Sang Hee swung the door open and walked speedily out the building, pushing past Chin Hwae who watched her curiously before looking at Himchan and Woon.

"Himch--"

It was flurry of movement and in a second, Himchan launched across the table and decked Woon across the face, causing blood to splatter dripping down his chin.

Himchan fisted his Chief's shirt and pulled him close while other officers crowded around the door to watch the scuffle in shock.

"You." Himchan growled, "You have taken everything away from me. You keep these secrets thinking that not talking about them will make them go away but then they just collapse and I'm always the one that gets hit with the fallout. But this time. This time you really outdid yourself, you took her down too."

Himchan slammed Woon against the wall and tightened his grip around his bloody collar, "Why do you do this to me? Why do you hide my life away from me and make me believe that I can finally live normally? That I can finally have a healthy life? You make me pretend that I'm normal but everything you do to me is torture. Why do you want to ruin me so badly?"  

"I'm sorry." Woon rasped out.

Himchan let out an incredulous laugh, "No…no you're not. You're just sorry that someone finally called you out on your bull. Something that I couldn't do for years." 

"Himchan." Dong Chul said quietly as he tried to pry his friend's grip off of their boss. Himchan gave Woon a long look before letting go of him with a shove.

He turned away and pushed through the crowd, searching for the angel that always did the best job disappearing from him.

-----

"Sang Hee? Sang Hee!"

She turned around when she was half way through the parking lot and saw Chin Hwae running towards her.

She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to catch up, "What's up?"

"You forgot your phone." Chin Hwae said while holding up the device.

Sang Hee gave him a grateful smile and took her phone back, "Thanks."

Just as she was turning around, he caught her by the elbow and turned her around, "Do you want to talk about what happened in there? I didn't catch the ending but I think Himchan's really putting on a show."

"It's…it's stupid. I just--I just was overwhelmed so I had to leave." She said casually.

Chin Hwae nodded, his face blank as he watched her carefully, "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

He slipped his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders up, "I don't really know what happened with you guys so this story might not be the right one to use, but when I got shot and I had that split second of realization that I might be living my last seconds, I realized that if I died, not a lot of people would miss me."

Sang Hee's eyes widened as she gaped at him, "Wha--"

"I never really got along with my family, they didn't like that I was becoming a government worker and not something more impressive. I thought that the only person that would feel my loss for more than a day would be Dong Chul." He said quietly, his voice still emotionless. "That was really scary to me because I thought I'd be forgotten, but then he told me how Himchan had reacted and how he had taken down the woman who shot me and I thought to myself, I have one more person that would miss me."

"I-I don't really know what that means." She said weakly as her hands trembled.

"Never forget the people that were there for you when you felt like no one else was, because those are the people that the world will try to take away from you and those are the people that you need to fight the hardest to hold onto." He said blankly.

She stayed quiet and looked down at her feet before nodding, "Thank you."

She felt him pat her on the top of the head, "Anytime kiddo."

"Tiger! Tiger!"

The pair of them looked up to see Himchan frantically weaving through cars to get closer to them, "And that's my cue to leave." Chin Hwae said.

"Seriously…thank you Chin Hwae." She said quietly.

His lips straightened out as he nodded and she knew that he was trying to smile, "We're a family and we love each other like one. We're always here for you. No matter what. Remember what I said? You're one of my best friends."

Sang Hee smiled as he walked away and turned to see Himchan panting in front of her while pushing his sweaty hair off his forehead.

"I--I…Where are you going?" He breathed out.

Sang Hee clenched her teeth and resisted the urge to reach out for him. "I'm not really sure, yet."

"O-Okay." He said understandably as he searched for something else to say to her.

Sang Hee felt her heart constrict when she saw the panic and hurt evident in his eyes. He wasn't someone who normally was that easy to read so it only made it harder to see.

When he didn't say anything and just stared at her, she gave him a tight lipped smile and stepped back, "I should g--"

"Wait!" He blurted out in panic. He pulled her close, cupped her cheek and stared at her intensely as if he was solving a puzzle.

His eyes flickered between hers before he spoke slowly, "I love you."

Sang Hee was dumbfounded  when she heard the words that she never thought he'd say to her. "Wh--"

"Oh god I love you so much." He whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers. "You're so important to me. I know I'm a piece of and you deserve so much better but I love you. I'm……I'm sorry that I love you so much."

He felt his whole body shaking and he knew that the words were just tripping out of his mouth but he felt so desperate for her that he wanted her to know that he was trying his hardest to make her feel loved.

Even if he was constantly doing a job of it.

He wanted  her to know that those emotions did exist inside him.

Sang Hee's heart was racing at a speed so painfully fast that she couldn't catch a breath. She wanted to say something but all that came out of was a broken whimper.

How long had she been secretly waiting for him to say those words to her? How long had she been wondering if he would ever feel that way about her?

Far too long.

He slowly dragged his fingers across her cheeks, down her neck and gripped onto her arms as he stepped back to give her space.

"I get it. You need time. I'll give you time. I'll give you all the time in the world just please don't let this end us. I-I know I'm asking for a lot but let me at least have a shot at fighting for you." He pleaded blindly.

If you let a woman like her go, she's not coming back.

She shook her head, astonished, "I--"

"Look, I know it's hard being around me and I know when you look at me you're going to think about what my mom did and that's okay. I deserve that, just don't give up on me." He begged gently, "You can have the apartment, I'll stay with someone else for a while until you're ready but…just know that I'm waiting for you." He finished off in one breath.

"I should go." She said quietly after staring at him in silence.

Himchan opened his mouth before deciding not to say anything more. He just nodded and slid his palms down her arms and squeezed her fingers gently before letting go.

"Okay. Get home safely." He whispered.

She nodded and hugged herself before taking exactly three steps and stopping again. Himchan held his breath when she slowly turned around and looked at him.

"C-Can you come home tonight? Don't stay at anyone else's house."

A stunned breath escaped his lips before he nodded vigorously. "I'll always come home to you."

-----

Sang Hee sat on her bed and stared at the small, faded picture of her biological parents, the only one that wasn't their mug shot.

It was the strangest feeling.

Nothing.

She felt nothing.

She didn't feel longing or nostalgia or sadness.

She felt numb…and a little angry.

These are the people that abandoned you.

These are the people who were willing to save themselves by killing someone innocent.

But they weren't willing to save you.

She closed her eyes as the picture of her parents crushed in her hand.

She didn't feel like her childhood was lost, she felt like her childhood was wasted. Wasted on her biological parents.

"They didn't deserve me." She whispered angrily.

She jumped when her phone rang and rolled on the bed as she answered it, "Mom?"

"Hi sweetheart! Just wanted to check up on you, make sure you're eating." Her mom sang while the sound of the television could be heard on the other line.

Sang Hee curled up and suppressed the lump in , "I'm fine mom but what's going on? You never call in the afternoons."

"Actually." Her mother said with a sheepish laugh, "I was going through some of this old stuff your dad pulled from the attic and…" She laughed again, almost tearfully, "I found your adoption certificate and I guess you could say your mom got a little emotional."

Sang Hee's heart sank as she chewed on her lip, "I wish you guys were my biological parents. It'd make everything so much easier."

"You know, it sounds weird, but I'm glad that you weren't." Her mother said.

Sang Hee rolled on her stomach and frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I know it was hard, but I think yo