A local thief and outcasted police detective, Park Seonghwa, become unlikely partners in crime to solve a string of murders.
START: 3.31.2020
FINISH: 2.20.2021
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record 19...AUGUST 7
10:22 PM
SEONGHWA IS LATE. He can already imagine the scolding he is in for, but he had to spend more time than he thought necessary packing for the drive to Newhurst. The bungalow had practically been turned inside out after he spent hours searching for the ring he had brought with him to Cape Freewell on an impulse. It still is missing, a fact that makes his stomach twist. What if he never finds it?
He lugs the heavy bag he packed over his shoulder, slamming the passenger side door of the car shut with his hip. When he has left the parking garage and is on the fifth floor, he finally takes his gaze away from his shoes. The walls of the apartment complex have changed since he was last here, a clean new coat of paint washing away all of the small childhood memories he had held onto. The bunny sticker that used to stare at those in passing from above a window is gone.
He and Hongjoong had sneakily hidden it there in their middle school years, knowing that the white fur would blend in with the wall. His steps feel heavier with the memory.
Seonghwa's mother ushers him into the apartment impatiently, hardly giving him any time to fake a smile.
"You're late," she scolds, capturing him a quick, warm hug. His mother still smells like the familiar scent of cinnamon. Looks like she still bakes. When she pulls away, she tilts her head observantly as she eyes him. It has been several months since she last saw him but anyone could see that the cape has been wearing on him.
"Sorry. Ran into a storm on the way." He shakes the rain out of his hair and denim jacket to emphasize his point only to be swiftly met with a sharp slap to his shoulder. His hands clutch at his sleeve in mock pain.
His mother frowns, lips downturned. "Stop playing around and go change into something warm before you get sick."
"I will," he promises, slipping out of his sodden sneakers. He quickly scans the apartment, the small space hardly having changed over the many years that they lived there with the exception of a new painting, sloppy and colorful, mounted above the couch. His father's new hobby. "Hey, where's dad?"
"He's on his way. The idiot insisted on getting some snacks or something since you came to visit. He could've just did it earlier this morning but you know how he is."
He snorts, a small smile slipping onto his face. "Procrastinator. Remember when he forgot to pick me up from school one day because he decided to take a nap last minute?"
"Ugh, don't remind me." She jerks her chin toward one of the doors at the end of a small hallway, raising an eyebrow. His old room. "Go change."
She turns away then, busying herself with something in the kitchen. He does as she says, quietly plodding down the hallway, the wooden flooring creaking in the same places it always does.
