Stumbling Backward(JOOKYUN✔️)

before

Changkyun shrinks in his seat, uncomfortable to say the least as the worn down leather padding digs into the bottoms of his thighs. The room is chilled, a surprising thing considering the weather outside, but he still has a nervous sweat down the nape of his neck as he waits for someone to join him.

He has sat alone in here for several long minutes, the man that had lead him here had said someone would join him soon enough. How long is soon enough?

The door pushes open finally, and a whoosh of warm air from the hall hits Changkyun's side as he turns to face the newcomer. His eyes widen, surprise clear on his face as he recognizes the broad man that steps in and closes the door behind him.

"Sir?" Changkyun still doesn't know what to address his new landlord as, but he knows even less about why he would be here at the station. "Are you a police officer?"

Smiling gently, Shin Hoseok shakes his head at the younger man as he rounds the table and pulls out the only other chair in the room. The metal legs grate against the cement floor, causing Changkyun to flinch into his own seat hard. Apologizing gently, the larger man sits himself down with that same calm smile.

"I'm a detective," he finally replies quietly, staring down his nose at Changkyun. "I know you're wondering why you were called here," Changkyun nods, to which Hoseok smiles a bit wider in understanding. "And I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here."

Another nod, this time followed by a shaky voice. "Is this about the fire again?"

Detective Shin nods his head, clearing his throat as he indicates a heavy sealed folder that was already resting on the table when Changkyun arrived. "I was assigned to your case a few weeks ago, when I recognized you from your file. When I first saw your face, outside my building?" Changkyun nods, remembering his embarrassment faintly. "I linked you to the file that had been passed around the office, and brought it up to my captain.

"She reassigned me to this case, knowing you were living under my building's roof, and instructed me to keep a close eye on you."

Changkyun swallows. Hard.

He doesn't understand why someone would be keeping any type of eye on him, not when he hasn't done anything. "Did I do something wrong?" He must have, he wouldn't be sitting in a questioning room with a detective if he'd done anything right.

"No, it's not that." Glancing at the file, Detective Shin wonders just how much he should tell Changkyun upfront. The case involves the young man's safety, so he should be told the whole truth. All the theories. All the evidence. But during the signing of his lease just two days ago, Hoseok had realized that Changkyun was a bit more... Dependent would be the nicest way Hoseok could use to describe the young man. If the way he'd asked Jooheon to read him most everything that was written on the terms of agreement under their newly shared lease was any indication.

"I want to tell you before everything else today, that some things are going to bother you. You might get upset when I'm done talking. You might be angry, or sad." The detective attempts to use plain language, to keep the dialogue easier for Changkyun. The younger nods, understanding fully but still nervous under the older man's gaze. "We have called you in to discuss with you the new information we've found during the investigation of your family's deaths."

Changkyun gulps, cheeks suddenly paling as his eyes dart away. He doesn't like talking about this. He doesn't want to talk about them again, how they died- how they're still dead.