Sinb kept pushing when she would tell Eunha about her soulmate.

Tomorrow turned into the following day, then it dragged to next week, and another week, and a month later, the accursed words of "I know who your soulmate is" never made it out of .

Eunha and Sowon were fated to meet eventually, with or without her intervention. Or, Sowon's words could simply be a coincidence and she might not even be Eunha's soulmate. Those were the excuses Sinb told herself as guilt crept onto her with each passing day.

She was just delaying the inevitable, but Sinb sought to prolong the time she had with Eunha before she met her soulmate. Because she didn't know what would happen after they met, how their dynamics or relationship could change.

As for Sowon, Sinb found herself growing closer with the team leader despite her potentially being Eunha's soulmate. She did try to distance herself from her at first, but Sowon proved hard to ignore.

Sowon misinterpreted Sinb's initial avoidance as her crossing the lines when she was drunk. Sinb received a whole lengthy text message and an in-person apology from Sowon about her drunk behaviour, even when she wasn't offended that night. She understood how dumb one could act when drunk because drunk Sinb was as bad as Sowon or ten times worse.

Sinb stopped avoiding her then. Sowon didn't deserve to be ignored or treated coldly for being Eunha's soulmate. After all, it wasn't like she chose to be born as her soulmate.

When she reassured Sowon that she wasn't uncomfortable with her drunk actions that night, Sowon became more relaxed. The team leader would invite her to take their lunches together, and even on the field, they partnered with each other. She eventually saw Sowon as not just "Eunha's soulmate", but a cherished friend as well. Work became less of a tiresome charade and more of something she looked forward to.

Well, except times like this, when the dangers of fieldwork made itself known.

"We need to go to a hospital, unnie." Sinb crossed her arms, blocking Sowon who was attempting to follow the rest of the team into the squad car. She eyed the blood dripping down her face with concern, standing her ground against the bull-headed team leader.

They were pursuing a suspect in the early hours of the morning after discovering a last-minute lead. They managed to chase down the man but lost him in a maze of alleyways until Sowon got tackled to the ground by him and injured her head. Sinb had promptly restrained the suspect and got him off Sowon, but the other detective now sported a gash by her temples.

"It's just a scratch," Sowon dismissed, "head wounds bleed a lot." She tried to push past Sinb to get into the squad car, which was supposed to head back to the station with the caught criminal.

Sinb slammed the car door closed. "Jungwon-sunbae, please head on to the station first."

The senior grunted from behind the driver's seat, rolling back up the car window. Without waiting for Sowon's agreement, he drove off without a word.

Sowon glowered at her. "You're overreacting."

"I'm not. I saw how hard you hit the ground," Sinb said. "When I injured my head the last time, I thought it wasn't a big deal either. Want to guess what happened next?"

Sowon didn't answer. She was still giving her a disapproving scowl.

"I ended up in the hospital because I apparently had a concussion," Sinb continued. "It might be serious. Just stop by for a checkup, then go back to work if it's not. Besides, I think that gash needs stitches.“

“It’ll take too much time,” Sowon protested, “I don’t need to go to a hospital for this.”

Wait. Was this how Eunha felt every time she had to coerce Sinb into going to a hospital for treatment? Did she feel like throttling the injured person because of how stubborn they were acting? Sowon was behaving just like how she would.

“I have a friend who works as a doctor at a hospital nearby.” Sowon wasn’t going to get away so easily. Sinb was as persistent as her. “She owes me a favour, so she can help us.”

Yerin owed her so many favours after Sinb suffered through her relentless shopping mall hopping when they were scouring for a present for Yuju’s birthday. She dragged her store to store, leaving most of them without buying a single thing. She was there as her gift advisor then, but Yerin murdered all her ideas and Sinb wondered why she had even forced her along.

“Admit it, if I was the one with the gash, you’ll make me go for treatment,” Sinb added on as a final push. She didn’t know who was more of an overbearing mother-hen between Sowon and Eunha. Were they soulmates because they both liked to take care of people?

Sowon sighed, caving in. “Fine.”

Sinb had to text Yerin first to check if she was free. The doctor was usually on her lunch break around this time but she could be caught up in an emergency.

Yerin-unnie, you’re on your lunch break now, right?

Are you free?

Yerin thankfully wasn’t preoccupied. She came online right after Sinb sent the message.

Baby Chick-unnie

Yes.

Wait, no, my answer depends on what you want.

Sowon lingered by her side like an impatient hovering ghost, and Sinb held onto her leather jacket to make sure she wouldn’t ditch her.

I have a coworker who hurt her head. Can you treat her? I’ll pay for the medical fees and stuff.

You owe me that favour from last time.

Of course, anything for my favourite detective~!

I’m still sorry for making you go everywhere with me <3

Drop me a text when you’re here, I’ll tell you which room to go to!

Sinb was amused by how quickly Yerin’s tone changed. With that settled, the next obstacle was getting Sowon to the hospital.

They arrived at the hospital after Sowon tried to make one last attempt at escaping. Sinb was buying a handkerchief to help clean up Sowon’s bleeding gash before they went, and when she turned her head around, she caught her sneaking away. Needless to say, Sinb wasn’t pleased and dragged her back.

“I don’t have symptoms of a concussion.” Even as they headed to the room Yerin instructed her to go to, Sowon was debating against her. “My speech’s fine, I’m not dizzy or nauseous, and I don’t have a headache.”

“We’re already here, so stop arguing,” Sinb rolled her eyes, knocking on the door before pushing it open. “Unnie?”

Yerin was seated behind her desk, chin propped on her hand as she gazed at a computer screen. Her head jerked up upon their entry, and she greeted them with a lazy grin.

"If it isn't my favourite brat," Yerin stood up, approaching them. She peered over Sinb's shoulder. "So, who's the—wait, is that you, Sowon-unnie?"

Sinb looked back and forth between the two of them. They know each other?

"Yerin?" Sowon's eyes widened in recognition. They both broke into wide smiles, Yerin jumping on the detective to give her signature bear hug.

"Oof," Sowon grunted on impact, but she didn't shrug her off. "It's been a while."

Yerin released her after a tight squeeze. "I didn't know you work in Seoul now. Finally stopped being a patrol officer, huh?"

"It was a recent transfer," Sowon said.

"Um, sorry, but how do you guys know each other?" Sinb couldn't swallow her curiosity any longer. Yerin never mentioned knowing another detective.

"I did my hospital residency in Incheon about seven years ago," Yerin placed a hand on Sowon's shoulder, "and Sowon-unnie was in the police academy. I think I practiced half my medical knowledge treating her."

"Don't exaggerate." Sowon blushed. "It was just a few times."

"What, did she keep falling and injuring herself?" Sinb guessed.

Yerin burst into a fit of laughter, and Sowon nudged her. "If you're able to guess that, it means Sowon-unnie hasn't stopped being a clumsy . I saw her in the hospital every two weeks? Anyway, we bonded over how similar our soulmate marks were, but we lost touch when I went back to Seoul."

Soulmate marks? Sinb recalled Yerin's own mark, the first words Yuju said to her. It was one of the most ridiculous lines she had ever seen written on someone. “You’re like a pretty baby chick swimming in my heart," was what Yuju blurted out to Yerin. She was fresh out of surgery, still under the effects of anaesthesia, and her loose mouth was how Yerin had to live her whole life with that strange sentence.

"I thought I was here for a checkup, not a roasting," Sowon sulked.

"Ah, right! Geez, what kind of a doctor am I to forget that," Yerin switched back to her professional doctor mode, directing Sowon to sit on the medical bed for inspections. "How did you hurt your head?"

"Fell onto the ground," Sowon answered, and when Yerin stifled a chuckle, she quickly added on. "Not because I tripped, I got tackled!"

"I didn't say anything," Yerin teased. She checked Sowon's wound, cleaning the blood around it. Her eyes were focused as she became serious again.

After a series of tests, where Yerin made sure Sowon wasn't suffering from symptoms of a major head injury, she concluded that Sowon's wound was minor. "The wound needs to get stitched up, though. Other than that, she's fine."

"Told you I was fine," Sowon quipped from the bed.

"So you were just going to walk around with an open wound on your head the entire day?" Sinb retorted. "You must be looking for an acting role in a horror movie."

"Just close it with a plaster?" Sowon hesitatingly replied. Yerin shot her an offended look, and she clamped shut.

It didn't take long for Yerin to disinfect the wound, stitch it, and protect it with a proper bandage. Sowon remained unflinching as she did so, looking at ease even as Yerin worked on her wound. Granted, she did give her some light anaesthesia, but her team leader was too relaxed.

"It's such a coincidence though," Yerin said as she finished up her treatment. "To think that you'll show up in Seoul as Sinb's team leader. Who coincidentally knows me through Eunha through Yuju-"

"Okay, stop, you're making me dizzy," Sinb interrupted. "Can't you say it in a simpler way?"

"I wanted to say I met my soulmate!" Yerin bounced on her feet, her eyes shining with eagerness. "Her name's Yuju, and I found out she wasn't as weird as I assumed. No, actually she's weird, but in a super cute way. She only said those words because she was doped up on anaesthesia."

"The one who called you a baby chick?" Sowon paused. "Wait, Yuju, as in the SourceM singer?"

"You've heard of her?" Yerin puffed out her chest. "Of course you have, she's the top singer these days."

"You said to me, 'I don't know who my soulmate is, but they at flirting'," Sowon said, "and 'they're probably an obnoxious wannabe player' who you wanted nothing to do with."

Sinb latched onto the new bit of information, filing that away for blackmail. She smirked, hooking an arm around Yerin's shoulder. "You never told us, or Yuju-unnie, about that."

"M-minds change!" Yerin panicked. "I hated people who drop cheesy nonsensical lines, but Yuju was not only under the influence of a sedative, she actually makes those pickup lines funny."

"We should hang out again, catch up with each other's lives." The doctor cleared , hurrying to move on. "I want to introduce Yuju to you. I think you two will get along. Both of you are clumsy, have a weird sense of humour, dorks—"

"Keep dissing Yuju-unnie, I'll record and send it to her." Sinb took out her phone and pretended to launch the voice recorder app. Yerin meekly halted in her fond insults of her soulmate.

"I would like that," Sowon ignored the later part of Yerin's words. "Does your soulmate have time though? I heard she's making a comeback soon."

"Are you a fan?" Yerin asked, and she grew even more energetic when Sowon gave her a non-committal grunt, which in the language of Sowon meant "Yes, but I don't want to admit it".

"I like her songs," Sowon explained, "her vocals are soothing and the songs are well-written."

"Right? Her voice's like an angel," Yerin fawned. "Let me drop you another bomb! Sinb's childhood friend Eunha wrote most of them."

Sinb's smile dropped at the mention of Eunha, and her nervousness crept back up. She stuffed her hands into her pocket to hide her fidgeting, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was heading.

"You're right though, Yuju's been rather busy lately in preparation for her promotion," Yerin deflated, pouting as she probably thought about the lack of time they spent together. She pondered for a moment, before perking up. "I know! We're having a little gathering in two weeks, to celebrate in advance for her comeback. Why don't you join us for a bit? Sinb, Eunha, and Umji, who produces Yuju's songs as well, will be there."

"Wait," Sinb blurted out without thinking. The only thought running through her head was that if Sowon went to the gathering, she would definitely meet Eunha. And she wasn’t ready for that yet. “Shouldn’t we ask the others first…?”

“Wouldn’t they agree?” Yerin tilted her head to the side. “We love meeting each other’s friends. And Sowon’s not only my friend, she’s yours too.”

“Yeah, but…” she fumbled for a response. Yerin was right, they were always open to inviting each other’s friends to join them. Especially if they were close friends. In any other situations, Sinb would have no qualms inviting Sowon if she wasn’t Eunha’s soulmate.

“I appreciate the invite,” Sowon interjected, “but I don’t think your friends would appreciate a stranger at their celebration. We can meet up another day.”

“Okay,” Yerin frowned, but she stopped pushing. Sinb slumped her shoulders in both relief and shame. She hated ruining Yerin’s plans, but her stomach coiled with anxiety at the idea of Sowon meeting Eunha so soon.

Sowon patted the doctor’s shoulders as she stood up from the bed, reassuring her. “My transfer to Seoul is pretty much permanent, and unless you’re changing hospitals again, we have plenty of time to catch up.”

“Nah, not going anywhere.” Yerin beamed.

They exchanged their numbers with each other, and Yerin had to leave in a hurry when she was paged for an emergency. Sowon and Sinb were left standing in the hospital lobby, an unusually awkward silence between them. Mostly because she was too caught up in her thoughts to speak.

Sinb glanced up from the ground when Sowon’s phone rang. Sowon checked the caller’s name, squinting at it in confusion.

“Yes, Chief Lee?” she answered. Sinb listened with renewed interest as the muffled voice of Chief Lee sounded over the phone.

“That’s not necessary, sir. I’m fine-” Sowon got cut off mid-sentence as Chief Lee rambled again. She looked resigned, pinching her nose with her fingers as he spoke. “Okay, sir. Thank you.”

“What did he say?” she asked when Sowon hung up. Her team leader tucked her phone back into her pockets with a huff.

“I got banned from coming into work for the week,” Sowon muttered in annoyance. “He said he heard that I got injured, and I should take some days off to rest.”

Sinb snorted. Chief Lee was probably scared of the Commissioner General going after his head for letting his daughter get harmed in work. Or, he could be up the Sowon again. “Yerin said your wound wasn't serious, but you should just take a break. You’ve been working your off since your first day.”

Sowon never left the station earlier than the team. Sinb tried convincing her to leave work on time or early, but she was always shot down. She was continuously working on something, whether it was a report, studying past cases, or god knows what. After seeing how much of a hard worker Sowon was, Sinb understood how she climbed up the ranks so rapidly.

“Have you even gone around Seoul?” Sinb questioned, and when Sowon shook her head, she let out an affronted gasp. “This won’t do. I need to bring you around.”

“Why not today?” Sowon suggested, and Sinb raised an eyebrow.

“Is my team leader telling me to ditch work?”

“It’s already two in the afternoon. No harm if you skip the rest of the day.” Sowon hesitated. "Only if you want to. I just thought we could do something outside of work for once."

Is this her way of telling me she wants to hang out? Sinb mused. She contemplated briefly, thinking up of places she could bring Sowon to. Seoul was too huge to cover in one day.

"Sure, why not?" she said, and Sowon seemed surprised that she actually agreed. And then Sinb stared at Sowon's clothes. "Let's drop by your house first though. You definitely need to change out of your bloodied jacket."

After Sowon had a change of clothes, Sinb brought her to a market in Seoul which sold a variety of street food. Sowon, to Sinb’s astonishment, rarely treated herself to street food. “I was busy,” Sowon had said. It was unacceptable to her, so they spent the most time at the market where they gorged on enough food to feed an army.

They didn’t have much time to go around since it was already near evening by the time they finished scouring the place, so Sinb prioritised bringing her to the number one place in Seoul—Han River. They took a walk in one of the many parks located there, with Sowon admiring the beautiful sight of the calmly flowing river against the backdrop of the setting sun.

The last agenda on the mini-tour was purchasing ramen, kimchi, and some soju from a convenience store along with a picnic mat, and they laid it out in a spot where they could see a clear view of the river and the night sky.

“Please don’t drink too much, I don’t want to lug your back home again.” Sinb watched as Sowon poured a small bit of the soju into the paper cups they bought. Sowon glanced at her, and then she dipped the bottle further in response. Was she being cheeky? “You’re asking for trouble.”

“This is for you, brat.” Sowon set the filled cup by her, and then she poured much less into her own cup. “I would rather not wake up hungover again. Or with vague memories of me clinging onto you like a parasite.”

Sinb ripped open the kimchi packets, passing one to Sowon. With all their accompanying food and drinks ready, they dug into the ramen they cooked. “Or continuously saying that you need to wash dishes.”

“Right.” Sowon grimaced when she brought up her drunken words. “I don’t know why I always say that when I’m drunk.”

“You’re just downright weird when you’re drunk.”

“Can’t deny that.”

They finished their ramen way too quickly, despite the amount of food they consumed throughout the day. Sowon looked at ease as she lifted the cup to , taking light sips of the soju. Meanwhile, Sinb already went through three refills. She usually refrained from drinking, but the mood was perfect. The place they chose had a serene quiet to it, mostly deserted except for a couple a few spots away. And she had good company now.

Sinb wasn’t tipsy at all or drunk—it would take more than two bottles to get her near that state—but she was feeling bolder.

“Unnie.”

Sowon turned to her when she called her, averting her gaze from the river. “Hm?”

“Why did you become a police officer?”

It was a question that had been bugging her endlessly ever since Sowon transferred in as her team leader. Sowon was an incredibly skilled officer, but she must have clawed her way into where she was now.

Over the past few weeks, Sinb understood Sowon on a deeper level, thanks to their constant interactions as partners. She came to realise a crucial part of her team leader—Fieldwork Sowon was a facade Sowon pushed herself to maintain, and not her true self. It made Sinb wonder why Sowon chose this career path when she had to force herself to take on an entirely different persona.

Sowon kept quiet for a moment, fidgeting with the edges of her paper cup. Sinb was about to take back her question when she let out a sigh and said, “Everyone at the station probably knows who my father is, right?”

“It’s not exactly a secret when Chief Lee name-drops him every time he sees you.”

“Yeah, I wish he would stop that,” Sowon muttered. “My father…as the Commissioner General, he always wanted a son that would follow his footsteps. To become a high-ranking officer, and take over his position as the face of the National Police Agency.”

Sinb stiffened, and she was regretting her question. “You don’t have to tell me if it’s uncomfortable for you.”

“No, I never shared with anyone before about why I became a police officer.” Sowon smiled sadly at her, setting her cup down onto the picnic mat. “I want to do that for once.”

“It was his life-long goal to have a son to be his successor,” Sowon continued, “so when my mother gave birth to me, a daughter, he was devastated, to say the least.”

Sinb had never met the Commissioner General in person before, but she so wanted to punch him in the face now. It made her blood boil when people were stuck in traditional times when sons were “preferred” over daughters.

“My mother had some complications when she was carrying me, and after I was born, the doctor said she shouldn’t get pregnant again or it could endanger her life.” Sowon frowned. “Father wanted to try again, risk a second pregnancy. She refused.”

What a ing bastard, Sinb was so tempted to say, but she barely restrained herself. Risking his wife’s life for the possibility of giving birth to a son to fulfil his own selfish legacy?

“He detested my mother after she made it clear she wouldn’t go through another pregnancy again. ‘Why are you my soulmate if you can’t give me what I want the most in the world’ he said, according to Mom.” Sowon picked up her cup again, and she downed the alcohol. “Ever since I was young, they were distant. Fought constantly, especially when I proved to be clumsy.”

“I feel like it's my fault,” she said so softly, Sinb almost missed it. And when she heard the bitter self-loathing in her voice, she wanted to cut in, convince Sowon she wasn’t responsible for her father’s selfishness. But it didn’t feel right to do that now, not when Sowon was still pushing herself to speak. “Why couldn’t I be born as the son he wanted? Or be less of a bumbling fool? Then maybe their relationship wouldn't be so ed up.”

“I want to fix their broken love, and the only way I can do that is to live out my father’s dream. I wasn’t suited to become an officer, not at first. Maybe not even now. But I forced myself anyway, put myself through the police academy and somehow graduated.” Sowon let out a bitter chuckle. “He said I wouldn’t make it when I signed up for the academy. When I graduated, he said I wouldn’t go further than a patrol officer.”

“And now?”

Sowon shrugged. “I don’t know. After I became a detective and solved some big cases, he hasn’t spoken as harshly to me. He doesn't fight with my mother as much as before either, but I'm not sure if he will ever be satisfied with me."

Hearing about Sowon’s family and the relationship between her parents, a pair of soulmates, she was taken back to the case of the markless culprit and his ex-fiancee who called off their engagement for her soulmate. The words Sowon said then were still fresh in her mind, imprinted into her memory.

"The first case you solved as our team leader, you said soulmates might not always be ideal. Did you feel that way because of your parents?

Sowon subconsciously traced her arm, picking at the sleeves of her coat. "It's hard to view soulmates as some 'perfect, destined pair' when I've watched my parents claw at each other throats for years.“

”You don’t believe in soulmates?“ Sinb hesitated, before asking, ”What would you do then if you met your soulmate?“ If you met Eunha?

Sowon faced her, a contemplative look in her eyes. “I would give them a chance, get to know them slowly and see how it goes. But I won’t force myself to like them just because some words on my arm tell me to. If it doesn’t work out, I’m not going to stick with them just because they’re my soulmate. Not every soulmate pair has to end up as lovers. Some are just more suited to be platonic soulmates.”

Her outlook on soulmates was rare among the current society. Relationships outside of a soulmate pair were considered taboo and scorned by most. Everyone was expected to wait for their soulmate, even if you had to wait until your thirties. It was also almost unheard of for soulmate pairs to break apart. In fact, soulmate pairs were expected to bond and marry as soon as possible after they met.

It was why markless people like her struggled so much to find a stable relationship. It was difficult to find another markless person, and even if they did the chances they could fall in love with each other was low. If they dated someone with a soulmate mark, most of the time the marked person would leave when their soulmate came. And Sinb had never heard of someone with a soulmate mark, met their soulmate, and would still date a markless person.

“Enough about me. What about you, Sinb? Why did you become a police officer?”

Sinb was surprised by the sudden directed question to her, and she took a long drink of the soju to drag time to compose herself. The pleasant burn of the alcohol travelled down , a feeling that grounded her.

Her reason for becoming a police officer was silly in comparison to Sowon’s. Even Eunha was unaware of her actual motivation, although maybe that was because she was part of the reason. But Sinb strangely did not mind opening up to Sowon. Was it the alcohol giving her liquid courage, or was it because Sowon managed to squirm her way into Sinb’s tight trusted circle?

“It’s embarrassing…” Sinb mumbled, but she told Sowon anyway. “Believe it or not, but I used to be bullied in high school.”

“Why?” Sowon narrowed her eyes, and she scooted closer to Sinb until she was right next to her. She looked ready to go after Sinb’s past aggressors, her face set into a frown.

Sinb tapped her fingers on her knee, biting her lip as she questioned herself. To say the truth, or to not?

It was so risky to speak the truth, but she took the leap of faith because Sowon was different from most of the people she met thus far. Sinb wanted to trust her. “Because I was markless, and they thought I was some anomaly that shouldn’t have been born.”

Sowon didn’t even seem surprised, and her sole reaction was to insult the people who bullied her. “That’s dumb.”

“That’s it? You don’t think I’m weird for being markless?”

“Of course not,” Sowon said without missing a beat. “I don’t care if you have a soulmate or not.”

Sowon rested her hand on Sinb’s jittery fingers, halting her relentless tapping. Her hand was warm as she took Sinb’s hand off her knee, interlacing their fingers together as a replacement. As a final comforting gesture, she squeezed her hand.

Sinb didn’t pull her hand away, her anxiety easing at Sowon’s acceptance. Every time she told someone about her markless arms, she would assume the worst and anticipate their disgust, pity, or scorn. It was her knee-jerk reaction thanks to the constant demeaning remarks she heard about markless people.

“A lot of people in high school cared because high school was when everyone started dreaming about meeting their soulmate. The school wouldn’t let me wear long-sleeved shirts to physical education classes, so my entire cohort knew about me.” Sinb huffed at the remembrance of what was probably the worst time period of her life. “There was this one group of girls in my year that was particularly obsessed with me. They harassed me almost every day.”

It was the typical bullying—name-calling, ostracizing her and ruining her belongings. Sinb was too resigned and exhausted back then to stand up to them. No one supported or helped her to go against them, either. Except for Eunha. Eunha who wasn’t even in her year but somehow caught wind of what was happening to her.

“I thought I was going to suffer through high school being bullied by them, but my friend, Eunha, protected me.”

Eunha was outraged. She was furious with Sinb for not telling her what was happening, and at herself for not noticing that she was being harassed. And of course, the bulk of her anger went towards that group of girls.

She remembered how Eunha stood up against them. Sinb hiding behind her back as she threatened her aggressors, hurling scathing curses at them. And as Eunha had been a popular senior as well as a member of the student council, they didn’t dare to do anything to her and backed off from Sinb.

She hovered constantly by Sinb’s side whenever she could, making it clear to everyone in the same year as Sinb that she didn’t condone any bullying towards her. Her intimidating presence spared Sinb from any bullying incidents for the rest of her high school years.

Eunha was so valiant and strong, while she merely cowered behind her each time. She hated herself for being so weak. For not even daring to stand up against those girls and relying on Eunha to protect her.

“I just thought, instead of her always saving me every time, I wanted to be that protector, to be the one defending and standing up for someone in need. So I chose to work towards becoming a police officer. Someone who could help others.”

Someone who was mentally and physically capable to protect Eunha. Even if she didn’t need her protection. Sinb didn’t want to stay as that meek, shy child who couldn’t stand up for herself.

Sowon squeezed her hand once more and released it. “I think that’s selfless of you.”

“Selfless?”

“You decided to become an officer so you could defend your friend and others in need. It’s an admirable reason,” Sowon explained, and she glared daggers at the mat. “As for me, I did it for my own selfish reasons. I don’t even enjoy what I do as an officer. I love helping people, but this career isn’t what I personally want to do.”

“Your reason isn’t selfish. You’re doing it to fix your parent’s relationship. That’s not self-centred.”

Sowon sighed at that. “I should be happy with my job. I put criminals in jail, make someone’s life better. But I can’t help but detest it.”

“If you weren’t a police officer, what job do you think you would have taken?”

“I don’t know. Never thought of anything but a police officer.”

“What about a model?” Sinb lightened the mood. They were both exhausted, Sowon especially, from the divulging of their past. “No, wait, a dishwasher would be perfect.”

“A dishwasher sounds nice.” Sowon chuckled. “On a more serious note, maybe a chef?”

Now that was surprising. “You can cook?”

“I like cooking. I think I’m pretty decent at it.”

“You should let me try some of your food. Then I can judge whether you’re really fit to be a chef.”

“Sure.”

They fell back into a comfortable silence. Sinb poured the last of the soju into her cup, setting aside the bottle. For a brief moment, they quietly relaxed in the tranquil of the Han River Park. Sinb was tempted to close her eyes and lose herself in the peace.

“Sinb.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I lie on your lap for a short moment? I’m sleepy.”

“Did you drink too much again? Go home if you’re tired.” Sinb chided, but she still uncrossed her legs and stretched them out. Sowon did look close to passing out on the picnic mat as she yawned cutely.

Sowon rested her head on her lap, her black hair splaying over Sinb’s jeans. Sinb swiped Sowon’s messy fringe away from her bandaged wound. “I didn’t, I drank less than half a bottle. And I don’t want to go home yet.”

“Why?”

“It’s lonely there.” Sowon met her gaze, and their close proximity made her fidgety. For a flitting moment, her expression was unreadable, until Sowon’s lips curled into a teasing smile. “I should get a cat. Then I’ll have my own Sinb at home.”

Sinb scoffed, but her heart warmed at Sowon’s words. Apart from Eunha, she never had someone appreciate her company that much. “I’m no cat! I’m a tiger.”

“A tiger is a large cat.”

Sowon closed her eyes, not leaving room for Sinb to argue.

She sounded as if she was joking, but it made Sinb ponder. Did Sowon have any friends apart from Yerin and her? She was from Incheon after all, and Seoul was a new place for her. Not to mention, she was always consumed in work. Did she even have any downtime?

Maybe she doesn’t stop working because she has nothing else to do, Sinb theorised.

She discouraged Yerin from inviting Sowon to their gathering, where she could have met her soulmate and made friends with Umji and Yuju who would have taken to her immediately. All because she didn’t want to let Eunha go yet.

Sowon had called her selfless for wanting to help people, but Sinb was behaving the complete opposite. She wasn’t considering how Eunha was waiting for her soulmate or helping Sowon settle into her life in Seoul.

Maybe Sinb was meant to be what brought Eunha and Sowon together. She was the one to nickname Sowon, which Eunha would subsequently call her by. She was also Sowon’s work partner and Eunha’s friend, their closest mutual link.

What if they could only meet if she swallowed down her own jealousy and fear?

“Unnie, are you awake?” Sinb whispered, testing if Sowon had already fallen asleep.

She hummed in reply.

“You should come to the gathering.”

Sowon opened her eyes then. “You’re fine with it?”

Sinb winced. Was she not as subtle as she thought she was? “Yeah. It’ll be nice to have you there.”

I’m not fine with it now, but maybe I will be, eventually, Sinb thought, I don’t want to be selfish anymore.

Sowon was assessing her, trying to see if she truly meant her words. She must have passed some kind of internal test because Sowon agreed. “Okay, but please ask your friends first if I could come.”

“I will,” Sinb muttered. “I’m sure they’ll like you.”

Sowon and Eunha deserved to be happy, and Sinb knew that they would be perfect for each other. It was time for her to stop delaying the inevitable.

---

A/N:

I hope this wonb centric chapter will satisfy all your wonb needs ^^