As the waiter finished filling their glasses with bubbling water and turned away, Sungmin offered Haruki a slight smile, which went unnoticed. She’d been frozen in her seat since he’d pulled her chair out for her, with her eyes blankly fixed on her empty plate.

She didn't dare look at Sungmin. Something about the sharp cut of his suit and the way his smile was lit up by the candle on their table made her pulse quicken for reasons she couldn't understand. Sungmin was generally better dressed than most of the men at work-- at least, he made an effort to wear a blazer and a clean shirt every day. And she’d seen him in a suit before. But there was something different about the way he looked tonight, something she couldn’t quite name.

He said something and she raised her eyes slightly. He was giving her a concerned look, leaning slightly forward and reaching across the table towards her. She swallowed hard, tucked both hands into her lap, and glanced away.

He was a very good looking man.

Presently, she realized he was asking if she was alright and presumably, had been doing so for a while.

“I-I'm fine,” she mumbled.

He let it go at that, glancing down at the utensils beside his plate and fiddling with his fork.

Why was she so nervous? This was Sungmin, her best friend at work. He was the only one who respected her abilities at first. She knew him...

No, that was the problem. She’d worked with him for almost five years now, but she still didn't know anything about him. She'd never bothered to ask about his personal life- every time she saw him, they would just drink coffee and talk about their respective cases. It wasn't that she didn't do the same thing with the other guys at work, she was just the most comfortable with Sungmin. He was polite and supportive and gave her a fresh perspective on her work when she was stuck.

She'd never looked at him any other way.

Haruki knew she was a bit of a moron when it came to men, but she was sure he'd never shown any signs of interest in her. Except for that kiss... At least, he wasn't nearly as brazen as Seungri or as teasing as Jiyong, even though she knew that neither genuinely liked her. And he wasn't even like Donghae-

She frowned slightly. Why was she thinking about Donghae?

“Haruki, if you’re not comfortable being here-“

He wasn't interested in her either.

“-we can go home. I’m-“

But he sent tingles up her arm whenever he touched her. What the hell did that mean?

“-sorry you got dragged into this. I know you never meant to say yes and you definitely weren't expecting to see me.”

Haruki jolted and stared at him. “What?”

“I said, I know you never meant to go on a date with me. We can go home-”

“No,” she said quickly. “I...I’m sorry, my mind was somewhere else. I…I want to stay.” She offered him a shy smile. He stared at her for a moment, then relaxed into a smile. She picked up her glass of water and sipped it, before setting it towards the middle of the table.

“Jessica, I don’t need a guy in my life.”

“It’s not the worst thing that could happen, Haruki.”

Her friend was right, as usual. She forced herself to smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and leaning forward slightly. “What do you usually like to do on a Friday night?”

Eunhyuk stretched his arms over his head and yawned loudly. “I’m so tired, I could fall asleep standing up. But it seems kind of pathetic to go to bed so early on a Friday. I mean, I’m not THAT old yet. Want to grab a drink?”

“No thanks,” Donghae replied.

His best friend froze mid-stretch and stared at him. "What? Since when does Lee Donghae not go out on a Friday?"

“I’m a little tired, too,” Donghae muttered, standing up. “I think I’ll just go home. Good night-”

“Sit back down,” ordered Eunhyuk. “We need to talk. You’ve been acting bizarre ever since we found Chunji’s body and it’s getting to the point where it’s affecting your focus at work. You need an intervention. What’s going on?”

Donghae sank back against his chair and just sighed.

Eunhyuk’s voice softened as he turned towards the other detective. “Come on. I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything.”

“It’s your damn fault!” Donghae snapped so harshly, Eunhyuk recoiled. “Ever since you said I like Haruki, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. It’s complete bull!”

“Are you sure?” Eunhyuk asked seriously. “Why would it bother you so much if it’s not true?”

Donghae opened his mouth to retort, but couldn’t think of anything to say. He shut it again.

“When was the last time you had a date, dude?” Eunhyuk asked. “I mean, I don’t think you’ve had a single one for...more than a year. I’ve never known you to have a dry spell that long.” He chuckled. “Having a little trouble with the ladies?”

Donghae scowled. “What's your point?”

“Isn’t that when you started working with Haruki on The Lobotomist case?”

“So?” Donghae snapped. “That case took up all my time and energy. I didn’t have time to go out.”

“Didn't have time? Or didn't want to?” asked Eunhyuk.

“Why wouldn't I want to?” Donghae retorted.

“So you could spend more time with Haruki,” Eunhyuk replied. “What do you see in her, anyway? She’s not bad-looking, but you’ve definitely gone out with hotter girls. She’d bite your head off before she’d let you touch her. And have you forgotten what she did the first time you talked to her?”

Donghae grinned. “Of course not.” It had been her first day at work. She was getting herself some coffee after Chief Park introduced her to everyone, when he’d come in. He’d made a stupid joke about being on his best behavior around her or something similarly flirtatious. In response, she’d handcuffed him to the fridge in the coffee room and stormed out.

Eunhyuk noticed his expression and widened his eyes in disbelief. “You can’t seriously tell me you thought that was hot.”

“She's a strong woman,” Donghae replied. “I...I guess I like that.”

“A strong woman who’s been slowly breaking down over the past year,” Eunhyuk retorted. “I can understand that you want to protect her. She’s vulnerable and you’ve always been a er for damsels in distress. You-”

“Damsel in distress?” Donghae raised his eyebrow. “Eunhyuk, if that’s what you think Haruki is right now, you know nothing about her. The profile of the killer we came up with tonight…she fits every single one of those traits. If there’s any reason for me to worry about her, it’s that I think she’s going to get too personally involved in the case and do something stupid.”

His phone rang and he grabbed it off the coffee table, flipping it open. “Donghae here.”

“Hey Donghae.” He recognized Taeyeon’s voice. “Where are you?”

“At Eunhyuk’s house. What’s up?”

“Oh good, Eunhyuk’s there too. We need you both to come over to the performing arts college right away.”

Donghae felt a chill as he rose to his feet and paced towards the window, waving off Eunhyuk's questioning glance. “What happened?”

“How can you say that Shindong is schizophrenic? He clearly has a personality disorder!” Onew snapped.

“Not true!” protested Ryeowook. “He’s always talking to dead people like they’re talking back! That’s, like, delusional, right?”

Jiyong was chuckling as he sipped his beer while Siwon had long given up on taking away their drinks. He was having some success getting Ryeowook to drink more slowly, however- at least the younger detective hadn’t reached the stage where he started crying and telling everyone he loved them.

“They’re usually not this bad,” he mumbled almost apologetically to Jiyong. “They’re just stressed-”

The hacker waved him off. “Please, I’m here almost every week. I’ve seen them in worse condition before. But why are they diagnosing everyone with mental illnesses?”

“Who knows?” Siwon sighed.

Jiyong set down his glass and looked at Siwon seriously. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.” Siwon nodded. “None of you were there when Haruki and Tiffany were talking yesterday?”

“Tiffany refused to speak unless she and Haruki were alone,” Siwon replied.

“You have no idea what they talked about?” asked Jiyong. Siwon shook his head. “I know Haruki recorded the conversation. But at lunch time, I saw her staring at her tape recorder for a long time, before shaking her head and tossing it straight in the trash. And then she dumped her coffee over it.”

Siwon winced. “She destroyed the recording?”

“Tried to,” Jiyong replied. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a tightly tied evidence bag. “I spent most of yesterday and today trying to restore it so we could hear the conversation.”

“And?” Siwon’s frown deepened.

“Large gaps of it are missing,” Jiyong replied. “I think those are lost. But I did notice something interesting. If you listen to the tone of their voices, Tiffany is extremely calm and collected, while Haruki sounds like she's the one being interrogated.”

“Hm.” The detective raised his eyebrows thoughtfully.

“I don’t understand how Tiffany can be so calm,” muttered Jiyong. “We’re slowly weaving a net around her.”

“Haruki says she didn't kill anyone,” Siwon replied.

“Even if she didn’t, she can be charged with attempted murder and withholding evidence and accessory to murder!” Jiyong retorted. “She’s got some sort of trick up her sleeve.”

“But the more important question is, what is Haruki so nervous about?” Siwon asked. “Do you think she knows more about the cases than she's letting on?”

“Hey, you’re the detective.” Jiyong attempted a grin and took a sip of his beer.

But Siwon’s expression stayed unhappy and pensive. “Destroying their conversation is the equivalent of burning Taemin’s diary. Haruki’s withholding evidence.”

Jiyong’s eyes widened. “Are you going to report her?”

“It’s her second offense,” Siwon replied. “I have to.”

“My pocket’s buzzing,” announced Ryeowook as he fumbled with it, eventually drawing out his phone. He clicked the green answer button and held it up to his ear. “Hello! Hello?”

Siwon reached over and turned it right side up before handing it back to him. “Hello?” Ryeowook tried again. “Chief! Hi Chief!” He listened intently for a moment before handing the phone to Siwon. “He wants to talk to you.”

Siwon took the cellphone from him. “Sir?"

“I tried to call you first, but your phone is off,” Chief Park told him.

“Sorry. My battery died.”

“It’s fine. I need you to fill Ryeowook up with coffee and bring him to the School of Performing Arts. We’ve got a problem.”

“No way,” Sungmin laughed. “You had to go undercover as a hooker while you were in the drug unit?”

Haruki smiled as she nodded. “It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I graduated from the police academy.”

“Have you always wanted to be a cop?” Sungmin asked.

She nodded again. “Ever since I was little. How about you?”

“Probably the same,” he replied. “In elementary school, a police officer came into give a talk about what the job was like. I thought it would be really cool to catch bad guys and have shootouts. I think I got the police mixed up a bit with cowboys, but I’ve never regretted the decision.”

Haruki smiled as she dragged her fork through her pasta sauce, then scooped up the last meatball and popped it into . After swallowing, she murmured, “We should tell the academy that’s the best way to get recruits. Have a big, tough-looking guys in a uniform show up at a school. Little boys would love it.”

“Except for one thing,” Sungmin replied. “The officer who came to my school was a woman.”

Haruki raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yeah. She stepped up to the podium and the room fell silent. All the kids were staring at her in awe.” He smiled. “Kind of like when you come onto a crime scene or step into the office.”

Haruki blushed and stared down at her plate.

“The other guys might not have respected your skills at first, but they sure as hell do now,” Sungmin added quietly, reaching over and taking her hand in his.

Haruki was grateful when her phone rang loudly. “Excuse me,” she said, pulling back a bit too quickly.

“Sure.”

She found her phone at the bottom of her purse and pulled it out, rushing towards the restroom. She vaguely wondered if he was watching her walk away. “Hello?” she called.

“Haruki? It’s Yuri. Whatever you’re doing, we need you to drop it right now.”

“What? Where are you?”

“The School of Performing Arts,” Yuri replied. “There’s been a murder. But it’s urgent. You need to come.”

“I’m on my way.” Haruki clicked her phone shut and headed back to the table. “Sungmin, I’m so sorry. I just got a call from Yuri and-”

“The School of Performing Arts,” he replied, signaling to a waiter. “I know. Siwon called me. Looks like we have another victim of our vigilante.”

Donghae straightened the front of his jacket and climbed out Eunhyuk’s car, looking around the campus of the university. He’d been here once almost exactly a year ago, also because of a murder.

“Are you the officers from VPD?” Donghae turned around to see two security guards approaching them. One of them, the shorter one, smiled and stuck his hand out. “I’m Myungsoo and this is Sungyeol. He’s the one who called you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Donghae replied. “I’m Donghae. This is my partner Eunhyuk.”

“Ready?” asked Sungyeol. “Your colleagues are already at the crime scene.”

A taxi pulled up behind their car and Ryeowook staggered out, looking bleary. On the other side, Siwon stepped out after thanking the driver and giving him a tip. “Hey. Are we late? Sorry, Ryeowook had to throw up on the way over. He had a few too many.”

“Did not,” Ryeowook whined.

“You’re on time,” Eunhyuk replied. “We just got here too.”

“Alright. What’s the situation?”

Before the guards could explain, another car pulled up and Sungmin climbed out of the driver’s seat. He nodded to the others, crossed open the passenger door, and opened it.

Donghae caught his breath as Haruki stepped out. She had on a black dress that hugged her body like a glove and her hair was artfully arranged around her face. Clearly, she had taken a lot of time getting ready, something he’d never seen her do before, not even for formal work events. He did a double take. Was she wearing makeup?

She shivered and he subconsciously made a move to shrug off his jacket, a gnawing feeling churning in his gut when Sungmin took his jacket off first and wrapped it around her shoulders. She smiled at him and Donghae swallowed hard.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. It came out harsher than he’d intended.

“Yuri called us,” Haruki replied. “She said there was something we needed to see.”

Myungsoo introduced himself and Sungyeol again, explaining that the body was in a public place and it was upsetting the students. “If you please, we should hurry.”

“Of course,” Siwon replied. Ryeowook mumbled something, rubbed at his nose, and followed after the older detective.

Donghae gritted his teeth as he glanced over his shoulder to see Sungmin with one hand on the small of Haruki’s back as he walked by her side. She murmured something inaudible and frowned. Sungmin bent his head close to hers and whispered something that Donghae guessed was supposed to be comforting. Sungmin leaned in, as if to kiss Haruki's cheek, but Haruki stepped away from him, passing Donghae and Eunhyuk to join Siwon at the front of the group.

Donghae was surprised that he felt a stab of glee at Sungmin’s glum expression.

A crowd was huddled right at the edge of the taped off area, which was being manned by the campus security guards. Myungsoo and Sungyeol explained that the VPD detectives had arrived and the head security guard-- Donghae saw that his badge read “Sunggyu”-- waved them through.

Yuri looked up with a nod from where she was bent over the body of a boy lying facedown on the ground. As she stepped aside, giving them a good look at it, Ryeowook gasped and turned pale, as if he were about to be sick again.

A gaping wound in the back of his head stared back at them. In the dim light of the nearby streetlamps, Donghae thought he could make out the edge of the shattered skull and pieces of brain matter. He swallowed hard.

“Who is he?” Haruki asked, taking a pair of latex gloves from Yuri and carefully moving towards the body.

“We didn’t find any ID on him,” the brunette replied.

“No blood or brain matter on the ground,” Haruki added, scanning the scene. “He wasn’t killed here.” Yuri nodded.

“One bullet,” murmured Siwon. “Through the back of the head. Execution style.” He looked disturbed.

Taeyeon came towards them with a backpack spotted with blood. “It’s been emptied. No wallet, no phone, no nothing.”

“I don’t get it,” Donghae murmured. “Why are we here? Why are all of us here?”

“We found his jacket lying nearby,” Yuri explained. “Look what was in his pocket.” She pulled out what Donghae initially thought was a handful of tissues, but when he looked closer, he realized it was a book. He took it from her and paged through it, finding a list of girl’s names, phone numbers, and ratings of their looks.

“He kept a list of girls he found were hot,” Donghae explained. “This is his literal black book. The ones he starred seem to be the ones he slept with.”

Haruki’s face darkened. “Pig,” she muttered.

“So, another dead man who mistreated women,” murmured Ryeowook, sobering up surprisingly fast.

Siwon shook his head. “Take his body away,” he said quietly. “Get him to the morgue as fast as you can.” He cast a disgusted look at the crowd of students trying to press closer to the gory scene.

Two morgue attendants stepped over and turned over the body in order to move it. Yuri gasped in horror.

The boy’s mouth had been duct taped shut. His shirt had been ripped open, exposing his bare chest, which was graced with sixteen stab wounds.

One for each of the stars in the little black book.