My head pounded with each blink I made to open my eyes. At first, I saw the blurred white tiles and lights above before my vision cleared fully to reveal a white room with white floors and white walls. A rhythmic beeping noise was heard to my left. I looked at the machine to my left then up at the bag of blood. My eyes trailed the red-filled tube to my left forearm where a needle transported the blood into my veins. I pushed my right hand to my temple when it began to throb. The doorknob across the room turned before a nurse strode in.

“You’re finally up,” she said as she checked my vitals. “How are you feeling?” She asked.

I blinked hard once and my very dry lips. “My head hurts like hell.”

She chuckled before she jotted down a few notes and made a move to exit the room. “We’re going to keep you here overnight just to be safe. I’ll go get you some aspirin and a cup of water.”

When the nurse left, I sat up in my bed, the pounding in my head increasing tenfold. I groaned and rubbed at my temple, hoping to rub the pain away, but it stubbornly stayed. I let my hand fall down to my side and winced as I felt a rush of tolerable pain run through my entire arm. I looked down to my forearm to see stitches closing an almost six inch cut. I tentatively touched it before looking back at the blood bag and I began to slowly piece together everything that had happened before.

I was attacked by the man in the clown mask. I fought to free myself until someone knocked him off of me. I was cut and then I saw his face. Jung Daehyun. I remembered being so scared that my life could have ended if the person wasn’t knocked off of me by Jung Daehyun. Did he save me? Or was he trying to escape with whoever he was with when the police started arriving?

My thoughts were interrupted when the nurse came back with the promised aspirin and water. I took the aspirin gladly and gulped down more water than I intended to, but I was thirstier than I thought.

“There’s someone here to see you.” She said with a smile before walking out of the room. A few moments passed before the familiar face of Kim Himchan entered the room. Closing the door behind him, he gave me a soft smile before taking a chair and bringing it up next to my bed. He sat down before talking.

“How is it?” He asked gesturing to the stitches on my forearm. I shrugged; it didn’t hurt as much before I took the aspirin, then the pain subsided except for a little soreness.

“It’s okay I guess. It doesn’t hurt as much as before.” I said and Himchan nodded. A silence filled the air between us and I knew he wanted to say something. I could read his behavior, but I also could sense that what he needed to say wasn’t going to be too good.

“Youngjae,” he started before swallowing visibly. “About last night,” he paused. “Were you with anyone else?” He finally asked.

I nodded. “I was with Yongguk.” Silence followed before I continued, the question gnawing in my head. “Speaking of Yongguk, where is he?” I asked and Himchan his lips before looking down at his clasped hands. In that precise moment he’d shown this behavior, my mind and heart started racing. My mind was racing with questions and my heart was racing with an anxiousness that can only be settled at his words. Finally, he looked up before speaking, brows creased and his eyes troubled.

“That’s the thing, Youngjae.” He said and I weakly clenched my fists, afraid of the truth. Was Yongguk part of this stalking game? Was he also tormenting me? But those questions were silenced at Himchan’s next words. “We don’t know where he is. The living room in his house showed signs of struggle. There was also a blood trail that we followed into his backyard, but it was cut off. Youngjae, I think whoever attacked you wasn’t alone. And during the time you were being attacked, Yongguk was taken.”

I looked over at Himchan, my fists were unclenched. My headache seemed to have come back, but I ignored the pounding in my head. “So you mean that Yongguk is missing?” Himchan nodded and my heart plummeted. It was my fault. If only I hadn’t drank so much, Yongguk would still be here. If only I wasn’t so stupid. Guilt washed over me before Himchan placed a gentle hand on the back of my hand, a soft expression on his face.

“Youngjae, I know this is going to be hard for you, but I need to know what happened and what you saw last night.”

I looked down at my stitches before looking back up at Himchan’s eyes. I swallowed a thick lump before attempting to speak, but all that came out was a croak. My throat seemed suddenly dry again. Himchan squeezed my hand before retracting it.

“It’s okay Youngjae. You can take your time.”

I took a few deep breaths before speaking. “Last night, after we finished the newscast, Yongguk offered to take me to get some dinner. We talked and drank, but I drank more than I intended and we left the place early.” I paused and swallowed again before continuing. “Yongguk wanted to stay with me at my house and I said that he didn’t have to, but he insisted. So we stopped at his house so he could pick up a few things. That’s when I got out of the car to do something, I can’t really remember, and that was when I was attacked.”

“By Daehyun?” Himchan asked and his face flashed through my mind. His face that looked so concerned for me. I couldn’t believe it.

I shook my head. “No, not him.” Himchan suddenly leant forward, brows creased. “It wasn’t him.”

“Youngjae, what are y-“

“He saved me. He saved me, Himchan.” 

“Youngjae, did you lose your mind too? We’re talking about Daehyun, Jung Daehyun. The one we put behind bars for this.”

“I know what I saw, Himchan.” My head started pounding again, and this was making it worst. Himchan leaned back again, running a hand over his face. He was silent before speaking again.

“You’re sure, Youngjae? You’re certain that what you saw was true?”

I looked Himchan straight in his eyes. “Yes.”

Himchan sighed before standing up. “,” he cursed under his breath before walking back to my bedside. “Okay, well did you see who attacked you?”

I shook my head. “He was wearing the mask again, but it was knocked off when Daehyun saved me. Did you-“

“Yeah, we have the mask.” Himchan finished. “So,” he scoffed in disbelief. “We’re dealing with new stalkers?”

“I guess so.” I said before a silence fell over us. I knew Himchan had his doubts about Daehyun saving me, and I knew he either didn’t truly believe it, or he was forcing himself to. I broke the silence. “But we have to find Yongguk, Himchan. It’s my fault he’s gone. If I didn’t drink so much, he would still be here.”

“Don’t say that, Youngjae. None of this is your fault. You didn’t see it coming.” He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Now, I need the name of the food place you were at last night.”

“I think it was called Makan Halal or something.” Himchan nodded his head before turning to leave.

“I’m gonna go check it out.” He opened the door and paused before looking back. “Get well soon, and we’ll find out who these new people are.” Then he walked out.

I sighed deeply before rubbing my temples again. I looked to my right to see a little bit of water left in the cup and I gulped what was left. I put the cup back down before sitting back on the bed, exhaustion hitting me suddenly, but I refused to let sleep drag my eyes closed. At that moment, my mind began to wander. It wondered just exactly what the hell was happening. If Daehyun wasn’t the one stalking me, then who is? And why would they frame it on Daehyun? Once again, the image of Daehyun’s worried expression flashed through my mind like a movie. I didn’t understand any of this; I just wanted it to end.

Just then the door opened and Jaebum walked in with that bright smile of his and I couldn’t help but smile back. He was holding some food and drinks and I’ve never been so glad in my life to see him.

“Hey, Youngjae! How are you feeling? Are you going to be okay? Himchan called me about what happened this morning and I came as soon as I could.” He asked as he put the food down on the bedside table before sitting in the chair Himchan sat in earlier. I chuckled before replying.

“I’m feeling fine, just a little shaken up, but I’ll be okay.” Jaebum nodded, relief visibly washing over his face. Silence filled the hospital room before Jaebum smiled again and reached for the food.

“I brought food! And your favorite drink!” He handed me the takeout food and a tropical fruit flavored vitamin water. I smiled at him.

“Thank you, Jaebum, really. I don’t know what I would do without a friend like you.” He smiled at that before grabbing his own food, and then we began to eat. I was having such a great time with him, and I’m glad that he’s always here to make me smile on bad days like this.

<< * >>

Himchan drove faster than ever to the precinct. When he arrived, he rushed up to the floor where he worked. When he entered the glass doors, Jongup and Junhong quickly stood up. Himchan walked over to them.

“Zelo, I need you to get the CCTV for the Makan Halal restaurant Youngjae and Yongguk were at, and Jongup, where’s the mask that we picked up from the scene last night?”

“It was taken to the evidence room.” Jongup answered and Himchan nodded.

“Okay, and Jongup, I need you to go with Zelo down to the restaurant. We need to see if anyone suspicious was around the restaurant when the two were there. We’re now dealing with new suspects.” Both young boys looked at Himchan confusingly.

“What? But isn’t it Daehyun?” Zelo asked and Himchan sighed before thinking back to his previous conversation with Youngjae.

“Apparently, last night, when Youngjae was attacked, Daehyun had supposedly saved him.”

“Wait, but why? Do you think he could’ve been faking it? You know, to clear his name and .” Jongup said.

“First of all, language, and that’s a good thought. I’ll keep that in mind, but for now, find all you can about these new stalkers and keep up with Jung Daehyun’s whereabouts. Our main focuses are finding out about these new stalkers and finding Yongguk.”

“Yes, Himchan.” They said in unison before they exited the precinct. Himchan followed soon after, heading down to the evidence room on the fourth floor. Once there, he asked the man for the mask. After retrieving the mask, he went to the forensics floor.

“Hey, Sunhwa. How’s your day so far?” Himchan greeted as he entered the lab. The addressed girl her swivel chair, away from whatever she was looking at through the microscope on her work area. She smiled and stood up to meet Himchan.

“Hey Himchan! You know my days, same old, same old until we actually get some evidence from a case. I’m assuming and hoping you have something for me. Please have something for me. I’m getting bored of just looking at stuff under the microscope.” She said, practically begging. Himchan chuckled before lifting up the evidence bag that held the mask in it. Sunhwa exclaimed as she took the bag into her hands. “Thank you!” She said before looking at it as she walked back to her work area, Himchan trailing behind.

“I need you to see if you can find any fingerprints on there and see where it was manufactured, I’m pretty sure it was local.”

“Yeah, yeah, no biggie. I’ll have the results to you before the day ends. Don’t worry.” She smiled, putting on gloves before opening the bag and taking the mask out. Himchan nodded.

“Thanks Sunhwa. I knew I can count on you. I’ll wait for those results, see you then.” He said before smiling at her once more as he exited the forensics floor.

He caught an elevator back up to the precinct before heading to his office. Jongup and Zelo should be back soon with the CCTV. Himchan sat in his chair thinking over his situation. Instead of dealing with one suspect, they’re dealing with two and now they have to find Yongguk. When Himchan learned that he was gone, he felt a deep fear grip him. He’s never felt it, but in that moment, he did. He’s always seen Yongguk as a friend, but at moments he did feel quite attracted to the older, but he buried those feelings deep down. However, he felt those feelings starting to claw their way out with each passing minute Yongguk was missing.

His thoughts were interrupted when Jongup and Zelo entered the precinct and walked into his office. Zelo held up a flash drive. “We got the CCTV and you’re gonna like what you see.” He said as he walked over to Himchan’s computer. He put in the flash drive and opened up the CCTV. They watched people come and go before they saw Youngjae and Yongguk pull in. After a few minutes, they saw a black Jaguar F-Type pull up next to Yongguk’s car, but the driver didn’t get out, they just sat there in the car.

After a while, Yongguk, along with a drunk Youngjae, exited the food place and got into their vehicles, both oblivious of the black vehicle next to them. The CCTV switched to the road as they saw Yongguk’s car drive down, then a few minutes after, the black car followed. Himchan paused the CCTV and tried to get a look at the driver, but the person was wearing the mask.

“Is this all you got? What about the other suspect?” Himchan asked and the two nodded to his first question.

“We could do a search of recently bought black Jaguar F-Types, and the CCTV didn’t show a second person wearing the mask. The second suspect must’ve taken a different route. We’ll look into it.” Zelo replied and Jongup agreed.

“And we talked to some of the people working there last night and also to some locals, but they knew nothing about the black car or even noticed anything suspicious.” Jongup added.

Himchan chewed on his bottom lip before speaking. “Zelo, Jongup, you do that search on the car. I’m gonna head to Yongguk’s house to take another look around.”

“Yes, Himchan.” They said in unison again before exiting his office. Himchan always wondered why they always said that in unison. He exited his office soon after, grabbed his keys, and then left to Yongguk’s house. The drive there seemed like forever before he pulled into the driveway. He got out of his car, and soon noticed the dried blood on the sidewalk a few feet down. Youngjae’s blood.

“He really did lose a lot of blood.” He muttered under his breath as he closed his car door and made his way up the driveway. Yongguk’s car was still there. He put on gloves before opening the door and crossing under the police tape. He reexamined everything from the night before and he went back into the backyard where the blood trail had been marked. There was grass, so no visible footprints were around. He finally decided to try his luck with the blood trail, only to go to a dead end again.

He sighed before looking around, and then he spotted another blood trail a good seven feet away. He could see it clear as day in the sunlight, maybe that was why it was hard to see it the night before. He walked over to the blood trail and followed it to a pair of skidded tire tracks. Feeling overjoyed, he looked around for any cameras, and he praised the heavens when he saw one pointed directly down this back alleyway.

He smiled as he started to pull out his phone to call Zelo and Jongup, but his phone started ringing with a call from Sunhwa. He quickly answered it.

“What do you have for me, Sunhwa?” He asked as he started walking back into the backyard.

“Not much, but I think it’s enough.” There was a pause before she started speaking again. “There were no fingerprints on the mask, the suspect must’ve been wearing gloves. But, I know where the mask was from.”

“Do enlighten me.” Himchan said as he closed the front door, balanced the phone between his shoulder and neck as he took off his gloves.

“The mask is from a company called Mask Arts. They make all kinds of masks with different materials.” 

Himchan got into his car before throwing the gloves on the passenger seat. “That’s great Sunhwa. Do you have the owner’s name?”

She laughed on the other end of the line. “Of course I do, who do you think I am? The owner’s name is Park Jaebeom, mostly known as Jay Park.”

“Thanks, Sunhwa, you’re the best.”

“No problem and, I know I am.”

With that, she hung up and Himchan dialed Zelo before starting up his car and backing out of the driveway. The phone rang a while before the younger finally picked up.

“Yes, Himchan?”

“Zelo, how’s the search going?”

“So far we have close to twenty people who have recently bought a Jaguar F-Type in the last three years. These cars are pretty expensive. All of their locations were scattered around the globe, but we narrowed it down to Seoul, and there are a number of four people who bought one.”

“Great, do you have names and addresses?”

“Not yet, but we’re working on that right now. And about those CCTV’s, we couldn’t find it on any of the cameras nearby. It seems that last night’s have been deleted.”

“That’s okay, because I found a new blood trail that we missed last night at Yongguk’s house along with some skidded tire tracks. And guess what? There’s a camera pointing down that alleyway.”

Zelo sighed, relieved. “That’s great to hear, I’ll have Jongup look into it.”

“Okay. And Sunhwa found where the mask was made. It was made from a company called Mask Arts and it’s owned by Jay Park. I’m heading over there now to ask him a few questions. I’ll meet you back at the precinct.”

“Okay, see you then.”

Himchan hung up and put his phone down. He was glad that they were finally getting somewhere. He put in the location for the Mask Arts Company into his GPS and made his way to the building.

The building was pretty huge for a mask making place, but that was before Himchan learned that it was a pretty famous mask place. It was located near the heart of Seoul and it took him a few minutes, a mean receptionist, and a crowded elevator before he was finally making his way to Jay Park’s office. When he got there, the man was discussing financial things with another man, before he dismissed him when he noticed Himchan standing just outside his glass doors.

The man he was talking to, left, mumbling angrily to himself. Himchan was summoned inside. He pulled out his badge and showed it to Jay Park as he sat down on his huge chair behind an even bigger desk.

“Hello, Mr. Park, I’m Lieutenant Kim Himchan of the Threat Assessment Unit, and I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

The young man smiled politely before reaching down to his drawer where he pulled out a pack of smokes. Before lighting one, he looked back at Himchan. “Do you mind if I smoke?” Himchan hated it when people smoked around him, but for now he would make an exception. When the cigarette was lit, the man leant back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. “Please call me, Jay, and I’m all ears for any questions you might have.”

Himchan nodded. “Okay, well then, shall we start?”

“Yes we may.”

<< * >>

I sighed in boredom as I flipped through the channels on the cheap television mounted across the room. After going through the cooking channels, I decided to settle on the news seeing that it was nightfall already. I hadn’t heard anything from Himchan all day; I guessed he was just busy.

I was pulled out of my thoughts at the mention of my name on the news. I looked up and quickly turned up the volume. Hyosung was discussing what had happened the night before. I didn’t want this to be public. People already knew about everything that had happened before, and I just, I just didn’t want them to know again. I heard the door open and close, but I didn’t pay attention to whoever came in. My focus was completely on the television, my stomach dropping, before it was turned off.

“Turn it back on. They were being very specific.” I said with a tinge of sadness and desolation to the doctor standing next to me as I looked down at my fiddling fingers.

“You don’t need to see it again.”

I snapped up my head at the sound of his voice, eyes wide. “J-Jung Daehyun?”

He nodded as he pulled down the face mask before putting a finger to his mouth, telling me to stay quiet. He reached for my arm, and I flinched away. I pulled myself as far away from him as I could.

“Look, I’m not here to hurt you. I just came to see if you were okay.” He raised his hands defensively. I didn’t move. It felt like roots were growing out of my body, leaving me stuck where I was. I didn’t move, not even when he grasped my arm gently to examine the wound. “You’ll be okay.” As if I didn’t already know, but it sounded like he was saying it more to himself than to me.

Alarms were going off in my head as he removed his hand but he stayed within close proximity. My heart was beating so hard, it felt like it was going to burst. I stared at him, my eyes still wide, and my hands feeling clammy as so many questions ran through my head. The biggest one: what the actual ?

“They’re going to find out someone broke in, and that I stole an ID card, but that doesn’t matter right now-“

He trailed off as he stared at me, waving a hand in front of my face. “Youngjae? Are you alright?”

I nodded slowly before coming back to reality. I couldn’t stop the words that had already come out of my mouth. “Why did you save me?”

Daehyun’s movements stopped and he looked at me. This time, I looked at him, really looked at him. He looked tired, extremely tired. He was going to say something, but then the security alarms started going off. He looked back at the door.

“,” he said before looking back at me. “All will be made clear, I promise. But for now, I need you to keep pretending that I’m the one still stalking you.”

“But I already told them that you saved me.”

Daehyun sighed. “That’s what I was afraid you were going to say. Convince them, you’re the victim. They’ll listen to you. Convince them that I’m still the suspect. Please, for the sake of both us, do it.”

I looked at him, desperation was apparent in his dark orbs. So many questions were still running through my head, but I nodded anyway. Daehyun let out a breath when I nodded and all too soon, he said a quick ‘see you later’ before he left the room. I heard police yelling at him as he took off down the corridor. When he left, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

All was quiet, before Himchan burst into the room and I couldn’t help the loud yelp I let out when he did. He quickly walked over to me and started checking for injuries. “Jesus Christ, that was Daehyun. Are you okay, Youngjae? Did he hurt you?”

My breath started coming out in short, heavy pants like how you feel after running a marathon. I stared down at my clenched hands.

“Youngjae, are you alright?” Himchan said more sternly as he gripped my arms. I slowly looked up at him; he was waiting for an answer. My mind was racing for a reply, before I remembered the previous conversation with Daehyun.

“No,” I mumbled and Himchan would’ve missed it if he weren’t so close to me. “I’m not. I’m not okay. Himchan,” My eyes were still undoubtedly wide and I was trembling all over, which was a great cover up for the lie I was about to tell. I knew I shouldn’t keep this from Himchan, but the desperation in the request that Daehyun made was so strong. I couldn’t ignore it. “I was wrong. I was wrong about him.” I lied. “He’s still the one; he’s still the one stalking me.”

Himchan was about to reply but his phone went off. He stood up and answered it. A few moments later he cursed under his breath before walking over to me. “They lost him. I’m sorry, Youngjae.”

I nodded slowly. “You can find him, I know you can.”

Himchan had his brows creased. “Will you be okay, Youngjae?”

I looked over at him and nodded, my head was starting to feel heavy. “Yeah, I just need to be alone.”

Himchan nodded and gave a reassuring squeeze to my shoulder before talking. “I’ll leave two of my men outside of your door in case something like this happens again. Don’t worry, Youngjae, I won’t let him near you again.” With that, he left the room.

With Himchan gone, I lied back down on the bed, the questions returning to my mind. Who were my new stalkers? Why was Daehyun being framed? Why does he want me to keep saying that he’s the stalker? And what will be made clear soon?

Those questions and tonight’s events were definitely going to keep me awake tonight.

Guess what everybody? I'm back! OTL sorry for the hiatus! I just became so busy with summer classes and with my computer coding camp (which is real fun btw) and I haven't forgotten about my stories yet! I hope you enjoyed the update and I'm still finishing It's Been a Long, Long Time. I hope you check that one out!

Also, here's the promised playlist! I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading and good night or good morning! (Whatever time zone you're reading this in ^^)