Yena grins as she tiptoes closer before pouncing on her target, who’s shrieking and fumbling around as they try to gather their bearings. Yena laughs before letting go, the target immediately turning around to stare at her with eyes opened so wide that they look like they are about to fall out.

 

“Unnie!”

 

Yena chuckles as she throws her arms around the other girl. “Nice but not so nice to see you, Minju.”

 

“What does that even mean?” Minju grumbles.

 

“Because you are here for a mission briefing.”

 

Minju is a social worker working in Child Protection Services, and it’s always hard to work on the cases she brings to them, because they always involve kids, minors who are abused by the people close to them.

 

Minju sighs. “It’s pretty bad. And also weird.”

 

--

 

“Name’s Kang Jinyoung. Just got into a car accident last week, and thankfully it’s nothing serious, just an ankle fracture. But there’s something weird.”

 

Minju pulls out a few x-ray scans, laying them out on the table. “There are 16 other fractures found on his body not caused by the car accident.”

 

Jinyoung’s x-ray scans show fractures scattered all over his body, from his heel, to his fingers.

 

“So you think it’s child abuse, huh?” Chaeyeon asks as she picks up one of the x-ray to take a closer look.

 

Minju nods, but Hitomi doesn’t agree. “But it’s weird. If it’s child abuse, the fractures will usually be on areas like their arms as they will curl up to protect themselves. Look at her fractures. It’s all on the extremities of her limbs, on her heels and fingers. She may just be a very accident-prone kid.” 

 

“No.” Yena crosses her arms as she looks at the scans pensively. “It’s definitely child abuse.”

 

“How are you so sure?” Sakura asks.

 

“Who has gotten a fracture here?” Yena counters, raising her own hand up. Only hers and Chaeyeon’s hand is up in the room.

 

“Chaeyeon, how many times have you gotten a fracture?”

 

“Once or twice, while I was still in service.”

 

Yena nods, “I’m an accident-prone person, and I have only gotten a fracture four times in my whole life. You are telling me this kid who is only six, has fractured himself sixteen times accidentally? There’s no way.”

 

“Then how do you explain the positions of the fractures?” Nako asks the question that is on everyone’s mind.

 

“Well, I guess that’s for us to find out then.” Eunbi finally speaks up. “Get ready to go into the field, Yena.”

 

Yena nods gravely, but an idea pops up in her head. “Can I bring someone along?”

 

--

 

Yena strolls into the school, blending into the crowd at the bleachers, all filled with parents watching the baseball field and cheering eagerly as their kids play. It brings back memories of her own, one where she was the one playing instead, and of her mom cheering for her loudly. She takes a deep breath and pushes the memory back down, choosing to focus on looking for the person she came here for.

 

She finds Yujin easily even in the sea of other athletes, the girl easily towering over her other teammates with her height. She would make a good basketball player, if baseball didn’t work out for her, Yena muses. She settles down and watches the game quietly, everything going well until Yujin steps up to bat.

 

Yena sits up straight in her seat, trying to get a better look. Yujin readies her bat, and the pitcher throws a decently fast ball that zooms straight past Yujin, causing her to get one strike. The second ball goes the same way, and Yena realizes that it’s not that the pitcher is good, Yujin is just unfocused. She sighs, maybe she should just pretend she didn’t come today, so that Yujin wouldn’t feel embarrassed for her poor performance today.

 

But the mom in front of her scoffs. “Can’t believe the coach is wasting a spot on that orphan when she doesn’t even play that well.”

 

“I know! Even if she gets picked up by the university scouts, can she afford to go pro? I bet she’s just going to graduate and end up working part time in some café instead.” The other mom huffs as she crosses her arms.

 

High school games are important because university scouts visit these games to look for good players for their universities, so it’s important to be able to play in the game, but also play well. Yujin is halfway there, just not quite. And it pisses Yena off knowing that Yujin is just having a off day, but the moms in front of her are demeaning her in every way.

 

“Well, if you guys are envious, you can just ask your kids to play better then.” Yena leans in between the two moms, causing them to jump in shock.

 

There goes her plan of coming and leaving quietly. She stands up and shouts, “Ahn Yujin! Did you call me here just to watch you play like ?! Get your head in the game!”

 

Yujin turns to look at her, and it feels like her eyes literally light up when she locks eyes with Yena. Yena clenches her right hand into a fist and hits against her left palm, mimicking a pummelling motion. She thinks she sees Yujin nod, and the girl’s gaze hardens as she wraps her hands around her bat.

 

The ball leaves the pitcher’s hands, but this time, a loud thud was heard as Yujin’s bat finally made contact with the ball, sending it out of the field and towards the audience stands, straight to Yena and the two moms. Seeing the two moms scream and cower in fear as the ball heads to them, Yena has half a heart not to catch it for them and just let karma hit them, but she decides to be nice at the very last minute, catching the ball nimbly.

 

By the time she turns back to the field, Yujin is already jogging to the last base, big smile on her face as she crosses last base. She immediately turns to the audience stands, shooting two thumbs up at Yena as she jumps up and down, and Yena can’t help but think she really looks like a golden retriever at that moment. Yena smiles and gives a thumbs up back to her, throwing the ball back to the opponent’s team fielder.

 

Her smile drops when she looks down at the two moms who are sitting stiffly in front of her. “Yujin may not come from a privileged background, but her dreams are just as valid as your kids. Be kind, it’s really not that difficult.”

 

Yena leaves, not wanting to stay in the same vicinity as those toxic people anymore.

 

--

 

Yena is waiting by the school gate when she hears Yujin from a few miles away, the younger girl calling her name as she runs full speed to her, engulfing her in a tight hug before she can say anything.

 

“You really came!” Yujin is hugging her like a goldie who has just met their long-lost owner, she’s only missing the overly excited wagging tail.

 

“Can’t- breathe…” Yena manages to choke out, and Yujin lets her go sheepishly.

 

“Why did you leave! I hit another homerun just now, you should have seen me, I just focused, hit and it flew out of the park!” Yujin chatters on as she swings her bat, trying to re-enact her homerun just now.

 

Yena smiles at the enthusiasm of the kid, reminding her of her younger days when life was more carefree, and all she had to care about was her grades and winning the next basketball tournament. She hoped that Yujin never loses this enthusiasm, and vowed to protect it as much as she can. Maybe she can start with the tattered bat in Yujin’s hands. Reaching up, she ruffles Yujin’s hair. “Good job, kiddo.”

 

“You are free now, right?”

 

Yujin nods furiously. “What do you want to do?”

 

It feels like she might even jump into a pit of fire if Yena asks her to with how her eyes sparkle as she looks at her, but luckily, they are not going to do that.

 

“Let’s go shopping.”

 

--

 

Yena doesn’t know what went wrong, because gone was Yujin’s previous enthusiasm, replaced by reluctance as she follows Yena around the sports store. After another lukewarm response from Yujin, Yena finally gives up and puts the bat in her hands back on the display.

 

“Okay, what’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Yeah? Because just a few moments ago you were like a dog with zoomies, but now you are like a dog whose favourite toy is in the washing machine.”

 

“Why are all the comparisons to a dog?” Yujin whines but Yena just raises her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

 

Yujin sighs, coming clean. “I- It’s just that the previous time, that dickhead gave me a bat too, and you know what happened to Yuri-unnie.”

 

Yena rolls her eyes, because this is a kid indeed, unable to differentiate causation and correlation. “Don’t worry, I’m not interested in your unnie at all.”

 

“That’s alright, because it doesn’t seem like she’s very fond of you too.” Yujin picks up one of the bats on display, her eyes sparkling again as she swings it around.

 

Yena doesn’t need another hint, turning to the sales assistant following them around. “Can we have that one in her hands please? Thank you.”

 

She ignores Yujin’s protests, following the sales assistant to the counter. “Why, what did she say?”

 

"More like what did you say? Cos I’m telling you, she was pissed, and I have never seen her that pissed ever.”

 

Yena sighs because she can’t even deny it. She’s just not very good with her words, but she could still have been a little bit more tactful, Yuri was a victim, after all. She hands the bat she just purchased over to Yujin. “I said something mean. I will apologize to her.”

 

“Good. And if you say something mean to her again, I will beat you up.” Yujin would sound threatening if she wasn’t hugging the bat like her favourite soft toy.

 

Yena shakes her head with a chuckle. “Speaking of which, can you get her to come to this place tomorrow? I have… a job opening for her.”

 

--

 

It took Yuri a few minutes to find the van with ‘IZ Cleaning Services’ written on it, and she walks over to it, slightly nervous to meet her co-worker for today. They are pulling equipment out of the van as Yuri approaches.

 

“Hi, I’m here to work part-time today?” Yuri greets.

 

“Oh, you are here.” The person turns around, and Yuri immediately scoffs at the familiar face.

 

It seems like Yujin still hasn’t gotten the memo that she doesn’t like Yena very much, because if not, why would she recommend her to work with her? She turns around to leave, but Yena reaches for her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

 

“Wait!” Yena swallows. “I know we didn’t start off on a good note, but I want to make things right.”

 

Yuri can hear the sincerity in her voice, and decides that it doesn’t hurt to give her another chance, or at least listen to what she has to say.

 

Yena senses that Yuri isn’t going to leave, so she lets go of her and takes a deep breath. “I’m not very good with my words, but that doesn’t give me the right to be an . I would like to apologize. I’m sorry.”

 

Yuri grunts, “I hope you didn’t just call me here to apologize, because the bus fare here was expensive.”

 

Yena grins, knowing that her apology is accepted. “No, I’m here to show you why you should trust me.”

 

--

 

“You are a plumper?” Yuri asks as she helps Yena push a trolley of equipment into the lift.

 

Yena hums, “I will do the plumping, your job is to observe everything discreetly, especially the people.” 

 

Before Yuri can even ask why, Yena leads them to a door and rings the bell. The door is opened by a kind looking woman who ushers them into the kitchen. When they get there, they see a boy in a wheelchair, trying to reach for the biscuits on the top shelf.

 

“Kang Jinyoung!” The mom shouts at him, immediately running to his side. “What did I say about standing up?”

 

The mom helps the boy back into his wheelchair, who looks back at her like a kicked puppy. “I’m sorry.”

 

The older woman brings the biscuits down for her son, patting him on the head. “No darling, Umma is sorry for shouting at you. Next time if you want anything, just let Umma know, okay? Umma will get it for you.”

 

Jinyoung nods with a big grin as he pops a biscuit into his mouth while looking at the two newcomers curiously. Yuri gives the boy a small smile before focusing back on the older woman, who is telling them that her kitchen sink has been clogged for a few days. Yuri took a quick glimpse at the sink, which is an unsightly mess of water mixed with food waste, and had to turn away quickly before her breakfast this morning comes out.

 

But Yena doesn’t even bat an eyelid as she looks at the sink, opening the cupboard to look at the pipes beneath too. “Looks like some food got stuck in the pipes, we will flush it out with our equipment.”

 

“Thank you.” She heads to Jinyoung. “Come on, let’s give the noonas some space to work.”

 

“Umma, can I stay to watch?” As expected of an six-year-old kid who is curious about everything.

 

The woman turns to them, as if asking for permission, and Yena shrugs.

 

That’s how the kid ended up behind them, watching them as they work. Frankly, Yuri doesn’t know anything about clearing pipes, so she doesn’t know how she can help Yena. She just hands over whatever equipment Yena is asking for, and makes eye contact with the curious little boy who’s staring at whatever they are doing.

 

“Hi, what’s your name?” She vaguely heard his name just now, but just wanted to make sure she heard it right.

 

He blushes and looks down at his feet. “Kang Jinyoung.”

 

“Jinyoungie, how old are you?”

 

“Six!” He holds up three fingers on each hand, and Yuri grins at the cuteness of the little boy.

 

“Pass me the wrench please.” Yena asks Yuri, before looking over at the boy, pointing at the cast on his feet, specifically at the cartoon drawn on it. “Is that Hulk?”

 

“Yeah! It’s my favourite superhero.”

 

They continue the conversation while working, and Yuri is surprised at how well Yena is handling Jinyoung. Yuri thought the other girl was just a tactless, arrogant , but that doesn’t seem to be the case seeing how she’s talking to the boy so energetically, matching his energy to make him comfortable. It succeeded though, because the originally shy little boy is now droning on about some superhero, while Yena cuts in with some comments here and there. Maybe Yuri misjudged her after all.

 

“So, how did you get hurt?” Yena asked as she unscrews the pipes.

 

Jinyoung shakes his head. “I can’t tell you.”

 

“Aww, come on. I thought we were best buddies?” Yena turns back, stretching her arm out to tickle the little boy, who just guffaws as he squirms away.

 

But he remains adamant. “Umma said they will take me away if anyone found out, so I can’t tell anyone.”

 

Yuri frowns, that’s weird. But Yena doesn’t push further, and the boy diverts the topic to another superhero. That’s how they spend the rest of the time, working on the pipes while talking to Jinyoung. By the time they are done with the repairs, they have bonded so much with the boy that he was reluctant to see them go.

 

They left with pats on his head, and Yena is silent as they drag their equipment out.

 

“So, what do you think?” Yena asks when the lift door closes.

 

Yuri has no idea what the question is pertaining to, but she guesses it’s about Jinyoung. “He’s quite cute.”

 

Yena hums, “What do you think about the mom?”

 

“She’s… okay? A little protective over Jinyoung, but overall nice.”

 

Yena nods, but she can’t help but think there is something really off about this case. Looking at the interactions between Jinyoung and his mom, it seems like his mother genuinely cares for the boy, and the boy doesn’t exhibit any fear of his mother, unlike other kids who were abused. But there’s no denying that there is abuse either, based on Jinyoung’s one-line.

 

‘Umma said they will take me away if anyone found out, so I can’t tell anyone.’

 

What is the puzzle piece she is missing?

 

She’s so engrossed in her thoughts that she doesn’t even realize they have reached the van until Yuri’s gasp broke her out of her reverie. Yena follows Yuri’s line of sight to see her van’s bumper on the floor, totally detached from the van and she loses strength in her legs, dropping to the floor. She crawls to the bumper, cradling it like her child.

 

Someone must have hit the van while parking, but they left without a note, or even a phone number for the damage claims. All Yena can think about is how much she’s going to get chewed out for this by Eunbi, even though she’s not the one who caused the trouble (for the first time).

 

“Well… I hope you got insurance.” Yuri doesn’t know much about cars, but even she knows the damage looks bad.

 

Of course they got car insurance, but it’s still a hassle because Nako will have to repair the van, and they will have one less vehicle to travel around in etc… Wait.

 

“Insurance!” Yena shouts, finally fitting the last piece in the puzzle. She forgets all about the damaged van, pulling out her phone to make a call.

 

“Kkura-unnie! Find all the insurance records for the kid, that should be our answer.”

 

She puts the phone on loudspeaker while waiting for Sakura to get back, and starts packing the plumping equipment back into the van with newfound fervor, throwing in the fallen bumper into the trunk too. It doesn’t even matter that Yuri is staring at her weirdly, or that she’s going to get an earful from Eunbi if it means they finally cracked this case.

 

There’s one last long press on the keyboard before Sakura’s voice sounds over the phone. “You are right, we just sent the info to Kwangbae and Minju, they are heading over now.”

 

Yena punches the air, before deciding to break the news on the van bumper. “Oh, and can you contact our insurance company? Someone hit our van and the bumper fell off.”

 

“WHAT-“

 

But Yena drops the call before she can say anything further, going to the extent of turning off her phone. She can face the music later, she needs to explain everything to Yuri now, who has been staring at her like she has grown an extra head.

 

“Hop on, I will explain everything.”

 

--

 

The very first time, it was really an accident. Jinyoung had fractured his ankle after a harsh fall at the playground, and he was hospitalized for a few weeks. He doesn’t really know what’s going on, just following his parents into this big and tall building. The staff slid a piece of paper across the table to his parents, and it looks just like any other piece of paper to Jinyoung, but it doesn’t seem to be the case for his parents, staring at the piece of paper in shock.

 

“This… is all ours?” His parents ask the person sitting across them, and the person nods.

 

It’s not until they leave the building where they scream and hug Jinyoung, showering him with kisses. Jinyoung laughs as he receives the showering of kisses, doesn’t really understand why his parents are so happy, but he likes that they are happy, and would do anything to keep the smiles on their faces.

 

And that’s when it turns intentional. Sometimes a finger fracture, other times a sprained ankle. He knows his parents didn’t mean to hurt him, that it was just a means to an end, evident from the way that Umma has to look away with tears in her eyes before Appa inflicts those injuries on him.

 

It hurts of course, but if getting hurt means getting fried chicken on the table every day, lesser arguments between Umma and Appa, getting his favourite toy whenever he asks for it, Jinyoung wouldn’t mind getting hurt all the time.

 

--

 

“You are lying.”

 

Yuri watches the police drag Mrs Kang into the police car, Jinyoung wailing as he reaches out for his mother, only to be held back by another officer. It can’t be, the kind mother from just now, who was so worried for her injured child, is a child abuser?

 

“There’s no way, how can she be an abuser?!” Yuri is about to jump out of the van to defend the mother, to stop them from capturing an innocent person, but Yena drops a file on her lap, nodding at it with her head.

 

She opens it to see all the x-rays of Jinyoung, from the most recent leg fracture, to many others, broken fingers, ribs. There are a total of sixteen different occasions, and Yuri doesn’t even need to use her medical knowledge to know that even if this is a hyperactive six-year-old kid who runs around and gets injured easily, there’s no way he can get sixteen different fractures in the span of six years.

 

“Do you know why the minimum age to buy life insurance is thirteen years old?” Yena asks, looking solemnly at the scene in front of them. “It’s because of people like them. Because they might even kill their kids to get that insurance pay out.”

 

“They may be nice, but they still hit him. And that’s abuse, no matter how you sugar-coat it.”

 

Yuri feels sick to her stomach at the revelation. She wonders now if the mother’s worry was genuine, or if she’s just worried that her golden goose may be gone.

 

“And that’s why I brought you here today.” Yena takes the x-ray reports from Yuri, who’s looking at her curiously.

 

“The police had closed the investigation on this case, because like everyone else, they were blindsided. How can such loving parents be abusers?” Yena organizes the reports before stuffing them back into the file.

 

“And that’s where we come in. We investigate, make sure the truth is revealed so that the victims don’t have to suffer alone in silence, so that they get the justice they deserve.” Yena puts the file into her backpack, zipping it up before throwing the bag to the backseat.

 

“That’s what we will do for you too. Doesn’t matter how much your dirtbag of an ex paid the police, prosecutors, judges off. We will get him, by hook or by crook.”

 

It still sounds too good to be true, but it’s the truth, because Yuri just saw it happen right in front of her eyes. She’s curious though. “Why?”

 

Why are you guys doing this?

 

Yena’s jaw hardens, as if relieving some painful memory from the past. “Because we were all once like you.”