Ephemeral | Heehoon

2

Heeseung's office was a chaotic mess, with papers strewn across the desk and overflowing onto the floor. The room was filled with the scent of coffee and the faint hum of the detective's computer. The walls were adorned with a mishmash of photographs, crime scene sketches, and newspaper clippings, all connected by a web of red string.

Maybe there was too much red string on the wall, for Heeseung could hardly make out the pictures unless he looked close enough. As Heeseung furiously typed something, Sunghoon cautiously stepped into the cluttered office, his heart thumping after the warning both Yeonjun and Soobin gave him.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the cork-board, which was covered in various notes and documents related to the investigation. Sunghoon's gaze focused on one particular section of the board, where several photographs of potential suspects were pinned. He raised an eyebrow, noticing a pattern that the detective had overlooked.

Pointing at a picture, he chose his words carefully as he opened his mouth to speak, "Detective, have a look at this, all of the victims have something in common. Brown hair, heart-shaped lips." When he had entered, Heeseung didn't bother to address him but now, his head shot up and he stared at the boy whose back was facing him.

He couldn't believe he had missed such a crucial detail and he scoffed, urging the boy to turn his body towards him. Sunghoon looked like he was just around his age, his eyes sparkling with determination and something that Heeseung was quite familiar with. Hope. Heeseung was hopeful this case would come to an end and so was Sunghoon.

"Did I say something wrong?" Gone was the flicker of hope from his eyes, replaced by fear and desperation. Sunghoon took a step back, looking at Heeseung as if he were a bomb about to set off. "No, reporter, I was just wondering how in all these three years I left out such an important detail."

It was true, while he was mad that a student reporter, of all people, managed to point something like that out, Heeseung was also mad at himself for overlooking something so important. It should've been one of the first few things to notice. "It's something that could easily be missed, Detective. I was friends with two of the victims, it's why I noticed a pattern with the others. And, please call me Sunghoon."

Heeseung gave him a short, dismissive nod and as much as he wanted to get back to the document he was revising, he was curious. He felt that Sunghoon knew more than what met the eye. "Tell me reporter, what else do you know?" Heeseung noticed Sunghoon frown but he couldn't tell if it was because of his mocking tone or because he did not address him by his name. "All four of them took up the same class but the university decided to keep that information disclosed as it'd lead up to the Professor and ruin the university's name."