Haknyeon limped around, clutching his arm as dried blood sat underneath his dried blood coated hand. He had been wandering for hours, each route more unfamiliar than the last. A precinct. He needed to find a precinct. He leaned against a wall before collapsing to the ground. He was low on energy from not having eaten nor drank anything in hours, not to mention having lost blood. He curled into himself, hoping to get rid of the pain.

"Where is he!?" someone shouted.

"Spread out! Turn everything upside down!" another shouted.

"If we let him get away, we might as well be dead ourselves!" another voice shouted.

Haknyeon quickly crawled into a small corner, hoping he'd go unnoticed. He did figure things would turn out with a search, but not to this degree. Everywhere he looked there was someone searching for him. At most he thought a dozen would be after him.

"I'm all alone to top it off... God I knew this would have terrible consequences, but I couldn't just sit there and die either..." thought Haknyeon as he continued to hear shouts.

୨୧⑅︎*‬‪*⑅︎୨୧︎

Hyunjoon sat in the back of the police car as they patrolled the streets of where Haknyeon was last seen. His leg bounced feverishly as the car came to a stop at a light.

"How we doing back there, Joon?" the officer asked.

Hyunjoon looked up briefly before going back into his headspace. He didn't want to imagine what unspeakable torture they were putting Haknyeon through. That timid, soft spoken Haknyeon. When they found the perpetrators, he'd make them all suffer.

"Great talk..." the officer whispered as the light changed. He decided to try again with a different topic. "So uh, you don't remember anything about yourself, right?"

"We both don't. We woke up in Gwanju together, had a rocky start and now we're buds." explained Hyunjoon in short.

"Well, I'll be glad to tell you all about yourself and Haknyeon. The thing with Haknyeon, he's a really tough guy, hard to communicate with. He never let people get close. That is, until you and he came along." they said, making another turn.

"He? Who is he?" Hyunjoon demanded.

"We officers aren't allowed to talk about him openly but, for your sake... Kevin Moon. He was the only other trusted person. He's no longer on the force though. He committed an irreversible crime." they explained, making sure to keep their voice low. Hyunjoon pressed for answers. "He shot and killed two innocents."

Hyunjoon blinked in surprise. He didn't know this Kevin Moon person, but after hearing his name again, a certain feeling settled inside him.

"He was the only person to rival Haknyeon's skill. He really was an exceptional officer. Guess you really don't know a person..." they said, stopping at a light. "But these are just stories I heard. I wasn't on the force yet when he was let go."

Hyunjoon covered his face as the name Kevin Moon remained present in his mind. What was Kevin Moon to them? To him?

୨୧⑅︎*‬‪*⑅︎୨୧︎

Hyunjoon searched around with the officer on foot in a poorish neighborhood. Hyunjoon swallowed as he could feel menacing looks and greedy eyes on him. It was obvious the police weren't welcome here. Even then he had to press on. Haknyeon was in danger.

"Excuse me but, have you seen this man?" the officer asked while Hyunjoon looked around.

A few children ran down the block chasing each other. The sight tugged at his heartstrings. Them and their families deserved better. He was brought out of his thoughts by the officer tapping him, signaling they had to get a move on. He watched the children a bit more before following.

"Do you really think those guys pursuing us would be hiding out here?" he asked, hoping the children weren't accomplices.

"They always say look where you least expect, but for people like them, they're more often than not in plain sight." they said, looking inside stores and buildings.

Hyunjoon froze in place as a memory came back to him. The officer quickly pulled him into their arms as he fell off balance.

"Why won't we check in the place I deduced?"

"Because nothing is there."

"What makes you so sure, Hak?"

"The reason why so many criminals get a step ahead is because they hide in plain sight. They blend in with the general public and gather information that way."

"I doubt that..."

.
..
...

"This is officer Heo of the 13th precinct. We have apprehended the suspect involved with illegal smuggling. We're bringing him in for questioning."

"I can't believe it. He really was in plain sight..."

"The simpler plans are sometimes harder to spot because we overthink, Joon."

Hyunjoon opened his eyes and found himself back in the police car. He sat up and saw the officer reading something on their phone.

"Oh, you're conscious. How are you feeling?" they asked worriedly.

"I'm okay... I think." he responded, rubbing his forehead. He looked around then narrowed his eyes. "You're right about them being in plain sight, but I don't think it's here."

"Huh? What do-" they started then suddenly found themselves being pulled out of the driver seat. "You can't drive without a license!"

"So it's okay to let a person die then?" Hyunjoon challenged.

The officer got into the passenger seat as Hyunjoon took off.

୨୧⑅︎*‬‪*⑅︎୨୧︎

Haknyeon slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on a bed. He didn't recognize the place. Was he captured? No, they wouldn't give him something this luxurious. In fact, he'd be dead if they found him. He moved to sit up then felt a searing pain in his left arm. His wound had been bandaged up. Now he definitely had to find out who had taken him in and why.

The door opened and a small child had come in carrying a cup. Haknyeon kept his guard up, not entirely sure if he could trust the small girl.

"Mommy says this is for you." she said with a toothy grin.

"Thank you... Where is your mom?" he asked softly.

"Downstairs. She talking to our landlord about money stuff." she explained, clasping her hands behind her.

Haknyeon nodded then took a sip of the blue colored liquid. It turned out to be juice. The little girl looked at him expectantly.

"It's good, thank you. So, do you know why your mom brought me here?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"She told me to help those in need." she said. "So I guess you were needy, mister."

He quietly nodded and drank more juice. He'd be safe for now as long as no one saw the woman dragging his body to her home. The last thing he wanted was for innocent people to get caught up in his mess. His mind eventually drifted to Hyunjoon. How was he doing? Was he worried about him? Was he happy to finally be rid of him? He found himself sighing before lying back on the bed. He now had to worry about sneaking away without the woman and child noticing.

"Mister, where are you from?" she asked, sitting on the floor beside the bed.

"I'm from Seoul, just like you." he responded, closing his eyes.

"Really? That's so cool." she said with a bright smile. "Why were you hurt though...?"

"Bad people were chasing me. They want to hurt me." said Haknyeon softly.

"Why? You're so nice..." she said with a pout.

Haknyeon sat up and looked her straight in the eyes. She was the naive type. He let out a sigh then had her come closer to him.

"I want you to listen closely and take these words to heart, okay?" he said, receiving a nod in return. "Not everyone in the world has good intentions towards you and other people. Some want to hurt you very bad because you did something they didn't like. Some do it for no reason at all. Don't be too quick to trust people. Observe them a bit before deciding."

The little girl sat in silence as her mind tried breaking it down into terms she understood. It finally clicked and she gave him a curt nod. Haknyeon gave her a small smile as he patted her head.

"Are you a person with bad intentions?" she asked.

"I wish I could give you an answer... I don't have any memories of myself." he replied, lying back down.

"Where did they go?" she inquired.

"Far away. I'll find them again." said Haknyeon, looking at the worried girl.

"Promise me you'll find them then come back to let me know." she stated then held out her pinky.

Haknyeon linked his pinky with hers then felt his heart contract slightly at the sight of her smile. He sincerely hoped no one had noticed the woman.

୨୧⑅︎*‬‪*⑅︎୨୧︎

Hyunjoon got out of the car and left the officer behind. He hoped his gut feeling was right. He looked closely at things, hoping some sort of message was left behind. He accidentally kicked a can and watched it ricoshae off the wall and go into a small corner. He walked over to the corner then noticed something rather interesting.

He squatted down and carefully inspected the ground. There were tiny dark spots along the ground with another spot that looked as if someone had spit.

"There you are! Don't run off like that. What if we lost you too?" they hissed, joining him by his side.

"Can you get someone down here to inspect this? I want to be sure that my hunch is right." said Hyunjoon, his dormant self coming to light.

The officer blinked before quickly asking for forensics to meet them. Here he had thought Hyunjoon didn't remember anything yet he could clearly see it in his eyes. The eyes of an experienced officer who's seen things.

Some time passed and the forensics team had arrived. The officer directed them then looked around. Hyunjoon hadn't come back and it was worrying them. What if he had gotten captured as well? The entire precinct would be on their ass for being irresponsible.

"It looks like we've got a match." said forensics, showing the officer the data. "Both belong to Ju Haknyeon."

"Holy... how did he know..." the officer whispered, staring at the results. "See if you can find any clues hinting to his current whereabouts."

୨୧⑅︎*‬‪*⑅︎୨୧︎

Hyunjoon yawned as he exited yet another alley. Why couldn't he find Haknyeon? Had he been captured yet again? He shook his head. Haknyeon was strong when it counted. He passed by a building and noticed a woman sitting outside and smoking.

"Excuse me, miss." he called out. She looked up at him then let out a puff of smoke in his face. "Have you seen him?"

Her eyes briefly widened before returning to normal. She shook her head, claiming she hadn't. What did this man want with the guy she helped? He couldn't have good intentions.

"Really... Well, if you do, please let me know." he said before walking away.

She exhaled, a slow and steady stream of smoke emitting from her slightly parted lips. She managed to ward off one threat. Her eyes went wide as saucers as Hyunjoon had suddenly appeared before her again and too close for comfort at that.

"Miss, are you absolutely sure you don't know where this man is?" Hyunjoon pressed, now towering over her.

"I'm pretty sure. I have no reason to lie to an officer." she said, frowning.

"Yet you currently are. Unsteady drags, your finger shaking, perspiration... not mention your tone of voice. I advise you to be honest otherwise I'll take you in." threatened Hyunjoon.

The woman weighed her options before giving in. She couldn't leave her daughter. She needed her. She looked around before having Hyunjoon follow her upstairs. She unlocked the door to her apartment then heard footsteps approaching them.

"Mommy's back!" the little girl exclaimed before pausing at the sight of Hyunjoon. "Mommy, who is he...?"

"Well that's certainly not like you. Usually you'd be introducing yourself and whatnot..." her mother commented, finding her behavior strange.

"I learned things!" she said happily.

"I'm officer Heo, but you may call me Hyunjoon. Your mother is haboring a friend of mine." said Hyunjoon, looking around.

"He's back that way where she came from, last door on the left." she mumbled.

Hyunjoon followed her instructions then quietly opened the door to the room. There was someone lying in the bed.

"Hak...?" he called out softly. Nothing. "Haknyeon?"