Chapter 41 - I think I have fallen in love again

Two long sturdy legs thumped heavily against the red carpet of the long hallway. They moved quickly while trying to maintain the principle of not running in the hallway at all, however, the owner of those legs were currently feeling really agitated that the speed was slowly and gradually increasing. 

The rustling sound coming from the plastic bag in the hands of said man was exceptionally loud in the silent corridor. It jostled and created irritating noises at every rough movement made by the man. 

Every step he took was getting wider seconds by seconds that he was partially flying while preserving to look like he was still walking with much elegance and nobility. 

Unfortunately, besides the noise pollution he fabricated, this man also polluted the air with his gracious presence. Each and every one of the maids and butlers he passed by, slowly raised their hands with their thumbs and index fingers jutted out with the only purpose to save their precious vɨrġɨn nose from inhaling uninvited odor by pinching the tool used to detect smell. 

These actions were done deliberately time-consuming as if they were trying so hard to not offend the man by retching openly. All of these were done because the man was one of the Alpha that could roam freely in the Roderick mansion, of course, besides the two Rodericks and their trusted butler. 

Han In Sik strodded the long hallway, trying to move as fast as he could to reach Derek's office. 

He couldn't deny the satisfaction of putting criminals in cuffs. Hearing the metal slapping and fastening against the criminals' pair of wrists was like music to his ears. There was this pure supreme pŀėȧsurė he felt in taking apart a case and putting the pieces together. He took sheer enjoyment in uncovering the truth. 

He loved the look of those culprits, their faces when the shocking facts they tried to cover were laid bȧrė upon them. That was one of the most notable perks of working in homicide. Another one was that knowing people depended on him. 

Without knowing anything, being left in the dark, people feared. They feared what they didn't know, what they didn't understand. They wanted to know, with his-- no, not just his, their judgement, the people could live safer. 

'Their', as in, together with Derek and Lynn. They had come together, teaming up, and earning their respective names. He became the ingenious inspector, the great detective, while Derek and Lynn became the Queen's Watchdog as Rodericks had always been the Ministry of Defense in Atlantis. 

However, they had been hitting a wall of bricks in this case. There was no lead, the murderer was meticulous, but to think he found a piece of evidence laying around. 

'Derek better fund my agency for such a valuable partner.' 

Stopping right in front of Derek's office, Han contemplated whether he should just knock politely or just go straight with kicking the door open, which he decided on doing the latter. He kicked. 

And the huge door slammed open, banging into the wall. The occupants inside the room were startled, surprised at the sudden loudness, making them jerked forward. 

The sudden movement caused the two Alphas inside the room to collide with each other. A loud buzz hummed inside their heads as foreheads crashed against one another. 

Derek was no different. If yes, he was just exaggerating it by rolling on the floor while clutching his precious forehead, groaning in pain. Maybe it was due to the side effect of being hit previously. 

Han paused before entering, watching the scene unfold before him with a furrowed brow. He raised an eyebrow at the two Alphas, suspicion hung in the air, alerting his brain. It made him even more curious about what had happened when Lynn kept on averting his eyes, darting everywhere but him.

There was also a speck of blush dusting on his cheeks. 

Han stepped into the room slowly as if trying not to break the tension. He narrowed his dark brown eyes at the grey-haired Alpha who was fidgeting slightly. The way blinked rapidly, the way he swallowed thickly and uneasy movements of his fingers, Han didn't need to take a whiff of the air to know Lynn was nervous. It was oozing out of him like a waterfall. 

"I… Uh…" Lynn started, clearing his throat again. "I-- You are here to discuss the murder?" He licked his lips, wetting his dry one. "I will go get some tea."

Han set the plastic bag on the table across the couch and sat down. His eyes trailed after Lynn who scrambled for the door and slammed it shut as he rushed out. 

Finally, the thick atmosphere eased out and silence greeted them and Han relaxed slightly. 

"Han, my bro, my man." 

The black-haird Alpha started after a minute or so. 

"Hmm?" 

Han drummed his fingers against his knee, waiting for either of these two Alphas to sit down and finally listen to him. To think he was the only one excited and dedicated himself to solve the case. 

"I have a confession to make." 

"Hmm." 

"I think I have fallen in love again." 

Han choked on his saliva. He clambered on top of the couch to peek at the other man, who now had his knees close to his ċhėst as his arms hugged them tightly, head buried in between them. 

"Gray hair?" 

A nod. 

"Brown eyes?"

Another timid nod. 

"A mole at the lower corner of the mouth?" Han's voiced had raised with every question and his fingers clenched hard on the couch. 

Again, he received a nod. 

"An Alpha with vanilla scent?" 

A possessive growl resonated, grumbling deep and vibrating loudly from inside. 

"Woah, stand back, man. Just needed to make sure cause Icarus could almost passed off as his brother sometimes," Han reassured, raising his arms in surrender. 

"Sorry," Derek looked apologetic as he finally lifted his head up and decided to uncurl from his position. Pushing himself up only to drop himself on his swivel chair, Derek exhaled loudly. 

He turned his head to the left and his eyes caught the large portrait he hung there. The portrait of his beloved ex-wife, smiling so brightly and looking so gentle. The dark-haired Alpha's face contorted the longer he stared at it. 

"You think I made a mistake before?" He turned away from the portrait. Looking down at his shaking right hand, his left hand moved to grab it, hoping to make it stop. "Maybe I shouldn't do what I did right?" His golden eyes were wide-blown, mouth twitched as if trying to hold back his voice from quivering. 

"I--" Han had turned back to sit on the couch properly, shoulder tense. He was quite in shock. He hadn't expected to be faced with this situation. 

"Oh my, am I being melancholic right now?" Derek chuckled and shook his head left and right, like he couldn't believe himself for thinking such absurd thoughts. 

Han gulped, unsure of what to say. Words felt heavy in his mouth, everything he thought of sounded wrong to be uttered. It wasn't helping that Derek was giving off the smell of defeat, sadness, guilt, frustration, confusion, everything that didn't scream 'Derek' at all were mixed and combined. 

He was usually a very positive person, quick-witted, smart-ass, and of course, insane in a good kind of way. He just has a little different taste in humor. 

Han somewhat felt bad for him. 

While he was deep in thought, all of those emotions that hung thickly in the air disappeared all of sudden. 

"So, Han, forgive my dramatism, but why are you here smelling like you had just bathed yourself in animal's excrement? You stink." 

Nah, forget it.. He kinda wanted to punch him in the face now.