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Chapter Text

As her fingers automatically typed the last sentences of the report she’d been working on for the last two hours, Senior Inspector Han Yeo-jin gave a side-glance to the one remaining folder left on her desk.  She returned her attention to the document in front of her, clicked ‘saved’ then attached a copy to an email that had all the required email addresses pre-entered.

Done! She smiled, opened her drawer and grabbed one of the gold-wrapped chocolates in her drawer. She sighed at the first bite, the soft caramel comforting her tastebuds.

Just one more report to process and file then she was free for five days. Five whole days! Yeo-jin grinned and spun her chair around at the thought. She could turn-off the phone and not feel guilty. She could sleep in late. She could stay up late. Or wake up early and go to bed early. She wouldn’t have to change her clothes, if she didn’t want to.

She raised her arms into a victory sign at the idea!

Her phone buzzed and upon seeing the name, her good mood continued.

“Detective Jang Geon! Why are you calling so late? Are you still at work?” Then she frowned. Detective Jang rarely calls this late. “Is everyone okay?”

“Why would you think I would call you only if something is wrong?” Jang Geon said. “I’m actually at home. My wife told me to check if you were still come for dinner tomorrow.”

Relief flooded Han Yeo-jin’s body. Since she moved to the Intelligence Bureau, she knew she’d miss the easy camaraderie of her former team. What she hadn’t expected was to be worried about them since she didn’t see them every day. “She’s so good to invite me. Please remind her not to go to too much trouble. We can always eat out.”

“With our boys, it’s easier to eat in,” Detective Jang lamented.

“I’ll bring some fruit and drinks! Will there be anyone else?”

“The usual. Detectives Park and Seo, and you can meet our new teammate. Captain Choi is busy.”

“It’s very generous to have us to your house.”

Detective Jang lowered his voice. “Not my choice. My wife just wants to make sure I’m really working when I say I’m working.”

Yeo-jin giggled. “Well, I can’t attest to that anymore.”

 “No, but you’ll always be part of Team 3,” Detective Jang said.

“It’s going to be the highlight of my week!”

“You have five days off and the highlight of your week is coming to my house to have dinner with my wife, two children and ex-colleagues? You need to aim higher.”

“What does that mean?”

“I bet all you have on your list of things to do are foods you can eat!”

She stayed silent.

“A-ha! I knew it!” Jang Geon’s laughter ringed in her ear.

“See you tomorrow night, Detective!” Yeo-jin said, but a smile stayed on her face. He had been checking in on her every couple of weeks since her promotion to HQ. He didn’t say it, but she knew he was worried about her.

She got out of the chair to stretched. Scanning the room one more time to make sure she was indeed alone, she started to do a few jumping-jacks to pump some blood into the brain. Aim high? What does he know? Squeezing all the food I want to eat into five days takes determination!

The little break did the trick and she didn’t look away from the screen again until the buzz of her phone.

Kim Ho-sub: Inspector, are you up? May I call you?

Yeo-jin frowned.

She had only recently reconnected with her former teammate from the Investigative Unit of several years ago. Investigator Kim now worked in the office next to Prosecutor Hwang’s, and one day, she may have sent too many gifs – how is that even possible? - to the prosecutor.  

Resourceful as always, Prosecutor Hwang had suggested she send them to someone more appreciative and recommended Mr. Kim who, apparently, shared the same taste in anime, superheroes, and comics.

Prosecutor Hwang was right as always, thought Yeo-jin, as she listened to the phone ringing. Her gifs and pictures were far more enthusiastically received from the Investigator than the Prosecutor. “Hello? Mr. Kim? It’s Senior Inspector Han Yeo-jin.”

“Inspector Han! Thank you for calling!” Kim Ho-sub said. “I’m sorry to have contacted you so late.”

“Is everything all right?”

“Pardon the interruption but have you heard from Prosecutor Hwang Si-mok today?

Yeo-jin pursed her lips. She hadn’t but re-checked her messages and emails quickly. “No. Should I have?”

“I don’t know. One of the other officers mentioned that he had been out of the office for a couple of days, and he hadn’t heard from him. He did say Prosecutor Hwang had called him sick.”

“He’s human, Mr. Kim. He’s allowed to be sick.”

“Of course. But when I worked with him, even when he was sick, he’d called in to check on the progress of cases. It’s not like him to not be in touch. It’s been bothering me all day, and now I can’t sleep. You’re the only person I could think of who is in touch with him for no reason.

Yeo-jin made a face. “I always have a reason to be in touch!”

“Of course! Of course!” Mr. Kim said hastily. “I just mean… well, you know… you talk about other things besides cases, criminals, indictments. You’re the only person who sends him pictures of food.”

She couldn’t deny the validity of the statement. “I’m sure he’s fine. You could always contact the local police and have them send a patrol to do a check on Prosecutor Hwang.”

“I couldn’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“It’s Prosecutor Hwang! He won’t appreciate strangers coming to his home to check on him.” Mr. Kim lowered his voice. “And then I’ll have to confess to him that I sent the patrol over.”

“You shouldn’t be scared of him!”

“I’m not!”

“You’re not?” Yeo-jin picked up the tones of insecurity in Mr. Kim’s protest.

“Well, he has begun to smile when I make a joke. I don’t want to lose that.”

Yeo-jin sighed then glanced at her watch. “I’ll phone him as well. If neither of us have heard from him by tomorrow morning, I’ll go to Wonju to check on him. It’s only an hour’s drive and I can do whatever I want this week!”

Chapter Text

There was an incessant knock coming from somewhere. Hwang Si-mok opened his eyes slightly, closing them immediately at the sharpness of light in his room. But the sound persisted: consistent and sharp.  He reopened his eyes. The sound was louder than in his dreams. It definitely wasn’t coming from inside his head this time. He glanced at the clock on the table: 10:00 am.

The knocking would go away, surely? It wasn’t like he was expecting anyone.

Then his phone sounded. He blinked then groaned as he reached for it.

Insp. Han Yeo-jin: Are you home? I’m outside.

He reread the sentence as the knocking became louder. Inspector Han? But she’s supposed to be in Seoul.

He scrolled his phone and saw several messages from both Investigator Kim and Inspector Han last night, each inquiring about his health and whereabouts.

Si-mok swung his legs then reached for sweater he had thrown on the floor yesterday. At least the headache’s gone. And nothing was moving. Then he looked toward his front door where the pounding had become harder so much so that the door began to shake.

He sighed. The headache may come back if I don’t open that door soon.

He intended to be annoyed but something happens whenever he sees Inspector Han’s smiling face. It was as if he just realized he had been living in a fog and her smile served as sunshine that brightened everything.

“Surprise!” she said. She moved her head closer, her wide eyes inches away from his face. “You’re supposed to be sick.”

“I am.” Before he could blink, her palm landed on his forehead. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Just checking to see if you have a fever.” She tilted her head slightly, as if thinking hard. “No, seems fine!” She then stood back. “You actually don’t look bad. Except for the hair. You need a haircut. May I come in? I stopped by this donut shop. It’s a good time for a morning snack!”

He stepped aside.

“Oh! This is not bad! You could use a plant though,” she said, moving through the living room and into the kitchen. She disappeared behind the now opened refrigerator door. A cry then her head popped up. “You have absolutely nothing in here. Why?”

“I’ve not been hungry and it has been too much effort to go out to eat.”

“Well, I’m glad I decided to come by then!” She went around him and he felt her hands on his back as she pushed him to the bedroom. “Take a shower. Change. Since you have no fever, let’s make sure you have enough nutrition in you, okay? Okay! I’ll be right back. You need a few things. There’s not even a bottle of water in there!”

The front door slammed shut as he stood in the doorway to his bedroom. “Was she really here, or am I dreaming?”

His phone – still in hand - buzzed:

Insp. Han Yeo-jin: Don’t eat all my donuts!

Half an hour later, Si-mok had to admit that Han Yeo-jin was right. He did feel better after the long shower. He had just boiled water for some tea when Inspector Han messaged to say she was on her way up to his apartment. He greeted her at the door, accepting the bags she had shoved into his hands without complaints.

“Your local shops are very good! And all so close! How smart you were to rent a place here,” she said as she started to unpack. “You will now have at least a few things to start and end the day with. I have milk – strawberry, chocolate and plain. I can’t remember which ones you like, so I got them all. Then there’s oranges. They smell so good that I even bought some for Detective Jang Geon. I’m meeting my old teammates tonight for dinner. Do you want one now?  I’ll be happy to cut one open. They really smell amazing! My grandmother always said that Vitamin C and sunshine every day will keep the doctor away.”

“I thought it was an apple.”

Inspector Han paused. “What?”

“Isn’t it an apple a day will keep the doctor away?”

She laughed. “My grandmother hates apples, so I guess it was oranges! What else did I find? Let’s see… bread…”

But her words went over him, so engaged he was by her animated actions and energy. Her voice filled the silence he hadn’t noticed before. She was his first visitor in Wonju. Not that anyone had ever visited him in Tonyeong. Or Namhae. Or any of the other areas he had lived in before returning to Seoul. He was taught to plan for a life alone.

“Well?”

Si-mok blinked.

Inspector Han rolled her eyes. “You weren’t listening, were you? You had your thinking look. Okay, let’s try this again: where would you like to have lunch?”

“But you bought all this food…”

“Gosh, you really weren’t paying attention. This is for the next few days. Since you don’t look like you’re dying, I thought we go out! My treat!”

“Umm…okay.”

“Great!” She pulled out a small notebook from the pocket of her coat, and Si-mok braced himself for another ‘gift.’ Instead, she turned to a page and flashed it at him. “See! A list of things I want to eat over the next five days.”

It was a long list.

“What do you think?”

He studied the entries. Some of them were specific foods; others were of restaurants. He looked to the bottom of the list at an entry scribbled in pink with the name 'WONJU!!!' next to it.  “I assume ‘The Little Bird Hut’ is a restaurant and not a dish.”

Her eyes widened. “Y-e-s,” she said in a hushed voice. “And if we leave now, we could be there before the lunch crowds.” She pulled out her phone, typed on it then showed him her screen. “5 out of 5 in over fifty reviews! Look at the pictures! I must thank you for being sick. If you weren’t, I may never have discovered this place!”

Except, when they got to the “The Little Bird Hut” the dishes placed in front of them looked nothing like the pictures.

Si-mok stared at his thick, very odd-colored soup with barely existing ramen. He looked over at Inspector Han’s equally sad looking bowl of noodles with limp vegetables that didn’t have an ounce of chlorophyll.

“Maybe it tastes better than it looks,” she suggested. “Why don’t you start?”

He narrowed his gaze while her eyes only got bigger. Nevertheless, keeping his eyes locked on hers, he took his wooden chopsticks, separated them decisively, stirred his noodles then brought some to his mouth.

“Oh dear. You look sick again,” Inspector Han said. “That bad?”

He swallowed and managed to fight back the desire to spit. He drank his glass of water quickly, then signaled to the counter staff. “More water, please! Hurry!”

Chapter Text

For the first time in all the years she’d known Prosecutor Hwang, she was afraid to look at him. They’ve been sitting in the car for about ten minutes and she didn’t know what to say. Her bowl of buckwheat noodles wasn’t bad… well… not as bad as what Prosecutor Hwang had. They tried to dilute the broth, but in the end, even she couldn’t get more than a few bites of her meal.

Her stomach rumbled.

“Are you still hungry?” he asked.

She looked at him then. “No.”

He glanced over, the slight raise in his eyebrows suggested he didn’t believe her.

She made a face. “I’m sorry. I thought I could trust the reviews!”

“In all the meals we have ever had, I don’t think anything has tasted as bad,” Prosecutor Hwang said.

Yeo-jin grimaced and slumped in her driver’s seat. “I had such high hopes for that place.” Then she sat up straight and reached for her bag. Digging, she finally found what she was looking for and offered her prize to her companion. “This will help. It’ll make you forget you ever tasted whatever that was!”

He studied the peace offering for a few seconds then took it. When he put the ball of chocolate in his mouth, he seemed to struggle a little as he chewed slowly then with unexpected intensity, his face contorting in the effort. Then he stopped suddenly, turned to face Yeo-jin and blinked.

“Isn’t that the best? Caramel in the center!” she said.

Si-mok could only stare at her as he continued to chew before finally swallowing. He took a deep breath. “What else is on your list?”

She turned in surprise. “Why?”

“Your stomach is rumbling,” he noted. “And when did we ever give up when we encountered an obstacle in our investigation?”

A bubble of relief and joy surged from within and exploded. She reached for her note book again, turned to the appropriate page and ran her fingers down the list. “Let’s not get too adventurous because I am quite hungry now. How about you decide?”

He took the notebook from her. “Coffee and omlet bbang? I actually know a place. One of my officers buys from this shop, so I know it’s at least edible. It’s not too far from here. But it’s a takeout place.”

“I’m sure we can find a bench somewhere.” She put on her seatbelt then a wave of indecision flooded her. She crashed her head into the steering wheel. “Do you think I’m being silly spending my vacation just wanting to eat? Maybe I should be doing something different over the next few days.”

“What else would you do?

She grimaced. “I don’t know. My family is travelling so there’s no one I have to see.  Someone said I should aim higher. Am I wasting my time?”

Si-mok looked through her list again. “I see most of the things here are food you probably ate before.”

She sighed. “Yes, but they’re all my favorite things. Things I haven’t had time to really enjoy. You know how it can be. We rush through our breakfast, lunch and dinners most days. I honestly can’t remember the last time I sat down and enjoyed a meal.”

Si-mok closed her notebook carefully. “I think this is a very wise way to spend your time, Inspector Han.” He reached over and pressed the ignition button. “We should go. Your stomach is rumbling again. Coffee and omlet bbang is ten minutes away.”

They were seated on a bench fifteen minutes later. And for the first time, Yeo-jin felt she was on holiday. She punched Prosecutor Hwang. “Why didn’t you think of this place in the beginning?”

He scowled as he rubbed his arm. “Because you had the ‘Little Bird Hut’ circled in your notebook with hearts and stars while ‘coffee and omlet bbang’ wasn’t even highlighted.”

“I’ll change that right away,” Yeo-jin said, grabbing her notebook. “Coffee and omlet bbang needs at least two stars, don’t you think?”

Si-mok took the last bite of the delicate pastry filled with whipped cream and strawberries. “Three. Give it three stars.”

Music started to play from the building opposite them, and a booming voice with instructions suggested a lesson.

“What’s going on in there, you think?” Yeo-jin asked.

“Sounds like ballroom dance classes,” Si-mok said. He turned his head slightly, as if to hear better. “Yes, a dance class. They’re practicing the waltz.”

“And how do you know that?”
 
“My mother enrolled me in classes after my surgery. She thought it would help me connect with my emotions,” Si-mok said.

“I’ve always wanted to try,” Yeo-jin admitted. “But when it became a choice of learning martial arts or dancing. Martial arts seemed more fitting to my career goals.””

“I can show you a simple waltz. It’s just creating a box with your feet.”

“What? Now?” Yeo-jin looked around. “In broad daylight? In public?”

“I thought you said you’d never postpone doing things again.”

She narrowed her eyes but he didn’t seem put off at what she thought was the same face that once made a culprit confess to theft.

He was standing now. “This is what we do. One foot forward; side, back and we start again.” He stared at her expectantly, and she was annoyed at herself. She was supposed to be the spontaneous one. She looked around again. What did she have to lose?

Prosecutor Hwang showed her the steps again, and she copied the movements. They did it a few more times. Then almost as if the dance gods decided to step in, the music became louder.

They both glanced up at the increased volume. When Yeo-jin looked down, Prosecutor Hwang had his hand out. “And now, let’s do it together.”

She stared at the hand. Then into Prosecutor Hwang's face. She inhaled sharply. She knew that look, at what was in his eyes. Memories of the night he had carried her up to her apartment came rushing back. She had sprained her ankle earlier that day chasing a culprit. It was the night he had called her…

“Yeo-jin-ssi? Shall we dance?”

A shiver when through her body in response to the verbal caress, because that’s how her name sounded coming from his lips. He hadn’t called her informally again after their dinner at her rooftop apartment. Now she realized why: it was meant for these quiet moments when it was just the two of them.

For the rest of her life, she’d remember the moment she placed her hand into his.  It would be the first time they would hold hands by choice. And not by the dictates of polite society.

He, too, kept his gaze on their hands when they ceased to be two separate entities. And when their eyes met again, it was with a mutual understanding that they were solidifying what they had started all those years back when he first brushed passed her in order to catch a suspect.

They had a bond. An instant and eternal bond.

She smiled. A soft but certain exuberance filled her spirit. “Si-mok-ssi,” she said. “I’d be delighted to dance.”

He smiled, and she laughed, aware her face was probably a bright pink.

“Remember the box,” he whispered into her ear as his other arm encircled her waist and drew her close. “And trust me.”

Small and tentative steps were soon replaced with more confident ones. The music that had seemed too loud moments ago now enveloped them in a protective circle that kept them oblivious from the curious looks of strangers. He lead decisively, and her feet responded automatically. She relaxed and enjoyed the sensation of being safe in someone’s arms.

When the music ceased, Hwang Si-mok slowed their dance to a stop and released his hold on her waist – and hand. They stood facing each other as the last seconds of a gentle moment disappeared into the past.

He reached up and gently brushed loose strands of hair from her face. “You’re a good dancer, Inspector Han.”

She bowed slightly. “I had a good teacher… Prosecutor Hwang.”

They walked silently back to the car, words unnecessary in their short drive back to his apartment.

“Thank you for making sure I wasn’t dead,” he said as he prepared to leave the car.

“Thank you for helping me cross two things off my list and adding one,” Yeo-jin said. “Don’t forget to eat well and drink all the milk. And an orange a day!”

“Yes, an orange a day,” he repeated.

She watched him watch her in her rearview mirror until she had to turn the car. One day, she promised herself, there will less good-byes between them. They deserved less good-byes.