Junmyeon mutters bitterly. “I’ll call her to tell her to stop bothering you,” He says and doesn't even give Hakyeon a chance to reply before he hangs up, and starts sifting through his phone contacts.

He hovers over his mother’s contact number, and feels cold at the thought of talking to her. He’s aware he’s being petty when he refuses to pick up her or his fathers calls, offering them generic ‘happy new years’ or ‘merry christmas’ cards through the mail. Junmyeon can’t even remember the last time he stepped back into the house he grew up in, surrounded by empty absences and pictures of people he didn’t really know.

He takes the plunge anyway and hits the dial button. With every dial ring, the pace of Junmyeon’s heart picks up and after the fifth ring, Junmyeon hopes she doesn’t pick up at all. Unfortunately, to his dismay, after the seventh ring he hears a click and a rough voice answer, “Hello?”

Junmyeon goes rigid then, his hand clamps onto the phone by his ear and his eyes drilling holes into the wall ahead of him. “Hello?” The voice calls out again and it definitely isn’t Junmyeon’s mother. “Junmyeon, you there?”

“Yunho…” Junmyeon weakly replies, and there’s a moment of silence as the two of them wait for the other to speak.

“Mom’s been asking for you. Why haven’t you been answering her calls?” Yunho says in that same scolding tone Junmyeon’s only ever heard come from his older brother’s mouth.

“I’ve been busy,” Junmyeon mutters.

“You’re so busy you can’t spare her a simple ‘hi, I’m okay’?” Yunho asks patronizingly.

“Why? Because you guys even spared that much for me back then?” Junmyeon snaps back.

“Excuse me?” Yunho sounds shocked, as he should be, because as far as Junmyeon was concerned, this is the longest conversation they’ve ever had, where the shortest ones they did were one-sided on Yunho’s part.

“I’ve got to go. Tell mum to stop bothering Hakyeon or my work office. Tell her to call me and I’ll pick up when I have time,”Junmyeon pleads swiftly and curtly hangs up before Yunho can reply. He exhales haggardly, all the while telling himself that he’s an adult now, that he can look after himself. He’s fine.

Halfway through his brooding, Minseok decides to call Junmyeon down for dinner. Hurriedly, Junmyeon dives towards all the papers and slides them together, tapping at all the sides to get them into a pile and shove them under his jumpers in his closet. No one hides things in the same place twice, he says to reassure himself as he heads out of his room.

Just as he heads right towards the stairs, he feels something tickle at his feet. He takes another step and definitely feels something stick to the underside of his sock. Junmyeon bends over his foot to look at the bottom and finds something a muddy brown stuck to his sock. He goes to pick at it, thinking someone's brought in dirt but when he pinches at it, it feels grainy and slips right through his fingers.

He looks down at the ground and finds a small pile of soil leading past his room and down the left end of the corridor. Turning around to look behind him, Junmyeon finds the soil is trailing down the hallway, and curiously he follows it, all the whilst wondering if Minseok had brought a flower pot up to his room. But the trail evidently gets thinner and thinner, yet Minseok’s door is another room down. So, Junmyeon doesn’t really expect it when the trail of soil comes to an abrupt stop in front of Luhan’s door.