The whole world is different under the cover of darkness. All of its eccentricities that are seen in the light become concealed. Everything seems simpler when it is deep into the night. There is nothing to see, nothing but darkness. There is nothing to worry about, all burdens are hidden beneath night's cloak. Many people are afraid of the dark. They believe it turns the world into the unknown. But Kyungsoo loved the dark. It turns the world into the completely understandable. When it became dark, and his eyes could no longer see, everything ceased to exist. Everything but him.

But tonight, the street lights reminded him that the world still lived on. And so did all of his troubles. Kyungsoo couldn't help but wonder if he had made a mistake agreeing to let Sehun and Jongdae work with him. And something bothered him about Junmyeon. But still, Junmyeon was not a priority, and the brothers were quickly trying to make him become one. They had Kyungsoo out, late into the night, to investigate him. Kyungsoo would have preferred to be investigating his biggest suspect. Or rather, deciding who the biggest suspect was.

"Perhaps... you?" Kyungsoo muttered to himself.

His train of thought was interrupted by a car pulling up to the curb. It was a nice car. It had to be those two. The back window rolled down and Sehun leaned out to wave Kyungsoo over. Kyungsoo stepped off the side walk and pulled the door open. Sehun moved over and Kyungsoo climbed in. Jongdae didn't bother turning around to look at Kyungsoo, he just pulled away from the curb as soon as the door closed.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Sehun said, trying to break the silence.

"Only a few days," Kyungsoo said. "I assume you haven't made any progress?"

"Not really," Sehun shrugged. "I think we'll get somewhere tonight though."

"Isn't there any one close to your Father who might know something?" Kyungsoo asked.

Sehun looked down slightly. "We're all he's got."

"What about your mother?" The question left Kyungsoo's mouth before he really had a chance to think about it.

"She died when I was very young, a long time ago." Sehun avoided Kyungsoo's eyes. "So, she doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Oh, I see." Kyungsoo looked out the window. "I won't ask again."

The conversation ended as they pulled into the parking lot. Gradually, they pulled closer to that building. It's worn bricks and foggy windows taunted them with memories. The car slowed to a stop. None of them moved to get out. Even the darkness could not cover that burden. The highschool remained there, ever present. Jongdae opened his door.

"Come on," He said.

The three of them approached their old school slowly. Painful memories surfaced. Kyungsoo closed his eyes, unwilling to let it overwhelm him.

"Never thought I'd ever come back here," Jongdae said. "Things were pretty awful after that day. The atmosphere at school was absolutely suffocating. You have no idea how badly I wanted to leave this school, but Father wouldn't let me. He said we 'shouldn't bend to fear'."

"He really was doing his best back then," Sehun said, a wistful expression on his face.

"To torture us maybe," Jongdae muttered, climbing the stairs and pulling the doors open.

Sehun didn't move, the comment clearly upsetting him. Kyungsoo couldn't get his legs to bring him any closer to those doors. He didn't feel afraid, just... sick. Jongdae looked back at the two of them, apparently misinterpreting their hesitance.

"Come on, don't be nervous." He said. "There's no way anyone's here at this hour."

Sehun rolled his eyes and grabbed Kyungsoo's arm, pulling him through the doors. The two of them walked side by side, Jongdae far in the lead. He seemed all too anxious to get to the storage room. Sehun looked around the school with an almost nostalgic expression. But these halls were not the ones Kyungsoo had known so well. Everything seemed to have been renovated. The sick feeling in his stomach lessened.

"You know," Sehun said, quietly enough for his brother not to hear. "Dad tried so hard to rebuild after that day. I'm sure you can tell, but he made a lot of improvements to the building. He tried to improve the policies too. Isn't that wonderful? I really admire him."

"Your brother doesn't seem to," Kyungsoo said, looking ahead at Jongdae.

Sehun sighed. "I know. They haven't had a good relationship for as long as I can remember. I hate it. I wish they could get along. But it seems like no matter what Dad does, Jongdae misunderstands him. Dad has been nothing but kind and wonderful to me... if not a little controlling at times."

"Controlling?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Well, he wants me to quit my job. He says a studio isn't a 'prestigious' job." Sehun laughed, somewhat dejectedly. "Stupid, right? But, I know he's only doing it out of love. He really does just want the best for us."

"Of course," Kyungsoo said, more so out of courtesy than anything.

"I trust Jongdae, more than you can imagine, but..." Sehun looked at his brother. "Our father would never kill anyone. I want to help you Kyungsoo, really. I wouldn't be here at this hour if I didn't. So, once we clear up Dad's name with Jongdae, I'll do everything I can to catch the real killer."

"I see," Kyungsoo felt no comfort from those words.

At last, they reached the storage room. Jongdae pulled the door open, revealing the room full of files. They all stepped inside the dark little room. Sehun flicked on the light, immediately blinding them. After his eyes adjusted, Kyungsoo glanced around at the different labels.

"I'll look through the through financial papers, you two look through student and teacher records." He said, pulling open one of the filing cabinets.

The three of them worked in silence, the only sound to fill the room was that of papers shuffling. Kyungsoo's eyelids grew heavier with every passing second. Every blink was a bet that his eyes would open again. Still, he tried to focus on the task at hand. Progress was slow, and he was no expert in finances, but he pushed forward. He couldn't help but jump when a gasp sounded from the other side of the room.

"Hey, come 'ere." Sehun motioned for the other two to come over. "Look, I found some class photos."

Sehun laid out the pictures of smiling faces. Some were recent, filled with students none of them recognized. But some of them were old, filled with all too familiar faces. Kyungsoo picked one up gently. His own smiling face stared back at him, young and lighthearted. Three ghosts stood beside him. Kyungsoo slipped the photo into his pocket.

He crossed back to the other side of the room. He picked up were he left off, eyes fully open. The endless meaningless numbers flitted past, speaking no real information to him. Then, a voice made him freeze. One of the papers spoke to him. A record of donations in the year 2010. The year Kyungsoo was turned into a murderer.

"I found something," Kyungsoo said.

The two brothers rushed over. They leaned over his shoulder to read the paper. It took them only a few seconds to discern its message.

"The donations," Jongdae muttered. "They really spiked after that day, didn't they?"

"Tragedy brings sympathy, sympathy brings restlessness. And when people get restless, they give money." Kyungsoo said. "Right?"

"Of course," Sehun said, stepping back. "That's only natural, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's only natural," Jongdae gritted his teeth. "He had to have known it's only natural."

"In the end," Kyungsoo clenched the paper so tightly it began to wrinkle. "He profited from it, didn't he?"

"What..." Sehun looked between the two of them. "What are you saying?"

"We're saying he killed them for money," Jongdae said, venom in his tone.

"You can't be serious!" Sehun grabbed his brother's arm. "He isn't that greedy, Jongdae."

Jongdae ripped his arm away. "You don't have any idea what you're talking about!"

"Stop it!" Sehun screamed. "Just stop it! Why are you being like this? Why do you keep attacking him?"

"I know you haven't seen it, Sehun. But he isn't a good person, believe me, he isn't." Jongdae said.

"That's enough!" Kyungsoo yelled, instantly silencing both of them. "You're acting like children."

Kyungsoo pushed past the two of them. He was too tired to deal with them. And he had already wasted enough precious minutes in that horrible building. He got to the exit in half the time the first trip had taken. Before he could open the doors, the other two caught up to him.

"Kyungsoo-" Jongdae started.

"We're done working together." Kyungsoo said, coldly. "Thank you for your help but it's run its course. That paper isn't proof of anything but the fact that he profited from tragedy, Jongdae. But it isn't nothing, Sehun. You keep saying you want to help me catch the killer, but you're both obviously too biased for that."

"No, we're not," Jongdae sounded like he didn't believe it himself. "We do want to catch him, whether it's my Father or not."

Kyungsoo stared at him. "Then stop investigating your Father."

"W-what?" Jongdae stumbled over his words in shock.

"If you really want to catch him, help me investigate the others." Kyungsoo said. "Let your Father be for now."

Jongdae stared at Kyungsoo, mouth slightly open. Kyungsoo studied him carefully. He refused to be used as a tool for Jongdae's childish revenge scheme. If they really cared, the next moments would prove that.

"Alright," Jongdae said. "I'll drop it for now."

"And I'll keep my promise, Kyungsoo." Sehun said, nodding.

Something inside Kyungsoo cracked. He looked away from them, afraid that something would break. He hated it, but he would keep his word. He would keep them around for now.

"Well, then." Kyungsoo pushed the door open. "We'll be in touch. I can walk home from here."

He didn't look back at them or the building as he walked away. He was all too eager to get home. So, he couldn't help but sigh when he heard Jongdae running up to him. He turned around. Jongdae had a determined look on his face.

"What?" Kyungsoo asked.

"There's something you need to understand," Jongdae's breath was shaking. "You've only really met our Father once, right?"

"Yes," Kyungsoo said.

"Maybe you think, from what you've seen, he doesn't seem like a killer. You're wrong. My mother, the most wonderful woman I've ever known... he killed her." Jongdae blinked back tears. "He watched her die like she didn't even matter. She meant nothing to him. Your friends meant nothing to him. Sehun and I... mean nothing to him. Human life means nothing to him. He doesn't have a soul, Kyungsoo. I know it was him. Only a monster like him could do something like that."

Kyungsoo's eyes opened. For a moment, he didn't know why he'd been pulled from his all too rare sleep. Then when the sound of the doorbell repeated, he understood. Reluctantly, he rolled off the couch. His sleep seemed to do little to cure his tiredness from the long night before, despite him sleeping until the afternoon. As he approached the door, he could only suspect two people. Surely, the people responsible for waking him, were the same two idiots who kept him up the night before. He was none too thrilled to see them again.

"What?" Kyungsoo said, rather harshly, as he opened the door. "Oh, what are you doing here?"

Chanyeol raised the two plastic bags he was holding. "Is it alright if I come in for a bit?"