𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 || 𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐍 ||🥀

27

Jeonghan

I woke up to the dreary light of dawn and the sound that haunted me, the persistent brittle crunch that drove me to madness in my sleep. This morning, it was accompanied by the soft click of Mina's front door closing.

The sheets next to me were still warm, a ghost of the woman who'd been there all night, curled into my side, anchoring me with the rise and fall of her chest.

She'd been there for me when I needed her most. And then she'd made a point to leave her own damn bed so I'd wake up alone.

I dragged my hands over my face. Something had to give between us and I had the sinking suspicion that "something" was gonna be me.

A weight hit the mattress, and a second later, Pip pounced on my chest. I grunted. Tuna bits stained her white nose, which meant Mina had fed her breakfast.

"Morning, darling," I rasped, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

She nudged at me until I gave her a half-hearted rub.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm fine," I said.

Pip didn't look like she believed me.

But it felt true. Sure, I had a lingering headache at the base of my neck and every muscle in my body felt like it had gone a few rounds in the ring. But I'd slept deep and woken with a clear head.

I picked her up and held her aloft over my head. "See? Everything's fine." She meowed delightfully with enthusiasm as she pawed playfully at the air. "All right. Let's start the day."

The kitten tip-tapped after me into the bathroom where I found a note taped to the mirror.

J,

Fed and washed Pip. Make sure to be gone by the time I get back.

M.

I remained amused by Mina's terse note until I returned to the bedroom and spotted her suitcase sitting open on the floor. It was empty, thankfully. But I had a feeling the fact that she'd left it out meant she was still considering leaving. If she thought she was going anywhere, Lin Moonamina had a rude awakening coming. We had business to settle. Scales to balance. Deals to make.

Any doubt I'd had about my feelings for her had been erased last night. She didn't have to open her door. She didn't have to let me in. And she sure as hell didn't have to fall asleep in my arms. But she did, because despite the fact that I'd pissed her off, she cared about me.

And I was gonna use that to my advantage.

"Come on, Pippy. Let's go home. We've got some thinking to do," I said on a yawn.

I was still yawning when we let ourselves out of Mina's place only to find Wonwoo raising a fist to knock on my door.

"I brought you a coffee," he said, eyeing my appearance. I was wearing nothing but sweatpants and was in desperate need of a shower. "I should've got the bucket size," he observed.

I took the coffee and opened my door.

"Long night?" he asked, following me inside as I guzzled caffeine.

I grunted. "Why are you here? Besides to play coffee fairy."

"I ran into your soon-to-be sister-in-law at the café, who did order the bucket size. She said Cheol is pulling out all the stops for Career Day."

"Oh shit. That's today?"

"Today in"—he paused and checked his watch—"two hours and twenty-seven minutes. I figured since I had to tag along anyway, we could strategise. I can't have law enforcement taking a back seat to some lottery-winning, restaurant-owning barber. No offense."