It’s been dark when they were finished with the meeting, Sandara noted. Not that surprised her, though. Since she was a mere uniformed officer behind the desk, got off from work when world turned to dark was just another ordinary. Moreover now she was a detective in the busiest police agency in Korea, right under the national agency itself. With the ongoing important case that could shook the national stability.

The agency closed the case from public, of course. The last murder was in the news as a random homicide but no one breathed any words about the serial murder. Only a few of the higher stakeholders aware about the case, for the secrecy purpose, if she had to guess they would be the chief and the chief of the agency. And from there the report would be delivered right to the chief of the national agency and maybe the prime minister and the president himself.

With the image of her bed was waiting, she wearily walked to her car, didn’t notice someone lurked behind her until she was startled by a tap on the shoulder and an arm flung over – stopped her on her track. She turned her head and found Jiyong casually smiled at her. Tried to unhook his arm from her shoulders but failed, she only stared him under hooded eyes.

“What are you doing?” she asked, suddenly conscious with their surrounding, the parking garage was looked deserted, but who knew.

“Sandara-ssi, let’s go for a drink.” He said, smiled with all that gummy made appearance. Which put her heart skipped a beat.

“Neh?”

“I’m in bad mood, let’s have a drink then we can go to karaoke to release the stress.” With that he kind of half dragged her to the car – her car.

“Yah, yah!” she hobbled beside him. Didn’t he aware that her legs were shorter here?

But he didn’t hear her and kept on his pace, stopped when they reached her car. Then he looked at her expectantly, unhooked his arm from her, and waited.

Blinked at him in disbelieve, she gaped and questioned to herself if he was even real. Where did this guy come from? Did this was the real Jiyong?

“Open the door.” He told her, mistranslated her silence.

Bewildered at his behavior, she fished out her key and unlocked the car’s door. Without waiting, he opened the passenger’s door and entered the cab. At the sound of the door closed, she woke up from her dense. Shook her head in resign, she walked to the driver side and joined in.

“What are you doing, Jiyong-ssi?” she asked him, exhausted from the long day.

Looking at him smiling in her car, watching her expectantly, the vision of rendezvous to her bed went further and further away. It seemed like tonight was going to be a long night.

**

Jiyong knew his improper behavior wasn’t something to be proud of. But encounter with his father in the last ten years always put him in bad mood and this afternoon wasn’t an exception. So, when he saw Sandara walked alone, separated from her hordes of detectives, a spark of excitement ignited in him. Without further thought, he interjected her and proposed for a drinking night. And slightly remembered she was responsible for his unsuccessful drunk mission the other night, he carried on pestering her.

He didn’t know why her, though, but at this moment he chose her.

“Let’s go.” He urged, purposefully ignored her previous question. “You can choose the place,” watched her staring at her behind the wheel, smiling to her.

“Jiyong-ssi, I’m not in mood for drinking. I’m really tired and all I want is go home and sleep.” She explained, in the manner like she was talking to a child.

He should stop there and went to his own car. But he didn’t want.

“Shiro.” He told her, crossing his arms on his chest. “You owe me. Yesterday I told you I wanted to get drunk but your colleagues ruined it.”

She gaped at him, snorted at his reasoning. “But I didn’t ask them to, so it wasn’t my responsibility.”

He might regret his stubbornness at this moment and ashamed later, but not right now. “Still, you’re responsible for it.”

Ruffled her hair – maybe in frustration, she clapped her hands and begged, “Jebal, I’ll treat you for drink next time, just not today. I’m really really tired and I really want to sleep.”

He should take pity on her – It was a gentleman thing to do. Yet he didn’t feel to be a gentleman at all.

**

Someone was here. She could feel it.

Walking around, Nara noticed there were some differences in her house. The picture on the wall shifted 4 millimeters from its original place. The book she had been reading and placed on the coffee table moved from where she put it before at the left corner, now it sat slightly tilted to the center. The remote was transported from the small table beside the TV to coffee table. The sink was wet when she had done the dishes hours before. And she was sure that someone was sitting on the couch.

Nara liked her own space. She didn’t like if anyone else invaded her domain. That was why she did all the house chores by herself. Even the hardhearted Sara wouldn’t interfere in this matter.

In the middle of checking if there any other things were out of their places, her phone rang. Very few people knew her number. If she had to count her contact list, she only had less than ten names – included her publisher and her editor. And to call at this hour…

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, then quickened as she took her phone and saw the displayed name. A bright smile replaced her earlier frown and she forgotten about the uninvited intruder.

“Yoboseyo, Oppa…” she accepted the call. Still wearing the smile and sat on the sofa.

“Nara-ya,” the voice replied. She could imagine that his dimples made appearance as he said her name. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m about to write,” she told him then remembered how she missed hearing his voice. It was been awhile since their last phone call moreover met. Maybe six or seven months ago the last time they met. “Why?” She asked back, realizing that she missed the man.

“I just finished my work and I suddenly think about you. I want to meet you, can I come?”

“You know, you can’t, Oppa.” She didn’t like her answer. And knowing that she let him down – again, she blurted before she couldn’t give it a further think. “Where are you, I’ll come instead.”

The man was