𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 || 𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐍 ||🥀

25

Mina

Yoon Jeonghan no longer existed to me.

That was the mantra I chanted as I powered my way through the last set of back squats. I could focus entirely on my workout and not the sweat-slicked chief of police who, from the tingle at the base of my spine, hadn't stopped glaring at me since he got here.

The physical pull of the man was overwhelming and quite frankly pissed me the hell off.

"Drop that ass lower," Jeno barked, bringing me back to my present suffering.

"You...drop...your...ass," I wheezed as I dug deep, preparing to exploit the last remaining molecules of energy in my legs.

"Bring it home, Lin," Wonwoo called from the weight bench behind me. Apparently he and Jeonghan had reached some sort of peace accord and were working out together now.

I managed to raise both middle fingers off the bar and then muscle my way back to standing.

The whoops of approval from my elderly workout buddies echoed in my ears as I parked the bar back on the rack and hinged at the waist to catch my breath.

Unfortunately, I forgot to close my eyes and caught a glimpse of the Man Who Didn't Exist full-on staring at me.

Seungcheol, sweaty and grumpy from his morning workout, walked up to his brother, noticed the direction of Jeonghan's gaze, and slammed an elbow into his gut.

They both had fading bruises on their faces, but I was so over Jeonghan, I had zero interest in finding out what happened.

Okay, maybe, like, ten percent interest. Fine. Forty percent tops.

Not that I'd ask either one of them. Seungcheol and I had maintained our tentative truce as long as neither of us brought up Jeonghan. And Jeonghan seemed to have finally gotten the message that he didn't exist. After three days of me refusing to answer my door or my phone, he'd stopped knocking and calling.

It was better this way. We'd proved on multiple occasions that we couldn't be trusted in any kind of proximity to each other.

It wasn't cowardly of me to time my own comings and goings to make sure we didn't run into each other on the stairs. I was not a big, giant chicken for tiptoeing past his door. For once, I was making the safe, smart decision.

I straightened and took a long hit from my water bottle, pretending I couldn't physically feel Jeonghan's attention on me.

Just like I chose to ignore the low-level buzz of awareness that sparked in my veins when I knew he was next door, only one wall away.

Well, I still found myself straining to hear the sound of his shower.

But I was only human, okay?

I was committed to the new and improved, healthier, slightly more boring but definitely in a better head space Mina. I'd cut back on caffeine and alcohol, upped my vegetables, and was on a four-day meditation streak. My PVCs had stopped for the most part. And now there was nothing else distracting me from the investigation.

I'd left three more messages on Yuta's weird answering service but had yet to get a response.

Thankfully, my research team had come through for me. Lia managed to work her nerd magic and identify the two henchmen from Chae's vague descriptions. Face Tattoo Guy was Choi San, a two-time felon with a dagger tattooed under his left eye. Chubby Goatee was Jang Ha-Joon, a beefy guy with a shaved head and a Fu Manchu mustache that connected to a goatee. He had only done time once for an assault charge.