Her interaction with Jaehyun was the furthest thing from Ayeon’s mind on the torturously long drive to the funeral home. Though she would never say it, she was glad she was banned from the funeral. It gave her a good enough reason not to sit in a room filled with people who loved Lucas so much, so much more than she did.

She had no idea if he had a family but the thought of any of them bawling their eyes out and looking at her for answers that she didn’t have made her nauseous. Instead, she did what she could and delivered a carload of flowers to a funeral director who summoned his team to take what she had and prep the hall.

Ayeon took the moment of chaos to slip into the viewing room where the casket lay. Another moment of gratefulness came when the casket was closed, and she didn’t have to deal with the weight of seeing his face. She sat by one of the pews, invisible to the staff setting up the flowers, and just waited.

She waited for something to hit her.

She waited for tears, grief or sadness. She waited for something that was normal.

Instead, she let guilt and self-loathing seep in. Was she cruel for rejecting him all those times? Did she make him miserable? Was he mad that his last minutes were in the arms of a woman who wouldn’t return his feelings?

She wondered if he had a bucket list, things he’d always wanted to do but had taken for granted how much time he had left on earth to get them all done. Maybe he wanted to skydive or get a tattoo or buy a motorbike. began to swell. Or maybe he just wanted to find love, get married, build a family, build a life with someone.

Had she robbed him of that by never giving him a chance? Should she have been firmer, so he’d get the message and move on to someone who would actually like him back?

She bit hard on her lip to shove down anything trying to sneak its way up. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, counting to 10 in her head.

It was fine. She was going to be okay. Lucas was never someone she knew well, so what right did she have to be upset now? It wasn’t fair for to be sad over someone she was never kind to.

She opened her eyes, feeling a hardened shell come up around her.

Maybe there was something wrong with her.

She made her way up to the casket and stared at the glossy wood imagining the body laying underneath. Looking away, her eyes landed on one of the arrangements that had been put up.

Loss is complicated.

She reached out and pulled out one of the flowers from the wreath, eyeing the curve of the white petals. She laid it on top of the casket despite knowing that one of the staff members will probably throw it out before the guests filled in.

Still, she rested her palm on the flat surface and smiled, “Jinah says hi.”

------

Jaehyun didn’t know how the day started out so well but ended with him nearly falling asleep standing up and having to drag his feet up the stairs after closing. It felt like a blur, filling Triple’s bowl, washing up, finishing last-minute chores before finally climbing into bed.

As much as he loved doing what he did, he wasn’t sure how long he last, especially when he got a lot older. Doing everything on his own was getting tiring.

Humming, he just let himself sink into his comforter, his lids so heavy that it took no effort at all to fall asleep. Nothing could make him stir at this point. Almost. He was up and out of bed in a second at the sound of glass shattering. He knew it could’ve been Triple messing around, but it was too loud and felt like it came from the shop.

He moved quickly, grabbing a bat from his closet and slowly moving through his apartment, checking corners before slinking down the stairs and into his shop. His grip on the bat slackened as he stared at his front bay window, smashed to pieces. He was numb as he walked through the shards of glass crunching under his feet until his foot bumped into something. He bent down and picked up a red brick, tied to it was a note.

$$ SEVEN DAYS

------

“Someone broke in…to your flower shop.” Ayeon worded out slowly as she watched the blush creep over the shell of Jaehyun’s ears. She didn’t believe she would ever have to step foot in the flower shop ever again much less interact with its owner.

So, it was much to her chagrin when she was sent on her first solo case to his shop to investigate a break-in. Somehow, she went from investigating drug cartels to investigating petty vandalism.

“It doesn’t happen often.” Jaehyun said as he rubbed his face. She didn’t know him well, but he looked exhausted like he had been up all night even though he said he had only seen the damage that morning. And yet, he still looked put together in a white button down with small blue boats.

She narrowed her eyes, “But it happened more than once?”

“No. It’s just a little jarring.” He said softly. “Would any of you like some tea?”

She ignored him and stared at the red brick he had set on the counter. He said he had found it that morning amongst the glass. She blinked and frowned as she looked around the store. The glass door was shattered but everything else looked fine, “Was anything taken? Money? Expensive flowers?”

His face just flushed more as he scratched the back of his neck, “No. I think it was just some kids messing around. I called because I don’t think it’s safe to have my window wide open especially when I live the floor above.”

She heard a soft jingle of bells and stiffened when a small three-legged black cat hopped across the floor, peering at the new faces in curiosity. When its eyes landed on her, he moved directly towards her before sitting next to her feet and staring up at her.

Unnerved, she flipped her little notebook closed and looked at the corners of the ceiling. “Why don’t you have security cameras? You run this place alone and live upstairs.”

Something in his face shifted and kept his eyes trained on her like he was trying to dig in, “Because I thought working near a police precinct would mean things like this wouldn’t happen.”

She stilled and slowly turned to face him at what sounded almost like animosity. They were locked in a heated battle, waiting for someone to back down until one of the other officers with her cleared his throat. She turned her back and continued looking around, “Get one facing the door and the counter, one outside and if it helps, one facing the doorway to your flat. If you need a recommendation, I know a few people.”

She reached into her pocket, pulled out a small business card and flipped it over. She scribbled something on the back before handing it to him, “There’s a number on the back for someone who can fix your window for cheap. Just give them my name. My information is on the front if you need anything to make you feel safer let me know.”

Jaehyun took the card and stared at the clean, looping handwriting. “I don’t think that’s necessary, but I appreciate it.”

“I’ll have some uniformed officers watch your store tonight until you can get your door fixed.” She tapped her pen against his counter, “Don’t hesitate to call if you ever need anything.” She looked down at the cat that had begun chewing on her boot.

He looked up, but she was already turned away, walking to the door until he spoke up, voice melodious but somewhere deep down, taunting, “Thank you, detective.”

She paused for half a second by the door but didn’t look back before leaving.

-------

“Hey!”

Ayeon turned to see Jinah jogging out of the precinct with wide eyes, “I heard someone broke into the flower shop. What happened? Is everyone okay?”

Ayeon gave her an odd look, “It’s just vandalism, some kids must’ve been messing around and chucked a brick through his window. I told him I’d set some uniforms up out front until he gets his window fixed. Probably should get some secu