After Dark (Prompts)

Personal Taste - 15

(Repost)
Week 2 of the operation was more productive.

Though she still took long showers to scrub her skin after a 'date' with her ex-second husband, Joo In-ah was able to develop some indifference to Han Jae-Kyung's presence enough to find out his phone's passcode and email address, both of which she passed on to Inspector Ha. There was documentation required to monitor his phone and it will be Ha Chae Yoon who will work on that.

Baek Jang-mi brought Joo In-ah to her meetings with Jae-Kyung and would help clean In-ah with anti-bacterial wipes when she reached the car. "I'm sorry you have to go through this," Jang-mi would mutter as she helped In-ah scrub whatever invisible mark the slimy man left on Joo In-ah.

On top of that, Jang-mi accompanied In-ah to trainings for self-defence. In one particular day, she noticed that In-ah was hitting the punching bag particularly hard. "That's it! Imagine that creep and punch!"

When they took a break, Jang-mi congratulated In-ah for her progress. "I'm so mad at him! If not for him, I'd be with Hoon and those women in the office won't make a move on MY boyfriend!"

Jang-mi chuckled. "So, you weren't only punching the image of Jae-Kyung but also your boyfriend's fans?"

"I was a little mad at Hoon, too," Joo In-ah admitted, crossing her arms while she huffed in frustration. "Why does he have to be so handsome?!"

Jang-mi laughed, knowing full well some of the difficulties in dating someone so good-looking. Sitting beside In-ah, she sighed. "It is such a burden, but someone has to do it."

In-ah had to chuckle at the comment, knowing that Baek Jang-mi's husband was also quite the looker. "I miss him," In-ah admitted, her shoulders slumping. This operation and the separation from Hoon was important and she reminded herself of this constantly, but it was taking it's toll on her.

"I know," Jang-mi patted In-ah's hand. Recalling to the time when she decided to work on something that took her away from Min Tae Gu, she told In-ah, "I went on a 'secret mission' before and I had to be apart from my husband for a few weeks. It was horrible."

"And what did you do when you missed him?"

"Well, I was busy and I didn't contact him often because I thought it was the best course. It was too late to realize it wasn't but luckily he's as smart as I am and was helping me from the background," Baek Jang-mi shared.

Joo In-ah felt a strange kinship to this woman, who she found out used to be a pickpocket and had been turning her life around. Their shared shady pasts and perhaps that was why In-ah felt comfortable to ask, "Did you ever think of marrying two men, Jang-mi-ssi?"

Jang-mi didn't laugh at her question nor did she look at her in disgust. Baek Jang-mi considered her question seriously. "There were times I thought I was in love with many men at the same time... but looking back it was an itch I needed to scratch. Love, I found out later, is different."

A quiet smile came to Baek Jang-mi's face at the thought of Min Tae Gu. "When I fell for my husband, I knew then it was something I never felt before."

"Can you describe it for me?"

"It's intense, like when the sea is disrupted from a storm, waves high and crashing down. It's attraction for a handsome and sexy man who can start the day and piss you off terribly yet so passionately make love to you at the end of it," she started. "At the same time, it's soooo... still. Steady. Constant. He's there no matter what. He will listen to me and take care of me. He understands me in a way that's so vast and deep that I know he's the only one who could do so. Through thick and thin, guns and knives, it will always be him and me."