He had only been driving for a few minutes when a sharp sound cut through the quiet.
Ring.
Doyeon's eyes flicked toward his phone mounted on the stand.
"!?"
His hand moved almost immediately, steady but quick as he grabbed it and glanced at the screen.
And froze.
The sender's name sat there, clear as day.
Dakje.
For a second, Doyeon just stared, his grip tightening slightly around the phone before he tapped the notification and opened the message.
***Doyeon, come to my apartment. You need to talk, right? (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧)***
Silence filled the car.
"What the hell," he muttered under his breath.
Without another thought, he turned the wheel sharply, the car pivoting cleanly onto another road as he changed direction. His eyes flicked to the time on his phone.
6:12 PM.
"Okay… I've got time."
He set the phone back in place, jaw tightening as his foot pressed harder on the gas. The engine responded with a low hum as the car speed forward, the city lights beginning to blur past him.
(Idk why in this part My Autocorrect wants me to use s, p, e, d…)
***
(6:39 PM — Basement Parking Lot)
The car rolled into the underground parking lot and came to a quick stop.
Doyeon didn't waste a second.
He stepped out, shutting the door behind him as he moved straight toward the elevator, his pace fast, almost impatient. His footsteps echoed faintly against the concrete as he reached the button and pressed it.
"Fuck… Dakje," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "You better explain everything."
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.
He stepped inside immediately.
6th floor.
His finger tapped the button, and the doors closed.
The space felt too small.
Too slow.
Doyeon exhaled sharply, leaning back against the wall before pushing himself off again, pacing once— twice, thrice, before stopping and leaning back again. His fingers curled slightly at his side, tension clear in every movement.
He lifted his phone again, screen lighting up his face as he stared at the message one more time.
"He better have an answer for this…" he muttered.
A brief pause.
Then his gaze lowered.
(Sorry, Ha-eun… I'll get there as soon as I can.)
The elevator gave a soft ding.
The doors slid open.
Doyeon stepped out immediately, his eyes scanning the hallway before he turned left without hesitation. His steps were faster now, more certain, stopping only when he reached a familiar door— one he had stood in front of more times than he could count.
A place he used when things got bad.
When he had nowhere else to go.
He stopped.
His jaw tightened.
"Dakje."
Doyeon's hand slowly rose, fingers wrapping tightly around the doorknob. For a brief second, he just stood there, his grip tightening as if bracing himself for something he couldn't quite name.
Then—
He turned it.
The door creaked open.
Darkness.
No light greeted him from inside.
Doyeon pushed the door wider, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stepped inside. For a brief moment, he paused, just enough to take in the darkness ahead, before reaching back.
Then, quietly—
He closed the door behind him.
The faint click echoed softly through the silence, the sound lingering just a little too long in the still air.
The apartment room felt… wrong.
Dim red lights flickered faintly from the corners of the room, casting long, distorted shadows across the walls. The kind of lighting that didn't illuminate— It concealed.
Doyeon's gaze slowly adjusted, scanning the room.
Then—
It stopped.
Locked.
Straight ahead.
A desk.
The only place properly lit in the entire room, a single focused light pouring down onto its surface like a stage.
Like it was meant to be seen.
"What the hell…" he muttered.
"DAKJE!?" his voice cut through the silence, sharper now.
No response.
Only the low hum of electricity in the air.
"Fuck," His footsteps echoed softly as he moved forward, each step cautious but firm, drawn toward the desk like something was pulling him in.
When he reached the desk, Doyeon came to a stop. A notebook rested there, closed, untouched— almost as if it had been left waiting for him. For a brief moment, his eyes lingered on it, but something about it felt… secondary.
His gaze slowly lifted.
Above the desk, a curtain hung loosely, barely covering what was behind it. It swayed ever so slightly, as if disturbed not long ago— like it wasn't meant to stay hidden for long.
Doyeon hesitated.
Just for half a second.
Then he reached out and pulled it aside.
A board revealed itself.
Covered. Pinned. Connected.
Photos layered over each other. Notes scribbled in different hands. Strings stretching across the surface, linking one piece to another in chaotic, almost obsessive precision. It wasn't just organized— It was constructed.
It looked exactly like something out of a detective movie.
But this— it was real.
Doyeon's eyes moved across the board, scanning quickly, taking in the scattered details, the overlapping clues, the chaotic connections that somehow still made sense.
Then—
His eyes stopped, unto one of the photo.
A girl with purple hair, smiling brightly as she held an ice cream cone, completely unaware of anything beyond that moment. Alive. Happy.
Below it—
A familiar name and number.
Missing: Ha-eun
Call if you have any information
**09 *** *7
Silence filled the room.
Doyeon didn't move, not even blink.
"Ha-eun…"
Something about it felt wrong. Not just the fact that she was here— but how she was here. The way the photo was placed. The way it was connected.
This wasn't just a missing case board.
This was something deeper.
Messier.
Connected.
Slowly, his eyes shifted, tracing one of the red strings attached to her photo, following its path as it stretched across the board— leading somewhere else.
"Dakje…" Doyeon muttered, "This… missing poster looks new, and… isn't Ha-eun missing poster rare?"
.
.
Lore drop, next chapter... That's wy!!! Cliffhanger ~~~ eheheheheh, and... Omg contract... He he