Chapter Text
Set a year after Seunggi's ‘death’
A detective named Yoo Jaesuk set foot on the doorstep of his agency office, fixing his comedically-styled deerstalker as he twisted the doorknob and entered. When he was inside, all he could focus on was the piles of neatly stacked papers and documents on his desk that’ll soon turn into a mess, a mountain of stress and sleep deprivation.
Jaesuk sighed as he made his way to his stationed table, placing his briefcase down on the empty space before slumping onto the office chair, relaxing his back as he messaged his strained neck with his own hand. His junior, Oh Sehun, who arrived earlier than him, offered an orange drink with a nudge on the shoulder as the older mouthed thank you to him before grabbing the beverage.
While he examined each of the papers one by one, sheets of undecipherable English words and sentences that only new generations would understand (like Sehun and his friends), a knock was heard, catching the attention of the two detectives as Jaesuk replied mid-sip into the drink with, “Come in.” Thankfully, his acquaintance, Kim Sejeong, stepped inside the room instead of mischievous kids as well as his right hand assistant, Park Minyoung, following behind her.
“Good morning, Jaesuk and Sehun oppa!” Sejeong warmly greeted them as she sauntered to her own desk, her smile slightly faltering when she saw a heap of files on the wooden plank that she wished was vacant. Minyoung chuckled at the sorrow written on her friend’s face, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she said, “Don’t worry, Sejeong-ah. I’ll cover up if you feel overwhelmed, okay?”
Sejeong, whose presence was painted monochrome right when she saw the amount of work she had to do, suddenly beamed with sunshine and rainbows as hugged Minyoung tightly. “Thank you so much, unnie!” She giggled, earning an eye-roll from Sehun as he pouted. “What about me? You never help me when it comes to my work, Minyoung noona! It’s unfair… ” The Junior sulked as his jealousy grew when he saw the limbs-intertwined friends. Typical cringey maknae behavior, except he's working with detectives instead of his fellow members.
“Yah, Sehunnie. Stop getting envious of Sejeong and focus on your task!” Jaesuk warned the younger, ignoring the side-eye as he scoffed jokingly. Suddenly, the door bursted open with no warning, making the detectives jump and yelp as they turned their attention towards the entrance. “Heya guys! How are you doing?” Kim Jongmin’s loud voice came echoing through the office, the detectives heaving a sigh of relief when they realized it was just the foolish detective.
“Oh my god you scared me to death… Gosh knock next time!” Minyoung advised him with a hint of annoyance in her tone, clicking her tongue loud enough for Jongmin to hear as she sat at her desk. The latter pretended not to hear Minyoung, humming while the others also sat back at their chairs as he roamed around the room, taking a glance at what everyone’s doing before eventually concentrating on his own work. Time passed like a snail, each second flowed alongside the quiet clicks of keyboards and loud chugging sounds of drinking coffee like it’s water (soda for Sehun).
As Jaesuk continued to review each and every paperwork, he noticed a small, wrinkled letter at the bottom of the stacked files. He fished it out with his fingers through the crevice in-between the thick documents, flattening the creases as he took a closer look at the envelope. “Sehun-ah, did you put this letter along with other papers?” He asked as he turned his head towards the younger, who was secretly using his phone under the shadows of his desk as Sehun quickly hid it away. Thankfully, Jaesuk’s focus was only on the letter, or else his phone would’ve been taken away for slacking off like a damn child.
“U–uh, yeah. Wait, what? What letter?” The junior replied, turning his attention to Jaesuk's question as he peered at the note the older was holding. He glided across the floor with him still sitting on his chair as he approached Jaesuk’s desk, raising his eyebrow before staring directly at the crumpled paper on the other’s grasp. After a while of pondering deeply alongside his hyung, he finally got the epiphany on when and where he found the letter as he clasped his hands together loudly, startling Jaesuk.
“Oh right! I found that letter below the doorstep carpet. So I assumed it was some report or notice on the agency’s situation on whether the government will continue the project or not.” Sehun explained, waving his hands around to indicate where he found it as he pointed his finger at the door. Jaesuk nodded as he processed what the younger was saying, his eyes still focused on the letter as he slipped the paper out of the already opened package. Wait, now he thought about it, why was it already opened?
“Wait, you already looked what’s inside, right?” Jaesuk curiously asked as he finally turned his attention towards Sehun, who was about to go back to his own table. The junior hesitated for a bit, furrowing his eyebrows as he responded back confused, “Huh? No, hyung, I didn’t read what the letter was about, nor have I opened it.” That left the older stunned and silent, multiple scenarios going through his mind as he recalled back times when local children stole the document regarding their missions that resulted in an hour long scolding from their agency’s co-founder.
Sehun noticed the same anxious expression on Jaesuk’s face back when he was mad, realizing the current situation as he stared at him through his eyes. “Let’s… Let’s just look at what the letter is about, okay?” He tried to change the subject, which thankfully worked when the latter replied with ,”Ah yeah, we should.” Then, Jaesuk signalled the others to come and join the conversation, a feeling that the letter might be important as he read the content inside out loud with the detectives surrounding him, listening to him attentively.
Dear detectives,
It’s been a very, very long time. More than one year to be exact. But no time for introduction: I’m in desperate need of your help. As of December, I’m being hunted down by someone whom I don’t know the identity of. I don’t know why they’re targeting me, nor do I know their intentions, but most likely, they are trying to kill me. If you have time, please at least spare a day to meet me. The location where we are going to meet is the same location when S̶e̶u̶n̶g̶g̶i̶ the Flower Killer allegedly died. We’ll negotiate the price once this is over. You don’t need to worry about who I am, as you’ll soon recognize me when we come face-to-face.
Your sincerely,
Someone.
“W-What? How did they… “ Sejeong stuttered her words as he took a step back, her eyes widening as her thigh bumped onto the edge of the desk. All of them were at a loss of words, the deafening silence stretching endlessly. Thankfully, Minyoung broke the awkward atmosphere with a whisper, “How do they know the Flower Killer’s… alleged death?”
“It's possible that this someone might be the godmother. You know, the person in charge of hunting down Seunggi?” Sehun immediately answered with a mix of uncertainty in his voice. Then he quickly walked to the tall cabinet in the corner while the others were pondering, opening the creaky door as he shuffled through the messy files inside. He picked out a thick folder with a red casing, brushing off the dust before placing it down on the desk where everyone is occupied, loud enough to turn their attention towards the source of the thud.
“What’s this?” Jongmin asked first, bringing up the file as he took a further examination around the bulky document. He flipped to the front face, where big red letters CASE DISCONTINUED was printed onto the title The Flower Killer Hunt. Jaesuk glanced at it, motioning the latter to hand out the report to him. When he got it in his hands, he browsed through the worn-out yellowish papers of barely comprehensible words until he stopped at the last page, a photo of dried blood on the floor in the room where Seunggi’s body was supposed to be and below it shows a note of the address where it took place.
“They want us to meet here?” Sejeong said, pointing directly at the photo where the inside of the room was seen. Minyoung hummed as she fished out the notepad from her desk, writing the address down in a hurried manner before putting it back. “Wait, Sehunnie, you said that Someone could possibly be the godmother, Hyeyoon, right?” She mentioned and Sehun nodded.
Minyoung seemed to have an idea when she took out the phone from her back pocket and typed something on it in a hurried manner. After a while, her face twisted into somewhat disbelief, mouth agape as she muttered, “Guys. guys look at this.” She signalled them to focus their attention towards what she’s telling them to look at her phone.
A BODY FOUND IN INCHEON RIVER.
A body, by the name of Kim Hyeyoon, a 24 years old woman, was found in the Incheon River after a local reported to the police of sightings of blood in the said river. The autopsy report noted that the main cause of her death was a fatal head trauma, a gunshot wound that penetrated through the temple with a bullet commonly used in rifles. Experts in the field of health concluded the case was suicide, but a Forensic Science Technician namely Hwang Namhyuk disagree—he remarked that the body was found in a river, an unlikely place for a suicide to take place as he commented on the fact that she used a rifle, a long range weapon, and that a glock or a pistol would've been a much suitable option to use to kill oneself. As right now, the Incheon Police are investigating this case as the death of Hyeyoon is unsure on whether it is a suicide or a murder masked as self inflicted…
“She's… dead?” Jongmin gasped when he read the article shown on the screen, mouth agape as he reread the article again and again to confirm that he isn't hallucinating. Jaesuk clicked his tongue in frustration, mad at the fact that the one they were convinced was Someone turned out to be dead, losing the key lead to the mysterious letter as they stumbled upon the depths of theories and limitless possibilities on who the sender was once again. Other than that, deepest condolences to Hyeyoon despite the detectives’ ugly history with her.
“Aish dang it, I thought we had it for a moment.” Sehun sighed, biting his lips as he shook his head, not noticing the sudden smack that knocked the thoughts out of him from behind. He let out a scowl, turning back while gently rubbing the stinging area on his head in hopes of comfort, face twisted with disdain as he looked behind to curse at the person despite being the youngest. When he saw the man, however, he sealed his lips into a thin line, knowing whatever is coming, he knows it’s probably for the best of him.
“She’s deceased, Sehun! Don’t say that.” Jaesuk scolded him, earning an unbelieved eye-roll from Sehun as the younger man mouthed the words As if you cared when K, the damn founder of our agency, died. Thankfully, Jaesuk seemed to be horrible at reading lip movements as the senior announced to the detectives, “We’ll go to the place Seunggi died tomorrow. So be aware of the schedule change. Also, inform Kwangsoo about the letter and our plan. If he didn’t reply or excused himself because he’s busy with his acting career, spam his dms with messages and don’t let that man fool you with his childish lies and excuses! Drag him out of his house if necessary.”
All of the detectives nodded in agreement, shuffling away back to their desks to resume their previous work. Jaesuk, left behind at his desk, stared at the forgotten letter on his desk, humming a tuneless melody, but it didn’t distract him from a question that still hasn’t left his mind.
Just who in the hell opened this letter?
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“So? Any news on Kwangsoo?” Jaesuk asked the detectives as he packed each of his belongings in his leather bag, notebooks and pen packed up in an awfully arranged pattern as he barely closed the zip. Sejeong shakes her head left to right, mouth forming a pout as she said, “He didn’t reply to any of my messages. Even spamming him didn’t make him bother to go online.” Minyoung followed with Me too and Sehun also replied with Same. “Did he lose his phone again or what?” Jongmin jokingly said.
“Did he leave you on read?” asked Jaesuk again.
“Not even a read. And before you say anything, I’ve tried to call him multiple times, and Kwangsoo hyung didn’t pick up any of my calls as expected.” Sejeong replied.
“Do you have telepathy?” Jaesuk joked, strict demeanour thinning for a second before it takes over again, “Jokes aside, just leave him be. He’d be a nuisance to keep around anyway, especially in cases that revolved around the Flower Killer.” All the detectives nodded in genuine agreement and not just for the sake of their senior’s fragile ego as they followed Jaesuk to outside of their office where a car was seen.
“Seriously? Do we have to ride on this… tiny car? Again?” Whined Sehun, muffling a fake laugh in disappointment as he lazily opened the car door and stepped inside first, giggling when he secured the best spot—the passenger seat. Jongmin scoffed, quickly getting inside to sit at the corner left seat where he could view out the window to glance at the surroundings. Sejeong and Minyoung followed behind, not giving a damn at the seats because in the end they’ll all be cramped in the tight space anyway.
“Thank god Kwangsoo didn’t join. Or else he’d be taking up more than half the car.” Jongmin said in hopes of lightening the tense atmosphere and the detectives’ mood, which surprisingly worked well as they all chuckled. Jaesuk, at last, got into his driver seat, buckling up as he motioned Sehun to copy what he was doing. Once everything was okay (if we ignore the fact that they can barely breathe in the suffocating car), Jaesuk reared up the engine, startling everyone inside at the violent vibration as he drove off without warning.
After an hour of pure rumbling and complaints which mostly came from Sehun, they finally arrived at their designation. Everyone got out, hands clutched to their heaving chest as they gasped heavily from the immense adrenaline that coursed through their veins like a roller coaster during the wild ride. After they finally managed to calm their racing hearts down, they looked around in the familiar surroundings of ruined buildings, memories flooding in one by one as Jaesuk sighed. We're back here once again.
They walked through the rubbles and scraps, kicking off cans and bottles as they approached the building they were supposed to meet at. While others were discussing who Someone could be, Jongmin seemed to notice something behind the building, squinting his eyes trying to make out what he saw as they got nearer. When he finally got a better view of the sight, his eyes widened, patting furiously at Jaesuk’s back as he commented, “Hyung, look at that way. I'm… not hallucinating again, am I?”
Jaesuk, who was busy talking to Minyoung, turned around to see what Jongmin meant. He looked at the direction where he was pointing, adjusting his glasses as he peered closer. When he finally saw a glimpse of what Jongmin told him to look at, his jaw dropped, gasping a little. “Is that what I think it is…?” Jaesuk said, making others turn their head towards him as he stepped back.
The other three glanced at the place where Jaesuk and Jongmin were staring intently at, confused by their reactions as they rotated their heads. Sehun, who was drinking his energy soda, spit out the liquid when he processed what he saw. “Holy shit, is that his car?” He said blatantly, earning him a light smack from Jaesuk again but he didn’t mind much considering they both were too distracted by the realization.
“Oh… Oh my god.” Sejeong gulped, nudging Minyoung's shoulder to see if she was as surprised as her, which turned out to be true judging by her expression. They were all standing in a rigid stance, not a single word flowed through them except a few bird chirps and whistling breeze above. Jaesuk broke the silence first, snapping his finger to signal the others to continue the journey as he mentioned, “Guys, just… ignore whatever that car is. We don’t even know whose car is that, anyway?”, knowing damn well the license plate is awfully familiar to him.
Jongmin followed with, “Y-yeah! We shouldn’t just assume randomly.” heaving a fake laugh as he gave an awkward smile at others. Soon, the detectives followed Jaesuk like he told them to, the silence stretching endlessly between them as they made their way to the second floor of the building. When they reached the desired place, leather soles clicking against the concrete floor, Jaesuk pressed a finger against his mouth, a silent action to stop making sounds while he quietly tip-toed his way into the entrance of the room with caution.
When he checked the insides of the room, all he saw was abandoned barrier tapes that were scattered across the ground and a few pieces of plastic gloves here and there. He signaled to others that there wasn't anybody inside, mouthing an okay before entering the room as the detectives trailed behind him. They wandered around the dust-filled room, some coughing violently as they browsed through the old things the police forgot while they were investigating the scene while Jaesuk stood in the middle in silence, heads moving from side-to-side to watch the detectives as he sighed.
Suddenly, a loud thud abrupt the room’s atmosphere, startling the detectives as they stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. Sehun choked at the amount of dust that engulfed his lungs after the sudden interruption while Minyoung, who was right beside Sejeong, tripped over her as their limbs intertwined in a web. Jongmin let out a high-pitched yelp, waving his hands around when he was out of balance as he collapsed onto Jaesuk who managed to catch him in time thankfully.
They all looked at the source of the sound, noticing the really, really tall man with a long brown coat and skinny jeans at the entrance as they glanced up to see his face better. When the chaos finally faltered and they got to identify the stranger, all of them let out a gasp when they recognized the face immediately upon first look. Of course, it was none other than the damned deceitful Lee Kwangsoo, the cause of Sehun’s breathing difficulty and Minyoung’s accidental fall that led her straight into Sejeong’s embrace, as well as Jongmin and Jaesuk looking horribly intimate with their current couple-like pose.
“You– You!? What are you doing here???” Jaesuk yelled, pushing Jongmin away from his lap as he glared at the tall man. Kwangsoo immediately pressed a palm against his mouth, turning a step back as he said, “I… I thought you guys would be—” But before he could finish his sentence, a slap came across his face from Minyoung, who looked furious as ever as she clutched his collar, “Aren't you supposed to be acting?!” She shouted angrily, surprising Kwangsoo as he rubbed his throbbing tomato cheek in hopes of comfort. Sehun and Sejeong stood back on their feet, a flash of surprise seen on their faces while Jongmin laid on the floor helpless.
While they all were trying to process the fact that Kwangsoo, who should be acting right now, is standing in front of them trying to defend himself with baseless excuses and lies, there were some faint footsteps heading towards the room, catching everyone’s attention as they turned their head towards the entry. “Kwangsoo gosh why are you so loud–” a familiar voice was heard, making the detectives glance towards the sound as a man approached.
Jaesuk widened his eyes.
Minyoung released her grip.
Kwangsoo sighed in defeat.
Sehun ran his hand through his hair.
Sejeong wheezed sharply.
And Jongmin shrieked at the sight.
Is that…
Kim Minjae!?!?