North - South

Gu Seung-jun

If Jeong Hyeok had felt surprised by the way she had organized his storage room in Pyongyang, now, studying the content of the pen drive, the man simply was feeling speechless.

The information matched to the point that it felt like reading Mu Hyeok's investigation from another perspective. Except Se-ri's notes were tidier and even more detailed.

"Are you going to spend the whole day in front of that computer again?" Dan asked while leaving the bathroom, the two hands gently rubbing her hair dry with a towel. Bright side of the adjoining rooms: being able to check what the damn he was doing.

"Oh?"

"You're supposed to be my bodyguard. For the investigation's sake, we should be seen together at least once."

"Mhm," the man pensively nodded while turning to her. Dan was helping him so much, and he was doing so little. It hurt his gut with guilt. "Go practicing now, I'll come to see you this afternoon and will take you to an early dinner."

"Don't. Don't come to see me" bringing him to a concert hall would have been the utmost cruelty, the mere idea repulsed her, "let's meet on the street. And I accept the dinner."

"I'll be a little late today," Jeong Hyeok swiftly texted, "are you sure it will be safe?"

"Will keep my assistant here till late then, sad for him ;) What about your research? I hope the pen drive is still proving useful."

"You can't even imagine," she couldn't see him, but he typed it smiling.

Those short texts were being his only solace in the last two days. Being in Se-ri's same city and not being able to spend all his time with her... ishhh. Jeong Hyeok tried to remember that she wasn't the main reason why he was there. A part of him refused the idea, though.

Hundreds of meters away, Se-ri was pretty much thinking the same, remembering herself that they had to be strong. She had to. They had to stop thinking about all the kisses... She had to.

"Seung-jun is leaving tomorrow," she quickly typed, "what about meeting at home?"

Was she...??? He read the message and then read it again. And for some reason, his cheeks burned with red and he had to swallow hard before replying.

However, an additional text reached the latter before he could type back.

"I thought it would be useful to check his room."

OH. Oh. Sure. Right. Checking Seung-jun's room. Right. "Good idea."

To check Seung-jun's room, Se-ri remembered to herself. That was the only reason why she was inviting him home. Nothing would have happened. "Stop being so silly," she remembered herself, forcing her brain cells to focus on work. It was proving less easy than expected.

The idea of Jeong Hyeok in the same hotel room with Seo-dan - or close rooms, whatever - didn't make her completely happy. Not really. Exactly like he hadn't been glad to know that she was still living with Seung-jun. They had to, though, Se-ri remembered herself once again. It wasn't a choice. They both needed to do it to not arouse suspicion.

And for that same reason, even if Se-ri was used to spending the night in her office more often than not, on those days when Seung-jun was at home, she was managing to always go back to him, trying to act as normal as possible.

Business as usual. She left her place early in the morning, and went back late. During the working hours, she had reassured Jeong Hyeok, there was her staff protecting her. It would have been impossible for Cho Cheol Kang to reach her room without being stopped.