Ri Young recalls that she first meets him in the small space of the interrogation room where she’s assigned to do a little question and answer for their station’s so-called favorite. The young woman slips into the seat, eyeing the man with what she deems are her ‘serious eyes’. She can’t see his face clearly; his head is buried in his palm. She wonders briefly if she should disturb him, the young man seems to be asleep. Must have been boring being waiting alone for at least an hour for a cop to interrogate him.

Nonetheless, Ri Young clears and urges herself to make the best poker face she can do.

The young man lifts his head up at her groggily and looks at her as if he’s confused; ‘why am I here?’ seems to be the question haunting him. He doesn’t look much older than her, four to five months tops, she bets. He seems to have snapped out of his daze and without any warning whatsoever, flashes a lopsided grin at the young police woman.

“I haven’t been questioned by you, yet.” He says simply, directly. Ri Young blinks multiple times to hide the shock that crosses her face. He has seen it though, there’s no point in denying the obvious. He chooses not to mention it as his wrists are still cuffed despite already going through this procedure countless of times.

He knows what will happen in the end anyway, so he decides to entertain them and their ego, thinking they’ve finally captured him. Oh if they only knew.

“Err, yes. That’s correct.” Ri Young tries to put on her business face; acting tough and older than she really is. She sits up straighter and the young man in front of her can see the stiffness in her movements, his grin shifts to a smirk for a split second before he reverts back to a lopsided smile.

He shifts in his seat and holds out a hand for her to shake [or in this case, both, as metal handcuffs currently bind them together], “Hello then, my name is Aiden.” He gives her an easy smile that makes her nothing but uneasy. Cautiously though, she reaches for his hand and clasps it. It’s big and calloused against her small and soft one; nonetheless, he grips it gently, as if handling fragile glass before shaking it.

Ri Young realizes that Aiden has his brow raised and that she has yet to respond with her own name for proper etiquette. “Call me Ri Young.” She tells him, flustered. His silly smile is back as he repeats her name with their hands still clasped together. He pulls his hand away only when she looks down at it awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

For once, she is speechless.

Aiden decides to help her out and clears his throat, “So,” he starts and places his bound hands on top of the one thing separating him from Ri Young, lacing his fingers as he sits relaxed on the wooden chair, even managing to cross his legs under the table. His brown eyes are somewhat hidden by stray locks of dyed blonde-orange-brown hair [it's specific colour, one could not say- the shade seems to shift in the light]. Still, she can tell without even looking up that Aiden is staring right at her.

“Y-Yeah…” she manages to stutter out, fidgeting in her seat. An awkward silence surrounds them and she begins making a mental list of what the head wants to know. She is snapped out of her thoughts by a chuckle from him. Ri Young remembers tips from those who were in the force and has already handled cases that involved Aiden Lee.

Tip # 1: Never look him straight in the eye. Never look at his smile.

Curiosity gets the better of her though as she accidentally locks gazes with the young convict. He smiles at her and his eyes twinkle in a warm, welcoming way. Really, how could he have shoplifted from that store? He seems well off on his own though.

Maybe it was a mistake… wait- focus, Ri Young! What was the next tip…

Tip # 2: Speak with conviction. Say it like you mean it.

Yes, she’s been failing that for the past ten minutes.

She clears and sits up straight though, pushing back stray strands of hair from her ponytail out of her face. “Right, now, why exactly are you here today?” not the best question, but really, it’s all she could process.

He smiles back easily at her, “I was charged for something I have yet to do.” He says.

“Clearly a lie, the guards at the mall saw the ring inside your hood.”

“Someone must have framed me then, officer.”

She narrows her eyes at him but still, Aiden keeps his easy smile. “I think you’re lying.” She says stubbornly like a child and he can’t help but chuckle.

He leans forward, “Would you let me go if I prove it?” His tilts his head down and glances up at her beneath his eyelids.

“No.”

He laughs as easily as he smiles and tries to clap with his cuffed hands. The sound is melodic and he looks so much like a child while Ri Young watches him from across the table.

“W-What- what did I say?” she asks, genuinely clueless and curious. His laugh fades into soft giggles as Aiden looks at her like a child bearing a secret he so wishes to spill.

“You’re very cute, officer.” Aiden finally says and Ri Young feels her cheeks heating up. Out of habit, her hands immediately cup at her cheeks and she stutters out incoherent words.

“Wh-wha- I-I… n-no-“

“You are.”

She finds him to be much more convincing than herself.

“I-… thank you.”

What was I talking about again?

Tip # 3: He’s a criminal, always remember that.

They have spent almost half an hour towards nowhere. They’ve been running in circles, when she thinks she’s finally getting somewhere, he taunts her for a while before he manages to reverse the situation and she would be under pressure instead. Aiden will not admit to anything and Ri Young is getting tired pestering for the truth.

“Did you steal that white gold ring?”

“I must have been in the wrong place in the wrong time.”

Maybe he was. Ri Young is definitely starting to believe him.

Tip # 4: And if all else fails… just remember; do not let him… let him… wait- what was the last one again?

Ri Young purses her lips. She can’t remember the last tip. She looks down on her small hands resting on top of the table. With her peripheral vision, she sees Aiden once more checking his leather watch and realizes how long they’ve already been stuck inside the room. Heck, people are even waving goodbye to her from outside the glass windows.

“You really didn’t steal that ring…?” she asks quietly.

Aiden nods back at her and lets out a sigh, he’s probably tired. Tired with what exactly? This question and answer sequence? Or maybe something much deeper than that. “I suppose I’m just very unlucky, officer.” He states, a pained expression painted on his face.

This is exactly why they don’t send her to interrogations, she’s much too soft.

But… everyone deserves a second chance, right? Well, with Aiden, it seems like this is already his fiftieth ‘second chance’.

“Alright, fine.” She manages to say and slams down the little notebook she was asked to keep whilst questioning the young man in front of her, there is nothing inside but doodles and barely legible writing. Aiden looks up, surprised.

“Excuse me, officer?” he asks, cocking his head to the side.

She takes out the key for his handcuffs and reaches for his calloused hands, picking on the lock until it has come undone. Instinctively, Aiden rubs his wrist, now somewhat red from the binds. “You can go.” She says with a solemn nod. He grins back like a child.

“Really? Thank you!” he takes his backpack lying on one side of the room and bows to her gratefully. “I’ll be off-“ he tells her though there is no need to. He reaches the door, the knob only needed to twist and he would be free.

“Aiden,” she calls him though and he looks back. “Stay out of trouble,” she advises with a small smile of her own.

“Trouble usually finds me.” He tells her honestly. Ri Young silently wonders if that is the only truthful thing he has said since they’ve met.

She doesn’t have any energy to think about it though. She sighs at the image of their assistant chief officer’s fuming face the next time they would meet. She can already hear her yelling.

And as Aiden walks out politely and calmly from the interrogation room, the police agency stationed in the heart of Seoul and seemingly out of Han Ri Young’s life, he can’t help but paint a smug smile on his face.

Really, whenever will those police learn that what they’re trying is quite futile? Sending those female police officers on him to get some answers, hah, do they think he’ll be bribed with the pretty faces they show him? He pats his back pocket and his smile turns wider. Aiden takes out the limited edition, white gold ring engraved with nonsense vows that he does not care about. He flips the ring towards the air, catches it and pockets the small jewelry.

It’ll take a hell lot more than that to get anything from Lee Donghae.

A/N: Long yet boring chapter, just introduced the main characters, really. Ahh. I'm sorry this couldn't have been better... my brain is currently melting you see...;; err, anyway. Usual routine~ :) Subscriptions, comments and anything really = super love.