His hands were a work of art, she determined.

Ever since she held his hand, she couldn’t stop staring at his hands, whatever they were doing. Scribbling down orders? Putting together arrangements? Pouring tea? Every single time they moved, her eyes would track them in morbid curiosity.

She could still feel the softness against her skin and confidence in his grasp.

A masterpiece.

She frowned and stared at her own palms, they weren’t as interesting. They exude any sort of feeling in the way that Jaehyun’s did. Sighing, she returned her gaze back at Jaehyun’s hands as he fiddled with the leaves on an arrangement.

Jaehyun, however, felt quite differently when it came to Ayeon’s hands. He had worked with some of the richest and most silken petals in the world and Ayeon’s hands were like nothing he had touched before. They were rough, as expected from a detective, but her touch was gentle and coaxing. Maybe it sounded absurd, but her hands felt like those of someone who had been through life. 

She had decided to change it up and dragged the stool out from the back and set it up next to Jaehyun, taking up a small portion of his counter for her laptop. Jaehyun working and humming was the soft background noise that she needed. He had to force himself to steady his hand when he felt her gaze on him. It was dizzying when she was seated so close to him. It seemed she was getting no work done because he could feel her staring the entire time. She finally looked away when her phone buzzed and he let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

Glancing sideways, he watched her expression sour, “Are you okay?”

“That journalist is up my , again.” She muttered.

He dried his hands and moved closer to her, “Let me see.”

She handed him her phone and studied her messages, scrolling through the increasingly frantic tone. When his brows knit together in thought, she sat up straight, “Wait, what? Where’s the automatic brush-off?”

He chewed on his lip, “This might sound insane, but I think you should meet with her.”

“What?!” She scoffed.

“I don’t know, maybe you’re right, she could just be doing whatever it takes to ambush you with an interview, but I don’t know. I feel like by now, she would’ve switched tactics if she wanted to get to you. But she’s so persistent. Set some boundaries and go meet her, if she’s full of gas then walk out.” He suggested as he handed back her phone.

She pursed her lips and read the message again.

Just meet with me once. Please.

“Tell her that everything is off the record.” He added.

She tucked her phone away, “I don’t know, maybe. I just don’t feel right about it.”

“Well, if all else fails, trust your intuition.” He offered.

What a joke. Her intuition was lately. “You know, eventually I have to go back to working out of the precinct. There’s only so much paperwork I can be saddled with.”

“Well, even after you go back, you’re always welcome here.”

She rolled her eyes, “Don’t go trying to get rid of me yet.”

“Let me make you dinner.” He said suddenly.

She flinched at that same, nearly sickening, feeling that grew in her gut every time he looked at her that way and spoke in that tone. It was laddered with a type of affection and vulnerability that left her a little speechless.

“Again? I thought I said enough with the domesticity.” She grumbled. 

His smile grew and she almost gagged at the warmth. It was just so pure, “One more time.”

Her eyes zeroed in on his smile and felt unsettled. It didn’t make sense to her why he seemed to invest so much time in her, why he tried so hard to win her favour. It was beyond her comprehension why he smiled so damn much at her. He did it all day. Did he ever let his face relax?

“Why?” She asked.

His smile wavered and it immediately caught her attention, “I just like being around you.”

And he was telling the truth. Perhaps he didn’t have to indulge the panic of having to be alone that had recently boxed him in.

“I don’t think that’s a good enough reason.” She fired back.

His smile was back, “It is for me. So? After work?”

She narrowed her eyes but the ringing of her phone pulled her away from him. She scanned Jinah’s name before standing. “I have to go in, Jinah’s calling.”

“So, dinner?”

She packed her belongings up and walked to the door. She leaned her back against the handle and caught his gaze, “I don’t like tofu.”

-----

“You rang, ma’am.”

Jinah rolled her eyes and kicked the chair out from the other side of her desk, “Cute. Sit.”

“What’s up.”

“You need to deal with her.” Jinah said while slapping a flyer down.

She gaped at the flyer of Mina’s podcast, it was the same one she had waved in her face when she first met her except this one was a little different. This one had a date on it. For next week.

“This doesn’t make sense. She’s releasing it? She barely has anything recorded.” Ayeon scoffed.

Jinah shrugged, “I have no idea, her boss called, kicking up a fuss. You need to call her and find out what the hell she has.”

Mina’s panicked texts flashed in her mind. Maybe Jaehyun and Jinah were right, maybe she did need to know what Mina was hoarding over her.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Jinah nodded and stared at her computer screen before looking back at Ayeon, “How are you? I feel like we haven’t really gotten a chance to talk.”

“I’m keeping busy. Therapy is fine and I’ll be ready to come back to work soon.” Ayeon said.

Jinah shook her head, “Not as your boss, as your friend.”

“I’d give you the same update.” Ayeon said with a smile.

She didn’t look entirely sold, “How’s the butterfly challenge going?”

The look on Ayeon’s face made Jinah laugh, “You’ve completely forgotten.”

“I don’t know, it just didn’t feel like it was helping. Sorry.” She said quietly.

Jinah gulped, she wished she could just hug the pain out of her friend, “Don’t apologize, it wasn’t much of an idea anyway. She likes doing fads like this all the time. And you’ve been getting along with Jaehyun?”

Is that what it was? The sometimes sickening feeling she’d get every time he’d smile, touch her, tell her absurd facts about flowers or offer to make her dinner? Getting along?

“Sure.” She said curtly.

That was enough for Jinah to get her smiling brightly, “I’m glad.”

"You two are friends or something." This time Ayeon didn't ask a question.

Jinah's smile didn't falter or tighten. Instead, she tapped her finger against the flyer, "Handle it, please." 

She sighed, rolling her eyes and grabbing the flyer before walking away. She didn't want to overthink, she didn't want to ask herself why Jinah kept dodging questions about Jaehyun and she didn't want to think about how she didn't want to ask Jaehyun about it. Shaking it off, Ayeon climbed up the back stairs that led up to the roof. She didn’t bother coming up here often, but whenever she needed privacy, especially to make phone calls, it was the only place without someone to interrupt her.

She wiggled the door up, surprised that it opened so easily, before walking out. The December air was frigid, a light dusting of snow reminding her that Christmas was only a week or so away. Watching her feet and tightening her jacket around her, she pulled out her phone and began to search up Mina’s blocked number.

Then she paused, frowning when she heard…crying?

She lifted her head and followed the sound until she spotted a uniformed officer curled up, pressing his head against his knees as he sobbed. She looked around at a loss, hoping that some sort of fairy counselor would descend from the sky and deal with this for her.

Instead, she crept forward, she narrowed her eyes and tried to recall his name.

Dae-something.

She couldn’t remember the name, but she did remember the face. He was one of the only people who treated her with a touch of respect. He wasn’t exactly her emergency contact, but he smiled at her when she walked up, said good morning and would attempt to engage in small talk.

“Hey…”

He snapped his head up, his eyes wide in shock, tears, and snot streaming down his face, “Oh my god. Detective Yoo. This is so embarrassing. I’m so sorry, is this your space? I didn’t mean to com—”

“It’s fine…um…are you okay?”

He wiped his face, “Yeah, yeah. I’m totally fine. I uh thought no one comes up here.”

“They don’t typically. Usually, it’s just me.” She said while scratching the back of her neck.

He stood abruptly, “I’ll leave.”

“No!” She exclaimed, “You can stay, but only if you tell me why you’re crying… you know, if you want.”

He shifted awkwardly on his feet, “Just some people here are being s.”

“You’ve worked here for years, haven’t you?” She asked quizzically.

He nodded, “Yeah, this is my 4th year.”

“Wow.” She said with a weak laugh. When he didn’t laugh back, she cleared , “So, it’s not hazing.”

“No, it’s been…bad since Lucas died.” He said quietly.

Her eyes widened.

Oh.

She never stopped to consider that she wasn’t the only one being attacked and outcasted by the precinct because of Lucas and that other people didn't have the luxury to hide out across the street.

“Why?”

He shrugged and ducked his head, “I think it’s because I didn’t think it was your fault.”

Her eyes widened and felt a numbness grow in , “Really? But…why?”

“It just didn’t make sense. You w