Chapter Text
Hanhoo sighed as he leaned back in his chair. It had been a slow month, and he had so much time to spend with Chansol. Sales were going smoothly, and profits were skyrocketing with their latest models. Well, that was until Chansol burst into the room, with a pile of paper almost reaching his eyes. He somehow made it to the desk and dropped all the papers.
Chansol wiped his brow. “Hanhoo…here are all the performance details of the prototype.”
“Ah. Thanks.” Hanhoo looked up from his chair into his eyes. “But…” He put his hand on Chansols, snaking it up his arm.
Chansol swiped his hand away. “Not at wo-” He was interrupted by someone else bursting through the door. Hanhoo didn’t like uninvited guests and turned to the newcomer with a sneer. He was an intern, who had been with them for barely 3 weeks.
Chansol smiled welcomingly to placate the kid’s anxious demeanor. He was shaking from head to toe.
Hanhoo was unhappy. Mad. Infuriated, even. “What is it that you’ve come here for?” Chansol side-eyed him. Hanhoo cleared his throat. “And what can I help you with?” His eyebrows twitched as he said this.
“My supervisor! He! He, he-” The intern collapsed to the floor, shaking. He pulled at his hair.
Chansol leaned down and patted his shoulders, trying to soothe him. “What happened to him?”
The intern looked at him. “Dead.” Chansol blinked.
“This happened in the office?” Hanhoo stood up and walked over. Now he was concerned. He didn’t want a corpse stinking up his pristine building. “Who did it?”
“I-I don’t know!” The intern shook harder. “He said he wanted to talk to him…and the boss took him to his office…” He hiccuped. “He didn’t come out for a while so I went inside and found him!”
“Did you call the police?” Hanhoo began interrogating him. “Because if you did-”
“No! We’re not supposed to…right?”
“What happens in UM stays in UM. Don’t spread this news to anyone.” Hanhoo said coldly.
Chansol spoke softly. “You came to the right people. Do you know anything about the man who asked your boss to meet?”
“Did he have an employee badge?” Hanhoo finally kneeled down next to both Chansol and the intern. His eyes bore into the kid.
“Yes. But I didn’t look at it.” His tears had slowed, and Chansol was patting his back like a mother would to her child.
Hanhoo handed Chansol a pen and paper. He turned to the kid. “So what room was this in?” Chansol started writing.
“D203. I walked into the meeting room at 9:17.” The intern did his best to speak in a clear voice.
“The corpse is still there?” Hanhoo asked. The intern nodded. “Call Rosemary.”
“Hanhoo, she’s out of the country, remember?” Chansol piped up.
“For what.” Hanhoo turned to Chansol, unamused.
“Visiting family. You approved of her leave! Honestly, you should pay more attention…”
“How can I focus on anything but you?” Hanhoo took a big step into Chansol’s space.
The intern felt the need to look away, it was as though he was witnessing something private.
As they reached the elevator, Hanhoo pulled Chansol in. Chansol put his hand between the doors. “Don’t leave him behind! How will he get up then?”
“The next elevator…” He grumbled. The intern looked away as he warily stepped into the space. The elevator ride was filled with an awkward silence, and the intern let out a breath as he stepped out. He picked up his pace when Hanhoo turned to him. The stench of the corpse was apparent, and it filled the whole floor.
“Did all the employees leave?” Chansol asked the intern.
“It’s standard protocol. They all know what a corpse smells like.” Hanhoo butted in.
“H-here…this way.” The intern opened the door. Chansol covered his nose. It was obscenely bloody.
“This wasn’t a discreet assassination. They wanted us to know.” Hanhoo kicked the head aside to look under it.
“All this blood…the killer must’ve spread it around after he died. There’s no way he was still alive after losing so much.” Chansol said.
The intern was shaking and had taken to standing behind Chansol. His voice was small when he spoke. “Was he…in a lot of pain?”
Hanhoo moved the corpse’s jacket. “His arms are missing.” He said, ignoring the question. “Hey, kid. Take off his pants.”
“What? Why-”
“Do you like being paid?”
The intern kneeled and carefully took them off. Underneath was…foam.
“So the legs are gone too.” Chansol helped the kid up. “How did he do that in such a short amount of time? And why only replace the legs with foam?”
“But how did he know the size of his pants?” The intern asked.
“The jacket covers the arms…It’d be too noticeable if nothing was in his pants. Only those who looked carefully would take notice. That being me and my sweet manager.” Hanhoo said, amused.
“But so fast? Cutting off limbs, not to mention the victim’s struggle. Then assembling the clothes, putting the foam in, and spreading blood everywhere…When did this meeting start?” Chansol turned to the intern.
“9.” He replied, his voice sounding constricted. “I-I came in at 9:17.”
“And you only saw the killer before the meeting.” Chansol recapped. “And when you came in, there was no sign of him.” The intern nodded in agreement. “He had an employee badge too. Did he see your boss beforehand?”
“Yes, he would come weekly. I didn’t see him in our division besides these meetings though. But-”
“You didn’t think to mention this earlier?” Hanhoo looked down on the intern.
Chansol elbowed him. “You were saying?”
“They seemed on good terms…” The intern’s tears had come back. “They laughed together, and he would bring stuff for my boss…”
“Very close it seems, which could explain how he knows the pant size,” Hanhoo concluded.
“No, it doesn’t?” Chansol questioned.
Hanhoo smiled smugly.
“Ah. Close.”
The intern looked at them, confused. Were they communicating telepathically?
“If we went through the employee database, would you be able to pick him out?” Chansol asked.
“Yeah…”
Hanhoo said nothing as they approached the elevator, and tried to shut out the kid again. He failed.
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Back in the office, Hanhoo was seated at his desk, Chansol on the desk, and the intern stood awkwardly to the side. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to be closer, he just felt out of place between them.
Hanhoo pulled up the employee sheet. “Hey, kid.” He barked. “Are you supposed to be useful from the corner?” Chansol smiled, hoping that it would ease the tension, no doubt an effect of having to deal with the director.
As Hanhoo scrolls, the intern exclaims, “That one!” Hanhoo stops. “No, scroll up, yeah.”
“Him? But he’s not an employee…he’s a representative of a different company. He does hold a badge though, which is why he’s on this list.” Chansol said.
“That doesn’t make sense.” Hanhoo said. “He’s only supposed to come for an annual meeting in June.”