Soohyun was pacing back and forth with his phone clutched in his hand. He had his arms crossed together against his chest as he waited for some kind of reply from an unknown number. A number from Jisu, Kai, anyone! But nothing had come for the past three days. He did text Kai again, but the boy was not replying. It made him think whether or not he had lost his phone. He never even doubted their friendship. It seemed like Kai looked up to him

He had no more patience! He was not going to wait any longer. Soohyun exited his apartment the same time Jisu decided to. The two stared at each other before Jisu scanned him up and down. "You're going outside like that?

Soohyun looked down at himself. He was wearing a thin long sleeved shirt which outlined his muscles, pajama pants and slippers. His hair was not gelled up and his bangs stuck to his forehead. He didn't even remember what he was wearing. He didn't even look presentable! He quickly covered himself as much as he could, completely embarrassed. Then, he straightened up when he saw Jisu's expression. "I am not crazy!

She held one hand up. "I didn't say you were." She closed her door and walked down the hallway. Soohyun's eyes widened as she walked away. He quickly ran inside, wore a jacket, slipped in his shoes and randomly grabbed a plastic bag from the shoe closet and threw his slippers in there. He ran out his apartment and ran down the hallway. From afar, he could see the elevator doors slowly closing

He got in the elevator with Jisu right before the elevators closed and it rode down to the lobby. The two were silent during the whole ride down. Soohyun wanted to ask her if she got his number but she sent off some kind of aura that told him to not bring up the topic. The elevator dinged as it got to the lobby. Jisu and Soohyun headed outside, where the garbage bins were. Jisu threw one bag in the garbage bin and the other in the recycling bin. Soohyun did the same with the plastic bag that container his house slippers. He would just have to buy another pair.

Instead of heading back inside the building, Jisu headed out on the street. Soohyun ran after her and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Why do I have to answer that?" she asked and continued her way. He didn't even understand why she sounded so pissed off. He didn't even do anything!

Without a word, Soohyun followed her. If she minded, she didn't show it. Jisu walked to the convenience store with Soohyun following. She walked down the aisle and found her favorite flavored instant ramen: kimchi flavored. She was going to pay for it but Soohyun held her back. She turned around and frowned at him. "Can't you buy me one, too? I forgot my wallet at home."

"For someone who had a briefcase full of money, you don't have any change in that jacket of yours?" She pulled away from him and walked to the cash register. "Is that why she is mad at me? For bringing the briefcase?" Soohyun thought. After Jisu paid for the cup ramen, she poured hot water inside it and walked to the tables against the window. She took out the chopsticks from the packaging and clipped it onto her cup ramen, closing the paper lid.

Soohyun sat beside her and was practically drooling at the smell of the ramen. He hadn't had his late night snack yet and he was hungry. "Can I ask why you're mad at me?" Soohyun spoke while Jisu waited for her ramen to be ready. "No, you can't."

His mouth opened at her response. "W-why?" Jisu took her chopsticks and broke it in two. She rubbed the two wooden sticks together before she dug in while he watched her with a drooling mouth. He watched her slurp the hot noodles in . The sound of her eating the noodles made his stomach growl. He looked down at his stomach and patted it, apologizing for not giving it any food at the moment.

Then, Jisu slapped a paper bill in front of him. "Knock yourself out," she said before resuming her eating.
He stared at the bill before he looked at her. "Really? Can I?"

"No, you can't," she answered. "Forget I even asked," he said before running off to get himself a cup ramen. He paid for the ramen and quickly ran back to where Jisu was. She was almost finished so he quickly poured hot water in his cup before sitting beside her. At that time, Jisu was already drinking her broth. His eyes widened. "Wait for me, wait for me!" He didn't even let the ramen sit for another second when he suddenly dug in. He winced at the texture of the noodles. It wasn't his idea of a cup ramen, but if it meant that he could be with Jisu for a minute longer, then so be it.

She placed her empty paper cup on the table. "I'm not going anywhere. Slow down."

Soohyun stopped slurping his raw noodles and coughed a couple times before glancing at her. "You won't leave right? Right?"

"I won’t leave," she replied, her voice softening a bit.

Soohyun straightened up, away from his cup noodle. He closed the lid and placed his chopsticks on top of it before he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Did you get my number?"

"No," she bluntly answered.

He clasped his hands together neatly on his lap like he was the queen and leaned forward a bit. "Then, does Kai still have his phone? I told him to tell you but he hasn't replied to any of my messages."

Jisu folded her arms together against her chest and looked the opposite way while replying, "I told him not to reply to you."

His jaw hung open and he leaned back, offended. "Why? What did I do?"

She turned her head to look at him. "You gave me a pity bag. Why would I let Kai associate with you?" she asked venomously.

"Pity bag...?" Soohyun asked. He didn't quite understand what she was saying. Soohyun pondered about it. His eyes widened in realization. Jisu was talking about the pair of boots he gave her. He forgot to take out the note! He wrote the note to get her angry at him so maybe she would remember him, but that was even before everything she went through. "A-about that..."

"You can't even apologize because I won't accept it." She got up but he held on to her arm. She turned to him with a glare.

"Let go."

"Okay, it's true I wrote that letter,” he confessed. “I wrote it before you got hospitalized. That time I dropped you off, you had wet shoes. I felt bad for you. I was going to give it to you later that day but you suddenly staggered out the building like a zombie. Honestly, that note was supposed to make you angry so you can remember me but you suddenly caught me off guard."

"Well, it worked."

"But that was all the note was for," he continued. "I was not trying to make fun of you."

She stared at him for a couple seconds longer. He was such an open book. He was panicking so much that she believed him. She was a detective after all, and she knew when a man was lying or not. It was also the way his eyes were wide and his lips parted open as he stared at her in desperation. She had seen many people with that kind of desperation. It was the desperation that yelled, “Please believe me.” She sat back down and he let out the breath he had been holding in. "What did you want to talk about? We can talk here, instead."

Soohyun gulped and looked around. He craned his neck back to see the cash operator on her phone with music blasting in her ears. Other than her, there was no one else in the convenience store. He properly sat back on his chair. "Can you help me with an investigation?"

She suddenly stood up. "You're asking the wrong person."

He grabbed her arm again. "You're a detective," he stated.

"Was," she emphasized. "There are many detectives out there. Go hire one."

"You're the only one I need. I know you, you know me."

"Other detectives can know you. You can know other detectives – actual detectives on the job."

"They won't accept my case," he shook his head.

"And why is that?" she asked with her brow raised.

He was hesitant to answer. "It's a closed case."

She scoffed. "If it's a closed case, why ask me to investigate? You should go to the special police department and present your evidence.”

His eyes averted away in embarrassment. “I don’t have evidence yet…”

She shook her head. He was even more unbelievable. “Then go to a law attorney! Why do you want a traffic police officer to reinvestigate?”

"I’m asking you to do it secretly. Having an ex-detective is better than having a detective on the job because they'll have a less chance of getting caught. It's a strictly closed case. I have already hired detectives and law attorneys but they always gave up on me."

"What makes you think I won't give up on you?"

"Because you have a sense of justice," he answered. "You won't give up once you know the case – once you know my side of the story. I've been keeping my eyes on you. I know you'll do it." She was silent for a moment and he thought she was thinking of accepting the job.

Boy, was he wrong.

"Then you better get those eyes checked because you don't know me. You don't know who I am. I am not going to take your case. If your case lacked evidence, then why would you think I would take it? A sense of justice? Justice my . I don't have that kind of personality. Thanks for thinking so highly of me, but you have me wrong. I am not the type of girl to carelessly take someone's case for money or for justice. I take it because I want to take it. That's me. That's why I was demoted. My attitude and personality . I don't want to take your case, even if I was allowed to."

Then, she fished out some change from her pocket and slammed it on the table. "Get yourself another cup. I bet that one's over cooked." She left the convenience store with Soohyun feeling red with embarrassment.

He had never been told off by a girl before. He was embarrassed because he had her wrong. He had thought so highly of her. He thought she was one of those tough detectives who was tough all around and soft on the inside. That was not Jisu. She didn't take the flatter. Instead, she grabbed it and stomped on it. It hurt, sure, but he wasn't going to give up. He wanted her to take his case. He knew she had the capability of figuring it out. He would just have to try harder. He would just have to pester her until she accepts his case. It would take a while, but it'll be worth it in the end.