Department Zero | NCT Dream

File 14: Fourteen Degrees Colder

[Date: December 23, 2020]

[Weather: Cold, low f degrees, coats needed ]

|Drink of the Day: Hot Chocolate with Peppermint|

{Cases: 1}

- P. JS
.......

Donghyuck shoved his calloused hands in his pockets, letting out a huff and watching as crystal blue smoke cascaded into the noisy wind. His ears hurt from the cold. Even his toes, which were wrapped in a double-layer of socks, were almost frozen. 

A shoulder bumped into his and Donghyuck turned his eyes to look at Renjun, bundled tightly in a large scarf, who stamped his feet in a childish manner. "It's so damn cold," he hissed, casting his eyes in every which way. 

The sun was already behind the horizon line, the declining warmth a testament to the absence. The street that they were walking down didn't do any favors in warming the duo. Murky puddles reflected the amber-gold flicker of the streetlights and almost everywhere Donghyuck looked there was a sickly-grey color shoving itself at him. The building siding, the street, the sidewalk. Even the stop sign a couple of feet in front of them was fading, the red more that of a dusty rose. 

They had arrived in Seoul. 

Despite the hopes of the team, they didn't have the luck of being shoved into a party or shopping district; rather, one that was on the decline and subject to various construction projects. 

Renjun gestured to a street sign and the duo turned down the corner. "You know," Renjun started, letting out a sigh that conveyed the boy's depressed thought before he had even uttered the words, "I was thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself," Donghyuck interrupted in a chiding manner, earning an exasperated look from Renjun.

"At least be original," Renjun retorted in a snappy manner, keeping a careful watch out for the building number they had been given. "But as I was saying -- I was wondering if this reaper, if-if it even is a reaper, chose this area because no one would care if anyone went missing." 

Donghyuck didn't bother to respond to the morbid comment, feeling a sting strike at his heartstrings. Had the reaper thought the same about my family? Donghyuck ruffled his hair, the cold caressing his skin in a welcoming manner as he gestured towards the building number.

A soft 'ding' sounded as Donghyuck pulled the door open, Renjun tugging his phone out of his pocket and glancing at it. "The rest of the team is set up at the police station to go through the evidence they've gathered so far. Looks like they bought Jisung's lie of being private investigators."

The older snorted a bit and Donghyuck rolled his eyes. "I'm not surprise, that kid can get away with anything." 

"I wonder what he did before he joined?" Renjun mused as they entered the building, both rolling out their shoulders and internally sighing at the heating that filled the lobby of the residential building. 

Donghyuck had dragged Renjun along to begin asking the neighbors of the apartment complexes if they had seen anything. He knew that this was Jeno's forte, but something about spending more alone time with the other caused something to twist in his stomach and he opted for being less distracted. 

"These were the neighbors of the...third victim?" Renjun questioned as they began their assent up the carpeted stairs. Donghyuck nodded.

"Min Huangi," Donghyuck said, poking around his brain for the scarce amount of information that he had retained from briefly scanning over the files, "She was a 20-year-old college student who had moved in five months prior to her murder. She was, I believe, the second death on the floor? The others were in the building across from us."