Three time’s the charm, isn’t it?

The third time she’s interacted with Jaehyun and the third time she’s been inside his shop.

Interestingly enough, it was only the second time someone chucked a brick through his window.

“So, when you said that this never happens…” Ayeon started as she tapped her pen against his counter, staring at the shattered glass.

Déjà vu times a thousand.

Jaehyun pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, “I was clearly wrong.”

He had called her directly this time, not bothering with the police.

She watched him carefully, she hated to admit that her perspective of him was jaded by the little that Jinah had revealed about him. She couldn’t have guessed any of what she said based on how he carried himself. She felt a bit like a peeping Tom, knowing something so intimate about him without his knowledge.

Little did she know, he was going through the same conflict.

He couldn’t spot a single fracture in her foundation despite what she had witnessed. He wondered how she did it so well. How witnessing death didn’t change every fundamental aspect of her.

She shook her head, “None of the other businesses have been treated this way. Is there anyone or anything at all you can think of? An angry customer? Someone you confronted?”

He let her question linger and for a second, he toyed with the idea of being honest before reeling it back. The note he found attached to the brick was still burning a hole in his pocket.

“No, I don’t.”

She frowned, “And this time it was in daylight too. This isn’t an accident.”

“I don’t need to know who’s doing this, I just need to bide my time until the cameras get set up and maybe next time I’ll spring for pricier glass.” He shrugged off while rubbing his forehead.  

She shot him a strange look, “Cameras and thick glass won’t matter if you don’t know who's doing this. They’ll just find another way to harass you if this is something more than petty vandalism.”

He hadn’t thought of that. She was right.

His face fell and he nodded, “Hopefully it’ll end soon. Thank you, detective. You’ve done all you can.”

“I have a question.” She worded carefully, drawing his eyes to her. She was started to find his gaze unnerving. He never faltered, he never looked away in embarrassment or evasion. He looked people dead on and she wasn’t used to it.

“Anything, detective.” He replied calmly as he begun sweeping up the shards of glass. His voice was deep, she had never noticed before, the halo effect she guessed, he was also so calm, gentle words and dressed in soft colours, she hadn’t noticed the contrast of his voice.

She stood in his way, the broom hitting her shoes before he stopped. She pulled the broom from him and he let it slip through his fingers as he tried to meet her eyes. Ayeon kept her gaze on the floor as she created a small pile of glass shard on the ground, “Why did you call me? I know I gave you my number and I’m glad you used it, but why didn’t you call the police instead? Why me directly?”

Jaehyun followed her with his eyes, she moved with purpose when collecting the shards. He leaned against his counter, the throbbing in his head starting to lessen in her presence, “I’m not sure, I guess I wanted to make sure the person who came here knew what happened a day ago. I just couldn’t deal with dozens of people coming in an out of here again.”

She nodded as she crouched to sweep the shard into a dust pan. He chewed the inside of his lip, “You also strike me as someone who cares a great deal about the people you work for.”

“Why do you think that?”

“You said that my sense of security counted as a loss. No one has ever said that to me before.” He said softly.

Ayeon silently dumped the shards into a garbage bag before handing them back to him, she didn’t remember saying any of that to him, she figured it was part of the hazy memory she had of talking to him. He caught her gaze and her breath hitched at the meaningfulness that weighed them, “Would you like some tea, detective?”

“I prefer coffee.” She deflected.

He gave her a smile, “Unfortunately I don’t. My stash is limited to tea.”

“Then I’ll pass.” She replied.

He hummed and walked away, depositing the broom and pan in the utility room in the back and froze mid-step on his way back when he saw Ayeon sitting at the small delicate metal table he had set up as a decoration, pulling her laptop out and stripping her jacket off, hanging it on the chair.

“Detective?”

Ayeon powered up her laptop before pulling out files, “I’d like to see someone chucking a brick through your window with me sitting right next to it.”

He was stunned speechless, “I’m sorry, you’re just going to sit there? The entire day?”

“Of course.” She said simply, her eyes cutting across to meet his. “Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about your shop when it’s closed but if your cameras are going to be installed soon, I can at least do this.”

She unholstered her gun with the safety on and set it on the table, in clear view of the window.

A power move.

It made him smile.

“You don’t need to be here, you know.” He quipped. “Vandals tend to not hit the same place thrice.”

He knew very well that she heard him and that she registered what he had said but she just stared at her screen. “Hilarious.”

Triple seemed to have understood the new situation because he had leaped up to his bed perch and position himself to face Ayeon, his eyes watching her every move in content as his tail lazily swayed back and forth.

He grinned to himself, “I can handle myself.”

“I’m not doubting you can. I’d just rather not put that responsibility on a civilian when he lives next to a police precinct. Plus, this way you don’t have to shut your store down for a second day. I called my repair guy, he’s a bit confused but he’ll rush order your window.” She said while looking between her files and the screen.

His smile grew as he picked up his list of things to do for the day and headed to the back, “I think I’m going to like you, detective.”

She looked up from her things and followed his back with her eyes as he disappeared behind the plastic curtains.

-----

Ayeon woke up with the same forgetfulness, luckily, she remembered everything up until she got home from work, the rest was a blur. She could feel her heart race in fear, her parents didn’t have any major health issues but what if this was something serious?

What if there was seriously something wrong with her?

She checked her phone and felt sick when she saw a couple of harmless text exchanges between her and Jinah and Soya. It was frustrating that she couldn’t remember something as simple. It scared her that she couldn’t remember how she got into bed.

She was losing it.

-----

Mina paced around her bedroom while reading her show notes.

She was hitting a brick wall.

Her editor was on her to get him the first episode’s script by the end of the month but if she couldn’t even secure an interview with the only person whose perspective matters, she wouldn’t even have a first episode.

As on now, all she had was some vague theories and circumstantial evidence. If she couldn’t find a single credible source to back it up, she would have nothing worth listening to and her editor would scrap the entire thing before it could air.

And she wasn’t about to go back to writing about the Top 15 Restaurants You Must Try.

She pulled out the picture of Lucas and Ayeon, there was a story here, she could sense it. Even though none of the cops were willing to talk to her, she had heard through the grapevine that Officer Huang had feelings for Detective Yoo but that she didn’t reciprocate.

She could spin this into a heartbreaking tale of one-sided love and sacrifice or a sick thriller or manipulation and cover-up. All she needed was information from Yoo Ayeon.

If she had that, she could break this story.

Because no matter what Detective Yoo or anyone else had to say about Officer Huang’s death being at the hands of the Delco group, something wasn’t adding up. Timelines didn’t make sense and it seemed no one at the precinct wanted to go through the evidence with a fine tooth comb.

His death was tied to something bigger and she was going to figure it out.

-----

It was a relief to come down to his shop the next morning and see his window in one piece. He wasn’t sure how long this cease-fire was going to last but he was willing to take what he got. Ayeon’s presence must really have made an impact and a part of him, a small, almost insignificant part of him wished she was back.

Aside from the sense of security, she gave him, she had a nice aura about her, one where he didn’t feel hyper-aware of his actions. He could work in the same room as her and not f