The Pigeon were still. They weren’t quiet by any means; the Pigeon were never quiet. But they were still. This was when Karina liked the Pigeon the best, with the hum of the fluorescent lights buzzing along overhead like a steady symphony, with Ningning pounding something out on her laptop, hitting the keys with a ferocity that would suggest they owed her money, with Winter sorting files, the manila folders brushing against each other like tides crashing on a distant sandy shore. She could be anywhere in the world from listening to the sounds of the Pigeon, it was all about choosing what to listen to. For now though, however, Karina was content taking it all in as she took thin, scratchy notes on a statement about teeth. It was almost mediative. 

“Karina? Can I speak to you for a minute?” Karina looked up from her legal pad to see Giselle leaning out of her office, her long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, and her eyes sternly staring out at her.

Ningning looked up from her laptop and tossed a grin at Karina. “Ooh, someone’s getting called into the principal's office. What did you do unnie?” Ningning leaned in towards her, body propped up by her elbows and chin in her hands.

Karina bit the inside of her cheek. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“What, did you kill someone?” laughed Ningning, raising an amused eyebrow. 

Karina looked at the floor. 

Ningning gawked at her. “Wait, really?”

“Indirectly!” hissed Karina, trying to keep her voice low and giving Winter a wary glance. She didn't seem to have noticed. Winter had headphones on and had begun swaying to a song only she could hear as she sorted through dusty boxes filled with nothing of value.

“Are you serious?” exclaimed Ningning, struggling to match Karina’s volume, face fluctuating from a grin to a gasp and back again. Karina looked back over to her. Her glance at Winter may not have been as short as she had intended it to be, but Ningning seemed unconcerned. “You’re literally the least likely person in the office to kill someone! Do you know how non-threatening you have to be less likely to commit murder than Winter unnie? Because at least she’s got that once in a blue moon glare that even scares the out of me but you? I guess you’ve sort of– if you really squint your eyes like—” 

Karina stood hastily as Ningning struggled to make a point, her chair letting out an unholy squeak as she did so. “It...look, Giselle’s calling, and I’ve got to go.” Karina practically sprinted into Giselle’s office.

The office of The Manager was aggressively ordinary. Sure, the Kwangya Institute was a bit of a weird organization, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from the Pigeon. Giselle’s office was just a normal manager’s office, glass windows facing out to the ocean of dusty metal shelves and moldering cardboard boxes. For now, though, her blinds were drawn, and so was her expression. Giselle sank onto her desk and gestured for Karina to sit in the Business Chair, one of two chairs other than her own in the office, (the other chair of course being the Ningning Chair.)

“So I just had a very interesting meeting,” said Giselle as Karina sat down.

“I suppose that means Lucas already talked to you then,” sighed Karina, fidgeting in her seat.

Giselle gave her an inscrutable look. “It does, yeah.”

“Giselle I—” Karina started, but Giselle held up a hand to silence her.

“Karina, what you did was stupid, and reckless.”

Karina looked down at the floor. “I know.”

“Someone’s dead because of you.” Giselle’s voice was cold. Not angry per se, but cold nonetheless. 

“I know that too.”

She let out a long, tired sigh. “But I probably would have done the same.”

“I know—what?” Karina looked up from the floor, an eyebrow raised and slightly open.

“You did it to get Winter out of that place, right?” asked Giselle.

Karina fought the urge to look away again. “Yes.”

“And I know that you offered up yourself first, which was stupid and not your call to make but…”

“But?”

“But I probably would have done the same to save you,” Giselle said. “Or Winter. Or Ningning. And I think the others would have too.” They were quiet for a moment. Giselle furrowed her brow. “This isn’t excusing what you did, Karina.”

“I figured.”

“It’s just...look. I have another case for you and Winter.” Giselle shot Karina a small smile. “Try not to get anyone killed, alright?”

Karina returned it. “Alright.”

“And maybe tell Winter you killed someone for her,” she added, standing up and moving to her own chair, which bounced as she sat down. “That’s not a thing you keep to yourself. Do it...delicately.” 

Karina stood too. “I will. Thank you, Giselle.”

“Winter should have the file,” said Giselle, turning on the ancient monitor the institute had provided her. “And I’m warning you now it’s a weird one.”

“Weirder than the doors?”

Giselle opened as if to say something, and thought better of it. “You’ll see. Now get out of my office, I've got manager stuff to do.”

Karina started to walk out and lingered in the doorway. “Is your manager stuff watching Real Housewives with Ningning?”

Giselle glared at her and turned her monitor out of her view. “No. Go talk to Winter.”

“Enjoy your show,” said Karina, shooting her a wry grin as she closed the door behind her. She exited the office to find Winter loitering by the door, file in hand.

“What was that about unnie?” Winter asked, smiling at her. 

Karina’s face fell. “Oh, you know. The usual.”

“Okay.” Winter’s face fell a little too. She looked sort of hurt, though hell if Karina knew why.

“Look, I’ll tell you about it later, alright?”

“You don’t have to, it’s fine.” Winter shifted her weight and ran a hand through her soft brown bob cut hair. “I mean, if you don’t want to talk about it I’m not going to make you, I—”

“No, I...I want to tell you,” said Karina, cutting her off. “Just not right now, okay? Mission first.”

“Right.” Winter smiled at her and was quiet for a beat, just sort of staring at Karina. Karina fidgeted nervously, and Winter straightened with a start. “I’ve got the case file if you want to look over it.”

“What’s the monster of the week?” asked Karina.

“It looks like it's a werewolf.”

Karina blinked. “A werewolf.”

“Yeah. Ningning even drew a little picture for reference.” Winter held up the file, and sure enough, smack dab in the center was a marker doodle of a werewolf dancing on top of a bus.

Karina sighed and took the file, glaring at the image. “Of course she did. Knowing Ningning, it’s probably a reference to something too.” She looked up from the file and raised an eyebrow at Winter. “Is it a reference?”

Winter nodded amusedly. “To Teen Wolf, yes.”

“Which is a...television show?”

“And a movie,” agreed Winter. “Which is what this is referencing.”

Karina looked back down at the picture and shook her head. “Ningning,” she muttered. 

Winter fought back a snort. “You ready to go hunt down a werewolf?”

“I mean it can’t be—” started Karina, but Winter cut her off with a look.

“Unnie, remember what we said about believing the witnesses?” Winter asked, crossing her arms.

“I know, it’s just…” Karina looked up at Winter, pain in her eyes. “It’s a werewolf, Winter.”

Winter nodded unsympathetically. “Yup.”

“Like a classic movie monster werewolf.”

“Correct again.”

Karina scrutinized Winter for a minute before just closing her eyes and shaking her head. “Fine. Let’s go investigate a...a werewolf.” By the look on Karina’s face, you’d have thought she had been stabbed and someone kept twisting the knife. It was a look of pain, and of anguish, and of pleading. 

Winter met it with a cheery smile and a clap on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, unnie. C’mon.”

“Well, this is a fun complication.” Karina and Winter stood in front of a tall, dark house. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was blood and police tape everywhere. A brusque looking woman in a dark brown pilot’s jacket approached them from the other side of the tape.

The woman flashed her badge at the pair and put her hands to her hips. “Detective Tiffany Young. You two are going to have to go. This is an active crime scene.”

Winter piped up first. “Sorry, we were just wondering if Jang Kangmin was here.”

“We’re supposed to talk with him,” Karina added.

“Well, you’re going to have some trouble with that,” the woman said. “He’s dead.”

Winter let out a strangled cry. “Dead?”

The woman looked nonplussed. “Yeah, in some sort of animal attack.” Karina and Winter exchanged a look, and the woman furrowed her brow. “What’s that look for?”

“Just...that’s sort of what we were going to talk to him about,” Winter said before Karina could stop her.

That seemed to surprise the woman. She recomposed herself and took a step towards them. “Do you have information related to this case?”

The pained look returned to Karina’s face. “We might.”

“I’m going to ask you to come with me, then.” The woman raised the police tape between them and gestured for the two of them to follow her. She took them into the house, though most of the blood was clearly elsewhere in the house. Even still, there were flashes of red and of yellow plastic markers that Karina tried not to look at. The officer finally stopped in the house's kitchen, where there stood a woman leaning on the kitchen counter, writing something in a pocket notebook. The woman was short in more way than one, in stature and hair most clearly, her close-cropped strawberry blonde hair looking newly shorn, but everything from the look on her face to the way she held herself told Karina she was shorter still of patience and manners. At their approach, she looked up to reveal fiery eyes and a vicious scar down her lip, and another on her arms, making apparent that what she lacked in height she made up with presence tenfold. 

She nodded to the officer accompanying them. “Who’re these two, Tiff?” 

“I’m Karina Yoo, and this is Winter Kim,” said Karina, gesturing to Winter, her voice remaining far steadier than she felt. Winter gave the woman a little wave, a small smile that the other did not return. 

Instead, she crossed her scarred arms and shot back a curt nod. “Detective Kim Taeyeon.” 

“They might know something about our victim,” explained the other detective, Tiffany. “How he died.”

“We know how he died,” Taeyeon said. “Looks like a bear got him.”

“Are there any bears in this area?” asked Winter. 

Taeyeon her, eyes like embers. “How would you explain it then?” she demanded. “The body’s nearly been torn in two and there’s claw marks up and down it.”

“A werewolf.” Winter boldly stated.

Karina gaped at her, looking as though she’d been slapped. “Winter!”

Taeyeon just stared blankly at her, any reaction she might have had at this outburst concealed utterly by a stony, professional facade. “Excuse me?”

“That’s why we’re here,” continued Winter, despite the expressions of everyone else in the room. “Mr. Jang Kangmin said he was being stalked by a werewolf, that’s why he talked to us.”

“Why, are you the Ghostbusters or something?” Tiffany asked.

“We’re from the Kwangya Institute,” Karina explained, very much wishing that she wasn’t. “We...get a lot of these sorts of reports.”

“What, rubbish ones?” Taeyeon leaned forward on the kitchen counter. “I can tell you for certain that it wasn't a werewolf stalking ‘Mr. Jang,’ though. It was us.”

“He’s wanted for assault and battery,” Tiffany added, almost apologetically.

Taeyeon let out a small, breathy laugh. “Not to mention he’s probably done a whole lot worse.”

“We can’t be sure though.” Winter argued.

“No,” Taeyeon admitted begrudgingly. 

Tiffany looked back over to Karina and Winter and sighed. “You two can go if that’s all you have.”

Winter made a motion to leave, but Karina stopped her. “Do you want the report that he gave?” she asked.

“What?”

“Mr. Jang Kangmin’s statement. About the werewolf? I’ve got the file right here.” Karina put the statement down on the countertop. The detectives looked at it silently.

“Is that the wolf from Teen Wolf?” Taeyeon asked finally.

Karina sighed. “Our co-worker thought it would be funny.”

Taeyeon snorted appreciatively. “It is.”

“We’ll take it,” said Tiffany, grabbing the file and shoving it into her coat. “Thank you.” Karina and Winter headed out, but not before seeing the two detectives exchange a very long look.

The pair made their way out of the neighborhood and back into the city proper, Winter’s car sputtering and groaning all the way. Karina was driving again. They switched off now more often than not. It just felt right. 

“So not a werewolf, then,” Winter said, sinking into the passenger seat.

“It would appear not,” agreed Karina. She glanced over at Winter. “You disappointed?”

Winter shrugged. “I mean, a little bit,” she admitted. “Do you think that boss will yell at us for giving away the file?”

“It was the police, Winter.”

“True.” Winter tapped her foot in time to the turn signal unthinkingly. “We should probably head back to the Institute.”

“We could,” nodded Karina, making a turn that was far too wide. “Or we could not.” 

Winter sat up slowly. “What are you saying?”

“Ningning and Giselle don’t know we finished early,” Karina said, not looking at Winter. “And they certainly don’t know how long the police held us.”

A smile crept up to Winter’s lips. “Are you suggesting we don’t do work?”

Karina rubbed the steering wheel and felt bits of it rub off in her hands. “I might be.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my unnie?”

Karina let out a laugh while also struggling to ignore that possessive “my” as she set an elbow on the stained armrest. “It’s just...there’s nothing pressing back at the office.”

“When has that ever stopped you?”

“Fair point,” Karina admitted. “But still, it’s not like they’ll miss us.”

“Ningning will,” Winter pointed out.

“Ningning will be fine,” Karina assured her. “I know for a fact that she and Giselle are behind a season anyway.”

Winter thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright. What do you suggest we do instead then?”

Karina shrugged sheepishly. “I hadn’t really planned that far ahead.”

“Unnie!”

“What?”

“You really didn’t plan any further ahead?” asked an incredulous Winter, who it seemed was very rapidly losing her mental image of Karina. “You were just going to what, spend a few nondescript hours with me?”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Karina, looking for a moment away from the road. She spent that moment looking at Winter. “I wanted to talk to you.”

Winter’s face became tinged with pink and she looked down very quickly. “Oh. Um, right.” Winter rubbed her face and adjusted her glasses. “Well, in that case, I’m pretty sure there’s a cafe nearby. And it is almost lunch.”

“That sounds alright,” said Karina, pointedly ignoring the contagious heat in her own cheeks. “Lead the way.”

Karina and Winter sat opposite one another in a sickeningly adorable cafe. The whole place seemed tinged with a sepia haze, and the constant din of customers and employees chattering gave the shop an aggressively indie movie vibe. The whole place smelled like old teacakes and new coffee machines and that cinnamon smell that always clung to Winter. This whole place felt like Winter, the coziness of it, the softness of it, the reek of hope as the cafe’s patrons typed out what they were sure was the manuscript that would shoot them to stardom. And it was too hot. Karina felt flushed and took off the fraying suit jacket she had brought for a day she had thought was going to go very differently. Despite the sounds of the cafe around them, Karina and Winter were quiet. Painfully, crushingly, awkwardly quiet. 

Karina cleared . “So.”

Winter looked up from her mug trepidatiously. “So.”

“What did you order?”

“Oh, this?” Winter glanced down at her mug for a moment and back at Karina with a feeble smile. “Just tea. Chrysanthemum tea. It’s not really the right time for it but I like it and they’re always sold out in the shops, so,” shrugged Winter. “Chrysanthemum. What did you get?”

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter