Rule #43: Sometimes you need to spend time deducing things about yourself first

Being able to go back to her apartment above the bakery was one of the most exciting and heart-warming thing Saera had felt in a while.

And being able to come back with Youngjae was the cherry on top.

She had her arms tightly wound around Youngjae's shoulders, walking behind him as he moved to the kitchen.

"I missed you too, but this is kind of excessive." He joked.

Saera didn't back and instead buried her nose in his neck. After hugging him for a minute or two, she let go and stepped back, giving him space.

Her hair was still blonde and she knew that Youngjae was having trouble with looking at her sometimes.

He said that it made her look like one of his victims.

"You're so strong." She whispered as she pushed his hair off his forehead. When she was taken to the hospital to have tests run, she finally told Youngjae everything.

Most of it he had already heard from the detectives, but she was able to fill him in on things she learned while being captured and the things that even the police didn't know like their mom's death.

A few tears spilled when he learned about Jinyoung, but there was so much positivity radiating out of him that he felt like a ball of sunshine.

"It's okay." He said to her with a confident smile. "We have a second chance and things will get better."

And he was right.

After being discharged from the hospital an army of police officers guided both Sang Min and Yoo Chang into maximum facility holding cells while they were being processed.

The amount of evidence they had against both men were immeasurable and although they would need Saera's testimony for court, there was a renewed, but scared, energy.

Apparently the chances of official charges being pressed within the remainder of the week were high.

Youngjae smiled, "Us Chois are born that way, huh?"

"Choi Saera, Choi Youngjae and Choi Jinyoung. I like it." She said with a grin.

Youngjae shifted on his feet, "So hey…I know you're nervous about going out in public with people, but I've missed a lot of school and…well, the school's putting on this showcase thing tonight and I was asked to present and I know yo--"

"Are you asking me to come?" She breathed out with wide eyes.

In the past Youngjae would shy away from asking her to attend events other than his soccer games. He didn't like the attention of him being in the spotlight in front of people.

He nodded and looked away, "Yeah. I mean, I wasn't going to go because of everything that happened, but this is kind  of important."

Saera's lip started to quiver before she was collecting him in her arms again, "Of course I'll come."

"Alright, old lady, knock it off." He complained with a laugh while pushing her off.  

Youngjae was aware that the chances of Saera returning to the way she once was would be unlikely.

She didn't like sleeping alone, she didn't like wearing dresses or anything white. Her hair was always tied in a bun so she couldn't see the colour and she took down most of the mirrors in the apartment.

She would wake up every hour in the middle of the night to make sure they were both still there and overall, she was a lot more emotional.

But seeing her alive and walking was enough for him to help her through her shock the best that he could. What she went through traumatized her, but at the same time, it made her into someone that was honest to herself.

And he liked that.

Saera chuckled softly and let go. She squished his cheeks together and smiled brightly, "My brother is so cute."

"Oh my god, stop." Youngjae complained while pushing him away.

Saera snickered, even though her face didn't exactly light up and skipped towards the stove, "I feel like baking! What should we make?"

Just as Youngjae was about to respond, a soft knock on the door interrupted them. They both stared at the door before looking at each other. Youngjae shrugged and Saera frowned as they shuffled to the door.

Saera carefully opened the door before she caught sight of the person waiting on the other side. Her heart stopped as she opened the door wider.

When Youngjae spotted Mark on the other side, he raised his brows and snuck off to the couch to eavesdrop.

"Hey." Saera said dumbly as she soaked in every inch of his tired face.

It felt like it had been forever since she last saw Mark.

Jackson managed to give her a quick call and told her that the precinct has been hectic. It was a nonstop cycle of collecting statements, getting evidence, doing press conferences, talking to lawyers, doing interviews, and finalizing proof.

They barely had a moment to breathe and apparently Mark had even started sleeping at his desk. Him being the lead detective meant he was on-call around the clock and was in constant motion with this case.

This was one of the highest profile cases in Seoul and with media attention slowly starting to pick up, it was nonstop work.

"I've never seen him so dedicated to something. I don’t want to jump the gun but I think it's because of you. The guy's desperate to get you justice."

"Are you busy?" He asked quietly as he stared at her.

Saera dug her fingers into the door, "Well me and Youngjae were going to--"

"SHE'S NOT BUSY AT ALL!" Youngjae screamed from inside the apartment.

Mark raised his brow at her, causing her cheeks to glow, "I guess I'm not busy."

"Do you mind if we step out for a second? I have to go over some things about the case with you." He asked simply.

Saera made sure that the disappointment on her face wasn't evident and nodded, "Sure but I don't like leaving Youngjae alone."

"Yeah, neither does BamBam which is why he's on his way up." Mark replied.

Saera wanted to say something more, but she couldn't find the words. She felt odd around his formal aura, she thought that he had softened a little after what happened a few days ago.

Then again, they never really addressed their relationship after everything ended, they sort of ignored it.

"Let me grab my coat." She pulled it off the hanger and wrestled with Youngjae while trying to kiss him on the cheek before she greeted BamBam and followed Mark out.

The two of them walked in silence until they were inside the elevator, "Your hair is still blonde."

"And your palm still has that scar." She fire back on instinct.

Mark's eyes darted to her and he could read the immediate regret on her face, but instead of feeling offended, he felt guilty.

"You've been walking on eggshells around me recently." He said suddenly, "It's refreshing to see you talk back."

A small smile curved up her lips as she looked at him. His eyes scanned her face before he sighed, "How have you and Youngjae been? I'm sorry that I haven't really gotten the chance to drop by."

"Better." She said as she watched the floor numbers decrease, "We rely on each other a lot, mainly me relying on him, but it helps. Things have been looking brighter."

He inspected her closely, colour had started returning to her face and her eyes were brighter too.

But her eye bags didn't look the greatest, "Have you been sleeping well?"

"Yeah." She lied quickly.

Mark shook his head at her lie, "Good, because I've been sleeping like ."

She snapped her head at him but the elevator doors had already opened and he was walking away.

Without you. He wished he said.

I've been sleeping like without you.

-----

"Why are we talking at a mall?" She asked incredulously as they walked around.

Mark shrugged, "I've been cooped up in an office for the last few days straight. I needed to get out."

She nodded and walked close to Mark, her eyes darting around sharply in paranoia as people passed by.

When he noticed her flinching constantly, Mark hesitatingly reached down and held her hand, lacing their fingers together as they walked.

"We excavated the basement floor of your old house like you asked." He started slowly.

Saera gulped and looked up at him, "And?"

"We found your mother's remains." He said quietly.

She let out a long breath and tilted her head up, "I guess that's good."

"It is…for the case. Decomposition got rid of a lot but our forensic guys say that they should be able to find evidence that implicates your father and not you if he tries to pin it on you." Mark said while mindlessly dragging his thumb along her knuckles.

She nodded numbly, "How about you? How have you been?"

Mark gave her a confused look, "Stressed, I guess. Tired, there's a lot we need to get done and the press is getting heated up because of all the reports on the missing girls all these years, but it'll all be worth when the prosecutor destroys your father."

"No." She said while looking down, "How are you doing with about the Chief?"

Mark's face tensed, as cops, they didn't really speak about their feelings of their own fallen. They focused their grief and anger into putting away the man who killed him.

It was a while since someone asked him how he really felt, "It's never easy when we lose one of our own. We never got along but there was mutual respect all the time. He died doing a good thing and it fuelled a fire under the department that will never go out. I…I owe him a lot."

"Can I ask you for a hard favour?" She asked nervously.

Mark looked unsure but stayed silent, giving her a chance to speak, "Don't tell anyone about what the Chief kept a secret unless you need to. I don't think he deserves his last reputation to be smeared. It won't help anyone."

He stared at Saera for a long time before he glanced at his watch. Once he checked the time, he started pulling her in the opposite direction before dragging her down the stairs. Saera blinked rapidly at his change in pace and tried to keep up.

"What's happening? Where are we going?"

He kept his lips sealed as he lead her through the crowd until he stopped in front of a store.

Well, not exactly a store.

Infinity Hair Salon.

"Mark." Saera breathed out as she stared at the sign.

"It's time for a change. No use in living in the past." He said firmly while walking up to the front desk.

Saera couldn't respond and just watched him smile at the woman working the front desk, "Hi, we're here for the one o'clock appointment for Choi Saera."

The woman typed her name in and clicked on her keyboard before smiling, "Yes, we have you here. Nice to meet you Saera, if you could just follow me, I'll take you to your stylist."

"Wait," Saera said, bewildered while looking back at Mark, "What about you?"

"Just relax." He called out softly.

Saera looked back once more and looked at Mark who just smiled at her.

She met her stylist, shook her hand and let her take to the hair washing stations. Saera leaned back and let the woman start washing, shampooing and conditioning her blonde locks.

"This is some hair colour, huh?" She could tell that by the stylist's voice that she was judging the ty dye job.

It was probably her worst nightmare.