Fascinating new thing

You delight me

And I know you're speaking of me

(Fasinating New Thing, Semisonic)

"...and his gorgeous eyes, I can talk about them forever."

"Have you not been talking about him for forever?"

Sun Hee looked affronted.

"What?"

Jin Hae smirked at her as she twirled her glass of martini. 

"Girl, please. You've been talking about that detective non-stop ever since he stepped in to your life," said Sun Hee's friend, "It's always Lee Hyuk did this or Lee Hyuk did that -- he looked so nice in his black jacket, his eyes sparkled like marbles -- stuff like that. The only thing you haven't gushed about is how you'd want to mother his kids."

"That's not true!" protested Sun Hee, "You overreact."

"Says the girl who threw a tantrum when the detective didn't even bother to call her back."

Jin Hae smiled coyly at her as she picked an olive and ate it. Sun Hee, on the other hand, glared at her friend. The former noticed the latter's annoyed expression and insistence of denial.

"Well...that's...uncalled for," said Sun Hee, "I'm just...admiring him."

"Come on, Sun Hee, stop lying to yourself. You don't just admire Detective Lee -- you're head over heels," said Jin Hae, "Everyone can see that you're pinning for the hot detective."

The actress' eyes widen in surprise. 

"I am not pinning after him!" she exclaimed, "And what do you mean everyone can see that?"

"You're not exactly subtle, Sun Hee. I see it whenever I drop by your set and he's there. You're always looking for him, touching him when you can, and just...eyeing him," explained Jin Hae, "It's like no one can touch him when you're there. The slightest interaction with other females on the set causes you to bare your fangs at them."

"I do not bare my fangs!" argued Sun Hee indignantly.

Jin Hae raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really?"

To be perfectly honest, Sun Hee knew that Jin Hae had a point, but she wasn't willing to admit it. She wasn't being too possessive -- not in her opinion. But who wouldn't get annoyed when makeup artists and interns gush about your stylist (aka your undercover detective assigned to protect you from a stalker)? Anyone would get annoyed -- or want to stab those girls in the eye.

"Aisht, Kim Sun Hee, look at you, head over heels," commented Jin Hae, sipping form her martini, "This isn't like you. You were always the type to let guys drool over you and if they don't, it would be their loss. But here you are...crazy over a handsome stranger you've only known for months."

It sounded crazy coming from Jin Hae.

Sun Hee thought she was going crazy herself.

It's only been a few months getting to know this detective, but for some reason, she was strongly drawn to him. At first, she thought it was because she was extremely handsome. She had never seen a face like that anywhere; even the best actors didn't come close. 

Next, she figured maybe it was because he was mysterious. He was such a mystery, sometimes she wished she could get a good read; she wanted to uncover his deepest, darkest secrets (and that desire started to freak her out). Whenever she learned something about him, it's almost as if she hit a goldmine -- especially if the information came from him (like how he prefers yogurt over soju any day).

Eventually, she realized that she was just really fascinated with this man named Lee Hyuk and that she wanted to get to know him more. She really hated her stalker case, but if that meant Hyuk would stay longer, she secretly didn't mind.

As she took a sip of her wine, Sun Hee smacked her lips and remembered his face. 

"Ah, Detective Lee, why do you drive me crazy?"

"It's the Grim Reaper!"

Hyuk smiled menacingly as he charged his opponent with such passion.

One punch, then another -- the detective attacked the bad men all at once. He had back up with him, but Hyuk lived for these moments. Quickly, he dodged a punch and shoved the nearest attacker to the wall. When he stood up, he sensed someone lurking behind him. In a split second, he threw a high kick, squarely hitting one of the thugs in the face. 

Beside them was a burning building, but no one seemed to care from both parties. Everyone was too busy attacking.

An arm pulled him on the shoulder. Without thinking, he elbowed with such force and threw more punches. 

One of the gangsters were roughly beating up his hoobae. Violently pushing one of them, he ran towards his young ward and dodged a knife attack. He kicked the man in the chest and pulled out his hoobae from the mess. Together, with the other members of the Violent Crimes unit, they attacked the gangsters. When Hyuk saw a leeway, he got out of the fight and ran towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going detective?"

A rough hand pulled him back. The mobster raised his hand, which held a knife, and was about to plunge it on the detective's chest. In a swift move, Hyuk broke free, but was cut in the face.

"Ugh!"

He could feel the wet blood coming from the cut. If there was one thing he hated, it was gangsters cutting his face.

Growling silently yet menacingly, he threw himself at the lead gangster. Detective Lee fought with all his might because he was angry with what these men did; the cut on his face was the icing on top.

"Detective Lee!"

His hoobae Soo Ok came to his aid and grabbed the man.

"The door's open! The girl could be in there!"

Hyuk remembered the reason why they were here in the first place. Seeing the burning remains of the empty warehouse, he let go of his opponent and rushed in. He didn't pay attention to the falling debris or wood. The ravaging fire was too much, he couldn't breathe anymore, but Detective Lee knew he had to fulfill his duty. He covered his nose with his arm, coughing every now and then as his eyes tried to look through the smoke and soot. 

He saw a small figure huddled in the corner.

Detective Lee ran towards the unconscious figure. Without wasting any time, he removed his jacket and covered the little girl, protecting her from the smoke. When he lifted her up, he could feel that she was still alive, but her breathing was becoming more troubled by the minute. Quickly, he made his way through the burning ruins, fervently praying that the girl was okay. 

He ran out just in time. A minute later,  the building exploded.

Hyuk covered the girl and held her tightly in his arms as he watched the mobster house burn down to the ground. His attention, however, was cut when he heard the little girl cough. 

"Dad...daddy..." she was saying.

"Detective Lee!"

Hyuk looked up and saw DA Park running towards him with another figure. Through his blurred vision, he eventually made out the figure. It was the father of the girl, who also happened to be one of South Korea's richest men. 

"Soo-Yeonah!" he cried, immediately dropping to his knees and taking his child away from the detective. Hyuk watched as the father hug his daughter tightly, tears streaming down his face. For such a burly man, it was odd to see him sob like a child, but Detective Lee understood. Anyone who lost their daughter to mobsters for a while would end up in the same way.

The father looked at the detective.

"Thank you...thank you so much," was all he said.

Hyuk nodded at the businessman, hoping to express a silent "You're welcome." Rather than linger, he stood up (albeit wobbly) and left the father and his reunited daughter.

"Job well done, Detective Lee," praised DA Park, "I knew you could pull this off."

Detective Lee brushed away the soot from his face; he touched the cake of blood forming from the cut. "All in a day's work, sir," he replied.

"Well, take the rest of the night off," advised his superior, "You can finish off the paperwork tomorrow. You need to take care of that cut as well." He pointed at Hyuk's cut. 

"But I have to go see Miss Kim. She has another filming tomorrow."

A sly smile spread on his superior's face. Hyuk could already sense what his DA was about to say, but was grateful when the latter said nothing.

"Is that so?" replied DA Park, "Alright then, I'll file the paperwork for you. You've done enough overtimes for a lifetime, already."

His DA then smirked.

"Beside, you deserve a fun time tomorrow."

DA Park winked at him and went ahead, joining the team who were slowly taking the suspects into the police vans. At first, Detective Lee was a bit scandalized with his superior's suggestion, but the pain on his face distracted him too much. He decided he would take DA Park's advice and just head home, maybe slap on a band-aid, and just lie down--

"HYUK!!"

Detective Lee looked up and saw a familiar face among his colleages and suspects -- one he had not seen for a long time.

"...aisht, what kind of person doesn't even bother with their brother for a long time, eh?"

Hyuk poured himself another shot of Soju and drank quickly, hoping to numb the cut on his face and also to prepare himself from his older brother's line of questions. There was bound to be plenty of them. This was what he got for ignoring a number of his hyung's texts.

"I've been really busy." explained Hyuk, checking out the grilling meat.

"I can see that," said his brother, "Look at you -- all worn out, bleeding, and scratched. People around here will think Lee Ha Neul is a pathetic older brother."

"Well, you said you wanted to eat so I didn't have the time to fix myself," said Hyuk in a matter-of-fact tone, taking one of the meat, "You said you were dying of hunger so what could I do?"

"Hey, I just said that so you wouldn't escape me again," retorted Ha Neul, "You always make excuses not to see your hyung. Don't you know I've missed you so much?"

"You're just bored cause you moved back home."

His brother looked at him, mocking offense. "What's wrong with moving back home? he asked, "At least I get to taste Mom's kimchi rice everyday. And the best part is I also get to antagonize Jae Eun as much as I'd want to."

"Geez, she's just in high school. Give her a break."

"Exactly. As the baby sister, she deserves all the love in the form of her eldest brother's return," said Ha Neul, after taking spoonfuls of his soup, "Did you know that she has a new boyfriend? At sixteen years old, she's already on her second boyfriend."

"Why does that surprise you? She's been liking boys since she was five."

"But at sixteen?"

"So?"

"She moves faster than you in the love department!"

Oh my god, here we go.

Hyuk immediatel filled his glass with another round of soju, drank it straight, and braced himself for the worst.

"My god, Hyuk...how could you let our baby sister move ahead?" complained Ha Neul, "She's just sixteen and she's dated two boys. You, on the other hand, are already 28 and still not interested in women. How is this possible?"

The poor detective continued eating, pretending he didn't hear his older brother's words. Hyuk knew Ha Neul and his tendency to drive things beyond what he's supposed to. And he could feel it coming in three...two...one--

"Oh right...it's because you've been ditching all my efforts to hook you up with someone," finished Ha Neul, crossing his arms.

"We're not talking about this."

"Yes we are, my dongsaeng," said his hyung, taking down one shot of soju, "Now that I have you, we will do something about it."

Hyuk looked at his brother seriously. "You're not planning something crazy, are you?" he asked, "Cause I just saved some little girl's life and I had to beat twelve gangsters a while ago. I don't have the strength to go out."

"I wish, but yeah, I can't drag you to a club looking like that," replied Ha Neul, "No, I want to know why you keep ditching me and my offers."

Hyuk speared a piece of meet. "I keep telling you the same thing -- I'm not interested," he answered shortly.

"If this was because of the Great Two-Five, god little brother, it's time to move on," reprimanded Ha Neul, "I know you had it rough during those years and I know you swore you'd never love again, but each relationship ended and you're single. It's time to find THE one."

The detective lost his cold structure at the mention of the infamous event.

The Great Two Five referred by his brother was the term he gave for two of Hyuk's biggest heartaches. Five years ago, he broke up with a girl he had been dating since high school. Hyuk thought he was going to marry her, but when he found out she cheated on him, his whole world crumbled. Two years ago, he also broke up with another girl -- the one he thought was the right one after the first. But she ended up cheating on him too -- but this time, she left for another girl. 

Both crumbled his self-esteem, especially the last one. 

After the Great Two Five, Lee Hyuk realized that maybe he wasn't meant to be in a relationship. It seemed like each time he fell in love, something bad was bound to happen -- the girl would always leave him. So, instead of facing the harsh truth of being left behind, he chose to be celibate -- if not for long, maybe forever. 

At least, no one would leave him anymore. 

"...and it's not like the girls I set you up with aren't high quality ones. They're very pretty and nice! But you keep ditching them," Ha Neul was complaining, "I show them your photo and they also want to meet you, but you ghost out. I'm trying to help you here, Hyuk."

The detective downed another shot. "I don't need help in that department, hyung," he said, "I'm fine on my own."

"You're just saying that cause you don't want to fall in love again," pointed his brother, "Call it cliche, but you're scared of getting hurt."

Hyuk didn't answer and chose to eat another piece of meat. 

"I bet that thousands of girls out there want to go out with you, but you just don't want to," continued Ha Neul, "And that's a shame little brother. You're a high-class guy meant for some high class woman out there, but here you are...hiding, eating meat, and evading your hyung who wants to help out. I just don't see the point of you forever being scarred by The Great Two Five, little brother."

His brother poured them both another round of drinks.

Hyuk understood and appreciated Ha Neul's concern; despite the fact that he was always annoyed with his hyung's good intentions, he appreciated the latter's efforts -- he just wasn't up for it. 

"I don't think you haven't noticed anyone yet," continued Ha Neul, cooking his pieces of meat on the grill, "Come on, you might be stone cold, but I bet a girl has caught your eye somehow."

For a second, the detective stopped chewing. His eyes (which women loved about him) was suddenly fixated with the smoke from the grill. His brother noticed the sudden trance.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

Hyuk's phone then started to vibrate; someone was calling him. 

"That must be someone from your station," said Ha Neul, taking a piece of meat, "God, can't they lay off you just for a night. You already got yourself beaten up." He shook his head and took another shot, complaining about the lack of boundaries with the law.

Lee Hyuk, on the other hand, was still transfixed with his phone, staring at the name of the caller.

F.N.T. it said.

A/N: I read from some of the comments that some of you really can't move on from Dong Wook and In Na's chemistry. I understand the feeling. I just realized how Kdrama's aren't as generous as the ones in my country (one too many sequels, pairings that last forever), but I guess that's the bittersweet beauty of it. Their absence just makes us want the drama more. *Sigh* I guess we' ll all live in replays and fan fiction only.

Tell me what you think!