As Jongin put it, it would not be a real celebration without barbecue. That was how Sehun found himself sandwiched in-between Jongin and Soonbok after finishing his shift at the hospital. He had no idea where they were going, but the nurse pair were guiding the way while chattering eagerly about how many portions of meat they would order. Sehun zoned out, so exhausted by the day’s work that he was satisfied as long as there was food in his stomach, and meat sounded absolutely delectable. His fantasy about the juicy and savoury pork belly wrapped in kimchi and lettuce was disrupted though by the sound of incessant rustling. Frowning, he searched for the source of the noise, and his eyes landed on Soonbok’s hand that was holding a suspicious looking black plastic bag.

Sensing the look of concern on Sehun, Jongin threw an arm around his shoulders and gave him a friendly squeeze of reassurance. This had little effect as Sehun’s querying gaze only deepened. Soonbok gave him a side-glimpse but saw no need to alleviate his worries. Her expression of composed indifference shifted into a mischievous grin though when she saw Kyungsoo approaching from the other end of the street. Soon, the two parties crossed pathways right in front of the barbecue restaurant.

“Congratulations officer Doh,” Soonbok purred, extending her arm forward so that the plastic bag was dangling in front of Kyungsoo’s face. “A present.”

The police officer raised an inquisitive eyebrow. He glanced at Sehun but deduced he could offer no useful information.

“If there are drugs in here I will arrest you for real this time,” Kyungsoo warned the nurse, his voice full of mirth. “Charge you for possession with intent to distribute.”

Pointing a playful finger gun at Soonbok’s forehead, Kyungsoo used his free hand to tug at the opening of the plastic bag and peeked inside. Sehun held his breath, uncertain of what to expect. Kyungsoo’s utterly stoic and stern expression was giving no hints on the contents of the suspicious plastic bag.

“So officer Doh,” Jongin chuckled knowingly, “do I need to start preparing bail money for our Bokkie-bok dearest?”

“Nurse Gae you’ve got horribly lame humour,” Kyungsoo responded with a loud snort, though his eyes twinkled with jest and amusement.

“Wait, what’s in the bag?” Sehun whined, feeling excluded from the joke.

Kyungsoo shrugged his shoulders and opened the door to the restaurant, motioning for Jongin and Soonbok to enter first. Not bothered to entertain the doctor, Soonbok simply threw the plastic bag towards Sehun as she entered the restaurant. Sehun grabbed the bag and instinctively clutched onto it with too much force. He could immediately feel the contents turning into mush and yelped in disgust. He then ripped it open and his eyes doubled in size when his brain processed what he was seeing.

“Tofu?!?” Sehun squawked. “He’s returning to the narc team not coming out of prison.”

“Don’t try to rationalise with Bokkie-bok,” Jongin sighed, taking pity on the male. “You’ll just end up hurting you own brain. That’s what happened to my ex.”

“She was just stupid to begin with,” Soonbok snapped back, glaring at Jongin from behind the barbecue grill before quickly changing topic. “So officer Doh, how does it feel being out of the uniform and back with the narcotics team? Looking forward to be surrounded by quirky crackheads again?”

Somehow, in the time it took Sehun to catch the plastic bag, destroy its contents and find out it was actually tofu, Soonbok and Kyungsoo had finished ordering food. The barbecue grill was glowing red, ready to sizzle some tender and juicy meat.

“Peaceful,” Kyungsoo answered, earning a look of disbelief from Jongin.

“You missed Junmyeon that much huh?” Sehun teased.

“My partner,” Kyungsoo elaborated. “He’s a demure and calm person. Easy to work with. Chanyeol was… testing my patience on a daily basis.”

“Talking about partners,” Sehun interrupted, turning his attention towards the birthday boy. “So Soonbok is the reason your love-life is non-existent?”

Hearing Sehun refer to her by name, Soonbok dropped her chopsticks dramatically. Jongin cackled at her reaction whilst Sehun’s expression morphed into one of offence.

“Don’t take it personally,” Jongin comforted the male, “Our Bokkie-bok dearest is just too socially awkward. She’s been spending too much time with crazy crackheads.”

“Quirky,” Soonbok corrected. “And I was just taken by surprise… Sehun…”

Saying the unfamiliar name caused Soonbok to scrunch her nose. She shook her body before turning towards the male next to her, giving him a firm stare.

“Kyungsoo.”

Hearing his name being called out, Kyungsoo returned the stare.

“Soonbok.”

The nurse and officer stared at each other as if waiting to see who will crack first. Instead silence persisted and no signs