Case 143 🌹 Seungjin

18

For whatever reason Hyunjin had agreed to the little deal he was offered by . . . himself. And for some reason when he told everyone about it—excluding Changbin—Felix jumped at the idea and said he was going too. It was probably the most energy he'd seen from the guy since they met. That's how they ended up in Oxford, England. It was a place of many historic-looking buildings. It fit his past-seeking adventure quite a bit.

"I haven't been here since I died," Felix said with a big smile. The twist was weird.

"How did you die?" Was it tragic like everyone else? Hyunjin didn't know much but he did know there had been some tragic deaths.

"Mm, I wasn't able to live out a long lifespan because of certain challenges. I think I was thirty. Seven years after I got married."

Hyunjin stared at Felix in shock. "Someone married you?"

Felix let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yes. Someone married me. You don't even know who. It's not like it's that hard to put together."

He thought about it for a few minutes as they walked down the sidewalks. They'd already put their things in a hotel room. Felix had been eager to go look around so Hyunjin followed him. He was there to dig up some memories and prove himself wrong. Felix would be able to take him to all the places that had strong links to their past.

As if it was planned, Hyunjin's eyesight went blurry. Everything around him reshaped itself. The buildings became less modernized and the civilians surrounding him disappeared. When Hyunjin's eyesight became stable again, he was met with Seungmin's face tilted slightly up at his. He had a small smile resting on his lips and his eyes were filled with such affection it may have caused Hyunjin's heart to skip.

"Look, it looks like you," Hyunjin heard himself say. He'd picked up a plushie of the black and white dog Snoopy. He knew it was a memory because he couldn't move.

Seungmin hummed and looked among the plush animals stacked on a shelf in a store they were at. He picked up a long white creature, holding it up in front of Hyunjin by its arms. "You look like this ferret."

Hyunjin felt his lips spread out and he came to notice that he was smiling. A lot. More than he'd ever done in his entire life. He took the plushie from his hand. "I'm gonna buy them then," he sang.

The memory vanished and when Hyunjin blinked he found himself staring at a store. He kept his eyes on it for a while before turning and catching up to Felix who had gotten a few yards away. "What did you see?"

"Some plushies."

Felix raised a brow as if to call him a child. Hyunjin rolled his eyes and sped up in return. He just had to be stuck with Felix of all people. He continued down the street, wondering aimlessly and waiting for another memory. For a ten-hour flight, he sure had a lot of energy. Probably because he couldn't wait to prove to himself he didn't need or want his past. He recalled his other self saying he was a police officer so he went to the nearest station in hopes it would trigger something.

It did.

The scenery changed again and before he knew it he was sitting on a chair inside the station. He was drawing something. At closer inspection, he realized it was Seungmin. He had this thumb over his sketched-out lips. He just stared and lightly ran his finger on top of the page as if Seungmin were there and he was touching him. It made Hyunjin cringe. The worst part was that he couldn't force himself to stop.

After a while, he turned his attention up to someone who was hovering near him. His tired eyes widened at the sight of Seungmin. He was standing there with his head tilted ever so slightly to the side. He could tell the younger had gone the extra mile to fluster him up seeing as he wore a black suit jacket that stopped at his waist, brilliantly outlining his curves. In addition to that were his pants and some dress shoes, as well as a brown silk shirt with a few lines across his stomach. The look was finished off with a black cloth around his neck which looked similar to a choker.