12 shots.

12 shots later Dong Chul and Chin Hwae were passed out on the table with their heads leaned against each other.

Himchan and Sang Hee, on the other hand, hadn't budged. They had turned their bodies to each other, their knees pressed together with their eyes locked in a heated staring contest.

And neither looked the slightest bit drunk.

"Just give up. You're not going to beat me." Himchan hummed while pouring out two more shots.

Sang Hee leaned her head against her palm and watched his slim fingers nudge the shot glass in her direction.

"Aww is the poor baby threatened?" She cooed while picking the glass up.

Himchan glared at her before clinking their glasses together, "Just drink."

Sang Hee grinned while tilting her head back, letting the liquid burn down . She smacked her lips letting out a sigh.

Himchan winced at the burning sensation making Sang Hee laugh. She nudged his foot, "13 shots later and it still hurts?"

"Isn't it the best part?" He counter  while leaning back on his chair. His knees parted, letting hers slip in between his. He tilted his head back and watched her her lips.

She shrugged, scooting closer to grab the bottle. "The best part is when your tipsy enough where everything just feels amazing."

"I think you might be an alcoholic." Himchan muttered while rubbing this thumb along the outside of the glass.

Sang Hee chuckled, "Oh you're just upset that I'm not giving in as fast as you thought."

Himchan snarled before leaning over and grabbing two untouched cups. He poured out four shot and slid two of them over to her.

"Fine, then let's drink like adults."

-----

24 shots.

That should be against the law.

Sang Hee tucked her lips inside when she saw how heavily Himchan was blinking. She had to give him credit, he was good at pretending to be sober.

"You know," His voice was still clear and steady but his body was starting to sway, "You did good today."

Sang Hee stopped, mid drinkb, and looked over at Himchan who was staring at the floor. "Sorry?"

"The thing with your gut? You knew it wasn't Yoo and you were right." He pointed out."That was impressive."

Sang Hee ducked her head to get a better look at Himchan's face, but he still looked and sounded sober as ever.

"You're complimenting me? Damn, you must be wasted."

Himchan ignored her and rolled his jaw, "I messed up today. I almost sent the wrong person to jail. If it wasn't for you, I could've lost everything. I kind of hate you for that. I hate that you might be better than me."

Sang Hee sighed and moved the bottle of soju away from him, "I think we've had too much to drink."

Himchan chuckled, "I'm not drunk, tiger."

She watched him pour another shot but instead of drinking it, he just stared at it. Even his hand was steady, he was nothing like Dong Chul or Chin Hwae who, after 5 shots, started singing Beyonce songs while dancing.

Himchan looked like he could get up and go straight to work right now.  

"Am I on my way to proving myself on this team?" Sang Hee asked while crossing her arms.

Himchan looked at her before his eyes flickered over her shoulder where Namjoon kept glancing at her.

"You have a month left. Don't get carried away. You still have a month to mess it up."

Sang Hee poked his shoulder, "I also have a month to prove myself."

Himchan's eyes landed back on her face and he didn't say a word. Her cheeks and nose were red, most likely from the alcohol but her eyes were focused. His face was blank but Sang Hee grinned at him, her straight teeth gleaming behind her puffy pink lips.

Her eyes curved up and her cheeks lifted, making her look…beautiful. He frowned before something caught his eye.

"Excuse me?"

Sang Hee turned to see a tall man with silver hair and prominent dimples smiling kindly at her. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, I'm Kim Namjoon. I'm a friend of Himchan's, I thought I'd drop by and say hi to his new partner and maybe buy her a drink." He said sheepishly while running his fingers through the back of his hair.

Sang Hee's eyes widened before she smiled, "That's nice of you, but trust me, I don't think I need another drink."

"Oh, well may--"

Himchan stood up abruptly, catching Namjoon's and Sang Hee's attention. He lifted the shot glass and downed the drink before lifting his jacket off the chair.

"I'll see you guys around." He mumbled.

Sang Hee looked at him in surprise, "Wait, where are you going?"

Himchan rubbed his face and looked at her before glancing up at Namjoon who was bouncing on his heels.

"Going to get some fresh air."

He gave Namjoon a nod and patted him on the back before walking away. Namjoon took his seat but Sang Hee continued to watch Himchan gracefully manoeuvre around the bar until he pushed his way out the door.

"So, I heard today was your first day." Namjoon said while setting his beer  down.

Sang Hee turned to him and gave him a long stare before smiling.

"Yeah, yeah it was."

----

Himchan circled the block 3 times already.

He knew he couldn't just leave because Chin Hwae and Dong Chul were still passed out and there was no way Sang Hee was going to be able to send them home in a cab all by herself without their address.

But honestly he was just bitter.

It wasn't a hard case. They had a small pool of suspects so it should've been easy for him to narrow down.

He almost made a career ruining call and he was never like that. He never made mistakes and he never was wrong about anything. He managed to have a flawless record both as a detective and as a member of B.A.P because his instinct was always on point.

He had the reputation that he did, because he was resilient when it came to his gut.

But his gut was wrong.

And if he didn't have his gut, then what did that leave him as?

Just a gangster with a violent, criminal past.

Just a thug.

Himchan rounded the corner and came to a halt when he saw the bar a few yards away. But that wasn't what made him stop.

Maybe he was drunk.  

He dragged his feet closer to the front door and shoved his hands into his pockets, "What are you doing out here?"

Sang Hee jolted, her heart jumping when he appeared out of nowhere and turned to him. She put her hand over her heart and sighed.

"I came looking for you. You said you were going out for fresh air, where the heck did you go for this long?"

Himchan blinked at her before looking at the bar's door, "Wait, what about Namjoon?"

He figured they had hit it off. He knew Namjoon, the man was one hell of a charmer and he was a good guy too.

Sang Hee shrugged, "I came to look for you."

"You just left him?" He asked in surprise.

Sang Hee looked confused and scratched her head, "Well, I mean, I told him that I was going to head out."

"And you just left Chin Hwae and Dong Chul in there?" He balked.

Sang Hee made a face, "What else was I supposed to do carry them out here?"

Himchan shook his head in disbelief and walked away before sitting on the curb of the empty street.

Sang Hee looked around before walking over to him, she stood next to him before holding something out. Himchan glanced over at her outstretched hand before chuckling.

"You're kidding me."

He took the bottle of soju from her and let her sit down beside him, her arm pressed against his, "What? I paid for it. What's the problem?"

Himchan shook his head while staring at the label, "You're determined to out drink me, aren't you?"

Sang Hee made a sound with and nudged his arm, "Open it."

Himchan twisted the cap off before taking a swig of the clear liquid. He hummed when he could feel it curse through his veins and then handed the bottle back to Sang Hee.

"So," She said while taking a sip, "What's the real reason you stormed off like a little kid throwing a tantrum."

"I wasn't throwing tantrum, I just wanted fresh air." He grumbled.

Sang Hee snorted and lifted the bottle, but just as it touched her lips, Himchan pried it from her hands and inhaled almost a quarter of the bottle.

"Woah." Sang Hee said in awe as she took the bottle back from him. He started curling and uncurling his fingers as he hunched his back over.

"I could've lost my job or even got the precinct sued today." He murmured.

Sang Hee frowned and took another sip, "All the evidence pointed to Yoo. Anyone would've came to the same conclusion you did."

"But I'm not everyone else. I should've known better. I should've been smarter. I almost costed us everything." His jaw was tight as he pulled the bottle for her hand and took another sip.

"You set pretty high expectations for yourself." Sang Hee pointed out.

Himchan ran his finger along the condensation building around the bottle, "I don't really have a choice."

"Well isn't that what partners are for? We're supposed to be looking out for each other and stopping each other from making mistakes. It's not a competition with me. I'm working with you. You're right, if we locked Yoo up, we could've been screwed, but we didn't. We dodged a bullet and it doesn't matter who was the one who did it. All that matters is that it's all good now." Sang Hee said while watching his thumb the bottle back and forth.

HImchan tilted his neck with a loud crack before setting the bottle down, "We're not partners yet. Not in my book."

Sang Hee scoffed when Himchan set the bottle down and stood up, "Really? I give you that heart warming speech and that's what you say to me?"

He briefly glanced over  and nodded towards the bar, "Let's get those two out of there and into a cab before the bar closes."

"Thanks for the words of wisdom Sang Hee. You're such a great person. I'm so glad we're partners." Sang Hee mumbled under her breath.

Himchan tsked while pulling her into the bar, "I'd die before I'd say any of that to you, tiger."

-----

"Squad goals!" Dong Chul cheered as Sang Hee and Himchan carried him and Chin Hwae to a cab.

"Get it? Because we're friends but we're also an actual squad of detectives. It works on two levels." He slurred into Sang Hee's hair.

"I get it!" Chin Hwae called out with a hiccup.

The two partner exchanged an uncoordinated high five.  

She winced and buckled him in. Himchan giggled at the joke, making Sang Hee stare at him in shock.

Himchan gave the driver their address before letting the cab drive off.

"What's wrong with you? Why did that make you laugh?" She asked.

Himchan ruffled his hair, "I might be a liiiiitttttttttllleee drunk."

Sang Hee's eyes widened and she started bouncing on her heels, "Ha! I out drank you! I beat you."

Himchan's grin immediately fell, as his glassy eyes glared at her. Now she was starting to wonder if Himchan was a heavy weight at all.

Maybe the alcohol just kicked in later for him than most people and Dong Chul just thought that he had a high tolerance.

"Do you need me to walk you to home?" She asked with a snort.

Himchan rolled his eyes and stuck his hand out in the street. "Dong Chul is funnier than you, tiger."

A cab rolled up to Himchan and she hugged her jacket closer to her body