madjosie

[madjosie]

Thorns and Roses | Bangchan (pt.2)

f!reader x detective!bangchan

part one here

Note: mentions of drug and alcohol abuse, mentions of abuse, use of tobacco, detailed scenes of murder, mental illness

Words: 9k

-

Five days had passed. Nothing.

A pair of brown orbs eyed the tiny black purse that had been sitting on his kitchen counter for the past few days. The comfortable sofa swallowed his body, feet kicked up on the glass coffee table, as his finger hovered over the call button for the almost tenth time that day.

He was sure it was his fault. His fault for bringing her parents up. His fault for being noisy and trying to butt his nose into something that didn’t concern him. His fault for making her relive the traumatizing events.

He sighed heavily, his gaze fixed on the small purse as guilt gnawed at him. Each passing day without hearing from Adriana deepened his concern. Chris replayed their conversation over and over in his mind, wondering if he had pushed too hard, crossed an invisible line that he shouldn’t have. His intentions were to understand her better, to connect on a deeper level, but now he feared he might have driven her insane instead.

His usually warm apartment now felt eerie. The distant sound of cars outside and the soft hum of the refrigerator were the only company to his thoughts.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to focus on the way his body pressed into the soft cushions or the repeating sounds of car engines roaring under his window. His hand dropped the phone he was holding and, with a quick move, he dropped his feet from the coffee table. Snatching the purse and slipping on his shoes, he made his way out of the apartment and into the surprisingly warm street. His feet moved on their own. He wasn’t even fully conscious of where he was going, but he was sure he was heading in the right direction.

The moment his hand made contact with the cold, curved handle and the familiar bell signaled his presence, his mind regained consciousness.

“Good morning, welcome to Petal Paradise,” a cheerful, high-pitched voice spoke from the back room of the shop. “Just a minute, please.”

The usual jazz-like melody of her voice seemed to disappear, despite it being cheerful as always when she greeted someone. Chris waited, the scent of fresh flowers filling his nostrils. Their vibrant colors were a stark contrast to the dull ache in his chest. He looked around, taking in the arrangements of roses, lilies, and daisies that decorated the small shop. His free hand clutched the small purse while the other found its way to tap repeatedly on the wood of the front counter.

He couldn’t make out the sounds coming from the back of the workshop; the faint melody from the radio was too distracting for his racing mind. One second he focused on the soft hum of the music, and the next he was replaying snippets of their last conversation. He tried to push away the nagging thought that maybe he should just leave, that perhaps he was only making things worse by being here. He could just leave the purse on the counter and get out.

“Oh, Christopher, was it?”

The once faint voice in the distance was now much clearer as the auburn-haired girl made her appearance on the other side of the counter.

“Lila?” The tone of his voice was mixed with both surprise and relief. “What are you doing here?”

“I took a couple of shifts for Adriana. I suppose you’re looking for her?”

“Do you know where she is?”

The short girl spoke as she untied the knot of her glue-stained apron and set it aside on the counter. “She wasn’t feeling well, so she took a couple of days off. She’s probably at her apartment, lying sick in bed.”

Chris just nodded at the answer, not really knowing how to proceed with the conversation. Could it be that he had messed her up so badly that she couldn’t even bring herself to be at the shop, the shop she considered a second home? Chris’s hands gripped the bag a bit tighter, clearly catching Lila’s attention. “Is that hers?” All he did was nod to answer her.

“I can take that for her.” Her hand reached for the bag, but with a swift move, Chris’s hand moved the bag behind his back, an awkward expression plastered on his face. Lila’s lips broke into a laugh.

“Oh, okay, I get it.” She giggled.

His face was still filled with confusion as the girl in front of him laughed. He couldn’t quite understand why he did that, but the girl in front of him seemed to be piecing some things together.

“Go down the street, take a right turn, and you will see a big blue complex. Fifth floor.”

“Oh, I’m not—”

Her hands grabbed the man’s forearms, turning him to face the door he came from. “Yeah, yeah. Just go give her some company. I’m sure she’ll be more glad to see you than me.”

She gave him a gentle push toward the door as his head turned to look at her. She just sent him a wink, and with that, his face was hit with a ray of warm air. His feet moved on their own once more as he walked down the street, trying to take as slow steps as possible, trying to postpone facing his own problems—problems that could have been so easily avoided.

Wouldn’t it be weird if he just showed up at her apartment? What if he finally got that deserved slap that had been pending for the past five days? Actually, if that was the case, Lila wouldn’t have directed him to her. Well, maybe she didn’t even tell her about that night. There was something off about Lila today. She was probably just concerned for her friend.

Chris’s thoughts flew away as his steps seemed to quicken, and soon his gaze stopped at the blue apartment complex. He wished the building would just collapse before him, or maybe that the lift he entered would just stop working and trap him in for eternity. Better yet, if it just fell and turned into a crime scene.

-

This was probably the right time to turn around and leave.

He felt beads of sweat form on his forehead as the hand that knocked on the door settled at his side while the other gripped the velvety fabric of the bag. The bag that was the reason for all of this happening. Sounds of keys jingling could be heard from the other side; the doorknob turned, and the door creaked open, revealing a pair of tired, widened eyes.

She froze at the sight of him, not even thinking of a word to say, simply stunned by the face she least expected to see at her front door. He didn’t say a word either, gaze staying fixated on her tired eyes, decorated with dark bags. He seemed to be in shock that he was there at her door, just as she seemed to be shocked that he was there.

He licked his lips, trying to shift his eyes anywhere but to hers. They jumped from the light wood door to the peephole, and then lastly to his own shoes. It was painful to see her once sparkling eyes lose all their light and be replaced by redness; it made his heart swell and pick up its pace.

As he kept his head down, she noticed the thing he was holding in his hand. She forgot all about that goddamn bag, the only memory from that night being the piercing pain she felt and the sensation of the branches hitting her as she ran. Ran away from the man who now stood before her.

Two times in one night, that voice had taken control of her. Two times in one night, she had lashed out in front of the people she felt comfortable letting her walls down with. She didn’t know where it came from, and she didn’t know what caused it, but it was far more powerful than her.

She hadn’t had the chance to apologize to Lila yet, but the girl hadn’t put pressure on her, giving her a few calls here and there to see if she needed anything. Maybe in some situations, Lila’s obliviousness and trust in Adriana came in handy. But for sure, pulling out a knife in someone’s apartment would send them over the edge and break all contact with the person—hell, maybe even call the police. Lila knew she had to give her best friend space, but the lack of confrontation made Adriana want to rip her own hair out, strand by strand.

It was eating her up inside, bit by bit; she felt like she was losing control of herself.

Adriana took a step back from the entrance of her apartment, opening the door a bit more to make way for the dark-haired man. He finally looked up at her, taking a step inside as she closed the door behind him.

“I’ll set this here for you,” his voice was awfully quiet as he spoke. One more reason to make the guilt wash over her once again.

“Chris,” her voice was just as quiet as his as she called out his name. She didn’t have a sentence made up in her mind before she decided to speak, but she knew she somehow had to break the ice. She didn’t even know what she would say even if she had one made up. It didn’t feel right to tell him about the storm in her mind. Something in her just made her feel that could lead to the possible destruction of their already weak relationship. Were they even considered friends at this point? He knew about her family, her mother, her misery, and she knew about his choices in life, his dread of them, and his confusion about where life was leading him. Knowing that much about someone would surely qualify them as a friend, right?

Both of their movements were slow, as if they were both trying not to make the other one run away. They faced each other as they stood in the middle of the small apartment. The apartment was already suffocating on it's own, but now by the presence of Chris, it felt like a coffin.

“Listen, I don’t know what came over me—” Her voice was even quieter this time, but it got cut short by the feeling of her body being pressed up against his. His arms wrapped around her smaller frame, almost like guarding her, protecting her from every single bad thing in this world. She tried to muffle out another word, but his embrace only got tighter. The feeling of his arms strongly gripping her sent an unusual sensation through her senses, making her almost forget all about the past couple of days. It was a strange sense of comfort, one she hadn’t felt in what seemed like an eternity, but also one that seemed to linger in the air every time she was in his presence. His scent made her close her eyes, taking a deep breath as she slowly rested her head against him.

It was to no use to resist the urges this time; they were much stronger than her. Her arms found their way around his waist, connecting at his lower back as her body pushed further into his embrace.

He felt like a series of fireworks exploded in him as he felt her arms wrap around him. It was like he had waited for this kind of moment ever since he sat down next to her on that emerald couch that was definitely not made for two. The voice in his head calculating all of the possibilities this irrational decision could have gone wrong quieted down by the feeling of their bodies pressed together.

He knew he wasn’t good with words, and by saying anything more he could probably reignite the fire that was slowly extinguishing itself away, but he still spoke up. “I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

The sentence made Adriana’s breath stop for a second. Such a simple series of words made a couple of wires connect in her head. She pulled back slightly, just enough to look up at him. It was a fight between her and herself again. Either she tells him the truth this time or she lets it bubble up in her system and leaves him to carry the burden of their issues alone.

“You don’t get it, Chris.”

“I got too curious about you. I knew I shouldn’t have asked so many questions, and I didn’t know you’d react like that.”

She disconnected from his embrace, their bodies still close, and their gazes stayed glued to each other.

“I’m so sorry if you felt scared of me at that moment—”

“I heard a voice.”

To her surprise, the soft look in his eyes didn’t change; they still looked at her with the same warmth. It was like they hypnotized her. He stood there quietly, waiting for her to continue.

Adriana licked her lips as her eyes darted from left to right in a second before they set themselves back on Christopher.

“It screamed at me. It screamed at me to run away from you. I—I didn’t have control over my body…” Her voice started to tremble. Chris felt a chill run down his spine. “Has that ever happened before?”

She shook her head, trying to find the right words. None of them felt good enough to explain this situation. He was sure going to storm out of the apartment, paint her as a weirdo or psychopath, hell, maybe even pull out a pair of handcuffs and arrest her then and there.

“That same night, I was at Lila’s apartment. It told me to get up and go to the kitchen. She—she found me with a knife in my hands. I couldn’t even remember getting there.”

There it was, the end of whatever this could have been.

She closed her eyes, waiting for a storm of words to escape from his mouth, or the sound of the door shutting, but, nothing.

His arms reached for her once more, embracing her into another hug. This time, she could feel how his heart beat against his chest, her quickened heartbeat slowing down to match his.

He isn’t leaving.

She let herself slip into the temptation once more, letting his hands wrap around her whole body. His hand made its way to her head, his fingers finding themselves getting lost in her hair.

Why isn’t he leaving?

-

He closed the frosted glass door behind him as his footsteps echoed through the halls of the department. After dropping off some case documents, his shift finally came to an end. For the past week, he had been assigned more and more cases, and to Hank’s surprise, they were all going pretty well. Changbin couldn’t help but feel so proud of his friend; he seemed to be more excited about Chris’s achievements than Chris himself, which led them to plan a celebration for tonight. Well, nothing fancy—just a club and a few drinks. Maybe Changbin was just trying to find an excuse to get drunk on a weekday and found his chance.

Chris made his way into the office area, found his desk, and let his body fall into the chair. He let out a sigh, eyeing the decorations in his little space, or rather the lack of them. It was almost the same as when he first joined the department, the only pop of color being a fake plant that his mom sent him, knowing he couldn’t keep a real one alive, and a bunch of yellow sticky notes glued to the edges of the monitor. They all had his messy handwriting on them—his failed attempts to make connections between murders that happened some time ago, and some filled with his own bored thoughts. That used to be one of the ways he passed time until he actually started getting assigned to do the job he signed up for. A smile found its way to Chris’s lips. He finally had that feeling of belonging he had searched for so long.

“Waiting for Changbin?” Hyunjin made his way to Chris’s desk, alerting the brown-haired boy. He mumbled in affirmation before his gaze shifted to something that the man before him was holding.

“Hank forgot to give you this,” Hyunjin lifted up his hand to show him a USB stick before setting it down on the desk in front of him. “He said you should look over it when you find the time.”

“What case is this for?”

Hyunjin just shrugged his shoulders, running his hand through his long hair. “No clue.”

Chris took the USB, slipping it into the pocket of his jacket as he put it on. “I’ll take a look tomorrow.”

With a silent nod, Hyunjin made his way out of the double glass doors at the entrance. He seemed to be working extra hard for quite some time now; it was hard not to notice that. The dark eye bags decorating his eyes were like a souvenir from every late shift he did. As Hyunjin was making his way out, he bumped into Changbin, giving him a pat on the shoulder and probably a goodbye before they parted ways. Changbin noticed Chris sitting at his desk and, flashing him a smile, picked up his pace to soon be pulling Chris out of his office chair.

“Someone is eager to drink today,” Chris joked as Changbin kept pulling him out of the office area, making their way out of the building.

“I think someone is not eager enough.”

The pair made their way to Chris’s car, a roar from the engine echoing through the underground garage. “I’ll drop my car off at home, then we’ll go, alright?”

-

The big neon sign lit up the street as a swarm of people gathered at the entrance of the local club. It was usually busy on Fridays like this, but this time the line of people queueing to get in was much longer than usual. The three friends exited the taxi, Changbin being a gentleman by opening the door for his girlfriend, while Chan tried not to make a joke about his action. Even though the two colleagues had planned to go drinking alone, Changbin couldn’t help but ask Chris to bring his girlfriend to celebrate with them as well. Chris didn’t mind, but he knew he was going to be a third wheel at some point during the night. As they queued up with the rest of the people, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Is that you over there, in the black button-up?”

“Oh wait, I see you.” The man held up his hand to wave at the girl. They ended the call as she made her way over to them. She tried to be as fast as she could, but the heels she wore only gave her the possibility of ending up in a hospital because of a broken ankle, so she took her steps slow.

He couldn’t see her properly from a distance at first, but as she got closer, his mouth dropped open at the sight. The tight black dress she wore hugged her waist perfectly, showing the curves of her hips. The heels she wore defined her legs, making her almost the same height as him. He felt his throat tighten and his mind go blurry. It was like he was seeing her for the first time in his life. Well, it was the first time seeing her dolled up like this. Realizing his trailing thoughts, he shifted his eyes to her face, quickly changing his expression to flash her a friendly smile. The smile she returned almost made him drop onto the concrete below him.

“Hi, I’m Elena,” Changbin’s girlfriend didn’t waste a second to reach out her hand to greet the new girl. She flashed her a big smile as Adriana shook her hand, “Adriana.”

Elena was always cheerful and clearly longed for some female connection. She didn’t have problems meeting new people, which resulted in her having a wide circle of friends. Adriana, on the other hand, seemed a bit more reserved but returned Elena’s enthusiasm with a warm smile. “Chan didn’t tell us that he had a girlfriend.”

“She’s just a friend,” he quickly chimed in, trying not to make another one of their interactions embarrassing again. Their relationship had finally stabilized, and they could both proudly say they considered each other friends now.

After the long conversation that day, Chris, to Adriana’s surprise, stayed with her the whole afternoon. It felt weird for him not to lash out at her or label her as crazy. She didn’t think anyone would let the story of her pulling out a knife just fly over their heads and still find compassion for her. But he did; he listened to her, comforting her when needed. His only answer to all of her talking was that it was probably a reaction to something. A reaction from her past traumas perhaps. But there was one thing he was sure of: she wouldn’t hurt anyone.

It was her biggest fear. If she couldn’t remember getting into that state, it killed her inside to think she could potentially do something irrational and hurt someone. She expressed that possibility to him, but he was quick to eliminate those thoughts from her head.

One thing she feared the most out of all was that maybe he saw her as way too good, better than she actually might be.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Elena broke out in a laugh, but the atmosphere didn’t get awkward, probably because Adriana returned the laugh at her remark.

Chris couldn’t help but notice the quietness of Changbin. He looked over at the man, who only had a weird smile plastered on his face. That kind of smile was rare for Changbin; it seemed almost forced. There was no way he was mad Chris invited someone unannounced, not after he literally asked to invite his girlfriend to a plan they had agreed would be just between the two of them.

“The line is really long,” Adriana exclaimed, looking behind them to a new line of people, all dressed in short dresses and fancy flannels. “Ugh, by the time we get in, these heels are gonna kill me,” the shorter girl replied before the two shared a laugh.

“If they even let us in.”

“Right, it will for sure get packed before we get to the bouncer.”

“Also, did you like the flowers Changbin got you?”

“Which-” She took a minute to think before another smile escaped her. “Oh my god, you were the one who made it, he told me about it.”

Adriana couldn’t help but smile at the reaction from the girl. “My friend actually made the bouquet, all credit goes to her.”

As the two girls fell into small talk, Chris moved behind them to stand next to Changbin, giving him a nudge with his elbow. “What’s wrong?”

The shorter boy’s head turned to look at the taller one. He shot a quick glance at the two in front, figuring they were deep into their own conversation, then leaned in closer to Chris. “What is she doing here?”

Chris was not expecting that kind of answer. At all.

“What the hell do you mean? I invited her.” His brows furrowed, his tone becoming a bit more stern as the words left his mouth.

“Without telling me beforehand?”

Chris’s hands now found their way to his hips, his tongue tracing the inside of his mouth as he tried to compose himself and not make a scene in front of a whole group of strangers.

“You inviting Elena is fine, but me inviting someone, oh, suddenly is not okay?” Chris practically spat his words out. “It’s not about you inviting someone,” Changbin argued back.

“Then what the fuck is it?” Chris hissed out quietly, feeling his temper boil over. He knew Changbin wasn’t very fond of Adriana. It seemed he had been connecting some dots from the cases to her, but every time Chris tried to talk to him about it, he suddenly forgot everything. He didn’t tell him anything about her outbursts either, rightfully so. Adriana had told him to keep it between the two of them, and he was in no position to let her down.

“I don’t think we should be associating with her,” Changbin started, but Chris was quick to cut him off. “Listen. Whatever fantasy you’ve got going on about her in your head, she’s not like that. Don’t you trust me?”

Changbin muttered a low curse under his breath at his friend’s words, but in the end, he sighed. “Fine, whatever.”

The two girls at the front had seemingly stopped their chat and were now looking at the men behind them. They didn’t hear much of the conversation, but hearing some commotion, they couldn’t help but to try and eavesdrop. Chris and Bin shared an awkward laugh while looking at the girls, who were quick to turn back around and continue their talk.

The line seemed to get longer and longer as they made their way closer to the bouncer. Adriana tried to strike up a conversation a couple of times with Changbin, but to no avail. He mostly answered her with very short remarks, sometimes even acting like he didn’t hear her. Adriana couldn’t deny that the way he was acting was turning a few wheels inside her head, but she wasn’t going to bug her mind about it too much and potentially ruin her mood for the whole night. Giving up, she let the three of them chat while she mindlessly scrolled through her phone.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her lower back. In usual cases, she would probably freak at that sensation, but now she had grown quite accustomed to it. Trying to hide her smile, she kept her head looking down at her phone in an attempt to avoid looking at the man. “Yes, Chris?”

He leaned into her ear, keeping his hand gently at her lower back. “You look very pretty.”

Not bothering to hide the shy smile anymore, she finally let it out. Blood quickly rushed to her cheeks, completely blowing her cover. The scent of his cologne didn’t help her either. It was a new one, his usual scent now replaced with a mix of wood, vanilla, and tobacco. Adriana had to admit his usual scent brought her peace for some reason, it felt comforting, but now it was like she was seeing him in a whole new light. It wasn’t just the cologne; the velvety button-up he wore hugged his shoulders just right, and the few buttons left undone at his chest made her thoughts fly away to places they hadn’t been before.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” Yeah, he didn’t look too bad. He looked ethereal.

Chris, on the other hand, tried to bite his tongue the best he could. He did notice how her lips curved upwards and how her cheeks suddenly changed color, but most importantly, he noticed how she tried to hide it all. Some form of excitement started bubbling up in the pit of his stomach from the interaction. It seemed like the most basic conversation, just two friends complimenting each other, but he couldn’t help but feel like a little high school boy talking to his crush.

Was that what it was?

Could it really be that he had developed some other feelings for her rather than just platonic love and compassion? There was no way; they didn’t even know each other for that long.

In usual settings, Chris would blame this kind of thinking on alcohol. It usually brought out the side of him that longed for physical and emotional connection, but he hadn’t even had a sip yet.

-

The music was very loud, and the repeated flashing of lights made their movements look like they were in slow motion. Drunk people occupied any free space to move their bodies to the rhythm, while couples found themselves on couches and probably in bathrooms. Despite the long line of people, the four of them managed to find a free spot in the VIP booth, likely thanks to Changbin’s help. It was a small, half-circular row of couches on the bottom floor of the club, accompanied by a glass table in front of each couch. By the looks of it, there were more high-end booths on the upper floors. The dance floor was only a couple of steps away, and most importantly, the bar wasn’t far either. Right after occupying their space, the two men wasted no time bringing over the first round of drinks, whiskey and coke.

“Cheers,” the short boy yelled as the sound of glass clinking could barely be heard over the music. Adriana and Chris both drank their beverages halfway, while the two lovebirds roughly set down their completely empty glasses.

“I see why you two are together,” Adriana joked, and Elena burst into laughter at the remark. Changbin seemed to smile at Adriana’s words, which, to be honest, shocked both Chris and Adriana. With a quick bolt to the bar, Changbin returned in a second with another round of the same alcohol.

“So, you two—” Elena started, taking a small sip before continuing, “How did you meet?”

“Well…” Adriana began while she slowly set her drink on the table, a mischievous smile starting to creep up on her lips. Chris’s eyes, watching her, widened at her words. He knew which of their encounters she was going to choose, and he slowly shook his head at her in defense. 

“I was walking to my shop at like 3 AM, and all of a sudden, I heard someone groan from above me.”

Chris was quick to shoot up in his defense, “I wasn’t groaning; I was wincing in pain.”

“Mhm, okay. Anyways, I looked up and saw some creepy shirtless dude on a balcony.”

“I wasn’t creepy,” Chris interjected.

“You looked creepy under that lighting, or rather because of the lack of it.”

They all cracked up in a chuckle before the other girl spoke up, “Well, in her defense, most men are creepy at night.” Changbin, at her words, shot her a pair of puppy eyes, blinking a few times as she laughed at his action, “Not you, Bin, you’re always creepy.” They all shared a laugh once again.

“No, but seriously. I had a guy from work follow me one night.” Changbin tensed up at the mention of the topic but let her continue. “I literally had to run into a convenience store and talk with the cashier for like twenty minutes for him to get lost somewhere.”

“Did you get home alright?” Adriana chimed in, clearly invested in what Elena was saying, and so was Chris. Changbin seemed like the only one well-introduced to the story. Elena nodded at Adriana’s question, “I got home fine, but I still had some problems at work.”

Chris was quick to speak up, “Please tell me that you reported him.”

“I did, but HR did nothing useful, so I changed job locations. That’s how I got here.”

Even though the topic they were discussing was quite heavy, the setting of the place they were at didn’t let the conversation get too unsettling. Elena was completely fine about sharing her story, and by the way she talked, it seemed like she had gotten over it. It was lighthearted—lighthearted to everyone but Adriana.

Help her.

The familiar ping in her head suddenly came back, although her vision didn’t get blurry this time. Instead, her eyes focused on the drinks on the glass table in front of her. She was clearly zoned out.

She could have ended up like you.

Give her justice.

There it was again. The sudden feeling of doom washed over her as the music that was once the main focus faded away. It was just her and this voice. She wouldn’t let it act out this time. She wouldn’t let it control her. They were just some thoughts anyways, right? If she was aware it was talking to her, she could discard it and maintain consciousness over her body.

Kill him like the rest.

But it was so hard, so tempting. It felt reasonable. It felt right to her at the moment.

No. How could killing anyone be right? And who was the rest?

It’s your job.

To do what? What is the job? Why was it so tempting? Why did it feel familiar?

The rose is with you.

“Adriana?”

The music was back, and the table in front of her came back into sight.

“Hm?”

It was Chris calling her this time, “You okay?” She blinked a couple of times, trying to get used to the quick changing of the lights. Even though he was asking her a normal question, his eyes seemed to be full of something: worry.

It took her a couple of seconds to ground herself again, to be aware of her surroundings.

“Is it…?” His hand was now on her forearm, holding her strongly but not enough to hurt her. She just nodded, her eyes noticing the empty spots on the once-occupied space, “Where did they go?”

“They’re dancing. You’ve been zoned out for quite a bit.”

She took a deep breath before abruptly standing up from the maroon couch and turning to look over at Chris. She took a moment to look at him while his eyes curiously looked up at her, eyebrows raised.

“Let’s go drink.”

-

Half the night passed in what felt like a minute, and the pair couldn’t feel any better. The four of them clinked what was probably the twelfth or thirteenth drink of the night, maybe a little more. The droopy eyes on everyone indicated that the alcohol had done its magic, seemingly washing away all their memories from the start of the night. Hence, the four found themselves dancing together near the bar, their movements syncing with the rhythm of some remixed pop song playing from the speakers.

Changbin and Elena were in their own little world, the mix of the music and alcohol making them feel like they were the only ones in the club. Their bodies moved together, seemingly forgetting about the other two friends they came with, but in their defense, they didn’t care.

Adriana clung to the new drink she got from the bartender, while her free hand found its way to Chris’s shoulder. With a drunken smile, she leaned up to the man in front of her, inching closer to his ear. “Too much PDA in this place,” she slurred out.

“Right,” he returned the same drunken smile as their bodies swayed to the rhythm. “Finish that,” he pointed with his gaze to the new drink she was holding before chugging the rest of his glass. Hand on her waist, he held onto her as he leaned to set down the now empty drink on the counter of the bar, and she followed his action shortly after him.

Her eyebrow raised at him while he took her hand, pulling her in front of him. They pushed through the crowd of people, all moving in their own styles, some not caring about the beat and some just plainly sucking on each other’s faces with no shame. Would sober Adriana find it a bit disgusting? Probably. Did she care at this given moment? Absolutely not. The only thing she cared about was the warmth radiating from the body behind her as it guided her further into the swarm of people. The music quickly changed to another track, and the lights started to flash faster.

Her body suddenly got spun around as his hands stayed holding hers. “Don’t be shy.” He chuckled to her, his body starting to follow the new rhythm. “I should be saying that to you.”

The corners of his eyes creased as he smiled at her. They were both quick to fall into the music, letting control over their bodies go completely free. As much as Chris wanted to, he tried his best to keep a respectful distance from her, but the number of people letting their bodies loose just like them was overwhelming and obviously limited the space he could give her.

Adriana, on the other hand, did not care about a thing. The only thought in her mind was how her arms moved around her, and her body swung to the song. They both soon fell into their own world, much like the pair they came with, who were now out of sight and maybe even out of the club.

Even though he was moving at his own pace, his eyes stayed glued to the girl in front of him, watching her every move. How her dress slid up higher as her hips swung, and how her hair covered her features every now and then. He was aware the alcohol was working, and the only thing he wanted was to be closer to her. He wanted to guide her hips, brush the hair out of her face, feel her moving against him.

After a long moment of dancing, and Chris trying his best not to give in to his urges to press his body against hers, the song changed to a slower, more sensual one. Their movements slowed down, and the lights went back to making the effect of everything going in slow motion. She turned to face him fully, taking his hand and spinning herself around. They both shared a chuckle, their hands refusing to let go of each other. She found herself leaning over to his ear again, and this time, the scent of her perfume mixed with alcohol made him lose it all. “Don’t be shy,” she mocked, and at that same second, both of his hands gripped her waist tightly, making her move to the rhythm he set. In response, he sent her a cocky smile, setting his eyes on hers.

The control she barely had left over her body quickly slipped away, her focus shifting from her moves to his facial features. When the light flashed, it highlighted his lips and how they stayed curved at the ends. At that moment, he felt like the only person on earth to her. The only one who could make her feel right. The only one who could make the nagging feeling of doom leave her mind for even just a second.

She finally felt it was the right moment to let herself fall freely into feeling, to let her guard down, to trust again. After all, he was the one who had peeled the walls down without making her feel threatened.

The song continued, and their bodies inched closer and closer to each other. He was still leading the rhythm, guiding her hips with his hands. Her own hands found their way around his neck, gripping at the hem of his button-up. She shifted her gaze from the buttons left undone up to his collarbones. Noticing her eyes wandering, his Adam's apple jumped as his heart beat quickened, much like the song in the background. He feared he couldn’t hold his urges in anymore; he had already crossed one line by pulling her so close to him. But as her eyes finally settled on his lips, he finally broke under the pressure.

The atmosphere between the two thickened as he cupped her face with one hand, the other settling their movements down. Her eyes closed as he inched closer every second. Closing his eyes, he let himself fully fall into the feeling, pressing his lips onto hers. It took a couple of seconds for her to react, but soon their lips moved in sync. To both of them, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders, like they had finally cut the tension that had been building up for so long. It was as if the alcohol they had consumed during the night wasn’t enough anymore, like they needed something stronger—like they needed each other.

-

The door to Christopher’s apartment shut loudly, but neither of them cared even a bit. The only important feeling to them both right now was how they embraced each other, how the heat between them started getting unbearable, and how their soft lips pressed together as if they were made for one another. She quickly tried to get out of her heels, shoving them away with her foot, not caring where they ended up. He cupped her face with his hands as she set down the black purse on a small cabinet near the front door, and in no time, her fingertips found their way to the buttons of his shirt. Their lips moved effortlessly, but the eagerness still lingered in the air. They had both waited for this moment what felt like forever, and now that it finally came, it was like someone glued them together for eternity. Adriana’s fingers slid down the hem of his button-up, passing the few open buttons and finally stopping at the buttoned one. His fingers glided against her rosy cheeks, feeling every bump and crevice in her skin as they moved down to her jaw.

For the whole way to his apartment, their hands hadn’t left each other. Either she was hooked onto his arm, or his hands held her tightly around her waist; they couldn’t bear not to feel each other’s presence. It was like the first kiss released some sort of drug, a drug that made them addicted to the taste. Her fingers finally undid the button she had been fiddling with for some time. Her hands slid on the bare skin of his chest, and his only reaction was to place one hand from her cheek to the back of her head, deepening the kiss as much as he could. That action only made her want to explore his body even more, but as soon as her hands went further, he broke the kiss. Their faces were close, breath heavy as the atmosphere in the room lay thick. His eyes still looked at her, laced with love, but hers had a different kind of spark. Her pupils were barely visible under the lack of light, but the outside street lamp lit up her face enough for him to discern what she was feeling: lust.

“Not tonight,” his sudden soft voice spoke, finally breaking the awful quietness in the apartment. It seemed like not even cars made noise outside anymore. Her eyebrows raised at his words, her body slowly starting to detach from him, but he was quick to pull her right back in by the waist. “Let’s take it slow,” his voice was still barely above a whisper, a small smile creeping up on his lips as he looked down at her. It was a sight to see. He could never have imagined she would be there in his apartment, embraced by his arms and looking up at him with those doe eyes. Maybe he needed to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

“And why is that?” A small smirk found its way to her lips as her arms slid around his neck. Her gaze shifted to his hair just as her fingers did, relocating the strands to her liking.

He shrugged. “It’s different this time.”

“How was it before?”

He slowly shook his head, eyes tracing every feature on her face as if he were trying to engrave it in his memory. His lips fully curved into a smile this time. “Not, not like this.” The tone he spoke with seemed quite shy, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why.

Chris did have some failed attempts at love, but deciding to focus on his career, he decided to drop it altogether. He felt like it wasn’t really his calling; the furthest he would go would be a kiss or two, and the girl would nine times out of ten completely drop him. To be honest, he rarely felt anything much for them. He figured over time he was forcing himself into it, probably to fill some kind of void he was not aware of yet, but this time it was so different. This time he actually felt something for someone, and it was quite scary. He did admit to himself he probably did chicken out a little, but it was for the better.

“Okay then,” she returned a smile before nodding, “I’ll follow your pace.”

She could have figured why he was like this. As soon as she touched him further, his body tensed up after being so relaxed for the whole night, and the little stutter he developed confirmed it all. She felt like she might have been a little too eager with everything. It had been a while since she felt this open to an act like that with someone. It was so refreshing, but it’s better not to rush into anything; who knows, maybe her traumas would resurface and ruin the moment.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t kiss you like this.” Her short trail of thoughts got cut off by him returning his hands to cup her face, pulling her in tightly to press his lips onto hers once more, this time softer and with more emotion. It was a quick, sweet kiss, but oh, did it make her legs feel like they didn’t exist anymore. She burst into a giggle as their lips parted, hitting him softly on the shoulder.

“Ow.” He pouted, rubbing the place where her hand hit him. “What was that for?” he joked, the tone still quiet. To his surprise, she didn’t answer, though. She just stood there in front of him, a dumb smile plastered on her face as her eyes never left his for even a second.

The pair found themselves on the soft couch in his apartment, their uncomfortable clothes long gone and replaced with sweatpants and plain t-shirts. His outfit looked a bit big on her, but to him, it just made her look cuter.

“Did you see anything off about Changbin tonight?” the girl asked while her fingers played with the strings of her pants.

“Not really.” He knew what she was hinting at, but he’d rather not get into that conversation right now. It didn’t feel right not telling her, but he was sure it would be worse if he did.

She hummed, nodding her head while her fingers stayed busy with the strings. An awkward silence filled the room for a while, but it was suddenly cut by a phone ringtone.

“Yours?” He quickly bolted to the counter where her purse was situated before she could even register that it was her phone ringing. With a quick move, he unzipped the familiar bag and reached to grab the ringing phone. She made her way over to him as he handed her the phone, but as he did, small purple pieces of what seemed like fabric decorated the floor beneath them.

“It’s Lila, hold on,” she said as she swiped the green button and made her way to the other side of the apartment. Chris stood looking at the ground, the color of what fell barely visible, but it turned a few wheels in his head. He kneeled down to pick up whatever he had made fall from her bag, but as his fingers twirled the pieces, he realized something. It was those rose petals again, the ones that, in a way, connected them, but the ones that existed because of her mother. She probably carried those around in memory of her, so he picked up each petal carefully and set them back in her bag.

Footsteps were heard behind him as he set the last petal down in the bag. “She called to see if I got home safely.” Her eyes fell on the last petal that took its place in her bag.

“I’m sorry, they fell out,” he said apologetically, but in return, he got a quite confused response.

“I didn’t even know those were there.”

-

He mumbled 'good morning's' as he passed through the rows of desks and his coworkers occupying them. The burning sensation in his right hand didn’t matter at the moment; only the hope that the coffee would finally start working it's magic. The weekend had passed in what felt like a second, and the only thing he did was hang out with Adriana. All the work he said he was going to do was left undone, and all the promises to go to sleep earlier were unkept. It was his own fault, though; Adriana had cursed him out multiple times to take some time for himself and get ready for the new weekday, but Chris was a tough cookie to crack. Now that he had finally let himself free, he couldn’t bear to be apart from her. He kept himself in check to not go overboard with anything; it's not like they were official yet, but he just couldn’t keep himself from her. All of a sudden, his curiosity about her had doubled, and with that, his focus on work had lessened. Hence, as soon as Chris sat at his office table, his name was called from his boss’s office.

A curse word slipped under his breath as he took one last sip of his coffee, slid his chair back, and turned to head to the frosty glass doors that were the only thing protecting him from whatever was about to happen.

As the doors opened, Hank sat at his desk, a familiar face sitting across from him. The monitor of his computer was tilted so the other person could scan whatever was showcased on it.

“Good morning,” Chris greeted as both of the men looked up at him.

“Morning, Chris. I’m sure you have encountered Detective Lee before.”

The man stood up from his seat to reach out a hand. “We’ve seen each other around the office,” he said, flashing Chris a smile. “Lee Minho.”

“Christopher Bang.”

The two men greeted each other as Hank turned his monitor back to its place, took a handful of files, and stood up. “Let’s take this to the meeting room to discuss.”

As they exited the office and made their way to the bigger room, Chris felt like a bunch of question marks had spawned above his head and were taunting him. He knew he had forgotten to review at least one thing for work, but trying to remember what it was felt like it was going to give him a headache.

The room they entered was much bigger, with a circular table occupying most of the space. There were a few people already in place, and the screen on the wall was already turned on. They politely greeted all three as they entered the room, Hank taking his place near the computer that controlled the big projector. Chris cleared his throat as he pulled out a chair next to Changbin, nudging him in the side with his elbow.

“What is this about?” he whispered to the man next to him, but Changbin didn’t seem to be in a very good mood today. They hadn’t talked since the night at the club, a couple of texts from Chris asking if he had gotten home alright, but no response from the other.

“The USB,” Changbin replied coldly, his eyes not moving an inch from the screen projector.

“Good morning to everyone once again,” Hank started, turning everyone’s attention to him. “As you all know, we have obtained some CCTV footage that we suspect is related to the four murders that happened during December of last year. I have sent this footage to a couple of you who are more familiar with the case, so I hope you have reviewed it.” The screen changed to the files that represented all of the snippets of the footage. “I have compiled all the important parts here so we can review them together.”

The first video was showcased, nothing out of the ordinary. A dark, snow-covered street was shown, with only a couple of street lamps casting a yellow light on the ground.

“This was approximately 13 minutes after the murder took place. The CCTV footage was captured from a gas station not far from the victim’s home.”

It all seemed peaceful until a figure showed up in the corner of the screen. A woman with long hair and a puffy coat walked on the street, both of her hands occupied with holding two bags of some sort.

“We also have more footage from that night; another camera captured her.” There she was shown again, this time a bit more clearly, but her face was still not visible, only the back of her head. She walked hurriedly with her head down, the bags still in her hand. This part of the street was familiar; Chris himself lived not too far from there.

“The other footage also captured what seemed to be the same woman, ten to fifteen minutes after each of the murders took place. She was captured near the victims’ houses, seemingly walking in the opposite direction.”

“She could be living in the area, though,” the man Chris had met not long ago spoke up.

Hank nodded at the remark, turning to the computer to enter another file. “Of course, this is only a rough take, but we have also found this at all of the crime scenes.”

The slideshow of pictures made the blood running through Christopher’s veins turn cold. The sweet rose petals submerged in blood painted the white screen. The petals he himself had brought to everyone’s attention.

“We have found this at all of the crime scenes, which concludes that the murders are probably connected and calculated. A witness came forward about the woman shown in the footage, I will show you the formal report after we take a look at the rest of the footage.”

[madjosie]

Credit

Suffering from move-my-hips-itis😔

[madjosie]

Thorns and Roses | Bangchan (pt.1)

f!reader x detective!bangchan

Part two here

Note: mentions of drug and alcohol abuse, mentions of abuse, use of tobacco, detailed scenes of murder, mental illness

Words: 12k

-

The repeating flashing of red and blue lights in the distance jolted Christopher out of a long trance. For the entire twenty-minute ride, his mind was completely blank. His first murder investigation. His real chance to test his own ambition and knowledge he acquired over the long and hard years of college. But most importantly, to prove he didn’t get this job for nothing.

After finishing college and doing a couple of internships, his friend landed him a job at the local police investigation unit. At least that's what Changbin thought was the least he could do for his friend, who had gotten him through far more shit in life than he should have. Christopher and Changbin had been friends since the start of university and after realizing he failed his initial career path, Changbin encouraged Chris to try the justice system instead of his original choice of music. It was a hard decision for him to leave the thing he most loved behind, but Chris decided to follow his friend's words and got into criminology. On some nights he found himself dreading the decision, but his friend was always there to encourage him that the path he now found himself on was a real calling for him.

A few years later, the pair found themselves assigned to the same investigation. Changbin was well-loved within their unit, often described by coworkers as a witty chihuahua but also extremely hardworking, with a couple hundred cases behind him already. Christopher, on the other hand, had mixed reviews. Some thought he got the job just because of his friend, while others believed he had great potential, but not enough experience to be anything more than an assistant to Changbin. For the first month, his job was to act as a printer and coffee machine; nobody took him very seriously, including his boss. He thought maybe that was the process for everyone, that everyone had to go through the "maid phase" before getting assigned. He never spoke of it to Changbin, but he was already well aware of what was happening.

Upon arrival, a swarm of butterflies, or rather angered wasps, went crazy in Christopher’s stomach. Anxiety or excitement, he didn’t know. He came with the task of finding out how the crime happened, and he wasn’t going to let a few loose screws mess up his chance.

“Seems we’re a bit late,” the driver said, the buckles clicking as they frantically tried to take them off.

The scene was painted by flashing lights of cameras and police tape. To Chris, it resembled more a creepy movie set rather than an actual place. It was the middle of December, the cold air lay thick as two police officers made their way over to the two men. His companion Changbin mumbled curse words under his breath, rubbing his hands together frantically, trying to warm them up at least to comfortably greet the approaching officers.

“Evening, gentlemen.” One spoke, his breath painting shapes in the air.

“The forensics took the body for autopsy, feel free to head on over there.” The two investigators only nodded, the atmosphere seemingly not conducive to starting any conversation.

As they got closer, the scene became clearer. A plastic folder found its way into Christopher’s hands, his companion gesturing for him to flip through the pages.

“Only 26 years old?”

“Yep, and a quite successful businessman.”

His eyes turned upward to look at the rather underwhelming house. Maybe it was due to it being December and no flowers finding the strength to bloom under the thin coat of snow, or maybe it was due to the old musty doors and windows and an unkempt porch. Chris found the strength to let out a chuckle. “Sure seems like it.”

Changbin rubbed his temples. “Apparently his girlfriend was the last one to have contact with him, but she says that at the time of the murder she wasn’t even in town.”

“Is she in for questioning?”

“Yep, they got her in right now.”

Chris’s fingers traced along the glossy paper, outlining a few news reports of the man. He seemed to be quite a successful real estate agent. Ironic, considering he lived in what looked like a literal garbage truck.

Upon entering the house, Christopher’s stomach turned at the odor that hit him like a slap in the face. “Fucking shit.” Fortunately for him, he hadn't had the glory to inhale the lingering smell of a deceased body until now, which was now a shock to his gut. Taking a few seconds for his nervous system to calm down, his mind focused on the task. If he wanted a good reputation so badly, these kinds of things shouldn’t be an obstacle for him.

The suprisingly narrow hallway of the house led right to the living room, the floor and wall painted with crimson liquid. Trash decorated the floor along with evidence markers. Trying not to move anything around and make an even bigger mess, they made their way deeper into the house, the blinking of forensic cameras flashing every now and then.

“Forced entry?” Chris handed the folder back into Changbin’s hands. “No, we’re assuming the killer had a key,” one of the remaining police officers informed, bowing her head to both of them.

The red liquid that outlined the body stood in the living room, but the trail led farther out. It seemed that the conflict started in the kitchen and proceeded to the living room. Changbin left Christopher’s side, occupied with his own brainstorming. Chris took a better look at the evidence marked with the yellow plastic. Bloody shoe prints, knocked over chairs, the kitchen utensils untouched. The killer either brought their own weapon or took the one from here with them. Flipping through a few more pages of the folder, it seemed that the footprints belonged to the victim. No found fingerprints, no DNA left anywhere. Making his way to the backyard of the house, Chris was greeted with a fresh thin layer of snow.

“How long has he been dead for?” Maybe if it hadn’t been long, he could find footprints or any type of trail. It hadn’t snowed a lot these past days, so if it happened at least two days ago— “Four days,” Changbin was heard from the bathroom, making Chris sigh in frustration and shut the back door with a loud thud. He leaned his back against the kitchen counter as his eyes fell on the small dining table in the middle of the room.

A splash of purple caught his attention from his peripheral vision. A small bouquet of purple flowers covered in glitter was thrown in the corner of the kitchen counter, barely visible because of the microwave.

“Seems like he did have a good relationship with his girlfriend,” Changbin followed his companion's gaze. “There’s no sign of struggle in the bathroom.”

For some reason, Chris decided to pull out his phone. With a quick tap and a 'click' sound, he captured the lonely pile of now long dead roses.

Time flew by, and by the 60-minute mark, they decided to call it a day. Nothing new was found except for the small sign of affection thrown away in the kitchen. The only thing they could do was wait for the analysis of the evidence found and the autopsy results to reach their hands.

-

3:37 AM blinked on the clock. No sign of sleep.

Chris usually had a very hard time falling asleep, being prescribed sleeping medicine ever since he got into college. His body seemed to prefer the nocturnal lifestyle. Chris rubbed his eyes, turning in his bed for the twelfth time in the past half-hour. “God fucking dammit.”

His feet hit the cold apartment floor. Step by step, he made his way to the balcony. The lights of the city drew warm shapes on the white snowy canvas, but the city had never felt this cold. With a deep sigh, he took a seat on a not-so-stable wooden chair, pulling out a box of tobacco that had been squished in the back of his pocket for the whole day. He knew it was a bad habit, and at some point in life, he might even regret it, but for his mind, it was the only option. Putting on one of his own tunes in the background, he looked over at the city, focusing on making shapes with the clouds and lights rather than the running worries.

He knew he should be extremely grateful for how far he had come, but the feeling of a missed opportunity never left his tough head. Is this even his real calling? Maybe he should have pursued music when he said he wanted to? Maybe he should have stayed on the path he started on when he got to university? Maybe it’s not his coworkers but him? His own performance? Instead of waiting for work, should he have gotten up and demanded it?

A loud groan left the deepest pit of his throat as his head fell in a desperate attempt to quiet down the most annoying and loud part of his brain. He felt as if the engines in his brain had been working for a year without stopping, and he was a minute away from overheating and shutting down. He felt a pair of eyes looking at him, his gaze spiking up immediately.

His eyes met with a girl’s. Her face was defined by only a couple of shadows from the old streetlights. Her expression seemed startled and puzzled; he could only make out the shadow of her softly curled jawline and her long hair. It seemed like she was carrying some bags with her.

“You scared me, are you okay?” Her voice was sudden, a soft melodic vibration merging out of the darkness. To Chris, her voice had become one with the now soft jazz melody playing on his phone. “Sorry. I burned myself with the cigarette.” He awkwardly chuckled as he pulled up the almost-done cigarette to show her. Probably not the most attractive thing a guy could have said for an excuse. Seemed like the only logical option, he was not going to vent to a random stranger at 3AM about how his life choices made him miserable.

She awkwardly laughed with raised eyebrows and nodded, shifting on her feet before taking a quick step, trying to escape making this conversation far more awkward than it is by now. Before he could say anything more, she sent a quick wave to the weird shirtless man on the balcony, disappearing away from the orange street lights, back into the darkness. 

-

With a huff of relief, she set down the two bags in front of the shop’s entrance. Fiddling through the pockets of her cardigan sweater, she caught hold of a flower-shaped keychain with a pink ice cream cone glued to it. Her own work of craft.

The bell of the small shop rang as the door pushed it, usually signaling an incoming customer, but now signaling her despair and urgency. “Okay, three hours to finish it, it’s enough time.” She breathed out in a desperate attempt to calm her nerves.

She autonomously set down one bag on the counter of her work place, while the other got chucked into a big wooden box that was hidden under a broken piece of wooden flooring.

She doesn't really remember when she got the habit of doing that, or what kind of materials are even in there, but she still liked to keep them in case she ran out of something in the middle of crafting.

The pickup was scheduled for 7 AM, and did she completely forget about it and sleep through the whole afternoon and half of the night? Yes. Were an angry bride and a ruined wedding on her bucket list for this month? No.

Who the hell even has a wedding in the middle of cold December?

Her worktable, usually filled with colorful ribbons and glitters, was now covered in various shades of white, gold, and pink. Placing every flower in its designated place, not one should be even an inch off. In her mind, every misplaced glitter particle could be seen, every wrong shade diamond could ruin the whole piece, every miscolored petal could completely destroy the bouquet. She was a skilled artist, and flowers were her medium, her self-defense of choice.

Flowers could make everything pretty. Even the saddest lawn with a few daisies turns into a cozy backyard. Flowers even make funerals beautiful. It’s a sign of life. But they won’t bloom in the wrong conditions. They need sun and water to grow, to become beautiful; otherwise, they rot and become one with the ground, the ground they grew from. When you plant a flower, you have to look after it, just like a mother and father look after their children. Feed them and watch them grow into a person.

Roses hold a special place in her heart. The symbol of love, affection, and life. But roses come with thorns, and what do you do with those thorns? Thorns are there to protect the beauty of the rose, and if you touch them, they hurt you. Then what do you do with them? You remove them from the rose and throw them away.

-

The clock struck 7:48 AM, and the bell this time signaled a customer. A late customer, nothing new.

"Pick up for Watson," a friendly voice sang from behind the counter. Adriana emerged from the colorful beads in the doorway of her little workshop, greeting back in the same cheerful tone.

"Here you go, I hope the bride likes it." She handed over the carefully crafted bouquet of white roses and transvaal daisies, decorated with various ribbons and glitters.

"Oh my god, she will love it. Thank you again."

The cheerful woman exited the store, leaving only the faint sound of the TV to set the ambiance in the store.

Winter was always slow in the shop. Not many people find snow and harsh winds perfect for holding outside weddings or birthdays, hell even funerals get rescheduled. But, of course that is not always guaranteed, such as today. For these kinds of situations she decided that maybe it was worth it to stay open during winter.

The calm atmosphere was cut short by the ringing of Adriana's phone, her favorite song indicating that someone was trying to reach her. She picked it up and swiped the green button across the screen. "Hello?"

"Adriana, can you please come over? Some shit happened. I was at the police station until now—"

"Lila?"

"I came home last night, I didn't even enter the house and-"

"Wait, Lila, slow down. Where are you?"

The voice on the other line stopped to take a breath. "I'm at my apartment. Please come over. Jaehyun was found dead last night."

-

The apartment complex suddenly filled with the sound of hard footsteps. Moments later, Adriana found herself wrapping her arms tightly around her best friend, whose cries were quick to be muffled by Adriana's cardigan. In this moment of despair, Adriana didn't know how to feel; she usually kept her emotions very well under control, but now, they ran wild.

She didn't like Lila's boyfriend at all. The history between them only made Adriana's body boil with anger rather than happiness for the couple, and for all the right reasons. But seeing Lila break down in her arms naturally put all of that aside, how could she focus on anything else but tightly wrapping her arms around her.

“The police questioned me the whole fucking morning. They think I did it,” Lila managed to say between sobs.

“Oh, fuck,” Adriana broke the hug, her face painted with disbelief. She couldn’t grasp the accusation of her sweet best friend killing a human being, the amount of monstrous venom that needs to run through your veins to take the life of another living and breathing being. Lila was completely incapable of such an act.

Lila’s voice grew louder, filled with desperation. “I didn’t do it, I swear. I was out of fucking town. How the hell could they accuse me of that?” The cries got louder as Adriana’s comforting became more and more useless.

“Listen, I know you were out of town. We even texted about it.” She took Lila’s hands in hers. “I’ll be the witness for your alibi. I know you didn’t do it, Lila. We will print out the texts that you sent me and give them to the police. You’re gonna be okay Lila.”

The room eventually quieted down as Lila caught her breath, nodding in confirmation at Adriana's words. Only a faint ‘thank you’ could be heard from Lila before she got pulled into a hug once more.

Her boyfriend Jaehyun was a pretty sketchy guy. Adriana didn’t know much about him, except for the fact that he was a pure asshole towards Lila, and that he had a history of abusing drugs. Great combination.

Adriana was convinced the drugs led to his aggressive behavior. On multiple occasions she tried to sit down with Lila and convince her to break things off with him, but that just erupted an argument between the two girls. She didn’t want their friendship to end, so she stopped trying and only offered a shoulder to cry on when incidents with him happened. On couple of occasions he even threatened Adriana, which spiked an unfamiliar feeling within her. A feeling that she could maybe be the last page of his book, and the first chapter of Lila’s new life, but choosing morals, Adriana deleted the text and never mentioned it to Lila.

-

The cafeteria was filled with the bustling sounds of plates and chattering, every group occupying their own little table much like a high school cafeteria. Chris took slow bites of his now cold and tasteless mashed potatoes while the two men in front of him argued about something he didn't pay much attention to. It was amusing enough for him to just watch them bicker.

“Yeah, but if you leave it on for 10 then you're basically eating a rock.”

“I didn't say 10, I said 7. Are you even listening? Who the fuck boils eggs for 10 minutes?” Hyunjin spoke while pulling on Changbin's ear.

Changbin was quick to react to that, slapping Hyunjin's hand away. “Ay, you can't do that to your senior.”

Chris, on the other hand, stayed quiet, chuckling to himself at the two grown men pushing and pulling at each other’s nerves. One thing about Hyunjin that Chris valued the most was his sense of self. Nobody could tell that man anything; he followed his own path. Even though his main occupation was to nitpick at rotten dead bodies and analyze bloody weapons, he still didn't throw away his love for art. That man painted day and night, no matter how much his job as a forensic tired him out.

Their laughter was cut short by the appearance of a usual, grumpy face. “Christopher, I need you in the interrogation room. You too,” Hank pointed at Chris then briefly at Changbin.

The two men shot the long-haired boy an apologetic look while standing up from the plastic cafeteria chairs.

“We will finish this discussion later,” Changbin whispered under his breath to Hyunjin before the long-haired man was left alone to finish his lunch.

“We have a witness for Miss Bennett. You need to make a formal report of it and add it to the record. Christopher I believe you have the skills to do atleast that, right?”

He couldn’t say no to Hank, he was already terrified of him as it is. This was the first time their boss directly gave a task to him, and it felt like a huge responsibility to take it, and most importantly, do it right.

Hank handed a stack of papers to Changbin, shooting a polite smile to both of them, or more like a threatening one as it seemed.

“You’ve done this before right?” Changbin turned to look at the dumbfounded boy in front of him, raising an eyebrow at his expression.

“Twice,” Chris nodded. “I think.”

Picking out a couple of papers, Changbin handed them to Christopher, before grabbing him by his shoulders and turning him towards the big black doors. The words interrogation room bolded above a small frosted window.

He stood on the other side of a one-way mirror, awaiting the sign that he could seat himself on the chairs that stood on the other side of the reflective glass. He didn't really know what to expect; he didn't even have questions formed in his head yet, but with a few nudges and looks from Changbin his nerves let loose for at least a second or two.

To Chris, it felt like not even a second had passed before he was sitting in a pretty uncomfortable chair. His fingers fiddled with the rims of the pages of a series of notes in front of him. He was well aware the conversation was being recorded, and he for sure didn't want to have any mistakes on his record.

Just take a deep breath and stop being a bitch.

He heard the door of the interrogation room open. Three quiet "good mornings" were exchanged, but he was too anxious to look up at the women now sitting across from him. He finally pulled his gaze up, first catching a glimpse of the uniform of a police officer in the corner of the room, then at a strangely familiar pair of eyes.

Chris cleared his throat before speaking, “Good morning, ladies. Today is the 7th of December 2023, 11:05AM. Please state your names and relations to the victim for the record.”

As they spoke, he pulled out a blank piece of paper, writing down the date in the corner as he waited for them to voice out their names.

“Lila Bennett.”

“Adriana Lee.”

The man in front of them felt his breath stop for a second, the voice of the woman echoing through his ears, reminding him of a jazz melody. His eyes looked up at her, the woman calmly awaiting for the witnessing to continue. His eyes traced the familiar outline of her jawline.

“And your relations to the victim,” he cleared his throat once more, desperately trying to get the clump of anxiety out of it. He barely even spoke to her last night, but now that he sees her in the clear light instead of the streetlamp lighting, he's finding it hard to organize his thoughts.

“Girlfriend.”

“Lila's friend.”

“Okay, and miss Lee you are here to comfirm the alibi of miss Bennet on the night of the murder, December 6th, 2023?”

The woman in front of him just nodded.

“Correct?”

“Yes.” The jazz-like voice spoke up again.

“Can you confirm the location of miss Bennet of the night of the murder?”

“Yes, she had previously announced to me that she had a business trip to attend from the 4th to the 6th of December. She even sent me photos of the trip.”

“Mhm, and where were you off to, Miss Bennett?”

“I told you already, I was on a business trip to New York.” Lila's voice broke. Adriana could tell that the police weren't on her side at all with this. Hell, they are probably too lazy to even do any real investigation and just want to get it over with. She took her hand under the table, squeezing it tightly.

“I told you, I have proof she was there,” Adriana spoke to the man. “I can show you, I have them printed out.”

She reached for her bag, pulling out five printed photos of their chats from the last few days. Christopher's eyes scanned the text, noticing the photos were sent at the right time. He put the photos over the stack of papers on the table.

His attention turned from Lila to Adriana. “And can you please confirm where you were on the night of the murder?”

“I was at home sleeping. At around 3AM, I had to urgently get up to run some errands for my shop.”

Chris just nodded at the reply. “I can confirm that.”

Adriana's brows furrowed in confusion, trying to recall if she came in contact with anybody last night. She was so occupied with running to the store to finish that damn bouquet and by the lack of sleep for the whole entire morning that digging for any more information in her brain felt like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Maybe she didn't hear him right.

“Oh, the shirtless guy.” Her mouth formed an 'O' shape, her finger pointing at him.

His ears perked up at the response. He loudly cleared his throat before continuing. “Alright, and when did miss Bennet arrive back from New York?”

“It should be in the text.” Lila spoke up before Adriana could get a word out.

“You didn’t text me, you called me in the morning.” The other girl whispered to Lila. The hand holding hers suddenly getting sweaty.

The man in front of them eyed them both, switching his gaze from the girl on the left, to the girl on the right. His gaze seemed to stop at hers.

“I told you, I called the police as soon as I got home and saw him lying ther-“

“Please, sir. You even saw me on my way to the shop. You were on the balcony, I remember-“

With a swift motion, Chris got up from his chair, gathering all the papers and binders from the table. “Okay, the hearing is done. I will send the photos for further investigation. Have a great day, ladies.” He barely even finished the sentence before he was already out the door.

“The fuck was that, Chris? You could have asked so many more questions.” Changbin exclaimed, his tone not very angry but rather just confused and laced with dissapointment. He knew Chris never acted weird unless something was bothering him, but he couldn't really guess what was happening to him. He had a simple job of asking a few questions and writing down the answers on a piece of paper.

“We have enough evidence with this. Just send it over and rule her out.”

Dropping the few papers in Changbin's hands, Chris decided to return to the cafeteria, hoping at least Hyunjin was still there.

-

For the third time this month, a man has been found dead in his home. Autopsies reveal that all three victims showed signs of struggle, but unfortunately, no murder weapons or significant clues have been found. The crimes are still under investigation, and we are currently awaiting new information. We kindly ask all citizens if they have any information about the victims or possible suspects, to please contact the number below or the local police department. On the further note, authorities recommend keeping homes locked at all times. I am Tina Mitchell with ABC News—

The monotone voice of the news anchor was quickly cut short by Lila turning off the TV. Adriana sighed, her hands handling the hot glue gun with precision.

“Do you think they're all connected?” Lila questioned, rolling a plastic diamond between her fingers before sticking it onto the fresh layer of glue on the decorative paper. The two had been in the shop for the past couple of hours, sipping tea and trying to shift their minds to anything but the last few days, but to no avail. Every channel they turned to, every video they watched, every radio channel they tuned into—everyone talked about the murders of these three men. Knowing the topic hurt Lila, Adriana never thought of bringing it up first, but if Lila brought it up, she was more than willing to continue the conversation. Adriana, to some extent, understood her but a big part of her also didn't. Jaehyun was abusive, and as crazy as it was to admit to herself, Adriana was happy that the man finally had no way to control and harass her. He was a pretty rich and put-together guy on the outside, but when the covers lifted, he was actually a raging psycho, or in Adriana's words—a devil that should have never walked this earth. Every time he broke Lila into pieces, Adriana was the one gluing them all back together.

“Could be. There are no weapons found in any of them.”

A moment of silence fell between the two. Adriana’s eyes briefly caught Lila’s fingertips picking at the skin of her hands. “I told you to stop doing that.”

“Do you think Jaehyun deserved it?”

Tears brimmed in Lila's eyes, but she tried her best not to cry. In her mind, she thought her best friend had suffered enough because of her, and that her crying again would just set them back. Her friend worked so hard to try to make her feel better, cooking her meals when she couldn’t, cleaning her apartment, letting her cry in her arms.

“Do you want the honest answer?”

“Yes.”

“I do.”

A tear managed to escape Lila’s eye before she could wipe it with the hem of her sweater.

“Lila, he abused you, you are finally free from that.” By her words, Lila seemed to be letting her tears fall more freely.

“I know it hurts, but it was for the better, no matter how heartless it sounds.”

Lila knew Adriana wasn’t the best person to feel remorse for such people, but she couldn’t deny that her best friend’s words did pull at the strings of her heart. She took one more deep breath, finally wiping the last tear off her soft cheek.

Finally, a sob escaped her lips “But it hurts,”

“I know honey, its going to hurt until you tell yourself it doesn’t.”

The girls exchanged a quick tight hug, and a quick smile before turning their attention back to the peals and stems surrounding their table.

The cheerful bell of the store rang as footsteps echoed through the store.

“Good afternoon, welcome to Petal Paradise, how can I—” Lila's sad voice quickly changed by the cheerful customer voice, but it suddenly stopped without a warning, alerting Adriana in the back of the workshop. “How can I help you?” Lila finished in a quiet, almost unhealable voice.

“Oh hello, we didn't know this was your shop.” The shorter man spoke in a soft tone, trying not to alarm Lila by their appearance. “Oh this is not my—”

“Hello, how can I help you?” Adriana took her usual position behind the counter, staring at the two familiar men. The appearance of them sent a protective signal in her mind, quickly pulling her best friend behind her, hiding her behind her own body.

“We're not here because of the investigation, he just wanted to—”

“I saw the arrangements on your display, so I wanted to buy my date a nice bouquet. We don't mean to cause you inconvenience.” Changbin butted in the middle of Chan's speech. Both girls visibly relaxed at the statement.

“What style of bouquet are you looking for?”

Adriana’s words were still laced with caughtion, but she knew she should act towards them like she would to any other customer. Maybe it was a better idea for Lila to come to her shop another day. Seems like this would only bring more trouble on her already weak heart.

“Ermm...” The shorter man rubbed his chin while his eyes scanned all the displayed bouquets, ranging from sunflowers to roses to tulips in all different styles and colors. “This one.” He pointed at the one hanging near the TV. A rich pink and red bouquet with silver ribbons and small pink angels glued to the wrapping. The tulips of various colors hugged each other, making their colors resemble a pink sunrise.

“The tulip one?” Lila spoke up, finally finding the courage to look at the man that she had been pushing and pulling with for the past week.

Still after the confirmance of the alibi, she was still up for questioning for a couple of times before they finally decided to drop her as a suspect from the case. The man who mostly interrogated her was the one who was now standing in front of her, taking interest in the work of her own hands and mind.

Lila quickly made her appearance right in front of Changbin, eager to inspect his wishes for the boquet, much like he questioned her, except this was a much more lighthearted discussion for Lila’s mind.

Lila wasn't a full-time worker at Adriana's shop, but trying to be a good friend, she often hopped in to help Adriana during busy hours. Over time, Lila started to catch a grip on it. In bad moments, the two girls would find themselves covered in glue and glitter, smelling like a Lush bath bomb. Adriana noticed Lila's talent, so she decided to display some of her works in the shop, and Lila couldn't be more proud of them.

To her best friend’s surprise, she visibly got rid of all of her fear and dread by the mention of her own little bouqet.

After a minute of debating, the two found their way to the back of the workshop to discuss futher about the decorations.

“Very romantic for a first date.” Adriana chuckled, looking up at the brown-haired man in front of her as she typed in her register, the only thing making her feel at a safe distance from the man in front of her.

“He sure is.” He nodded in agreement. “Oh, I'm Christopher. I think it would be time to finally formally tell you my name.” His hand found itself reaching out to her.

Adriana hesitated before her eyes fell on the growing pink color on his nose. The faint dimple showed on his cheek as his eyes formed creases while he politely smiled

She took his hand into hers, giving it a few shakes. “Adriana. You're the weird shirtless guy, and the detective.”

He let out a laugh as he let go of her hand, nodding his head. “Don't know about the shirtless guy part.” He chuckled once more, rubbing his nose, resulting in the soft color rushing back once more. “Sorry about that, I was having a rough night.”

“No need to apologize to me. You burned yourself.” Adriana turned on her heel, walking to the outside of the counter and plopping herself on a fluffy emerald green couch placed in the corner of the shop. “You can come sit while we wait on those two.”

The pair found themselves in comfortable silence as they waited. Given that the couch wasn't very big, their knees often bumped into each other, causing a fit of quiet 'excuse me's' and 'I'm sorry's'.

In hopes of trying to avoid another awkward memory in the making, the pair found their focus shifting to the small pastel pink radio and the classical music that was coming from it.

“Enemies to lovers. Joshua Kyan Alampour?” He questioned.

“You listen to classical music?”

“Not really, I just know Clair de Lune and this one.” He chuckled. “I’m more of a rap guy, i'd say.”

“Oh, wow,” Adriana nodded, trying not to erupt in laughter by his awful attempt to strike a comfortable conversation. No way he is an actual interrogator. “I don’t think rap would be suitable for this kind of place.”

“Oh definetley not, stick to classical.”

Adriana was biting her lip, trying not to let the bubbling pit of laughter burst out of her, while on the other hand Chris was trying not to bang his head on the nearest coffee table.

Finally, the moments of despair ended, and Lila and Changbin emerged from the colorful door decorations.

“I'm so glad you like it. Have fun on your date.” Lila exclaimed as Adriana joined to greet them out.

“See you around.” Chris turned to send one of those dimpled smiles again, and with the sudden restriction of the possibility to form a functional sentence, Adriana just smiled and nodded goodbye.

-

The cold winter streets got washed by a wave of rain and wind. The sound of it hitting the ground accompanied by the sound of police sirens and curious groups of neighbours, set the atmosphere of that night. Fourth victim this month. Same settings as always. No forced entry, no sign of any murder weapons, no hopes of Chris ever growing in his bosse's eyes. The police investigation unit had been putting the last few cases as priorities, thinking that maybe this was all a connected act. An act of greed for money, or maybe just pure jealousy, or even just raging partners. The team got called out for yet another eary hour investigation, making Chris curse everyone and anyone that was in charge of distributing cases. He finally managed for once to fall asleep without taking his medication.

The house where the new homocide took place looked monotone as usual, making Chris feel like he got teleported back to the first time he even went on these types of investigations. The floor beneath their feet creaked as groups of forensics and investigators and police hoarded the house, sending comments to eachother every once in a while in hopes of puzzling up a convincing story, but to no avail. Leads were impossible to find and as minutes passed the atmosphere at the crime scene indicated more and more that the only thing they agreed upon that the past few incidents were calculated and connected.

„Do you think somebody was hired to do this?“ A tall man in a white hazard suit spoke up, the suit crincling as he put his hands on his hips.

„Why would anyone spend that much money to kill people like this?“ Changbin answered Hyunjin, widening his arms to point at the state of the house. As usual, the house wasn't very well kept. With empty bottles and various kinds of trash littering the, what seemed like once was, a very light and spacious living room.

Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders. „Debt maybe?“

„Could be, they all seemed to be quite successful at some points in their life. Don't know how that could turn into this.“

A faint sound of moving chairs and the closing and opening of doors could be heard in the background. Hyunjin and Chanbing didn't think to look at the man, figuring he had something mapped out in his mind and that it was best to leave him to it.

„Do you have any connections to the victims?“

Nobody has really came foward about these men. They have gotten a few calls from former employees or from ex-friends, but nothing to make the story significantly change. The girlfriend of the last victim has been ruled out long ago, leaving the case pretty much cold, and by the pace they were going with, it seems like the remaining three ones will end up just the same.

The autopsy report was also long due, looking at the fact that the first body has been sent in for inspection almost a month ago. Without the reports they was nothing they could really do, not knowing the weapon used and not having found one at the crime scenes.

The tensions in the department were heating up. Chris has been assigned to the case for a few weeks now, and by the looks of it, and by the looks that his boss sends his way, he was not in for a good time. Could he potentially be fired? Probably not. Changbin would not let get Chris fired in any book, but was there a chance of him getting landed just heavy paperwork and coffee stains. Very much possible.

The man now inspecting the kitchen floors has working the hardest he had ever been, not even a single peck of dust going unnoticed, and most certanly, not even a small purple petel that had suddenly caught his attention.

It was squished between the cracks of the musty beige tiles of the kitchen floor, leaving some purple pigment smeared across the cold tiles. The glitters from it seemed to be speckled everywhere, from the tiles, all the way leading up to the dining table. It couldn't be that this one tiny thing travelled so far and left such a trail. Chris dug through an archive of memories, trying to remember where exactly he saw that sparkle once before. He twisted the small petal, delicate and vibrant, between his gloved fingertips. It was a dark shade of purple, with a subtle light gradient towards the area where it once used to be connected with the stem.

With a quick whip of his phone, his fingers glided through various apps trying to find the one that would revive his memory, and not long after, a picture of a chucked boquet at an old kitchen counter stood before him.

„I might have found something.“ Chris's voice was finally heard from the next door room, alerting both Changbin and Hyunjin. Soon enough, the suited man found himself next to the investigator, analyzing the small flower remain after snatching it from the investigator at the speed of light. „It's just a rose.“

Leaning over the two men to take a look at the new found item, Changbin cimmed in. „How the hell will that lead to anything?“

„Remember the real estate agent guy, from like a week ago? We saw the same type of flower at his own kitchen. See?“ Chris flashed up his phone of the same flower he took, trigerring a not very amused look on his partner's face.

Changbin wasn't really having any of it, wile on the other hand Hyunjin was  quite intrigued by what Chris had to say. After all the pushing and pullin they might have actually found some type of clue that could help them progress, and not spin in circles.

„Wow congradulations, now we can show the jury that if you buy a bouqet of purple roses that look like a unicorn shit on them you might end up getting slashed by the throat.“

Couple of scoffs were heard. „Come on Changbin, don't be an ass. It could really mean something.“ Hyunjin spoke up.

„How the fuck do we go from here, we follow the glitter trail into a fairy killer's house?“ It was visible to the both men that the last couple of weeks took a toll on Changbin aswell. Everyone expected a lot from him and he expected a lot from himself. „Oh or even better, maybe we should send it to the lab to wait another fucking month, and have Hank bickering above my head for the whole week like a fucking seagull.“

Hyunjin sighed once more as his fingers found their way to rub his temples. „You're such a dick these days.“ And with that, Hyunjin left the two men in the kitchen of the crime scene. Changbin knew he was, but the frustrations came over him like an avalanche.

„I know someone I can ask.“ Was the last thing Changbin heard before he was left by himself, surrounded by the familiar yellow markers and a nausious mix of chemicals.

-

The heavy sounds were muffled by melodic beats, ringing in the ears. Thousands of voices tried to pick the right from wrong, creating a cacophony that drowned out any lost hopes of peace. Thoughts collided, creating a storm too powerful, turning the once melodic rhythmic beats uneven. The storm overcame and swallowed any last bit of clarity. The trees that once grew in the palace of a beautiful mind, planted and left to grow, twisted and turned out of their roots, swallowed by the heart of the storm. One by one, they disappeared.

Eyes shifted from one crimson puddle to another, the scenery resembling a collision of two rivers. The rivers twisted and turned around the room, colors blending with numerous shades of gray, consuming any vibrant speck. Making sense of the surroundings was almost impossible. The body moved on its own, while the mind struggled against a force that wanted total control. This force ordered the body to pick up anything that could potentially give it away, anything that could lead to the destruction of the little paradise the force had created for itself.

Each step was driven by an unseen compulsion, an urgency to erase traces, to cover tracks that could lead to exposure. The air felt thick with tension, every breath heavy with the weight of the task at hand. The rhythmic beats grew more erratic, mirroring the turmoil within. Shadows danced on the walls, fleeting glimpses of a reality that seemed just out of reach.

There was no room for error. The voice echoed, layered, each letter bouncing off the walls. After the final order, it stopped. The limb that once snuffed out the burning candle of life caught a velvety texture. The royal purple splash of vibrance found itself consumed by the crimson river.

-

The morning was greeted by the sun after the last night's storm, creating a rainbow here and there in the light blue sky. It wasn't a busy morning, so Adriana chose to take it slow and not bombard herself with tasks like she usually did when opening the store. With the ring of a bell, she left the colorful little building and headed over to a small coffee shop right across the street.

"One coffee with milk, please."

The young girl behind the counter flashed Adriana a smile accompanied by a nod. Adriana took a seat in a booth near a window overlooking her store, her eyes darting towards the once snow-covered street. The smell of sweet pastries and brewing coffee calmed her mind. For some reason, her body seemed more tense than usual today, maybe due to a lack of sleep or the stress circulating for the past few weeks.

Closing her eyes, she tried to shake away the chills, but to no avail. A dreading feeling had found a home in the back of her mind. Her body felt dirty, and her mind felt even worse. She dug deep into her memory to find the cause but couldn't even remember coming home. The last thing she recalled was going for a couple of drinks with Lila and her friend at the downtown bar, but that was way before the storm even started, yet somehow, she could still feel the wind and rain hitting her skin. Could it be—no. She would never let that happen again, drunk or sober.

The face of her father flashed before her eyes. The feeling of his fingertips brushing against her bare skin, and that stupid smile as he looked at her with every emotion but the one a loving father should have for his daughter.

Her eyes abruptly opened as her name was called. She quickly gathered her stuff from the booth table and made her way to the counter where two coffee cups were sitting. She reached for the wallet in her purse, counting out the loose change to give to the cashier.

"How much for the both?"

Her head turned to look at the voice behind her, and her eyes met with a familiar pair of light brown orbs.

"Chris?" Her brows shot up at the sight of him. "4.40 for the two coffees."

He flashed her a smile before handing a bill to the cashier. "I went to look for you at the store, then I saw you from the window. I was hoping I could have a chat with you."

"Yeah, sure."

Adriana must admit it was a pleasurable shock to see Chris in front of her, but something told her she wasn't in for a sweet chit-chat. With goodbyes exchanged with the cashier, they exited the sweet-scented coffee shop and made their way to the building across. They both set their belongings on the emerald green couch, the couch where Chris felt his legs were going to give up on him last time he sat there. He knew he had to stay professional today, even though he really wished he had an excuse to talk to her about anything but the cases he was assigned to.

He didn't understand why, but the pure sight of her made some type of feeling wash over him, a feeling of his chest tightening and his brain getting foggy. He must admit to himself that he felt very pathetic to be experiencing this in the presence of a person he saw only three times, two of them being completely awkward, and the third being purely professional. It was like he couldn't help himself but be completely drawn to her. Maybe it was her long chestnut hair, or her piercing eyes that seemed to hold as much wisdom as they did mystery. He couldn't really put his finger on it, but he had to snap out of it. He was talking to her for a reason.

"We can sit and chat here. I usually drink my morning coffee here anyways." She led him through the back door to a tiny porch. It was pretty hidden off, a line of big trees and bushes creating a tall fence around the small garden of the store. On the wooden floor sat a tiny light wood table with two foldable chairs overlooking a row of clay pots waiting to be planted with colorful flowers. The garden was quite lively for this time of year, a few winter-thriving plants occupying their space along with the birds that found their home here.

A tiny greenhouse sat in the corner. He figured that's where she grew most of the flowers she used for her crafts.They placed their coffee cups on the table before a comfortable silence took over for a minute.

It felt absurd to Adriana to let a random man sit with her and drink coffee in her place of peace, but unlike with most strangers, she felt quite comfortable with him. It was odd to her rather than alarming. She was always cautious and observant around strangers; she had to be.

"It's quite chilly," he said, breaking the silence. He took a short sip of his coffee before rubbing his hands together.

"Much less than last night."

"Right, I got called to investigate while it was going on." His lips pressed against the paper cup to take another sip. "Barely came home alive."

A chuckle fell out of Adriana's lips as she took a sip from her own. "Now imagine that but you're drunk and in heels."

A small fit of laughs erupted from both of them. "Who the hell thinks of going out in that weather?"

"Wasn't my choice. Lila needed some company. I wasn't gonna turn her down." She shrugged her shoulders, letting out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"How is she holding on?"

"She was fine until the funeral. Now she's back at the beginning, it seems."

Chris nodded. He knew it took a long time to get over such a death, especially if it was a close person, but it felt weird how Adriana talked about it with such ease. Surely, they were close. He was her best friend's boyfriend.

"I'm sorry we couldn't come back with any clues. The body was found with a slash over the throat, nothing more nothing less. We asked left and right, and nobody could recall seeing anybody."

She just nodded, not a word escaping her mouth.

She felt weird talking about it, or rather listening. It's not that she felt much dread about the death at this point, but the atmosphere in the air didn't seem to sit right. She waited for him to speak up again, but he didn't. Soon they fell into the same silence once more.

The once excitement to be talking to Christopher turned into pure anxiety, to an extent even fear. She knew he didn't come here for no reason and she anxiously waited for him to bring it up, but he didn't.

She looked over at him. He seemed to be lost in his mind, focused on something. He didn't notice her gaze shift onto him, so she took the chance to admire his features. A voice in her head seemed to be screaming at her to stop, to resist the urge, that it was no use to fall into these feelings, that he's going to hurt her just like the way the man closest to her did. That he is capable of the things both her father and Jaehyun did. But despite the effort, she still focused on the way his brows knit together in thought, and the way his rosy lips puckered out, chapped from the cold and harsh winds.

In her mind, he represented danger. Not the kind of danger she was looking out for in a man, but the kind of danger that seemed to turn off all her sensors. His presence was like the polar opposite of what she was used to. The presence he held was calm, comforting, so intoxicating to her mind.

"How often do you sell those roses?"

Her head snapped toward the direction he was looking.

"Which ones?"

"The purple ones." His eyes seemed to be set on a bush of dark purple roses inside the greenhouse.

"Not very often, I mostly grow them for my own pleasure."

A hum escaped his throat, his eyes not moving even an inch from the dark flowers. "You like them?"

"Do you recall the last time you sold or gave them to someone?"

"I'm not sure. I removed them from the display in the shop not long ago, so probably before then."

"How long ago?"

"Are you interrogating me?"

The sudden change of her tone caused him to finally look away from them, and rather set his eyes on hers. Her gaze seemed to stiffen and her eyebrows furrowed in defense. With another sip of his almost cold coffee, he reached for the phone in his pocket.

"I found this at all of the crime scenes, including the one last night."

A series of pictures of dark petals submerged in a thick red liquid were shown on his phone. Most were just petals, but the one that caught most of Adriana's attention was a bouquet. A sparkly bouquet with dark brown wrapping, words "I miss you" written out in cursive with red ink.

She felt her breath being caught up in her throat. The sight of it sent a painful sensation in her gut, almost like a sharp knife piercing through her. Her vision got blurry as a wave of tears threatened to fall onto the lit-up screen. "No, no, I—"

"I'm not saying that you're the culprit, I just want to know if you recall who you sold these to last." His voice was awfully calm, like trying to calm down a crying child.

Her voice broke as she spoke up. "I made those for my mom last. I took them down after that. I swear to God I'm not the one who did it. I saw those men barely once in my life—"

"You know them?"

She stood still for a second, rewinding her own words, before fully letting the tears slide down her cheeks. To Christopher's surprise, his suspicion of her didn't grow. Instead, his eyes softened at the sight of the girl in front of him. Her cheeks flushed red as her tears fell each second at a more rapid rate, coating her eyelashes with the salty liquid.

"How do you know them?"

He tried to choose his words carefully. He never imagined being in a situation like this with anyone, let alone with her. With every approach he calculated in his mind, he felt like there was nothing he could do to minimize her tears, yet he still tried to soften his voice the best he could.

"I saw them with my dad in meetings sometimes, mostly when I was little. They were all a bunch of scumbags, rich people trying to become richer." Her voice suddenly changed, laced with bitterness.

"Could I perhaps get in contact with your dad or mom then?"

A couple of moments that felt like hours passed before she stood up from her seat, almost knocking down the now cold and unfinished beverage. She slid the glass back door open and entered the store, her heavy and obviously angry footsteps fading away.

He knew he had messed up badly. It was a dumb mistake to pursue this line of questioning alone. He should have brought Changbin with him, someone with more experience. Doing outside work without his boss knowing could easily lead to being fired.

The sound of footsteps grew louder, but he didn't dare to look up, fearing he'd be met with either a slap in the face or with those bright, glossy eyes that tugged at his heartstrings.

"Here is my mom," a voice said.

Chris finally looked up, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

Forever in our memory, Anita Lee. 1979-2022.

"The dad is at the graveyard, search for the name Leon."

-

"Isn't it weird though?" Changbin sat on the edge of the table, eyeing Chris who remained motionless, the only sound in the room the tapping of a pencil on the armrest of Chris's chair.

"Those damn flowers don't grow at this time of year, and she told you herself that she made the bouquet," Changbin continued, frustration creeping into his voice as Chris remained unresponsive.

With a heavy sigh, Changbin slid off the table. "Should I talk to her?"

"No," Chris replied curtly.

"Oh, come on now," Changbin exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration.

Chris knew the aftermath if the word got out within the unit that he had spoken to Adriana privately. Someone was bound to draw a connection between her and the murders, and just the thought of it sent a chill down his spine. Part of him feared it might be possible, but another part, the emotional part, screamed that she couldn't possibly be capable of such acts. She seemed so... harmless.

"A young girl that works at a flower shop kills four men in their own homes with no forced entry, and no murder weapon. You sound stupid, Bin," Chris muttered, rubbing his temples.

"You're the one being stupid, firstly by going to talk to her before informing anybody, and secondly by being so fucking oblivious," Changbin retorted, pacing in circles around Chris's desk.

Chris sighed, realizing Changbin wasn't going to drop the topic easily. Changbin finally stopped pacing and pulled a chair from a nearby desk, positioning it in front of Chris.

"How about this. I don't tell anyone about your little private investigation, and you let me come with you," Changbin proposed, leaning forward with a serious expression.

"No chance," Chris replied firmly.

Without another word, Changbin stormed off towards Hank's office, clearly intent on taking matters into his own hands, or better yet, to force Chris into submission.

Chris scrambled to his feet, hurrying after Changbin. "Wait, hold on."

Changbin stopped abruptly, turning to face Chris with a raised eyebrow.

"I could use the backup," Chris admitted reluctantly.

Changbin smirked at the response he knew he was going to get either way. "I knew you'd surrender so easily.”

-

„Adriana. Adriana what the fuck?“ A loud and terrified voice screamed, but there was nobody in sight.

Silence.

„Adriana please, you're scaring me.“ There it is again, louder this time.

„Lila?“

„Adriana please, put that down.“ Louder. She knows too much.

„Wake up, please.“ Louder. She is going to give us away.

„I beg you, please.“ You have the rose in your bag. Just kill her already.

Silence.

„What the absolute fuck is wrong with you?“ A voice screamed, as the scene in front finally cleared.

Lila stood in front of her, a completley unreadable expression plastered on her face. It was like a mix of terror and relief in one. She looked around. Lila's kitchen?

„What the fuck?“

„Yeah, what the fuck is right. Put that shit down.“

Only when Lila grabed the object from her hand, she realised what she was holding.

„When the fuck did you get the idea to sleepwalk into my fucking kitchen and start banging your head, with a fucking knife in your hand?“ Lila's screams got louder than before, clearly fear masked by anger overcoming her senses.

She opened her mouth to say a word, but nothing came out. Absoutley nothing. The only thing she could do is cry. She doesn't even know why she was crying, or how she got there in the first place, but the tears rolled down like a waterfall.

„I'm so sorry,“ Were the only words Adriana said through tears before she stormed out of the apartment.

-

This was his second pack of the day. Actually, maybe even third. He couldn't be bothered to count at this point. With the flick of the lighter he inhaled the deadly smoke once more.

Thankfully the weather was calm tonight, maybe too calm for his liking.

With the year being over, the department had an annual meeting about how everyone was progressing in their path, or in other words, public bullying. At least it seemed like that to Chris.

After an underwhelming review that Hank announced to the whole department about Chris, he decided to try to get his mind off of things with a short walk. That short walk turned into a two-hour sitting session by the sea with a pack of cigarettes and two bottles of cheap beer. He thought of inviting Changbin, but by the end of the meeting he figured he would rather let him celebrate with his girlfriend rather than drink his boredom away with him; after all, the other cases Changbin had been assigned to, other than the ones with him, had been successful.

They did find some information, but nothing significant to the case, but more about Adriana's father. They decided to snoop around and ended up finding some news articles about her dad. He was a highly respected man, a business owner. Neither Adriana nor her mother were mentioned anywhere in the articles, but a weird piece of information did get noticed. Supposedly, he died at the start of last year, and by the looks of it, nobody knows how. There were no signs of struggle on his body, and no culprit in mind. In the pictures of the funeral, there were no family members, or in other words, no Adriana. The articles suspected it might have been either an alcohol or drug overdose.

Nothing about her mother was found either, and despite Chris's attempts to gather Adriana's phone number from the records, she was never picking up his calls.

He came to a point where he didn't even know what he was searching for. Was it information to catch the killer, or to frame Adriana? Probably not the second one. Firstly, he didn't want to think about that even being a possibility, and secondly, it was absurd to think a flower from the local and only flower shop in town would automatically make the owner the killer. As sure as Changbin was that something might be up with her, to Chris all he heard from him was nonsense.

He took a sip of his beer, deciding to focus on the sound of crashing waves rather than the shit his mind was trying to come up with.

Taking a deep breath, he scouted the beach. The moonlight above made the sand light up like thousands of diamonds. Furthering his gaze, he caught a glimpse of a silhouette sitting on a bench, a couple of meters away from where he was laying on the sand. The light breeze combed the silhouette's hair as the moonlight drew lines of their nose and chin. She looked like a painting from that far away.

The silhouette's hands made their way to her face, seemingly to wipe something off. Tears, perhaps.

She stayed still for a moment—a moment that felt like days—before catching her face in her hands and bursting into tears. The sobs wouldn't be so loud if it wasn't the dead of night, and awfully quiet to begin with.

He decided he would rather leave her alone, figuring his presence would just be a bigger burden for the girl. That was until her voice managed to say something in between sobs. Hold on.

„Adriana?“

She didn't seem to stop crying, but she lifted her head towards the voice. A familiar feeling of shame washed over her once she realized whose eyes she had met. The shame that always manifested itself when she was crying in front of someone.

„You alright?“

It was a stupid question. Of course she wasn't. She was choking on her own tears, for fuck's sake. He decided to get up, step by step coming closer to her. The only thing she could reply with was her head shaking no.

„I get that we're not friends or anything, but you can tell me if you want.“

He was now sitting next to her, closer than usual.

Keep your mouth shut

With a sniff and a wipe of her tears, she cleared her throat. „It's just my mom.“

She didn't understand why she was saying that. Maybe deep down inside, she thought he would view her differently, maybe even as crazy. Even if she really wanted to, she couldn't form the words to explain to him what had just actually happened. It was like something was screaming at her, threatening.

„You miss her?“

She didn't answer, but rather burst into tears once more. Not because they were mentioning her mother, but because she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth.

He felt his heart shatter at the sight of her. He couldn't shake the urge to reach out for her cheek, to wipe away the tears that escaped her light eyes. Maybe that was crossing the line. Maybe this wasn't the right time. He could potentially make the situation even worse. He quickly pulled back the hand that had started to reach for her tears.

Her head started to pound. She couldn't understand her behavior, and it made her want to scream at the top of her lungs. His presence was so calming, but her mind was like a storm. She really had hoped he could be someone she would let her walls fall down for, the one that would know her more than anyone, even Lila.

„Yeah, I miss her, a lot,“ she croaked out.

His eyes stayed focused on her, watching how her chest moved, how she wiped her cheek every now and then, and how her gaze never left the scene in front to look at him.

„Come with me.“ He extended his hand for her to take. Finally taking her gaze off the ocean, she looked up at him. She tried to focus on his features through her blurry vision, how his dark hair perfectly complemented his pale complexion, how his eyes creased at the corners, and how his lips curved slightly upwards.

Soon, her soft fingertips made contact with his. He pulled her up from the bench with a light tug.

Maybe it was an act of loneliness from both sides, or maybe it was that they found peace in each other, but for the whole walk across the beach, neither one of them disconnected their hands from one another's.

-

Chris led Adriana to a secluded spot above the beach, almost like a cliffside that looked over the shore. The place was well hidden behind some trees, and it seemed quite tricky to get to, but he managed to help her climb all the slippery and stern pathways.

The place itself was made of smooth, weathered rocks, their surfaces polished by years of relentless waves and wind. They formed a natural seat, comfortably wide and just the right height to sit on and dangle your feet above the beach. Patches of moss and tiny, tenacious plants clung to the crevices, adding a touch of green to the grey stone.

Empty bottles were scattered around them, remains of past visitors who had discovered this hidden gem, and also the remains of their own. The only noises heard were their own laughter, mingling with the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore below.

Chris opened another beer and handed it to Adriana, who took it with a tipsy smile. "Cheers," he said, clinking his bottle gently against hers. The moonlight above made the moment feel almost surreal, casting a silvery glow over everything.

Adriana took a sip and sighed, her shoulders relaxing a little. "How did you even find this place? I feel like I should deserve a medal for even climbing all the way here."

Chris shrugged, looking out at the vast expanse of the ocean. "Needed a place to clear my head one day so I wandered around and stumbled upon it."

She nodded, staring at the horizon. "It's peaceful up here."

For a while, they sat in comfortable silence, the weight of their own respective burdens momentarily lifted. The tranquility of the place seemed to work its magic, easing the tension that had gripped Adriana's heart.

Chris glanced at her, his gaze softening. "You know, I don't wanna push your buttons or anything, but why aren't your dad and mom buried together?"

Adriana's eyes didn't well up with tears this time. It took her a moment to form her words, but that only made the boy's body tense up.

"My dad was an asshole."

He stayed still at her words, not wanting to disturb her train of thought.

"He was pretty, let's just say, agressive-" She took a deep breath before continuing. "He killed my mom in a burst of anger."

There it was again, that heavy, unsettling atmosphere. The train of words suddenly woke up Chris's tipsy mind, making him feel like he just got slapped in the face with a cold wet towel. "I, I'm so sorry for asking."

"Chris, it's fine. I'm coping, see?" She tried to crack out a smile while picking up the half-drunk bottle of beer, wiggling it in front of his face.

As she put the bottle back down in its place, she kept her eyes to it while carefully placing it down, "He got home drunk one night after going out with his business partners for a few drinks, some were the ones that got killed not long ago. He got mad at my mother for some stupid fucking reason and slashed her throat with a pair of kitchen scissors."

Chris felt a wave of nausea mixed with sorrow wash over him. It was his job to listen and see these kinds of situations, but now that she was there in front of him talking about her own family, it felt like a completely different situation. It's like his professional part of the brain that was supposed to be intrigued by those stories got turned off, and replaced with pure sorrow. "Jesus, Adriana... that's..."

"Yeah," she interrupted, her voice steady despite the heaviness of her words. "He never got to pay for his actions, well, he did pay with his money. He bribed the police, there was nothing I could do about it."

Chris didn't know what to say. The weight of her story hung in the air between them. He wanted to comfort her, to say something that would make it better, but he knew there were no words that could heal those wounds. Instead, he just squeezed her hand gently.

Adriana looked at him, a stern expression still glued to her face, despite feeling her jaw relax by the sudden contact. "I guess someone took the situation into their own hands, one day I just got a phone call that he died, I don't even know how. I couldn't really be bothered to give a fuck either."

Chris stared at her, his mind racing. He wondered if her father's death was linked to the recent murders. There were too many coincidences, too many connections. "Do you think... do you think the same person who killed your dad might be involved in these recent murders?"

Adriana shook her head, her eyes distant. "I don't know, Chris. Maybe. But whoever it was, they did me a favor."

He nodded in response, emptying out his sixth bottle of the night. "Did he hurt you?"

"That night? No. But he did do some things when I was little." She felt the words come out so naturally. It wasn’t usual for her to talk about what she went through with her father, but the mix of booze and quietness made her speak before she could think, yet still managing to avoid bringing up the reason that resulted in them sitting together like this.

The boy’s ears perked up. Like a bullet his head shot towards her, eyes widened like an owl. “No fucking way-„

You're giving us away

A searing pain stabbed through Adriana's head like a hot needle, causing her to cry out and clutch her head in agony. Panic started spreading through her body like venom, distorting her vision and making her ears ring. The world around her spun uncontrollably.

"Adriana!" Chris exclaimed, his voice filled with concern and urgency. He knelt beside her, gently trying to support her as she trembled in pain. "Adriana, what's happening? Talk to me."

Get away from him

Adriana's mind felt like a chaotic storm, every step pounding in rhythm with the searing pain that lanced through her head. Despite Chris's desperate calls, she couldn't stay still. Her body moved on its own accord, driven by a force she couldn't name.

Chris watched in shock as Adriana bolted away from him, her figure disappearing into the darkness between the trees. "Adriana, wait!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet and running after her. It was like a demon possessed her. Did he once again step over the line he swore he would not cross again?

He followed the path she had taken, his heart pounding with worry and confusion. "Adriana, please," he called out again, hoping she would hear him, hoping she would stop.

Despite his efforts, she was long gone.

“Shit.”

His fingertips found their way to tug at the strands of his brown locks. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? His slow steps brought him back to the scattered bottles.

A tiny purse laid on the cold ground, the ground where Adriana was sitting just minutes before something took over her.