Behind The Scenes | yoonmin

vii - the scenes

THE SCENES
———

"Here it is," Juseon breathes out, turning the key, a miserable look on his face. He slowly opens the door, showing the empty apartment. He'd told the police he'd take care of it after it was observed and reported by them. He'd wanted to empty the place, but he didn't want to confront it yet.

The two enter, taking their shoes off at the entrance, the cold rush of air hitting them both. "Ah, it's cold," Seowon remarks, looking around the lonely room.

"Yeah, I'll turn on the heat," Juseon says as he goes to the thermostat, "The rent has been paid for this month..." he mutters, "I have to clean this place out soon, it costs too much." He sounds heart-broken.

At the sound of the man's voice, Seowon feels a little bad, but he shakes his head. He isn't here to pity his client. He's here to solve a case.

"Did he have a diary or anything?" Seowon asks, checking all the notebooks and books on the desk. "Any habits you know that are worth noting?"

Juseon walks over to where Seowon is, a thoughtful look on his face. "I guess he did have a calendar he always marked his memos and dues and to-do lists on. But, I don't see it around..."

"Ah, it must've been on the wall over there," Seowon points out, looking at the wall next to the light switch. "The rest of the wall is dustier than a rectangular area there."

Juseon shows a look of surprise, fascinated at the quick observation. He watches as Seowon rummages around the area, checks the dust-bin and drawers. He ends up with a scowl, "The culprit must've taken it. Fuck," he curses, tightly gripping the desk's edge, "It must've held something important." His scowl deepens, "We barely have a lead, this is a little frustrating, ahh—"

"Eoh— there's," Juseon suddenly says, noticing something, "That's weird."

Seowon looks over at his face, following where his eyes are looking. "What is it?"

"The clock, it's..." he starts, trailing off.

Furrowing his brows, Seowon looks closer. "It's stopped, but that's natural, its batteries are probably out." It was just an ordinary clock without any glass protected, stopped from the battery dying.

He's just about to search somewhere else, but Juseon shakes his head. "No... isn't it weird? Look, the hands are weird."

"Hm?" Seowon looks again, paying close attention to the hands, then he intakes a sharp breath, realizing. "The hour hand would've moved past the number if it's forty minutes in! Ah, how did I miss that? Thanks, Juseon," he fishes inside his jacket pocket, getting out his phone, taking a picture of it as he gets closer. Then, he gets out a small notebook, he looks deep in thought as he draws it out as well.

"You got something?" Juseon asks, stepping closer to take a look.

"Not yet, but it's definitely left by your brother. When was the last time you visited? Was it always like this?" Seowon questions, looking serious.

Thinking back, Juseon hums. "It was a while back before the incident. Maybe around six months back? It wasn't like that back then, I would've noticed and asked, but I didn't. He was all happy about a game he was going to make outside the company... he... was so happy about it," he trails off again, looking down, eyes welling with tears. He sadly smiles, "I guess he didn't get to show it to me like he wanted. He'd texted me about it, saying he'd completed it, too. Kept it hidden for so long and wanted to finally show me. But," he pauses, tilting his head. "I guess he did say something weird."

Seowon's eyebrows shoot up, "What? Show me your text history!" he orders, eyes stern. "Come on. You haven't deleted it, right?"

"No... if it helps with the case, here..." he replies, getting his phone out, still looking melancholic. "Here it is," he hands over the phone, opened with the chat history between him and his brother.