“Look, here, I’ll show you.” Hongbin, Ravi, Taekwoon, and Hyuk were all situated in the tiny living space, Ravi and Taekwoon taking up the couch while Hongbin and Hyuk sat on the floor in front of it. Hongbin’s small laptop was on the coffee table, screen pointed toward them all surrounded by clashing and mismatched mugs of coffee. On the display was a picture of Taekwoon in his full costume, prop gun in hand, along with Jaehwan and Himchan in the background. “I took this last Saturday during rehearsals. You can see the date and time stamp in the corner and that’s also embedded into the file, which is important.

“Now, if I just,” Hongbin squeezed forward to tap at a few keys, bringing up a second picture. This one showed a quick view of Taekwoon’s dressing room from the doorway. He silently prayed that no one asked why he was taking pictures of empty rooms, more specifically, Taekwoon’s room. He’d never actually expected to be sharing the photos with anyone. “See here? If I zoom in,” the image magnified to the counter in the room, sitting clearly in plain sight was the prop gun. “Another gun! And look at the date and timestamp. Not even ten minutes between the two photos.” Because Hongbin had specifically tried to go backstage when no one else would be back there, everyone had still been on stage for an ensemble piece.

He shot a smug look and grin over his shoulder to his friends, proud of his work. It had only taken him four hours to browse through his photographs and tag the ones that had the gun in them. Another one and a half after that to comb through those looking for any proof of the second prop. He’d been dead on his feet when he’d texted both Hyuk and Taekwoon to come to the apartment first thing in the morning, eager to show them the proof he’d found. Ravi whooped and lifted his arms with a cheer while Taekwoon settled for a small but beautiful smile and nod.

Hyuk, on the other hand, looked much less impressed, lips pursed and head shaking. “It’s good,” he started but Hongbin could hear the silent ‘but not good enough’ tacked on. “But doesn’t actually prove anything in itself. While you know that everyone was on stage at the time, with the a gun prop, this photo of the dressing room only proves that there was a gun there at that time. It doesn’t prove that there was another one around at the same time.” The younger boy sighed and shrugged helplessly. “It might help in the long run, but it’s not the proof we need, unfortunately. Sorry, hyung.”

Crestfallen, Hongbin glumly lowered his chin to to rest on his drawn up knees. He really had thought he was onto something with the picture. There were two guns, he knew it, and surely a witness account could have been good enough to prove it. But he could also see where Hyuk was coming from. Someone could look at those and just say that in the ten minutes between photos the same gun had been moved from stage to dressing room. “Well, it was worth a try, right? You did good, Bin-ah.” Ravi reached over and gave him a bump on the shoulder. “And that was just in one day, okay? Think of how much more we can find.”

“Ravi-hyung is right.” Hyuk gave a bright smile, eyes squinting, “this is a really good start. Maybe we can use your pictures to try and track the second gun’s movements.” Hongbin perked up a little at that, smiling and nodding. That was something he could try and do, he had so many pictures and he’d already cordoned off the ones he’d need to look at.

Suddenly an arm was moving past Hongbin’s face and he leaned back as Taekwoon half crawled over him to get to the laptop. He said nothing but just fiddled with the glitchy tracker until he nearly snarled in frustration. “Make it go back to the last picture,” the demand was quiet but fierce. It was kind of adorable, but Hongbin bit into his lip to keep from grinning too hard. Waiting for Taekwoon to push back onto his seat on the couch, he then moved forward and used the keyboard to direct the picture back to the stage scene.

“There,” Taekwoon pointed at the screen but everyone just stared for a moment. With a sigh, he poked at Hongbin on the back of his head and pointed again. “Zoom in over my left shoulder.” His voice sounded like he was explaining something too simple to need an explanation. Hongbin didn’t question it, just moved back to the keys and tapped in a few commands to get the requested area enlarged. It was only just barely there, but he saw what Taekwoon was after. “Videographer.” It felt like ages ago when he’d only just started poking around the theatre. That had been the day Ravi had gone with him to the theatre, and the team of videographers had been there to tape more rehearsals.

“Oh, if we had that video then we could prove that Hongbin-ah’s picture was taken at the same time Taekwoon-ah’s gun was on stage!” Ravi excitedly draped himself over Hyuk’s back to get a closer look. “Because they’d have the timestamps too, right?”

“So who has the video files then?” Shoving Ravi back against the couch, Hyuk started scribbling into his notebook again, writing down each step of their ‘investigation’. “Are they somewhere we could get to them?”

Hongbin offered a clueless shrug, he had mainly just been concerned with staying out of the videographers way when he’d been there. He remember that Hakyeon had told the video crew to try and catch Hongbin taking pictures of the rehearsal at one point, but that was it. “Manager Hakyeon.” Taekwoon spoke quietly, “he was arranging all of it.”

“Could we get him to let us look at the raw footage? With Hongbin-hyung’s time stamp we already know which one we’re looking for. We just need proof that a gun was on stage the same time hyung was taking his photo.” The would be detective Hyuk sounded more than a little excited at the idea, writing out ‘video evidence’ inside a box on his page and drawing bright lights around it. Taekwoon simply nodded. Hyuk snapped his notebook shut and grinned at the three others. “That’s the next step then! Good job guys! I’ve got to run to work, because someone,” a very pointed look at Ravi, “decided he needed his shift covered today. Text me if you get the video though, okay?” He left with a smile and wave, door sliding shut behind him.

It somehow felt like some of the drive had left with Hyuk. They sat in the quiet for a few moments, waiting on someone else to start. “Should I call Manager Hakyeon?” Hongbin asked breaking the silence and tilting his head back to look at Taekwoon, hair brushing against the other man’s leg. “I dont’ know if he’d give me access though.” To be fair, he wasn’t sure if he’d give Taekwoon access either. The other man shook his head and pulled out his phone as the sound of a text chime sounded in the apartment.

But it wasn’t from his. Ravi, tapped the screen on his own hand phone and his eyes popped wide. “,” he swallowed and glanced nervously at Hongbin and Taekwoon, “Hyukkie just texted, police car out in front of the building with an officer just passing him coming inside.” A cold sweat broke out on the back of Hongbin’s neck. Were they here for Wonsik? What were the odds? They could be there for anything, but a niggling feeling at the back of his mind didn’t agree. “Should I run?”

Run?! The thought sounded appealing at first but Hongbin shook his head. That would only get them in deeper trouble, wouldn’t it? Still, something was clogging his throat, making it hard to breathe and he could see Ravi’s face falling by the second. “It might be okay, maybe they’re here to say you’re no longer a suspect?” Even saying it to try and be optimistic, he didn’t believe it.

“Maybe they’re looking for me.” The quiet calm of Taekwoon’s voice seemed almost eerie with the sudden feeling of pinched nerves. “I shouldn’t be here.” Hongbin’s eyes widened at the claim, a soft pang of hurt resounding inside his chest, a similar look fell over Ravi’s face as well. Did he not want to be associated with them? The hurt widened into something more obvious when the other man stood up from the couch, face neutral.

“You’ve got to hurry then.” Ravi’s low tone was flat, eyes downcast. “It doesn’t take long to climb the stairs here.”

“Don’t misunderstand,” Taekwoon’s voice softened, back still turned to them, “I’m the main suspect. If they see me here it’s only going to make you both look worse.”

Regret immediately washed over Hongbin for thinking the worst. Maybe he was the worst of them all. “You can’t go out there, they’ll see you.” But there wasn’t really any place to hide in their tiny apartment either. Biting his lip, he glanced around trying to figure out what best to do. The bedroom? But what would keep someone from casually just checking in there.

“Come here,” Hongbin got up and grabbed Taekwoon’s wrist, yanking him into the bathroom and shutting the door, swiping the lock command. The small space wasn’t made for two, but he didn’t have time to try and be delicate, instead pushing Taekwoon into the counter so he could hobble to the shower. The sound of running water started and he held up a finger to his lips to Taekwoon. If they thought he was showering then they wouldn’t try and come into the bathroom would they? He just hoped they weren’t there long and that Ravi would be okay on his own out there.

The knock at the door was like gunfire in Ravi’s ears. If it didn’t slow soon, he was sure his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. A strange tingling sensation ran over all of him and he wasn’t quite sure that he was going to be able to make it all the way to the door to open it. God, he wished Hongbin wasn’t trapped in the bathroom.

Mechanically, he pushed himself off the couch, taking the few steps to the door before he used their view screen to see if it wasn’t Hyuk who had forgotten something. The face of the officer who’d been at the theatre assured him it was not Hyuk. There was time to take one deep breath before he pulled the door open.

“Kim Wonsik,” the officer, what was his name, Ravi couldn’t remember, “I’d like to ask you a few questions.” Questions, that was easy, he could answer questions right? No problem, questions were his jam. “It’d probably be best if we did this down at the station.” His gut dropped to his knees. That was the very last place he wanted to go.

His knees locked almost and a forced sort of smile pushed itself onto his face. “Yeah, okay.” , that wasn’t what he wanted to say. “Can I tell my roommate where I’m going?” Even just saying it he felt like the officer could figure out that someone else was in the bathroom with Hongbin. But the man at the door only nodded once and waited, holding the door open with his foot.

, , his fingers were caught on the hem of his shirt, twisting and untwisting. “Hongbin-ah!” he yelled toward the bathroom door, hoping they could hear him over the sound of the water. “I’ve got to go to the police station at…” he glanced at the officer with a shrug.

“North 84th street.” Was that where he’d been the other night? , it was still a blur.

“The one on 84th!” he continued shouting at the bathroom. Hopefully, if nothing else, Taekwoon would remember which station they’d been at. “I’ve got my phone!” If they’d let him keep it. Out of ways to stall for more time, Ravi let his shoulders slump. “Okay, I’m ready.” No, he wasn’t, but he slipped his shoes on anyhow.

Taekwoon sat on the small counter space in the bathroom, the steam from the shower was dousing him as much as the chilled sweat he knew was falling down his spine did. Hongbin had his ear pressed against the door and a face that was drawn in concern and worry. They both waited, water still running, even after the automatic door lock chimed. Waited for maybe the chance that it was a mistake and Wonsik was on his way back in.

They waited. And waited. But the apartment was silent on the other side of the door. “Hongbin-ah,” Taekwoon’s quiet voice could barely be heard above the din of the shower running. He pushed off the counter and reached down to brush fingers along the back of Hongbin’s shoulders. “Hongbin-ah,” maybe he’d been expecting tears from the other man, or a fragile sort of state, but when Hongbin turned his face toward him there was steel in his eyes.

“Call Manager Hakyeon, we need those videos.” Grim determination lined his face as he slid his finger over the lock strip.

One phone call and a subway trip later and they were huddled in the cold three blocks down from the theatre. Hakyeon had told them to meet him there since ‘Operation: It’s my freaking theater’ was going to need some explaining. Taekwoon kept his hands stuffed in his coat pockets and a frown on his face. Whatever reason the police had for taking Wonsik away had him on edge, they were wrong and any reason to detain him was in error.

Beside him, Hongbin was obsessively checking his phone for updates, the collar of his jacket turned up to guard against wind. He was muttering something about idiots and not taking coats, and Taekwoon had a feeling the other man was speaking of his roommate. Worry pretty much radiated off him in waves.

“There you are,” a voice hissed as a man bundled inside a large furry coat and black scarf scampered over toward them. Just barely through the clothing could Taekwoon see it was Hakyeon. “Taekwoonie I’ve been so worried! After they left with you and then took over the theatre everything’s been a mess. A complete disaster. The worst. All of the staff and cast have been questioned and poked at, harassed even.” Hakyeon rattled off his words like he usually did, as if they were the latest and greatest news ever. “Oh, and I’m sorry about your friend Hongbinnie, I heard that he was taken for questioning too.” A kind sympathy lit in the eyes of the manager as he reached up to pat Hongbin on the head. “Though I don’t know what he was doing backstage that night.”

Taekwoon had almost forgot just how much Hakyeon could talk. He’d give Jaehwan a run for his money, and that was saying something. “Where are the files?” Direct, to the point, simple, it was like they spoke from two different spectrums of speech patterns.

“In the theatre,” Hakyeon crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, “along with the hard copies. I’ve got them all on the theatre’s editing room computer. That’s where they belong after all.” But it was obvious that this arrangement wasn’t currently pleasing him. “What’s this all about? Why do you need them so badly?”

“We’re going to prove that there were two prop guns. That’s going to help prove Ravi-yah’s innocence.” Hongbin nodded with his words, “The police are looking at the wrong people.”

“And the videos can help do that?” They both nodded and Hakyeon’s face grew determined. “Okay, I can help you get in.”

“Get in?” A note of confusion was raised in Taekwoon’s quiet voice. “Is this what you meant by ‘it’s your freaking theatre’?”

Hakyeon pulled a quick disgusted face and glared down the street toward the theatre. “It’s a crime scene so they’ve tried to keep everyone out of it. It’s my baby though, and they can’t keep me away. You two though…” he paused and made a grimacing look, “how good are your stealth skills?”

This was a terrible idea, it was the only thought that could run through Taekwoon’s brain. Standing at the edge of the building, peeking out from around the corner like some street thug, he felt ridiculous. Only a mind like Cha Hakyeon’s could have come up with a plan so inane, that or a saturday morning kids cartoon. The plan was, and Taekwoon was hesitant to actually call it a plan in the first place, that Hakyeon would distract the guard enough that when Taekwoon and Hongbin, just a couple strolling down the street, passed by they could slip in through the door. It had disaster written all over it.

“We don’t have any other options, Taekwoon-ah,” Hongbin a hand down Taekwoon’s shoulder. He was nervous too, the feeling all but springing off of him, but he offered up a bright smile and Taekwoon couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth pull up in return. “It’ll be okay.”

That remained to be seen, as Hakyeon strolled up to the guard, bristling for a fight. It was their cue, and Taekwoon wrapped an arm over Hongbin’s shoulders, the other man’s arm sliding up around his waist. There was a tightening in his gut, a foreknowledge that this stupid plan wasn’t going to work and they were going to have one hell of a time trying to explain why they were trying to sneak into the theatre behind the guard’s back. Instinctively or for show, Hongbin moved to bury his face against Taekwoon’s neck as they started walking and Taekwoon turned his face down to nuzzle in the boy’s hair.

“You see this? Take a good look at it!!” As they got closer, the sound of Hakyeon’s tirade assaulted their ears. Taekwoon could only imagine what the officer was thinking as the manager shoved the piece of paper right under his nose. “Are you looking? It says Cha Hakyeon, that’s me, is the sole manager and proprietor of this property. Take it, read it!” Taekwoon waited till the guard obligingly reached out for the paper and began reading before he hip checked Hongbin to the side and in through the sliding door of the theatre.

It worked. He and Hongbin darted to the side, out of view of the doorway as soon as they could. It had actually worked. Letting out a brief sigh of relief, he let his eyes shut even while Hongbin clung tighter to his side. In hindsight, he was immensely disappointed with the calibre of people stocking the police force.

Ravi could only wish he’d been thinking the same. Trapped back in the same interview room he had been previously, he was faced with two policemen rather than one. The same detective as had first interviewed him (Detective Oh, he recalled) and the officer that had come to pick him up (Officer Jung). But neither of them looked to be in a good mood and that only served to put Ravi more on edge than he already was.

With a hard thud the detective dropped something in a clear bag onto the table. “Have you seen this before, Ravi?” He peered closer and saw that it was a gun… was it the gun? The murder weapon? Basic black and cold looking metal, somehow Ravi had imagined it’d have bloodstains on it, but it looked clean.

“N-no,” he shook his head and pushed back from the table, trying to distance himself from the thing.

“Then,” and just that one word, the sarcastic tone with which it was said by the officer had dread welling up inside Ravi. “Why don’t you tell us why it has your fingerprints on it?”