“Hi, I'm Detective Yoo Jinah, I’m calling from the 32nd Precinct and I’m looking for an Officer Lee Kyung Gyu.”

Ayeon tapped her foot against the floor, nervously chewing on her nail as she pressed the phone against her ear. She could hear the administrative assistant typing before she replied, “He was transferred a few days ago.”

Ayeon frowned, “What? Why?”

The woman on the other end cleared , “It was an unexcused transfer.”

“A few days before the Commissioner was under investigation?” Ayeon bit out, her anger bubbling.

“If that’s all, I—”

Her tone intensified, “What precinct was he moved to?”

The woman hummed, “That information is classified.”  

“Are you kidding?” She scoffed.

“No, ma’am. Until the investigation of the Commissioner is completed, all of his previous orders are still in effect.”

Ayeon slammed her phone down, anger bubbling. The one lead that she had, and he could be anywhere in the country. What was the point of appointing an Interim Commissioner when he wasn’t allowed to do anything until the investigation was over?

All that work and she was still facing the same obstacles. No one covers up a murder voluntarily and if she couldn’t get her hands on this cop, she might never know what this man was involved in and what connection he had to the Commissioner. Because the truth was, even with Mina’s USB, it might be impossible tracking down transferred officers.

Huffing, Ayeon rubbed her eyes, “I need a drink.”

-----

“You’re going on a date.”

This, of course, was not how she wished her relaxed evening was going to go when Jinah and Soya burst into her apartment to “drop Mina off”, which really turned into all three of them getting far too comfortable in her living room.

Ayeon smacked her lips, the wine tart and her sarcasm sharp, “What were those words that just came out of your mouth? I can’t make sense of them.” 

Soya rolled her eyes, “I’m serious.”

“I had a day at work and just came for the Chardonnay.” Ayeon grumbled.  

“We’ve already discussed this in detail.” Mina piped up.

Jinah snorted from the couch, working away on her laptop, “I had zero input on this.”

“This is my home, by the way.” Ayeon muttered, taking another swig. “And I’m glad that this topic is opened to the gallery.”

Soya ignored her, “I’m serious. Mina’s fine, evil is vanquished, and you need to put yourself out there.”

“The evil isn’t entirely vanquished, by the way. Delco is still out there, not held accountable for Lucas’s life, Haerin’s murder is still unsolved and we have no way to track down Mina’s sources and I'm still waiting on the CCTV footage of her attack.”

“Aren’t you two going to the bank tomorrow for the USB? You can do more digging tomorrow during work hours.” Soya retorted. “And you’re still working on Haerin and Lucas’s case is still ongoing. Are you going to solve all of these on your own tonight?”

Ayeon grit her teeth, “I need a refill.”

Jinah grabbed the bottle, hiding it behind the couch. “Maybe…they’re not wrong.”

Ayeon gave her an absurd look, “Excuse me? You think this is a good idea?”

“Well, you haven’t ever dated before. Why not…I don’t know, try it out? What’s the harm? Try and see if you like it? All those things you’re working on will still be waiting for you in the morning. Plus Soya has great taste in men.” She mused.

Mina chewed on her lip as she watched the back and forth, “Ayeon, if you don’t want to do this, that’s okay.”

Soya looked betrayed but Mina wasn’t finished, “But, like, are you just never going to date? There’s always going to be another case, another crime and another reason why you can’t date.”

“No, not never, just…not now.” Ayeon mumbled against her glass.

Jinah narrowed her eyes, “Why not now?”

“I—I don’t know.” She pouted. “It’s easier to put it off indefinitely.”

Soya looked at her watch, “Well, he’s going to be at the restaurant in 30 minutes, so unless you’re going to stand him up, which I know you’re not cruel enough to do…”

“You already invited him?!” Ayeon yelled.

Soya just grinned. Ayeon sighed, rubbing her forehead while setting her glass down. Maybe she was feeling kind, maybe she was a bit tipsy or maybe she was just tired of this entire day that she softened a fraction, “Who’s the guy?”

“A friend.” Soya said curtly.

Ayeon looked at Mina who just shrugged, “She wouldn’t tell me who it was.”

She sighed and downed the entire glass, “Is he an ?”

“Yes, he has a great .” Soya teased, wiggling her brows. “Oh come on, you think I would set you up with someone below my impeccable standards? And does this mean you’re doing it?”

Ayeon bit her lip, rolling the skin between her teeth, “Yes. Fine. One date. That’s it. We’ll call it the last butterfly challenge.”

Mina, Jinah, and Soya all applauded, making Ayeon roll her eyes. Soya skipped up to her, grabbing her by the shoulder, “He’ll be wearing a dark blue jacket and a white shirt.”

“I’m picking her lingerie.” Mina called, her arm shooting straight up.

Ayeon gave her a dirty look, “No one will be seeing my lingerie, so there’s no need to bother and before you suggest it, I'm picking my own outfit.”

Jinah grinned smugly, “Look at you, being all prim and proper on your first big date. Don’t forget the condoms.”

Ayeon shot her middle finger up at her friend who just chuckled.

“I hate every single one of you.”

-----

She let Mina pick her lingerie.

She still had no intention of anyone seeing it but when Mina held out a simple black set, she relented. The pants and dressy blouse she had on did a stellar job in covering what Mina so carefully selected.

Steeling her breath, Ayeon stood in front of the Italian restaurant that Soya had picked, regretting that she ever got out of Jinah’s car. Maybe if she called an Uber she could be back at her apartment with a fresh glass before 8PM.

“No.” She whispered to herself. “You can do this. You’ve been shot, cut, and taken hostage. You can go on one harmless date.”

Taking a huge breath, Ayeon held her head up high with enough false confidence as she strode into the restaurant, scanning for a man in a dark blue jacket and white shirt. Spotting the back of someone’s head seated at an empty booth, Ayeon fisted her hands and started walking towards him.

Suddenly a weird thought came into her mind.

What if it was Jaehyun?

Soya knew him and he’d be the one person she’d be confident to push Ayeon to go on a blind date with. Maybe this was her way of getting the two of them to sit down in a setting that they weren’t used to. And it would make sense why she kept his identity a secret from Mina and Jinah. Confused butterflies spun in her stomach in a hurried frenzy at the thought of sitting across from him lit by candles under the pretext of a date.

But when she grew closer, the butterflies died because those weren’t his shoulders or his neck or the shade of his hair. “Hi, are yo—”

He turned and Ayeon’s eyes widened at the familiar face, “You have got to be kidding me.”

Johnny looked over his shoulder at her with his jaw hung wide open, “Wait, no. You’re—”

“Soya’s friend.” She finished, stunned.

“This is unbelievable.”

-----

“I knew it was weird when she called me up out of the blue talking about a blind date.” Johnny snorted as they stared at each other from across the table. The shock had worn off and the two of them has settled into an amused swing.

“Why did you even agree to come?” Ayeon balked once they had ordered.

Johnny made a face, waving his hand dismissively, “’s been weird with me lately. I’ve had a few girlfriends, but nothing really lasted, so I just focused more on work and never paid attention to my love life. But then I started wondering what I was missing out on, then Soya called, and I thought what the hell. Why did you agree to come?”

“I don’t know, I thought what the hell too and Soya is really good at persuading people, it’s probably why she’s such a good lawyer.” She tilted her head at him, “How do you know Soya, anyway?”

Johnny took a sip of his water, “Law school.”

“You went to law school?” That was unexpected.

He grinned, shaking his head, “Only two years, I dropped out. It wasn’t really my thing, but I kept in touch with her. You know I never thought you’d go on a blind date.”

“Why?” She asked.

He shrugged, “I don’t know, I always thought that Jaehyun was important to you.”

“He is.” She said with a confused laugh.

Johnny narrowed his eyes, “Really? Then why did you come out with a potential stranger and not the man that you actually want to be with but are too scared to make a move on?”

The smile shriveled and her heart thudded, “What did you just say?”

“Who do you think you’re fooling, Ayeon?” He prodded gently.

She knew he was doing this on purpose, and she hated that it baited her so easily, that it made her so nervous, “Did Soya tell you to say that?”

“Not a word. I’m just observant, I’ve spent a lot of time around the two of you, and Mina adamantly believes that you both are soulmates.”

“And you think we are?” Her voice was softer.

He leaned back and paused for a moment, “I don’t know if soulmates are real, but I think Jaehyun would never put you in a position where you felt ambushed and burdened by his feelings. If you want to know if the two of you are soulmates, you need to do something about it first.”

“I’m sorry, I’m being rude. I’m talking about another guy while I’m here with you.” She scratched her forehead. “This isn’t much of a date, is it?”

He smiled good-naturedly, “I don’t mind, clearly talking about him makes you comfortable. I bet he’d be the same way if he was on a blind date.”

It felt like cold water doused her as images flashed in her mind.

Jaehyun on a blind date.

Jaehyun on a blind date with someone else.

Someone that wasn’t her.

The food in front of her suddenly smelled too pungent and made her stomach churn. She fisted the napkin on her lap, wondering if she was about to be sick all over this table.

She imagined him dating other people where he’s holding another girl’s hand while walking out of a movie theatre. She imagined him kissing a date under the street lamp. She imagined him murmuring softly over a candlelight dinner with a date.

Yeah, she definitely was going to be sick.

“Ayeon?”

She snapped her eyes to his, alarmed, “O-Oh, sorry.”

He sighed, setting his fork down to lean towards her, “I bet he’d spend the entire night thinking about how he’d rather spend it with you.”

“Why are you telling me this?” She asked with an empty laugh.

“Because you could be on this date with me or any other person, but it wouldn’t matter because you’re only thinking about one other person. You only want to be with one other person. You wish you had that one other person and as amazing as my company is, I can’t compete with that other person, no one can. So, if this person is who you want to be with, why put your heart through anything else?” He breathed.

“I don’t know if that other person wants me back.” She admitted honestly.

He knew it was absurd, anyone with eyes could tell that Jaehyun would do anything for her, “Then go ask him. Find out. Because if you don’t get an answer, you’ll be stuck in this phase of never moving forward.”

“Relationships are messy and hurtful.” She reasoned.

“So is forcing yourself to be alone when you have someone you want to be with.”

“I—”

“Would you folks like to see the dessert menu?” The waitress asked with a smile so brig