“Has the family responded yet?”

“Patience,” I reminded my associate. “Remember, they’re mourning their deceased daughter. They probably aren’t going to be checking their emails every half hour.”

“On the contrary, it’s possible they’re checking their emails more often than usual, looking for updates on the case.”

With a sigh, I shook my head. “Logically, you’re absolutely right, like always. However, the family is in a distressed state of mind, not to mention denial. There’s no way they’re thinking clearly.”

Miyeon responded. “That makes perfect sense. You’ve come a long way, Yuqi.” She looked up from the paperwork and gave me a smile.

I returned the smile before speaking. “Miyeon, flattery will get you nowhere with me, so just what is it that you’re up to?” I took a sip of my honey-filled tea, awaiting her response.

She sighed, briefly raising her eyebrows. “What makes you think it’s flattery? Is it not possible for me to praise a friend?”

“Well, I suppose there’s nothing stopping you from complimenting me, it’s just out of character for you.”

My colleague narrowed her eyes. “Am I that one-dimensional?”

I smiled, knowing she was only pretending to take offense. “Well, you are shaped a bit like a stick.”

Miyeon scoffed. “Says the cereal box.” The corners of her lips turned upward.

I looked down, examining my own physique. “At least I do something other than sit in my armchair and stare at pictures of dead bodies.”

“Of course, you’re too busy sitting in your own armchair, staring at the dating profiles of uninterested women and eating cereal, your own kind.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I live with a cannibal.”

I look at her, feigning offense. “What? I’m a cereal box, not the cereal itself.”

“But what if cereal is the organs of the cereal box?” Miyeon’s counterclaim threw me off for a split second, though I quickly recovered.

“I think I know my own anatomy, Detective.” I used the title sarcastically, almost like a jab.

Before she could attack me further, Miyeon’s phone began to vibrate. She narrowed her eyes, looking at me. “Enjoy this victory while it lasts,” She said, and picked up her phone. “Hello?” She greeted in an indifferent tone. She spent a few seconds listening to someone, before she opened , most likely interrupting them. “Oh please, you know as well as I do that I have special access to police files.” She was quiet for a few seconds, before snapping a response to what the caller had said. “Seriously, Officer, just because your intelligence pales in comparison to my own, doesn’t mean you have to act like a complete idiot.” With that statement, I had a good guess as to who the target of her insults was.

“Miyeon, stop insulting the subpar detective, she’s doing her best.”

“I HEARD THAT!”

The shouting from the other side of the phone confirmed my theory regarding the caller. “I’m only joking, Minnie, no need to send the entire police force after me.”

“Yeah, yeah, sureeee. Anyway, we were wondering if you could stop by and return the files you took without asking,” The officer continued, and I was now able to hear her thanks to my friend putting her on speaker.

“Fine.” Miyeon surrendered with a grumble.

“Alright then,” Minnie said in an almost suspicious tone. “Please do that soon, soon meaning by the end of today. I’ll see you then.”

“See you, Minnie,” I responded, and after giving a soft ‘bye’ in return, the woman hung up. “Alright, we’ll have to get up soon. I know that if either of us stay sitting for too long, we’ll forget to return those files.”

“Do we have to?” Miyeon asked in response, being as dramatic as she possibly could.

I gave her a ‘seriously?’ look. “Of course we do! We can’t exactly steal files from Scotland Yard!”

“Why not?” My companion asked, and I had to make an effort to not slap her.

“Because, you idiot,” I began. “That’s illegal, and the only reason we’re able to break so many laws is because the Yard is on our side.”

Miyeon groaned, but I knew she’d surrendered, at least for the time being.

Begrudgingly, I stood up. “Well, I guess we’d better get going,” I said as I stretched.

My partner scrunched up her face in obvious distaste. “Can’t. Busy.” She continued to look through her phone, presumably at her pictures of the crime scene.

I placed a hand on my hip and raised my eyebrows. “Doing what?”

“Thinking.”

“Well, you can think in the car. Let’s go.”

She shook her head defiantly. “The car is too bumpy. I can't focus.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I’ll go by myself. Where are the files?”

Miyeon handed me a folder filled with paper. “Here’s the original,” She responded, not looking up from her phone. I grabbed the file and started toward the door, murmuring a “see ya” as I left.

“Wait!” I heard my flatmate’s call right as I was shutting the door. The salty part of me wanted to lock the door and keep going, but I knew that I would feel bad about it, so reluctantly, I rolled my eyes and swung the door back open.

On the other side of the door, Miyeon stood. “Shall we?” She asked.

I looked at her incredulously. “Seriously, Miyeon?”

“Why?” She looked legitimately confused.

I sighed, closed my eyes and lips, took a deep breath, and shook my head. “Nevermind. Let’s go.”

---

The cab ride was quick. The two of us sat in silence, minus the tapping of Miyeon’s fingernails on the door’s armrest. We arrived at the station in minutes, as we lived close to it. Upon arriving, I had the door closest to the station, giving me a headstart and allowing me to get to the station’s doors without having to rush after Miyeon.

After we got inside, I held Miyeon be the collar, forcing her to stay with me. “We’re signing in, stay put.” She rolled her eyes and opened to argue, but I gave her a look, prompting her to shut up and hand me a pen.

We approached the front desk and I explained the situation. The secretary checked our IDs and called Minnie’s office, who confirmed that we were allowed in. The secretary gave us both passes and returned our IDs. He unlocked the doors and we both entered.

We’d both been to the station many times, and easily navigated our way to Minnie’s office. We walked in without knocking. Minnie looked up from her paper, locking eyes with Miyeon. “I’m surprised you actually decided to come,” She commented.

“I’d really not have Scotland Yard on our asses,” Miyeon responded nonchalantly, setting the files on top of Minnie’s paperwork.

“Mhm,” She responded, looking past Miyeon to me.

I let out a huff of laughter. “I had to drag her here,” I said, confirming Minnie’s suspicion.

Miyeon gave me an annoyed look, but I simply smiled back.

“Ah, Miyeon, Yuqi, I’m glad you two are here. We have a problem.”

We turned to the door to see Soojin standing there, pink in the face. I assumed she’d ran here from her office, which was across the station. It was a surprisingly long journey if you didn’t decide to jump over desks. I, unfortunately, knew from experience.

Miyeon took a step toward her. “What is it, Detective Inspector?”

Soojin sighed and shook her head. “There’s been another one.”