the music box killer | bang chan (discontinued)

3. handy hwang

CHAN'S POV:

"Okay, so that was pretty useless," I say, exasperated, as we walk out of the local forensics lab. I don't know what I was expecting, but after sending the results to the guys back at the station, we found out that the victim was pretty much any other normal civilian. The only dent in his record was that he served jail time a few years back for getting someone badly injured in a bar fight. I guess that didn't age too well for him.

He was just another ordinary middle aged man with a wife and two kids, but we did notice that he's from another part of the country, pretty distant from ours. He had absolutely no business here, so he most likely got into this circle of criminals to make a living. Since the test results and his other files didn't show any possibility of a relationship between him and his killer, we hit a dead end here.

Back at the station, Haechan got some new information related to the case. It had taken an entire week for the forensic investigators to completely examine the crime scene, since the club was large in size and our resources were pretty limited. Their investigation concluded earlier today, and they reported that they had found some samples of cannabis and cocaine in the room which the murder took place, so that ought to help us with our own investigation.

"That's all we have for now. Jaemin and I are looking further into it, you guys grab a short break while you're still out," he says on the other side of the phonecall. Relieved at making some progress, I take out the car keys and head towards our vehicle.

JIYEON'S POV:

"Wanna go grab a bite together? I'm starting to get a little hungry," Chan asks as he straps on his seatbelt. I instantly agree, recalling the embarrassing sounds my stomach made a few moments back. I just had a sandwich an hour or so back, but I'm a stress eater, okay?

We make conversation till we reach a restaurant nearby, updating each other about our uneventful lives. He gets inside first to save us a table while I park the car.

Upon entering the place, I see Chan standing next to an empty table, smiling as he looked at the ground. I don't know what was on his mind, but he looked really cute. He always did, I've just never mentioned it to him before.

As I approach him, he pulls the chair out for me, gesturing me to sit there before he takes one for himself. I look at him surprised.

"Look at you, what a gentleman! Do you always do this?" I say in glee, clapping my hands together.

"Well, only for old women. Obviously," he says sarcastically. I decide to play along and scoff, getting up from the chair he pulled out for me and choosing another one to sit on.

"Hey- don't be like that," he says with a pout, making me resist the urge to pinch his nose. I laugh, lightly hitting his shoulders.

"Why don't we get to ordering then? We have the Changbin situation up at the station," I say, picking up the menu on the table.

*

After placing our order and returning the menus, Chan and I go back to discussing the case. Thankfully it was a pretty busy time at the restaurant, so we didn't have a very high risk of being heard. The entire town had heard about what happened at the Inferno and was shocked, of course, but the details of the case actually revealed to the public were very much controlled.

"Ma'am, Sir, here are your meals. We hope you enjoy the food," the waitress says as she sets the dishes on the table, giving us a smile before leaving us alone. I return the gesture to her, and when I turn back to the table, I see Chan cutting up the steak that we ordered. He was so focused on slicing it right that I had to snap my fingers in front of his face to get his attention.