Chapter 9

Haeun struggles to open her eyes and by instinct, she reaches out to wrap her arm around whatever was close to her – which would usually be Lucas. The warmth radiating was similar but the scent was definitely different. Finally, does Haeun open her eyes and she's surprised by the sight that greeted her. She's met with Taeyong's sleeping figure as he gave off a low snore. She sits up quickly – a bit too quickly and feels her head pounding for a moment.

Her eyes scan around and she realizes she's in the detective department still. Her panic level goes down and it gives her a chance to think properly. "Right… I fell asleep," she mutters and looks back at Taeyong's sleeping figure. Her eyes rest on his figure and she has to admit, he still looks good. Taeyong didn't have Lucas's figure but his sharp jawline was something that Haeun couldn't resist to trace her fingers along. He stirs in his sleep and Haeun quickly pulls her hand back. Slowly, he opens his eyes and smiles when he sees Haeun awake.

"Morning, Haeun," he speaks and she notices the dryness in his tone. "Did you sleep well?" He yawns and sits up, rubbing his eyes. "I couldn't leave you alone after you slept. I got worried."

Haeun nods her head and clears her throat before proceeding to stand up. "Thanks… For keeping me company," she heads to her locker and searches for some spare clothes. "I'm going to go and wash up first," she was about to leave when Taeyong calls out for her.

"Wait, Haeun," he stands up. "The hot showers haven't been fixed. My place is just a 5-minute walk, you're welcomed to use my shower."

This was how Haeun ended up inside Taeyong's house. It wasn't big and grand but it wasn't that small either. Haeun was certain the house was too big for him to live all alone and continued to compliment how tidy and arranged everything was. "Your girlfriend is so lucky to have someone like you," she smiles once he brings her to the living room. He doesn't answer to her comment instead, he points to the bathroom upstairs. However, before she heads up, she asks him a question.

"Could I borrow a shirt?"

As Haeun finishes her shower and headed downstairs to join Taeyong for breakfast, she gets a call from Lucas. "Hey, sorry. Work," she says immediately. "I know. Just here to check up on you. Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Lucas asks and she hears the sound of the television. Haeun dries her hair off with the towel, "I'm grabbing something with Taeyong. I don't know what time I'll be home, Lucas. Are you alright on your own?"

Lucas sighs and nods his head. He knows how much Haeun prioritized her work – she had only been back for a month so her excitement was still running high. Yet, Haeun worried over him even when she had so much on her plate already. "I'm fine," he rubs his nape. "I'm thinking of getting a part-time job nearby for night shifts. Just so I could pay something back to you for your help."

"Lucas," Haeun makes her way down the stairs. "You don't have to pay me anything. What's important is your safety and comfort. That's all I want. You can stay with me for as long as you like when the case is over, I mean it."

"I can't stay one roof with you without having any of my own allowance, Haeun." He chuckles as he takes a sip from his glass of apple juice. "And I can't stay with you forever either…" Something about that sentence made his stomach curl and not in a good way. "Just… Just work hard and don't forget to eat, alright? Text me when you come home."

"Okay…Okay, you take care of yourself as well. Love you," her eyes widened at the last phrase. An old habit of hers. Perhaps hearing Lucas's voice made her forget about their past. She hears him give off a low chuckle.

"Love you too," Lucas replies and the line goes flat.

Taeyong places the bowl of cereal in front of her, "Take your time to eat. We don't clock in for another hour." He pulls a chair and sits in front of her with his own bowl. "Was that Lucas you were talking to?"

"Yeah," she answers and takes a mouthful of the cereal. The towel was placed on her shoulders to prevent her shirt from damping. As Haeun aimlessly scrolls through her phone, she doesn't catch Taeyong's eyes that were watching her. He observes how her eyes twinkle when she chuckled over some funny photo or video and how his shirt seemed to fit her almost perfectly – he didn't need that shirt anymore.

"Taeyong? You okay?"

When she talked does he finally break out from his trance.

"You aren't eating."

He feels his cheeks burning and quickly looks down, focusing on his bowl of cereal. He hears her laugh but no more words are exchanged during breakfast.

Taeyong and Haeun are busy talking as the two of them entered the department. Both of them arrived later than usual and failed to notice the eyes that were following them as they joked with each other.

"You did not! Ew, that's gross," Haeun punches Taeyong's arm and sits down on her seat. Taeyong leans against her table, still keeping the conversation going between them. The other members found it amusing to see Taeyong and Haeun getting along so well when they were about to kill each other just from being in the same room a few days ago. It was a good process for the team.

Chief Eunha walked in with a cup of coffee in her hand and it was clear to see that she was surprised as well. She walks over to Mark, "Those two are… on good terms, I assume?"

Mark shrugs his shoulders, "Maybe, I guess. Look at them. Haeun's wearing his shirt."

Eunha pouts her bottom lip and slowly nods her head, "I see… Hopefully, it won't get in the way of their jobs. I'll be in my office if your team needs anything. Don't call me unless it's absolutely important matters." Mark gives a salute and Eunha enters her office. He takes a glance at the two, managing to catch a sight of Haeun laughing before he turns his attention to his papers.

"So, this is the school then?" Johnny looks around the area and nods his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary except that it's an all-girls' high school." He looks over at Winwin, "You see anything suspicious?" The other shakes his head.

"Just look around for potential spots where he could hide and ask around the neighbourhood if they've seen anyone suspicious," Haeun speaks through the microphone. "I'd do it myself but-"

"But you're stuck with the undercover duty since you're the only girl in our team. We get it," Taeyong huffs and proceeds to head to one of the houses. "Hello? Is anyone home?"

"I keep telling you to stay away from this hou- Oh… Hello," the old woman opens the door and she's shocked to see someone else. "Excuse me, I was expecting someone else."

"Has someone been bothering you lately?" Mark comes up to question the woman. She catches sight of his badge and nods her head, "Yes, a man. He's been coming here a few times over the last few months asking about the old tenants here. I keep telling him that it's been years since they moved and I have no idea who they were."

"You didn't report to the police?" Taeyong tilts his head, jotting it down in his notebook.

The woman shakes her head, "All he did was knock and ask the same question. He didn't do any harm so I didn't think bringing the police in would be good."

"Do you remember what he asked specifically?"

"Just about the family. Their children, specifically. They had a daughter and two sons. The daughter's name was…Hanun? Hawon? Can't be sure but she did attend the high school across the street."

"Has he contacted you lately?"

"Yes, a few weeks ago. 3 weeks, has it been? I'm not sure myself…"

Taeyong hands out his card, "Please contact us if he does come by again. Thank you for your help, madam."

She nods her head and closes the door as they leave.

"Did you catch all of that, Haeun? Didn't you say you lived here before? Right around graduation, you moved here right?" Mark asks Haeun, not being too loud in case someone was eavesdropping on them.

It takes her a moment but she gasps in realization. "Yeah, yeah, I did! I didn't even remember since we lived there for only 6 months before we had to move to somewhere smaller… But the school? I clearly remember Lucas attending and he's no girl."

"Must have been renovated and changed, I guess. Do some digging if you have to. Your first day starts in 2 days so get into character," Mark reminds her and hears her groan. "Hey, be a little excited. Not everyone has a second chance to enter high school."

"I don't think anyone wants to," she huffs. "Have you seen how short these skirts are? Like, what?"

"No, I don't need that image in my head," Mark quickly stops her from going on. "None of us need that image in our heads."

"It's going to be so windy-"

"Stop it!"

Haeun finally reaches home and the first thing she does is let her body fall onto the couch. Lucas runs up to her and says, "Rough day at work?"

"-sotiredyoudon'tevenwanttoknow-"

He didn't catch her words but he knew her well enough to know what she had muttered. "Come on, get into the shower before you sleep. You're all sticky," he pushes her arm and she groans in response. He helps her sit up before lifting her on his shoulder and placing her in the bathroom. "Get scrubbing, I'll be back with your clothes," he closes the door.

As he sets out her clothes, he notices the fabric sticking out from her bag. Curious, he opens it. He lays it out on the couch and is surprised to see that it was a school uniform. "What the... Okay, no sudden conclusions, Lucas. Let her explain," he mutters under his breath and quickly hands over Haeun's clothes once she calls out to him.

Not even having the energy to eat, Lucas immediately tucks Hauen into bed. Her eyes were already half closed and she was yawning ever so often. She was exhausted and he knew it was best if she got some well-deserved sleep... After his question.

"Why do you have a school uniform? Is it like some sort of-"

"Undercover job... No funny thoughts, Lucas. It's for work," Haeun bops his nose and he blushes at her sentence. "I-I was not thinking such thoughts!" he backs away from her and folds his arm over his chest as Haeun laughs.

"Sure, big guy. Whatever you say," she curls up and gets ready to fall asleep. Lucas sighs and says, "Well, I like you better in your police uniform. But you look pretty in anything so it doesn't matter. Good night, Haeun."

Lucas heads back to the living room and turns on the television at a low volume, not wanting to disturb the sleeping beauty. "Ah, what am I thinking!" He scolds himself as he feels his cheeks burning up. A thought finally comes to his mind,

Whose shirt was she wearing before?