Moonhee stood in front of the mirror, adjusting her clothes. The bruises on her neck were covered up thickly with concealer. She wasn’t going to let what happened to her affect the way she dressed.

Yael left her house early that morning to grab some breakfast for the both of them. She didn’t want to be home alone, so she grabbed her keys and left to find Yael. She went down to their nearest coffee place and felt a craving for white mocha.

Sending a quick text to ask where Yael was, Moonhee entered the cafe and went to the counter. Her phone pinged, she lowered her gaze to check the message out.

“What can I get for you today?” The cashier asked.

“White chocolate mocha.”

Another male voice ordered the same time she did. Moonhee looked up.

“Moonhee?”

A rare smile tugged on her lips, “Hyunbin!”

“How are you?” He asked, before turning to the cashier. “Two cups of white mocha, venti.”

“I’ve been good,” she replied shortly.

He then stepped aside, motioning for her to sit down while he paid for their drinks.

“I can’t have you pay for my drink, oppa,” she shook her head.

“It’s alright. I’m working now, it’s time I buy my best friend’s sister a drink.”

He smiled, assuring her to go grab a seat to wait for him. He came back with the drinks and handed Moonhee hers.

“How… How are you coping?” He asked carefully.

“Coping well, why?” She sipped her drink.

“I mean, after Taehyun--”

Moonhee froze. She forced a smile on her face, “I’m okay. It has been so long, I’ve come to terms.”

Hyunbin nodded wordlessly. He reached for his drink, his eyes flitting over to the younger girl. He hid a smile.

“But I do have a question to ask,” Moonhee looked up.

He quickly averted his gaze and hummed, “Hmm, what’s that?”

“What exactly happened to Taehyun? Why was he caught for drugs? He’s not the kind to touch that kind of stuff.”

Hyunbin let out a sigh, putting his drink down. He reached for her hand, but she politely pulled away. He understood what she meant and withdrew his hand.

“Oh right, another kid in school was rumoured to have them, but somehow when the cops arrived, they were in Tae’s locker.” He added. “That’s the factor in the case that I could never understand…”

“Besides, he called the boys out for dinner the night he… died. I can’t see the reason for him to commit suicide.”

Moonhee stilled but nodded quickly.

“The entire case just felt really shady. I know something’s up.”

The both let the conversation die down as they sat in a comfortable silence. Moonhee’s phone pinged. It was a message from Yael, telling her she was at the precinct.

“I have to go oppa, see you soon.” She said and got up. “Thanks for the coffee."

Hyunbin shot up after her.

“I’ll send you,” he offered. “Where are you heading?”

“I'm just a couple blocks down. Don't worry about it.”

She bowed slightly before heading towards the door, Hyunbin went after her. She smiled when she realised he was still behind her.

“Oppa, I'm not 10 anymore, you don't have to send me,” she joked. “I'm really alright, you must be busy.”

“Right,” he chuckled and ruffled her hair. “I keep forgetting. Did you change your number?”

She shook her head.

“I’ll call you then.”

She nodded, wordlessly again.

“Moonhee!”

Another voice joined the conversation. The duo looked up, Jinyoung was running towards them. Hyunbin gave him a confused look before turning back to the girl.

He attempted to hug Moonhee but Jinyoung stood closer and blocked him with his arm.

“Who are you?”

Hyunbin stepped back, “Who are you?”

His eyes fell on the pass hanging around his neck, they widened when he realised Jinyoung was a cop.

“I don't have to explain myself to you,” Hyunbin whispered.

Moonhee stopped Jinyoung from stepping forward and nodded to Hyunbin, “See, I'm alright. He'll walk me to where I'm going.”

“Are you sure?” He gave Jinyoung a sceptical look.

“Yeah, I am. See you soon, oppa.”

Hyunbin sighed and patted Moonhee’s arm. He glared at Jinyoung once more before turning the other way and leaving.

“Who's that?”

Jinyoung tried starting a conversation. Moonhee gave him a sceptical look and broke into a small smile.

“He's my brother's best friend. He takes care of me a lot, you know… before my brother passed.”

He nodded in understanding. He glanced over Moonhee’s head and saw Hyunbin disappear into a  corner. He then faced her.

“How are you feeling?” He asked carefully. “About what happened yesterday…”

He could see Moonhee flinch but she quickly composed herself. A smile came onto her face.

“I'm fine. It's not like it happened for the first time.”

Jinyoung’s heart skipped a beat at her seemingly uncaring attitude about her assault. His eyes flew down to her neck and noticed faint bruises showing.

“How about we walk back to the precinct. Yael’s there.”

Moonhee nodded. He held his hand out, offering for her to take it but she gave it a glance before walking forward.

***

Moonhee and Jinyoung stepped into the precinct together, settling for a comfortable silence. Jaebum was at the lobby, he glanced up and jogged over when he saw them enter.

“Yo, where did you go?” He asked Jinyoung, not forgetting to peer at Moonhee.

She excused herself and headed towards the lock-up, where Sungmin was detained in. She flashed the officer on guard her temporary pass and he let her in.

Jaebum’s brows furrowed when he noticed the lack of reaction from her. He slung his arm around Jinyoung’s shoulders.

“Did something happened?”

The latter shook his head, before nodding quickly.

“So..?”