“Where are we going?” Yerim slung her bag across her body as she exited the precinct.

“Truthfully? I don’t know. I just felt the need to escape the office,” Jaehyun answered sheepishly.

Yerim giggled at his honest response, “Well, the weather is surprisingly nice today. Shall we take a walk? To the park?”

Jaehyun grinned before nodding. “You’re not bringing your jacket?”

“Nope! I like the weather,” Yerim shrugged.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, their strides in sync.

“I’ve heard stories about Prosecutor Yoon so much from you, from oppa, from Doyoung oppa.. I’ve even seen him before! But wow, today… He’s just insufferable!” Yerim spoke up.

Jaehyun laughed at the seething girl next to him, “Now you know just how annoying he is, right? Don’t worry about it too much though, I promise you don’t have to deal with him so often.”

“I hope so. He’s so infuriating! And the way he talks… Gosh! Did he always have to belittle people around him?”

“Well, even his colleagues hated him. I mean, that’s what Prosecutor Kim said to Chief and to Johnny,” Jaehyun shrugged.

Yerim smiled as she pointed to the park. “Enough talking about that man. Let’s go to the park!”

Jaehyun chuckled as he followed the excited woman into the quiet park. It’s not a common hour for people to be out hanging in the park and he enjoyed the silence.

“Come take a seat, oppa!” Yerim patted the space next to her as she settled down on a bench.

“Ah, the weather’s nice. Good thing we’re not cooped up inside the morgue. How could you even stand the morgue for hours? It’s cold. Your skin will be dry inside that place,” Jaehyun commented.

“I committed myself to a ten steps skin care routine to keep my skin’s health in check you know! I washed my face and moisturized it after lunch and allow time outside to let my skin breath. I don’t even wear make-up! They’re soft you know! See for yourself!”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened when Yerim pulled his hands, putting it on her cheeks. They’re soft, indeed.

Wow.

Jaehyun couldn’t help but to squeeze her cheeks after looking at her cute expression. “I have to give you for that. They’re soft. And squishy.”

Yerim whined when Jaehyun squished her cheeks, “Ah, oppa!”

“Fine, fine,” Jaehyun laughed as he pulled his hands back.

“How about your skin?” Yerim stuck out her hand in curiosity before pinching his skin. “Oh, your skin is good! What kind of treatment did you get?”

Jaehyun felt the tip of is ears reddening as Yerim rubbed his cheek. “Um.. Facewash, moisturizer, sunscreen…?”

“Ugh! It’s so unfair! That’s super basic but your skin is so good!”

Jaehyun let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when she finally retracted her hand.

“Isn’t it random? Talking about skin?” Yerim giggled.

“It’s okay. I like being able to talk about random stuffs. is normally not that good at talking randomly while Doyoung was too random most of the time.”

Yerim laughed, “With Johnny oppa it’s mostly him listening. But when you need someone to listen to you, then he’s your best bet. He’s a good listener.”

Jaehyun nodded in acknowledgement, “When I first came to the police academy, he was my only friend. My Korean was off, I was awkward. If it wasn’t for your brother, I’d probably be a loner and dropped out of the academy.”

“You were that bad?”

“Oh! So bad! I had a lot of difficulties memorizing laws and stuffs. I was good with physical stuffs though, and shooting too. I got praised a lot and let’s just say, not too many students were happy about this foreign kid who could barely recite the police’s oath rocking each physical training.”

“And where does my brother fit in the whole story?”

“He stood up for me when others belittled me, or talked behind my back. I mean, he was the oldest in our batch since he entered the academy pretty late, so everyone just got scared of him. And also, like you said, he’s a great listener. The only person I could confide in was him. It was also fun since we could freely talk in English using slangs and stuffs, and the others would have zero idea on what we’re talking about.”

Yerim grinned, “That’s my brother. Anyways, I got curious. So, you went here for enlistment, and then you ended up going to the academy? Like my brother?”

“Yep. I did. I already have a degree from a community college, just like your brother. He had a degree in mass communication, was it?” “Yeah. You?” “I got one for psychology. And I applied in so many courses during college, that’s why I got to become a behavioral analyst. And also, I’m an avid people watcher. My talent developed a lot in the army since, well, you have nothing to do.”

“What?”

Jaehyun chuckled, “Well, I’ve got no one visiting me when I was in the army, and there’s nothing to do in the army base except training, resting, or doing duties. I spent a lot of time just observing people, starting from my batch leader, the sergeants there, and also my batch friends. It was a good alternative for spending time.”

“That’s interesting. Was it fun? Learning psychology?” “Oh, it was a lot of fun. You learned about how people’s minds work.”

“Then what made you get into police academy?”

“My trainer in the army recommended me. He said that I was a fairly quick learner, I’m fit, and I’m quite knowledgeable. And so, I decided to give it a try. And plus, I wasn’t looking forward to goback to the States. I don’t know. I was just hooked by Korea at that time.”

“Did you ever wish that you’d become a psychologist instead?”

Jaehyun grinned and shook his head.

“Never. I took psychology just for fun at first because no other majors appealed to me. I do enjoy analyzing people… But then, I figured out being a psychologist is not… you know… challenging enough for me. And then, when I was in the academy, we have a month of training under several detectives. I learned about criminals. A lot. And I figured out a way to use my skills and my talents to find a criminal. Isn’t that amazing? I got to do the thing I love the most, and also enforcing the law at the same time.”

“If you put it that way… Then yeah. I could’ve been a surgeon. But as a forensic doctor, I got to make diagnosis and determine causes of death, and also enforcing the law at the same time.”

“That’s what makes our job quite noble, Yerim-ah.”

Yerim was about to make another comment when she suddenly felt droplets on her face.

“Oh? Ya! It’s raining!”

“I don’t bring any umbrella!”

“Me too! Oppa, let’s just run!” Yerim giggled as she grabbed his arm, pulling him to run with her.

“There’s a convenience store nearby, let’s buy an umbrella there!” Jaehyun shouted amidst the rain, feeling Yerim hugged his arm tighter as they made a run. They were panting and laughing when they arrived at the sheltered shop.

“There’s air-con inside. It’ll be cold. Stay here, okay? I’ll be quick!” Jaehyun said, brushing a few water droplets from her hair.

She smiled and nodded. Jaehyun entered the store while she waited outside, rubbing on her arms in attempt to warm herself. Jaehyun approached the cashier, about to ask where the umbrellas are located when he snuck a glance outside. With a sigh, he went back out.

“Oppa! So fast! Wher—”

“Wear this. It’s cold.”

Yerim blushed as Jaehyun draped his leather jacket around her shoulder. It’s leather so it’s technically waterproof. It’s warm and it smelled faintly like his cologne. Yerim wrapped herself with the warm jacket as Jaehyun heads back inside. She was just thinking on how good his cologne smells and wondering what brand is it when she felt a vibrate on the pocket followed by a ring. She felt rude for answering the call but the caller ID said Johnny which was her brother so she decided to pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Jay—What? Who is this?”

“’Tis me, Katie! Hi, brother! ‘Sup?”

“Kate! Where were you and Jay? It’s raining and it’s almost lunch time!”

“We were just taking a walk before it rained. We’re in a convenience store right now. Jaehyun oppa is buying an umbrella.”

“God, you guys made me worried for a sec. Why are you not answering your phone?”

“Oh! I was still charging it at the morgue! Sorry… But you don’t have to worry! I have a completely capable, strong, trusted, police officer keeping me safe!”

Yerim could hear her brother sighing from the other line. “Get back here soon okay. Uhm, or probably buy some food? Doyoung and I are starving.”

“We’re in a convenience store. What do you want? Cup ramyeon?”

“Udon please. And cheese. And sausage.”

“Alright. I’ll tell Jaehyun oppa to buy some.”

“Great. Take care.” Yerim hummed her reply and stored the phone back into Jaehyun’s jacket pocket. She slipped her arms into the sleeves so she was wearing the jacket properly before entering the store where Jaehyun is queueing.

“Yerim!”

“Oppa, Johnny oppa wanted us to buy food for lunch. Is cup udon okay with you?”

Jaehyun nodded distractedly. Yerim looks good in his jack—

Quit it Jung Jaehyun!

“Uhm, sure.” Jaehyun followed her with a basket as she skipped happily to the cup noodle section.

“What flavor would you like? Beef? Seafood?”

“What’s your favorite?” Jaehyun asked back.

“Johnny oppa and I liked the beef one because it tasted good with sausage and cheese,” Yerim said as she knelt down in front of rows of instant noodles.

“Cool. I’ll have that too then.”

Yerim’s eyes twinkled as she picked four beef udon cups, putting it inside the basket Jaehyun was holding. She then walked to the ready-to-eat aisle, picking up four sausages and a package of sliced cheese. She dropped it into the basket before smiling. “Let’s pay!”

Jaehyun nodded, following her to the now empty cashier. “Uhm, Yerim, my wallet…”

“Oh! Right!” Yerim casually reached to the jacket’s pocket, and then handing him his wallet. He took his card to pay before handing the wallet back to her.

“Eh, why am I still wearing your jacket?” She chuckled.

“Keep it on. It’s cold,” he shrugged as he led her out, opening the umbrella. He noticed water still dropping into her shoulder. After mentally preparing himself, he put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer so they were both shielded from the rain.

“Don’t get wet and sick,” he said softly unknowingly sending a thousand butterflies flapping inside her stomach.