By the Will of Love (A KaiSoo Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty

Where and why: those were the question that was hanging in the air for Donghae and Hyukjae.

Where were these people hiding Jongin and Kyungsoo? They definitely wouldn't have gone out of the city, which kept them within the borders of Seoul. But even that was ambiguous. There were tons of quiet places in Seoul they could have taken them. Based on their criminal records, they knew these people were smart and that they wouldn't take them to just any place. They were probably hiding them in a place where no one would ever think of searching.

Why Kyungsoo and Jongin? They could have taken anyone, seeing as how those two weren't the only kids with rich parents in the school, but they took them. This bothered Donghae a lot more than it did Hyukjae because he was always the one to suggest that there was a bigger story than what was on the surface. Hyukjae refuted many of his theories with the evidence, but even though he couldn't prove it at the moment, but his gut was telling him that this was all planned. 

Donghae was sitting at his desk in deep thought when a happy Hyukjae came in. "Here you go," he said, slamming his notepad and voice recorder on the desk. Donghae gave him a curious look and leaned forward to pull them closer, taking a look at the notes on the notepad first.

"What's this?" he asked as he read.

"It's an official statement from the clerk of that little convenience store on Banporo," Hyukjae replied. "He called me earlier this week and said that he saw people that resembled the suspects come into his store." Donghae glanced at him for a moment and then played the recording.

"Can you describe your encounters with the suspects?" Hyukjae's voice asked.

"There were three of them in the beginning," the man's voice explained, "but then it dwindled down to two and then one eventually. They were always buying food, junk food like chips and cookies."

"How far apart would you say their visits were?"

"Oh, I don't know...maybe a week or two apart. But once only one person was coming in, they got closer together. I'd say like every few days. And she'd buy more stuff besides food too. I recall her buying cigarettes and a lighter one time, but when she was with the other two guys, she wouldn't."

"You're sure the last person to come in, meaning when only one person was coming in, was a female?"

"Yes, I'm almost positive. She had a very anxious vibe to her, especially when those guys were with her. They'd make her pay and she was just very skittish. Like she knew they would do something to her if she made a mistake. If you can imagine what an abused child is like around their abuser, that's what it was like."

"Yeah, I understand. And when was the last you saw her or the guys come in?"

"God, it must have been at least three days ago, maybe more. I think the last time she came in is when she was buying the cigarettes but after that, she and those guys just sort of disappeared."

"Huh," Donghae said as he paused the recorder and sat back in his chair. "Did you get the security camera footage?"

"Yeah, right after the interview," Hyukjae said. "It was a bit fuzzy, but the people on it definitely fit the description of the suspects."

Donghae nodded slowly and chewed on the inside of his cheek. "But if it really was them in that store," he said, "what could that mean? Why were they going to a grocery store every two weeks and then every few days? No one can need to grocery shop that often."

"True," Hyukjae said with a little sigh, "but maybe that means Kyungsoo and Jongin are still alive. Think about it, they kidnapped them for money, right?"