AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay so I know I said no daily updates and that this was a two-parter BUT...I realised that this chapter was going to be ing loooooong (like 10k+ words lmao) so I decided to split it into two and edit Part 3 a little! Hope you don't mind :)

This is a tad more angsty than usual lol but still comedy don't worry! Also Part 3 will be up in a few days since my exams are done tomorrow and I've got some time to chill for a while. Enjoy! :)

Also enjoy the new background for now :)

Also Also: If y'all have any requests for more bonuses, keep 'em coming! :D

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Old Love, New Love

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Part II

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It was cold enough to taste it in the air even there in the corridor outside her apartment. Seulgi looked about. As if she might be being watched by some foreign and unidentified party. But she was all alone and only the eerie solace of silence kept her company. She turned the key in the lock and went in and closed the door without making a sound behind her. All the lights were off. Carefully and still without noise she dropped her things on the kitchen worktop and put her shoes by the door and went into the bedroom. She had expected to see Irene asleep in some stage still of her drunken stupor but she was just sat there on the floor by the bed with her head between her knees.

'Irene.'

She looked up and around. In the narrow windowlight she looked almost otherworldly. Like something fallen victim to an exorcism, or roused from a terrible dream into a world she didn't much belong. Her hair had stuck to her and her makeup daubed her face like black clown paint and when she smiled that familiar drunken half-smile Seulgi could see the faint tinge of red high on her cheeks. On the floor beside her one of the bottles of whiskey from the cabinet sat about only a half full.

'Babe,' Irene slurred. She tried to stand and managed only to roll about against the side of the bed. She looked rather pitiful, Seulgi thought. Like an enormous slug just flopping about.

'Babe.'

'You should be in bed.'

'Bed.'

Seulgi stepped around the opposite side of the bed and threw the covers back and turned the bedside light on. In the new light she could see what had become of her girlfriend. She had necked the whiskey straight from the bottle and more of it had gone on the floor than in and she stank of alcohol and sweat and faintly of the sweet jasmine immediacy of her favourite perfume. 'Bed,' she mumbled. She sounded as if her tongue had been caught against her teeth and now remained there. Seulgi went into the bathroom and poured a glass of water and set it on the bedside table. Irene didn't move.

'Come on,' Seulgi said. She made to take the bottle of whiskey and Irene swatted her away and fell back against the bed and giggled to herself.

'Skull,' she said.

'What?'

She tried to say: I want my drinking skull back! But what Seulgi heard was: 'I drink my skull...and my back. My back. Drink.'

'Stand up.'

'Babe.'

'Stand up.'

'Babe.'

'What?'

'Where's Jisoo?'

Seulgi helped her up by the hand and sat her on the end of the bed like a child, kicking her legs about and swaying and hiccupping into her hand. 'Babe,' she said.

'What?'

'I'm hungry.'

'I'll get you something to eat in the morning.'

'I'm hungry now.'

'You need to sleep.'

'Do you love Jisoo?'

'Legs.'

'Do you love her?'

'Irene, legs.'

'What?'

'Lift your legs,' Seulgi said. She did. Slowly and with delicate care Seulgi unfastened the straps of her heels and tossed them across the floor.

'You're eager,' Irene muttered, giggling to herself.

'Can you get undressed yourself?'

'Woah.'

'Irene.'

'I said: Woah.'

Seulgi sighed. She went into the kitchen and fetched a bigger pitcher of icewater from the fridge. When she came back into the bedroom the dress was pooled on the floor by the heels and Irene sat pale and bare save her bra and underwear, laughing to herself, eyes looking at absolutely nothing with no real concern over anything. Seulgi held the spout of the pitcher to her lips and tipped it a slight forward.

'Drink.'

'Babe.'

'Drink, please.'

When she was finished Seulgi carried her by the arm into bed and laid her down against the pillow like a child. Irene giggled again. Seulgi looked at her. She brushed her hair out of her face and nodded to the pitcher and the glass on the table. 'They're there if you want them,' she said.

'Wait.'

'We'll talk in the morning.'

'Wait. Where are you going?'

Seulgi came back a moment later with a bucket from under the kitchen sink. 'It's right here in you need it. Try not to get it on the floor.'

'Don't go.'

'Sleep.'

'Where are you going?'

'Irene, sleep.'

When Seulgi was in the doorway Irene called out to her again. In the thin light she looked so very unlike herself. 'Are you mad with me?' she said.

'No.'

'Yes you are.'

'No I'm not.'

'Yes you are.'

'No I'm- Look. Get some sleep.'

'Where's Wendy?'

'What?'

'I want Wendy.'

'I don't know where she is.'

'Where's Jisoo?'

'I don't know,' Seulgi said, rubbing her head.

'Are you going to meet Jisoo now?'

'No.'

'Where are you going then?'

'Into the kitchen.'

'Stay with me.'

'Go to sleep.'

'Are you going to meet Jisoo?'

'Jesus, you're insufferable when you're drunk.'

Irene giggled and hiccupped. 'Insufferable,' she mumbled. 'Nice to meet you, Insufferable, I'm- No, wait. I'm Insufferable. You're Seulgi. I'm confused.'

'You need to sleep.'

'Sleep,' Irene said. 'Sleep is for the weak and the dead.'

'Why did you have to drink so much?'

'Did I embarrass you?'

'What?'

'Did I embarrass you.'

'No.'

'You're ly-' she hiccupped. 'You're lying.'

'You didn't embarrass me. I just wish you'd thought about why we were there a little more.'

'What?'

'We had a job to do and you almost cost us.'

'I don't like your girlfriend.'

'You're my girlfriend.'

'I don't like your other girlfriend.'

'She's not my-'

'I don't like her.'

Seulgi sighed. As if to say: What do you want me to do? 'She was just doing her job,' she said.

'I don't like her job.'

'Irene, please.'

'Where's my skull?'

'I don't know.'

'Where's my tiger pelt?'

'I don't know,' Seulgi said.

'Poor tiger.'

'Are you going to sleep?'

Irene held her arms out and pouted. 'Come here,' she whined. 'I want a hug.'

'No. You stink.'

'So? I want a hug. I missed you.'

'I didn't even go anywhere.'

'I missed you, sweetie.'

'You're being weird.'

'Weird,' Irene said with a murmur.

'Clingy. I don't like it.'

'I won't remember it in the morning.'

'I know. That's what's worrying me.'

'I want some sausages. Can you get me some sausages?'

'Sleep. Jesus, I'm like a broken record. I'll see you tomorrow.'

And before Irene could say anything she closed the door and was gone.

 

♣   ♣   ♣

 

When she awoke in the morning she felt fine and that in and of itself was rather concerning. No headache, no dry taste in . No felt-tongue. The pitcher of water sat untouched on the bedside table. She propped herself against the headboard and grabbed the glass and drank it down and poured it full from the pitcher and drank again. The room smelled vaguely of sweat. Her own sweat. She could make out nothing save the piecemeal assortment of light from the windowblinds and time was inconsequential entirely. After a while she pushed the covers back and rose in the cold untouched timbre of the day like a cadaver imbued with sentience by some arcane force. She wouldn't look at herself in the bathroom mirror. Wouldn't dare.

She found Seulgi sat at the kitchen table reading a folder full of documents. 'Morning,' she said, coming out as barely more than a hoarse whisper, barely more than: -Ing.

Seulgi looked at her and nodded and turned to the documents again.

'What are you reading?'

'Just some things.'

'Well. Yeah. You got anything to eat?'

'Help yourself.'

Irene took two slices of bread from the breadbin and set them to toast and poured herself a glass of orange juice. 'You're up early,' she said.

'It's midday.'

'Well. I didn't know that. Nice shirt. I like the yellow pastel.'

'Thanks.'

A pause. Then Irene said, 'Are you mad with me?'

'What?'

'Are you angry?'

'I told you last night, no.'

'Yeah, but...you are, though.'

'I'm not.'

'You're waiting for me to say sorry for last night, aren't you?'

'Kind of,' Seulgi said.

'Well. I'm not going to.'

'Why?'

'I don't think I did anything wrong.'

'What?'

'I'm just saying, I thought I kinda livened the party up a little. You looked tense when I walked in, y'know? So did your girlfriend.'

'I've told you, she's-'

'Yeah.' Irene took the butter from the fridge and a knife from the drawer. 'I can't believe the type of those people get up to behind closed doors. Honestly. I mean, I'm seen it before and all that - with Yeri. But, wow. Sometimes I feel like I'm part of a different world, y'know? I drank wine out of a ing skull. A human skull.'

'It was plastic.'

'So? It's the intent behind it, no? How many people do you know with plastic skulls in their drinking cabinets?'

'I don't know many people with drinking cabinets.'

'Except you, you mean.'

'Yeah,' Seulgi said. 'Except me.'

'Sorry about the whiskey.'

'Uh huh.'

'Seulgi.'

Seulgi didn't respond.

'Babe.'

'What?' Seulgi said.

'Look at me.'

She did. Then she turned away and Irene laughed. 'What's wrong?' she said.

'You're lucky Jisoo's such a good talker, you know that, right? Imagine if it was just me in that room.'

'I wouldn't have interrupted then.'

'You shouldn't have interrupted at all. Jesus, you could've blown the whole thing right then and there. Do you know how angry they were? They're thugs, Irene. They're not these spoiled chaebol party-boys that Yeri hangs around with. They're drug dealers and gang members.'

'So? What were they going to do? Put me in-'

'Don't.'

'What?'

'Don't mention ing barrels. I've got a headache.'

'You've got a headache? You? Did you see how much I drank?'

Seulgi shook her head in disapproval.

'Too much,' Irene said. She buttered her toast and took a bite and chewed. 'The fact I'm not dead is a testament to my alcohol tolerance, really. Which, when I think about it, probably says a lot about me as a person. Whatever. The fact of the matter is I should be in a hospital somewhere getting my stomach pumped and instead I don't even feel a niggling of a headache coming on. It's a miracle. It's a sign from the above.'

Seulgi just looked at her.

'Anyway. What were you saying again? About gang members.'

'What you did was reckless,' Seulgi said. 'And very stupid.'

'Relax. It all worked out in the end, didn't it?'

'You weren't even there for it. You don't know.'

'What happened?'

'They were this close to marching out after you, you know that?'

'What were they going to do to me?'

'I don't know. I didn't ask. But it wouldn't be good.'

'What did I do wrong?'

'You barged in without asking and you caused a scene.'

'So?'

'You insulted them.'

'With what?' Irene said, finishing a slice of the toast. 'My presence?'

'Your words.'

'What words?'

'You called one of them an ugly bald motherer.'

'Well.'

'Well what?' Seulgi said.

'He was ugly, and bald. The Motherer is a figure of speech. You can take it or leave it.'

'I can't believe you sometimes. I should've never taken you along.'

'Oh, why? So you could spend more time with Jisoo?'

'What? This isn't-'

'Uh huh.'

'Irene.'

'No, forget it. Doesn't matter.'

'What's gotten into you? Is there something wrong?'

Irene scoffed. Seulgi pushed the folder across the table and turned in her seat so that she was facing Irene, there behind the counter, sipping from her orange juice. 'Forget it,' Irene said. The look on her face was so childish Seulgi had to stifle a laugh.

'Look,' Seulgi said, 'there's nothing between us.'

'I never said there was.'

'But you were implying it.'

'No I wasn't. You've just got the thought of you and her on the brain. You've been thinking about her.'

'Irene.'

'Whatever. What are we doing today?'

Seulgi sighed. She was quiet a minute. As if deciding between remaining silent and divulging everything. But in truth around Irene there was only one possible outcome. 'After your little charade we had to do some serious talking to get them to settle again.'

'We.'

'Jisoo did. I just sat there.'

'Naturally.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

Irene made a gesture for her to continue.

'She slipped one of them the tracking device. You wouldn't even realise it. It was smaller than even those cufflinks we had - the one's that Wendy gave us, you remember?'

'Yeah. Where did she slip it?'

'What?'

'Where was it? In his pocket or something?'

'No. Behind one of the buttons on his shirt.'

'What? Are you serious?'

Seulgi nodded.

'What a ing stupid place to put it,' Irene said. 'I thought she was supposed to be smarter than that. She seemed to think she was, at least. Strutting around like she owned the place or some .'

'What?'

'What about when he takes his shirt off?'

'Well, yeah. But we know where he is now.'

'What if he moves?'

'Without his shirt?'

'What if he takes it to the drycleaners? Bet your honey didn't think of that, did she?'

'It doesn't matter,' Seulgi said.

'It would've if I'd done it.'

'No, it wouldn't.'

'You would've told me I'd ed up.'

'I wouldn't.'

'Like you always do.'

'Look, the point is we know where they are now. They left in the early morning and that's where they are now.'

'How do you know?'

'Jisoo text me.'

'Of course she did.' Irene laughed dryly. She opened the bin lid and dropped in the last slice of toast and put the plate on the drainingboard by the sink. 'I'm suddenly not hungry,' she said.

'Really now.'

'How do you have her number?'

'She gave it to me.'

'Is that all she gave you?'

'What?'

'Nothing. So, what now, then? Are you just going to tell me to sit here and be boring again? Or tell me how much of a -up I've caused?'

'No.'

'No?'

'You'd just come along anyway.'

Irene made to reply and realised there was nothing much she could say. 'Alright then,' she said after a while. 'So now we go and get them?'

'No.'

'Then what?'

'We wait.'

'For what?'

'The guys went back to an apartment in Dasan. About half an hour from here. Jisoo's looking into booking a hotel room across the street from the apartment building, on the south side looking across.'

'A hotel room.'

Seulgi nodded.

'For you and her?'

'What? No. Look, what I meant was-'

'Whatever.'

'Irene, please.'

They were interrupted by Seulgi's phone buzzing on the table. For a moment they just sat listening to it rattle. Then Seulgi took it and answered.

'Hello? Yeah. No, it's fine. Where are you? What? What? No. No, I don't, why? He did what? With what? It's where? How many? Does it have venom? Okay. Yeah. Alright, well, let me know.'

She hung up and put the phone back on the table and turned to Irene. 'Let me guess,' Irene said, folding her arms. 'Jisoo.'

'Wheein.'

'What did she want?'

'She asked me if I know where Hongki is.'

'And?'

'I don't.'

'Is that all?'

Seulgi looked at her. It was rather hard to look anywhere but at her chest and for that Seulgi felt something almost akin to shame. 'You should get dressed,' Seulgi said.

'Why? Can't bear to look at me any longer?'

'In case we've got to get out of here fast.'

'In case Jisoo tells you what you've got to be doing, you mean.'

'I don't know what's wrong with you but I don't like it.'

'Oh, you don't like it,' Irene said, clicking her teeth. She looked adorable even there like that. 'What a shame.'

'What you did last night could've had real consequences, you know that, don't you?'

'You say that every time I do literally anything.'

'I'm serious this time.'

'I gave you an excuse to get out of there, didn't I? Isn't that what you wanted? And besides, I had fun. That's what counts at the end of the day. There were some crazy ing people there last night. This one guy was wearing a big Stetson and chugging cider from a barrel. You know those hats they have in old Westerns? Crazy . He looked like Frank Sinatra.' She paused. Looked at Seulgi. 'No, I don't mean Frank Sinatra, do I? He's dead. Frank Reynolds. Yeah.'

'You mean Burt Reynolds.'

'Probably.'

'He's dead, too.'

'Yeah, well.'

'Please just tell me if you're going to do something like that again.'

'Why?' Irene said. 'So you can talk me out of it? If you think I'm a nuisance to you, just tell me, y'know? Just give me the heads up.'

Seulgi rubbed her head. 'I don't think you're a nuisance.'

'No?'

She made to say something and the phone rang again.

'Who's that?'

'Jisoo,' Seulgi said, and quickly wished she'd stayed quiet. It was as if all the air had been out of the room. She turned to Irene but Irene was looking elsewhere and inspecting her nails. 'Go on,' she said. 'Answer it.'

'Irene.'

'Answer it.'

She picked up the phone and held it to her ear. 'Yeah,' she said. 'Uh huh. Where? Okay. Alright.' Then she hung up and dropped the phone back on the table and looked at Irene again.

'Well?'

'Get dressed.'

'Where are we going?'

'I'll tell you on the way.'

 

♣   ♣   ♣

 

She expected Irene to say something snarky but she said nothing at all. She just sat there with her arms folded in the passenger seat as Seulgi drove heading northeast through Hannam and Sindong and then north into Dasan in the early-afternoon traffic. A cool wind blew. She passed along Dongho road and up near the intersection they saw great rows of tents and a disassembled bandstand and a long wooden stage in the park across the street and no less than three or four dozen attendants with guideropes and containers and stakes and wires to tie everything down. Seulgi thought Irene would mention it but she didn't. She just sat there, unaware she was even pouting at all.

When she pulled up in the parkinglot of the Silla hotel it had just gone one in the afternoon. A couple kids watched the Testarossa from beyond the wall at the far end of the lot and then disappeared. They stepped out and Irene followed Seulgi through the lobby without a sound. Polished marble and white walls. The woman in the smart attendant's uniform at the front desk smiled at them and asked what they were looking for. 'I'm here for a friend,' Seulgi said. The attendant asked for a name but she needn't have. When they turned Jisoo was stood by the far end of the desk. As if she been there all along.

'How long have you been standing there?' Seulgi said.

'About an hour.'

'Really?'

Jisoo offered a sly smile. 'No,' she said. 'I just came down.'

'Did you see us?'

'Maybe. Come on.'

She led them up the stairs to the third floor. Everything was strangely quiet. She unlocked the door to room 37 and let them in and locked it behind them. It was a small room, en-suite kitchen and bathroom and a little closet in the corner. From the window they could see the rows of apartments across the street posted in the daycold like menhirs. The windowsill played host to a small telescope and a tablet displaying a schematic map of the area and a single velvet chair sat within reach of the blinds. 'Where is it?' Seulgi said.

Jisoo sat by the chair and nodded out the window. 'That one there. The one with the brown door.'

'What room?'

'I don't know. It's not that sophisticated. I just know they're in there. And they haven't moved all day.'

'You're sure of that?'

'When have I ever not been sure?' Jisoo said. She looked at Seulgi and Seulgi at her and for a moment neither spoke. Irene stood by the bed with her arms folded, ignored by both. 'Yeah, well,' Seulgi said. 'Just making certain.'

'They're in there. See that car? The black Hyundai.'

'Yeah.'

'That's there's.'

'They drove back last night? In that state?'

'They're drug dealers, honey. Did you expect them to be upstanding citizens of the law?'

'Still.'

Jisoo stood and motioned for Seulgi to take a seat and she did. She eyed the glasswarped view of the street better through the telescope while Jisoo turned and acknowledged Irene without a word or indication she had seen her at all. 'How much did this cost you?' Irene said.

'Did what?'

'This room.'

'Why?'

'I was just curious. Couldn't have been cheap on such short notice.'

'I can afford it.'

'You make a lot, do you?'

'I make enough,' Jisoo said. Seulgi turned away from the window and nodded to nothing in particular. 'What's the plan?' she said.

'We sit here and stake out until something happens.'

'Great plan,' Irene said.

'Do you have a better idea?'

'No. But it's not my job to have one.'

'You're right. It isn't. Seulgi.'

Seulgi looked at her.

'What about you?'

'No.'

'Well then. We sit here and wait until Hongsuk turns up. Or until they leave. And then we get them.'

'And if they don't leave?' Irene said.

'They'll leave. Eventually.'

'Well, yeah. But what if they don't leave for six hours or some ?'

'I don't expect them to. It's a stakeout. We're here as long as we need to be.'

'As long as you need to be.'

'Three days, five. Whatever.'

' that,' Irene said.

'You're free to leave whenever you like. You're not even technically assigned to this case.'

'She stays,' Seulgi said. Jisoo looked at her and smirked and looked away again. 'Best get comfortable,' she said, taking a beer from the minifridge by the bed and pulling off the tab and drinking. 'You might be here a while. There's some potato chips in that bag over there. And a couple chocolate bars. But otherwise, you're out of luck.'

'Can we leave this room?' Irene said.

'You can leave whenever you want. But if you asking if Seulgi and and I can leave? No. Not until something happens.'

'So...what, then? We just sit here?'

Jisoo smiled. 'We just sit here,' she said. 'That's right.'

The next time Irene checked her phone it was four in the afternoon. They hadn't spoken a word. Irene had sat there on the bed eating potato chips and Seulgi and Jisoo had alternated between monitoring the GPS signal on the tablet and watching the apartment block through the telescope like laboratory researchers. 'What if he's taken his shirt off?' Irene said, breaking the silence. They turned to her and Jisoo turned away again.

'I'm just asking.'

'Well it'll still be in there. And so will he.'

'Why can't we just go down and bust him, then?'

'Is that what she does?' Jisoo said. Seulgi gave a shrug. 'Maybe you don't have a type after all. I don't remember ever asking this many questions. About anything.'

'I just wanted an answer.'

'Because.'

'Because what?'

'Because, like I said before, there's a good chance Hongsuk turns up at some point soon. A real good chance. So if we go over there and arrest our bald friend now, then what? Then we never get Hongsuk. This guy's nothing. Just some thug. A street-level guy. But Kim Hongsuk is different. So it's about picking your priorities. Does that answer your question?'

Irene didn't reply. Jisoo took two cans of beer from the fridge and offered one to Seulgi and sat by the opposite end of the wall on the floor with her legs stretched out in front of her. So that her head was resting against the plasterboard. 'This brings back some memories,' she said, half laughing to herself. 'Doesn't it?'

'I guess,' Seulgi said.

'Remember that time in Daegu? The one where we were meant to be watching that girl that was involved in that robbery case?'

'Yeah.'

'How long did we spend in that room?'

'Five days, I think.'

'Five days.' Jisoo laughed and tipped back the beer. 'Remember the pizzas?'

'Yeah,' Seulgi said, refusing to move away from the window.

'What pizzas?' Irene said.

'Never mind.'

'No, tell me.'

'Go on,' Jisoo said. 'Tell her.'

Seulgi turned to both of them reluctantly and turned back to the telescope. 'On the third day, we got a little bored,' she said. 'So.'

'So what?'

'So we did something we shouldn't have done.'

'What did you do?'

When there was no reply Jisoo took over. 'We ordered sixty pizzas to her address,' she said. 'You should've seen the look on her face when she answered the door to this guy with a ing crateload of pizzas on his little scooter. Priceless. I mean, looking back, we shouldn't have done it. But it was funny at the time.'

'Why not?'

'We were meant to be keeping tabs on her. She was a key suspect in a big robbery case. Of course, they all thought there was no way she could've been a part of it. She played the Innocent Victim role perfectly. But the department knew better. So we had to keep tabs on her in case she vanished before the second part of the trial. And instead we bought her sixty pizzas. ing hilarious. But she never disappeared. Guess she wasn't smart enough for that.'

'And what happened?'

'They found her guilty on all counts. So I guess some good came of it in the end. God, that was almost five years ago. Crazy. Right, Seulgi?'

'Right,' Seulgi said.

'Anything yet?'

'No.'

'You sure?'

'I'm sure.'

'Well then.' She finished the last of the beer and pulled herself up against the wall. 'I'll be back soon,' she said.

'Where are you going?' said Irene.

'To get a better look.'

'I thought you said you weren't allowed to leave the room.'

'I'm not. But I make the rules, so I can break them. If that makes sense.'

'Don't do anything stupid,' Seulgi said.

'Oh, honey. When do I ever?'

'I've got a few times I can remember.'

Jisoo laughed. 'True. But still. I've changed.'

'Uh huh.'

'I'll be back soon.'

When she was gone Irene shifted to the other side of the bed. She waited until Seulgi was looking at her again. The expression on her face was unreadable. 'What?' Seulgi said.

'What.'

'Why are you looking at me like that?'

'Like what?'

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' Irene said. 'You seemed to be having a good time recounting old memories with your friend.'

'I never said a word.'

'You and her share a room like this a lot of times?'

'We were co-workers, and we were dating, so yes.'

'Right.'

'Were dating,' Seulgi said. 'Not Are.'

'No.'

'I don't have feelings for her, Irene.'

'I never said you did. You should be watching your window.'

Seulgi sighed. As if the possibility of getting through to Irene had evaporated long ago. She turned back to the telescope. 'Am I going to be spending forty-eight hours in a room with her?' Irene said.

'You can go home.'

'But you know I won't.'

'Then yes. You might have to. Depends on what happens.'

'God.'

'Are you insecure or something?' Seulgi said.

'What? Insecure?'

'It was just a question. Sorry. Might've sounded a bit presumptuous.'

'Just a bit.'

'Sorry.'

Irene ignored her.

'You just seemed a bit...tetchy.'

'Tetchy.'

'Like you're on edge around her for some reason.'

'I'm not on edge.'

'It's alright. You can just say if you are.'

'I'm not,' Irene replied without conviction. 'Why would I be on edge? What do I have to be on edge over? Do I sound like I'm on edge to you?'

'Alright.'

'I'm not. I'm fine.'

'Alright, I get it.'

'Totally fine.'

They sat in silence for a while, Seulgi gorgon-still by the window, Irene picking her nails impatiently. She was dressed in a black polo shirt and Seulgi wouldn't look at her for long and she didn't know if it was because she felt a sort of anxiety at having Jisoo so close to them or because Irene looked so good in just about anything she ever wore, but especially in dress shirts and slacks. 'I'm sorry,' Irene said sometime later.

'Sorry for what?'

'For asking so many questions all the time.'

'It's okay.'

'It's just one of my quirks, y'know?'

'I know.'

'One of my flaws.'

'It's not a flaw.'

'It is,' Irene said. 'I know it is. I've got a lot of flaws, I know that. And I'd be a ing liar if I said I was working on fixing them because I'm not. Remember that conversation we had ages ago about my ex trying to change me?'

Seulgi turned to her and nodded.

'Yeah. Well. Sorry but I'm not really one for changing. I know that might make me sound childish or whatever, but it. So...sorry about that. Jesus, I don't know how you do it sometimes.'

'Do what?'

'Be with me.'

Seulgi smiled softly. When she smiled like that her entire face seemed to change in some inexplicable way. 'I don't know how you put up with me either,' she said. 'I'm so boring sometimes.'

'Sometimes.'

'Alright. A lot of the time. I can't think of many reasons to be with me.'

'Oh, I can think of ten good ones.'

'Ten?'

'Alright, eleven. Your mouth isn't bad.'

Seulgi scratched her head. 'I'm serious,' she said.

'So am I.'

'If you could go back and tell me that night we first met that I'd fall in love with you, I'd call you crazy. Probably. But here we are.'

'You love me.'

'Yeah,' Seulgi said. 'I love you.'

'Do you love Jisoo too?'

'Look-'

'It was just a question.'

'Irene.'

'If me and Jisoo were both in a burning building and you had to save just one of us, who would it be?'

'Now, come on.'

'Only a question.'

'You're being ridiculous.'

'Ridiculous?'

'A little.'

'If me and Jisoo were both drowning and you had to save one of us, who would it be?'

'Why would you be drowning? You can swim.'

'So...her then.'

'Irene-'

She was interrupted by the door going behind them and Jisoo stepping back inside and locking it after her. They hadn't even realised it was already almost seven and dark outside. Pools of small light from the streetlamps and little else. 'You're back,' Seulgi said.

'Observant as ever.'

'And?'

'Not much to see, really. Nobody moved. There aren't any back exits. The fire escape's blocked off by construction work and there's no other way out. Unless they park a helicopter on the roof, I suppose. There's a big celebration happening in the park, too. Or about to happen.'

'A celebration?'

Jisoo nodded. She stood by the side of the bed not really looking at either of them. 'I'm guessing it's a big thing for the Lunar New Year or something. Or maybe it's a parade I haven't heard about. Dunno. But they've got all these tents and decorations out and there's, like, a thousand people gathered there already. Yeah, big flags and everything. Live music, parties. Seems like a riot.'

'That must be what we saw on the way over,' Seulgi said. 'We drove past it this afternoon.'

'I'm guessing it's going to go on all night. Not that it matters. But if you hear anything, it'll probably be that. Anything yet?'

'Nothing. Nobody's been in or out, or around.'

'Scoot.'

She did and Jisoo sat again. Irene looked at Seulgi as if to say: Scoot? Bit friendly, no? Scoot. And Seulgi shrugged.

'You guys get up to anything interesting while I was gone?'

'We just talked.'

'About me?'

'No,' Seulgi said.

'You sure?'

'We didn't talk about you.'

Jisoo laughed to herself. 'You always were a terrible liar, honey. It's okay, though. I don't mind. Just make sure it's all nice, you know? Or most of it. Or at least half of it.'

'We weren't-'

'Wait. .'

'What?'

'Be quiet for a minute.'

They waited. Jisoo said nothing and didn't move. Then she seemed to come alive all at once. 'That's him,' she said. 'That's him, right there! Quick, look.'

Seulgi took a seat and peered into the telescope. It was an old black Mercedes import parked behind the Hyundai and two men stepping out and one of them was Kim Hongsuk. Forty, forty-five, thin hair and moustache. 'That's him,' she said. When she turned around Jisoo was halfway across the room and fixing her jacket and checking for the keys on the table by the fridge.

'What are you doing?' Irene said.

'We need to go.'

'Go where?'

'We need to be tailing him when he leaves.'

'What if he doesn't leave? You said he might not.'

'Then we wait in the car.'

'What? How long for?'

'As long as it takes.'

She went out and after a moment Irene followed Seulgi down and out to where the cars were both parked next to one another. Seulgi's white Testarossa, Jisoo's burgundy Hyundai. 'Nice wheels,' Irene said, to no reply.

'This has only got two seats,' Seulgi said.

'So's mine.'

'Then what?'

'We take both,' Jisoo said. She opened the door to the Hyundai and Seulgi called to her and she turned again.

'We wait for them to come out?'

'Yeah.'

'And then we tail them.'

'Fifty feet distance. You know the standard. Just like the good old days.'

'What if they don't stop?'

'Jesus, are you rusty or something? Just stick behind me and you'll be fine. And for the love of God, please keep a low profile.'

She climbed into the Hyundai and Seulgi and Irene sat in the Testarossa just waiting. The cold and purple streets absent much life. They watched small figures of people shift between the streetlamps like wizened birds all contorted in the darkness. 'Y'know,' Irene said, 'she's very bossy. Bossier than you, even. I guess that makes sense. You need someone to keep you in check. Maybe that's why you like having her around.'

'What are you talking about?'

'Dunno. I'm just saying. Maybe I should just go.'

'What?'

'Maybe I should just go check on Wendy or something, you know? I dunno. I just think maybe you'd be better on your own.'

'You're fine here.'

'Uh huh,' Irene said. 'Can I ask you a question?'

Seulgi didn't reply. She was watching the street.

'How come you've got a Ferrari and she's got a five year-old Hyundai?'

'I don't know.'

'Financial investments?'

'I don't know.'

'Poor life choices?'

'Look,' Seulgi said, 'I don't know. I don't know anything about her anymore.'

'I was just asking.'

They were quiet again. When Irene spoke it was in a voice barely like her own. 'Thanks,' she said.

'For what?'

'Taking care of me last night. Making sure I didn't choke on my own vomit.'

Seulgi said nothing.

'I'm serious.'

'You're welcome.'

'Is that it?'

'What else do you want?'

She looked at Irene and Irene shrugged meekly. 'Can we get something to eat?' she said. 'You promised me breakfast.'

'We're not moving from this spot until something happens.'

'What if a meteorite hits?'

'What?'

'Nothing. I was being snarky. I know you don't like it when I do that.'

Seulgi didn't reply.

'Did she do that?'

'What?'

'Was Jisoo ever snarky with you?'

'Why are you asking that?'

'Dunno.'

'Yeah,' Seulgi said. 'She was.'

'Thought so.'

'Why are you so caught up with her?'

'I'm not.'

'You are. You sound it.'

Irene shrugged again. For the first time she refused to look Seulgi in the eye and it was almost alarming to witness. 'Can I play some music?' she said, voice small and thin. Almost not there at all.

'No.'

'Not even a couple songs?'

'Irene. We've got a job to be doing.'

'I know. Sorry. I was just trying to ease the tension, y'know? Hey, maybe that's their strategy.'

'What? Who?'

'This Hongsuk guy. Maybe he's waiting until we die of old age.'

'He doesn't even know we're tailing him.'

'That's what you think.'

'What?'

'I don't know,' Irene said. 'I was trying to sound smart again. Jesus, I'm at this whole detective thing, aren't I?'

'You're improving. That's something, at least.'

'How long until I take over your position and me and Wheein become Seoul's top cops?'

'Quite a while.'

'And where's Hongki?'

'I don't know,' Seulgi said.

'What was that Wheein said earlier?'

'His snake had escaped.'

'His...snake?'

'Yeah.'

'Is that-'

'No. It's not a euphemism.'

'Huh.' Irene opened the glovebox and closed it again absentmindedly. 'What sort of snake is it?'

'What?'

'What sort.'

'A cobra.'

'Why?'

'I don't know why.'

'And it's escaped. That's why she called you?'

'No,' Seulgi said. 'She called me because it's escaped and he's not around to find it again. He's disappeared.'

'Like...permanently?'

'I don't know.'

'You don't seem too concerned.'

'He'll turn up sooner or later,' Seulgi said. 'He always does.'

'That sounds, uh, ominous. He's a strange one, that boss of yours.'

'Yeah, well. Seems most people I meet are a bit strange, really.'

'Most?'

Seulgi looked at her with a smile. 'You're right,' she said. 'All of them.'