A city myth could be the lead that detective Kang Yeosang's been looking for to solve 29 missing children cases and salvage his career.
[ ONGOING ; SLOW UPDATES ]
started: 12/03/19
completed: -
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When Yeosang awoke, it was an unpleasant experience. His head ached from how many tears he had shed and his back duly throbbed thanks to his unnatural sleeping position, which was sitting on a dinky stool and laying over the side of a mattress.
It wasn't like he could occupy the bed anyway, as it was already claimed by a limp figure tucked under its thin sheets.
The detective began to straighten himself, arms stretching high and an involuntary yawn slipping from his mouth. Yeosang surveyed the sparse room, taking note of the stagnant air and the milky light of morning that poured in through a half curtained window. He also spotted a full water pitcher and some disposable cups on the nightstand, deciding to quickly pour himself a glass.
Yet he stopped raising his cup mid-action, his eyes having wandered over the figure whose bedside he was laying at.
It was Wooyoung, his peaceful face covered by an oxygen mask and one of his forearms was injected with a tube connected to an IV drip. Some of the color had returned to his pale skin overnight and the steady beeping of the vital monitor meant that his heartbeat was steady.
In all honesty, the hospital was the last place Yeosang wanted Wooyoung to end up, especially after he fought his war so valiantly and for so long. To the detective, hospitals were just as dismal as any other building in the lackluster city — which was saying something as its interior was brighter than the sky.
But clean white walls proved to be an equally worthy vessel of broken hopes as the grayscale skyscrapers outside.
Last night, Yeosang was the first one to arrive at the hospital after sprinting down sidewalks made hazardous by the thunderstorm.
He practically pried open the sliding doors to find Seonghwa waiting in the quiet lobby, his body tensed in a hard cushioned chair that provided no sense of comfort. The man was clearly stressed, his face riddled with anxiety and his soggy black hair partially sticking up from how many times he ran his hand through it.
"Seonghwa!" Yeosang called out, the eldest looking up from the ground and allowing shock to overtake his grim expression. The detective rushed over to meet Seonghwa as he slowly rose from his chair, not hesitating to pull him into a longing hug.
The older male immediately began to break down in Yeosang's embrace, resting his head defeatedly on the detective's shoulder as he sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, Yeosang. I c-couldn't protect him; I couldn't stop him. I'm a t-terrible friend and now-" A heartbroken wail cut Seonghwa off, the male muffling his pitiful cry in Yeosang's coat as the detective soothed him.
