Seoyoon lifted her handgun up with a shaky arm and pointed it straight towards Doojoon. He looked up at her from across the dinner table and stuck his hands up.

“It’s you, isn’t it, oppa?” she asked.

“I swear—I—”

“Don’t make me shoot!” Seoyoon screamed. Her eyes were wide and wild, his were weak and powerless.

“Seoyoon-ah!”

ONE MONTH EARLIER

“Bang!” an older detective formed a gun with his hands and shot the air as he recounted the latest shoot-out in Seoul. The other male detectives laughed in a circle around him, recounting their own dangerous arrests.

But one detective stood out among the rest in the Seoul Police Department. She sat solemnly at her desk, typing at the computer. She was fresh from Police Academy, was tech-savvy, went out with her college friends on the weekends, and spent time at beauty salons and spas. But what set her apart the most from the other detectives in Seoul was one fact: Han Seoyoon was a girl.

“Sunbae, I finished typing in your paperwork,” Seoyoon said. She stood up and formally handed the older detective his files back. “You should have more back-up next time. Why don’t I go with—”

“Ah, thank you, young miss. You’ve done well,” he said, patting her on the back. He barely looked at her before returning to his colleagues, who were discussing where to eat for lunch.

Seoyoon sat back down at her desk without another word. With long hair, manicured nails, and a height of 5’2”, she had been told countless times that she couldn’t last out there with the boys as a detective.

“Still can’t get out onto the field?”

Seoyoon looked up and saw Yoon Doomin sitting at his desk, across from his. She smiled instantly and shook her head. Doomin laughed and began a story about how the department needed to be more progressive … but Seoyoon could barely concentrate. Since her first day as a detective, she was smitten by Yoon Doomin—how could any girl not be? He was tall, looked sporty, had a reliable career, drove a sports car, and was totally, incredibly, unbelievably hot.

Doomin was describing the gender equality seminar the police department held last year when he suddenly stopped.

“Sunbae?” Seoyoon asked, waving her hand in front of his blank face. Doomin laughed and apologized before leaving his seat. Seoyoon watched him walk around the room and make his way to another woman. She was tall, had an amazing body (which could be seen in her skin-tight clothes), and had her hair dyed a gorgeous blonde.

“Sunbae…” Seoyoon sighed and dropped onto her table. It was her dream to become a detective, like her father before her. It was her dream to become a beautiful wife, like her late mother before her. And at 22, in the Seoul Police Department, watching Minjoo give a sparkly smile and flirty wink effortlessly, Seoyoon had never felt further from her dreams.

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Minjoo arrived at the sergeant’s office first—before the captain himself. She made a quick glance around the room to figure out who the sergeant was: a shotgun hung on the wall, a dusty bookshelf meant he was too busy to read, a single photo on his desk of his family, multiple photos hung on the wall of himself with celebrities meant he loved entertainers—namely Girl’s Day. Minjoo took note of these things and prepared herself for kissing up to the sergeant.

It took Minjoo three years to even get into the Detective Department since graduating Police Academy. She was transferred from department to department, from traffic to security to patrol, but she was finally here. Part one of her lifetime goal was complete. Now all that was left was—

“Jun Minjoo!” the detective sergeant said. She stood to introduce herself when he interrupted her. “Han Seoyoon, sit down.” Seoyoon emotionlessly sat down in the chair next to Minjoo. She smiled at Seoyoon, who pretended not to notice.

“Now, I’m going to cut to the chase, since it’s almost time to go home,” the sergeant said, retrieving a folder from his desk drawer.

“I can’t wait to go home and watch M! Countdown,” Minjoo said. Seoyoon looked at her in bewilderment, shocked that anyone would dare interrupt the sergeant. He let a small smile slip before coughing and returning to the task at hand.

 “There’s been a string of crimes over the past few years in the entertainment industries that started out juvenile, like missing items and vandalism and stink bombs, but have recently become dangerous. Two months ago, there was a major food poisoning event at the production party for a TV show, where actors, idols, producers, and directors all got sick for a week. And last week, there were blackouts at all three major entertainment channels on consecutive days.

“These crimes are giving us more bad press, and I don’t like it. We’ve tried everything, but those shady, two-faced celebrities manage to keep it all under wraps so we’re left with no clues and no leads. So we’re launching a new undercover program, located at 21 Cheongdam-dong Street.”

“Oh my God, I was just there, like, yesterday!” Minjoo squealed.

“Well, get used to going there because the two of you are getting transferred,” the sergeant said. He handed the files over to Seoyoon. “The Captain over there will give you more details.”

“I’m getting transferred?” Seoyoon blurted out.

“Yes, the two of you are getting transferred. As far as I’m concerned, you always wanted field experience and you,” he looked to Minjoo, “always wanted to become a detective. Fair?” Minjoo nodded but Seoyoon had no response. “Well, either way, it’s already done. You’re both dismissed.”

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That night, Seoyoon stayed late in the office to clean out her locker. Everyone had gone home except for the sergeant, who was in his office. Seoyoon walked back and forth from the exit to his office door, trying to come to terms with her new assignment. Finally, she dropped her belongings on the floor and entered his office.

“Sergeant—”

The sergeant nearly fell back in his seat out of surprise. He had on his reading glasses and was watching M! Countdown on his phone. He fumbled around to pause the show as he tried to look composed. “Seoyoon, I didn’t realize you were there.”

“Sir, I want to be candid with you. I don’t think this assignment will be very efficient. I mean, for one, you’ve never let me onto the field before, and two, the other woman—”

“—is just as much a police officer as you are,” he calmly replied. He looked back down at his phone and waved Seoyoon away without looking up. “Girl’s Day will be up any second now.”