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1.7

Lee Minhyuk

"Here you go."

"Thank you," I said gently, taking the mug of coffee from Jooheon's hands before setting it on the table, standing up to put on the heavy bulletproof vest I had been given last night. As I began to button up the rest of my shirt, he came over, smacking my hands out of the way. I chuckled. "thanks."

"It's okay, just drink your coffee before it gets cold, and make sure you have something to eat too. Will you need lunch? Or is that supplied for you? Or will you..be done before lunch? I can bring you some-" he babbled a handful of questions (which he answered himself) from there, delicately working up my shirt. Despite not looking at me once, I guess he could still feel how I was intensely staring at him. "why are you staring at me, Min?"

"Nothing," I shook my head, opting to ignore how both of my knees almost bucked at the pet name. "just feel like it. And for the love of God, do not show up there."

"Fine." He huffed, turning around to return to his usual spot perched high on the counter, taking his own mug of tea into his hands.

"Is this the nerves talking?"
He finally looked to me briefly, dimples appearing as his smile widened, albeit not entirely sincere.

"What? No-" he shook his head. "you were staring at me - is that the nerves talking too?"

"You're allowed to be nervous, it's normal," I touched his leg. "plus, I stare at you all the time. I just wanted to stare at you for a little longer today."

"Stop talking like that."

"Like what?"

"Like it's the last time you'll see me," his eyes met mine properly this time. "you'll be okay. I'm certain of that. Maybe if I say it enough times I can become less tense, but for now I'll fake it, because you don't need added pressure."

"Come here. " I led him off the counter & placed my arms around him. He responded to this by hugging me back for a few seconds, before he gave me a kiss on the cheek and pulled away.

Today was the day of the said stakeout Mr Kim asked Hyunwoo and I to help with, and despite all the preparation and coming to terms with today, neither of us got a full night of sleep, pretending to sleep only to not make the other worry.
It showed me how Jooheon dealt with situations like this; he put up a front, pretending that everything was okay, but I couldn't ignore the way his hands trembled a little bit as he fixed my buttons, or how he'd wordlessly gaze at me for long seconds before continuing with what he was doing.

On top of this, Jooheon had finally accepted to go to breakfast with his Mother, and I knew some of the slightly nervous antics he had derived from that too.

"You're right," I nodded confidently. "I'll be okay. I'll go in there, help Mr Kim and the others, we'll catch them and arrest them. Then, I'll clock out of work early, come home and take a shower, and we can go out for dinner, or even just stay home and do absolutely nothing. How does that sound?"

The light smile returned to his face, and my heart soared. "There it is."

"What?"

"The smile I fell in love with," I touched his face, leaning forward to kiss him quickly as he protested, proceeding to make retching sounds. "you should be getting ready to go see your Mom, oversized baby."

"I guess," Jooheon sighed, defeatedly.

"Come on, I promise you that it won't be that bad," I grinned encouragingly. "come here again."

I laughed as he slowly but surely trudged back into my arms with the most adorable pout. "You're so cute."

"I'm glad my struggles are endearing to you." He shook his head.