Chapter Text
Riku wakes up on a cold November morning to windows he can't see out of. With the wet and grey fog that’s rolled in over-night, Riku already knows what kind of day he'll have. Like a broken record, his fingers will ache until he's warmed his hands on a mug of coffee and the throes of anxiety will settle in the lower of his spine. Standing at the large, south-facing windows of his apartment, Riku reminds himself that it's all only temporary - he's only here for a few weeks and he'll be gone before anyone can even remember his name.
However, his early morning melancholy gets cut short by the piercing ring of his cellphone by none other than his assisstant Hirose Ryo.
"Riku! You didn't tell me the case you took was in Mokpo, I would have come with you!"
Riku can hear the pout that sits on Ryo's face and the lilt in his voice that reminds Riku he probably should have mentioned taking a case in a city almost 3 hours away by train.
"You know that's where Saku-chan is training? You would if you still talked to everyone. And don't try to tell me not to join you I'm already on the train." Ryo doesn't let Riku get a word in, his bright voice seemingly dissapating the fog that had begun to seep into Riku's brain.
"Are you even listening? It doesn't matter. Yushi is picking me up from the station because he lives there too you know. I'm not supposed to tell you this because Yuu-chan thinks you'll run away but you're getting treated to a meal before you get briefed this afternoon." Riku lets out a guilty whine as Ryo continues to speak at a pace too fast for 7:30 in the morning.
He lets Ryo finish and reluctantly agrees to meeting both Ryo and Yushi at the station for 10 o'clock. By the time Riku has gotten himself ready and washed his breakfast dishes, the misery of early morning has faded away. He slowly starts to make his way toward the train station, not quite ready to face the day ahead of him.
It's been at least year since he last spoke to Yushi - maybe more, Riku can't quite tell. The passage of time never seems to flow naturally to him and now more than anything the lonely detective finds himself grasping at freying corners trying to make sense of the life he lives now. Deep down somewhere in a small cavern in his chest, Riku knows he's chasing a ghost. That no matter how far he ventures from Seoul, how long the string on his evidence board gets, he's still at a loss. It's been maybe even two years since he last saw Sakuya too, which in hindsight breaks Riku's heart more than he's willing to admit. He knows that both Yushi and Sakuya don't blame him for what happened, but his shoulders go tight at the hands of guilt anyway. Guilt of which he can never really find a home for, is it the aftermath of loss or the self-condemnation that eats away at the very fabric Riku is clawing at? How long has it really been since he had to look into the devastated eyes of misjudgement?
As Riku walks further north to the station, he begins to feel suffocated again. He's scared to face Yushi, scared he'll take one look into Riku's eyes and know that the choice of Mokpo is not to find the fresh start Riku's always telling people he's trying to find. No sane detective is choosing a small case in a no-name town for no reason. Especially not one with a repetoire like Riku has. Once the youngest detective to work on a national-level case, famous not by name but by work he put in. Known by the hours spent and knowledge gained. To anyone who looked further than the accolades Riku drowned himself in, he was clearly about to break. So on a grey, miserable, foggy morning - break he did. The case went cold and Riku felt himself crack under the pressure. For a while he laid low, starting himself over from scratch with smaller cases again. But every now and then he felt the fog of his mistakes follow him still looking for answers.
The fog had now lead him to Mokpo.
Riku sees Ryo and Yushi waiting at the arrival platform, animatedly chatting - catching up on lost time one would asssume. It takes a large effort for Riku to meet their eyes once he gets close enough.
"You should look happier seeing an old friend again Ku-chan." Yushi's voice bites a little as he brings Riku in for a hug. While Yushi's words seemed teasing on the surface, his tone was nothing but fond.
Riku feels tears well up in his eyes and the tightness in his chest fade away at the familiarity of it all. Just that one sentence alone felt like a forgiveness he wasn't ready to accept.
"I made lunch reservations, everyone is meeting us there." Yushi parts himself from Riku and hands him Ryo's suitcase with a small grunt of acknowledgement before motioning for them to follow him.
The journey back into town made Riku feel lighter. They talked about Sakuya being the new detective-in-training that Yushi got to oversee, how their lead detective Sion desperately needs a working partner but refuses to let anyone shoulder the supposed burden with him, and lastly, most unmistakeably - how Riku notices the corners of Yushi's mouth turn up at any mention of the station's sketch artist Jaehee.
They arrived at a small and slightly empty restaurant for lunch, Riku questioned the need for a reservation in such a place but he wasn't about to open that can of worms with Yushi today. Sakuya and one other person were already sat at the table, eagerly awaiting the big-city arrivals. Despite of all Riku's nerve endings bracing for impact, he's suprised to be met with the same warmth from Sakuya - and who he now knows is Jaehee, as he was from Yushi. It almost felt like no time had passed at all. Even with the mild jabs about missed calls and messages left on read, there was no real animosity to anyone's tone. Riku thinks he would let Sakuya tease him until the end of time if this was what he gets to experience even for the small amount of time he plans to spend in Mokpo.
"Yushi says I'm not allowed to be mad at you, but I am a little." Sakuya whispers as he leans into Riku's side. The young trainee keeps is eyes on the steaming plates of food on the table instead of looking up at Riku.
"You can be mad at me if you want, I'm sorry for not calling Saku-chan. I promise I'll try harder, I missed you so much." Riku keeps his voice low, matching Sakuya's tone while he takes the younger's plate and fills it up for him.
"It's okay, i'll forgive you tomorrow Riku."
It took all of Riku's willpower not to wobble a little at Sakuya's reply. Hearing the youngest's forgiveness felt like a different weight to Yushi's - one Riku didn't account for gnawing so deep into his bones. Seeing Sakuya talk while chewing his food would have usually caused a scolding, but the only thing Riku wanted to hear was his friend's voice so he let it slide.
"Sion-hyung, you made it!"
Riku turns to face the tall man Sakuya is smiling at. He carried a familiar air to him, but not something Riku could put his finger on. He watches the new man greet everyone and offer up too many apologies for being caught up in meetings. Until he turns to Riku and looks him directly in the eyes.
"You must be Riku-ssi. Yushi mentioned you this morning, I'll be the one you're working with while you're here." Sion offers a smile and it makes Riku blanch.
"Ah. I will make sure I do my best then, Sion-ssi."
Riku counts the milliseconds before he can politely break eye-contact. Sion's gaze is piercing, it makes Riku feel like he's grasping at freying corners again. He manages fine through the rest of the lunch, it felt almost homely for Riku. He didn't realise just how much he missed Yushi's deadpan tone and the constant bickering between the youngests Ryo and Sakuya. As much as he tried to suppress it, Riku felt the beginnings of a smile forming as he observed everyone together.
Time passes too quick and before long it's high-time for Riku to make his way to the station. He announces his departure to the group, noticing Sion's head perk up in attention.
"Riku-ssi, I can drive you. I'm heading back there anyway."
Riku is hesitant to accept the offer, not wanting to impose on someone he just met. But Sion seems insistant and everyone else seems to be off for the afternoon anyway. Riku nods in a timid acceptance, the thought of the joint journey beginning to feel daunting. Can Sion tell that Riku is in Mokpo for all the wrong reasons? Will he notice when Riku starts searching in all the wrong places? There's only so long the glue of a white lie can hold on for.
"Have you always lived here in Mokpo?" Riku turns to ask Sion.
"Born here, but I managed to escape for a few years to work in Seoul."
"You sound like you miss the city." Riku notes the way Sion's voice changes at the mention of leaving home. He recognises the foggy look that graces Sion's eyes before that leading smile quickly takes back over.
"A little bit. I didn't think I'd be back here so soon after leaving, but home was calling to me."
The pauses in conversation between questions were a little awkward, but Riku was fine with it. It was obvious Sion was trying to make a good impression given that they share a group of friends. All Riku could hope for was that Sion didn't ask the question that sits steeped in dread at the back of his mind.
"What made you choose Mokpo? We weren't really expecting anyone to take on our request."
Riku feels like he might die. It would be merciful for the Mokpo fog to envelop him now and make him dissapear forever. He can feel Sion's eyes on him as they're stopped at a red light, time could not be moving any slower. Riku hopes that a car decides to go rogue and crash into them in this very moment.
But Riku is a good detective, and he will get along with his temporary coworker if it kills him.
"I think I needed to get away, I ran to the furthest case there was. And I find Mokpo charming, it's got a lot of… Fog."
The car goes dead silent, and Riku begins to regret opening his mouth in the first place. But Sion begins to laugh, deep from the chest and it eases Riku's anxiety.
"You're a bit strange Riku-ssi. No one comes to Mokpo for the fog, they all leave because of it."
This seems to satisfy Sion's curiosity as he parks the car and opens Riku's door for him - however Riku's curiosity is only piqued. Because as they walk outside together, he notices that the fog that seems to follow him, follows Sion too.