Unexpectedly Meeting You Again

thirty-nine

Areum woke up and groaned as she stretched herself. She noticed the space next to her was empty.

"Heeseung?" She called with her morning voice. She lazily stood up and walked out of the room. The hallway was quiet since it was early in the morning.

He couldn't possibly leave, right?

She looked for him in the living room and the kitchen. Her heart dropped when there were no signs of him. She stepped out of the house and saw him at the porch, drinking coffee.

She exhaled in relief before sitting next to him, "You scared me."

"Were you worried that I'll leave early?" He smirked. She smacked his head and chuckled, "Stop dreaming."

"It won't hurt to admit that you miss me."

She smiled and looked at the blue sky, the sun shined brighter since it rained the night before. "Remember when we always go to the convenience store every night? You used to walk me home," she recalled the precious memory.

"It's just an excuse to be with you longer."

She blushed and stared at her fingers. He put down the cup next to him and looked at her, "Do you want to go on a date? Let's wear our high school uniform back and walk around like students. To make it up for the high school years we wasted alone."

She scoffed, "I didn't know you love those cliche things."

"I could hold your backpack for you like I used to. And then if it rains, we can share an umbrella."

She nodded, "Keep going."

"We'll buy a new scarf and you can wrap it around my neck again. Like you used to."

"We can do all that again. It sounds nice."

Their happy moment faded when a familiar SUV parked in the driveway. Areum immediately stood up, "Ni-ki?"

Heeseung was also confused, standing next to his girlfriend. They both became more confused when Minhyuk appeared next to the male detective.

"Minhyuk," she muttered. Ni-ki grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the house, "We have to discuss something."

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They all stayed in Areum's bedroom, waiting for Ni-ki to start the discussion. Heeseung leaned against the wall as he folded his arms. Minhyuk took off his backpack and gave it to Ni-ki.

Areum who was sitting at the edge of the bed waited. Her eyes widened when she saw the male detective take out a gun from the bag.

"That's not yours. Where did you get it?"

"It's from my dad's drawer," Minhyuk muttered quietly. Ni-ki handed her a picture of the dead student. She scoffed and took out her phone before playing the voice recording that she showed to Heeseung.

"We have money. Let's just say, my wife and I gave them the punishment they deserved."

Ni-ki scoffed, "I guess we have enough proof to arrest them."

He looked at the boy who had his head hung low. Ni-ki held both of his shoulders, "I'm not going to ask you for your permission or even consider your feelings before arresting them. A crime is still a crime. Understand?"

Minhyuk nodded slowly. Heeseung sighed and went to the boy before patting his back gently. Areum thought for a while, "What I'm afraid is that this proof won't be enough to arrest them. We still don't have a picture of them causing the school shooting. They need to be in the picture so that the police can arrest them for good."

"Aren't these enough? What more proof do you want?" Ni-ki asked out of annoyance.

"They're not just normal people, Ni-ki. They're wealthy politicians. This means they have money to bribe a lawyer to defend them. We need solid proof that has their faces in it."

If Minhyuk couldn't find more proof in his father's office. Could it be at the company? Of course, he would keep it in a safe or something.

Heeseung's dad works at the company too. I can use him.

"Heeseung."

The doctor looked at her with a confused expression. "I need to meet your father," she said.

"Why do you need to meet his father?" Ni-ki asked.

"Mr Joo and Mr Lee are rivals. Of course, Mr Lee wants to win the election and see Mr Joo fail. I'm sure he'll help me find more proof about the school shooting. I need to go to Mr Joo's office because I know there's more proof there."

"You can't just go to the company without a reason. I can tell my dad to bring you there as a helper. Then, you can sneak into Mr Joo's office," Heeseung suggested.

"It's too risky," Ni-ki said, the feeling of worry started filling his chest.

"I have to. Minhyuk, stay quiet. If your parents ask you anything, put all the blame on me," Areum held both of his shoulders.

"What if they harm you?"

"I don't care. I need you to be safe."