Chapter One: Memories

"Jagiya~,"

You looked up from your desk; you had been writing a report from the last mission you went on with Hongbin and Jongup.

"Let's leave that and go out." He gave you his signature dimpled smile that resembled an angel. Your heart fluttered happily every time he smiled at you. This man loved you. This man wanted to build a family with you. You loved him.

"But we need to finish it…You know how strict Yongguk is with reports. He gets chewed out by the chief if they're not done." You smiled back at him as you continued writing.

Hongbin stared at your smile for a few seconds before pulling out his weapon: the pout. If the pout didn't work, he'd give you puppy eyes. "Let's go eat~, come on~."

 Giggling, you continued writing, not bothering to look up at him again. "Just let me finish, I'm almost done."

Hongbin pulled you into a kiss, effectively distracting you. "Can we go eat, now? It's been so long since I've had some Jigae!" Truthfully, it had only been two months that you'd been away from Korea, but the whiny child wanted Korean food as soon as you were back in the country.

Sighing, you nodded, leaving the report abandoned for later.

Altogether, you had over eight years' worth of painful memories. Memories that you had tried to ignore and bury. You had to follow through with the mission, your destiny…For Hongbin and for Taekwoon. For the city. For peace.

Your hand brushed away the snow from the top of the gravestone, staring longingly at the name: Lee Hongbin. Son. Friend. Fiance. Special Forces.

“Hey, I’m back, Hongbin,” Your eyes still welled up with tears even though it had been over five years. “Remember how I told you I was going on a trip with Taekwoon? Well, we weren’t able to go, but we were able to go to the amusement park at least.” You continued to relay the day’s event to the gravestone, shivering every now and again as a winter breeze cut through you. You rubbed your gloved hands together as you finished up what you had to say. “I’ll be back next month, Binnie. I promise. I’m still trying to find the right time to bring him to meet you.” You hesitated for a moment before you quietly murmured, “I love you.”

As you slowly walked back to your car, you looked back at the gravestone. Five years, and it still felt like yesterday when you were burying an empty casket. Hongbin’s body had never been found after he’d left on a mission. Memories of Hongbin and your time together swam in your head. He had been your first partner in the special forces, your first love, your first boyfriend, your first of many things.

You still remembered the moment the Chief told you about his death.

They called you into the Chief's office, and with heavy steps and fear in your heart, you stood in front of his desk.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news." The Chief, a man in his late forties with graying hair and sharp features, turned around in his chair to reveal a blood-stained box in his hands.

"No…" You shook your head. "Don't tell me-"

"I'm afraid they found out that he was a mole, and disposed of him. These are his personal items." He pushed the box to the edge of the desk for you to take.

With trembling hands, you took the lid off and sunk to your knees when you saw his name on the bloodstained dog tags that every agent is given at the start of their time in the special forces. Tears slid down your cheeks as you glanced at his items before shutting the box. "How?"

"Bullet to the heart. His body was lost in the explosion of the warehouse. The leader took care of him himself. I'm so sorry for your loss…" The Chief commented, faking the concern in his voice.

You took the box in your shaking hands and walked out of the office, carrying what was left of your fiancé, your lover, your best friend. You couldn't believe that he was gone. Just the day before, you heard him say that he loved you. He had held you in his strong, protective arms, whispering that he would be back in time for your wedding in a few days' time. You replayed the last kiss you had shared, and you clutched the box. "You promised to come back…"

You spent about two weeks mourning, grieving to the point that you were unable to eat or sleep. You would spend hours either sleeping or weeping over him.

It took a long time for the idea to sink in: that you wouldn't be able to see him. You felt like he would walk through that door, expanding his arms for you to climb into.

But he never came.

Soon, hatred and the need for revenge started to build up within your heart, thus making you return to work. You became more determined than ever to catch the Vixx Mafia. 

In this city, crime ran the streets, businesses, and even the government. Dirty money was king in this city, and not much was being done. Up until nine years ago, you were content with being a cop, trying to work up in the ranks to get enough power and influence to clean up this city.

How naive you’d been with you do-gooder personality. As a traffic cop out in the streets, you’d faced some things, seen some things. Eventually you made up to homicide detective. You pulled twenty-four hour shifts for days straight, coffee filled your veins, dark circles under your eyes, your hair unwashed for days; there was always a body coming in. It seemed as if there were new bodies every ten minutes. It was a stressful job with hardly any reward, since the suspects caught never stayed behind bars for more than a few days at a time. Not many victims were avenged. The law was not taking care of the innocent and protecting those that were right and just.

Everything slipped through your fingers, it was becoming tiring.

And then an opportunity arose.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, recognizing one of Park Hyo Shin’s songs; you smiled. He must’ve changed it last time. “What’s up?” You grinned at his silence as you entered your car.

“You’re still coming for dinner, right? I’m closing the shop early tonight.” His voice soothed you when he spoke softly.

It had been around two years since you and Taekwoon met in a coffee shop by accident. You were there on an assignment to pick up information from a different agent, but as you were leaving, you had accidentally spilled your cold coffee on him, the owner of the café. To apologize, you decided to frequent that café, and you wanted to get to know this strong, quiet, and handsome man. He had actually made the first move in subtly asking you out by writing his number on the sleeve of your coffee cup.

You couldn’t wait to get into his arms and feel his face nuzzle against your neck, just like a cat. You’d call him Kitten to , and you’d get such a cute pout from him when you called him that.

“Of course I’ll be there. I’m heading over right now. I’ll be there in twenty.” You promised.

“I’ll start on dinner.”

“Love you too, Taekwoon.”

“I love you.” He said very softly. Before he hung up, you could hear a squeal from his best friend, Hakyeon.

You shook your head and stuck your phone in the cup holder before you turned up the radio and started driving to Taekwoon’s cafe, Starlight Cafe.

First story here! I hope to publish daily or at least weekly, please leave me a friendly comment below to let me know how I'm doing! Thanks for reading! -Evangeline