1, 2, 3 → LEE HEESEUNG

Episode 11

『Present, Heeseung's House』

Throughout the night and the morning, Heeseung's tremors persist. However, he thinks less and less of his past and more and more of her. Suddenly, the jittery, unsettled feeling isn't at the dread of what could be coming. Instead, he pictures Jina's face when he walks through the cafe door, what she might say to him. Would she be who she was last night? Or would she be as he always knew her, prickly and impatient?

He tries to think of what she was like before. When she offered nothing more than clipped responses. Was he the problem? But he doesn't spend much time thinking about this. Instead, he thinks of the way she looked on that particular drive home, the way the moonlight highlighted her features a little too perfectly. He melts in the warmth of her voice, like a reassuring secret. 

However, he tries to quiet these thoughts as he puts together his work clothes. He may be young and lacking in the eyes of his superiors, but he knows that this case is more important than his feelings or lack thereof. Realistically speaking, it was nothing more than a fleeting admiration for her when he was at his worst. One night meant nothing. It didn't change anything. Heeseung is still a prosecutor, and Jina is still his detective partner.  This is all the result of his own confusion and the pain he felt when he thought of who could be behind this murder. 

The small piece of his brain that lived to play devil's advocate counters that people fall in love for much less. Heeseung tries to convince this thought that such thinking is delusional. 

When he checks his watch, he figures she's already on her way. Although they initially decided to meet the cafe, more confidential details required a more private space. Thus, they decided to meet at her office, at a time she texted him after she dropped him off. It occurs to him that the last time they were at an office building setting, she tried to get off of their case. How funny things are turning out to be. 

He drives over to the building himself. He's not sure when his car was brought to his house, or who did it, but nothing was out of place after his thorough inspection. So considering that it drove and all the features worked, he leaves his house and heads over. When he hears his navigation device speak, it sounds dull in comparison to the voice Jina used for hers. Perhaps because it was recorded by someone other than one of the generic ones used by everyone, it had a different vibe to it. More elegant and personal. He thinks about the way her fingers slipped around the wheel with ease. He wonders what it'd be like to lace her fingers through his own. To this, he shudders to himself and continues driving, doing whatever he can to contain these thoughts somewhere else. 

Euijoo is the first one to meet him at the building. This time he's decked out in surgical scrubs, not seeming to care about people looking at him like he's crazy. He smiles and waves to Heeseung, motioning for him to bypass the security measures they have in play. Heeseung trots over to meet him, not wanting to hold up anyone longer than he has to. Although he doesn't know much about Euijoo, he always felt like he knew him from somewhere. He feels a sense of de ja vu, like he's a long-lost brother. This is of course ridiculous, but perhaps that's just the way Euijoo makes people feel. 

"Heeseung!" he greets him and starts to walk off. Heeseungs matches his strides and tries not to trip over his shows as they proceed. Euijoo glances to his side to make sure Heeseung is following him as they navigate through the labyrinth of hallways. "So you and Jina are meeting?" 

"Yeah, I think there's been a new lead," he tells him, although he tries to keep details minimal. If there's one thing his dad taught him, it's that there are eyes and ears everywhere, none of which fairly benefited from listening or watching. In time, Euijoo would know what these leads are anyway. After all, he's the one who processes the evidence in the forensics department. Euijoo nods in understanding and talks about something random Heeseung only half follows. He makes a mental note to introduce Daniel to Euijoo one day. They're like the same ice cream but different flavors.