"Again? Seriously?" Sang Hee huffed.

Chin Hwae shrugged and set a fruit basket beside Sang Hee, "He was out of your apartment by the time we dropped by."

"What a coward." She snorted before she pulled an orange from the basket and threw it at Chin Hwae who started to peel it.

Dong Chul had a timid blush on his face as he inched closer to her, "So, how are you feeling?"

"A lot better." Sang Hee said with a groan, "Sometimes it's a little uncomfortable if I turn really fast but most of the pain as gone down and the doctors said that I can go home tonight and go back to work in a few days."

Dong Chul nodded brightly and was about to ask her another question when Chin Hwae interrupted, "By the time to get back, you'll only have a week until this month is up. What are you going to do about your deal with Himchan?"

Sang Hee frowned, "Not sure. He's probably not going to cut me slack, so I'll just have to work extra hard."

"Don't overwork, though." Chin Hwae warned while handing her the peeled fruit.

Dong Chul cleared his throat before sitting on the edge of her bed, "He's right, your  health is the most important thing."

Chin Hwae shook his head good naturedly before standing up, "We need to head back to the precinct. Call us if you need anything."

"Oh yeah!" Sang Hee said before propping herself up on the bed, "How's the case going?"

Dong Chul grinned, "We're interviewing Jin Ah's boyfriend today and see if that leads us anywhere."

"How can I help?" Sang Hee asked with a pleasant smile as she popped a slice of orange in .

Chin Hwae and Dong Chul looked at each other before clearing their throats, "You can't."

"Excuse me?" She asked with a raised brow.

Dong Chul shrugged, "You're instructed to be on paid leave until you're better and since me and Chin Hwae are the primaries, you don't get to help unless we ask you to."

"Come on guys, you must need me to help you with something." She complained while trashing her arms around.

Chin Hw ae reached over and patted her on the head, "Help us by getting some rest."

"Why are you so worked up about this case, anyways?" Dong Chul asked.

Sang Hee shrugged, "I feel really horrible about Jin Ah and I want to help her get justice, even if she won't be around to see it."

"That's kind of you Sang Hee, but Jin Ah's case is in good hands and we'll keep you updated." Chin Hwae said with a firm nod.

Dong Chul waved at her, "Try not to be too bored without us."

Sang Hee scowled but still waved back, "I'll try."

"If you get bored, just call of Himchan and demand he come visit you." Chin Hwae called from the door.

"Get out!"

------

"Tell me that, that isn't strange."  Himchan said while pausing his laptop to the shot of the assailant staring at him.

Woon tapped his lip."Well, in the movies, when a criminal waits for you like that, it's because they want to see how you react, but judging by how ing long it took you to call the police and even react to your partner being stabbed, it's obvious that Sang Hee isn't going to be a weakness of yours."

"I love this movie analogy you're going for, but can you be serious?" Himchan barked sarcastically.

Woon leaned back against his chair, "I don't know what you want me to say. This is exactly what I talked to you about yesterday."

"If your theory is right, then why else was he lingering for that long?" Himchan asked in annoyance.

Woon looked back at the paused screen and through his teeth, "If this is someone who has it out for you, then it's probably someone who just liked seeing you in pain."

"Her injury did not bring me pain." Himchan snapped.

Woon shrugged, "It probably looked that way and since you don't deal well with other people getting hurt, it probably raised some flags. That being said, I doubt that this attacker is going to go after Sang Hee as means to get to you."

"Why not? She is my 'partner'" He said sarcastically.

Woon shot him a dirty look, "Because it's not 2003 and this isn't the plot to every action comedy movie ever."

"You really are loving those movie analogies." Himchan mumbled under his breath.  

Woon sighed, "Look, all I'm saying is that you've worked with Minsoo for a very long time and no one went after him. This isn't about using the people close to you or else they would've gotten Jongup or Junhong. This person wanted you."

"And yet they missed and hit Sang Hee."

Woon quirked brow, "Strange, isn't it?"

"What? You think they really wanted her?"

"No, I think that they thought it would be too easy to kill you in the middle of the night with no one around but your partner. I think they missed on purpose but they wanted to see how easy it would be to approach you and blindside you. They want to drag this out and they want you to know that. This is a personal attack Himchan." Woon said firmly.

"After all that you expect me not to follow up on this?" Himchan snorted.

Woon tapped his pen against the table before sitting up, "We don't have enough evidence to go on anything. Everything I just said is circumstantial and it doesn't help that it's likely to be connected to the part of your past that no one knows. If people find out, you could lose your badge. I'm sorry, the safest thing would be to keep you in protective custody and take you off the cas--"

"No!"

"…but I'm guessing you won't be into that. So, for the time being you need to focus on the assignments I give you."

"Fine." Himchan grumbled while slamming his laptop closed.

"Keep your eyes open and be diligent, though. Anything and anyone who looks or acts suspicious needs to be reported and try to stay in crowded places and--"

"And don't go out at night, anything else, mom?" Himchan leered.

"Maybe handing her over to the DSU is a better idea than you first suspected." Woon said quietly, "You might not care about threats against Detective Bae, but I won't have one of my detectives be in danger because of your past. If she's in DSU, she won't be connected to you and she won't be collateral."  

Himchan nodded, "Maybe you're right but I don't really have time to worry about this. I need to track this guy down. He knows who I am."

"You know, I find it strange that you have the time to run through this footage and not the time to visit your injured partner in the hospital." Woon said with a raised brow.

"The boys said that she's doing fine, but back to this video I thi--"

Woon held his hand up, "Visit her and then you can tell me every theory that you can think of."

"Why are you pushing this so much? She's going to be leaving at the end of the month anyways." Himchan fired back.

Woon narrowed his eyes, "Why are you so sure that she'll leave?"

"Because she has no reason to stay here instead of DSU if I do let her stay." Himchan said simply.

"You seem sure of yourself." Woon said while lacing his fingers together.

"It's because it's true." He said firmly.

"That still doesn't change my orders." Woon quirked a brow, "Sang Hee…now."

Himchan huffed an angry breath before swiping his laptop off Woon's desk and storming out of his office and into the path of the devil.

And the only thing worse than a dragon is a devil.

"Oh well, if it isn't our treasured Detective Kim. I heard you're dancing with the DSU, how fun. You don't have enough of your own cases?"

Himchan hissed and felt his blood pressure rising as his fist clenched, "I don't have time for your bull, Hong."

The attorney crossed his arms and smiled antagonizing, "You should treat your superiors better."

That caught his attention.

Himchan slowly turned before scoffing at Hong, "You're not my superior. You're a bottom feeding pig that cares more about getting convicts off than protecting justice."

"The narrowness of your mind is appalling considering how decorated you are as a detective." Hong tutted while straightening his luxury tie.

Himchan ground his teeth together, "If open minded detectives are able to justify what you do, then I'm perfectly fine being narrow minded."

"Woon must have a knack for breeding disrespectful  little punks who only know insubordination. But it must be hard for you to be so out of the loop all the time, even though you are senior detective."

Himchan cocked his head to the side, "Excuse me?"

"You fail to see the bigger picture, Detective Kim. You are just a pawn in a much bigger game. A piece so small, so insignificant and so disposable that there are dozens just like you." Hong said with grin.

Himchan smiled dryly, "You must love playing games."

"Especially with players like you, who like keeping secrets and have a horrible poker face."

Himchan's heart stopped before he schooled his expression into one of nonchalance. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Woon scanned Himchan's face silence before smiling mysteriously, "I'm sure you don't. Just remember that I can shut this precinct down with a snap of my finger."

"I'm sure the DA will love that." Himchan retorted.

The light in Hong's eyes changed into fire as he growled ferociously, "You are playing with fire, boy."

Himchan smirked while raising his chin up, "What can I say? I guess I'm turning into a pyromaniac."

-----

Woon's eyes flickered up to his door, animosity evident in his eyes when Attorney Hong strolled through