14; Sleepover pt. I

I can’t believe this.

If Officer Woon Kyungja was more of a vocal person, perhaps these were the words she would have uttered as she sat in the passenger seat of the unsuspecting black police vehicle. Not only was she subject to her partner’s newfound amusement with the idea of the school girl’s sleepover for the whole week, but he’d even taken the liberty of proposing his ideas to the commissioner!

Outrageous! Knifing! Oh, if only Kyungja wasn’t so skilled at keeping her emotions at bay, she was positive she’d had told him precisely what was on her mind with little to no tact. Instead however, all she was capable of in response was the opposite.

She was making her way to the gym class – Moon Jihye and her band of peanut galleries not far ahead – when she’d received the dreaded call. She imagined the topic was one of significant interest in terms of the mission, however the officer couldn’t have been more mistaken.

‘So,’ his voice was husky, and Kyungja was positive he’d just woken up from one of his naps there in his office. ‘I heard from a certain someone that you’re going to a slumber party. Wish you could take him in with you cos he sounds so damn excited about it.

‘Sounds interesting, though. Good luck.’

Unconsciously, Kyungja found herself clenching her jaw with mild irritation and disbelief. It brought her back to one of the handful of things she despised about Park Jimin. He was talkative. Too talkative. As much as she found herself tolerating his antics and perhaps even slightly – only slightly – feeling indebted to the chap for a particular incident, this was too much. Attending Moon Jihye’s sleepover? Preposterous!

‘This is a waste of time.’

Jimin scoffed; eyes directed at the dark neighbourhood they turned into, waiting within the confines of the idle vehicle. ‘Well, what else would you rather do? Go out drinking?’

Kyungja’s eyes narrowed at him as soon as the words escaped his mouth. ‘Is this blackmail, Park?’

‘W-what? No!’

The redhead sputtered, however his surprise quickly turned into amusement. She watched as a twinkling gleam settled in his small eyes and a smile spread on his lips, as if recalling something hilarious.

‘Well, it’s either a slumber or a drinking party. Which would you choose?’

The female officer felt heat crawl to her cheeks and as much as she would have liked to retort, for once she had nothing to say in response. Ah, the man was truly loathsome! And the fact that he’d already seen her in such a sorry state of affair made fighting back all the more embarrassing. Instead, she found herself unknowingly pouting as she turned away from the impish look on her partner’s face. Perhaps – once again – if Officer Woon was more of a vocal person, she’d be grumbling instead.

Yet the expression she made was far better than that. Noting how her face soured in that strained way as if she tried not to look affected by his teasing, Jimin’s lips split into a grin. She was so cute at times that he didn’t even bother battling with himself anymore on the subject. Yes. Namjoon was right. He still liked her. And how rewarding it was to actually get reactions out of the otherwise sombre woman was the equivalent of a commendable achievement.

Nevertheless, he quickly stopped himself from further relishing in such delights. Instead, he directed his attention back to Kyungja, watching her fidget with her phone that had been vibrating on occasion ever since they’d rendezvoused.

‘Are you nervous?’

Park Jimin never even imagined the day he’d get to see the fullmetal RoboCop looking as vulnerable as she did then. The two were seated in a more covert, black police car two blocks away from one of the city’s wealthiest residential areas, both scouting the area before commencement of the side mission. The young male officer couldn’t help but notice just how uncharacteristically on-edge his partner looked. As much as he about the sleepover, how nervous she seemed and how determined she was to hide the reaction surprised him.

It was an odd sight to see her this worked up about something, and deciding it would be best to console her somewhat about the mission at hand, Jimin spoke again. His voice holding a soft, unheard-of quality.

‘Yah, what are you so freaked out about? They’re just high schoolers, Woon. Not murder machines or something. You got this.’

Perhaps a week ago he would have found it odd issuing such words of encouragement, especially to Woon Kyungja of all people considering their past. However, their relationship was gradually easing into one more comfortable, he noted, ever since the bar incident. Or perhaps it was just in his nature to offer consolidation. Nevertheless, Kyungja’s silence that followed his words meant she received them well; her shoulders moving in a circular motion as if attempting to make herself comfortable.

She sighed. ‘This is ridiculous.’

A twinkling laughter escaped Jimin at the statement. ‘Nah. What’s ridiculous is the surname Van Choi and the fact that I’m supposed to know Finish. When I’m pretty certain I’m an all-round Busan kid.’

He watched as a small smile spread on Kyungja’s lips and her cheeks rose, catching the faint streetlight that invaded through the windshield. He cracked up at the realization of what he’d just uttered and laughed openly at how truly ridiculous his predicament was in comparison; the two of them sharing a moment of hilarity, which allowed for the tension in the air to dissipate.

Shortly after though, the sound of a ringing phone blared to life, allowing for both their attentions to settle on the vibrating device in Kyungja’s lap. She answered it quickly – her face immediately assuming a composed, somewhat default expression.

‘Moon,’ she acknowledged; Jimin subconsciously pitying the girl for having to deal with the officer’s detached formal antics.

‘Correct. I’ll be there right away.’

So it was the girl constantly texting her. Jimin found the thought an incredibly amusing one as he watched her from the side of his eye, staring with a longing sort desperation for escape into the bright phone screen upon ending the call.

‘I’m going in. You’re on standby, Park.’

‘Roger that. Good luck.’

A black vehicle pulled smoothly into one of the convenience store empty parking spaces; an individual clothed in equally dark attire sitting behind the wheel. Save for choppy layers of crimson hair that peeked out in the darkness under a navy beanie, Officer Park Jimin was in disguise.

His equipment was set up to the T within the unsuspecting vehicle, and he was within perfect range of the house that caught his interest. He’d followed Kyungja after making sure there was a considerable amount of distance covered between them from the car, and getting closer to the home, he pulled into the closest parking space available where he wouldn’t seem suspicious.

Further up the road from Moon Jihye’s mansion was a small, brightly-lit 24-hour convenience store. It was the perfect position for him to be in. Through the windshield and the window on his left, Jimin had an exceptional view of the home. He watched as Officer Woon buzzed the intercom from the distance, standing outside a daunting pair of green wrought iron gates on a tan brick paved driveway. After what appeared to be correspondence with the device, the gates rattled upon and she was through.

Alright, he said to himself, slumping over the wheel with a dreary sigh. Now to wait for hours.

Of course, being on standby meant being the eyes and ears on the outside. Jimin recalled the earlier discussion they’d had about earpieces and transmitting the audio from within to him for purely research purposes, but decided against it for obvious reasons. It was far too unnecessary of a task, and besides, who would willingly listen in on teenage girls at a sleepover? The officer cringed at even the thought of it.

I wonder if she’ll be alright in there, Jimin subconsciously dwelled on the thought, imagining all sorts of hilarious things she’d be subject to while fiddling with his hair when a blaring racket broke his train of thoughts abruptly.

A large, bulky, incredibly noisy vehicle sharply took the corner into the convenience store parking. It was a rusty van that seemingly trotted along on flat tyres and just as luck had it, it was parked directly in front of Jimin’s line of sight. The car was practically vibrating with the