FINE WINE || L.HS

10. COLOGNE

Her eyes widened as she felt hands crawling on her shoulders, which had turned her around within a second. She almost didn't dare raise her eyes.

Meanwhile, Sunghoon was babbling through the earpiece, saying he was outside. Shit! Of course, it was already time.

Suddenly the light came on and the view became clear. She was in the office... with Heeseung in front of her.

"Who are you? And why are you here?" He said, pointing a gun to her head.

Haeun rubbed her arm out of nervousness. Slowly, she rubbed further and further down toward her jacket pockets, which contained the pistol Sunghoon had given her earlier.

She didn't dare say anything and continued to hide under her mouth mask. The gun against her head reloaded.

"Talk," Heeseung said and gave a small tap to her forehead with the weapon. He secretly looked down and saw that she was fumbling through her pockets with her hand. Quickly he grabbed her wrist and pulled it out. "What are you hiding?" 

Haeun quickly tried to hold her pocket closed, but he was much stronger than her in terms of strength and dug into her pockets. From there he took out a pistol and a wallet. 

She could scold herself for anything and everything in her head, for it was quite evident that she was too obviously minding her business. 

Heeseung put the gun in his own pockets and opened the wallet. Behind a transparent compartment was an identification card. He pulled it out of the compartment and looked at it intently. "Summer?" He spoke, looking at her.

Haeun swallowed. She knew she had screwed up. 

"Summer, please tell me you're safe, I'm worried," Sunghoon spoke through the earpiece in between.

 Haeun was beginning to lose her patience.

Heeseung ran his hands through her hair and then pulled it off her head very harshly. She flinched for a second, but then realized she was wearing a wig.

Her real hair fell over her shoulders. He tossed the wig to the ground chuckling only to then pull her mask off her face.

"It really is you, Summer," Heeseung spoke up and cupped one of her cheeks with his hand. "What are you doing here so late?"

'What am I doing here! What are you doing here?' Summer wondered. 'Your tracker showed you were at a great distance!' 

"I was walking around and got lost," she lied. "I saw this place and thought maybe I could hide here. The neighborhood was a little scary."

"Oh, honey," He said and took her in his arms.  He hugged her tightly. "Was that why you were carrying a gun?"

She smelled the scent of his cologne on his neck and oh my god, it smelled good. She could smell his neck for ages.

Haeun nodded up and down. 

He stroked her through her hair with his fingers to make her feel at ease. 

She felt butterflies in her stomach. And not a little bit too... Her whole stomach turned over and her cheeks burned with heat. 

 "A pretty, tough girl like you as I know you, scared in a neighborhood like this?" Heeseung said and looked at her. She lay with her head against his chest, still in love with his scent. He smiled.

No, she was not afraid. She was hardly afraid of anything, but not this neighborhood. Lying is something.

"Do you need something to drink? Coffee or something?" Heeseung suggested. 

Haeun finally let go of him. "Yes, please." 

It was a little later. Together they sat on the same couch, facing each other, their backs against the armrests so they could look at each other. Haeun warmed up by holding the hot cup in her cold hands. She looked at him intently. His hair was messy and it fell just slightly over his eyes. He was wearing a leather jacket with a white t-shirt underneath. Next to it, he wore a pair of wide, black sweatpants. Pretty comfortably dressed.

"Thank you for the coffee, Heeseung," Haeun thanked him and took a sip. "I really appreciate you doing all this for me."

She had forgotten much of her job. She had succeeded in tracking him down, but now she was overwhelmed by his beautiful features. 

By now she had forgotten about Sunghoon, who asked her every 5 minutes if she was doing well, but she just didn't answer. She hadn't realized by now that he was talking. 

She only had eyes on him. 

Heeseung smiled. "No problem," he spoke. "I hope you haven't seen much of this building." 

"No," She lied, again. She had become a pro at it by now. "I've only been here and in the hallway."

"Good," Heeseung said and also took a sip of his drink. 

Fortunately, there were no cameras hanging there. Otherwise he would have seen that she had seen everything.  

"You know, Summer," Heeseung suddenly began. "I like your smile very much." 

Haeun looked up with doe eyes. The corners of her lips formed a small smile, making dimples in her cheeks. "Thank you," she said.

"I was disappointed, Summer, that you left me at the casino. I thought we were just having fun," He spoke. "I missed you that night, again, just like at the bar."

"I'm sorry. My mother called," She lied. She should make it her job instead of a lousy detective. "She wanted to video call me, but she likes me to be in bed on time, so I had to rush to my residence to show I was safe. Sorry for not telling you."

Heeseung put his cup on the floor. "It's okay," he spoke. "What are you doing up so late now then? Isn't your mom worried now? Should I take you home?"  

Haeun shook her head. "I can manage. I have a gun with me anyway," She smiled and took the last sip of her coffee. "I'll go."

She stood up and grabbed her coat from the coat rack in the corner of the room. As she put it on, she suddenly felt his hand slip around her waist. She looked up at him. 

"Take this," he said and handed her a card. "My phone number. Message me if you want, so we can see each other again. I do find you interesting." 

Haeun smiled and took the card. She put it in her coat pocket. "I'll think about it," She said and winked. 

Heeseung chuckled. "I'll see you," He said and gave her a kiss on her cheek. 

"Bye, Heeseung," She said and left through the backdoor.