Sometimes you’re searching in the wrong places.

Sungyeol checked the notebook he was holding and cleared his throat. He was about to give the other members of the precinct a short briefing on his findings at the baseball field, which had now been confirmed as the murder site of Kris. Usually, he wouldn’t be this nervous – he had done this before, but the tension in the room was high. The detectives looked uncomfortable as they stared at him, the Captain as solemn as usual. He quickly glanced at Woohyun, who was pulling his bottom lip with his finger, more anxious than anticipating.

“As you all know, we’re now sure that Kris had been killed at the baseball field on Joengku lane. CSU found a patch of blood-stained grass, the blood matched Kris’. Kris’ blood was also found on a baseball bat. Dongwoo hyung has confirmed that it was indeed the blunt instrument used to hit Kris.”

Hana and Youngjae nodded, everyone else was still. At a glance, it seemed like they were all in their own worlds, not really listening to him. Pulling at his tie, he continued, in a louder voice, “The field is really dry, so we couldn’t get any usable footprints. The baseball bat, it’s usually secured to a railing like this.” He held up a picture of the locked bats along the railing, slamming it onto the murder board. “We tried for prints, but no luck there.”

“Wait,” Youngjae said, sounding confused, “there were no prints at all?”

Sungyeol was a bit embarrassed. That wasn’t what he’d wanted to say.

“I mean of course there are prints of the owner, which is Sunggyu-ssi…” he sent a flitting glance Myungsoo’s way, but the detective was sitting calmly, no change of expression evident on his face.

“The criminal had been really careful,” Woohyun commented pensively. Sungyeol turned to look at him, but he wouldn’t meet his eyes.

So what else is new, he thought bitterly.

“I don’t understand, how did they get the key to unlock the bat?” Minji asked, blinking rapidly. For some reason, Woohyun glared at her. This was a first.

He’s usually so kind to everybody…

“He probably broke the lock -”

“There was no sign of force,” Sungyeol interrupted quickly, earning himself a glare from Woohyun. He looked at Myungsoo for help.

“I-er confirmed with Sungjong – hyung has the only key to that lock. There aren’t spares, and as far as Sungjong’s concerned, hyung has never misplaced the key. In fact, it’s still with him. I used it this morning.”

There was a space of silence when everyone seemed to wake up from a dream.

The Captain led the conversation. Grimly, he said, “I’m sorry Myungsoo but in this situation we have to investigate your brother’s whereabouts on the night of the murder -”

“That’s ridiculous!” Woohyun exclaimed, getting up from his seat.

Whoa, what got him so worked up?

Sungyeol turned to check Myungsoo’s expression. The detective was sitting still, his mouth hanging open. Everyone else turned to look at him, their expressions a mixture of sympathy and confusion.

Howon did not appreciate being interrupted. Narrowing his eyes, he said coldly, “I’m sorry but given Kim Sunggyu-ssi’s history with our victim -”

“You just hate him because you’re jealous, because Sungjong spends more time with him than you!” Woohyun’s voice was loud, his eyes blazing with rage. His hands formed into fists as he looked at the Captain, whose patience was wearing thin.

Sungyeol was surprised by Woohyun’s reaction, how he almost seemed to take it personally. The Captain wasn’t even accusing Sunggyu but Woohyun was being so defensive that it was too obvious that he wasn’t simply speaking from the perspective of a neutral detective.

They had worked together before – Sungyeol knew – back at Narcotics, but were they just good friends or…to be very honest, they didn’t look that friendly, when he’d seen them together in the shed at the baseball field.

Why is he defending Sunggyu-ssi, even more than his own brother?

“He-he was home,” Myungsoo croaked.

Howon turned to glare at him.

“So you say, but we have to run an investigation. Neither you nor Woohyun can be involved because it’s clear where your priorities lie.” He eyed the both of them sternly.

“Captain, this is ridi–my hyung barely knows himself, he’s been suffering from PTSD the past year – he doesn’t remember anything,” Myungsoo pleaded earnestly, but Howon remained unmovable.

“We’ll consult a psychiatrist about it, if such an act is possible by your brother. But since he seems to own the only key that unlocks our murder weapon, we have to thoroughly investigate. I know Dr. Ok fits in the description of our murderer,” he added when he saw Youngjae opening his mouth. “But we have to make every single piece of the puzzle fit. Sungyeol, you lead the investigation.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He didn’t wait for everyone else to leave the room; he left first. He couldn’t bear to meet Myungsoo’s eyes. Truth be told, Myungsoo was one of the persons he was closest to. He considered him a friend, not just a colleague. He sensed betrayal every time he thought about investigating his brother, but orders were orders. Besides, the Captain was right. Just because they’d found one of the murder weapons and the victim’s jacket in Dr. Ok’s house didn’t mean he was the murderer. Chanyeol had only seen him dragging the body, not actually killing Kris. There was still a small room left for someone else to commit the crime.

But would Kim Sunggyu really murder someone?

And that too, not in his right mind?

Here, something occurred to Sungyeol. Maybe because Sunggyu was not in his right mind, he had murdered Kris. Maybe he hadn’t done it on purpose, maybe he had done it in a fit of crazed rage?

Shaking off the presumptions, he revved up his car, only to realize he had forgotten to take Myungsoo’s address. He was about to get out of his car and go back in when he received a text from Myungsoo, containing the address and a small message: Please don’t harass Sungjong and hyung too much. They’ll be too distressed.

It made him feel doubly guilty about what he was going to do. He sent him a erse reply, telling him not to worry.

The drive to Myungsoo’s apartment building wasn’t pleasant at all. He tried to take his mind off things by listening to the radio, but he just couldn’t concentrate. Wracked with indecision, he entered the building, to be greeted by a security guard. From him, he got to know that there were two security guards the building hired, and they each took 12 hour shifts to cover the entrance. I asked who had been on duty on the night of the 23^rd. Checking the register that was used to record entrances of guests and the guards’ schedule, he said that it was him, Cho Kyuhyun.

“I need to talk to you about something,” Sungyeol said. He tried to pose the questions as innocently as possible. He asked about the night – had anyone gone out late?

Kyuhyun screwed up his face in concentration.

“23^rd-23^rd,” he muttered. “Most of the people in this building arrive by 12 am, and Myungsoo-ssi’s the only one who goes out at all hours…well, ah 23^rd! Sunggyu-ssi went out.”

Sungyeol’s heart stopped for a moment.

“Are you certain?”

The security guard nodded.

“Yup, but it’s nothing odd. Sunggyu-ssi goes out at night sometimes, wanders around by himself for about 15 minutes, then comes back. He’s a bit…” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes and pointed at his head to imply that he wasn’t exactly right in the mind. “I’m allowed to let him out, but if he doesn’t come back soon, I’m supposed to alert Sungjong-ssi. He takes care of him.”

Sungyeol found it painful to gulp down his saliva.

“So he came back after 15 minutes?”

Kyuhyun clenched his teeth, then said sheepishly, “Actually, no. I-er-it’s not that I drink on duty but it was so cold and I just had something to warm me up. I didn’t realize it had been more than 15 minutes…really a pity, I didn’t want to fail Sungjong-ssi. But he came running down, telling me to open the gates. Sunggyu-ssi had been gone for about an hour-50 minutes and this guy had found him loitering in the streets and called up Sungjong-ssi…”

“Wait,” Sungyeol stopped him. His hands were clammy with sweat, and Kyuhyun was speaking to fast for him to grasp the story. “Someone else brought Sunggyu-ssi back home?”

“Yup,” Kyuhyun nodded. “It’s the bulky guy who visits sometimes – what’s he called again?” he checked the register. “Dr. Ok Taecyeon.”

Not noticing that Sungyeol had gone limp, the guard continued with his story. It seemed like he enjoyed speaking.

“So Dr. Ok brought back Sunggyu-ssi in his car and Sungjong-ssi, whoa he was crying and hugging Sunggyu-ssi like he found his lost kid. I must say he probably got quite a scare -”

Sungyeol stopped him again, confirming that it had been indeed Dr. Ok who had driven Sunggyu home.

The guard was adamant. When Sungyeol asked for the time, he scratched his chin thoughtfully and said, “They came back about 4.30 ish, so I guess Sunggyu-ssi went out around 3.30 –no 3.40 am.”

Scratching his neck, Sungyeol looked about for inspiration. Why had Sunggyu been with Dr. Ok that night? Had he really picked him up on his way back from the baseball field? But where did he get the key then?

Suddenly, something caught Sungyeol’s eye. It was a small camera, positioned over the high wall flanking the main gate. Its pair was set across the other side.

“CCTV?” he asked the guard, who answered positively.

“I want to check the footage from that night.”

There was no additional information gleaned from watching the footage. At 3.36 am, Sunggyu was seen walking across the space that led to the main gate from the lifts. He fondled with the lock at the gate, when Kyuhyun appeared and opened it for him. He left without a word, his neck bent.

“He doesn’t talk to me at all, that one,” Kyuhyun commented from beside him.

At 4.31am, Sungjong was seen running out from the lift, and jerking Kyuhyun awake. He seemed hysteric. Kyuhyun was made to open the gates when a blue Mercedes appeared, screeching to a halt. Dr. Ok got out from the driver’s seat, Sunggyu from the front passenger seat. Sungjong hugged Sunggyu, exchanged a few words with Dr. Ok, and then the doctor drove away in his Mercedes. Sungjong took Sunggyu back toward the lift; Kyuhyun was left scratching his head.

“Right thanks,” Sungyeol said, sighing.

“Why, what’s wrong?” the guard finally asked. “Did he make trouble?” he whispered conspiratorially, but the detective just shook his head.

“I’m going up to flat 3B, to meet them.”

He took the elevator. Hiding how nervous he actually was, he pressed the calling bell.

Sungyeol told Sungjong that he was Myungsoo’s colleague, so he opened the door for him. They had met briefly before, several times, but they had never been properly introduced. Myungsoo was Sungyeol’s superior, Howon was his boss. Sungjong was the boyfriend to one and brother to another. This was supposed to be an awkward relationship.

“I’m sorry to disturb you like this…” he said embarrassedly.

Sungjong was holding a toy train in his hand. He waved it around, saying lightly, “Don’t worry about it, but what’s the deal? Did Myungsoo send you to get something of his?”

“Not exactly.”

“Come in, why don’t you?” Sungjong invited him into the living room, where he sat down on a chintz armchair. The room was sparsely furnished, but tastefully so. He wondered if Myungsoo had decorated it that way.

I’d be surprised, he doesn’t seem the type. Sungjong, on the other hand…

“I’m sorry but what do you do again?”

“I am a graphic designer, but I work from home because -”

There was a loud clang accompanied by a wail from the interior of the house. Sungjong turned his head toward the source of the noise worriedly.

“Could you – umm, do you mind talking to me in hyung’s room? He sometimes gets worked up without a reason.”

He didn’t mind, so he followed Sungjong across the hallway into a bedroom. It was a large room with a set of windows thrown wide open on one wall. A bookshelf occupied the other wall, but as far as Sungyeol could see, they were coloring books or children’s books. Beside the bed, a large portion of the floor was currently taken up by a toy rail track. Sunggyu was on the ground, trying to hook the train compartments together.

Without hesitation, Sungjong sat down beside him, showing him the bed. He helped Sunggyu to hook the last compartment onto the engine, and turned to Sungyeol.

“Sorry what was I saying?”

“No don’t apologise,” Sungyeol said quickly. “I just wanted to ask a few questions about the night of the 23^rd.” He took out his notebook and pen. Sungjong’s eyes immediately lit up with alarm. “No, we’re just looking into Dr. Ok’s murder, and I heard that he had-um-found Sunggyu hyung on the streets on the night of 23^rd.”

Sungjong bit down on his bottom lip, looking guilty.

“Please don’t tell this to Myungsoo…I was so afraid that night. I fell asleep and…I was so irresponsible.”

Sungjong was tearing up, making Sungyeol uncomfortable. How was he supposed to pursue his line of questioning if it made Sungjong so emotional?

“I understand. Uh – has it happened before, Sunggyu-ssi going out and meeting Dr. Ok?”

“No, no, no. Hyung sometimes goes out at night for a short walk. At first I was concerned, but Taecyeon hyung had said it was good sign, that he was getting better. He told me not to accompany him, because he would just walk from one end of the road to the other and then come back. It’s a good thing, but that night…he strayed too far.”

Sungjong placed a protective hand on Sunggyu’s arm. Sunggyu looked at him and smiled innocently. Whatever the Captain was implying was ridiculous – he wouldn’t have said it if he had seen Sunggyu like this, playing with a toy train set with no care in the world.

Maybe Woohyun was right, the Captain’s just jealous.

“Sungjong-ssi, did Dr. Ok say where he found Sunggyu-ssi?”

Sungjong rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Not that I remember. I was very stressed out, I was panicking so…”

He jotted down a few words.

“And one last thing,” he said. There was no nice way of putting it, so he had to come out all at once. “Had Sunggyu-ssi ever shown a violent streak?”

As expected, Sungjong was shocked. His mouth fell open and he stared at Sungyeol. When he had recovered, he asked sternly, “What’s going on? Why are you asking these questions? What’s this got to do with Taecyeon hyung’s death?”

Sungyeol didn’t have an answer for him. He couldn’t possibly tell him that his brother had ordered an investigation into Sunggyu as a potential crime suspect.

“Just trying to establish a timeline,” he muttered, not meeting his eyes. “And the key for the bat…”

“I told Myungsoo, hyung has the only one,” he replied coldly. He didn’t look like he was going to answer any more of his questions. There was a strange protective glare in his eyes, like that of a mother defending a child. It was sincere, but scary.

“Right. Umm, well thanks for the information and umm…there will be a doctor swinging by to check up on Sunggyu-ssi.”

Standing up abruptly, Sungjong reached for his cellphone in his pocket.

“That’s it,” he said viciously, pressing buttons on his phone. “You get out, I’m calling Myungsoo.”

Sungyeol hoped for his friend's sake that he knew how to calm down his boyfriend.