The Party That Killed || Hyunlix

25 🕸️

Minho pov.
We stood by the interrogation table, and I could feel the adrenaline buzzing within me.

“Stop fucking around and just admit it!” I yelled at their “boss” sitting in front of us. His expression was one of stubbornness, but I could see he was starting to lose confidence.

The man replied with a sneering smile, “It won't change anything. You’ve only caught me.”

Changbin, who was standing next to me, couldn’t take it anymore. “We’ve already sent support to the scene. The others are also caught. You don’t stand a chance,” he added, looking at him with determination.

I saw the man squint his eyes, and his posture began to sway.

“Why did you do it? What connected you to them? Why did you decide to kill them?” I asked, not intending to give him a break.

His gaze fell, and a shadow of hesitation crossed his face. “You don’t understand. It wasn’t just about killing. We had our reasons…” he said.

“What reasons?” I interrupted, wanting to extract as much information from him as possible. “Did you hear what happened at that party? How many people suffered? Speak!”

I saw him drop his gaze. Changbin, noticing his weakness, added, “Don’t wait until we finish this conversation without specifics. You say your actions made sense? Give us a reason for you not to end up in a cell for many years.”

The man finally looked at us, and we waited, ready for any information that could help us in this case.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and one of the officers rushed in, his face revealing that he brought significant information.

“Minho, we have a problem,” he said, his tone clearly indicating the urgency of the situation.

“That can wait; we have more important matters here,” I replied, but the officer wouldn’t give up.

“This isn’t their boss,” he added, and I looked at him intrigued. I stepped closer to the officer.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to hide the tension in my voice.

“We noticed that none of the people we caught were at that party. They didn’t know those people; they could only be helpers in the killing. It looks like they’re hiding someone who is the real boss of this group,” the officer explained.

Before I could respond, our suspect suddenly jumped to his feet.

“I’m the boss!” he shouted, his voice trembling with anger. “You’re wrong; I was the one giving the orders! I was in charge of the entire operation!”

“Shut up!” Changbin hissed. I could feel anger and frustration rising within me. “We need to discuss this with our boss. And you…” he pointed at the suspect. “We’re not done with you yet.”

I studied him, thinking about how complex this case was becoming. I knew we had to act quickly. Any information that could bring us closer to the real boss was now worth its weight in gold. I was sure that uncovering this mystery would be the key to ending this whole dark affair.

“Let’s go; we need to gather the team and analyze what we have,” I added, looking at Changbin, who stood beside me. I knew we couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

≈🎃≈

Hyunjin pov.
I sat in the corner of the room, watching everyone busy with the interrogation. I felt that I should be involved, but something within me was breaking. I had suspected Chan for too long. And now… everything indicated that I was wrong.

Felix and Jisung stood a bit farther away, talking to one of the officers. Their voices blended with other sounds in the background, but I couldn’t focus on anything specific. Thoughts revolved around one question: what if Chan was really innocent? Did I, Hyunjin, contribute to the suspicions directed at him? Did I jump to conclusions too quickly?

“You thought Chan was guilty, right?” Felix stepped closer, breaking the silence. His voice was calm, as always, but this time I sensed something different in it—fatigue, maybe even disappointment.

I nodded, feeling my throat tighten. Even now, it was hard to say anything.

“We all had doubts,” Felix continued. “But it’s not your fault that you suspected him. In a situation like this, it’s natural. If the roles were reversed, Chan would probably think the same.”

I looked at him, trying to find comfort in his eyes, but Felix seemed as overwhelmed as I was.

“It’s not that simple,” I finally said. “I really thought he…” I paused, my voice breaking. “How could I have been so blind?”

Felix sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. His touch was warm, but it didn’t bring me the comfort I needed.

“Sometimes what seems obvious isn’t obvious at all,” he said. “It’s not your fault, Hyunjin. None of us knew what was really going on.”

Before I could respond, Jisung approached us, holding a coffee cup in his hand.

“Chan… actually… if you asked me, I think I believed until the end that he was hiding something,” he said quietly. “Maybe it was because of the distance he always kept. But now…” he looked at me, and in his eyes, I saw the same guilt that tormented me. “I was wrong just like you.”

≈🎃≈

Felix pov.
I stood beside Hyunjin and Jisung, waiting for further news about the situation. Even though I tried to appear calm on the outside, inside I felt like everything was boiling within me. I couldn’t stop thinking about what could have happened if we hadn’t reacted in time. I still had the image of Chan being pulled out of this whole mess in my head.

I interrupted my thoughts when Jisung started saying something, but even then, I felt my attention drifting toward Hyunjin. I had noticed for a while that something was changing between us, but I wasn’t sure how to interpret it. Maybe it was all this adrenaline and the situation, or maybe it was something more.

Hyunjin suddenly turned toward me, his gaze lingering on mine longer than I expected. Did he feel it too? Before I could say anything, our gazes broke, and Hyunjin began speaking to Jisung, but I couldn’t focus on the words anymore. Everything else faded into insignificance.

At one point, I tore my gaze away from the conversation, looking into the distance. I felt like something was gnawing at me, something that wouldn’t let me be. After a moment of silence, I said quietly:

“I think I need to take a walk.”

Hyunjin and Jisung exchanged glances, and Jisung immediately asked, “Do you want me to go with you?”

I smiled faintly, but there must have been a hint of something else in my eyes—maybe exhaustion or something deeper.

“No, thanks. I need to think this through alone.”

I watched as Hyunjin nodded, and I slowly walked toward the exit, taking quiet, almost absent steps. Each step felt heavy, but I knew I needed to find a moment for myself.

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Movie suggestion: Halloween High (2004)