Mrs. & Mrs. Kang | DAERIN

A Game of Cat and Mouse

Danielle sits at her desk, reviewing the digital footage from her binoculars that she had electronically transferred to Hanni during the op, watching as the 'civilian' drops to the dirt after Danielle's shot, then sits up and clutches at the entry-wound. She hasn't seen the footage before as her attention had been diverted to her mark. When the 'civilian' turns around and rips goggles off, long brown hair is revealed. Danielle leans forward in her seat, transfixed by familiarity when the brown hair gets shaken out in loose curls.

"Danielle," Hyein calls out from the open door to the brunette's office, phone in hand. "It's your wife." Danielle's mouth drops open and she hits the rewind button on the footage, ignoring Hyein because even without seeing a face, she immediately recognizes the 'civilian' having watched Haerin shake her hair out like that nearly every time she steps out of the shower. "She's back early from her work trip and wants to know about dinner."

And just like that, everything clicks.

"Tell her–" Danielle looks up from her computer screen with an evil smile, "–dinner is at seven."

"Hi, Haerin," Hyein's voice chirps back on the line. "She says dinner's at seven."

Haerin smirks, "It always is."

ᯓ★

Haerin slowly pulls in the driveway looking for suspicious activity. Jiwoo and Dohyun had told her not to act crazy or go in guns blazing, so she approaches this like any tactical mission. She has a target and she knows where that target is. If she acts off in any way she knows Danielle will immediately notice something is going on and bolt. This is her one chance to fix things and take the bitch out.

The only problem is, the bitch is also her wife.

She backs her car into the garage beside Danielle's like normal. She slips her wedding band back on like normal. But, when she slowly opens the back door and ducks her head in to survey the kitchen after creeping and skulking her way up from the garage, she realizes that she looks anything but normal.

Feeling on edge, she cautiously pulls her coat off and hangs it on the coat rack, turning back around to enter the kitchen and nearly jumping out of her skin when she notices Danielle silently standing in the doorway and watching her with a glass of scotch in hand.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Haerin gasps. Usually the clicking of Danielle's heels alerts Haerin to her wife's presence. She looks down and notices the usual footwear is missing, making Danielle much shorter and apparently much quieter.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I startle you, darling?"

"A little," Haerin answers honestly with a nervous chuckle.

"It's 7:00," Danielle smiles innocently. "Perfect timing."

"As always," Haerin smiles, then reaches out to take the glass of scotch from Danielle. "This is a nice surprise."

"I hope so. You're home early."

"I missed you."

Her evil smile doesn't reach her eyes and Haerin can almost hear diabolical cackling when Danielle, too roughly to be considered affectionate, pats her on the cheek, "I missed you, too."

"Hmm," Haerin hums, silently appraising her wife as the brunette drops her hand in order to cross her arms over her chest and do the same quiet assessment.

They stare at each other for a moment, not the stare of loving spouses who have been separated during a business trip, the stare of cat and mouse, leaving Haerin hoping that for once in her marriage she is the cat.