“Why are we having spicy ribs for breakfast?” Baram whined while poking at the large pot of ribs with her chopsticks. “This isn’t breakfast food.”

“Because we had a very long night shift and need sustenance,” Youngjae grunted while biting into a rib.

“You guys have way too many night shifts,” Baram huffed. “Did you do something bad so the chief is punishing you guys?”

“We switched shifts with some colleagues this week,” Yugyeom replied.

“How noble of you guys.”

Sensing the mockery in her tone, Youngjae flicked Baram’s forehead with as much force as he could foster, causing Baram’s head to jolt back from the impact.

“Yah, this is physical harassment,” Baram hissed in pain. “How can a cop injure a law-abiding citizen?”

“Stop being so dramatic and eat.”

Youngjae rolled his eyes while Yugyeom let out a loud chuckle as he Baram’s forehead.

“So mean,” Baram whispered under her breath. “Jaebum’s rudeness has clearly rubbed off on you.”

“I’m surrounded by idiots,” Youngjae mumbled in response.

“You even sound like him.”

Youngjae lifted his hand threatening to flick Baram’s forehead again. However Yugyeom interjected and swiftly changed topic.

“How was the blind date? I’m still offended that you didn’t tell me about it.”

“And you would have never known about it if my mum had not been such a chatterbox,” Youngjae groaned as he recalled the blind date.

“She looked pretty,” Baram mused. “Yugyeom even thought that she was out of your league.”

“Why you little—” 

Grabbing his spoon, Youngjae tried to smack the younger detective’s head. Yugyeom however was faster and grabbed Youngjae’s hand, successfully stopping the attack.

“Stop using violence!” Yugyeom squealed as he defended himself.

Huffing in frustration, Youngjae pulled his hand out of Yugyeom’s grip and let go of the spoon to resume eating. Meanwhile, Baram and Yugyeom both stared at Youngjae expectantly, waiting for him to start narrating the tale of his blind date.

“She messaged asking for a second date but I rejected.”

Baram and Yugyeom exchanged a knowing look as they silently waited for Youngjae to offer a deeper explanation.

“Why do neither of you look surprised?” Youngjae looked at them in bewilderment. “Are you not curious to why I rejected?”

“Because you finally realised that no sane woman will be able to stand your insufferable temperament?” Yugyeom offered as a response, purposely annoying Youngjae.

Reaching for the trusted metal spoon again, Youngjae sent Yugyeom a deadly glare. Fortunately for the younger male, Baram came to his rescue.

“We knew she wasn’t your type.”

“How?” Youngjae whipped his head towards Baram.

“She’s a regular at Eclipse and is always flirting with Jackson and Bambam. You’re good at reading people so we knew you would not vibe with her.”

“I would not vibe with her?” Youngjae guffawed in disbelief. “Since when did you use such unsophisticated vocabulary.”

Baram’s face twisted in shock, appalled with herself for her choice of words.

“I’ve been spending too much time with idiots.”

“You mean a certain red headed idiot?”

Choking on the water she was sipping, Baram snapped her head towards Youngjae. Gauging his reaction, she was taken aback by the playfulness swimming in his eyes.

“Why do you look so entertained?”

“Do you want me to be all angry and grumpy about it instead?”

“You told me to stay away from him.”

“Since he likes Jaebum, Youngjae’s stance towards Mark has changed as well.”

Youngjae and Baram turned to look at Yugyeom, staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

“Excuse me?” Baram gasped as she focused on Youngjae again. “Are you sure you didn’t reject the girl because you’d much rather go on a date with Jaebum instead?”

“Do you want to leave with a huge bruise on your forehead?”

Hearing the threat, Baram slowly leaned backwards, placing a protective hand over her forehead.

“No need to be in denial. Love knows no boundaries and that includes gender.”

“I give up.” Youngjae groaned as he slouched in his chair.

“Already?” Yugyeom exclaimed in fake shock. “But you haven’t even c