Donghae poked at his ramen, tracing random shapes with his chopsticks as he stared blankly down into the bowl. His mind kept going back to the conversation that had taken at the exact same place five nights ago.

He'd invited Haruki over for dinner. Not that this was unusual, but for the first time, he'd made an effort to cook something besides ramen. She'd sat there playing with her chopsticks and staring down into the bowl.

"Do you not like it?" Donghae asked anxiously. "I mean, I know I'm not much of a cook and it's not the best-"

"The food is delicious, Donghae. Thank you," Haruki said with a quick smile. "It's just...I need to tell you something."

Donghae's eyes widened in horror, before morphing into a look of confusion. "Wait, you can't be pregnant, we've never-"

"No!" Haruki flushed down to her collarbones, looking anywhere but at him, spluttering incoherently for a moment. "Donghae!"

"It could be a legitimate concern," he protested.

Haruki shook her head as she picked up her water glass to hide her face. "I have an undercover assignment coming up and I'll be out of touch for a few weeks."

"Oh." He forced himself to smile as he asked, "When does it start?"

"Tomorrow."

"And you're telling me just now?"

Haruki shrugged, fiddling with her chopsticks again. "I wasn't supposed to say anything to anyone, but I didn't want you to worry."

"I'm not worried," he replied. "It's...it's good. You'll be fine."

"Thanks." She prodded at her plate again.

After a moment, Donghae cleared his throat. “You said a few weeks?”

“If all goes well.”

“What are you investigating?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Right, right. Top secret and all.”

“Yeah...” She stared down at her full plate before standing up. "I'm sorry, Donghae, I've completely ruined this evening. I-I should probably go."

"W- um, right." He stood up quickly. "I'll walk you out."

"You don't have-"

"I insist," he said firmly. He waited while she gathered her things and walked her down to the front door where her car was parked. "Haruki..."

She turned around. For a moment, he wanted to pull her close and hold her like he'd never see her again. He resisted the urge, because that would be jinxing it. There was no way he wouldn't see her again. Everything would be fine.

So instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled. "Don't get made."

She grinned and headed towards her car. Donghae watched her drive off before sighing and heading back inside.

He poked at his ramen again, which had now gone cold, before taking a bite without tasting it.

When he'd first told Haruki he loved her, she'd said she didn't want someone always worrying about her. They hadn't been together for long, but during that time, Donghae had never been able to stop worrying.

Haruki was a reliable detective who would go great lengths to crack her cases. That often led to recklessness and more than once, she'd put her job before her own safety. He could hope that she'd be more careful, but that would be a waste of time.

Donghae was trying to read the file in front of him, but the words kept fading in and out of focus. He wondered where Haruki was right now and what her assignment was. What was she investigating anyway?

A hand grabbed his and slammed it down on the table. "Stop that," snapped Kibum. 

"Stop what?"

"The pen clicking! I can hear it from my office! Could you at least close the door?"

"Sorry," Donghae replied. He rubbed his forehead, trying to ease some of the tension from it. It didn't work. His mind was swimming with "what if" scenarios and none of them were particularly pretty. What if she was injured? What if her cover was blown? What if-

"Donghae?" He looked up to see Chief Park standing in his doorway. "Can I see you in my office for a minute?" Donghae followed his boss to the other man's office, ignoring his colleagues, who were giving him sympathetic looks.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Chief Park sat at his desk and gestured for Donghae to take a seat across from him. "I know what you want to ask."

"Where is she?"

"I can't tell you that and you know it, Donghae," his boss said sternly. "It could put her in danger if you do anything stupid. This is not her first undercover assignment. You need to trust that she'll be alright."

"You know how reckless she is," Donghae protested.

"No more reckless than you get when you're concerned with her safety," Leeteuk retorted. "Remember that she's the one who saved you when you blindly fell into a trap."

Donghae couldn't help smiling slightly, but sighed. "I wish I could have normal boyfriend problems, like worrying about whether or not she's cheating on me. Instead, I have to worry about whether or not she's getting herself killed."

"I'd say the chances of her cheating on you are higher," Leeteuk replied. “She’s got more lives than a cat.”

Donghae paused as he rose from his seat. "I know you're trying to help, Chief, but that's not very reassuring."

Two weeks. Two whole weeks since she'd gone undercover and no sign of her. At least, none that he knew of. Presumably, Chief Park still heard from her, but he was purposefully keeping Donghae in the dark out of concern for her safety. Or because he was a sadist. Both were equally likely.

He paced around his room once again- there was already a tread mark on the carpet and with every lap he could swear it was getting deeper.

He shouldn't be worried. He knew Haruki was a successful officer with plenty of experience under her belt. It was all personal feelings getting in the way, the same feelings that had driven him to drop everything and race to find her when he heard that she was in danger, the same feelings that had nearly gotten him killed twice.

Donghae sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. He was being overprotective. As Chief Park said, Haruki could handle herself. No reason to be freaking out just because she had been kidnapped once or because she had nearly been beaten to death another time.

He began pacing a little faster. After all, she had saved him on both occasions, hadn't she? Yes, that was true, if he overlooked the fact that he distracted the killers to give her the opportunity to save both of them. And now she was on her own, with no one to watch her back, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be fine! No, she was definitely fine. Definitely not walking into a trap or making some sort of stupid deal to meet a killer in a dark alley or getting knocked out in her own car. Nope! Not at all.

By now, he was walking so fast, he was starting to get a little dizzy. There was no way she'd get killed trying to do something dumb and heroic. Like trying to talk down a deranged angry person who was clearly beyond reason. Or diving to protect someone else from getting shot. Or-

There was a knock on the door. Donghae continued pacing for almost an entire minute before the sound registered. He pulled it open without looking first and Haruki stood smiling back at him.

"Hey," she said quietly. "I'm back."

Donghae stared at her for so long, not believing his eyes, that her smile began to fade. As she opened to speak again, he reached out and pulled her close, holding her like he'd never see her again.

After a moment, he heard her laugh quietly and felt her arms wrap around his chest. "You're an idiot, Donghae," she said softly. "But thank you."