The opportunity never tapped Woohyun’s shoulder.  There was no sign of Sunggyu at all, and no mention of his mentor anywhere, even among the current wards.  Woohyun had to spend the next few nights in his cell, with another inmate convicted of petty theft.  To ease the time, he had spent most of the nights talking to the cellmate, trying to wring out any more information he could without sounding too eager.  After the other man had fallen asleep, Woohyun would usually organized his thoughts in his head, picking out the important details to deliver to Sunggyu when he sees him.  

That’s when he started thinking about Sunggyu again--he wondered if the man was still inside the county jail, and if he had made any progress on his end.  If a ward of their own was selling to the inmates, then they needed clear cut evidence before they can make such a bold accusation.  He wondered if he should personally attempt to buy from the Moustache ward, and maybe then he can personally testify in court to help the case.  In between these swirls of thoughts, right as dawn came to him in the passing of another day, he had a few solid conclusions after swimming in his head for all these past nights.  

First, he surprised himself at how much he sincerely enjoyed doing this whole cop-detective job.

Second, he never thought he’d miss old man Jung’s annoying grace.

Third, and most strangely, his partner Sunggyu seemed to have grown on him somehow.  Some way.

Woohyun rolls over on his side, about to attempt to sleep again for the millionth time, before he heard the jingling of keys near the cell door.  He glances up, and to his utter joy he sees Sunggyu opening his cell quietly.  

Woohyun grinned, getting up from his bed, his spirits high and the joy returning to him after consecutive nights of being suffocated in between these walls.  He’s about to say something when Sunggyu slams his baton on the bars, ringing against the cell walls in a loud and unsettling echo.

“Mr. Kim,” his voice is unusually low, malice soaking his words, with an expressionless face.  “You’re being released today.  Follow me.”  

For a brief second Woohyun stares at him, and all he sees is a hard eyed, stoic man in the skin of his partner.

Woohyun makes a baffled noise, and clumsily gets up.  His cellmate ruffles around under his covers, poking his head out and giving Woohyun a thumbs up.  Woohyun follows this Sunggyu quietly.  This man was not his usual Sunggyu--because the Sunggyu he knows doesn’t speak like a venomous hissing snake.  Or at least Woohyun could never imagine such spitefulness from the rather mellow man.

They reach the end of the hall, the light barely creeping in from a small window at the side of the staircase.  Sunggyu pauses in front of a door to his left, then turns around.  Woohyun wants to lock eyes with him, try to understand what’s happening, but Sunggyu simply scans around, his head whipping from side to side before he opens t