Department Zero | NCT Dream

File 12: The Twelve Days of Christmas

[Date: December 22, 2020]

[Weather: light snow]

|Drink of the Day: Hot Hazelnut Coffee|

{Cases: 0}

- P. JS
.......

Donghyuck let out a groan, a subconscious one at that, as his body woke up, his arm moving to lazily rest over his eyes and block out the morning sunlight. He inhaled deeply, pushing his covers off of his body, sitting up and blearily opening his eyes. 

His oversized t-shirt hung loosely around his torso, and his back cracked in he straightened up, an amused wince sounding from his lips. He swung his legs out over the edge of the bed, his bare feet touching the ice-cold floor. His eyes flickered to the calendar that rested on the wall above his bedside table, reaching over to cross out the day. 

December 22nd

Donghyuck placed the pen down on the table, letting out a sigh as he looked at the date. It had been a little over a month since the Bul-gae had shown up at the department; as well as a little over a month since they had made contact with the creature. 

It had disappeared as quickly as it had come, but it had kept the entire team on edge. Trails went dead; no cases popped up with similar wounds; none of the members had come into contact with it. He knew in his gut that it was affecting Jaemin the most, especially since his arm had yet to heal.

The team leader stood up, careful not to jostle his injured arm too much. Still, it ached in pain and he worried about if it would ever actually heal. Chenle had done some research and told him that according to what he knew and what he had found, it would take longer than normal because of the power of the creature, but it should eventually heal. 

Donghyuck shivered at the cold encapsulating the apartment that he lived in. Even though he had moved in close to five months ago, there were still boxes stacked in various rooms. He was even using one as a sort of coffee table in his living room, left over plates and cups stacked on the box that read 'vinyl records'. He winced a bit at that, deciding that he should unpack those first out of the boxes that were left. 

Wandering into his small, yet brightly lit kitchen, Donghyuck's eyes flashed over the familiar blue tiles that were complimented by an arrangement of fake plants that sat on the cupboards, counters, and the open windowsill. He didn't have a green thumb, and he'd rather not kill more plants than he had to. Still, he liked having the green around. It was refreshing to have life, however faux, around him after working all day with death. 

His fingers curled around the ceramic handle of a dark blue mug, tugging it from the shelf that it sat upon and easily making it's way under the coffee machine he had. His body moved on muscle memory, his eyes squinting open and closed as he still woke up. The soft hum of the coffee machine soon filled the kitchen and Donghyuck reached up to wipe the tired tears from his eyes, fingers clicking on a small radio that sat on the window sill.

"...-he only word I think of when i think of Magnolia..." 

A soothing tone of a girl's brassy tone flooded the kitchen like a drizzling of warm honey sprinkled with cinnamon. Donghyuck let out a small smile at the gorgeous sound, humming a bit in response as he set out preparing his breakfast. 

The cases had surprisingly come flooding in, and Donghyuck couldn't decide whether it was the cold weather or if it was because word had gotten around that there was a team working on and solving supernatural cases. It was a bit strange, but he let Taeil handle the collection of cases and trusted Jisung to pick out the real ones that were most important and time-sensitive.