Case: Ghost

Gold Glasses

Kyungsoo returned to work, fearing a hearty greeting from Chanyeol. However, when he arrived, Chanyeol was missing. He looked around the room, but the smiling giant was nowhere to be found. Kyungsoo wandered over to his desk in a dazed state. He was wondering if maybe Chanyeol had gotten suspended again.
“He's working a case with the fire department,” Minseok suddenly spoke up from his desk, which was a few feet away from Kyungsoo. “He volunteered. He took Baekhyun with him too.”
Kyungsoo peeked over and realized Baekhyun's desk was also empty. He hadn't bothered to notice that absence.
“Wow, maybe you are becoming friends with Chanyeol,” Minseok marveled, “You didn't notice that Baekhyun was gone, but you noticed Chanyeol was gone. Interesting.”
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and decided he was better off not replying. It would only be exactly what Minseok wanted. Instead, he started working through the stack of files on his desk. Since it was Monday, there were a lot of weekend crimes that had to be processed. Kyungsoo figured that he had a big pile of cases to write up because Baekhyun and Chanyeol weren't around to help out.
“The weekend crew never does any of the writing,” Kyungsoo complained to himself. He went on a mental rant about how the people on the weekend shift always left their completed cases for others to finish typing up. The night shift wasn't much better either, but at least they had a good excuse - People always did the craziest crimes at night, so writing the reports wasn't much of a priority.
Sergeant Jongin was beginning to approach, and this time Kyungsoo was prepared. He slipped his glasses out of his drawer and put them on. Jongin whistled, “Your glasses are cracked real bad. You should probably get some new ones.”
Kyungsoo looked up at him through the cracks in his lenses. He had forgotten that they broke during his fight with the farmer ghost a week ago. “I have an extra pair,” he muttered as he took out his special glasses. He was glad Chanyeol wasn't around to see them, because he would've never stopped talking about them. The glasses were large, circular, and gold.
“Wow, I didn't know you could look so good,” Minseok commented. Kyungsoo didn't even spare a glance. He went straight back to work. Jongin nodded in approval and went on his own way.
“Everyone, may I please have your attention,” Sehun entered the room directly from his office, “The arson crime committed at the public library has developed complications. It seems that it may have been the Alpha Killer, and the fire department is asking for more volunteer policemen to help with the case. They only need one from us.”
Kyungsoo couldn't believe it. The Alpha Killer was one of his first cases, but it turned cold after a few weeks of no leads. His hand almost instinctively shot up, but he reminded himself that Chanyeol would be on the case too. Remembering that, he instead ducked his head to avoid being called on. He focused intensely on the file before him. It was about a group of pigeons that an old lady reported for defecating all over town square. Kyungsoo snorted at the stupidity of some people in this town.
“What was that, Detective Do?” Sehun asked.
Kyungsoo shook his head. “Nothing, Sir. I was just sneezing.”
“Quite an awful sneeze there. Bless you,” Sehun replied, “How would you like to help with the arson case?”
“Uh, no, I'm fine,” Kyungsoo said, “I'd rather help with Chanyeol and Baekhyun's paperwork.”
Sehun frowned, “I think I'd prefer it if you helped on the case. They could use you, since you’re so close to this case. Your knowledge on the Alpha Killer would be very helpful. Besides, it's your first day back and I know you love working cases.”
Kyungsoo began to protest, but was cut short by Sehun. “They'll be expecting you within the hour. I'll go ahead and assign Chanyeol's, Baekhyun's, and your paperwork to the other detectives. Good day.” He retreated back into his office, leaving a stunned Kyungsoo tensed in his chair.
He sadly pulled off his glasses and grabbed his coat to start heading out.
~~~
Chanyeol and Baekhyun greeted Kim Jongdae as he entered the station. “Hey, I just arrested you last week, right?” Jongdae said to Chanyeol.
Chanyeol laughed brightly at his teasing and replied, “Suspended, so I couldn't even escape if I tried!” They joked together for a while longer until Jongdae had to excuse himself to go to the bathroom. “So he's one of the extra volunteers, I wonder who the other one is,” Chanyeol said.
Baekhyun shrugged, then pointed. “I guess it's him.” Chanyeol followed his finger to the man entering the fire station. It was Kyungsoo in his old black jacket, and he had ruffled hair. “What happened?” Baekhyun asked.
“Wind,” Kyungsoo answered simply. He glared at the floor for a second before bringing his gaze up to Chanyeol. He was expecting an annoying greeting, but it bothered him anyway.
“You volunteered?” Chanyeol smiled, “That's great, that means we're working together again - On an arson case caused by the Alpha Killer! Best day of my life!”
Kyungsoo gritted his teeth. He had to work with Chanyeol on an actual case. This was going to be a nightmare. After Jongdae returned, the captain of the fire station came and assigned everyone to two groups. Jongdae, Baekhyun, and an experienced firefighter were in one group, and Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and two new firefighters were in the other group.
Kyungsoo ignored Chanyeol to the best of his abilities, but it was hard when the man kept trying to get his attention. “It's great to see you again, ghostie buddy,” Chanyeol whispered during the briefing, “I thought that ankle was gonna kill you. Just kidding, I'm sorry I shot you though. But also, I missed you, I haven't really had a full conversation with you for nearly a month.”
Half a month, Kyungsoo thought, Not nearly enough time away from you. The briefing ended, and they were sent upstairs to look into the case in more detail. The other team set out to question witnesses. Kyungsoo lamented that he was stuck with the boring job. Now he wouldn't even be able to avoid Chanyeol's talking because instead of interviewing other people, they'd be stuck together reviewing files.
Kyungsoo squinted at the computer screen as he typed. He was straining his eyes, but he ignored the discomfort. There was no way he was going to let Chanyeol see him in his spare glasses. “You're straining your eyes pretty hard over there…,” Chanyeol noticed.
“Well, since my glasses broke on the last case, I don't have any,” Kyungsoo muttered, “I still have to get new ones.” Chanyeol hummed understandingly. He went back to work, but not before scooting his rolly chair closer to Kyungsoo. Their shoulders touched, and Kyungsoo found himself deeply regretting sitting by the filing cabinet. Now he was trapped by Chanyeol, the back wall, the desk, and the cabinet.
“Hey, Detective Do, I need you to look at this for me,” the captain of the fire station approached the desk and held out a file. Kyungsoo grabbed it and opened it up. He hesitated. The words were blurry, and he couldn't really read any of it, no matter how hard he squinted.
“Ahem” the captain said in the silence, “Do you have glasses you could use?”
Kyungsoo shook his head and shoved his face closer to the paper. He was struggling to read the words. The captain grunted, “Listen kid, I'm in a bit of a time crunch,” he glanced at the computer and saw that there were a ton of spelling errors. With a deep sigh, he said, “You think this is a joke? Captain Oh said you'd be useful, but I may have to send you back.”
Kyungsoo's hands tightened around the manila file folder. He clenched his jaw, and slowly, with great hesitation, he pulled out his gold wire glasses and slipped them on. “I'm sorry, Sir,” he murmured, “I forgot I brought an extra pair of glasses. I'll go ahead and take care of this file.”
“Good. And fix the report you typed up on the computer. Print it out and have everything on my desk before you leave.” The captain left Kyungsoo with blushing cheeks of embarrassment.
Chanyeol turned to him with a sly grin. “I thought you didn't have any spares,” he pointed out.
Kyungsoo remained silent and started fixing the errors in his typed document. Chanyeol leaned in and said, “Why are you blushing? Are you embarrassed? Did you think I'd make fun of you?”
Kyungsoo bit his lip to hold in his words. He was just about ready to beat the shit out of Chanyeol, but considering they were out in public, he held back. “I'm not going to make fun of you,” Chanyeol assured, “You actually look cool with them. I like nerdy Kyungsoo, but cool Kyungsoo is great too.” He looked over Kyungsoo's shoulder and pointed at a repeated word on the computer screen.
Kyungsoo shrugged him off. “Detective Do,” he managed to correct as he fixed the error Chanyeol had pointed out.
“Cool Detective Do,” Chanyeol doubly corrected with a chuckle.