S50: 地獄変
Title: 地獄変
For: S50
Pairings: Chanyeol/Baekhyun as brotp
Rating: PG-13
Length: 4.5k
Summary: Minseok was sure Sehun didn't fit in with his team. He was too young, too inexperienced. It took him one case to see that he was wrong and Sehun did fit in; And maybe not only with the team.
Author's note: When I saw the prompt I knew that if I joined this would be the only prompt I’d be willing to try. I'm absolutely in love with Criminal Minds and EXO and those two things together seemed so interesting (inspiration for the title and part of the story by 地獄変 written by Akutagawa Ryûnosuke)
It was still early when Minseok entered the building. There should still be about an hour left before the others arrived but he preferred to have some time for himself and his paperwork before he wouldn’t get a second of peace and quiet anymore. Not that he didn’t love his team, but sometimes they were a bit too much to handle. He worked with some of the most talented people in their field of work but it didn’t stop them from acting like little children when they got the chance to.
He was so focused on his work that he didn’t hear someone entering his office until that person was clearing their throat. In an instant Minseok snapped his head up and his hand automatically reached for his right side. It only took one second to realize that the boy in front of him was definitely not dangerous and that he probably overreacted. He silently chuckled, relaxed his shoulders and leaned back in his chair.
“How can I help you?” He let his eyes roam over the boy in front of him. He was tall, had blonde hair and a face that most -Minseok included- would consider good looking. For some reason he looked intimidated. Minseok couldn’t imagine one reason why this boy was here, he rather looked like he should be on his way to his college classes.
“Are you… Are you Kim Minseok?” One of Minseok’s eyebrows lifted questioningly. First of all he was pretty sure his name was written on his door and there was a nameplate on his desk. What was more surprising was that the other seemed to be intent on preventing any possible eye contact, preferring to stare somewhere behind Minseok.
“Yes, I am.” Minseok waited for the boy to tell him what he wanted from him, but the other just continued starring at the wall. It was silent for some time and he could see how the young man started fidgeting, but still he didn’t say a word. With a sigh Minseok gestured to the seat in front of his desk, asking the other to sit down.
“Look, why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”
“Oh… right. Mr. Wu told me to come here today.” Again he couldn’t stop the sigh that left his mouth. It was too early to deal with this kid, because he apparently had no idea how to hold an actual conversation. For a lack of a better world this whole situation was just… awkward.
“And he did that because…?” At least the boy had the decency to blush at his own incompetence when it came to human interaction.
“I’m… the new member of the BAU. My name is Oh Sehun.” For a second time this morning Minseok stared at the guy in front of him, this time shocked. That was Oh Sehun? Of course he knew they would get a new member for their unit but if he was being honest he suspected someone… older, more mature. The man in front of him didn’t look old enough to have achieved all the things Minseok heard about him, least of all having enough experience to join his unit. He knew the other was some kind of protégé, not to mention a genius; nevertheless he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that the boy would need a babysitter, and Minseok didn’t have the time for that.
However it wasn’t like he could do anything about it, Mr. Wu had made sure he knew that. So he just held out his hand and waited for Sehun to give him the documents he brought with him.
“Well then… Welcome to the team,… Dr.?” The older threw a questioning gaze at Sehun, who just nodded, a slight blush spreading on his cheek once again. At least the part about Sehun being a genius was apparently true then. Once glance at his age showed that he needing a babysitter probably was a fact as well.
Sighing for the millionth time this morning he spared a single look at his watch, realizing that it was already time for the others to arrive at the office. So that was it with his peace and quiet. Silently he stood up and gestured to Sehun to do the same.
“Please follow me, Dr. Oh. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team.”
///////
To say Sehun was nervous was probably an understatement. He had already been on edge this morning, knowing that he would meet someone he admired and looked up to paired with his inability to function when it came to human interaction. Kim Minseok was well known not only because he was head of the most successful team of the BAU but the fact that he achieved this position at such a young age. Seeing the man face to face now, he felt even more intimidated. It didn’t help that he would meet the rest of the team now. If they were anything like Minseok, Sehun was sure he would embarrass himself.
“Wow, Minseok. I didn’t know it was ‘bring your child to work’ day.”
“Shut up, Chanyeol. Sehun, this is Special Agent Park Chanyeol.” Sehun looked up and was faced with the biggest grin he had ever seen.
The other had a handsome face although it didn’t really match his voice. The other enthusiastically waved at him and Sehun questioned how someone could be so hyper so early in the morning.
“This is Special Agent Do Kyungsoo.” The next guy looked as intimidating as Minseok himself. He had big eyes and a rather childish face but his glare made it impossible for Sehun to directly look at him.
“And this is Special Agent Lu Han second in command and also our Media liaison.” Sehun looked at the last guy at the table. He was thin with honey blonde hair and a face Sehun couldn’t describe as anything else than pretty. That was until the male broke out into a wide smile and his face morphed into a strange frown.
“Guys, this is Dr. Oh Sehun, the newest member of our unit.” Suddenly Sehun felt four pairs of eyes on him looking as if they were waiting for something. He felt strangely uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do; situations like this one were never easy for him.
“…H-Hello?” He fiddled with the bracelet on his wrist till it fell down and he quickly bent down to pick it up, a blush spreading on his cheeks.
“Oh my God, he is adorable! Where did you find him, Minseok?” Lu Han was making his way over to his side and softly pinched his cheeks, making Sehun flinch away from the contact. A boisterous laugh left Chanyeol’s lips and even Kyungsoo let out a small chuckle, making him look far less intimidating than before.
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Minseok had to admit he felt slightly sorry for the boy. He knew his team could be a handful and Sehun didn’t seem to be too fond of human contact in general. But he couldn’t deny the fact that Sehun looked cute with a blush spread across his cheeks.
As soon as he realized what he was doing, Minseok shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. He was still scolding himself when the door opened and Baekhyun came into the room. It took one second for the small guy to notice the new addition and another two for him to join Lu Han in his cooing.
“Aw, hello handsome. You must be Oh Sehun; it’s so nice to meet you. I’m Byun Baekhyun, the technical analyst of this team.” Baekhyun winked at him before walking to the front of the table, next to Chanyeol.
“Are you cheating on me, Baekhyunnie?” It was hard to suppress the laughter when he saw Sehun’s confused face after Chanyeol stood up to put an arm around the others shoulder, playfully glaring at him.
“You know I would never do that, honey. And now sit down, we have a new case.” Chanyeol let go of Baekhyun in an instant to sit down at the table instead and Minseok was once again happy that his team at least knew when to stop acting like children and start working.
“Okay Beakhyun, tell us what we’ve got.”
“Within the last 3 weeks they found 3 dead bodies in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. All of them showed signs of severe torture, although it appeared to be different methods. The victimology shows that all victims are female, between 18 and 25 years and have brown hair and green eyes, other similarities or connections could not be found up until now. All victims were found dead five days after they went missing. They asked for our help because three days ago another girl went missing that fits the victimology.”
“Is there anything else that connects the cases other than the obvious torture?” Kyungsoo was flipping through the file, reading some of the passages from the reports.
“There is… they found oil paint on every body. I don’t really know what that means and I probably don’t want to know.” Baekhyun shuddered.
“Thank you. Sehun, I hope you’re ready to start, we’ll leave in 30 minutes.”
//////
Minseok couldn’t help but sigh. He loved his job and he knew what he did was important but that didn’t mean it got any easier. Cases like this one were especially hard. Those young girls that were tortured, that lost their lives although they were still so young.
“-seok? Hey, are you there?” Minseok blinked before he focused on Lu Han who was watching him intently. They were on their way to LA and supposed to talk about the case but apparently he didn’t play enough attention. He shook his head and tried to ignore his thoughts and focused on his surroundings.
“I’m sorry. What were you talking about?”
“Why Griffith Park? Near the Observatory no less. Why did the UnSub place the victims there? I’m sure there are better places to get rid of a body.” Chanyeol looked at the file, studying the photos of the locations.
“He probably wanted the bodies to be found or he just didn’t care if they were. Otherwise he could have just placed them somewhere else, even within the park. I’m sure it’s big enough to have some places that are less crowded.” Minseok was about to agree with Kyungsoo when Sehun suddenly started speaking up.
“Actually Griffith Park with an area of 17km2 is one of the biggest city parks within North America and the second biggest one in California only topped by the Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego.”
“Oh my god, why do you know something like that? Sehun, you’re so adorable!” Lu Han was once again all over Sehun, who looked like he didn’t really understand what was going on. Minseok found it hard to suppress a smile himself, but he tried anyway. He really didn’t need Sehun getting under his skin in any way. He was a professional and they had a case to solve.
“Lu Han, leave him alone and focus. The last girl went missing three days ago, which means when the UnSub sticks to his behavior we only have two days left to find her. We need to get back to work.” Lu Han sat back down, leaving a disheveled Sehun behind.
They spend the rest of the flight working on the files and Minseok was happy that he managed to keep his attention where it was supposed to be.
//////
They had arrived yesterday and were still working on the profile. However Minseok found it hard to focus. Sehun had dropped his bracelet once again and it was hard to not look when he was bending down. He had to begrudgingly admit that Sehun had a really nice ass and Minseok could feel himself staring. It was when he heard a cough that he finally managed to look away. He looked for the source of the sound and saw Lu Han grinning at him from across the room, raising his eyebrows suggestively. He was about to voice his displeasure when the door suddenly opened.
“Excuse me, but another body was found in front of the Observatory.”
“What? That can’t be, it doesn’t fit with his behavior. He seems to be losing control or changing his method. We need to get the profile out as soon as possible.” Kyungsoo said before looking and Minseok, waiting for his instructions.
“Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, you’ll accompany the officer and drive to the location they found the body at. Lu Han you prepare for a press conference, we need to inform the public. Sehun, you’ll help me finish the profile.” What Minseok didn’t take into account was that he was now alone with Sehun. The boy was looking at him with this innocent expression and Minseok felt the strange urge to hug him.
“So Sehun, how do you feel about your first day?” Small talk was better than silence and it prevented him from thinking about things he shouldn’t.
“Good…? I guess. The team is really nice, although Lu Han treats me like a kid.” Minseok couldn’t help but laugh, because it was true. Lu Han spend every free minute coddling and cooing at Sehun like he was a baby.
“You’ll get used to it, don’t worry. But let’s get back to work, what do we know about the UnSub?”
“He’s white, around 50 years old. He lives an isolated life, probably owns a house otherwise he wouldn’t be able to keep the women for days without anyone noticing. Regarding to the fact that he suddenly started, it was most likely caused by a traumatic experience in connection with a woman that resembles the victims in appearance. He’s either self-employed or has a job that doesn’t involve a lot of human interaction because he would definitely not be able to hide his behavior.” Minseok felt a spark of pride in his body while Sehun was talking. When he saw the boy for the first time he wasn’t too sure if Sehun was the right person for the job, but the longer they worked together the more he realized that this young man was just as passionate about the job as the rest of his team, maybe even Minseok himself.
“Very good, Sehun.” Minseok choked on his water when he saw the smile that spread over Sehun’s cheeks. He didn’t realize it before but Sehun always had a serious expression on his face and it was the first time he actually saw the younger man smile. He looked beautiful like this, simply breath taking and Minseok had the strong urge to kiss this smile. He shook his head to get his thoughts back together. He hardly knew the kid, why was he feeling like that? They had work to do, there were lives depending on them and those thoughts really didn’t help with that.
///////
Minseok was slowly losing his mind. They were in LA for more than a week now and they didn’t really get any closer to solving the case. Another girl went missing three days ago and he knew that they needed to find the UnSub as fast as possible otherwise the girl would be dead as well.
“Okay let’s go through what we have once again. We must have missed something. What do we know about the victims?” Minseok could see that the others were just as tired as him. They had hardly slept enough and it started to show.
“They were all young women with brown hair and green eyes. Their life was completely normal, some were in college others worked average jobs. There is no connection between any of them, as far as we know they’ve never met each other before. Their bodies were all found near the Observatory at Griffith Park. All of them showed signs of severe torture and some body parts had remains of oil paint on them.” Chanyeol was about to continue talking but a sudden crash stopped him. Minseok looked in the direction of the noise and saw Sehun’s coffee cup on the floor. The boy himself was standing up a strange expression on his face.
“Jigokuhen…”
“What? Sehun, are you okay?” Kyungsoo looked worried. Maybe the lack of sleep was getting to the younger’s head. Minseok was about to send him to the hotel for some hours but Sehun didn’t seem like he was finished.
“No… Call Baekhyun. Please”. Chanyeol was looking at Minseok who nodded his head. He didn’t know what was going on at the moment but he trusted Sehun. And at the moment every idea that could maybe help them was more than welcome.
“Hey, lover boy. What can I do for you today?” It was hard not to roll his eyes at Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s tendencies to flirt with each other. He was angry that the two of them couldn’t keep it on a professional level when it was important but he didn’t say anything. They had more important things to do now.
“Hey Baekhyun, darling. Sehun needs your help so please do your magic.”
“Baekhyun, can you please check if you can find someone in the list of possible UnSubs that fits our profile and is an artist?” Minseok watched the others and felt composed that they looked just as confused as he was.
“Ah Hunnie, you need to be a bit more specific. I found 56 men that fit your description.”
“Is there one that lost a daughter in a fire, maybe? He probably watched her die.”
“Wow okay that was specific. Give me a second.”
“Sehun, can you tell us what you’re talking about?” Minseok didn’t like the feeling of not knowing what was going on. He wanted to be in control of the situation and at the moment Sehun made that nearly impossible.
“That oil paint… I just thought of that Japanese story I read some years ago. It’s called Jigokuhen or ‘Hell Screen’. It’s about an artist who can only draw what he saw before. When he gets a request to draw the Buddhist hell he starts torturing his students so he can draw it. For his last part he wants to draw a girl in a carriage that is on fire. He asks the king for permission to do that and he agrees. When he comes back what he sees is a carriage on fire but the girl sitting in it is his daughter, who was working for the king. At first he’s shocked but his shock transforms into ecstasy and he’s captured by the beauty of the scene. At the end he finishes the Hell Screen and commits suicide, but all the people admire him for his wonderful work. Although the artist in this work commits suicide, the story is based on another text where the man watches his family die in a fire and he just becomes more and more successful after that. I know it’s a bit farfetched but it I thought it could be a possibility.”
Minseok was awed and the others appeared to be as well. Sometimes Sehun really surprised him. When you spend time with the boy you forgot that he was apparently a genius but in moments like that it was made painfully clear why that title fit him so perfectly.
“Okay, Hunnie I don’t know how you did that but I found someone. He… His daughter died 7 years ago; she was 12 at that time. His house was on fire, he and his wife made it out but it was too late for her. He tried to save her but apparently he couldn’t get back into the house and they… Oh my god, they saw their daughter die. She tried to destroy the window but she couldn’t… and the parents just had to watch. She… She had brown hair and green eyes, just like the victims.”
“But why did he suddenly start? 7 years is quite a long time, isn’t it.” Chanyeol seemed to be skeptic.
“Well… his wife left him 2 months ago. It seems like she left him for a different man. I’ll send you the rest of his information and his address. And now I’ll go and watch videos of cats because I can’t deal with those images.”
“Thank you, baby.” Chanyeol hung up and they all started to read the information Baekhyun had send them.
“Sehun you’re a genius. Everything fits. Minseok, what are we going to do?” Lu Han was looking at him questioningly already on his toes to leave and get that asshole behind bars.
“Baekhyun send us two addresses. One is for his flat in the city the other one for an abandoned stable outside the city. We need to split up. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, you’ll drive to his apartment. Lu Han and Sehun you’ll come with me to his property outside the city.”
////////
It took them around 20 minutes to get to their destination. They would have to split up again to make sure the guy wouldn’t get away through the back door. Minseok sent Lu Han to the back because if he was honest he didn’t trust Sehun to go somewhere potentially dangerous alone. Of course he had to learn how to handle a gun but Minseok still felt better about Sehun being next to him.
“Alright Sehun, I want you to stay behind me, okay?” Sehun nodded and Minseok opened the door to the stable. It was dark and quiet but he still got the feeling that someone was in there. Carefully he entered and checked his sides to make sure no one was hiding behind the door. He motioned for Sehun to follow him and they slowly began to walk deeper into the darkness. He motioned for Sehun to check the room on the ride side while he walked to the left. He was about to go back to the other when he could hear a single shot. It didn’t take him more than 5 seconds to run out of the room and the first thing he saw was Sehun laying on the floor and the guy they were supposed to capture had a gun in his hand. It was on instinct that Minseok pulled out his gun and shot. Before the man’s body reached the floor Minseok was next to Sehun, carefully turning him so he could see the damage. From the corner of his eye he could see Lu Han on the phone, apparently calling for help.
“Sehun, you need to stay awake, okay? The ambulance is on the way.” Sehun had been shot in the lower part of his body. Minseok was panicking, the boy was losing so much blood and he could see that he had trouble with staying awake.
“I… I’m sorry… I… wasn’t careful enough.” Sehun was coughing while talking and Minseok really hoped that the ambulance would arrive soon.
“Don’t talk now and you don’t need to be sorry. It wasn’t your fault. But look at you, getting shot on your first case. I really need to be more careful with you the next time.” Minseok tried smiling and he could see Sehun was trying the same.
It felt like an eternity until Minseok heard the siren in the distance. Sehun was still conscious but he knew that he wouldn’t be much longer. He didn’t leave Sehun’s side until the paramedics told him to make some space so they could get Sehun in the car. Lu Han was at his side in an instant, putting an arm around his shoulders and leading him outside.
“Don’t worry, Minseok. He’ll be okay, let’s just drive to the hospital now.”
////////
They’ve been waiting for 4 hours already while Sehun was in surgery and Minseok started to get worried again. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were sleeping in two of the hospital chairs but Minseok felt too agitated to try the same. He was blaming himself for what happened to Sehun. He shouldn’t have sent him into that room alone. He should have known that something like that would happen. Sehun would still be okay if he would have just stayed by his side.
“Minseok, I know that face. It wasn’t your fault and you know it. You did everything they way you should have.” Lu Han was sitting next to him, handing him a cup of coffee. Minseok smiled at him gratefully and took a sip of the hot beverage.
“You really like that kid, don’t you?”
“I… don’t know. Hell, I hardly know him. I just feel responsible for Sehun.” Lu Han put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer to his body.
“Well that’s the closest you’ve gotten to feelings aside from friendship for a long time, so…” Minseok shushed Lu Han when he saw a doctor coming their way. He was standing up in an instant, walking the last steps to the doctor himself.
“I’d like to inform you that the surgery was a full success. The patient was lucky; the bullet didn’t injure any internal organs. He is still week and has so stay at the hospital for at least a week but there won’t be any aftereffects. If you want you can go and see him for some minutes now.” Minseok had a hard time suppressing the urge to hug the doctor so he said his thanks and turned around to hug Lu Han instead. The other boy hugged him back while laughing before he shoved Minseok in the direction of Sehun’s room.
“Come on, go and see the kid. I’ll wake those two idiots up and we’ll follow you in 10 minutes to give you some time.” Lu Han winked before walking back towards Kyungsoo and Chanyeol while signalizing Minseok to finally go.
When he stood in front of the room he took a deep breath before opening the door. Sehun was lying in bed and he looked so pale Minseok started questioning if he was really okay. Slowly he walked towards the bed and sat down on the chair next to it. It took only a minute before Sehun opened his eyes and looked directly at Minseok. Without thinking about it, Minseok leaned towards Sehun and pressed a soft kiss on his lips.
“W… What?” Sehun’s voice was still raspy but the only thing Minseok focused on was the blush that slowly spread over the boy’s cheeks.
It was so cute; Minseok had to hold himself back from kissing him again. He didn’t want to shock Sehun more than he already did.
“I’m sorry; I just wanted to get that over with. I was worried about you and I didn’t want to miss this chance.” Minseok was surprised when he could feel Sehun taking his hand that was lying next to Sehun’s on the bed. A smile spread across his cheeks when he felt Sehun squeeze his hand. It was weak but Minseok knew what it meant.
They’ve only met some weeks ago and definitely didn’t know enough about each other to start something like a relationship. However this contact, this faint touch of two hands meant that they would try. They would give it a chance.
For: S50
Pairings: Chanyeol/Baekhyun as brotp
Rating: PG-13
Length: 4.5k
Summary: Minseok was sure Sehun didn't fit in with his team. He was too young, too inexperienced. It took him one case to see that he was wrong and Sehun did fit in; And maybe not only with the team.
Author's note: When I saw the prompt I knew that if I joined this would be the only prompt I’d be willing to try. I'm absolutely in love with Criminal Minds and EXO and those two things together seemed so interesting (inspiration for the title and part of the story by 地獄変 written by Akutagawa Ryûnosuke)
It was still early when Minseok entered the building. There should still be about an hour left before the others arrived but he preferred to have some time for himself and his paperwork before he wouldn’t get a second of peace and quiet anymore. Not that he didn’t love his team, but sometimes they were a bit too much to handle. He worked with some of the most talented people in their field of work but it didn’t stop them from acting like little children when they got the chance to.
He was so focused on his work that he didn’t hear someone entering his office until that person was clearing their throat. In an instant Minseok snapped his head up and his hand automatically reached for his right side. It only took one second to realize that the boy in front of him was definitely not dangerous and that he probably overreacted. He silently chuckled, relaxed his shoulders and leaned back in his chair.
“How can I help you?” He let his eyes roam over the boy in front of him. He was tall, had blonde hair and a face that most -Minseok included- would consider good looking. For some reason he looked intimidated. Minseok couldn’t imagine one reason why this boy was here, he rather looked like he should be on his way to his college classes.
“Are you… Are you Kim Minseok?” One of Minseok’s eyebrows lifted questioningly. First of all he was pretty sure his name was written on his door and there was a nameplate on his desk. What was more surprising was that the other seemed to be intent on preventing any possible eye contact, preferring to stare somewhere behind Minseok.
“Yes, I am.” Minseok waited for the boy to tell him what he wanted from him, but the other just continued starring at the wall. It was silent for some time and he could see how the young man started fidgeting, but still he didn’t say a word. With a sigh Minseok gestured to the seat in front of his desk, asking the other to sit down.
“Look, why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”
“Oh… right. Mr. Wu told me to come here today.” Again he couldn’t stop the sigh that left his mouth. It was too early to deal with this kid, because he apparently had no idea how to hold an actual conversation. For a lack of a better world this whole situation was just… awkward.
“And he did that because…?” At least the boy had the decency to blush at his own incompetence when it came to human interaction.
“I’m… the new member of the BAU. My name is Oh Sehun.” For a second time this morning Minseok stared at the guy in front of him, this time shocked. That was Oh Sehun? Of course he knew they would get a new member for their unit but if he was being honest he suspected someone… older, more mature. The man in front of him didn’t look old enough to have achieved all the things Minseok heard about him, least of all having enough experience to join his unit. He knew the other was some kind of protégé, not to mention a genius; nevertheless he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that the boy would need a babysitter, and Minseok didn’t have the time for that.
However it wasn’t like he could do anything about it, Mr. Wu had made sure he knew that. So he just held out his hand and waited for Sehun to give him the documents he brought with him.
“Well then… Welcome to the team,… Dr.?” The older threw a questioning gaze at Sehun, who just nodded, a slight blush spreading on his cheek once again. At least the part about Sehun being a genius was apparently true then. Once glance at his age showed that he needing a babysitter probably was a fact as well.
Sighing for the millionth time this morning he spared a single look at his watch, realizing that it was already time for the others to arrive at the office. So that was it with his peace and quiet. Silently he stood up and gestured to Sehun to do the same.
“Please follow me, Dr. Oh. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team.”
///////
To say Sehun was nervous was probably an understatement. He had already been on edge this morning, knowing that he would meet someone he admired and looked up to paired with his inability to function when it came to human interaction. Kim Minseok was well known not only because he was head of the most successful team of the BAU but the fact that he achieved this position at such a young age. Seeing the man face to face now, he felt even more intimidated. It didn’t help that he would meet the rest of the team now. If they were anything like Minseok, Sehun was sure he would embarrass himself.
“Wow, Minseok. I didn’t know it was ‘bring your child to work’ day.”
“Shut up, Chanyeol. Sehun, this is Special Agent Park Chanyeol.” Sehun looked up and was faced with the biggest grin he had ever seen.
The other had a handsome face although it didn’t really match his voice. The other enthusiastically waved at him and Sehun questioned how someone could be so hyper so early in the morning.
“This is Special Agent Do Kyungsoo.” The next guy looked as intimidating as Minseok himself. He had big eyes and a rather childish face but his glare made it impossible for Sehun to directly look at him.
“And this is Special Agent Lu Han second in command and also our Media liaison.” Sehun looked at the last guy at the table. He was thin with honey blonde hair and a face Sehun couldn’t describe as anything else than pretty. That was until the male broke out into a wide smile and his face morphed into a strange frown.
“Guys, this is Dr. Oh Sehun, the newest member of our unit.” Suddenly Sehun felt four pairs of eyes on him looking as if they were waiting for something. He felt strangely uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do; situations like this one were never easy for him.
“…H-Hello?” He fiddled with the bracelet on his wrist till it fell down and he quickly bent down to pick it up, a blush spreading on his cheeks.
“Oh my God, he is adorable! Where did you find him, Minseok?” Lu Han was making his way over to his side and softly pinched his cheeks, making Sehun flinch away from the contact. A boisterous laugh left Chanyeol’s lips and even Kyungsoo let out a small chuckle, making him look far less intimidating than before.
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Minseok had to admit he felt slightly sorry for the boy. He knew his team could be a handful and Sehun didn’t seem to be too fond of human contact in general. But he couldn’t deny the fact that Sehun looked cute with a blush spread across his cheeks.
As soon as he realized what he was doing, Minseok shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. He was still scolding himself when the door opened and Baekhyun came into the room. It took one second for the small guy to notice the new addition and another two for him to join Lu Han in his cooing.
“Aw, hello handsome. You must be Oh Sehun; it’s so nice to meet you. I’m Byun Baekhyun, the technical analyst of this team.” Baekhyun winked at him before walking to the front of the table, next to Chanyeol.
“Are you cheating on me, Baekhyunnie?” It was hard to suppress the laughter when he saw Sehun’s confused face after Chanyeol stood up to put an arm around the others shoulder, playfully glaring at him.
“You know I would never do that, honey. And now sit down, we have a new case.” Chanyeol let go of Baekhyun in an instant to sit down at the table instead and Minseok was once again happy that his team at least knew when to stop acting like children and start working.
“Okay Beakhyun, tell us what we’ve got.”
“Within the last 3 weeks they found 3 dead bodies in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. All of them showed signs of severe torture, although it appeared to be different methods. The victimology shows that all victims are female, between 18 and 25 years and have brown hair and green eyes, other similarities or connections could not be found up until now. All victims were found dead five days after they went missing. They asked for our help because three days ago another girl went missing that fits the victimology.”
“Is there anything else that connects the cases other than the obvious torture?” Kyungsoo was flipping through the file, reading some of the passages from the reports.
“There is… they found oil paint on every body. I don’t really know what that means and I probably don’t want to know.” Baekhyun shuddered.
“Thank you. Sehun, I hope you’re ready to start, we’ll leave in 30 minutes.”
//////
Minseok couldn’t help but sigh. He loved his job and he knew what he did was important but that didn’t mean it got any easier. Cases like this one were especially hard. Those young girls that were tortured, that lost their lives although they were still so young.
“-seok? Hey, are you there?” Minseok blinked before he focused on Lu Han who was watching him intently. They were on their way to LA and supposed to talk about the case but apparently he didn’t play enough attention. He shook his head and tried to ignore his thoughts and focused on his surroundings.
“I’m sorry. What were you talking about?”
“Why Griffith Park? Near the Observatory no less. Why did the UnSub place the victims there? I’m sure there are better places to get rid of a body.” Chanyeol looked at the file, studying the photos of the locations.
“He probably wanted the bodies to be found or he just didn’t care if they were. Otherwise he could have just placed them somewhere else, even within the park. I’m sure it’s big enough to have some places that are less crowded.” Minseok was about to agree with Kyungsoo when Sehun suddenly started speaking up.
“Actually Griffith Park with an area of 17km2 is one of the biggest city parks within North America and the second biggest one in California only topped by the Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego.”
“Oh my god, why do you know something like that? Sehun, you’re so adorable!” Lu Han was once again all over Sehun, who looked like he didn’t really understand what was going on. Minseok found it hard to suppress a smile himself, but he tried anyway. He really didn’t need Sehun getting under his skin in any way. He was a professional and they had a case to solve.
“Lu Han, leave him alone and focus. The last girl went missing three days ago, which means when the UnSub sticks to his behavior we only have two days left to find her. We need to get back to work.” Lu Han sat back down, leaving a disheveled Sehun behind.
They spend the rest of the flight working on the files and Minseok was happy that he managed to keep his attention where it was supposed to be.
//////
They had arrived yesterday and were still working on the profile. However Minseok found it hard to focus. Sehun had dropped his bracelet once again and it was hard to not look when he was bending down. He had to begrudgingly admit that Sehun had a really nice ass and Minseok could feel himself staring. It was when he heard a cough that he finally managed to look away. He looked for the source of the sound and saw Lu Han grinning at him from across the room, raising his eyebrows suggestively. He was about to voice his displeasure when the door suddenly opened.
“Excuse me, but another body was found in front of the Observatory.”
“What? That can’t be, it doesn’t fit with his behavior. He seems to be losing control or changing his method. We need to get the profile out as soon as possible.” Kyungsoo said before looking and Minseok, waiting for his instructions.
“Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, you’ll accompany the officer and drive to the location they found the body at. Lu Han you prepare for a press conference, we need to inform the public. Sehun, you’ll help me finish the profile.” What Minseok didn’t take into account was that he was now alone with Sehun. The boy was looking at him with this innocent expression and Minseok felt the strange urge to hug him.
“So Sehun, how do you feel about your first day?” Small talk was better than silence and it prevented him from thinking about things he shouldn’t.
“Good…? I guess. The team is really nice, although Lu Han treats me like a kid.” Minseok couldn’t help but laugh, because it was true. Lu Han spend every free minute coddling and cooing at Sehun like he was a baby.
“You’ll get used to it, don’t worry. But let’s get back to work, what do we know about the UnSub?”
“He’s white, around 50 years old. He lives an isolated life, probably owns a house otherwise he wouldn’t be able to keep the women for days without anyone noticing. Regarding to the fact that he suddenly started, it was most likely caused by a traumatic experience in connection with a woman that resembles the victims in appearance. He’s either self-employed or has a job that doesn’t involve a lot of human interaction because he would definitely not be able to hide his behavior.” Minseok felt a spark of pride in his body while Sehun was talking. When he saw the boy for the first time he wasn’t too sure if Sehun was the right person for the job, but the longer they worked together the more he realized that this young man was just as passionate about the job as the rest of his team, maybe even Minseok himself.
“Very good, Sehun.” Minseok choked on his water when he saw the smile that spread over Sehun’s cheeks. He didn’t realize it before but Sehun always had a serious expression on his face and it was the first time he actually saw the younger man smile. He looked beautiful like this, simply breath taking and Minseok had the strong urge to kiss this smile. He shook his head to get his thoughts back together. He hardly knew the kid, why was he feeling like that? They had work to do, there were lives depending on them and those thoughts really didn’t help with that.
///////
Minseok was slowly losing his mind. They were in LA for more than a week now and they didn’t really get any closer to solving the case. Another girl went missing three days ago and he knew that they needed to find the UnSub as fast as possible otherwise the girl would be dead as well.
“Okay let’s go through what we have once again. We must have missed something. What do we know about the victims?” Minseok could see that the others were just as tired as him. They had hardly slept enough and it started to show.
“They were all young women with brown hair and green eyes. Their life was completely normal, some were in college others worked average jobs. There is no connection between any of them, as far as we know they’ve never met each other before. Their bodies were all found near the Observatory at Griffith Park. All of them showed signs of severe torture and some body parts had remains of oil paint on them.” Chanyeol was about to continue talking but a sudden crash stopped him. Minseok looked in the direction of the noise and saw Sehun’s coffee cup on the floor. The boy himself was standing up a strange expression on his face.
“Jigokuhen…”
“What? Sehun, are you okay?” Kyungsoo looked worried. Maybe the lack of sleep was getting to the younger’s head. Minseok was about to send him to the hotel for some hours but Sehun didn’t seem like he was finished.
“No… Call Baekhyun. Please”. Chanyeol was looking at Minseok who nodded his head. He didn’t know what was going on at the moment but he trusted Sehun. And at the moment every idea that could maybe help them was more than welcome.
“Hey, lover boy. What can I do for you today?” It was hard not to roll his eyes at Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s tendencies to flirt with each other. He was angry that the two of them couldn’t keep it on a professional level when it was important but he didn’t say anything. They had more important things to do now.
“Hey Baekhyun, darling. Sehun needs your help so please do your magic.”
“Baekhyun, can you please check if you can find someone in the list of possible UnSubs that fits our profile and is an artist?” Minseok watched the others and felt composed that they looked just as confused as he was.
“Ah Hunnie, you need to be a bit more specific. I found 56 men that fit your description.”
“Is there one that lost a daughter in a fire, maybe? He probably watched her die.”
“Wow okay that was specific. Give me a second.”
“Sehun, can you tell us what you’re talking about?” Minseok didn’t like the feeling of not knowing what was going on. He wanted to be in control of the situation and at the moment Sehun made that nearly impossible.
“That oil paint… I just thought of that Japanese story I read some years ago. It’s called Jigokuhen or ‘Hell Screen’. It’s about an artist who can only draw what he saw before. When he gets a request to draw the Buddhist hell he starts torturing his students so he can draw it. For his last part he wants to draw a girl in a carriage that is on fire. He asks the king for permission to do that and he agrees. When he comes back what he sees is a carriage on fire but the girl sitting in it is his daughter, who was working for the king. At first he’s shocked but his shock transforms into ecstasy and he’s captured by the beauty of the scene. At the end he finishes the Hell Screen and commits suicide, but all the people admire him for his wonderful work. Although the artist in this work commits suicide, the story is based on another text where the man watches his family die in a fire and he just becomes more and more successful after that. I know it’s a bit farfetched but it I thought it could be a possibility.”
Minseok was awed and the others appeared to be as well. Sometimes Sehun really surprised him. When you spend time with the boy you forgot that he was apparently a genius but in moments like that it was made painfully clear why that title fit him so perfectly.
“Okay, Hunnie I don’t know how you did that but I found someone. He… His daughter died 7 years ago; she was 12 at that time. His house was on fire, he and his wife made it out but it was too late for her. He tried to save her but apparently he couldn’t get back into the house and they… Oh my god, they saw their daughter die. She tried to destroy the window but she couldn’t… and the parents just had to watch. She… She had brown hair and green eyes, just like the victims.”
“But why did he suddenly start? 7 years is quite a long time, isn’t it.” Chanyeol seemed to be skeptic.
“Well… his wife left him 2 months ago. It seems like she left him for a different man. I’ll send you the rest of his information and his address. And now I’ll go and watch videos of cats because I can’t deal with those images.”
“Thank you, baby.” Chanyeol hung up and they all started to read the information Baekhyun had send them.
“Sehun you’re a genius. Everything fits. Minseok, what are we going to do?” Lu Han was looking at him questioningly already on his toes to leave and get that asshole behind bars.
“Baekhyun send us two addresses. One is for his flat in the city the other one for an abandoned stable outside the city. We need to split up. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, you’ll drive to his apartment. Lu Han and Sehun you’ll come with me to his property outside the city.”
////////
It took them around 20 minutes to get to their destination. They would have to split up again to make sure the guy wouldn’t get away through the back door. Minseok sent Lu Han to the back because if he was honest he didn’t trust Sehun to go somewhere potentially dangerous alone. Of course he had to learn how to handle a gun but Minseok still felt better about Sehun being next to him.
“Alright Sehun, I want you to stay behind me, okay?” Sehun nodded and Minseok opened the door to the stable. It was dark and quiet but he still got the feeling that someone was in there. Carefully he entered and checked his sides to make sure no one was hiding behind the door. He motioned for Sehun to follow him and they slowly began to walk deeper into the darkness. He motioned for Sehun to check the room on the ride side while he walked to the left. He was about to go back to the other when he could hear a single shot. It didn’t take him more than 5 seconds to run out of the room and the first thing he saw was Sehun laying on the floor and the guy they were supposed to capture had a gun in his hand. It was on instinct that Minseok pulled out his gun and shot. Before the man’s body reached the floor Minseok was next to Sehun, carefully turning him so he could see the damage. From the corner of his eye he could see Lu Han on the phone, apparently calling for help.
“Sehun, you need to stay awake, okay? The ambulance is on the way.” Sehun had been shot in the lower part of his body. Minseok was panicking, the boy was losing so much blood and he could see that he had trouble with staying awake.
“I… I’m sorry… I… wasn’t careful enough.” Sehun was coughing while talking and Minseok really hoped that the ambulance would arrive soon.
“Don’t talk now and you don’t need to be sorry. It wasn’t your fault. But look at you, getting shot on your first case. I really need to be more careful with you the next time.” Minseok tried smiling and he could see Sehun was trying the same.
It felt like an eternity until Minseok heard the siren in the distance. Sehun was still conscious but he knew that he wouldn’t be much longer. He didn’t leave Sehun’s side until the paramedics told him to make some space so they could get Sehun in the car. Lu Han was at his side in an instant, putting an arm around his shoulders and leading him outside.
“Don’t worry, Minseok. He’ll be okay, let’s just drive to the hospital now.”
////////
They’ve been waiting for 4 hours already while Sehun was in surgery and Minseok started to get worried again. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were sleeping in two of the hospital chairs but Minseok felt too agitated to try the same. He was blaming himself for what happened to Sehun. He shouldn’t have sent him into that room alone. He should have known that something like that would happen. Sehun would still be okay if he would have just stayed by his side.
“Minseok, I know that face. It wasn’t your fault and you know it. You did everything they way you should have.” Lu Han was sitting next to him, handing him a cup of coffee. Minseok smiled at him gratefully and took a sip of the hot beverage.
“You really like that kid, don’t you?”
“I… don’t know. Hell, I hardly know him. I just feel responsible for Sehun.” Lu Han put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer to his body.
“Well that’s the closest you’ve gotten to feelings aside from friendship for a long time, so…” Minseok shushed Lu Han when he saw a doctor coming their way. He was standing up in an instant, walking the last steps to the doctor himself.
“I’d like to inform you that the surgery was a full success. The patient was lucky; the bullet didn’t injure any internal organs. He is still week and has so stay at the hospital for at least a week but there won’t be any aftereffects. If you want you can go and see him for some minutes now.” Minseok had a hard time suppressing the urge to hug the doctor so he said his thanks and turned around to hug Lu Han instead. The other boy hugged him back while laughing before he shoved Minseok in the direction of Sehun’s room.
“Come on, go and see the kid. I’ll wake those two idiots up and we’ll follow you in 10 minutes to give you some time.” Lu Han winked before walking back towards Kyungsoo and Chanyeol while signalizing Minseok to finally go.
When he stood in front of the room he took a deep breath before opening the door. Sehun was lying in bed and he looked so pale Minseok started questioning if he was really okay. Slowly he walked towards the bed and sat down on the chair next to it. It took only a minute before Sehun opened his eyes and looked directly at Minseok. Without thinking about it, Minseok leaned towards Sehun and pressed a soft kiss on his lips.
“W… What?” Sehun’s voice was still raspy but the only thing Minseok focused on was the blush that slowly spread over the boy’s cheeks.
It was so cute; Minseok had to hold himself back from kissing him again. He didn’t want to shock Sehun more than he already did.
“I’m sorry; I just wanted to get that over with. I was worried about you and I didn’t want to miss this chance.” Minseok was surprised when he could feel Sehun taking his hand that was lying next to Sehun’s on the bed. A smile spread across his cheeks when he felt Sehun squeeze his hand. It was weak but Minseok knew what it meant.
They’ve only met some weeks ago and definitely didn’t know enough about each other to start something like a relationship. However this contact, this faint touch of two hands meant that they would try. They would give it a chance.