INSIDE MONSTER. THE FUGITIVE.

CHAPTER 40: THE PACT

A slight knock on the door made both Riu Te Jun and his boss, the Police Captain Ko IonHwa, wince. Then, the two men exchanged glances, as though asking each other, „Who bothers us so early?" Yet, none of them knew the answer simply because none of them wasn't waiting for any visit there.

Standing up from his armchair and feeling all his bones cracking, Ko IonHwa gasped. Then, straightening his back, he glanced at his worker, who was sitting on the sofa, with his face buried in his hands, completely exhausted after everything that happened that night, hissing through his teeth, „It's not over yet!"

„As though it had ever been over," Te Jun growled to himself, squinting at his captain, whom he saw straightening his back once again while heading toward the door. Detective Riu even heard his boss mumbling at one point, which hinted to him that he was nervous and would have liked to sleep instead of solving problems like the one Te Jun seemed to have caused that night.

His boss's mumbling bothered Te Jun, making him nervously move in his spot. The reason? He'd been forced for too long to hear his boss's high-pitched voice while that one scolded him. Not only did that night IonHwa scold Te Jun. It happened all the time because Captain Ko seemed not to like Te Jun at all. „The feeling is reciprocal," as Detective Riu yelled in his head eventually, leaning against the back of the sofa and staring at the door, eagerly waiting to see the face of the one who'd receive another portion of „lessons of life" from the Captain.

When Ko IonHwa opened the door and spotted a woman's silhouette through the half-open door, Te Jun turned serious. Who was the Mrs. or Ms. who came there that early? He had no clue because he hadn't ever seen her before. Te Jun was pretty sure of that, although he hadn't seen the stranger's face. This made him curious and supported his elbows on his knees, pulling his body a little bit in front in the hope of seeing that woman's face - the one who saved him from sure death because if he had stood a little longer alone with the captain, who had been yelling into his ear for about an hour, his head would have cracked for sure: so intense was his headache. Yet, that pain suddenly vanished when the stranger knocked on the door and the Captain shut his mouth for a few seconds.

Eventually, Te Jun winced, seeing the Captain's weird grin. What Detective Riu didn't know was that his boss's grin was because of an unpleasant surprise though. Finally understanding this, Te Jun frowned, especially when he heard IonHwa telling the stranger with a certain flattery in his voice, „Chief Kim, I didn't know you'd stop by."

„Chief Kim?" Te Jun wondered, frowning again. „Which Kim, in particular? As far as I know, there are enough Kims in the system. Even so, there are only a few Kims in front of whom Ko IonHwa would bow like that and wag his tail. Ah, don't tell me that she's...?"

Seeing the large smile sketched by HanSol, who stretched her hand to shake her interlocutor's hand, Te Jun became attentive. Particularly, it happened when she said, „I also didn't know that I'd stop by your office, Captain Ko. Yet, let's say it was necessary." Then, seeing Te Jun standing up, HanSol smiled. And, looking at Ko IonHwa out of the corner of her eyes, she asked, „And... this gentleman? One of your workers, Captain?"

„Yes," Captain Ko growled, visibly bothered that Chief Kim paid attention to Te Jun, an attention he would have liked for himself. Then, seeing that HanSol kept looking at Te Jun, IonHwa said, „His name is Riu Te Jun! He's one of my detectives and... he was leaving!" Then, he discretely motioned to Te Jun, letting him understand that it was time to hit the pike.

His boss's urging and insistence on „kicking him out of the office" made Te Jun smile. Yet, he did that discretely while bowing his head when he passed by HanSol, trying to show her respect. After that, he grabbed the doorknob, intending to close the door behind him.