Chapter 1

The next morning, Kris woke up early. He hated that he had to leave Tao and go to work, but he'd already been late too many times. His boss said he was on the verge of being fired. He needed this job, considering that his dad was no longer paying his expenses. 

He rummaged around in desk for a sticky note and quickly scribbled his number and a short explanation of where he had gone. Kris stuck it on the nightstand next to Tao and crept noiselessly out of the apartment. 

*********
Strawberries. That's what his lover had smelled like the night before. Tao buried his nose in the pillow and inhaled deeply. It still smelled like him. Kris. That was his name. He smiled into the pillow, remembering that Kris had said he didn't believe in one night stands. That was good; Tao didn't either. 
 
He turned his head to see the handsome man, only to see an empty bed, the sheets crumpled and the pillow still having the indentation of a head in the middle of it. Tao sat bolt upright, realizing that once again, he'd been left alone and abandoned. He stood up, slipping his clothes on and grabbing the note that Kris appeared to have left. He only bothered reading the phone number, knowing that he didn't really want to hear what that liar had to say. 

"I don't believe in one night stands."

Yeah, right. 

Strawberries. He'd smelled like strawberries. 

**********

Kris went happily through his day, working hard at his job at the local car mechanic shop. He didn't mind getting all dirty and greasy, since he could simply take a shower to get rid of all the crime. All the years of being a car enthusiast and fixing up old expensive cars had been a big help when he'd first started searching for a job. He enjoyed working in the shop, and he hoped to have the job for a good long while. 

When lunchtime came, Kris headed over to the grocery store across the street. There he bought a sandwich and went to the park two blocks away to eat it. 

He'd just settled down onto a park bench when his phone started ringing. He sighed, saw it was an unfamiliar number, and picked it up. 

"Hello?"

"Yes, hello, is this, let me check, Kris?"

"Um, yes, it is. May I ask who is calling?"

"This is the police station."

"I'm sorry? The police station? Why in the world are you calling me? Is something wrong?"

"We're not sure if this has anything to do with you but it would be good if you could come to the station as soon as possible so it could be resolved. Make sure you ask for Officer Kim."

"Yeah, okay. I'll come by later today after work."

*********
The rest of the day passed in a slight blur for Kris. He kept wondering why the police would have called him. It didn't seem like it was too urgent or they would have made him come immediately. It was all very mysterious and confusing and put him in a bad mood. 

As soon as the click hit five o'clock, Kris was bolting out the door and driving down the road toward the police station. He'd never been there before, but passed it at least once a week on his way to church with his parents. Not anymore he didn't, but he used to at least. 

He pulled into the station, barely making the turn and tired squealing. Belatedly he realized that driving so recklessly with lots of police around might not have been the best of ideas, but Kris quickly brushed that thought aside and walked quickly into the station.

Inside, all was quiet and soft piano music played in the background. It wasn't at all what Kris would have expected of a police station. He went up to the secretary and gave a nervous smile. "I'm here to see Officer Kim"

"Ah, yes. Kris, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Go down the hallway, third door on the left," the secretary motioned in the general direction. "Just go right on in."

Kris nodded and headed down the hallway, easily finding the office. As per instruction, he walked right in without knocking. 

"Hello there!" Came a booming voice from across the room. A short man with greying hair and a mustache was seated behind a desk. He motioned to the seat across from him and Kris gladly took it. 

"Now I know I didn't tell you much over the phone, simply because I thought it's be better not to," the man who Jris assumed was Officer Kim said. "There was a break in at a convenience store near here, and the man who broke in - we don't know his name - had a piece if paper in his pocket with your number on it and a short note that appeared to be from you. We were hoping you could perhaps identify him and tell us why he would do such a thing."

Kris stared blankly at the police officer for a moment, then it dawned on him what he was talking about. "Tao? Tao broke into a store?" 

"So his name is Tao?" Prompted Officer Kim. 

"Yeah," Kris picked at his nails nervously. "I-uh-just met him last night, you see, and-"

"A one night stand, then."

"No!" Kris exclaimed. "Not. One night stand. At least it wasn't supposed to be. I had to go to work early this morning so I left him a more. That was probably the one you found in his pocket."

"So you don't really have any idea why he would break into a store, steal nothing, but completely ransack the place?" Questioned the officer. 

"No idea."

"Well, thank you for your help. Would you like to see Tao? That was his name, right?"

"Yeah, I'd like to see him." Kris nodded furiously. "Maybe he'll tell me why he did it."

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