~~~~~~

“Well, I guess I’ll testify for you. Plus I brought by more paperwork to work through” Min Ah said as she pushed her way in to the small office and set down a large box filled to the brim with old papers.

“Why are you doing this?” The tall man asked he stood up in his old wrinkly suit and cleared an old cup of coffee away from his cluttered desk.

“He’ll slip through our fingers because of lack of evidence. You seem competent, just put him behind bars and we won’t have any problems” She said.

“You don’t have to help…” He said in embarrassment.

“Yeah I do” She said with a laugh as she looked around the cramped office.

“I guess I owe you one”

“Yeah you do” She said carelessly as she pulled an old chair over to his desk and pulled out a stack of papers, not realizing that this would be the case to make his career.

~~~~~~

Her eyes widened as she pulled the door open to find a nervous Woohyun waiting on the other side with his phone on the other hand.

"What are you doing here?" Min Ah asked, a little sharper than she intended.

"He wants to talk to you" Woohyun said with pleading eyes as he held out the cellphone for her to take.

He could see the flash of anger that passed through Min Ah's eyes as she looked at the phone and hoped to god she would just take the phone. If she didn't that would meant a long screaming fit from his boss which would result in subtle threats of being fired until Min Ah took the phone. Much to Woohyun's relief, Min Ah managed to nod as she took the phone and nervously stepped aside for Woohyun to enter.

"What's wrong... boss?" She added lastly, her voice tense as she watched Woohyun approach Jong In's bed.

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" Myungsoo snapped as he stood up and began to pace back and forth.

"I was busy here. I must've not heard it" She said quickly, whishing for the conversation to come to an end so she could get Woohyun out of here.

"...Is he seriously hurt?" He asked a bit calmer.

"He's not dead" She answered coldly, her grip tightening around the cell phone.

"Good. I can work with that" He said thoughtfully as he nodded to himself and looked out his window at his lawyer who was making sure every word of his story matched the evidence.

"You could have killed someone and you can work with that?" Min Ah hissed quietly as she turned away from Woohyun's curious gaze.

"He's not dead is he? I just roughed him up" He said, repeating the words his lawyer had instructed him to.

"Rou— You broke ribs Myungsoo! You beat the crap out of someone who couldn't defend himself!"

"What do you care anyways? He's just some criminal! Why didn't you stay when I asked you to?" He asked, remembering the main reason he had called her and choosing to ignore the way she sounded to angry at what he had done.

"He's still a human being! I didn’t stay because I had to take care of things here. You know what? Never mind" She said tiredly as she stepped closer to the door, "You'd excuse anything as long as it doesn't hurt your precious career wouldn't you?" She whispered.

"...We're having a meeting in a few hours to go over how things happened. Be there" Myungsoo ordered as he suddenly hung up and slammed his phone on the desk.

Why did she always have to be so difficult?! He knew what was right and wrong, but was it really so wrong to put his own career that would help people in the future, over the life of some lowlife gang member? Usually she would have accepted it and move on, what was so special about this guy that made her turn against him suddenly? If he thought about it, this was all her fault anyways. She should have never tried to break off their relationship like that. Myungsoo groaned as he tried to calm himself, now wasn't the time to lose his temper again.

"You should head back, he sounds mad" Min Ah said placing a small smile on her face as she turned back to Woohyun and placed the phone in his hand.

"Yeah I think I will. You're coming back soon right?" He asked hopefully as he walked to the door.

"Yeah, I'll see you there" She said as she followed him out and closed the door behind him.

She turned back to find Jong In staring at her with wide eyes. She smiled a bit unsurely as she walked over to him and placed a hand on his.

"I'm glad you're safe" She whispered.

"H-how did you find me?" Jong In whispered in wonder as he turned his hand in hers and gripped it tightly.

"I've been looking for you guys for a long time" She confessed.

Jong In opened his mouth, but all the questions he had seemed to scramble together so he just stared at her silently. Min Ah also wanted to ask him a million things, but she didn't want to overwhelm him. There would be time later.

"Listen to me carefully Jong In. I might not have time to come back and talk to you in private" She explained hurriedly as she reminded herself that she had to get him free first, "I'm going to call in a favor and a man is going to come here soon after I leave. You have to do everything that man tells you, he's one of the best lawyers in the country so he'll make it so you're set free"

"Wait, then... we can't see each other again?" He asked suddenly.

"That's the thing, after he makes them drop the charges they're probably going to want to follow you. You have a schedules release date from the hospital in a week I believe, you need to make the doctor release you early and leave immediately before they realize that you're gone ok? Then you come to my house, please don't go anywhere else, don't stop anywhere else, just come straight to my house. From there... we can decide what else to do ok?" She said as she searched the contacts on her phone hurriedly.

“How did you ever end up working for the police?” He asked suddenly, wincing at the memory of the man who had put him here in the first place.

“Sometimes I don’t even know” She answered honestly as she found the number she was searching for.

Jong In watched her as she stood up and spoke into her phone in hushed and insistent tones. He closed his eyes, drowning her voice out as he tried to figure out what to do. By now, his lack of contact would probably worry them. He had to find a way to contact them and let them know what happened. He peeked out through one eye and wondered what he should do about her. He couldn’t simply call and tell him that Min Ah had suddenly popped up. A trickle of doubt crept up on Jong In, could this all be a trap? She was working for the police after all, she was a freaking police officer… of all the things to find out she had turned into. Then again, he thought bitterly, it was better than being a criminal.

It was better she was leaving him alone for a while. He couldn’t think straight right now. The pain was killing him and the shock of seeing her again after so long was too much. He had to consider every possibility.

“I should go now” Min Ah announced awkwardly after finishing her phone call, unsure of what to do.

“I’ll do what you said” Jong In said, and she could almost feel the difference in tone. He sounded more guarded, less vulnerable than before and it made her nervous to know he didn’t trust her.

She wanted to say something reassuring, but instead she simply nodded her head and turned to leave. She went for the door and stepped out. As she closed the door behind her she saw Jong In stare back at her, a far more serious look on his face and she wondered if he would just disappear again after he was set free. She walked quietly down the hospital hallways, the smell of disinfectant strong until she finally reached the front entrance and went into the cold, but fresh air. She checked her watch and reason told her to get to her meeting, but she had to make sure things were ok here first. So she stood out by the entrance for another twenty minutes until she finally saw him coming.

As soon as the black and sleek car pulled up she knew it was him. Only a few people could afford that type of car, much less want a car so flashy. The tension in her shoulders eased a little as she saw him step out in a professional and obviously expensive black suit. Of all the favors she had managed to acquire while working, this one was the most valuable one and after this, it would be gone.

“Mr. Shim Changmin, thank you for coming” She said quickly as she hurried over to him.

“I didn’t have much of a choice now did I?” He said, irritated that he had been forced to waste his time handling such a small time case for free.

“No, I guess you didn’t” Min Ah said, her own irritation showing through, “You will set him free right?”

“With this case I could probably get him millions from your police department, but yeah I wouldn’t be so expensive if I was incompetent. Now if you excuse me I’ve got a job to do” He said as he stepped past her, eager to get this done as fast as possible.

“You remember to keep the fact that I contacted you a secret right?” She called before he went inside.

She knew he heard her, but his lack of response worried her.

~~~~~~

“How the hell did trash like that get Shim Changmin to represent him?!” Myungsoo yelled as they got a call from the secretary at the entrance.

Min Ah glanced up quickly as Myungsoo paced nervously in their conference room and his own lawyer put on a poker face like no other. She looked down at her hands, a hint of guilt in her mind as the thought of how much trouble Myungsoo could be getting in registered. She shook herself as she looked up to find him staring at her intently.

“I said, did you see him make any calls at the hospital?” He repeated and Min Ah noticed they were all staring at her. She must’ve missed something because she hadn’t even heard him ask her anything.

“No, but I left early. It’s possible he could have made a call” She answered.

“I know Changmin, he doesn’t take on charity cases. Why is he here?” Myungsoo asked to no one in particular as his lawyer stood up and murmured something quietly to him.

“Why do I feel as if I’m not welcome?” A cool and confident voice rang out as the tall man entered the room without so much as a knock.

His eyes scanned them all, not even hesitating an extra second on Min Ah before they rested on Myungsoo.

“I always knew that temper of yours would get you in trouble someday” Changmin said with a cold laugh as he stepped in and closed the door with a definitive thud, “This is why you should have hired me when you could instead of getting some third rate hack”

The lawyer at Myungsoo’s side stiffened at the insult, but didn’t reply.

“Not third rate enough to be taking of random charity cases at least. Which bring me to the topic, why are you representing someone like him?” Myungsoo asked.

“The cases I take are my business Myungsoo, you’re in no position to ask any questions” He said, setting his briefcase down onto an open space and popping it open. The gold clasps making a loud and crisp noise as they opened up and he pulled out various forms.

“I’m not signing anything. If you think you’re setting him free then you—“ Myungsoo began angrily as he took a confrontational step forward.

“I’m not in the mood for this so listen up kid” Changmin snapped, cutting him off, “You screwed up big time so you’re in no position to be setting any rules. I’ve got enough evidence to crush, and by crush I mean pulverize, your pathetic excuse of a career into such fine dust no one will even remember you. So shut up and pay attention to what you have to sign or I swear I’ll turn this department against you so fast not even daddy dearest will be able to save your ”

“…. All of you, get out” Myungsoo seethed through clenched teeth as we scrambled up and hurried out of the room.

“What do you think is going to happen to the boss?” Dongwoo whispered as we closed the door on the tense atmosphere and gathered near the desk furthest away.

“Nothing if he sets Jong In free…” Min Ah commented staring at the door and wondering what was happening in there.

An hour passed as they sat at their own desks, waiting for some type of news. Occasionally they would hear raised voices, but then it would go back to silence and they would all wonder what was going on. Min Ah was on a whole other level of worry. It was that worry where you know you did something against the rules and any second now you could get caught. What if he let her name slip out in the conversation? Myungsoo would kill her she thought nervously as she tapped the top of her desk nervously. Finally, the door to the conference room clicked open and they all looked down to their desk, pretending that they hadn’t just been staring holes into the door.

With a triumphant smirk on his face, Shim Changmin emerged from the conference room. He didn’t spare any of them the slightest glance as he casually walked out and decided to file the paperwork tomorrow morning. He thought about his day and decided it hadn’t ended too badly.

It never hurt to have an extra police officer to owe you a favor.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sorry for not updating last week! School has started again so I've been a little busy!

Thanks for reading! ^^