Chapter Thirteen
Angel Vessel
I jackknifed in bed and stared at the walls of my room wide eyed. I had been grateful that I hadn't had any dreams or nightmares since the last one. But, what had woken me up felt more real than the silver flames had. It wasn't a nightmare but the image was vivid, more like a memory than a dream. I gripped my comforter tightly as the images flashed inside my head.
I had seen Woohyun in my dream. He had been kneeling on one knee, head lowered. I felt like I had been standing in front of him. Someone was speaking and I saw Woohyun's lips move in reply, but I couldn't hear either of them. There was no danger in the dream, but something felt off anyway.
I looked at my alarm clock and I still had half an hour before it was supposed to ring.
Sighing, I cradled my head. "Minji, are you awake?" Woohyun's voice drifted into my room. "Yah! You stayed in my apartment again?" I asked getting out of bed and shoving the bizarre dream to the far corner of my mind. "I was tired." He said turning around. "Wait, why don't you have a shirt on?!" I threw the nearest thing at him and he caught the book. "Okay okay." He laughed. "Good morning to you too."
Suddenly my doorbell rang. "Who in the world would come here so early?" I sighed and went to open the door, but then someone started to key in a code. The only person who knew my apartment code was Myungsoo. I had given it to him a few times when he helped me fixed things around the apartment.
"I got you breakfast and came to pick you up." Myungsoo said using a leg to close the door. He looked up and froze. He looked at Woohyun and then at me. "Wait. It's not what it looks like." I said, only realizing how cliche it was after I said it.
I had always felt that Myungsoo's eyes told just as much as what his mouth could. His dark eyes scanned me and then Woohyun. I looked down to realize I was only wearing an oversized sweater, leaving most of my thighs uncovered. I tried to say something, but Woohyun spoke.
"Minji isn't lying. We didn't do anything." Woohyun suddenly cut in and I turned to him wide-eyed. He grabbed his shirt off the couch and put it on. Myungsoo put the things on the ground gently and turned around. "Sorry I interrupted." and he left, the door slamming behind him. "Wait, wait, wait." I ran after him, but Woohyun grabbed my arm. "You aren't wearing any pants." He said.
I shook off his hand. "It's your fault."
"Hey. He should've waited for you to answer the door." Woohyun said.
"I can't deal with you right now." I ran back to my room to change and grabbed my bag. "Be gone when I get back." Was the last thing I said to Woohyun before running out the door.
I drove above the speed limit to the police department, but when I got to the parking lot I didn't see Myungsoo's car. I tried to call him but his phone was switched off. "God, Myungsoo." I sighed throwing my phone into the passenger seat in frustration.
It was then when someone knocked lightly on the window glass. I looked up to see Sunggyu smiling. I gave him a weak smile back and got out of the car. "Is something wrong?" He asked. I leaned against my car and shook my head. "No. Just tired." I said. "I saw you speed into the parking lot and didn't get out of your car so I was worried."
"That's really sweet of you. But no need to worry." I tried to give a more convincing smile. "So, what are you doing here?" I asked trying to change the subject. Then his expression saddened considerably. "I got a call this morning. A man had stabbed an elderly woman to death when he tried to rob her. I have to get the files ready for his trial."
"There's something you aren't telling me." I said slowly, reading his mood. "The elderly woman was that woman you called Grandma Choi." He finally said after a minute. I stared at him. "What?"
"I'm sorry, Minji. You had looked so happy to meet her again yesterday, I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news." Sunggyu hung his head slightly. I felt my eyes sting but I held my head up. "It's okay. It's okay." I repeated softly. Sunggyu grabbed my arm. "It's okay to cry." And I felt a hot tear roll down my cheek. "No, it's not okay."
Sunggyu sighed softly and pulled me into his arms. "It's okay, Minji." He my hair and the tears finally won. I grabbed a handful of his suit in each hand. "It's not fair!" I screamed into his chest. Whether it was Myungsoo's misunderstanding or Grandma Choi's death. Neither was fair. It wasn't okay. They were both people who cared about me and I personally felt like I owed them. Who would do something as terrible as to stab a defenseless woman?
After a few minutes I finally calmed down and pulled back. I dropped my hands. "I'm so sorry." I said backing up slightly. His suit was tear soaked.
"It's okay. I always have a spare suit in case I need to lend a shoulder to a beautiful woman." He tried to lighten the mood. He raised his hand to wipe away my tears and I was so surprised I just stared at him. His hands were warm like Woohyun's.
"Yah! Park Minji!" Someone shouted. I wiped the last of my tears away and turned to see my boss. "Sungyeol…"
"Where the hell have you been? Myungsoo is freaking MIA too. I'm going to murder the both of you! We just got a call. A co-worker of Jung Eunha just came back from vacation and reported to us, that there might have been a boyfriend in Jung Eunha's life. This needs to be investigated. Right now." His voice turned even more stern.
"Yes sir!" I said. Sungyeol looked at Sunggyu. "Prosecutor." He tipped his head slightly and turned back to go inside the station.
I turned to my car. "Thank you Sunggyu." I said without facing him. "Anytime. Please know I'll be here." He said and I don't know why I felt a feeling of comfort wash over me.
"Okay." And I got into the car and he backed away so I could pull out.
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