A/N: This is an alternate reality short story that I wrote exploring what could have happened if Haruki and Taemin's life-changing conversation had gone just a little bit differently. This is dark and pretty serious, so if you don't like that kind of thing, I suggest you wait for tomorrow's chapter. 

Haruki was having the worst day of her life since the man she'd arrested for murdering his girlfriend got off on a legal technicality. The defendant had hired the one defense attorney that her unstoppable prosecution duo- Tiffany Hwang and Kim Hyoyeon- were afraid to go again. The blood evidence was supposedly tainted, although Yoona and Kyuhyun were working hard to disprove that. And to top it all off, a key witness for the prosecution was now refusing to testify. She suspected the other side of playing dirty, but there was nothing she could do about it. She buried her face in her arms and groaned out loud. 

When she looked up again, a timid face was peeping shyly through the door at her. She sat up and forced herself to smile as Taemin shrunk backwards. "S-sorry, noona. I-Is this a bad time?" 

"Not at all." It's a terrible time. "Do you need something?" 

"It's n-not important," Taemin replied. "I can come b-back later." He offered her a quick smile and turned to leave, when he stopped and glanced back. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he said, "That witness is being threatened by the defense." 

Haruki looked up sharply. "How do you know that?" 

"She filed a report two days saying that she'd been mugged," Taemin replied. "The police officers you asked to tail the defendant spotted him talking to two men who matched the description of the men who attacked her. I also don't think it's a coincidence that her house was broken into yesterday." 

Haruki stared at him for a moment, before smiling slowly. "If we can prove it-" 

"You can," he replied. "I already have the names of the men she believed were responsible. Arrest them for the mugging, have her pick them out in a lineup, and then probe them a little harder to find the connection." 

"What if she doesn't agree to help?" Haruki asked. 

"You can offer her family protection," said Taemin. "You can persuade her, I know it, noona. And um, at least, if you can't, Siwon can." 

Haruki had to agree that Siwon's skills at making a witness feel comfortable were far superior to hers. She raised an eyebrow at Taemin. "You've been paying a lot of attention to my case, haven't you?" 

Taemin immediately blushed and stared down at his feet, reverting back to the sweet rookie she knew. "Well, I...um, I just wanted to help..." 

"Thank you," she replied. Her headache was gone and she felt a lot better. "This is great, Taemin. I don't know-" 

"Get dinner with me," he blurted. At Haruki's surprised expression, he ducked his head and added, "Please?" 

Haruki considered it for a moment and smiled. "Sure. Of course." Taemin's face lit up like Christmas had arrived early. "As long as you don't mind waiting while I finish a few things up." 

"Oh, no, of course not," Taemin said. He settled down in the chair across from hers as she picked up the phone and made a series of phone calls. 

"I'm sorry, Taemin," Haruki said as she poured boiling water into a cup of instant noodles. "I didn't realize how long it would take." 

"It's okay." Taemin, from his perch on the edge of her sofa, glanced around her apartment. It was as sparse as her office. Haruki clearly had no time for sentimentality. 

"I owe you a better dinner sometime," she said. 

"No, you don't have-" 

"After you helped me with my case, it's the least I can do," she replied. "Do you, uh, want something to drink? I have water and...that's it, actually." 

"Water's fine," he replied. 

"You should stay here for the night." Haruki brought two steaming cups of instant noodles over and sat down beside him. "It's really late. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting for so long." 

Stay...here? Taemin blushed and Haruki apparently thought it was out of discomfort because she quickly backtracked. "I mean, you don't have to, I just don't want you walking home so late." 

Taemin smiled and squeezed her hand. "You don't have to worry about me, noona." 

Now it was Haruki's turn to blush as she pulled back uncomfortably. "Right. Of course I don't." 

The rookie bit his lip and set down his cup of ramen. "Noona?" 

"Hm?" 

He took a deep breath, hands clenching tightly into fists as he blurted out, "I really like you." Haruki was too taken aback to say anything, so he barreled on. "You're really smart and really pretty and you've been really nice to me- nicer than anyone else. I've never met anyone like you before." 

"W-what?"

"Will you go out with me?" 

Haruki's mouth fell open as she stared at him. "I don't know..." 

Taemin's eyes widened as he leaned forward and took her hand, tilting his head to one side slightly. "Please?" 

Haruki cast one glance at him, then smiled awkwardly and nodded. "Sure." 

"I had no idea you liked them younger," Taeyeon grinned over lunch about a week later. 

Haruki's eyes widened. "How did you know?" 

"Oh please, we're not blind like the men are," Sooyoung scoffed. "So, tell us about the kid. What's he like?" 

"He's not a kid, Sooyoung," snapped Haruki. "His name is Taemin." 

"Right, sorry." The media liason bit back a giggle. "So tell us about Taemin." 

"He's sweet, I guess" Haruki replied. "He calls me a lot, just to see what I'm doing. We hang out almost every day." 

"Aww," Sooyoung cooed, but Yoona frowned slightly. 

"Every day?" she repeated. 

Haruki nodded. "He comes over to my apartment after work. Most of the time, we just talk while I make dinner or something." 

"He never takes you out?" asked Yuri. 

"He says he doesn't like other guys looking at me," Haruki replied. "But that's not weird, is it? He's just being protective, right?" 

"Uh-huh." Now all four of the other girls were looking slightly concerned. 

Taeyeon finally spoke up. "Sounds intense." 

Haruki laughed a little. "I guess it seems like it? But it's not. I mean, we don't do much besides talk. He just likes to hang out with me. That's all." 

The others exchanged glances, which Haruki completely missed. "Be careful, Haruki," Yoona said quietly. 

Haruki looked confused as she drained the last of her coffee. "Of what?"

Taemin was in Haruki's office when she returned. As soon as she stepped inside, he closed the door behind her. "Where were you?" he demanded.

"I was having lunch with the girls," she replied. 

"You should have told me." He took a step towards her as she paused, surprised by the frown on his face. "I wanted to eat lunch with you." 

"I thought we agreed not to be seen together at work. Because we didn't want anyone to know for now?" 

"I never said that," he snapped. "It was all you. You want the other guys to think you're still available. I bet you were actually having lunch with them." 

"What? No, I wasn't-" 

"Liar!" Taemin's hand flashed across her face before she even saw him raise it and she stumbled back, pressing her palm to her stinging cheek. 

The rage flickered out of his eyes, instantly morphing to horror as he rushed forward. "Noona! I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me! I didn't mean to hurt you, I really didn't." 

"It's fine," Haruki replied. "It doesn't hurt...not really." 

"I'm sorry." His arms wound around her and he buried his face into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I just don't want to lose you. Not to anyone." 

"You won't." Haruki slowly hugged him back. "You won't. I'll each lunch with you every day from now on, if you want." 

He raised his head and looked at her, eyes bright. "Are you sure?" 

"Of course. I don't have much to talk about with the other girls, anyway." 

He smiled and brushed her hair back from her forehead before kissing the spot on her cheek that he'd slapped. "You know I didn't mean it, right, noona?" 

Haruki nodded slowly. "I know." 

"A disappearing model," Donghae murmured as he maneuvered into the parking lot of Mirotic. "Not only that, but she's a suspect in a murder case. This feels like a 50's black-and-white detective movie. I'd make a good Humphrey Bogart, don't you think?" When his partner didn't respond, he glanced at her. "Haruki?" 

She jolted and looked at him blankly. "Huh? Oh, um, right. Disappearing model." 

He frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." The corners of twitched up unconvincingly. "Why wouldn't I be?" 

"You tell me." Donghae didn't have much contact with Haruki, aside from occasionally being partnered with her, but even he had noticed the change in her demeanor over the past several weeks. Whereas she would usually storm into the coffee room and order them back to work after taking too long breaks, she was now rarely seen outside her office. He didn't mind, of course, but as her partner, he felt like he should ask. 

"I'm fine, Donghae," she insisted. 

He shrugged and parked the car. She was probably just distracted. "Talking to models. This should be fun." 

She slugged his arm and gave him a withering look. To his own surprise, Donghae felt relieved. Now that was the Haruki he knew. 

Jessica scrutinized the detective sitting across from her with nothing short of scorn. The woman hadn't even fully brushed her hair before she tied it up in a ponytail. She had dark circles under her eyes that she hadn't even bothered to touch up with makeup. Her suit was surprisingly neat, though. Jessica was a fan of the tailored look and- 

The detective raised her head. "Name?" 

"Jessica Jung." 

"Profession?" 

"You picked me up from work, you should know what I do." The model examined her nails. "Can we skip the small talk? I told you I knew something about Ga-In. Did you bring me down to the police station to intimidate me? I already said I'd tell you what you wanted to know." 

"My office is hardly intimidating," Haruki replied. 

Jessica glanced around at the blank walls. "Speak for yourself." 

The detective just sighed. "What is it you wanted to tell us?" 

The model finally looked serious and leaned forward, lowering her voice slightly. "I don't know what you've found out about Ga-In's boyfriend, the dead guy, but he was dangerous." 

"Dangerous how?" Haruki asked. 

"He seemed like such a nice guy, but, well, when you work in modeling, you sometimes have to change in front of each other. Ga-In had a lot of bruises that she could hide under her clothes, but not when she changed." 

Haruki looked up, frowning. "Did you ask her about them?" 

"She would make up some lame excuses, saying that she fell down or something. Thing is, when you make a living out of walking in six-inch stilettos, you can't exactly be a klutz." 

"So you didn't believe her." 

"Of course I didn't." Jessica rolled her eyes. "One time, I saw a bruise on her arm that looked like finger marks. I know he did that to her." 

Haruki nodded slowly. "So she had a reason to want him dead?" 

The model looked incredulous, before she threw her head back laughing. "You think Ga-In killed that man? You're insane. She wasn't nearly strong enough to fight back against him." 

"You don't need to be strong to pull a trigger." 

"It wasn't Ga-In," Jessica insisted. "I don't know who killed him, but I'm sure that he's responsible for making her disappear. I-" 

At that moment, the door slammed open and a young man with light brown hair stormed in, looking furious. "I need to talk to you," he snapped. 

"You can't come in here. I'm in the middle of-" Haruki protested. 

"Don't talk back to me!" 

Haruki gave Jessica an apologetic smile as she stood up. "Ms. Jung, I'm sorry. Would you mind waiting outside for a moment?" 

Jessica got up, staring curiously at the young man. "Whatever." 

Haruki walked her to the door and closed it. Jessica hesitated for less than a second before she stood up and leaned against the door, where she was able to overhear the conversation, though it was muffled. 

"Taemin, I was working. You can't just-" 

"Don't tell me what to do, you...you s-!" 

Silence. Then Haruki's voice asked, "What did you call me?" 

"You heard me! I've seen you! You're always talking to Donghae and touching him, laughing at whatever he says-" 

"I don't-" 

"Don't interrupt me! You know he likes you and you keep leading him on. You're a !" 

"Donghae's my partner on this case. We're just working together-" 

"Don't lie to me!" There was a smack and a muffled yelp of pain. Jessica covered in horror. "Why are you lying to me? You know how much I care about you. You want to leave me, don't you?" 

"No! I-" 

"Lie to me again and I'll kill you." 

"Taemin-" 

"I'm serious! You need to stop seeing me as the cute little rookie, noona. You have no idea what I'm capable of when I'm angry. Don't make me angry." 

"I'm sorry..." 

"You better be." 

"Taemin, please...I'm sorry. I won't do it again, I promise." 

Another silence. Jessica found herself holding her breath until she heard a quiet sigh and the young man's voice murmuring, "Did I scare you, noona? I didn't mean to, I swear. You shouldn't be so sensitive all the time."  

Jessica couldn't hear Haruki's reply but a moment later, the door opened. The young man came out, his face completely changed. He was smiling, his eyes bright like a puppy's. Haruki gestured for Jessica to come back in and have a seat. "I'm so sorry about making you wait." Though doing her best to maintain her calm, Jessica could see that the detective was slightly rattled and if she looked closely enough, one cheek seemed redder than the other. 

"Who was that?" Jessica asked, trying to make her voice as casual as possible. 

"That's Taemin," Haruki replied. "My-" she hesitated ever so slightly "-boyfriend." 

"What did he want?" 

Haruki's eyes darted towards the door before she managed a convincing smile. "Nothing important." 

Jessica stared at her for a long time, then thought of Ga-In. Without thinking, she began chewing on the nail of her index finger, a nervous habit that she had long gotten rid of. 

Sungmin walked into the coffee room, a smile lighting up his face when he saw Haruki there. "Hey, stranger." 

Haruki whirled around in alarm. "Oh, Sungmin. Hi." 

Sungmin raised an eyebrow. Since it had been more than a few months since he'd had the chance to really talk to her, since both of them were so busy with their respective cases, he'd been expecting a little more enthusiasm than that. "How are you doing, Haruki?" 

"Great," she squeaked. Grabbing her coffee cup, she darted past him and out of the room. 

Without thinking, he followed her. "Hey, wait up!" What could she possibly be so busy with that she didn't have a moment to catch up? But the moment he closed his hand around her wrist, she let out a cry of pain. 

"Haruki! What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" 

"N-no, I'm fine. Really. Sungmin, please, just let me go-" 

He grabbed her arm and pushed her sleeve, staring in shock at the purple finger marks on her forearm. "What happened? Who did this to you?" She said nothing. "Haruki, tell me right now. Or I'm..." Damn, he hated threatening people with the boss, but he felt like this was one of those times when it was necessary. "I'm telling Chief Park." 

As he expected, alarm flared into her eyes. "No! You can't!" 

"Then tell me what happened." He let go and crossed his arms. 

"It was just a suspect I was apprehending," Haruki replied. "He made a grab at me, that's all." 

"You're sure?" 

"I swear." 

Sungmin stared at her for a long time before releasing her. As he watched her dart back into her office, he debated whether or not he should tell Chief Park anyway. 

Haruki's strong, he finally said to himself. She can handle it. 

Haruki flinched as soon as she entered her office, seeing Taemin standing there, his eyes dark. "Taemin, I-" 

"Shut up!" He stormed towards her and grabbed her by the wrist. "Don't even try to lie about it. I saw you with him! You showed him the bruises on your arm. What did you tell him?" 

"Nothing!" 

"You're lying again, noona. Remember what I said about lying to me?" 

Haruki ducked her head, flinching backwards as she blurted out, "I told him it happened when I arrested a suspect. That's all I said, I swear!" 

Taemin released her arm and took a deep breath. "Why were you talking to him?" 

"He started it-" 

"Noona..." 

"He did! He started it! He came up to me first." 

"And what did you say to him?" 

Haruki hesitated just a bit too long and Taemin's fist smashed into her jaw. She reeled backwards until she crashed into her desk. Her hand was trembling as she brought it up to her face. As he came over to her, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Taemin" and tears began to slide down her face. 

Taemin bent down, wrapped both arms around her shoulders and pulled her to her feet. Lightly, he kissed her tears away, murmuring, "You shouldn't have made me mad, noona. I told you that." 

"I'm sorry." 

"I know." He tilted her chin up and lightly traced his thumb along the bruise that was beginning to form on her jawline. "You know I didn't mean it, right, noona?" 

Haruki took a shaky breath and nodded, sliding her arms around him. "I know." 

A/N: This turned out darker than I expected, but the reality of abusive relationships is that they are dark and scary. I chose Haruki to be the victim because I wanted this to emphasize that this can happen to anyone, even to people perceived as strong. While Haruki deals with abusers at work every day, she doesn't recognize the warning signs when she's looking right at them. 

Abuse can happen in any relationship, to both men and women. If this sounds like a relationship in your in, get out NOW. If you feel the need to google "signs of an abusive relationship," you've probably already recognized them. And if this is happening to someone you care about, DO SOMETHING. No one in the world has the right to treat you badly. Real love should never hurt. 

Alright, I'm getting off my soapbox. Tomorrow will be something much lighter. 

P.S. Dear Taemin (The real one, not my character), I am so sorry for using your name for such a jerk. Sincerely, Jay