“Tell the guys I'll be there soon.” A man said into his phone while he faced a tv store. He was in the middle of watching the news being broadcasted when he was interrupted with a call.

“A series of pick pocketing has been happening in Gangnam. Viewers, please be careful of your surroundings.” The woman said in a robotic voice before they switched to the weather forecasting.
 

“Aish, we still haven't found the punk yet.” The man cursed and lightly grazed his gun handle. He was a long time officer with experience of over thirty years. He never thought he'd be able to witness a series of pick pocketing in his time. Especially in an area like the one he was stationed at. That's when the idea hit him. I'll lure the punk out. He smiled to himself and patted his left back jean pocket. Come on out. He looked around. Just then, a woman screamed at the top of her lungs. He hurriedly sprinted into the direction of the woman to see her panicking.

“Someone took my wallet!” She looked through her purse in a panic. The man looked at the open gash on the bottom of the bag and scanned the area. Everyone around seemed normal to him, until he saw a glimpse of a young face walking by with a baseball cap covering their face.

Don't tell me... It's a street kid? He looked on further until the crowd covered his disappearance.
 

-~-

“It's a kid! I'm sure of it!” The man shouted at his colleagues in the police station.

“Give it up Lee Jisuk. You probably imagined it.” His colleagueon his left leaned back in his chair. “There's no way you can prove that it's a kid. Everyone should be in school at that time. If you said he looked like an elementary kid, he wouldn't be able to skip classes.”

“But!”
 

“Leave it.”
 

-~-

 

Officer Jisuk soon returned to the scene of the crime while wearing tighter jeans .He thought it'll be perfect bait to have the outline of his wallet exposed despite the fact his wallet is nearly empty. He casually stood by the book store and flipped through some books that was left outside.

Come on over kid. He thought to himself as he waited patiently. He waited and waited, but didn't see or feel anything suspicious. He walked over to the wooden bench to rest, but after sitting down and not feeling the unevenness from his wallet, it sent him in to a frenzy. “HE HAD ME!” He stood up and looked at his back pocket to see a clean cut across his pocket to where his wallet slipped out.

 

-~-
 

“How could you still wear that?”Jisuk's colleague asked, gesturing to the back pocket that was still cut open.

“I'm going to find that brat.” Jisuk vowed with eyes filled with determination.

“Again? What if you saw the wrong person? What if it was a girl? Or a high schooler or a man? You said you didn't see him all that clearly.”

“Be quiet.” Jisuk looked around while sipping his hot coffee. He was determined to find the thief. Rush hour soon came around and the streets were filled with people. While his colleague focused on older appearances, Jisuk had his eyes on every kid that was wandering around.

After a few minutes, he saw a young girl holding something tightly in her hand as she walked by a couple. He rushed over to her and caught her in the act of reaching for the man's back pocket. Instead of making a scene, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her to where there were less people around.

“Hey, kid, what were you doing?” He asked, glancing at the object tightly held in her hand.

“I've been caught.” She tossed him her razor blade and folded her arms behind her head “You're that stupid cop that's been looking for me all this time, right? Arrest me.”

“Why aren't you putting up a fight?” He asked, fumbling for his handcuffs. Most of the juveniles he arrested always ran away or tried to resist. Just when he was putting the blade away in his pocket, she held out his set of handcuffs. With a smirk, she sprinted off in the other direction. She threw the handcuffs down the street and swiftly climbed over the metal gates. He was completely dumbfounded by how quick and skilled she was.

The next few days, Jisuk didn't speak of her to his superiors because of how the pick pocketing has stopped. He still wondered about her and how she was doing living by herself. He couldn't get her appearance out of his head after that. She was thin and looked as if she hadn't had enough sleep.

“One crime spree is done, but another is quick to come.” Jisuk sighed to himself as he patrolled the alleyways by himself. He was annoyed at how he had to be the captain of a team that was assigned to find a wanted man. He would rather do some other task. He looked down the alley and saw a shadow leap in and out. There sat the girl he last saw on the top of one of the house roofs. She was chomping down on an apple she stole from the house below. “You're still up to no good, you brat.” He shouted and she flinched. She prepared to make a run for it, but seeing him keep his distance, she stayed where she was.

“What are you doing here, stupid cop?” She asked, with a mouthful. Jisuk looked at her more closely and found himself pitying her.

“What is a kid like you doing here by yourself?” He asked, “Shouldn't you be in school?”

“Me?” She pointed to herself, “I'm a street rat.”

“Now, who told you that?”

“Say, I heard you're looking for Kim Daegun. If I told you where he was, would you give me money?”

Jisuk smirked and stepped forward, “Sounds interesting. How would you know that we're looking for him when there hasn't been a public announcement?”

She ignored his question and made a circle motion with her hand,“After all, I know everything that goes on around here.”

Soon after getting a tip from the girl, Jisuk was able to arrest the man they were looking for within five blocks from where he had spoke to her. While his colleagues wrapped things up, he went to the girl who sat quietly at the curb. She was watching what was happening with the wanted man the entire time.

“Hey, kid.” She looked away from the police car. “Do you have something against that man? The look in your eye looks scary.” Jisuk sat down next to her.

“Pay me.” She held out her hand, but he placed his hand on her head.

“Why don't you join me?”

-

Zero's eyes opened from having the sound of the machine monitor ringing in her ears. She looked around in a daze before realizing she was in her personal hospital room. She saw a blurry image of Chief Lee sitting there with his head in his hands. Her head throbbed from the medicine wearing off which made her arm sting. She whimpered without knowing and he immediately stood up.

“Are you okay?” He asked, but she was too in pain to respond to him. He called for one of the nurses that stayed behind to help her deal with the pain. She then was given another dosage and the nurse recommended that it should be her last or the effect wouldn't last long.

“What are you doing here?” Zero groggily asked. She pulled up her mask and glanced down at her bandaged arm that was in a sling. “What happened to the mission?”

“He got away.” He replied with a frown.

“I see.” She nodded, “You should shave. You're reminding me of that old man.”

“Old man?” Jisuk walked in with a chuckle, “You mean that man that practically raised you?”

“Dad?” Chief Lee stood up and greeted him respectfully. Zero rolled her eyes and faced the wall. She had flashbacks of how they met, but she didn't want to remember all the detail.

“Why don't you join me? I have a son a few years older than you.” He grinned. “He wants to be a police officer. With that knowledge of yours, I'm sure you'll be a fine officer too.”

“I don't have plans to become someone heroic.”

“Then what do you want to do with your life?”

“I want to find someone.” She looked him straight in the eyes. It took him aback, but he smiled instead. He knew exactly what to do.

“With just a little more training, you'll be able to find anyone. I'll train you, but on some circumstances.. You don't have to be a cop or continue to live with my family. As long as you're strong enough to take care of yourself, you can leave whenever you like.”

“Leave.” She said bluntly..

“This is what you say to me after we haven't seen each other in years?” Jisuk chuckled some more and loosened his scarf around his neck. “It seems like you've gotten a troublesome colleague. How are you holding up? Don't push yourself too hard.”

“Shut up, geezer. You're the one who retired early and disappeared somewhere.”
 

“Hey, what can I say? Jeju Island is amazing.”

“Dongwook, take him out when you leave.” She muttered and Chief Lee was just about to walk out with his dad, but Jisuk pushed him away. Doojoon rushed in upon hearing that Zero was conscious and caught himself on the bed railing before he crashed into the bed.

“Zero, are you okay?” He asked, examining her carefully. Chief Lee pushed him away from touching her arm.

“I heard you held a gun.” Jisuk ignored Doojoon's presence and leaned against the bed rail. “That's a surprise, but you didn't fire a shot. Were you trying to aim or were you hesitant?”

“What do you mean?” She asked, adjusting her arm carefully in the swing. Jisuk held out Chief Lee's gun and asked her to point it at Doojoon.

“When did you get my -” Chief Lee held his tongue. He had completely forgotten how skilled his dad was. Zero held up the gun and pointed at Doojoon who went silent. Even though he knew the safety was on, the sight of having a gun pointed at him still made him nervous. Her hand began to shake violently and her head was hrobbing once more. She pointed the gun away towards the door. Minhyun walked in on cue and nearly collapsed on the floor upon seeing the gun aiming at him.

“Don't shoot!” He shouted and Inspector Choi ran towards him. The man peeked over Minhyun's shoulder while holding his gun and saw Chief Lee's gun slip from Zero's hand.

She clenched her teeth out of annoyance and handed the gun safely back to Chief Lee.

“Dad, don't play jokes like that. It's not funny.” Chief Lee mumbled and placed his gun back in it's holder carefully. He realized that he still had a long ways to go to be up to his dad and Zero's level.

“That man you're looking for. Have you found him yet?” Jisuk walked towards the door, “You need to toughen up. You might be looking for a notorious man.”

“Don't underestimate me.” Zero muttered.

-~-

The next few days, Zero was in recovery with her colleagues checking on her regularly. She cooperated with everyone who came in to check her vitals and change her gauze, but Doojoon. She still held some responsibility against him and Doojoon was aware of that.

“Zero, it's time to take your medicine.” Doojoon walked in with a small plastic cup that contained three pills. He walked with a smile, but the vacancy of the bed almost made him drop the medicine. “Z-Zero?!” He looked all around and checked the bathroom. “ZERO WENT MISSING!”

“It's common.” Minhyun yawned and walked by the room.

“Common?” Doojoon went out to follow, “How common?”

“She's scheduled to be discharged by the doctor tomorrow morning. She usually leaves a day early. She'll be fine though. I saw her taking some medicine and gauze on her way out. how you still haven't seen her pretty face yet.” Minhyun sighed, still dreaming of Zero's face. Chief Lee thumped his binder on top of Minhyun's head and barked orders for them to prepare for a meeting.
 

-~-

Zero returned home and felt instant relief when she walked through those doors. Her only concern was the food that was left expired in her fridge. She took out her small carton of milk and sighed as she shook it.

Suddenly, the rustling of a plastic bag startled her, but she played calm and slowly turned her head in the direction of the sounds. Jisuk stood there with a smile, holding a grocery bag next to her head.

“Hungry?”