Zero Encounters

A Hero's Purpose

        For the remainder of the day, Yeonwoo quietly stayed by Jisung's side. She watched him interview key witnesses and some of the victims from the shooting. She stayed respectful and kept her distance when they wanted to speak in private, but most were keen to have another person around to hear their story. The one thing they all had in common was their inability to sleep peacefully through the night since the event. The majority recalled Nana and Zero, pitying the two for how much they've gone through. They all wished the two well, all sympathizing with Nana's situation and with her father.

She saw sides to Jisung she had never seen before and admired his work ethics. She could tell he was good with people from how he conducted his interviews and how they all opened up to him in a matter of minutes. She studied his expressions and his ways with words out of curiosity. The warmth he displayed to these victims made her think differently of other officers she encountered over the years. She thought that perhaps she judged him way too quickly and  unfairly without giving him a proper chance. All she went by was his records and how he interacted with SIU when she was Zero.

Their last stop was the hospital where Nana and her father resided. Yeonwoo had fallen asleep on the ride there and Jisung knew it was from all the interaction she's had today. He knew she had reached her social threshold for the day and needed to recharge because of what he's learned from observing her as Zero. During the red lights, he couldn't help, but peek at her sleeping face. He wondered if maybe sleeping is the only time she ever found peace. The way she held herself and operated were in a place of confidence, but there was always a lingering feeling that came from her. He couldn't quite comment on it because of how well she hid her emotions. He came to coin it a constant state of turbulence the more he saw her.

He had thought that the storm which constantly followed her had found it's resting point. Car rides were her weakness as its inevitable that she falls asleep every time. She felt the most secure in an enclosed space, but still had her guards up with everyone other than Kangho. Jisung knew that, but oddly enough, she felt comfortable around him enough to sleep through the entire car ride.

He eventually parked in front of the hospital and waited for Yeonwoo to come to, but she stayed asleep. He glanced at the time on his watch and figured he could give her a few extra minutes before going in. Her head was once tucked against the seat belt, slid to the other side and he gently held the side of her face. He scolded himself for acting on instinct and froze.

Why would you do that? He cursed at himself and held his breath. His muscle started to cramp and knew it was now or never, Zero would kill me, but wait, she's Yeonwoo right now... I should be fine? But this... this is cutting it too close. He slowly adjusted her head before letting go and melted in his chair. His heart beat echoed in his ears, thinking he had just aged ten years from a simple touch. Ten more minutes...He caught himself smiling as he listened to her soft breathing.

His phone rang almost immediately and interrupted Yeonwoo's fuzzy dreams. Although one would argue if they could be called dreams if only she happened to remember them. She excused herself for dozing off and followed him out of the car. He went over their last victim and she tried to desensitize the name. He noticed the change in her eyes and refrained from going into details so that she wouldn't be reminded of unwanted memories of that day. They reached the pediatrics floor and Jisung saluted the two undercover officers standing by the unit.

Jisung led the way and stopped at the end of the hall. Yeonwoo couldn't bring herself to enter the room and instead opted to wait outside. He understood without having to ask and pretended that he needed to proceed with protocol first. She watched him go in and pressed her back against the wall. She also didn't want to risk Nana recognizing her as children are more susceptible than adults.