"Channie oppa!"

An eight year old girl ran up to the boy, only a few years older than herself, with a smile so bright and blinding that it could cure diseases.

The boy stiffened at his desk, and looked over his shoulder where the tiny girl was racing towards him with her arm stuck in the air.

He wished that the orphanage was split up by gender because then he wouldn't have to be stuck in the same room with her.

"I told you to stop calling me that." He muttered as he turned back to his desk to work on a drawing.

The young girl skipped around him so that she was on the other side of the table and stuck her face in front of his drawing, to get his attention.

She reeked of jasmine. 

He blinked at her, unimpressed. A lot of the kids at the orphanage fawned over how pretty and cute she was and even Halmoni who gush over how she was going to grow up to be a beautiful woman, but he couldn't see it.

If she was so cute, then why didn't anyone adopt her?

It's because adults were cold and vicious.

The girl pouted at him, "Why? I like that name."

He leaned away from the table, looking bored, "Do you even know my real name?"

The girl opened but nothing came out. Her face flushed red as she smiled sheepishly at him.

The boy rolled his eyes, "What do you want?"

She beamed at him  and stuck her hand out, "I made you this, Channie oppa!"

"What…is it?" He asked while blinked at her hand.

"It's a friendship bracelet!" She waved the blue and green material at him.

He balked at her, "A friendship bracelet?"

She nodded enthusiastically and reached for his wrist to tie it. "It's for you. Take it!"

He yanked his hand away, but she had already tied it on. He stared at the bracelet, made from yarn braided together, with the words "CHANNIE" spelled out in alphabet beads.

"Why are you giving me this?" He asked incredulously.

She tilted her head and stuck out her own wrist with the same bracelet in red and purple, but with her name beaded on.

Haera.

"Because we're friends!"

-----

Kim Himchan was seated at his desk in his precinct, staring at his keys that were set in front of him on his desk.

CHANNIE

Actually it was more like CHNIE since some of the beads had fallen out through the course of the years.

He rolled his jaw and touched the frayed fabric that was dangling off his key ring. It was old, frayed and some of the string was coming out of the braid. The green and blue coloured string was fading into a washed out white and grey.

Why did he still have it?

All these years it seemed more like an absentminded reaction to just leave it on, but for some reason it just felt weird today. He just now noticed how it clashed against his sliver keys and platinum key fob. 

It was tacky and kind of embarassing to have. 

He hadn't seen the girl who gave it to him for about 15 years and she was hardly a friend, so he had no real reason to keep it on him for so long. It wasn't sentimental, nor was it close to his heart. 

It was just something that he never bothered getting rid of. 

He was concentrating on bracelet now turned, key chain, with a creased brow. He spent some time staring at it before slowly reaching for his keys and gently untied the bracelet.

He stared at the bracelet in his hand. Even though it was old, the string braid was still soft and worn.

He sighed and opened a drawer from the side of his desk and tossed the bracelet in.

-----

"Yes, mom, I know how to make broth."

Bae Sang Hee balanced her phone in between her shoulder and ear while she tried to balance a small cardboard box filled with her  belongings.

She walked along the sidewalk while her mother fumbled around with the phone, "Make sure you add the leeks in after it's boiled."

"I know, mom. I've made broth before. Don't worry about me." Sang Hee said with a soft laugh.

Her mother made a disapproving snort, "Fine. But you'll come home one a week, right? Bring your laundry too."

"Mom, I'm not in university anymore. I haven't been for a few years, now. I know how to do my laundry." Sang Hee looked up at the street sign and continued walking the right way.

Her mother sighed, "Did you move in okay? Is your apartment room nice? How are the people? Are they helpful? Are they friendly?"

"It's all good. Don't worry, okay? I'm fine, my room's fine, my cooking is fine, everything is…fine."

"I didn't keep you in my stomach for nine months and give birth to you just to have you flee the nest so soon just to be 'fine.'" Her mother pouted with a scold.

"First of all, no, you didn't do any of that. And second, I'm 30, mom, I should've fled the nest years ago." Sang Hee with a tsk.

"I proverbially kept you in my stomach."

Sang Hee smiled and shook her head. Today was her first day at the 565 after being transferred last week.

It was her dream to work in Violent Crimes since she spent most of her time behind a desk. She didn't get to go out onto the field a lot even though she was more than qualified and skilled. And now that she was given the promotion, she couldn't wait.

"How are you feeling for you first day?" Her mother asked gently.

Sang Hee couldn't help shaking her shoulders in enthusiasm. "I'm so excited."

Her mother let out an incredulous laugh, "I can't believe your luck, though. Kim Himchan."

"I know, right?!" She squealed.

Sang Hee had spent majority of her career hearing about Kim Himchan. He was sort of a legend in her old precinct.

He was known for having a 100% arrest rate after only working for 6 years and had some of the highest scores in the academy.

She did a ridiculous amount of research before her transfer to learn about him. She couldn't find a single picture of him, but there were countless articles with his name reporting his "amazing and diligent ability to close cases."

He had very quickly become her inspiration.

It only drove her to get into the Violent Crimes until even more. She wanted to be a cop with the same skill and knowhow that Himchan was known for.

She was driven and worked her off on a daily bases. She became a cop in the first place just because she wanted to actually do some good.

And being behind a desk wasn't doing that for her but with her promotion she could actually go out and save lives and bring justice.

It was amazing.

But that