we the cursed, nct dream ✔

part forty-five

⇉ the one with a rematch.

part forty-five

There's a witness.

"I just don't understand why I'm not the one in there," Taeyong whispers to the Chief Detective, who is standing beside him.

Chief Rim just sighs, used to the immaturity of two of his supposedly best detectives. Brilliant, to be sure, but petty as hell when the other person is involved. Sometimes, he feels a bit like a father struggling to manage two squabbling children. "Detective Huang is just as qualified as you are, Taeyong."

The detective sniffs. "Then why am I not conducting the interrogation?" he demands, brazen in the company of the man he's close with. "We've been working on this together."

"Yiran is the one the witness reached out to, so it is only logical." Chief removes his glasses to wipe them on the lapels of his shirt. "Now, why don't you put aside your ego for a minute and focus? If the witness gives us any valuable information, it will not matter who questioned him."

Taeyong turns back around to look through the glass, chastened. He understands that this is not about him. This about justice and gaining it for the lives lost recently. So, he fixes his gaze on the witness. There is something off about him; Taeyong feels it in his gut. But he doesn't mention it. Chief Rim already thinks him silly; this will not help.

And yet, a chill runs down his spine. You're being ridiculous, Taeyong.

"It was so terrible," the man is whispering. "We had set up a date to meet up over coffee on that day after running into each other in a mall the week before, but she never showed. I thought she'd stood me up."

"And you didn't know why?" Yiran inquires. "Ms. Oh hadn't said anything to you beforehand or done anything that could've made you think something was off, even just a bit?"

"No." The man doesn't hesitate. "We'd seen each other at the grocery store the day before, and she'd said she was looking forward to it. She didn't act like she knew something was going to happen. Everything was normal."

"And then she never showed up for the date."

He shakes his head. "I'm not sure, though. I just had this... feeling that something was wrong, you know?"

Convenient, Taeyong thinks to himself.

"So, I dropped by her place as I was returning from the café. But the door had been left open, and I think that's when I knew for sure. So I poked my head inside, and there she was, on the floor, dead. She just looked so..." His voice trails off as his Adam's apple bobs, overcome with emotion.

"Take your time," Yiran says kindly. From his seat outside, Taeyong snorts. Working with her so closely has extensively familiarized him with all her tones and mannerisms, and from the way she sits and sounds, it's obvious that, just like him, she doesn't seem to be completely buying into this guy's story.

The man wipes at his cheeks, but Taeyong notices that his eyes are completely dry. "It's just crazy, you know? I still can't believe that Mina's gone. Just like that."

"Wait." Taeyong watches Yiran straighten. "You two knew each other before?"

"Yes." The man perks up now, too, as if he's eager to share the subsequent information. "We go a while back. In fact, we even went to high school together."

"Mm," Yiran hums absently, evidently deep in thought. "What school was that?"

There is a gleam in the man's eye that Taeyong doesn't like, one that makes him want to burst into the room and pull Yiran out as fast as he possibly can. It's an irrational urge, especially because he knows she'd have this guy incapacitated before he could even try anything and probably still have time to yell at him for butting in.