The trio walks through the doors of Twice, the local bar just a minute walk from the station. They're welcomed by a bartender, who spares them half a glance and wordlessly takes out three glasses onto the counter.

"Mina, how's it going?" Seungwan greets her with a friendly wave.

The bartender shrugs and asks, "Your usual?" She doesn't wait for a response before filling it with beer.

"How often do you guys go here?" Joohyun asks Sooyoung as Seungwan engages in a conversation with Mina.

Sitting on the stool beside her, Sooyoung answers, "Probably once a week. We get a discount."

"Ah, is Dahyun still... Alcohol-free?" Joohyun hears Seungwan ask and watches them out of their peripheral vision.

Sooyoung looks over her shoulder and snorts before turning back around to quietly say, "Chill, unnie. Mina's taken and Seungwan's just making conversation. You don't have to be--"

"I'm not jealous," Joohyun hisses back, still eyeing the two over Sooyoung's shoulder.

"The fact that you finished my sentence says otherwise," Sooyoung quips back, earning a sharp kick in the shin. "Hey, I'm trying to help you, okay?"

"You're trying to piss me off, that's what you're doing." 

"I think I've already accomplished that," Sooyoung says and moves her legs just in time to evade another kick from Joohyun. "Why don't you just tell her how you feel? You guys are friends now, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Just friends."

"Great, now get out of the friend zone, unnie."

Joohyun looks down at the cup in front of her. She sighs and takes a sip; the coldness of the condensation is a nice contrast to the warmth that follows to her stomach from the beer. "It's not that simple. She only sees me as a friend."

"Yes, and she was very adamant about it," Sooyoung says with raised brows, hoping Joohyun can read between the lines.

She does and shakes her head at that. "Not like that. She thought I hated her for no reason so of course she seemed 'adamant' to rectify it."

"Well," Sooyoung begins with a smirk. "As her partner and as your best friend--"

"You're not my best friend."

"--I feel obliged to help you both. Let me tell you something," Sooyoung says and leans in. Joohyun doesn't make a move, simply staring at her like she's an idiot. "Come on, you can keep secret, right?" 

Rolling her eyes, Joohyun obliges and leans in to listen before Sooyoung whispers, "Seungwan also likes you. A lot."

"What?"

Sooyoung nods as Joohyun leans back, taking another sip of her beer. Sooyoung mirrors her and lets out a pleased sigh as she sits the glass beside her, drawing a smiley face with the condensation. "We were on a stake-out the other day," Sooyoung begins lazily. "I was bored out of my mind but Seungwan seemed to not even be there. She looked like one of those cult people in the movies. I'm talking 'half-lid eyes that aren't looking at , dazed smile and twirling her hair' kind of crazy. Honestly, I thought she might've been possessed or something. Anyway, I heard her say 'She's so pretty,' a bunch of times before I had enough and went outside for some air. When I came back, she was on the phone with Seulgi and I overheard the bear say 'It'd be really messy, Wan. You guys work together.'"

Sooyoung finishes her story by turning her glass around in its spot, showing off her little drawing in the condensation. Joohyun scowls at the picture of a face with its features accentuated to actually resemble a .

"Well?"

"You're a child, Sooyoung," Joohyun deadpans.

"I meant about Seungwan," she replies, whining a little when Joohyun wipes her drawing away. "She likes someone at work. Now, my first thought was that it's me because well... Duh, it's me. But I asked her straight out and she said no."

"She just said 'no'?"

"Okay, she threw a fry at me then proceeded to fake gag and make fun of me for an hour," Sooyoung says with a grimace. "Anyways! Seulgi's definitely not it, she knows who it is. That leaves you and Yeri."

"You know we're not the only one who works at the precinct right? What if she likes one of the interns or something?"

"Who? Mary Sue or Frankenstein? Because neither of them seems like Seungwan's type."

The older nudges Sooyoung's ankle with her foot and gives her a pointed look. "Don't be mean."

"Do you even know their names?"

Joohyun's answer to that question comes in the form of sipping her beer.

"Exactly," Sooyoung says with a scoff. "Just ask her out already."

"Who are you asking out?" They jump in their seats, slowly turning their heads to find Seungwan standing behind them with a curious look and holding a trio of shots in her hands. "Sorry it took so long guys, we were just catching up."

"It's fine," Joohyun says, happily cradling a shot glass to her hands. She clinks her glass with theirs and tips her head back to down the drink, slamming the small cup onto the counter with a grimace. "Oh, that's strong." 

"Yeah, three of these and Seungwan's knocked out cold," Sooyoung laughs, seemingly unaffected by the alcohol as she takes another mouthful of her beer. 

"So, sunbae," Seungwan starts, leaving her own empty glass on the bartop and sitting on the seat beside Joohyun. "Who are you going to ask out? Do I know them?"

Joohyun stills and sends Sooyoung a discretely panicked look who just silently sips her beer, enjoying this awkward scenario Joohyun's found herself in. "Uh..."

"Oh, I can be your wingwoman!" Seungwan declares with a pump of her fist. "Not that you need it all. I'm sure you could have whoever you want with just a single look," Seungwan adds with a teasing look.

Joohyun feels her cheeks burn. She wants to blame it on the alcohol settling in her stomach. 

"Um..."

"You don't have to tell me," Seungwan says quickly. "I get why you'd want to keep it on the low. You must like them a lot, huh?"

Joohyun watches Seungwan closely; the younger pulls to the side in a grin and Joohyun just wants to reach over and kiss her silly. "Yeah," she settles on admitting, ignoring Sooyoung's not-so-discreet snorting beside her. "I guess I do. But I don't think she likes me back."

"Why not?"

Sooyoung leans in then and pipes up, "Yeah unnie. Why not?"

Ignoring the knowing tone in Sooyoung's voice, Joohyun replies, "I think she likes someone else."

"Hm. I'm guessing she's someone you've barely talked to then...knowing you?" Seungwan asks with a tease flashing in her toothy grin.

She's quite spot-on yet so far off, Joohyun muses. "Maybe. So what?"

"Well," Seungwan begins and shrugs a shoulder, playing with the empty shot glass on the counter. Joohyun follows the movement with a bite of her bottom lip as the glass spins between Seungwan's fingers, finding the little action incredibly attractive. "Maybe she just doesn't know you well enough? Sure, if she likes someone else there's nothing you can really do about it, but I think, unless she tells you she's not interested or she gets into a relationship, you still have a chance. Once she gets to know you better, I'm sure she'll be smitten."

Joohyun lets out a brief hum of thought that resembles a low grunt. "I think she knows me pretty well."

"Yeah, it seems like she's just a bit stupid and clueless is all. Both of them actually," Sooyoung adds and Joohyun kicks her again without even looking at her target. The corners of tilt upwards when she hears the yelp beside her.

Later that night, as Mina all but kicks them out of the bar, Joohyun yawns and hugs herself against the chill of the night.

Seungwan slips off her jacket and wraps it around the older's shoulders. "Tired? You drank quite a bit."

"No, I didn't," Joohyun mumbles back with a pout in an attempt to distract her from the squirming organs in her stomach that are giggling happily from Seungwan's action as she welcomes the warmth her blazer provides.

"How many drinks did you have?" Sooyoung asks as they stand outside on the sidewalk, not moving yet.

"Uh... How many shots count as a drink?" Joohyun holds out her hands, slowly putting down a finger as she mentally counts. "And what comes after seven?"

"Eight," Seungwan says amusedly before turning to Sooyoung in disbelief. "She had eight standard drinks."

"Plus two beers."

"Ten, then." Seungwan swallows thickly and turns back to Joohyun who just looks at her blankly.

"I'll walk her home," Sooyoung says and just as she has an arm around Joohyun's shoulder, the older huffs and whacks her hand away.

"I live like two blocks away," Joohyun says with a pinched brow. "You just want to steal all my food again."

"So you do have leftovers from your mum?" Sooyoung grins and an inquisitive brow. "Share the love, unnie."

"You literally had dinner with us on the weekend," Joohyun retorts and hits her shoulder. "I'll be fine," Joohyun says, interrupting Seungwan as she opens . "We all live in different directions, don't we? I'll be careful. See you guys tomorrow. Stop showing up late, Seungwan."

"No promises. Text us when you get home," Seungwan says and hugs her before they all bid farewell and go their separate ways. 

Well, sort of separate ways.

Seungwan ducks around the corner, hiding in a spot of darkness before ing her blouse. She glances around her surroundings as she strips, revealing her dark blue suit underneath. She pats the bottom of her bag, looking for the hidden pocket underneath and taking her mask out. 

The vigilante shoves her work clothes into her bag and haphazardly leaves it underneath a car. Please be here when I get back, Seungwan thinks to herself before turning to face the wall behind her and latching onto the bricks. The gloves on her suit are equipped with suction so it makes the climb effortless and hasty. She peers over the edge of the roof and spots Joohyun's figure down the street. She doesn't hesitate to spread her arms and glide down from the top of the building.

"Hey there, pretty lady," Seungwan says, dropping to the ground with a fancy bow before the detective.

"What the--Blue Squirrel?!" Joohyun shrieks in surprise, hand instinctively going to the holster of her gun. "You picked the wrong person to mess with," she says