~Chapter 8~

‘He was here. He was watching me from far away, in that darkness, those shadows. So far yet it felt so close. I was scared to look away. What if I got distracted and he came for me? Those purple eyes… was he even human? At this point I can’t even know for sure. I just want this to end…It’s been going on for too long! At this rate I’m gonna go crazy.’

That was the weirdest suicide note he has ever read…and he did read lots of them. Sadly,more and more teenagers commit suciced;people with mental illness, people who got bullied, people who were victims of domestic violence… If only people were aware of how much it happens…

“What are your thoughts on this, detective? I really want to know what you think as it would be a great starting point.”

Of course.

The director was looking at him expectantly, and the young man cleared t=his trout before beginning.

“There is the possibility that this guy had some kind of mental illness, Schizophrenia maybe, as those who suffer this condition often hear and see things that other people don’t. But I can’t help but notice his thoughts. A person with Schizophrenia doesn't think all that rationally when their hallucinations get to a certain level. Not to mention the fact that they are scared and that makes them hide or try to defend themselves. What I’m trying to say is that the last thing they would do is write a letter about what they saw as they always try to keep it for themselves. But then again, we can’t know for sure. Maybe this person was indeed followed by someone who wanted to harm him. And it looks like that someone wasn’t so careful if our victim realized what was going on. Probably an amature…”

“I don’t understand. Why would they hide it? It doesn't make sense.”

“It does make sense. When people with that mental illness see something they usually succeed in making the difference between what’s real and what’s unreal. But the moment someone asks where the hallucination is and even looks at that place, they have a really hard time differentiating it and it makes them panic and be on survival mode, maybe a defensive one and when they enter that state… well they can be really unpredictable, to the point where they can be dangerous. That’s why it is so important to get the right treatment and in time.”

“I’m impressed, Detective Kim.”

Sehun groaned internally, not even sparing a glance at his assistant.

That didn’t go unnoticed by the director, who looked at them and raised his eyebrows in a questioning way. To his disappointment, none of them said anything, even though he kind of had an idea of what was going on. These two just won’t get along, now will they?

— —

“Detective Kim, can I ask you a question?”

Sehun got more comfortable in his chair while he fixed his glasses. He looked between the pages looking for relevant information, and hummed slowly, letting the older know that he was listening.

“How are you so familiar with this illness?”

Sehun looked up at him before turning his attention back to the papers in his hand, getting a pencil to write down some information and underline some information about the case that got his attention.

“I’m not just a detective. I’ve studied for 2 years about people with disabilities, both mental and physical and another 2 years something called ‘Social Integration’ which is about helping those people, help them adapt to society, etc. So I’ve studied continually about the most common mental and physical issues.I know how to deal with them and their families.”

Chanyeol blinked multiple times, opening his mouth just to close it. He didn’t know what shocked him the most: the fact that there was so much more of Sehun and his past or the fact that he actually told him something about himself without arguing or using sarcasm.

“You look like a fish.”

Oh?

“You weren’t even looking! Detective Kim, you are so mean!!”

And for an instant, the raven could swear he saw Sehun smirk.

Chanyeol would lie if he said that he didn’t like this. The blond being himself and more relaxed around him. He thought that that tension between them would always be present. Luckly for him, he was proven wrong.

Believe it or not, he cared about the other’s opinion about him…he cared way too much for his own liking.

But it was okay, he can deal with that.

He can handle that.

“Hm… Since you're in such a good mood today despite our horrifying case, how about we go out for lunch today? You know, just the two of us.”

Sehun almost dropped the papers. Was he serious?

“First of all, I’m not having lunch with you. Second of all, just because I haven’t argued with you yet it doesn’t mean that I’m in a good mood. I’m just trying to make an effort and deal with you calmly for the next few hours. Trust me, I’m doing this for my own mental health.”

Before the older could fight back, Sehun’s phone started to ring, giving him no other option but to swallow his words. With an arrogant smirk, Sehun bent over the table a little bit, reaching out for his phone. He could feel Chanyeol’s eyes wander all over his body but deciding to keep his composure, he ignored it and still with that smirk on his face he looked the other straight in the eyes before answering.

“Detective Kim.”

— —

Twenty minutes later they were both in front of the house where their victime has committed suicide. Juwon has told them in the beginning that besides the excessive amount of pills in the man’s system there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him. But the elder has contacted him again and told him about some light bruises on both sides of the neck, similar to a hand's fingertips. With the hope to find something useful, Sehun has made his way to the victim’s house. Of course he planned to go on his own but at that point Chanyeol was like some gum stuck to his shoe, almost impossible to get rid of.

“Why did we come here? We already looked around when we were informed about the suicide and found nothing.”

Sehun hummed, turning on the lights before starting to look around the living room.

“Yeah, but that’s because we were looking aimlessly. Now we have a lead: a second person.”

Chanyeol frowned slightly,not understanding where this was going. Luckily for him, not all humans were like the man in front of him.

So hard to read.

Sehun sighed at the confused look on the older’s face and turned around to go up the stairs.

“Just think about it. It would make perfect sense if he was forced to swallow the pills. That would also explain the bruises on the neck. As for the letter… there are two options.He either wrote it before his encounter with the murderer or he was forced to write it. So now all we have to do is look for signs of a second person’s presence.”

Well, forcing someone to swallow some pills was easier than people think so maybe that really was the case.

Deciding to finally be useful, Chanyeol entered what seemed to be a small office. But after looking through some files and checking the window for some fingerprints or if the window was forced open, as Sehun advised him, he started to lose hope as he didn’t find anything. Just as he was about to head towards some drawers he heard the detective call for him.

Without thinking twice he almost ran to the bedroom, where he saw the detective last time.

“Detective Kim, are you okay?”

Sehun turned around from the big doors that led to the balcony with a slightly surprised face. He wasn’t expecting the older to ask him that. Guess the other was full of surprises…

“Y-Yeah. I’m okay. But I want you to call Haneul. I found two different fingerprints from the outside. I also found some weird liquid in a white bottle and some other materials. No wonder the police didn’t find anything before, they were well hidden.”

Chanyeol nodded his head before looking for his phone and calling Haneul. As the phone started to ring Chanyeol turned his back to the detective, facing now a much darker area of the hallway. After making sure that Sehun was occupied looking through the material, he turned back around and closed his eyes for a few seconds, just to open them again. His originally red eyes started at the end of the hallway, wanting to make sure that there was nothing there.

Nothing that can mean harm to the mortal.

Because, oh, if something was to happen to the other, Chanyeol somehow knew he wouldn't be able to keep his cool. For him, the detective’s safety was more important than he initially realized.

And that made him feel something weird inside of him.

He let a soft sigh escape his lips as he knew that everything was safe and nothing was out of ordinary. Just then, he could hear a soft ‘hello’ at the end of the line.

“Officer Haneul. This is Chanyeol. We have news...”