Victoria remained quiet. 

 

Donghae suddenly released the cup of coffee he realized he’d been clutching onto the whole time, before sliding his hands off the table. As they fell onto his lap he tightly clamped them together nervously. 

 

“I don’t have a normal job, don’t have a steady income with a promised wage, but my job is a self proclaimed one,” Donghae began. “I’m really nobody, I’m not a cop either. I lied about it, sorry.” 

 

Victoria frowned at him, “But you were with them…” 

 

Donghae felt his lips fall apart to explain but didn’t know where to begin. He hesitated, let his thoughts flow through, and tried to fix them into a logical order. Would she understand if he told her? 

 

“It just kind of happened, actually,” Donghae tried, “it’s hard to explain, but really, I’m not one.” 

 

She stared at him. 

 

The feelings of fear and doubt began to seep through him. Wondering whether she would try to see the world from his perspective, whether she’d even give him another chance to see her again, the fear that she would pretend she didn’t know him, didn’t recognize him. It all gathered into the center of his heart. And he worried for a long time. Would Victoria look down on him? Donghae hesitated for over a minute before he decided he’d give it all he had just to tell her the truth because he didn’t feel like lying to her. He didn’t want to hold a façade in front of her, because Victoria was someone he really liked. Everything else would lay in Victoria’s hands whether she would disregard him or not. 

 

“I’m…just a petty thief.” 

 

\ \ \ \ \

 

“But where are we going?” Luhan followed Seohyun down the sidewalk. 

She’d just dragged him out of the apartment without asking him if he had wanted to go with her or not, and just about when he was about to head out to attend to his own business. Right now, he didn’t even know what was running through that small mind of hers. 

 

Seohyun finally opened a door to an ice cream shop and dragged him over to a white cascade table while she went to order some treats for them. The whole interior decoration was white, the counter was white, and the cashier wore a white apron. Luhan’s eyes began to hurt a little. Minutes later she returned with two medium sized bowls of strawberry swirled ice cream and set a spoon in front of him. 

 

“What’s this?” he asked staring down at the bowls. 

 

“You can consider it a bribe,” Seohyun said digging her spoon into her ice cream. “Ah…it’s so good.” 

 

Luhan raised an eyebrow at her, “I’m not in the mood though.” 

 

“Do you really have to be in the mood?” Seohyun asked.

 

Luhan blinked his eyes at his treat before saying, “Then why did you bring me here? You didn’t just want to simply treat me, did you?” 

 

Seohyun took another bite of her ice cream before receiving a light brain freeze. He was sure she was purposely trying to stall him and keep him there. 

 

“Aish…” she shook her head to get rid of it before saying, “where were you last night?” 

“I said I was going out.” 

 

“To where?” 

 

“What’s this? Are you suddenly my mom?” 

 

“I could be.” 

 

Luhan frowned. What did she really want? 

 

“Don’t do that,” she commanded. “Answer me.” 

 

“I just went to see an old friend…that’s all,” Luhan lied. 

 

“Liar.” 

 

“How would you know I’m lying?” Luhan refuted. “Did you follow me out?” 

 

“Why would I?” 

 

“See! Then why would you know I’m lying.” 

 

“You’re not being honest,” Seohyun stated. “Who were you with?”

 

Luhan stared back at her unable to believe that she was asking him such a thing. He clenched his jaw as Seohyun stared insistently. 

“Seohyun, right?” 

 

Luhan turned to see a handsome man with a nicely built body standing by their table. He stared at the man’s face for a while before recognizing him. He was the same man Victoria had greeted just the other day. A police officer, if he remembered correctly. 

 

“Oh…hello,” Seohyun greeted happily. 

 

Luhan didn’t miss the sudden broad grin on her face. Now what was this? 

 

“Sorry to interrupt you,” Siwon apologized. 

 

“No,” Seohyun shook her head suddenly so polite that Luhan wanted to snort, “this is an old friend, Luhan. Luhan, this is Siwon.” 

 

Luhan greeted him stiffly. 

 

“Are you on your break right now?” 

 

Siwon nodded with a smile, “Mind if I take a seat?” 

 

“Of course not,” Seohyun beamed Siwon with her smile. 

 

Luhan glanced at Seohyun’s terribly happy face as Siwon pulled a white chair over and sat at the side. 

 

“How’s your day been so far?” Seohyun probed him. 

 

“I’m kind of tired, barely got any sleep after the call last night,” Siwon said rubbing his neck, “did you see it in the news?”

 

“I haven’t checked it. What happened?” Seohyun looked totally clueless. 

 

“There was a break in at the Gi manor in the middle of the night,” Siwon explained, “you know Gi Su of the SK Group?”

 

Seohyun nodded, Luhan’s ears fully attentive on Siwon’s story. 

“Nothing seemed out of place and nothing was missing,” Siwon went on, “there was no attack on anyone either so it couldn’t have been done with someone with resentment toward them. There’s been a lot of robberies happening lately and it’s not like they’re strange or anything, but it’s just weird that nothing was taken.” Siwon said. 

 

Luhan’s eyes fell onto Seohyun’s sympathetic face as if she could understand Siwon’s flustered feelings, but there was a strange feeling he couldn’t quite grasp. He’d gone to look for the ‘Golden Mary’ at the same exact time. Was it a coincidence the break in happened that same night, and at Gi Su’s manor? Why not someone else? He watched as Seohyun continued staring at Siwon attentively nodding every few seconds. Then he recalled Seohyun had asked for major business owners a few nights ago. 

 

Where had Seohyun and Victoria gone last night?  

 

“Actually, I should be leaving,” Siwon said, “it’s really nice seeing you.” 

 

“I’m glad we ran into each other too,” Seohyun continued beaming him blind with her smile. 

 

Luhan rolled his eyes at her. Just how obvious was she going to make herself? She was like a lamb in front of a tiger. 

 

“I should be off from my break, I’ll see you around,” Siwon smiled getting up and taking his plate of half eaten sundae. 

 

“Sure,” Seohyun nodded. “Have a good day.” 

Siwon bid him farewell and Luhan nodded back in respect. He watched the officer walk off before turning to Seohyun with a snort. 

 

“What?” Seohyun asked meanly. 

 

“Just what was that?” Luhan wondered. “It’s weird seeing you so nice like that that it’s kind of creepy.” 

 

Seohyun scrunched up her face at him suddenly forgetting about what she had brought him there for. 

 

\ \ \ \ \

 

Well, Victoria was certainly unexpecting this. His utmost honest confession. A thief…

 

She let it run through her mind for a while and watched his eyes run over the table top nervously. Was he worried she was going to hand him over to the cops? But Victoria would worry less about that as that wasn’t her job, and she’d care less about it. Her job was most important and the only thing she wanted to focus on during the moment. As much as his answer stunned her stupid since it had never been an option she’d put up in her mind, she really didn’t know what to say. 

 

Donghae to Victoria always looked like a well educated man who came from a well-off family. It would only make sense if he joined the line of duty for work, she couldn’t have pictured him as anything else. Now that he’d come clean with his confession everything else made sense. Everything but the time he pulled her into the alley.  

“Well…” she started, “I don’t really have anything to say about that. Honestly, I’m not really worried about a thief.” 

 

Donghae finally looked at her again with those eyes she couldn’t define. 

 

“Your sudden appearances have answered my question,” Victoria said.

 

She was quiet. What was there to say, but ‘oh’ now? Her phone beeped loudly suddenly cutting off the silence between them. Digging around her pockets she found her phone discovering a message from Choi Siwon. A small smile spread across her lips before she erased it off realizing Donghae was watching. It was embarrassing allowing someone else to see her so stuck up for love. Victoria checked out her message before setting her phone down onto the tabletop. 

 

“Is it possible…for us…to be…you know, friends?” he timidly questioned. 

 

Victoria looked at him blankly. What harm would there be? Most likely none since he was just a petty thief after all. 

 

“I guess.” 

 

A bright smile brought itself over his lips. Victoria stared at him unable to define the look in his eyes. There was a glare of white joy, something sparkling inside them. Well, she’d always been bad at reading people.  

 

“Is it ok to ask for your number?” he asked. 

 

Victoria stared at him blankly again confused by his motive. Did he just really want to be friends? Or was he going to backstab her? He was stranger by the second. 

 

“Oh, yea.” 

 

After receiving her phone back Victoria gazed at him, “When you pulled me into the alley, what was it you wanted to know?” 

 

“Huh?” he asked and Victoria wasn’t sure whether he’d heard her or not. 

Just what was with him. She didn’t know whether she should try to repeat herself or just let it go since Donghae no longer seemed attentive to their conversation. 

 

“Actually, it’s not important anymore.” he seemed like a shy boy now. His eyes rarely met with hers. 

 

Victoria raised an eyebrow at him. 

 

“If you say so,” Victoria grabbed her phone and stuck it back into her pocket, “I’m going to leave. I have other things to attend to.” 

 

And before she left Donghae said, “By the way, I didn’t save you two times. It’s three.” 

 

Victoria turned to look at him before nodding uncertainly and headed off. The only things running through her mind was how weird Donghae seemed and Siwon who was waiting. 

 

She found him sitting inside another coffee shop with a cake and a tall cup of steaming coffee freshly made. Her heart slightly raced when he waved at her. With a shy smile she walked over to him stealing the seat across his.

 

“Were you busy?” he asked. 

 

“No.” she smiled. “Are you on duty right now?” 

 

“Nah, I took the day off.” 

“Ah…is that so?” 

 

Would the smile on her face kill itself? She couldn’t stop it and it was kind of annoying her to be so jerkily upbeat. Victoria glanced around to see that there was a minimum amount of people around, each only tending to their own business. The cashier behind the black register quietly spoke, a polite smile on her face as she bowed to the next customer. Victoria’s eyes ran themselves along the printings on the wall before Siwon’s voice brought her back to reality. 

 

“Do you want to eat something?” 

 

Victoria shook her head, “I’m fine, I don’t feel hungry.”

 

They were suddenly quiet. Now why was it suddenly feeling like she’d killed the mood? Victoria didn’t know what to say to him. How could she show a good side of herself? 

 

“Do you have anything on later? We could go see a movie.” he suggested. 

 

The eagerness in his eyes were the only thing Victoria could see before she nodded. Really, it felt like a dream. She was with a hunk and one with a good job. 

---

***And thus, Vic ditches Donghae. Lets see whether her feelings for Siwon will prevail or not ^^