Seungwan wakes up to a white wall. She's facing the window, covered thickly in snow. It seems like she didn't move at all in her sleep. Seungwan takes a look over her shoulder and sighs with a mix of relief and disappointment that Joohyun's already gone.

That sentiment is quickly depleted once she opens the door and is welcomed by the aromatic smell of coffee and... is something burning? She hears Joohyun before she sees her, or rather she hears the girl yelp and quickly runs to the kitchen to check on her.

"Joohyun, are you okay? What happened?"

Joohyun swivels around, looking like a bunny caught stealing carrots. Seungwan shakes her head away from that comparison but reminds herself to text her partner.

"Seungwan!" Joohyun says surprisedly. "You're up already?"

"Uh, yeah?" She eyes the pan that Joohyun seems hell-bent on hiding with her body. 

"Funny. You're always late to work though," Joohyun chuckles nervously and Seungwan walks peeks a head over her shoulder gasping at the sight she sees. 

"Jesus, are you making charcoal pancakes or something?" Seungwan exclaims, holding up the pan and wincing at how it stubbornly sticks to the pan, seeming to defy gravity. She looks at the counter and sees a bowl of batter that looks very, very suspicious. "What is this..?"

"The-The batter?"

Seungwan lifts the bowl to her eye level and retorts, "It looks like expired porridge. Why are so many chunks?"

Joohyun lets out a little indignant grunt and the corners of Seungwan's lips curl up, thinking briefly about how cute the sound was before she swishes bowl and cringes. "Also, it's not supposed to be so... slimy."

"I've never made pancakes before, I was just following instructions... But I messed it up somehow."

"That's okay, Hyun," Seungwan giggles at her, patting her back. "It was for me too when I was learning how to make pancakes from scratch." She grabs the pan and goes to chuck the burnt pancake inside before she sees what's already there.

Joohyun watches her in silence and an awkward beat passes as Seungwan blinks down at the cardboard box in the bin.

"It's um..." Joohyun fails to finish her sentence when Seungwan jolts out a loud cackle, her whole body trembling with laughter and Joohyun doesn't let herself feel embarrassed for too long, enjoying the sight of Seungwan's joy instead.

"You messed up pre-made pancake mix?!" Joohyun slowly joins in on Seungwan's giggling and blushes when Seungwan goes in to hold her head in her hand, squeezing lightly. "How do you even do that, Joohyun? You just shake it and pour it on the pan--which you didn't even oil, oh my god!"

Seungwan spends the next ten minutes observing as she instructs Joohyun how to make pancakes from scratch. 

"Wait, you can't just leave the eggshells in there," Seungwan says.

"Why not? Won't it just pop out of the pancakes when it cooks?"

Snorting behind her palm, Seungwan shakes her head. "It doesn't work like that, Joohyun!"

"Why not?"

"It just doesn't," Seungwan chuckles back at her, bringing a hand over Joohyun's as she guides the older to use the bigger piece of the shell to scoop the others out of the bowl.

"Well that's annoying. Chickens are stupid."

It feels strangely domestic as they settle into silence, two pancakes cooked and stacked on a plate next to them (there's also one in the bin or at least fragments of one; obviously Joohyun's handiwork). 

Wordlessly, after watching Joohyun make her own pancake by herself without Seungwan needing to make a single critique, the younger goes to open one of her cupboards, taking out a packet of green tea. "Which mug do you like?" Seungwan asks, opening another cupboard that reveals an array of upside cups.

"The one with the bunny, it's cute," Joohyun replies and quickly turns her attention back to the pan. She's determined to get this right.

"Uh, which one, I have two. Pink or purple?"

Joohyun doesn't look up, closely eyeing the pan and says, "The purple one then."

"That's your favourite colour, right?" Seungwan asks as she places the teabag into the mug and starts the kettle. "You always bring a purple lunch container too."

"Mhm," Joohyun hums back a little absentmindedly as she focuses on flipping the pancake. 

Seungwan grins, watching the way the tip of her tongue pokes out of in concentration.

"What's yours?"

"Blue."

Joohyun barely even hears her as she scowls down at the pan; a huge blob has separated from the main pancake.

"Is that Australia?"

Joohyun squeaks at Seungwan's comment, surprised to find her standing right behind her. She can feel her breath hitting the back of her ear and gasps quietly when Seungwan's hand is placed at her waist. The stove is situated at the end of the kitchen so Joohyun's literally cornered in. She feels like she should complain but...

They're like one step away from back-hugging at this point as Seungwan lifts her other hand to hold up the pan. "Cool, how'd you do that?"

"H-Huh?" Joohyun can't really focus on what Seungwan's trying to say when she shuffles closer and presses her chest against Joohyun's back.

Oh jeez, why do they both have to be wearing only a thin shirt right now? Oh jeez, why isn't Seungwan wearing a bra? Oh jeez, why does it have to be really, really cold here, her... Her... (Seungwan's s are a little perked up due to the cold, it's a natural bodily response.)

"It's like you copy-and-pasted it from a map, Hyun," Seungwan remarks, clearly impressed and not at all realising it was a complete mistake before the kettle makes a noise and she walks away to finish making the cup of tea.

Joohyun lets out a breath of relief when she leaves and slides Australia onto the stack of round pancakes. She even adjusts the little smaller piece so that it really does look like the country.

"Your tea's done, how's it going over there, wifey?" Seungwan chirps as she sets the mug beside the one filled with coffee that Joohyun made for her.

"W-What?"

"You know, it's like how the wife makes pancakes and the husband sips on his coffee, admiring her."

What is the woman saying and does she realise what it's doing to Joohyun?

She finds herself feeling a bit of deja vu hearing Seungwan's joke. It's the kind of humour a certain someone would use and Joohyun decides to join in on the banter, "Let's not conform to ist stereotypes, now," Joohyun starts and pours the last drop of batter onto the pan. "Hubby."

Seungwan claps her hand once and gives her a laugh painted with joy and embroidered in mirth. It's a sound that could heal all wounds, Joohyun thinks because despite the rage simmering in her belly, she feels as though she's been placed into a little bubble with Seungwan; in here she can forget about the outside world. Even for a moment, she allows herself to imagine a universe where things were different and maybe... maybe something more. Joohyun peeks a glance in her peripheral vision to find Seungwan staring back at her.

"You're amazing," Seungwan says and Joohyun's not sure if the heat of the stove's getting to her or if that single comment can actually make her face sweat so suddenly.

"I-I am?"

"Well, yeah," Seungwan begins, sidling up to her and leaning against the counter, staring at her side profile, "Maybe not so much at cooking but--" Joohyun takes the end of a spatula and butts it into the younger's side "--ow--hey!--you're getting there. You made a country, Joohyun. Not many people can say that."

"That's true," The older lets out a snort and nods, "I founded Australia. Don't tell anyone."

Seungwan hums and dips her head to catch Joohyun's gaze, before whispering loudly, "Your secret's safe with me, Hyun-ah."

Later that night, Seungwan finds herself waiting at the top of the police station's rooftop, swinging a leg back and forth over the edge as she waits for her partner to make an appearance. The moon is smiling down at her with the total might of her round, circular glow. She thinks of the first meeting with the Bunny and how it was this same full moon that she declared, 'I'm totally going to fall in love with her.' 

Now here she is, stagnant in a fight with herself; by her feelings for the vigilante, her guilt for Joohyun and something else she can't place yet. 

Maybe she's just hungry. There's dinner right beside her and it's going to get cold soon. She promised her partner once that she'd buy them dinner so why not tonight? 

She pulls out her phone and decides to text her again, asking for the Bunny's whereabouts when she hears a thud behind her and tucks it away with a small smile.

"Nice of you to hop in, Bunny," she says, still gazing up at the night sky.

Joohyun hesitates to reply. She's not sure what to say to that anymore. It's the same greeting her partner always says every time they meet. But it's different now after what she told her. But at the same time, it's not, because Detective Bae told her that, not the Pink Bunny.

Wordlessly, Joohyun sits beside her, pressing the back of her knees into the roof's edge and letting her feet dangle.

"I hope you like tteokbokki," Seungwan says, shaking a paper bag and Joohyun can't help but respond with an open-mouthed smile.

"I ing love tteokbokki, how the hell did you know?" Joohyun excitedly grabs the bag and pulls out the take-out boxes, grabbing two chopsticks as well. 

Seungwan shrugs a shoulder. "It was in a dream, of course, Bunny." Joohyun waits, holding a rice cake up to her lips and stares at Seungwan as the latter pauses for dramatic effect. "We were eating it with our kids."

"Ugh," Joohyun scoffs and kicks her ankle. "Sounds like a nightmare, not a dream." The response parts her lips easily as if it's second nature and she quickly shoves the rice cake in to occupy herself.

Despite the hatred she holds against her partner, she's been with her for almost three months now. They're friends. She actually enjoys the Squirrel's company. Her jokes are terrible and her flirting has never been worse. But the Squirrel is a great partner, saving her on more than one occasion and her often ill-timed one-liners are a nice reprieve whenever they're in a sticky situation. Also, there hasn't been a single person they were after that they haven't eventually caught yet.

But, it's ionic because Joohyun can't catch the Squirrel despite working so closely beside her. It's terribly conflicting for Joohyun. She hates her, she knows that. She wants to have the courage to push the Squirrel off the edge right now and watch her fall to her death. But she knows she doesn't have the heart to. Let alone the guts to actually murder a person. Unlike the Squirrel. She won't stoop to that. She's better than the Squirrel.

"There's something I've got to tell you," Seungwan says when Joohyun opens the second box. She notices that her partner's still on her first rice cake.

"If you're going to confess your feelings again..."

Seungwan shakes her head slowly at that and looks Joohyun dead in the eye. Up close, Joohyun seems to be able to spot the brown orbs underneath the white material of her mask. "No, it's... It's not that. I think this is worse. It'll change the way you see me completely."

"I see you as an annoying rat," Joohyun snarks back immediately, stuffing her face with the tteokbokki.

"Why do people keep calling me that?"

Joohyun shrugs, chewing on her tteokbokki. "Because you are one. Now stop squirrelling around and tell me what you want to say."

Seungwan scoffs lightly at that and she sighs, taking a deep breath before speaking: "I should preface this by asking you not to interrupt me, Bunny. Let me do my monologue okay?"

Silently, Joohyun nods and she starts to get a bad feeling about this. She knows what she's going to say and she doesn't want to hear her own words being bounced back to herself.

Seungwan takes another sharp inhale of air before beginning: "I am not the person you think I am. I'm not the person I thought I was. You know my morals: truth, justice, delivering it to those the system failed, helping those who can't help themselves. I prided myself on sticking to that code since I put on the mask and it felt good to know--to think--that I never strayed from it. But I've recently found out that I'm a fraud." 

Seungwan leaves her half-eaten rice cake on the lid of the box and hunches over, hugging her legs to her chest and burrowing her nose between her knees. "I am a fake. A phony. I've been deceiving you and deceiving myself."

Joohyun almost feels bad for the girl. Almost.

"When I started this, it was out of blind rage. I wanted vengeance not justice for the person who murdered my grandmother right in front of me in cold blood. That was almost two years ago. I spent my time between then and when I started this, failing to process my pain. I went to different countries and poured myself into work. I was basically killing myself with it all. I ruined relationships with people I met and with my parents and my sister. It wasn't until I first put on the mask and saved my first life--a restaurant that caught fire and the owner was in too deep a sleep to notice--that I realised that doing this was some form of salvation. I knew it was the perfect way to find the killer. The police did nothing but toss the case aside, not caring about her because of her age. And then--after the restaurant owner hugged me and promised to make me a free meal the next time I saw her--I firmly decided upon truth and justice becoming my life's meaning."

Joohyun's stubborn refusal to feel sympathy for her begins to waver.

"I was reckless at first. For the first few weeks, I didn't take a good look at my surroundings and I never really cared if my actions caused serious damage or anything. There was this skirmish with rival gang families in March. I remember gliding down from the top of a skyscraper, feeling like the world was at my fingertips. I remember planning to sweep across the middle of the fight and throw out all of my knock-out nuts and it worked. Pretty ing well, it hit almost all of the main fights, and there were no gang deaths that night. But..."

Joohyun grips her chopsticks tightly, waiting to hear her own story being told to her. There's that rage again.

"One of them flew into a restaurant, right into a woman's throat. There was a family there, celebrating the daughter's birthday. The woman was her best friend, she loved her. She choked on it. She was also seriously allergic to the anesthetic it releases. I'm not sure if she died because of choking or because of the allergy. Regardless, it was my fault. The father also had the same allergy and he suffered anaphylaxis. He's been in a coma for over eight months."

Seungwan slowly turns her face towards Joohyun and the older clenches her jaw at the sight; the moonlight gives diamonds to descend upon Seungwan's cheeks. It's a messy flurry of crystal and glass as her partner lets out a choked sob. She wants to think that the Squirrel looks ugly like this, crying to her about her murdering her best friend and seriously injuring her father. She wants to take the chopsticks in her hand and jam it into the Squirrel's eyeballs just to use as a dam and stop her from crying because Joohyun can't help but also tear up at the sight. 

She doesn't hug her, doesn't even touch her. That, she refuses to offer. 

"I'm a monster, Bunny. I'm a terrible person and I don't deserve to call myself your partner. I don't deserve to wear this mask and spread a moral code that I failed to follow. People look up to us now--young people. Children. I should be a role model. But I'm a murderer."

"You..." Joohyun begins some minutes later as she's had enough of her partner's gasping sobs. She lets the pain of her fingernails digging into her gloves anchor her and stop her from doing anything rash. "You were told this from the daughter?"

"Yes. Detective Bae. That's why she's leading the investigation. She wants justice. I should give it to her, that's the only thing I can offer."

"You said you broke your moral code," Joohyun says hoarsely. "Then that means you don't need to follow it so strictly anymore."

"What are you saying?"

Yeah, what is she saying? But she doesn't stop herself, dropping the chopsticks out of her hand and watching as it falls to the ground. "Justice is the biggest thing in your morals. If you've defied it already, you can ignore it again. For a time."

"I-I can't do that to Joohyun."

She hates how easily her own name rolls off the Squirrel's tongue as if she knows her personally. As if the vigilante is friends with her. 

"What do you plan on doing? Hand yourself over to her and just let her send you to prison for life?"

"Yes?"

Joohyun shakes her head and grabs Seungwan's chopsticks, shoving the rest of the rice cake into . She leans in and their noses are almost touching, they're close enough that Joohyun can count the specks of diamond tears on her face. "What about your grandmother, huh? If you want to serve justice, give it to her before you give it to Detective Bae. Don't waste all the time you've spent spreading your cause and giving hope to the people before you achieve your goal. You say you've defied your rules, well you'd be totally going back on them--giving them the finger--if you don't give your grandmother the least she deserves."

Joohyun settles back to her spot and watches Seungwan slowly start to chew. "If you can wait two years, searching for your grandmother's justice, Joohyun can wait that long as well."

Furiously, Seungwan shakes her head. "It doesn't work like that. Time isn't a currency to exchange for--"

"It is now!" Joohyun yells and Seungwan stares back at her surprised. "Don't do anything stupid, Blue Squirrel. I'm dead serious."

"B-Bunny..."

"I know a thing or two about wanting to seek revenge and wanting to find justice. I think you and Detective are the same. You both want the same things for the same reasons. She would understand. She'd hate it but she would."

"You don't that. You don't know her. You didn't see the look on her face--how angry and hurt she was--when she told me. I've endured this for two years, yes, but I would never