To Be Alive

by Lon3ly

 

 

Premise Tags: Modern Day, Death Spirits/Gods,

Afterlife, Detectives, Office Work,

Food (Author-Submitted CW!).

Content Warnings: Sexual Content,

Suicide, Child Neglect,

Abandonment, Depression.

 

 

Hyun Park. Defendants mostly hate him and he’s a prosecutor’s best friend, but to the general public he is the ' god of justice’. 100 cases solved in the past year, he finds the truth regardless of everything and He does it all while being extremely handsome.

 

“Good morning Detective Park, congratulations on the recent homicide case.” An older man said as he watched Hyun walk through the doors of the office.

 

Hyun was one of the youngest detectives in the agency, at 24 years old but he still commanded respect because of his confidence and achievements. His black hair was slicked back and he wore a fashionable black suit and long coat.

 

“Thank You, Detective Lee,” Hyun said and planned to walk past the man but then he turned around and walked back to him.

 

“Detective Lee, Are there any new cases on the lower tier? Not homicides.” Hyun asked as he took off his long coat.

 

“O-Oh Uh, there was an art heist in the art gallery’s new exhibition, a hit and run where the victim did not die, a suspected arson case, and a missing teen.” Detective Lee said, clearly trying to remember.

 

“A missing teen?” Hyun asked, confused as to why they were tasked with that case.

 

“A 17-year-old boy has been missing for 3 days, his part-time job called his parents to find out why he wasn’t coming to work and found that the parents hadn’t even realized that he’d never come home. The workplace reported it and a police investigation found that the parents didn’t even remember the boy’s birthday, weight or height.” Detective Lee explained.

 

Hyun looked intrigued.

 

“So neglect...That also could make it not a runaway case..” Hyun murmured.

 

“That case, tell the boss I’m gonna take it,” Hyun said and patted Detective Lee’s shoulder.

 

“Give the case files to the rookie, he should be on his way,” Hyun said and walked to the elevator.

 

“O-Okay..” Detective Lee said, confused about why Hyun Park would want a case about a runaway teen.

 

A couple of minutes later a blonde boy with black and gold browline glasses rushed into the office. He was carrying a tray with four coffees and a bag of food from a nearby bakery. 

 

“Hey, Rookie, Give these to Detective Park, he asked for this case.” Detective Lee said, being much stricter than he was with Hyun.

 

“Y-Yes Sir!” The Rookie, Wooyoung Park, exclaimed and struggled to carry the three items into the elevator.

 

He pressed the buttons with his elbow and took a deep breath.

 

“Good morning,” Wooyoung said and walked to Hyun’s desk.

 

“Here’s your iced coffee, the new case, and the pastry of the day at Mille Fleur,” Wooyoung said and set down most of the stuff he was holding. He put the other iced coffees in the fridge and the pastries on Hyun’s desk before taking off his jacket.

 

“Read me the case overview,” Hyun said as he signed into his computer.

 

Wooyoung nodded and picked up the case files and flipped past the cover page. He began reading:

 

On March 20th at 6:30 pm, Jaesung Lee left work at ‘Hana Coffee Shop’ in Yongsan-gu. He was wearing a blue cardigan, and his school uniform. Afterward, he did not go to work or school for 3 days. The school called his parents on the very first day but received no response. The Coffee shop called after 3 days, they reportedly had been attempting to contact Jaesung’s phone after the first day but were never given an answer from Jaesung. The parents responded to the phone call this time but had no answer as to why Jaesung hadn’t come to work. The caller from the coffee shop felt that it was ridiculous for a parent to not notice their child missing for three days but doesn’t mention it in her initial police call and just mentions that Jaesung had been missing for three days. Local police investigations halted their search after finding possibly incriminating behavior from the parents that made them suspicious that this boy either ran away because of abusive parents or was murdered by his parents. A warrant hasn’t been filed yet. 

 

“The possibility of a Homicide is probably what got it sent to the office,” Wooyoung murmured after reading the case.

 

“So, What do you think?” Hyun asked, drinking some of his coffee.

 

“Well uh, I think we need more information..” Wooyoung mumbled.

 

Hyun looked at him and moved his hand, suggesting that he say more.

 

“What kind of information and how do you suppose we get it?”

 

Wooyoung was nervous, he had only been working for a few weeks so he hadn’t actually been involved in cases because Hyun was working on a huge case prior to this and he couldn’t slow them down. He didn’t want to be useless but he didn’t have much experience.

 

“A more detailed description of his looks for the missing person files, an investigation of the boy’s bedroom to find anything that might suggest that he ran away, and CCTV footage..” Wooyoung said gulped.

 

Hyun smiled, and took the file from Wooyoung, and took a yellow highlighter to mark up the file.

 

“Good job, but you forgot one other thing,” Hyun said and passed Wooyoung the quickly marked up paper with the name of Jaesung Lee’s high school highlighted.

 

Wooyoung had a look of realization when he noticed that he had forgotten all about it.

 

“Set up a meeting with ‘A’ High School’s guidance counselor. Use my name if they don’t agree.” Hyun said and returned to drinking his coffee.

 

Wooyoung nodded and quickly went to his desk and sat down, looking up the school’s phone number.

 

After getting halfway through his coffee, Hyun stood up and started setting up his corkboard. He put up a map of the Yongsan-gu area and put pins in the area of Hana Coffee Shop, ‘A’ High School, and Jaesung’s house. He marked CCTV camera locations, houses of people with criminal records, and areas with suspicious or high crime concentrations.

 

“The meeting is at 5 pm today, they’ve canceled after school activities,” Wooyoung said and wrote it in the digital schedule on his tablet.

 

“The A High School Forum, is it accessible by the public?” Hyun asked, still focused on his corkboard, he was tracing every path to Jaesung’s home from the Cafe in red marker.

 

“No, you need a student or teacher ID. I can look through social media profiles that have posts from the school's location or have the school On their posts or bio though..” Wooyoung said and took a sip of his own coffee.

 

“Do that… also, do an image and General web search for his name and compile anything relevant,” Hyun said and placed a pin on a bridge near Yongsan-gu.

 

Wooyoung gulped and nodded, noting that he barely knew how to do the things he suggested himself.

 

After a long time of searching, Wooyoung had printed out multiple file folders full of information. Hyun leaned over him and looked over his work.

 

“What have you found?” Hyun asked, sipping his coffee.

 

“O-Oh Uh… There’s been a series of posts from Students in the same year as Jaesung that include a picture of a blackboard with a quote from Neil Hilborn. ‘Isolation is not safety, it is death. If no one knows you’re alive, you aren’t.’, The quote is written next to an illustration of a forest with Jaesung’s signature.” Wooyoung murmured.

 

Hyun contemplated for a bit before deciding to take a late lunch break with Wooyoung at 2 pm. He had Wooyoung bring some files with him in a bag as they went to a restaurant and ate lunch before going off on a journey through Yongsan-gu.

 

They marked out a bunch of areas and potential areas where Jaesung could be/could have gone.

 

Soon it was time for their meeting. Students were walking from school as Hyun pulled into the parking area. The two of them tried to be low profile but many students were taking pictures of Hyun’s handsome face and pictures of Wooyoung’s blond hair.

 

They quickly entered the school and were led to a conference room.

 

“We’re here to investigate the case of a missing student, Jaesung Lee,” Hyun explained and sat down.

 

“Ah yes..” The guidance counselor murmured.

 

“First I must ask you to tell me any incidents involving Jaesung Lee that required intervention,” Hyun said and motioned for Wooyoung to start writing things down.

 

“The only time that I can think of is the first time he drew on a blackboard...When he was on cleaning duty one day he was slacking off, he said he didn’t want to go home at all so he just started drawing on the whiteboard. It was a very beautiful drawing but his homeroom teacher didn’t appreciate it. After some discussion with the art teacher, they decided to let him draw one each week as long as he wanted to and it was appropriate.” The Counselor explains.

 

“What was the first drawing of?” Hyun asked after noting that Wooyoung had written it all down.

 

“It was a scenery, a forest up on a mountain. And in neat calligraphy, he wrote ‘Homesick for a place I don’t believe exists.’ He usually wrote a poem with his art.” The counselor responded.

 

He took out a paper envelope with a picture of all of the blackboard drawings.

 

The drawings ranged from people to sceneries and a few animals. All of the drawings were beautiful and the poems were all in some way striking.

 

“Is this the last one?” Hyun asked, noting that this was the one that Wooyoung had found on the internet.

 

The counselor nodded. Hyun analyzed The picture for any differences between this one and the one Wooyoung found.

 

“Was he in an art elective?” Hyun asked.

 

“No matter how much the art teacher begged, he always said his parents wouldn’t approve.” The counselor said and sighed.

 

“Do you have any idea why the parents did not answer your calls about his absences?” Hyun asked. He decided to begin to question people about Jaesung’s parents.

He switched seats with Wooyoung and drank the complimentary coffee the office staff had given him. He frowned a bit at the bitterness and sighed, drinking it regardless.

 

Wooyoung flipped the pages of his notepad and began writing.

 

“Well, I don’t know why they didn’t answer, I’m certain I called the correct number on the files for Jaesung and I even checked with the cafe owner to see if it was the same number.” The counselor muttered.

 

“Have you ever had any prior contact with them? Like for the future plans survey that most 3rd years do around this time?” Wooyoung asked, confused.

 

“They’ve never come to conferences, but they did show up once in his first year when Jaesung had won an award and they seemed proud of him. “

 

The meeting ended shortly after 6:30 and Wooyoung was very confused, he had thought it might be a simple ‘running away from abusive parents’ situation but it seemed different. Hyun, on the other hand, was leisurely walking around Yongsan-gu, looking around the town.

 

“Yongsan-gu...Is there any good food around here?” Hyun murmured to himself.

 

Wooyoung looked at him incredulously.

 

“Um...Probably there..” Wooyoung murmured and pointed over to the nicest looking restaurant. It was huddled around some old-style Korean restaurants.

 

“How about there instead..?” Hyun murmurs and points to a little bakery.

 

“Oh... By food you mean sweets...” Wooyoung sighed.

 

They ended up eating chocolate cake together in the little bakery and then got in Hyun’s car to go back to their side of Seoul.

 

“Will you be joining me for dinner?”

 

Wooyoung froze, he had been putting on his seatbelt when he heard those words. He looked up toward Hyun who was fixing his hair in the mirror on the sun visor of his car. He had said it so nonchalantly as if it wasn’t supposed to throw Wooyoung for a loop.

 

“O-Oh Uh Not today, I want to look over the case again..” Wooyoung stammered and gulped with bright red cheeks.

 

“Alright. I’ll clock out for you, don’t go to bed too late.” Hyun said and turned to start driving in the direction where Wooyoung lived. He dropped Wooyoung off before heading back to the agency to clock out for the two of them.

 

He said goodnight to those who were working overtime and then went off to the luxury apartment he called home.

 

Early the next morning Wooyoung was woken up by the vibrating of his phone. He groaned and pushed himself off his bed and unstuck a case file from his face before reaching for his glasses and his phone.

 

‘Don’t go to the office, meet me at Mille Fleur.’ - Hyun

 

 Wooyoung was confused but he replied ‘alright’.

 

After getting changed, Wooyoung rushed over to Mille Fleur. At Mille Fleur, Wooyoung sat down in front of Hyun who had already sat down and bought coffee and the pastry of the day.

 

“We’re going to Hana cafe and then to get started on the investigation confirmation papers,” Hyun said and sipped his coffee.

 

“Next week, let’s have dinner,” Hyun added, he was being very laid back about the case. And Wooyoung couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he was trying to get him to figure it out himself or because he was so used to homicides.

 

“O-Okay...When..?” Wooyoung said and blushed.

 

“Monday,” Hyun said and smiled.

 

They stayed in silence until they finished and went on their way to Hana cafe.

 

The owner of Hana cafe was a 28-year-old woman and she looked worried as she heard what they were there for.

 

“I don’t know much more than what I already told the police but I can answer some questions about Jaesung...I’ve talked to his teacher and seems that I knew him more than his so-called ‘friends’.” The owner sighed and sat down, handing the two of them something to eat.

 

“Is Jaesung adopted?” Wooyoung asked since Hyun didn’t seem like he was going to ask anything.

 

“Of course not, he and his brother are almost identical and they both look like their father.” She said and waved her hand dismissively.

 

Wooyoung felt that there must be a reason for the kind of treatment Jaesung got from his parents but things weren’t making sense.

 

“How does someone forget about their own child? You at least make them dinner every night...How is it possible to not notice that they’re not there??” The Owner asked, baffled.

 

“I’m going to ask you something and I want you to think about it very clearly without thinking about what you already know,” Hyun said and sipped his coffee.

 

“Alright..?” The owner murmured.

 

“Did anything about Jaesung before then give you the impression that he would run away from home? Specifically on that day.” Wooyoung asked and started to write things down, he didn’t have much experience with psychological evaluation, especially when it came to people who weren’t right in front of him but Hyun seemed like he had no intention to tell him the answers so he had to at least try to come up with a conclusion.

 

The owner thought about it for a while and then spoke.

 

“I noticed that he was always alone, and unlike the other part-timers his age, he didn’t goof off on his phone during breaks or style his hair or talk about music or even smile. The only time he really reacted to something positively was when he was tasked with writing on the menu blackboard. The only things he seemed to like were Art and poetry. He would also hate it when the cafe was full or when people watched him work or when someone looked down at him. Well...he looked scared..” The owner said and looked over at the blackboards.

 

Other than the date nothing had been changed. There was a drawing of a field of flowers settled around the menu.

 

“In what other situations did you find that he was like that? And How did he react when he was like that?” Wooyoung asked, Hyun was glancing over his shoulder and reading his notes, which made him a bit anxious but he tried to ignore it.

 

“He never got in trouble but whenever anyone raised their voice for any reason even if it wasn’t aimed at him, his hands trembled like crazy. And when the employee of the month awards came around he always hid in the bathroom or looked like he was going to have a mental breakdown whenever we did it. Anything relating to awards or rankings made him like that as well. There were times when he would throw up because of things like that and some of the other part-timers from his school told me that he would always go to the bathroom whenever it was time to pass back grades or he wouldn’t even look at the papers.” The owner murmured.

 

They talked a bit more about what the owner had noticed and how Jaesung acted.

 

“Do you have any pictures of him?” Wooyoung asked, trying to gather more images since the school ID picture was before Jaesung had an alleged growth spurt.

 

“Ah yes... This is from 3 weeks ago, our newest employee joined so we took a new team picture. You can crop it so it only shows Jaesung.” The owner said and showed them the image before emailing it to them.

 

In the area of the picture that was zoomed in, there was a boy with jet black hair and brown eyes. He was of average height but had a relatively small and thin build. He wasn’t smiling, he was just...there.

 

Hyun decided to ask one more question before leaving.

 

“In the days before he went missing...did you get the feeling that something was wrong ever?” Hyun asked.

 

“Well, I noticed one thing...He didn’t write a poem on the blackboard the last time and he seemed disinterested in just everything as if it was the last straw.” The owner said and cleaned up the table quickly.

 

Wooyoung thanked her for her cooperation and bowed. She also bowed to them and thanked them for coming as they left.

 

Wooyoung stared at his notes and looked at Hyun as they stopped at a red light.

 

“You’re seriously making me figure it out myself?” Wooyoung asked, noting how Hyun barely spoke during their whole meeting.

 

“Well I can’t just give you the answers, you’ll never be able to do it alone that way.” Hyun chuckled.

 

“I’ll just work under you forever then,” Wooyoung said and pretended to hand over his notes to Hyun with a laugh.

 

“You gotta have more ambition than that.” Hyun chuckled and flicked Wooyoung’s forehead.

 

When they arrived in the parking lot of their office Wooyoung sighed and his mood turned a bit gloomy once again.

 

“Do you...Do you think we’re going to find him?” Wooyoung asked, feeling stressed.

 

“We don’t need to find out where he is, we need to figure out what happened to him and why he left, that will lead everyone else to where he is,” Hyun murmured.

 

Wooyoung looked confused.

 

“Let’s just get our papers ready, we’re beginning the investigation on their house as soon as possible.” Hyun sighed.

 

After spending the rest of the day working on paperwork and looking over what the police had already found, Hyun dropped Wooyoung off and then went to buy himself ice cream before going home.

 

Hyun didn’t consider himself a genius. Despite that, Jaesung’s case had been solved by him the minute he heard it. He’s just confirming things at this point and letting Wooyoung get experience.

 

He sighed as he read over internet news, his last case was very high profile, and a lot of news websites made articles on it.

 

‘God of justice Hyun Park solves an unsolvable case!’

 

“The god of justice must have a grudge against me for this..” Hyun laughed as he read it.

 

He looked at Jaesung’s ID photo and sighed.

 

“Maybe society is screwed if parents like yours are running around,” Hyun murmured.

 

He had another corkboard in his bedroom, one that already had the answer and everything.

 

“Isolation is not safety; it is death. If no one knows you’re alive, you aren’t.” Hyun said, reading off the poem that Jaesung had written in his last blackboard drawing.

 

Hyun talked to ‘himself’ in this room a lot. But he wasn’t really alone in this room, people were watching him. People who knew that he could bring them down the second their case reached his hands. Why haven’t they killed him yet? Well because he’s well aware they’re there and just to let them know, he looks them in the eyes a couple of times and mouths their names.

 

But Hyun Park doesn’t consider himself a genius.

 

During the weekend, the media caught news of the case and suddenly everyone knew about the case. People were blowing up the internet with questions about why Hyun took an easy case as they had all come up with their own conclusion. The information that had been made public about the case was minimal but people were already making their own assumptions about what happened to Jaesung.

 

Wooyoung covered his head with his hood as he walked through to the back door of the agency, past the large crowd of reporters. He was lucky the forecast said it would be chilly, he would’ve forgotten his hoodie if it didn’t and he really didn’t want to be mobbed by reporters. Hyun, on the other hand, decided to just walk through the front door nonchalantly, ignoring the flashes and questions from the reporters. Wooyoung brought Hyun his coffee and sighed.

 

“How did they even find out?” Wooyoung murmured.

 

“The media knows everything, Wooyoung,” Hyun said and stepped into the elevator after noting that Wooyoung had already clocked him in.

 

Wooyoung walked in with him and looked confused.

 

“You baffle me, Mr. Park,” Wooyoung murmured.

 

“Why’s that?” Hyun asked, chuckling as he took off his jacket.

 

“Nothing fazes you…” 

 

Hyun laughed as he went to sit down at his desk.

 

“Well, I’m used to things like these…” Hyun laughed.

 

Wooyoung sat down at his desk and worked for a while longer before getting ready for the first official search of the Lee family home.  Hyun had started instructing the group helping to investigate to look through everything, including the trash.

 

When they arrived they were met by a couple with nervous looks, they didn’t seem like they were worried for their child though, only for themselves. While the other investigators were inspecting everything, Wooyoung and Hyun were talking to the family.

 

“I’d like some other information about Jaesung that I wasn’t able to find,” Hyun asked and had Wooyoung start writing.

 

In reality, Wooyoung already had the real answers already written and they were checking everything.

 

“What is Jaesung’s blood type?”

 

“A..” Jaesung’s mother murmured, attempting to sound sure of her answer.

 

Wooyoung scribbled an x next to the blood type. She had answered incorrectly.

 

“Birthday?”

 

“April 15th.” The mother answers, a bit more confident.

 

Her confidence was wasted, March 7th, she was an entire month off. Only a few of the questions were right, they had not expected to have to answer these questions and didn’t prepare for it.

 

Wooyoung felt a bit disgusted but he didn’t show it.

 

“Detective Park.” One of the investigators said and showed Hyun a notebook labeled ‘chemistry’.

 

Hyun looked through it with gloves on and immediately had them keep it safe. Wooyoung didn’t get to see it and looked curious. 

 

Jaesung’s room was small and undecorated, it was just a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. There was also a small trunk with his small amount of clothes. Everything in the room was old looking.

 

And nowhere in the whole house was there a single picture with Jaesung in it. It was just the parents and their youngest son. The house had no trace of him other than the bedroom which was littered with notebooks and textbooks. The poem ‘this is not the end of the world’ by Niel Hilborn, was printed a couple of times, it seemed to be a favorite of his.

 

It was lightly written onto the desk and it was taped in the front cover of his actual chemistry notebook. The notebook that Hyun had received was actually Jaesung’s diary, and it was also written there. It was scrawled out almost harshly on the last few entries to his diary. 

 

The last entry also had an excerpt from it.’ if no one knows you’re alive, you aren’t.’ The whole meaning of a poem that was meant to tell you to live life and to not back down through fear was scrawled on the page as if he needed to reassure himself. But he still left.

 

They all returned to the agency after collecting potential evidence. A lot of the things written in the notebooks and diaries and sketchbooks that belonged to Jaesung needed to be analyzed carefully because of all the imagery they contained.

 

Wooyoung looked very stressed by the end of the day, the worry for what in the world could’ve happened to Jaesung was really taking a toll on him. 

 

The investigators had all started to leave and he was still trying to decide what Jaesung meant through some of his words. He jumped a bit when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked over and saw Hyun standing behind him.

 

Hyun had already put his coat on and was holding Wooyoung’s jacket as he stood in front of him, showing Wooyoung the time on his watch. Wooyoung hurriedly put a bookmark on the page he was on and went to put his stuff in the evidence room. It had been almost an hour since work officially ended.

 

“I’m sorry! I lost track of time!” Wooyoung said and hurriedly cleaned his glasses while simultaneously trying to pack his stuff into his bag. 

 

“It’s fine, we can still make it to dinner,” Hyun said and passed Wooyoung his jacket.

 

Wooyoung froze, he had completely forgotten about how he had promised to have dinner with him today. He put on his jacket and blushed as he followed after Hyun.

 

When they arrived at the restaurant they were having dinner at Wooyoung became very embarrassed. It was an expensive Italian place that Hyun had apparently made reservations for.

 

“T-This place is a bit expensive…” Wooyoung murmured as they walked to their seats.

 

“Not really,” Hyun murmured and looked through the menu.

 

“It’s pretty affordable really.”

 

Wooyoung couldn’t disagree more as he saw the pricey food on the menu.

 

A waiter came over to them quickly, wanting to serve someone like Hyun quickly.

 

“Order whatever you’d like,” Hyun said and smiled.

 

“O-Okay, I’ll just have tagliatelle…” Wooyoung murmured.

 

Hyun ordered for himself and soon after they had their food and some wine served in front of them. Wooyoung nudged his wine away and instead started eating.

 

“Don’t worry too much about the case, you’ll get used to it and every case will get easier and easier,” Hyun said as they began to chat.

 

“I know but it’s stressful,” Wooyoung sighed.

 

“Well would you like to know what happened or will you feel more accomplished if you finish the investigation first?” Hyun asked with a smile.

 

Wooyoung groaned a bit.

 

“I want to figure it out myself…” Wooyoung murmured and sighed.

 

Wooyoung decided to actually have a couple of sips of wine despite not being fond of the taste. He didn’t get drunk as the taste kept him from drinking more than a little.

 

“Should we go?” Hyun said and after paying the bill.

 

Wooyoung nodded and started to put his jacket on. They then left to go to the parking space but even after Wooyoung put his seatbelt on, Hyun didn’t start the car.

 

“What is it?” Wooyoung asked looking over at him.

 

Hyun gave him a look and smiled.

 

“Do you have anything you want for dessert? I can guarantee you that I have most kinds of sweets.” Hyun said and actually started driving.

 

“Strawberry shortcake…?” Wooyoung asked with a glance in Hyun’s direction.

 

Hyun nodded and smiled.

 

People from the apartment building stared at Wooyoung specifically as they walked in. They’d never seen Hyun walk in with anyone else and look so close with them.

 

They walked together into the elevator, up to the Highest floor. Hyun typed in the key code and immediately relaxed as he entered his house.

 

“Home sweet home,” Hyun murmured and took off his coat and immediately went into the kitchen.

 

Hyun picked the strawberry off of Wooyoung’s slice of cake, it was the only slice of strawberry shortcake he had so he felt it was only fair. He sat down in front of Wooyoung who had made himself comfortable on the kitchen island.

 

“Do you know poetry, Wuyu?”  Hyun asked as he looked at Wooyoung who had just put a bite of cake in his mouth.

 

Wooyoung blushed at the nickname and nodded.

 

“‘The moon was but a chin of gold

A night or two ago,

And now she turns her perfect face

Upon the world below.

Her forehead is of amplest blond;

Her cheek like beryl stone;

Her eye unto the summer dew

The likest I have known.’” Hyun quoted a poem and Wooyoung looked toward the floor to ceiling windows where the moon could be seen shining.

 

“‘The moon’ by Emily Dickinson,” Wooyoung said and smiled, he knew poems like those well.

 

He now felt a bit curious. The moon did look beautiful today but Hyun didn’t seem to be the kind of person to mention something of the sort. He turned away from the windows and instead looked at Hyun. Hyun had been looking at his eyes intently. 

 

Wooyoung blushed and suddenly understood, he was being teased or rather, complimented. Hyun was referring to Wooyoung’s clear blue eyes.

 

Wooyoung finished the cake and twiddled his thumbs, embarrassed and he knew what would happen from now on. Their dinner dates all ended the same way.

 

“Wuyu,” Hyun said and leaned over the kitchen island and kissed Wooyoung’s cheek.

 

Wooyoung blushed, He was going to say something but suddenly it seemed like the room around them was changing. He looked behind him and the previously welcoming modern vibe of the room had completely changed into an elegant black and white.

 

“W-Why are you c-changing the—”

 

 Hyun shushed him quietly and pecked his lips.

 

“Come on,” Hyun said and held Wooyoung’s pale hand and pulled him out of his chair and up the stairs.

 

When walking up the stairs he noticed the paintings in the room, encased in black Victorian-style frames but with images of traditional Korean death gods. And in frames with more eastern designs, there were pictures of the grim reaper.

 

Hyun stopped in front of his bedroom door and turned to look at Wooyoung.

 

“Mr. Park..?” Wooyoung asked, confused.

 

“No one Is watching today, that’s good,” Hyun said and pulled Wooyoung up into his arms.

 

”W-What do you mean Mr. Park?”

 

“I told you to call me Hyun in private...” Hyun said and smiled, Kissing Wooyoung’s lips.

 

Wooyoung felt almost weightless, as he melted into the kiss. The kiss got deeper and Wooyoung almost fell as Hyun walked into his bedroom while kissing.

 

Hyun sat down on the bed and pulled Wooyoung with him.

 

Wooyoung pulled away after a while.

 

“Hyun…T-This is off topic but...You haven’t sent Jaesung Lee to a different realm...h-have you?”  Wooyoung murmured, noting the glow of gold in Hyun’s usually amber eyes.

 

“I have not. He has a wish and I believe he should accomplish it.” Hyun said and pulled Wooyoung’s tie off.

 

“A-A W-Wish?” Wooyoung stuttered and started to unbutton Hyun’s shirt.

 

“‘If no one knows you’re alive, you aren’t’...Jaesung Lee wants to be alive. His family made him into no one and the media will make him into a famous case.” Hyun said and kissed Wooyoung’s neck.

 

Wooyoung was very happy with the answer, he had come to be so empathetic toward Jaesung who seemed like a boy who was just hurt and who needed justice and a new home.

 

Wooyoung kissed Hyun and let himself be flipped on the bed. He actually unbuttoned his own pants and his shirt and Hyun pulled them off him and threw them somewhere in the room.

 

Wooyoung felt as if they were melting into each other as they kissed. Hyun started preparing him while kissing and leaving marks all over his chest and waist.

 

Wooyoung moaned and stared at Hyun. He felt embarrassed, his own body was lacking in muscle but Hyun was very fit and had a very good body. He almost wanted to call it unfair, Hyun ate so many sweets but was still so fit.

 

Wooyoung cried out when Hyun touched a certain bundle of nerves within him. He kissed Hyun and pulled him closer.

 

“Y-You can put it in already...” Wooyoung whispered and hid his face a bit.

 

Hyun smiled and thrust inside, he kept his gaze on what he could see of Wooyoung’s face and chuckled. Wooyoung looked ready to cry and he was bright red.

 

“Wuyu...spread your legs more,” Hyun said and pressed his body to Wooyoung’s.

 

Wooyoung did as he was told and felt embarrassed as he looked at their connecting bodies in the process. Hyun began thrusting insides quickly and Wooyoung held on to the bedsheets as he moaned.

 

It was midnight when Hyun decided to let Wooyoung breathe. Wooyoung was exhausted as he laid on the bed, covering his body with the bedsheets.

 

“I-I’m going to be l-limping to work..” Wooyoung murmured and whined.

 

“It’ll be fine, you’ll live..” Hyun laughed and pulled Wooyoung close.

 

Wooyoung hugged Hyun tightly and closed his eyes.

 

✿

 

In the morning, Wooyoung felt surprisingly refreshed despite having a slight limp and piercing pain in his backside when he moved. He got dressed in a new set of clothes that Hyun had left for him and went to the kitchen.

 

Hyun had made French toast for breakfast.

 

“How are you feeling?” Hyun asked and wrapped his arm around Wooyoung’s waist before kissing him.

 

“I-I’m fine..” Wooyoung murmured, and kissed Hyun’s cheek.

 

After having dinner, the two went to work together after getting coffee. The agency was full of reporters once again as more information had been dug out by them.

 

“Detective Park! Detective Park, Do you believe that Jaesung Lee was killed by his parents?!” A reporter yelled and made Wooyoung flinch. 

 

That conclusion was one that had lingered on his mind for a long time but he had been trying to make it so it wouldn’t cloud his judgment of the case. Now he wanted to know what the internet felt despite knowing full well about the bias and mob mentality of people.

 

Hyun actually answered the question, stopping in his tracks for a bit.

 

“What the media has shown you is not all there is to the case,” Hyun said and pulled Wooyoung so he walked in front of him and entered the agency first.

 

“Justice for Jaesung is trending already. Everyone in Korea seems to think that Jaesung was killed by his parents and they are demanding a closer investigation. They all assume it’s a  homicide since you took the case.” A junior detective in Hyun’s group said and showed Hyun printed versions of the social media trends that he sprouted overnight.

 

This was yet another reason why evildoers hated Hyun. Any case he got was bound to get a lot of attention from the media and the internet. So even if there was no released proof, the internet would pull together their collective thought and slam people into the dirt.

 

Hyun took the papers and then instructed everyone to finish the analysis on the things from Jaesung’s room. 

 

Wooyoung sighed and started analyzing again, everything seemed clearer as he started from where he left off. He wasn’t as stressed anymore.

 

When he finally finished he shot up from his seat and then went to Hyun. He gulped.

 

“Um..Mr. Park...Can we talk in your office?” Wooyoung asked, looking unsure.

 

Hyun nodded and they walked into his office. He was carrying all of the things he’d analyzed, including Jaesung’s ‘chemistry’ notebook.

 

He looked up at Hyun with slightly tearful eyes. 

 

“Jaesung’s parents didn’t kill him, they ‘killed’ him...Jaesung committed suicide didn’t he?” 

 

Hyun nodded, watching Wooyoung cry.

 

“I thought you said y-you didn’t send him away?” Wooyoung asked, crying and feeling like he was lied to.

 

“I didn't send him away, he’s In the ghost inn. He’s probably going to spend 17 years there, so he can feel the familial love he never experienced.” Hyun murmured.

 

“Y-You should’ve told me that! Then I wouldn’t get so emotionally attached..” Wooyoung exclaimed, a bit angry.

 

Hyun shot him a look that was clearly calling his bluff. Wooyoung pouted as he saw the look.

 

“Okay I’d still get emotionally attached but I’d be less angry!” Wooyoung grumbled.

 

“You never asked me if he was alive, you just asked me if I sent him away..” Hyun murmured and wiped some of Wooyoung’s tears.

 

Wooyoung didn’t seem pleased regardless but he moved past it.

 

“How did he die?” Wooyoung asked.

 

“Get your jacket,” Hyun murmured and grabbed his coat.

 

They drove out to Yongsan-Gu and went into a pier area near Wonhyo bridge. Wonhyo bridge went over the Han river and connected Yongsan-gu and YeongDeungpo-Gu. 

 

“He jumped from there, died from the impact of the water. The body will probably be found very easily. Later today the police will come and find it and our part, in this case, will be done, the rest is for the lawyers.” Hyun murmured.

 

Wooyoung gulped a bit.

 

“Broken people think alike huh..” Wooyoung murmured.

 

Hyun looked a bit caught off guard at the comment.

 

“Yeah...I guess you’re right..” 

 

 

✿✿✿

Wooyoung almost sobbed with despair as he found himself lying on a rocky riverside. He looked at his frostbitten limbs and bruised body and his deathly pale skin and actually cried.

 

“If you’re crying because you didn’t die, I can assure you that you’re no longer alive.” A voice said from behind him.

 

Wooyoung whipped around and looked terrified. Behind him, he saw a handsome man in a completely black suit. Regardless of the man’s beauty, Wooyoung seemed terrified. He noticed something lying behind the man and then he didn’t know whether to sigh in relief or look on in horror.

 

A body that was identical to his own lie with closed eyes and a completely lifeless face, the body was also bloodily and hard to look at.

 

“The J-JeoSeung Saja* w-wear modern clothes?” Wooyoung tripped over his words as he tried to not be afraid.

 

*Korean grim reaper/afterlife messenger

 

“JeoSeung Saja…? Oh, it’s the clothes...well you’re not too far off.” The man said and laughed.

 

He took Wooyoung’s hand and smiled.

 

“Now then... What kind of Salvation would you like?” He asked with a look that seemed mysterious and leaning toward untrustworthy.

 

 

✿✿✿

 

Wooyoung gulped and turned away from the bridge, touching his ribs subconsciously.

 

“Wooyoung. You’re alive.” Hyun said and stood in front of Wooyoung and hugged him.

 

“And Jaesung Lee will be alive too, just in a different way.” 

 

Wooyoung calmed down a bit and sighed.

 

“I didn’t even remember it..” Wooyoung murmured.

 

“But it hurts like hell to think of what my body probably looked like when you found me..” Wooyoung murmured.

 

Hyun hugged Wooyoung tighter and then walked with him back to the car. He called the agency on the phone and sighed. It started raining as he was on the phone so he decided to just keep it short. 

 

“Have them check for bodies on the Yongsan-gu side of Wonhyo bridge,” Hyun said on the phone quickly before bringing Wooyoung to have lunch.

 

“We’re gonna move on to a different case on Thursday but tomorrow if you really want to we can go to the Ghost inn,” Hyun said and sighed.

 

“Okay..” Wooyoung murmured.

 

He only ordered something light for lunch. He knew his body was fine but the thought of his own death made him feel sick. He couldn’t remember his life before meeting Hyun but he knew that he’d died from jumping off a bridge. He ended up meeting Hyun then, mostly by chance.

 

He didn’t finish his meal and just sat there until Hyun sighed and called for the bill. 

 

They had to go back to the pier where the police and now a bunch of reporters were watching the search in the rain. Wooyoung stayed in the car and just looked down at his feet as Hyun went up to the police and reporters calmly.

 

They had just found the body and everyone looked shocked. The police and the medics checked everything and matched it to Jaesung Lee.

 

The body looked like that of many bridge jumpers as if he had been hit by a car. The reporters couldn’t even take photos, they were shocked. The body was quickly covered and taken away to a coroner and all the reporters turned to Hyun and immediately began asking questions.

 

“How did you know that he committed suicide?!” A reporter exclaimed.

 

Hyun sighed and answered questions vaguely.

 

Wooyoung sat in the car for a while, thinking.

 

‘Isolation is not safety, it is death

If no one knows you’re alive, 

you aren’t

If a tree falls in a forest and no one’s around to hear it, 

It does make a sound,

But then that sound is gone’

 

That must’ve been how Jaesung Lee felt. That must’ve been why he did that.

 

He looked up at all the reporters huddled around Hyun asking questions about Jaesung’s case. And he could easily open Twitter and see the JusticeForJaesung tag trending worldwide. He sighed and leaned his head on the dashboard.

 

“It’s okay, Jaesung. You’re alive now. People are listening.” He murmured and started crying again.

 

 

✿

 

 

Wooyoung laid down on Hyun’s bed and sighed.

 

“I closed the investigation, a prosecutor is now going to be sending Jaesung’s parents to court for Child neglect, Child abuse, and second-degree involuntary manslaughter,”  Hyun said and returned from making a phone call.

 

“That’s good…” Wooyoung murmured.

 

Hyun sighed and sat down on the bed.

 

“I already know, I’m going to cheer up… He’s getting justice and the Ghost hotel is going to take care of him.” Wooyoung murmured and sat up.

 

“Can’t you make it so he’s like me though?” Wooyoung asked and looked at Hyun with pleading eyes.

 

“I can’t,” Hyun said and sighed.

 

“He didn’t meet the requirements for Shangri-La*, so he can’t be like you..” Hyun murmured and sighed

 

*Tibetan Paradise, where life reaches perfection and the wisdom of humanity is stored

 

Wooyoung sighed and hugged Hyun tightly.

 

“How in the world did I meet the requirements for Shangri-La..?” Wooyoung murmured.

 

Hyun stayed silent and hugged Wooyoung.

 

 

✿✿✿

 

 

“You have 5 options,” Hyun said as he led Wooyoung to sit in a room decorated in a gothic baroque design. The room was huge and a skylight was right above the seat that Wooyoung sat in.  The moonlight shone through it and into the dim room. It made the slight transparency of Wooyoung’s body obvious.

 

Wooyoung looked scared and awkward. He felt like he was going to go through the chair as he sat down.

 

“Heaven, Rebirth, Shangri-La, the Ghost realm and..” Hyun said, trailing off at the last option.

 

He looked at Wooyoung and smiled a bit.

 

“I guess you could call it becoming a ‘JeoSeung Saja’,” 

 

Wooyoung looked conflicted, he didn’t know what to choose.

 

“It’s rare for someone who committed suicide to be allowed into Shangri-La.. and ‘JeoSeung Saja’ is only an option if you have the other four..” Hyun said and sat down in front of him.

 

“Heaven is well...Heaven, angels, and stuff. Rebirth is not one that most people who commit suicide take because of the chance of being plunged back into the same misery they fled from or being able to remember their past life. Shangri-La is a happy utopia of endless life, some find it suffocating though. And ‘JeoSeung Saja ‘ is essentially just being my assistant and forgetting all about your previous life.” Hyun explained and sipped his own tea.

 

“I-In Heaven and Shangri-La...I don’t get to forget do I?” Wooyoung asked, staring at the tea in front of him.

 

“No, they’re not that merciful,” Hyun replied and looked at Wooyoung.

 

“T-Then..I-I’ll be a ‘JeoSeung Saja ‘ B-But can you make it so no one from my life recognizes me?” Wooyoung said and looked down into his semi-transparent lap.

 

“That’s usually what happens in the process of becoming a ‘JeoSeung Saja ‘.” Hyun said and smiled.

 

“Once you drink that, you will essentially be reborn but you will be at the same age and maturity and you will still remember every moment since you met me but the memories will be left with your first physical body. This is like having your body cloned in a way.” Hyun said and pushed a cup that appeared from nowhere to Wooyoung.

 

Wooyoung gulped and then lifted the cup to his lips and drank it all at once. He suddenly felt dizzy and held his head.

 

“It might hurt a bit but I’ll heal your wounds,” Hyun murmured and smiled.

 

 

✿✿✿

 

 

Wooyoung sighed and packed the files for Jaesung’s case into a box. He stared at them before closing and taping the box closed. In his pretty handwriting, he quickly wrote the case number and ‘JS.Lee’ on the box. Someone came to take the Case papers off to the prosecutor so Wooyoung sat down and looked down at his lap, feeling like he let someone down

 

“Come on,” Hyun said and tapped Wooyoung’s shoulder once he finished all the file transfers.

 

Wooyoung sighed and followed him. They went to a crowded part of Seoul where a Small hotel was. This was the Ghost hotel, a place where the Souls Of people with immense regret or unresolved issues of wishes stay. Whether you froze to death and had been wishing for warmth or you starved to death and had been wishing for food, you get everything you wished for.

 

Hyun waved to the clerk and brought Wooyoung to the top floor. He brought him to the first room and opened the door.  In the room, there was a small baby boy in the arms of a woman. There was also a man sitting beside them playing with the baby and it seemed like a whole family was doting on the baby.

 

“To have a family..that was his greatest wish, the desire that brought him here. Now for 17 years until he’s reached his original age, he will experience the love of a family.” Hyun said and walked into the room, the people smiled at him, it was like they had just seen a family friend.

 

“His parents were narcissists and they believed that his little brother couldn’t do anything wrong ever but that Jaesung himself was evil and constantly causing problems. They acted like normal parents and seemed proud of him but in reality, they woud go home and they would gaslight and manipulate him into believing that his achievements were all their doing and that he was worthless. Jaesung felt alone in the world and like there was no source of salvation for him… but he’ll be okay now.” Hyun said and looked at Wooyoung from inside the room.

 

Wooyoung couldn’t step inside, an odd numbing heartache continued to fill him until he looked at the baby and saw a bright smile on his face. He decided he could move on now, and he stayed there for a while until he and Hyun decided to go to lunch.

 

“Ah what are you doing here?!” A handsome man exclaimed as he was exiting the restaurant and immediately recognized Hyun who was walking in.

 

Wooyoung was confused, he didn’t recall meeting the man before. He had brown hair and was the same height as Hyun. They had similar features, but this man had wider shoulders and looked more built.

 

“Oh, Hey DongWook,” Hyun said and looked over at the man.

 

He noticed that Wooyoung was confused and decided to explain.

 

“This is Go DongWook, he’s the prosecutor taking Jaesung’s case. He’s the actual god of justice.” Hyun explained and whispered the last part. Wooyoung was shocked and felt a little bad for Dongwook whose role was taken by Hyun.

 

“Who is he?” DongWook asked and pointed at Wooyoung.

 

“This is Wooyoung, he’s mine.” 

 

Wooyoung and DongWook both froze. He didn’t say ‘My assistant’ or ‘My Junior’, he just said Mine.

 

Wooyoung looked at Hyun with bright red cheeks and an incredulous look.

 

“I said what I said,” Hyun said completely seriously.

 

“W-Why?! It’s not like I was going to take him from you!” DongWook exclaimed.

 

“Oh? Then what did you want?” Hyun asked and tilted his head.

 

“I wanna know why this case took you so long. Cases that have to do with death are the only things you’re good at so it shouldn’t have taken you 4 business days.” DongWook said with a suspicious look.

 

“ I was burnt out from the last case.” Hyun lied.

 

DongWook was going to call him out but he then got a phone call.

 

“Fine. I’ll see you hopefully never.” He groaned and walked out.

 

“Likewise.”

 

Wooyoung giggled a bit as he watched Hyun burst out laughing after his interactions with DongWook. They walked into the restaurant together and Wooyong couldn’t help but feel lighter as he did. His first full case had closed off on a relatively sad note and seeing as he worked with the god of death, he could imagine that many more cases would be like this too. But it was okay, this was just the beginning of his long long life with Hyun and he doubted that he’d ever come to regret staying by his side, no matter how a case went.

 

“It’s a shame our first spring started with such an emotional case, I hope you don’t think badly of me for choosing it,” Hyun said and stroked Wooyoung’s cheek as they sat down.

 

“It’s okay, it had to be done, for Jaesung’s sake,” Wooyoung said, “and it’s not like it’s ruined, there’s still so much time left until summer.”

 

 “You can make it up to me.” Wooyoung giggled,

 

✿

 

Author's Account:

Lon3ly (SH).