Kang Ji-hye noticed the spring in her friend's step when she first arrived at the police station that Monday. Remembering that she went on a date the Friday before, Ji-hye asked, "Did the date go well? Did you sleep with him already? Was he good in bed?"
Ha Chae-yoon's eyes widened. "What? I don't sleep with someone after only a couple of dates."
"A couple?" Ji-hye repeated. "You've seen him more than once already?"
Chae-yoon sat and busied herself with papers on her desk while waiting for her computer to boot up. "Yes."
"Is he cute? Do you have a picture?" Ji-hye went on.
"It's not all about looks!" Chae-yoon replied, defensively. Pausing to stare at her friend, who was now perched on her desk, Chae-yoon looked around before whispering. "He's hot."
Ji-hye muffled a squeal. Taking out her phone, she asked, "What's his name? I'll look him up."
"No!" Ha Chae-yoon said.
"Oohhh! Selfish. I'm not going to take him away, you know. I just want to see!" Ji-hye teased.
Not yet ready to let her friend know the name of the man who was now occupying her recently nasty thoughts, Ha Chae-yoon took out her phone and scrolled to a candid photo she took on the night she first met Tae Gu. "Here. This is him."
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"Oh! Oh my!" Ji-hye zoomed in on the face of the man in the photo. "He IS hot, Chae-yoon!"
Ha Chae-yoon quickly pulled her phone away and locked it. Smiling smugly, she told Ji-hye, "I know."Ji-hye decided to ask Chae-yoon all the questions she could think of but their working hours were about to begin. "Later. We have a meeting to get to."
The morning went by quickly, as it often does when there is a lot of work to do, and before Ha Chae-yoon and Kang Ji-hye realized it lunch time had come. As the friends headed back to their desks, Ji-hye said, "Let's meet at the pantry? I think I want to get a sandwich at one of the stalls outside."
"I'll go with you," Chae-yoon declared.
"Don't you have food already?" Ji-hye asked, looking at the package on her desk.
"I didn't pack lunch --" Chae-yoon started saying but her sentence was quickly cut off as she followed Ji-hye's gaze. "Oh." Checking the note that came with it, a smile crept up on Chae-yoon's face.
Taking a peek from Chae-yoon's shoulder, "It's from a place that has a four-leaf clover in their brand. That must be a good sign right? Enjoy your lunch, Inspector. From Min Tae Gu!" Ji-hye read. "And he signed his name with many hearts!!!!"
Chae-yoon narrowed her eyes at Ji-hye but soon gave up the pretence. She was thrilled and it was useless to hide it. Still, she remained silent and just sat down, clasping the note and reading it again.
Ji-hye bid her a temporary goodbye. "I'll see you in a bit. Enjoy swooning over your Mr. Min."
When she was alone, Ha Chae-yoon took her phone and called Min Tae Gu.
