Twisted Ways [Stray Kids Murder Mystery, AU!]

Chapter Two: A Night With Friends

The light switched on as Hyunjin opened his apartment door. He took off his shoes before walking inside, followed by Jeongin, who closed the door after him.

"Your neighbours probably think I live here now or something," Jeongin laughed as he picked up his shoes and put them next to Hyunjin's.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you suddenly decided to move in with me. You're coming over almost every single day, so I don't think you living here will make any big difference," Hyunjin responded as he watched Jeongin sit down on the sofa. "Do you wanna eat anything?"

Jeongin shook his head. "Is Chan hyung gonna come or not? We hardly see each other these days..." he said before letting out a hard sigh.

"I messaged him when we were still at the cafe," Hyunjin began, going to his fridge before opening it. "He said he might come since the investigation reached a dead end again. Said they wasted their time on something that didn't even help."

He shut the fridge door after taking out some leftovers from the previous day's lunch. Brushing some hair strands away from his face, he sat down and began eating.

"Are you gonna paint tonight?"

Hyunjin shrugged. "I don't know...I mean, there's nothing else to do right now, is there? I still haven't really thought of a concept or anything, but I'll figure something out," the older answered.

"Are you gonna paint me again or is it gonna be something different?" Jeongin questioned. "I've been trying to think of new poses and all, but that isn't really going well." He pursed his lips as his friend got up and put his dirty dish on the counter.

"If you want we can watch a movie instead, you know. We don't always have to work on paintings whenever you're here."

Jeongin shook his head. "No, no, it's fine. And, oh! We can do a dark aesthetic this time. The last three paintings have all been bright and joyful. It would be cool to take a turn and do something dark now," he suggested. Hyunjin raised an eyebrow.

"We can do that...and I can add some little touches to add some mystery, you know?" He looked at the younger, a slight smile on his lips.

"Ah yes! Hyunjin's back at it with his secret touches!" Jeongin grinned, getting up from the couch. "Come on! It's late already, we should start now."

Hyunjin nodded, but just as he was about to go with his friend, he heard the apartment's bell go off.

Eyes growing wide, he went to the door and opened it after looking at the small monitor at the entrance. Behind the door, no one other than Chan stood, a bright smile plastered onto his lips. Hyunjin welcomed the latter with a wide smile before pulling him into a hug.

"Dude! Where have you been?! I almost forgot what you looked like!" He exclaimed dramatically, getting a laugh from Chan who playfully punched his shoulder.