Unveil: Black Mask | Stray Kids

[2]

"You look like your cats just rejected your cuddles."

Minho huffed as he sat across from Chan at the table in the cafeteria. Both Chan and Felix were eating their late lunch when Minho stepped in the cafeteria with a glum look.

"Yeah, what's wrong? What did Chief Yang say?" Felix asked from beside Chan as he took a bite of his food

"Chief Yang just assigned the Black Mask case to me." Minho said, his face completely blank

He doesn't know what to do in this situation, heck he doesn't even know what to feel. He doesn't know if he'll be able to crack this case. If it were Chan, he knew the older could do it.

Minho doesn't really think he's the same level as Chan even if they're in the same rank. Minho thinks there's still a lot for him to learn.

Chan choked, "The Black Mask case?? For real??"

Minho's head snapped towards Chan with a glare, "Yes for real!! Why would I joke about something like that??"

Chan glared back, "You once told me you were promoted as a 1st-grade detective, but it was actually 2nd. You can't blame me for doubting you."

Minho shut his mouth after Chan's statement. What? He likes pranks.

"This is a huge deal for you hyung, congrats. Black Mask is the talk of the town, you'll be instant famous if you manage to crack this one." Felix cheered

"Yeah thanks, no pressure." Minho deadpanned

Felix only smiled brighter, "You're welcome."

"So how much time is he giving you?" Chan asked

Chan was about to drink when Felix stopped him, "That's the ketchup sweetie."

Felix took the ketchup bottle from Chan's hand and replaced it with his tumbler as Minho shook his head.

Guess Chief Yang isn't kidding huh?

"He gave me 2 months tops to work on it."

The two nodded understandingly, "Pretty sure you'll solve it in no time. You're Lee Minho, you can do it." Felix said, trying to encourage him even more

Minho sat there, dazed, "Cheer up, this is a good opportunity for you and you know that."

"And Chief Yang might give you a well-deserved break. Not to mention a raise." Felix added

"Yeah, plus Jisung will surely reward you with something good." Chan teased with a wink

Minho smacked Chan's arm, feeling his cheeks go red.

"Will you guys stop talking and just eat?"

The 2 laughed and continued eating, giving the boy a break as his face looks like he's about to explode.

Minho sat there in silence before standing up and telling the two he'll try starting on the case now.

"Hey hyung, you can do it okay? We'll support you." Felix said with a bright smile, Chan nodding in acknowledgement beside him

Minho smiled and nodded at the two, thanking them then continuing the walk to his office. When Minho sat down, he literally just sat there staring at the stack of folders for 10 minutes as if they're going to suddenly tell him the answers.

Minho is quite shocked. In a span of 1 month, Black Mask managed to make 7 file cases. That's a lot.

Minho wondered if he really did work alone or if he had help. Minho glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 5 PM.

He sighed before grabbing his keys, all his energy now completely drained. He walked out of his office, making sure that none of his electronics are left open, before locking the door.

"Seriously, this is the first time a case like this was assigned to me. I'm working on looking for a missing little girl, and I'm almost there! Now they're gonna take the case away from me??" Minho ranted as he laid on the couch

Jisung hummed, listening to his boyfriend's every word as he stroked Minho's hair, the older's head resting on his lap.

Minho and Jisung have been living together in an apartment for 6 years already. They first started living together when they were both still in college, but have been best friends since middle school. Highschool was when the two first started dating.

"I don't even know what to do with this Black Mask dude already. We have pretty good officers, yet they haven't found a single track." Minho sighed as Jisung held his hands, squeezing them tightly

"Have you even tried going through the file cases?" Jisung asked softly

Minho stared at Jisung before responding, "Well... no.."

Jisung chuckled, "Then how do you know it's that difficult if you haven't tried solving it yet?"

Minho sat up, holding his head for a moment as he felt lightheaded but soon recovering, "Sung, the officers working on it were our seniors. They're really experienced and really good."

Jisung smiled at Minho, "Just because it was hard for them, doesn't mean it'll be hard for you too. Detectives and officers are good in their own special way. Not all of them are the same." Jisung said, running his fingers along Minho's arm, sending shivers down the older's spine

"Give the case a chance. Who knows.. you might be the one who'll be able to crack it." Jisung said, cupping Minho's cheek

Minho instinctively leaned against Jisung's touch, craving for more. Jisung ran his thumb under Minho's eye, examining the bags under the older's eye.

He can't scold Minho since his own job requires sleepless nights too. They're both sleep-deprived but hey, at least they have each other.

Minho sighed, "Alright. I'll start reviewing the case when I get to work in a few hours. In the meantime, cuddles?" Minho pouted

Jisung laughed and let Minho snuggle against his chest. Cuddles always calms the two boys down. Especially when it's with each other.

Minho sighed, flipping through the pages of the file cases. He's been reading the info about the victims linked to Black Mask for the past 20 minutes, and so far, he's got no idea.

It's basically empty!

And the fact that he's only been sleeping for 2 hours for the past week is taking a toll on his brain.

Minho thought for a moment, remembering the officers' words from this morning.

"So far, we haven't found potential suspects yet. Every time we try to work on the case, another case comes in. Right now, I really don't know if he's choosing his victims randomly or what."

"We haven't checked the recent security cameras yet. Ask Seungmin if you wanna check them out."

Minho shook his head as he also remembered Chan eating tomatoes this morning instead of apples as he was walking by. Seriously, the guy needs a break.

Minho turned his attention back to the folder again. Black Mask is a smart man. He wouldn't just choose his victims randomly. Surely there MUST be a reason.

Minho flipped through the pages and started reading the first victims' info for the 4th time that day, forcing his brain to focus.

This was going to be a really long day.