On The Run - Sunki

Nishimura Niki

"Officer Kim, it's my pleasure to introduce you to your new partner, Officer Nishimura" said Jungwon, smiling at his friend. "I'll let you both get acquainted and you can tell him about the case."

"Thank you Mister Yang" replied Sunoo. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too" replied the new comer.

Jungwon quickly lifted his eyebrows while looking at Sunoo. The latter noticed this and rolled his eyes. He knew what Jungwon meant by this expression.

Okay he's cute, but Won needs to calm down. I am not like that anymore. My days of having a new crush every three days are over. But can't deny this Nishimura guy is cute.

Jungwon left them and Officer Nishimura sat down next to Sunoo.

"I'm sorry about your partner" he said, reminding Sunoo of the earlier events.

Oow, he's not only cute, he's considerate!
Sunoo, stop.

"Thank you" replied Sunoo. "Well, you can call me Sunoo."
"And you can call me Niki" continued the new partner.

Can I rather call you tonight ?
Okay brain, seriously stop, we have to work.

"How come you changed stations so fast? Beomgyu was hospitalized this morning. It's quite surprising how quickly you were transferred" said Sunoo, thinking.

Niki didn't answer directly. He looked indecisive.

"I wanted to change stations for a while, so when your chief called our station, I immediately accepted" he explained.

There's something he's not telling me. Why would he want to change stations? Well, I guess it's not my business. He can do as he pleases.

"I see. Well, welcome aboard" said Sunoo, smiling at him.

Niki smiled back and Sunoo felt deep inside that this was definitely going to be a rollercoaster of emotions.

"Let me tell you about our case" began Sunoo.

~

"Should we go to the mall then?" asked Niki, after hearing all the information Sunoo and Beomgyu had gathered.
"Let me see, it's 17:13, it's still early, we can go" answered Sunoo.

Sunoo stood up and carefully watched Niki put his police vest over his uniform. He himself put his hat on, struggling to keep his heart calm.

They entered the police car and Sunoo drove.
"May I ask something?" he said, his eyes still on the road.
"Go ahead" answered Niki.
"Your name doesn't sound Korean, I was wondering" started Sunoo.
"I'm Japanese actually" replied Niki quite fast.

Suddenly the mood in the car had changed. Sunoo could feel the tension raising rapidly. Niki stayed silent, as if he was waiting for something.

"That's cool, I like Japan. It's sad our countries don't always get along I think" replied Sunoo, sincerely meaning it.

Niki finally smiled. He looked relieved.

"You don't know how good it feels to hear that" he whispered.
"Do you want to talk about this? I sense it bothers you" asked Sunoo.
"Nope" simply said Niki, putting a term to their conversation.

Sunoo parked to car in front of the mall. He made sure he had the pictures of the missing boys with him and got out of the car. Niki followed him and they entered the building.

It was Friday afternoon and the mall was crowded, which didn't look good for the officers.
Nonetheless, they stopped in each shop, asking the staff if they had seen Lee Heeseung and Park Sunghoon Wednesday afternoon and evening.

~

"How come no one has seen them?" asked Niki after they left the last store.
"Sometimes the staff that worked on Wednesdays doesn't work on Fridays, but they would have told us that" replied Sunoo. "Maybe the movie theater? Sim Jaeyun mentioned they might have caught a movie."
"Let's check" answered Niki, regaining hope.

They walked together to the movie theater. It was on the second floor of the mall.

"So, hum, you like movies?" asked Niki.

Oh god, why is he asking that all of the sudden?

"I do!" said Sunoo. "How about you?"
"Yeah" he replied, softly.

They had arrived at the movies counter. The staff was half asleep, his chin on his hand, mouth open.
"Excuse me" said Niki, a bit louder than necessary. "Good afternoon."

The staff woke up and was startled to see police officers in front of him. Sunoo laughed in his head.
"We're looking for these two young men" continued Niki, showing the staff the pictures of the boys. "Did they come here on Wednesday?"
"Hum" he said, looking at the pictures closer. "I think they did. They passed here to buy their tickets but never showed up for the movie. I remember because only three tickets were purchased for the afternoon movie, and none of them came."
"Only three?" asked Sunoo.
"Yes, it was pretty odd. Usually the room fills up on Wednesdays. I guess it was a weird coincidence" he said, not really bothered by it.
"At what time was the movie supposed to begin?" asked Sunoo.

The staff looked through his projection planning sheet.

"The movie was supposed to start at 16h30" he said. "They bought their ticket around 15:45 I'd say. The third person bought hers just a few minutes after them."
"By any chance, so you remember what this woman looked like?" asked Sunoo.
"Hum, pretty common, dark long hair, dark eyes, medium height, nothing weird" he replied.
"Okay, thank you" said Sunoo. "Officer Nishimura, do you need to ask something else?"
"I'm all set I think" he replied.

They thanked the staff again and left.

"Well, how was your first afternoon in the new station?" asked Sunoo as he started the car engine.
"Can't complain" replied Niki, smiling at Sunoo.

He has a pretty smile. And the way his eyes close a little when he smiles? Ci-ute.

"So thanks" finished Niki, bringing Sunoo back to reality
"I'm sorry, I was elsewhere. What did you say?" said Sunoo.

Niki looked embarrassed.

"I was saying that you made this afternoon the coolest I had in a while, so thank you" he repeated. "I hope we will find these two boys soon."
"You're welcome" said Sunoo, screaming "HELL YEAH" in his head. "I'm sure we will."

"Is it okay if we go out have a drink after work?" asked Niki. "I feel we should know each other a bit more as we are partners now."

DID HE JUST ASK ME OUT????

"Yeah sure, why not" replied Sunoo, trying to keep his voice calm and stable.

They arrived at the station and Niki went straight to their desk. Sunoo stopped at the entrance, looking for his friend. He finally arrived, hands full of papers to fax.

"JUNGWON" said Sunoo, as loud as he was allowed to.
"What is it?" replied the latter, in shock.
"Niki asked me on a date!" he whispered to Jungwon, jumping a little.
"Did he now?" answered Jungwon, unimpressed.
"He invited me to have a drink after work, to get to know each other, because we're partners now" continued Sunoo, his voice getting higher.
"Oh here we go again" said Jungwon, putting his papers on the desk. "How many times do I have to explain that it's not because someone invites you that they are interested in you Sunoo. I don't want you to get hurt for the thousandth time."
"Yeah yeah" replied Sunoo, not listening. "I think something could go on with him."

He winked at Jungwon and left.

What am I going to do with him? thought Jungwon.