"Shop's closed today?" The obnoxious sign outside of Lady's Room was off today when the giant heel was usually lit up like the 4th of July, even in the daytime. Seeing the store be so empty was unusual, as it was usually quite busy. 

"Yeah, Taeyeon took the day off. This is the first time she called in sick in a while, and I don't have any substitutes, unfortunately." Irene gave a frown, walking up towards the entrance of her cafe and unlocking the front door. She held the door open for Wendy, who quickly scampered in to avoid the cold weather outside. 

"Feels like it's going to start snowing soon..." Wendy blew some warm air into her hands. She checked the date on her phone and saw that it was already halfway through December. Times flies when you're trying to solve the biggest case in America, Wendy thought, her mind slowly drifting to how she was going to celebrate Christmas, which was coming real soon. She knew Yerim would be with her no matter what, and now she would definitely invite Sooyoung too. But what about...

"Stop daydreaming Wendy, let's get down to my place. I'll get you a hot chocolate, you look like you're going to freeze."

Maybe she would invite her. 

Wendy briskly walked over to the back of the kitchen, trying to keep her body active in order to maintain some warmth throughout her body. She started jogging on the spot, her hands in her pockets as she hopped around the kitchen like a rabbit. 

"Gosh, you look so cute right now," Irene said, strolling over to Wendy, passing her the hot chocolate that was promised. She smiled as Wendy blushed.

"...Thank you." Wendy took a sip of the hot chocolate. It was delicious. 

"I added extra milk too, you wrote on your blog exactly how you like your hot chocolate." 

Wendy began to choke on the freshly prepared hot chocolate, remembering that post that Irene had mentioned. 

"Goodness, I wrote that post so long ago. It must have been at least 2 years." Wendy shook her head, smiling as she remembered the days when she could still sit in front of her laptop and write so carefreely, enjoying life and enjoying her job. Her smile was a sad one, she missed those days, a lot. Now, things were not so easy.

But, now, Wendy had Irene.

The lift finally came up, and Irene and Wendy headed down, an elevator ride that was silent, except for the few sips of hot chocolate that Wendy took. She noticed that Irene was standing closer to her than usual today, their hands and shoulders nearly touching. Wendy felt her hand twitch. 

"You too huh?"

Wendy looked up at Irene, who was looking back at her with a dreamy smile, her eyes displaying a softness and warmth that Wendy had not seen from Irene before. 

Without saying a word, the two felt their hands wrapped around each others', Wendy enjoying the soft touch that Irene's hands provided. Her hands were truly cloud-like, pillowy.

Wendy heard Irene's breath hitch when their hands connected. They exchanged yet another glance at each other.

"... Let's get to work?"

Wendy, slightly taken aback from Irene's request, quickly nodded, detaching her hands from Irene's, shaking her mind clear of any other thoughts she was harboring. They were here for one purpose and one purpose only.

The Case.

***

The lift doors opened, and the duo quickly marched over to the files that Irene had left on her table, records of organized crime that had occurred within the last ten years, and the personal profiles of the mob bosses that were caught, and the ones that were still at large. 

"As I already said, the mob doesn't use any police equipment, and as far as I know, there are no records of any missing equipment reported by the police."

Wendy walked on over to Irene's laptop, looking through the records Irene was going through. It was very extensive, going through every crime in the last ten years, not just organized crime. Wendy leaned back in her chair, finishing off the last of her hot chocolate and putting her brain to work. 

"Don't you think... there's a chance it could be an inside job? Maybe a police officer is doing this?" Irene said.

Wendy tutted. That possibility crossed her mind the moment she discovered the police glove. She didn't want to believe it, but right now, she needed any lead she could get. 

"Every single police station has an equipment room, there are hundreds of pairs of these same gloves in every station." Wendy tapped her fingers on the table, as Irene sat silently, already typing away on her computer. 

"Wendy. Doesn't every NYPD building have a unique code? A dispatch number?" 

Wendy snapped her fingers. Irene was right. 

"Every single building has a special code, yes." Wendy groaned. "I should have listened when they were giving those talks about the use of equipment, I always slept through those."

Irene chuckled, still typing away on her computer. 

"I'm sure every police building needs to run an inventory check right?" 

Wendy nodded. "Every month there's a check, making sure that we have enough things, yeah. I don't bother about that at all." 

Irene finally stopped typing on her computer. She turned and looked at Wendy, who seemed to be completely clueless.

"And if things go missing? How do you find them? You can't have police equipment just lying around can you?" 

Wendy suddenly snapped up, her body rising like a jolt of lightning. She remembered something. 

"Once... Sehun had lost a baton in a riot. I remember Seulgi told him to look for a code, a label on the baton. He was complaining about it the entire day, having to look through hundreds of recovered batons to make sure he had the right one..."

Irene smiled. 

"If your batons have these labels, why wouldn't the gloves?"

Wendy leaped out her seat.

"Now we just need the glove."

Wendy yanked out her phone, making a call to Sooyoung. 

***

"What do you mean its gone?" 

Sehun shrugged his shoulders. 

"They deemed the evidence as a dud, so they sent it to the evidence building." 

Sooyoung groaned, banging her head on her desk. 

"Is Seulgi in?" 

Sehun shook his head. 

"Nope, she's not, and she told me that she'd be busy the whole day too, some kind of meeting with the higher-ups." 

Sooyoung pouted, pulling her phone out and calling Wendy back.

"It's in evidence, Wendy. I can't get in there without Seulgi's permission, and she isn't free the whole day." 

There was silence on the other end for a good ten seconds.

"... Uhh, Wendy?" 

What was said next scared the out of Sooyoung.

" it then, we'll get it ourselves. I know someone."

The line went dead, and Sooyoung sat back in her chair, her lips quivering a little in excitement. 

"Guess I know where I'm headed."

***

"You know someone who can bust into Evidence?"

"She can bust into any place, no problem." Wendy smiled, looking through her contacts for a very specific number.

Irene felt her lips twitch. 

"...She?"

Wendy looked at Irene and saw 'it' in her eyes. It was as obvious as the full moon in the night sky. 

Jealousy. 

Wendy had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling even more. Irene was getting jealous because of her? How sweet. 

"There she is." Wendy dialed the number, her mind racing with anticipation. 

After 3 rings, someone picked up.

"And what in the do you want from me Son Wendy?"

Wendy laughed out loud, to which Irene raised a brow.

"Jennie Kim, I need a favor."