Zero Encounters

Adapting

        The precinct was over crowded with victims of an ongoing phishing scam. Officer Kwang's team of eight felt the pressure as the minutes went by. It was an unfortunate thing to witness as most victims being senior citizens. A mail courier entered the chaos with a box in hand and searched for anyone free to sign his slip. Officer Kwang waved him over and groaned at the time sensitive label on the box.

"Can anyone bring this over to Captain Lee's office?" He asked his team since their usual admin partner took the day off. "Anyone?!" He raised his voice in frustration. The complaints and non-stop telephone ringing masked his voice. A light tap came from his shoulder and he turned to see Yeonwoo standing there with her hand outstretched. "Life savior." He smiled and felt as if he could almost cry.

"Just this?" She asked, weighing the box in her hand. It was rather light compared to the size. A few of his colleagues hurriedly walked over with binders and envelopes Captain Lee had requested and stacked on top of the box. Officer Kwang expressed his thanks and apologetically made way for her through the crowd.

"Do you need some help?"

She slowly turned to her side while balancing everything in her hands to see Jisung standing there with a his coffee in hand. He took the box from her and he was taken aback by who she was. She bowed shyly and thanked him. "Ah, you must be Detective Park."

"Yes and you must be Yeonwoo. I heard from Inspector Choi, you're really amazing - I mean - your job, what you do." He said, barely recovering from his word vomit and swore in his head. She agreed with him and thanked him for his kind words. "This might sound a little weird, but I can't help, but smell your perfume. It's really nice."

"Oh, thank you." She blushed, "It was a gift, all the girls are wearing it nowadays." They arrived at the office just as Captain Lee was heading out to a meeting. They greeted each other and he asked Jisung to bring the things in hand to his room. Inspector Choi was the only other person inside while the other two detectives went to scout leads.

"Thanks for helping us once again." Captain Lee said, "The documents you're looking for should be in the file cabinet over there and the resources you're looking for should be in those binders on the shelf there. Inspector Lee can get you sorted. I'll be back later if you wanted to debrief."

"Thank you, Captain Lee." She bowed, "Thanks for having me. I hope I'm not bothering the two of you." She said and the two men disagreed. "I'll just sit over here." She pointed to the sofa as Inspector Lee handed her the things she needed.

"Stop staring." He mouthed to Jisung who hasn't blinked. He blocked his view and snapped his fingers in front of the man. "Ah, Ms. Yeonwoo, would you like some coffee?"

"No, thank you. I'm okay for now." She smiled and continue to read through the binder.

It definitely can't be her. Jisung thought to himself. For a moment, he kept searching for Zero in her. He had thought of the coincidences, but there wasn't enough evidence to ask anyone about it. The two women looked nothing alike despite him not seeing Zero's face. Yeonwoo had dark brown eyes and black hair compared to Zero's lighter features. Their voice and demeanor are polar opposites. Inspector Choi flicked a rubber band at Jisung's head and gestured him to focus on his work at hand. Captain Lee returned with a handful of snacks from the cafeteria ladies. They had been part of his growing fan club since he had transferred from the military. He left the baked goods at the table by Yeonwoo and returned to his office. The lights flickered as if on cue and the Captain went to the back room. The emergency lights turned on and Inspector Choi tried distract the power outage by lightening the mood.

"Does this happen a lot?" Yeonwoo asked, waving the flashlight from her phone. "Should we call for someone?"

"Nah, it'll turn back on soon." Inspector Choi chuckled and handed the ever so confused Jisung a red bean bread. "Eat up before the others come back. Minhyun will devour all of this in seconds."