As soon as Donghae freed her from his hold, Yoona turned around to face him. Her heart was beating fast, her knees were buckling and her cheeks were flushing. The hug only lasted for a second or two, but to Yoona, it went on for hours. 

The Junior Agent stepped back and looked at her. He was smiling gratefully.

“Thank you,” Donghae repeated and did a quick bow.

“I-I’m guessing you’re not fired,” the words immediately rushed out of . Yoona felt like smacking herself on the head. Of course he’s not fired! That’s why he’s thanking you. Why must you ask such a stupid question?

“Yes and it’s all thanks to you,” Donghae replied. As she fumbled for words to say, the agent stood there staring at her for what seemed like another eternity. The moment was awkward alright – two people staring at each other not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do. Yoona was thankful enough for the interruption that followed.

There was the sound of approaching footsteps and pretty soon, Amber’s familiar deep voice resounded down the hallway. 

“Hey Clownfish, there’s a meet – oh my goodness, wait a minute. What’s this? I see you’ve found each other. Get it?” The female agent laughed at her own joke. Yoona and Donghae gave each other a quick glance then looked away, embarrassed. 

“What do you need, Amber?” Donghae asked sternly.

“There’s a meeting in our division regarding the Jeongsan case and of course, since I’ve heard from the janitor that your daddy decided to give you one more chance, you’re part of it. Let’s go!” She jammed her thumb towards the end of the hallway. “The Conference Room awaits you.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Donghae grinned and ran ahead like an excited school kid. 

“Your plan was ingenious, Yoona!” Amber said as she fell in step with the other girl. “Who would’ve thought that your charms would work on Daddy Lee?”

Yoona laughed. She was thankful that the Officer decided to listen to her side of the story. If not, Donghae would definitely have been suspended. Suddenly, a thought struck her. She paused for a while as she formed her next question, “Hey Amber?”

“Mm?” Amber tilted her head back and regarded the nervous look on Yoona’s face with curiosity.

“H-had Donghae always been so,” Yoona paused again, looking for the right word. “So expressive?”

“Eh? What do you mean by expressive?” Amber’s tone was nonchalant, yet the look in her eyes revealed that she found this topic too interesting to pass up.

“H-his actions, I mean,” Yoona stuttered, wishing she never brought up the conversation. 

“You mean affectionate? Yup that’s him! That guy doesn’t know what personal space is. He goes around sneaking up on people, tackling them, tickling them, smacking them, tapping them on the back, punching them, sitting too close to them, the list goes on and on. He did it mostly on his brother and now on Eunhyuk. I can’t say that the latter is too pleased with it. He’s quite annoyed, actually. And who wouldn’t? Always being squeezed like a pillow. But how’d you know - ? Oh no. Don’t tell me.”

“What?” Yoona blinked nervously. Now she really wished that her curiosity hadn’t gotten the best of her.

“He hugged you, didn’t he?” Amber stepped in front of Yoona, blocking her way. The female agent raised her eyebrows inquiringly and crossed her arms. “Didn’t he?”

“I – I didn’t say anything of the sort – “

“Didn’t he?” Amber’s insisted, her eyes twinkling.

Yoona staggered back and before she knew it, her cheeks had turned pink again.

“I knew it!” the female agent sounded as if she won three consecutive rounds of checkers. Amber smiled triumphantly at Yoona and stepped out of the way. “Yes, he’s touchy-feely and sweet and all that. But he never hugged a girl before.”

She winked at Yoona as they entered the Conference Room.

~~~~

The Junior Agent Conference Room was small but spacious enough to accommodate all the members of Division A. At the head of the long, white table in the middle of the room was Choi Siwon, the team leader. He was tall man with a muscular build and broad shoulders. In front of him was a box of tissues which he tugged at constantly to wipe his nose.

To his left sat Eunhyuk, who was busily flipping through a long yellow folder while snacking on another bag of malted milk balls. Donghae sat next to him, hovering over his shoulder and, every once in a while, would flip one page back.

The man who sat to Siwon’s right was a lean, attractive man with wavy brown hair. His features were soft and subtle, looking much like a prince who just stepped out of a storybook. As the assistant leader, Cho Kyuhyun was given his own copy of the Case File. He glanced up at the two other agents in front of him and heaved an exasperated sigh, wondering what he ever did to deserve having such buffoons as teammates. 

“I said I’m not done reading. Go back!” Donghae reached his hand over and turned back one page, to Eunhyuk’s annoyance.

“You’re so slow at reading, Clownfish. How’d you ever pass primary school?” Eunhyuk said as he shoved the folder towards his friend.

“Amber,” Siwon greeted with a nod as the female agent and Yoona took their seats at the far end of the table. “And this is the witness, I presume?”

Amber nodded quietly, avoiding the leader’s gaze.

“Since we are complete, it is best if we start immediately,” Siwon blew his nose into a sheet of facial tissue before continuing. “Kyuhyun, please record the minutes.”

Immediately, the assistant leader took out a clean crisp sheet of paper and proceeded to jot down notes.

“We are all here to discuss sudden changes regarding the delegated tasks of the Jeongsan case,” the leader went on. “Let us first review the current assignments. Kyuhyun, please read through the tasks assigned per member.”

Kyuhyun cleared his throat. “Lee Hyukjae’s current case is coming to a close. Is that correct?”

“All the necessary evidence had been gathered and my involvement isn’t needed any longer. I’m free!” Eunhyuk confirmed.

“Therefore,” the assistant leader glanced back at the Case File. “You will handle forensics once again. The crime scene unit has collected plenty of evidence from the dead woman’s body and the surrounding environment. It is your duty to compile these findings, collaborate with the necessary personnel and correlate the results.”

“Yes, sir!” Eunhyuk said, saluting.

Kyuhyun nodded and went on, “Liu Amber is assigned to the tracking department. You will be in charge of raising public awareness, tracking leads and receiving hints from callers as well as monitoring the travel logs to make sure our killer has not escaped the country.”

Amber gave him a stiff nod. Yoona observed that the female agent was unusually quiet.

“Next, Lee Donghae,” Kyuhyun read. “You were assigned to protect the sole witness of the crime. Easy enough. Finally, I’m in charge of interrogating suspects once we find them. As of now, I am to help out Hyukjae in the forensics department.”

Siwon thanked his assistant, blew his nose aggressively and spoke, “As many of you know, my health is not at its optimum for the last few days and thus, the medical personnel had advised me to rest as much as I can.”

Here, the leader paused to cough into a handkerchief. Clearing his throat, he continued. “Unfortunately, I was the one assigned to identify possible suspects. Since my illness is hindering me from performing my tasks, I had asked Officer Lee if I could lead the case without leaving the headquarters.”

He sniffled, took out another sheet of tissue and blew his nose once again. “Going on, it follows that my first task should be assigned to someone else. After a lengthy discussion and deliberation earlier this morning, a majority of the members of Division A decided to hand over the assignment to you, Lee Donghae.”

At the mention of his name, Donghae’s jaw dropped in surprise. Him? To take part in the main investigation? Unbelievable.

“You are already lodging in a local police officer’s home in Jeongsan and therefore have instant access to all the information we’ll ever need. These advantages will avoid further suspicion. In addition, your father told me that you could handle three tasks at once,” Siwon said. “Based on this premise, we assume that you will not fail us.”

This is my last chance, Donghae thought to himself. I better not blow it.

~~~~

Author's Note: Finally, another chapter done! It took me a week because school just started. Pretty soon, I'll be drowning in school work. Anyone have a life vest? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter as well! Don't forget to comment! I'd love to hear what you think.