#9 All because of Love

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The week passes with Bong-soon falling into this odd routine of spending her days at the PD alongside Guk-doo. He picks her up from Walnut Pie in the morning, drops her home at night and performs guard duties. Sometimes Do-young switches places with him.

On a random night, she catches a glimpse of some other detective friend of theirs, patrolling the streets, from her window at night and wallows in guilt for a long moment. It's strange how peaceful this routine has become though it's frustrating.

Her biggest concern is her art which has gone on a hiatus. At night when she tries to paint, she finds no inspiration at all. Her hands won't move, can't paint a pretty picture

That Saturday afternoon, she's inside the PD, twiddling her thumbs when it strikes her that she hasn't made use of the money Pa gave her. Hoping a trip to the art market and purchasing supplies will help her break her artist's block, she puts in a request with Guk-doo.

A trip down the streets looking at gallores of art and art supplies lining the art market would be fun. Guk-doo promised to be her escort the other day, but to her disappointment now, Do-young replaces him. Work has kept Guk-doo occupied; he hasn't glanced at her since morning. He's currently with Chief; as the ace of the team, his presence is required.

A tinge of bitterness makes its way into Bong-soon's heart as she returns to the PD. The trip to the art market has been fruitful but the fact remains that she missed having Guk-doo next to her. Why? Just last week she wanted distance. And now... this is absurd. Yeah, she only wants him as a friend though. The usual. Though she harbours feelings for him, she's only used to his presence as a friend. Not like she wants to jumpstart and make him her boyfriend. She'd like the idea one day. If he's serious about her as she was. Gods...

With a hefty sigh, she stocks the paper bags of her purchases under her desk, watching Guk-doo work around the PD again.

This is what she'll do. As he said, being here, witnessing his work is a privilege in itself.

***

The night is a thick, chilly cloak of darkness gripping the city when Guk-doo jostles awake in his bed with the realisation that he has hit the snooze button on the alarm a couple of times already. 11.20 PM? He has slept for not the scheduled two hours but two hours and twenty minutes.

He pulls on his jacket on top of his jumper. When he returned home to catch his evening break, he was so tired that he thrust his jacket aside and jumped into bed. And now he has to put it on, slip on his shoes and run back to the PD. This is what the life of a cop is like. Probably this is why he couldn't deepen his relationship with Heeji.

It doesn't matter. But probably this was why Heeji got tired of him. He didn't mind it. But what if Bong-soon also gets tired of him? What if she's tired already?

He's been hopeful ever since his talk with Bong-gi, ever since the day he and Bong-soon became acquaintances again that he could deepen their relationship one day. What if it never happens?

He's never understood what true love is. This must be it. This fear, the insecurity, the unease, the giddiness, all wrapped in a bundle. Doubtlessly, he'd hate to lose Bong-soon or for them to lose the bond they have. This is what craving eternity is. Despite the odds, he'd crave it for himself.

Nothing in life has ever gone easy for him. There's no proper clue linking the first bombing with the Black Wrestlers. All that hours of research boil down to nothing. The Chief has begun focusing on other cases the second unit is assigned. Like the dumb art thief's case. Theft of valuable art is a blow, perhaps to the rich, and the art society, but shouldn't the police prioritise public safety first?

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